Ossoff's victory is expected - but Republicans had hoped for a closer resultpublished at 00:51 GMT

00:51 GMT

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Less than one hour after polls closed in Georgia, we now have a projected winner: Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff.

His victory was not unexpected - Ossoff had a comfortable lead in the polls over his Republican challenger, Rep Mike Collins, heading into election day.

But Republicans had still hoped this would be a more competitive race. It’s a state that has voted reliably red for decades. President Donald Trump won it in 2024, after Joe Biden eked out a narrow win there in 2020.

An easy win by Ossoff in Georgia could portend a good night for Democrats, though it’s still too early to know.

And now that Ossoff has won re-election, the speculation surrounding his 2028 plan will ramp up in earnest.

The Georgia Democrat is considered a potential leading contender if he throws his hat in the ring. Tonight he’ll surely focus on his Senate win. But he’ll soon face questions on his White House ambitions.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from Washington DC

Grab a snack if you need to - because the next hour is an important one to stick around for.

Polls will be closing in 20 more states, bringing us to the back half of election day in the US.

Here are three states we’ll be closely following from this next batch:

• Texas - the state hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in over 30 years, but former school teacher James Talarico is trying to change that. He is locked in close race with Trump-endorsed Republican Ken Paxton
• Michigan - a close Senate battle between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers has captured national attention, with El-Sayed’s Democratic primary opponent endorsing Rogers at the last minute Sunday
• Maine - incumbent Susan Collins, a Republican who voted to impeach Trump, is fighting to hold her seat in the Democrat-leaning state, but is facing down a close challenge from her opponent Troy Jackson

As polls have begun to close, the BBC's US partner CBS News is rating some of the key Senate races that will decide control of Congress.

• Georgia: likely Democrat
• South Carolina: Toss up
• Ohio: Toss up

Shaimaa Khalil
North America correspondent in Anchorage, Alaska

There’s a steady stream of voters heading into a polling station in Anchorage, Alaska.

Alaska’s Senate race is tight, with Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan facing Democrat Mary Peltola.

But a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot has brought controversy to an already close contest. Among voters here, there are sharply different views about how much it matters.

Some tell me it has been "blown out of proportion" - political theatre attracting more interest outside Alaska than within it.

"They all want to know what the drama is about," Willy Mathias tells me.

"But it didn't affect how I voted, one way or the other," she says.

Asked whether it's clear on the ballot which Dan Sullivan was which, she replies: "It says 'Republican' and the other one doesn't have that. All you need to do is look."

But Navy veteran Jim Picard sees it differently: "I think the fake Dan Sullivan is just a dirty trick that the Democrats, I assume, are playing.

"I don't think he's a sincere candidate," he says, adding: "I think we need to re-elect Dan Sullivan because of his incumbency and what he's done for Alaska."

The Democrats and Peltola have previously denied knowing anything about an alleged "scheme" that led to the two Dan Sullivans standing in the race.

Polls have just closed in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia.

As a reminder, Ohio is on our list of US Senate races to watch closely in these midterm elections.

Tom Bateman
Reporting from Columbus, Ohio

Voting is coming to an end here in the crucial battleground state of Ohio. The polls officially close at 19:30 ET (00:30 GMT), but that doesn’t mean it's all finished.

Anyone who was in line before then is entitled to vote and should make sure they keep their place in the queue, according to Vote.org.

All the signs are of a strong turnout. I spoke to people today who said they'd had their longest ever wait to vote.

I'm now at the main Republican watch party here in the city of Columbus.

We're waiting for Jon Husted, fighting to keep his seat in the US Senate, and Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for state governor.

I'll keep a close eye for signs of the mood as the count starts.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from Washington DC

Polls have only just started closing in some states, but we've already seen our first projection for the night - with CBS News projecting the Senate race in Virginia for Democrat Mark Warner.

Though that was an expected outcome, polls are about to close in two states that we’re watching closely: North Carolina and Ohio.

Here’s a quick overview of why they’re so important.

• Ohio is a swing state. It voted for Trump in the 2024 election, but now Republican candidates are facing close challenges. Republican Senator Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown have been locked in a tight Senate race. It could be decisive in determining which party has a Senate majority
• North Carolina has multiple toss-up districts. These could help decide which party wins control of the House of Representatives. There is also a closely followed Senate race here that could be the Democrats' first chance to flip a seat

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent in Washington DC

Now that we've had to a bit of time to chew over the first wave of information from the midterms voter poll, one thing jumps out.

This nationwide survey of actual voters has done a pretty good job so far of tracking what we have seen in the big public polls over the past few months.

The mood of the electorate is sour, particularly on the economy - and it's the issue that is at the top of voter minds.

Concerns about political corruption are also rank high. Donald Trump's job-performance rating - at 38% approval and 61% negative - is decidedly underwater.

If Democrats were afraid that recent polling suggesting they are poised for a good night was substantially off the mark, these findings might give them a bit of comfort - for now.

Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.

Millions of Americans have already cast ballots in the US midterm elections, and many of them weren't alone.

From the east coast to the west, we've spotted a number of four-legged friends doing their bit for democracy.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The BBC has two trusted partners that provide results - the Associated Press (AP) news agency and our US news partner CBS.

When we bring you a result from CBS we call it a "projection". That's because CBS analyses incoming results data, and when they are confident that one candidate has an unbeatable lead in a particular race, they project the winner.

That projection is not the official result - but it nearly always proves to be correct when all votes are counted.

AP, on the other hand, has a unique role in US election. There is no nationwide government body responsible for collecting election results and releasing them to the public.

Since 1848, the AP has filled this gap by counting the vote and declaring winners in elections. It does so by bringing together information from many sources, including results on hundreds of local websites.

But the final result comes when states certify the results – often days or weeks after election day.

That's our first result of the night - and an expected outcome.

Polls have just closed in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and New Hampshire.

A little earlier, we saw polling stations close in Kentucky and Indiana.

Daniel Wainwright
Data journalist

We're continuing to bring you the results from a huge survey of the American electorate, that asks people for their opinions and top concerns about the country. Here's the latest finding:

About six in 10 people were confident that the midterms were being conducted fairly and accurately across the US, the voter poll suggests.

Among the more than 39,000 people surveyed, 19% were "very confident" and 40% "somewhat confident", while 27% replied they were "not too confident" and 13% "not at all confident".

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from Washington DC

At 19:00 EST (00:00 GMT), we'll see more polls close in places like Florida, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia.

Some of these are what we consider “safe” seats, meaning they should be quick, reliable wins for either the Democrats or the Republicans.

Competitive races may take longer to come in, but we’ll be watching them closely to gauge how the night is going.

These include:

• In Florida… The newly redrawn 14th and 25th Congressional districts, which could be consequential in determining who wins the House
• In South Carolina… There’s a close Senate contest between Senator Darline Graham and Democrat Annie Andrews. It's the seat left by Graham's brother, the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, and the party wants to keep it

The clues I'll be looking out for tonightpublished at 23:34 GMT 3 November

23:34 GMT 3 November

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

One of the defining features of the Trump era is the Republican Party's struggle with turnout when Donald Trump isn't on the ballot.

As election night is now truly under way, I'll be watching out to see how Republicans fare with some of the key voting blocs that Trump made gains with in 2024, including Latinos and women.

If Republicans can't hold the Trump coalition together, they'll likely suffer big losses on Tuesday - and that would be a warning sign going into 2028.

On the Democratic side, the reverse is true: if the party can win back its traditional share of the Latino vote while running up the numbers with women and college-educated voters, that would bode well for their chances in the next presidential election.

Political coalitions evolve over time, and there’s only so much we can read into the results and exit polls from a midterm election, when voter turnout is typically down.

But as the night goes on, I’ll be on the lookout for clues that can give us a sense of where both parties are headed over the next two years.

Sumi Somaskanda
Presenter, BBC News US Election special

There’s always a special energy on election night, and tonight’s no different. We’ve been checking in with our correspondents reporting from Alaska to Maine and from Moscow to Mexico.

We’ll be eagerly awaiting results for the seven close Senate races that could decide control of Congress. But election night also sees several states weigh in on ballot measures, or propositions. These are questions put before voters on local or statewide ballots.

There are two I’m watching tonight that will test voter appetite for curbing big money:

• In California, Proposition 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of all of California's billionaires. The measure has divided leaders across the political spectrum: its supporters say it helps ensure that the ultra-wealthy are contributing their fair share; opponents argue ultra-wealthy residents will flee
• In Montana, ballot initiative 194 would bar corporations from funding candidates, campaigns, and political action committees. If it passes, it could set up a clash in the courts, as the highest court of the land has held that money is a form of protected free speech in politics

You can watch our election results programme live above now, and on BBC One and the BBC News Channel.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter

Image source, Getty Images

A White House official tells the BBC that the mood at the White House is "cautiously optimistic".

"The President has left it all out on the field and he’s done everything that was needed. Republicans are in a better spot now than they were four weeks ago," the official says.

The official did not respond to a request for a list of tonight's guests at the results viewing party being held in the East Room at 19:00 EST (02:00 GMT).

The president, a short time ago, also posted on Truth Social saying that he plans to watch the results come in on TV.

Chris Jeavans
Data journalist

Almost two thirds (65%) of voters say President Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions in the US, according to the first wave of data from the midterms voter poll.

By contrast, 28% say Trump’s policies have improved conditions and only 8% say the president has had no impact.

People were also asked whether expressing support or opposition for President Trump was one reason for their midterm vote.

Some 43% said expressing opposition to the president was a reason for their vote, but a similar proportion (41%) said he was not a factor. Only 16% of those asked said expressing support was a reason for their vote.

The numbers from pollsters SSRS will be updated through the night so you might see these early figures change.

We also do not yet have a breakdown by those who said they were voting Republican and those who said they were voting Democrat.

Why counting ballots can take longer in some statespublished at 23:11 GMT 3 November

23:11 GMT 3 November

By Jake Horton, BBC Verify

US states have different rules when it comes to receiving and processing ballots - which means they count at different speeds.

Some of the factors which can affect this are the prevalence of mail-in voting and rules on processing and tabulating early ballots.

For example, most states allow election workers to remove ballots from their envelopes and confirm the voter’s eligibility before election day.

And nearly half of states - including Florida - allow election officials to scan ballots into tabulators ahead of election day so that these ballots can be counted immediately and included in results on election night.

But in some states - including Michigan and Wisconsin - election workers are prohibited from opening postal ballots ahead of election day.

This has led to claims in previous elections of "late night" arrivals of votes and "ballot dumps" in some parts of these states.

Some states accept mail-in ballots after election day which can delay vote totals.

Image source, Getty Images