Nada Tawfik
North America correspondent in Detroit, Michigan

The stage is set and the DJ is already playing hits at the Michigan Democrats’ election night headquarters here in Detroit.

The Democrats I’ve spoken with are feeling far more optimistic than they were just a few days ago.

Political consultant Adrian Hemond believes Abdul El-Sayed is likely to win and that the party will have a big night. His optimism, he says, comes from polling, but more importantly from voter turnout patterns today.

He’s observed that lines have been quite long in Democratic leaning areas and that early voting shows a Democrats lead based on geography.

He says Republicans will struggle to make up ground.

A reminder: The BBC's US news partner CBS rated Michigan as still being a toss up in its latest update.

Tom Bateman
Reporting from Columbus, Ohio

Here at the main Republican watch party in Ohio, there's still no sign of the candidates Jon Husted and Vivek Ramaswamy, running for the US Senate and Governor respectively.

I was just chatting with a few Ramaswamy supporters and I wouldn't say the mood is overwhelmingly optimistic.

People are glued to their phones checking out the returns, so far showing both of their candidates well behind their Democratic challengers.

But it's still early days.

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent in Washington DC

This is already shaping up to be a very good night for Democrats, with much of the vote counted in the eastern United States and polls closing in key midwestern battleground states.

Two Senate races that a year ago were thought to be battlegrounds have turned out to be slam-dunks for the Democrats - Jon Ossoff’s re-election race in Georgia and the open Republican-held seat in North Carolina.

That North Carolina contest was the first of the four pick-ups Democrats need in order to wrest control of the Senate.

Attention has now turned to Republican-held Senate seats in Texas, Kansas, and Ohio, where counting is taking place.

In South Carolina, the BBC's partner CBS News is rating the Senate race as leaning Democrat, which would be an earth-shaking result.

In the House of Representatives, there are other encouraging signs for Democrats.

While the mood of the electorate appears to have turned against Donald Trump and Republicans, it's still early.

But at this stage, it looks like Democrats have strong reasons to be hopeful.

Carl Nasman
Reporting from Atlanta, Georgia

Image source, t Reuters

Democrat Senator Jon Ossoff, who has just been re-elected in Georgia, is now addressing supporters from Atlanta.

He says the evening's victories are a rebuke to the "depravity, corruption and incompetence" of President Donald Trump.

Ossoff says that for those who "doubted whether our republic would survive" over the last two years, the "first light of dawn is on the horizon".

But he adds: "Our most vital work lies ahead."

His speech could easily be called presidential by many analysts, which isn't surprising since Ossoff is considered a potential candidate for the White House in 2028.

His acceptance speech here in Atlanta got big cheers from the crowd and traced wide themes from health care to artificial intelligence.

The BBC's US news partner CBS has just rated two state-wide races in Kansas.

Both the Senate and the governor's race there are rated as lean Democrat.

Kansas has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932.

A victory for the Democrats in Texas would be an electoral earthquakepublished at 02:42 GMT

02:42 GMT

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent in Washington DC

As we've just reported, the BBC's US news partner CBS has now moved the Texas Senate race to "lean Democratic".

While James Talarico has held a small but stable lead in the race for months now, the prospect of a victory is now growing.

It would represent an electoral earthquake, giving Democrats a breakthrough in the second-most populous US state where they have been locked out of statewide power for more than a generation.

CBS News has projected that Democrats will win at least 208 seats in the House of Representatives and Republicans will win at least 160.

For a majority, 218 seats must be secured.

All 435 seats in the House are up for election. Trump's Republican Party currently controls the House, and Democrats need a net gain of three seats to take the majority.

South Carolina could signal a blue wave, but Democrats will need big numbers to pull it offpublished at 02:42 GMT

02:42 GMT

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

Over in South Carolina, if Democrats can flip the Senate seat - which CBS has just rated as leaning Democratic - it would be one of the biggest upsets of the night.

A win there would also point towards a likely blue wave across the country.

Just weeks ago, this seemed like a safe seat for Republicans. South Carolina is a deep red state, where the late Senator Lindsey Graham was a popular figure for decades until his death earlier this year. He was replaced by his sister, Senator Darline Graham, who was immediately backed by the party establishment, including President Donald Trump.

But Senator Graham has struggled on the campaign trail, and polls in the run-up to election day showed a surprisingly close race.

As of now the full results aren’t in, with roughly 80 percent of the vote counted. But currently the Democratic candidate Annie Andrews is leading Graham by around six percentage points.

To come from behind and win, Graham needs to run up big numbers in rural parts of the state, and hope she can do more to close the gap in cities where Andrews is currently leading by double digits.

She very well might, in which case the Democrats hope of a shocking upset would fall by the way side and Republicans would breathe a sigh of relief.

A Graham victory would give Republicans some hope that they'll turn things around tonight.

Carl Nasman
Reporting from Atlanta, Georgia

Image source, Reuters

Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, who is not up for re-election today, said earlier on Tuesday that he thought Democrats were "nauseously optimistic" about their chances in this election.

After seeing their hopes dashed in several previous elections, maybe he was worried his party was a bit too optimistic.

But with Keisha Lance Bottoms’ projected win in the governor's race, it seems their most optimistic dreams are coming true.

There were more ecstatic cheers here at the Georgia Dems’ watch party as that race was projected blue.

It’s likely enough to make Republicans nauseous.

The BBC's US news partner CBS has just updated its race rating for Texas's Senate race. The contest there now leans Democrat.

The BBC's US news partner CBS has just rated governors races in several states:

• Arizona - Leans Democrat

• Iowa - Leans Democrat
• Kansas - Toss up
• Michigan - Leans Democrat
• Minnesota - Leans Democrat
• Nebraska - Toss up
• New Mexico - Leans Democrat
• South Dakota - Likely Republican
• Texas - Toss up
• Wisconsin - Toss up

Image source, Getty Images

As we just reported, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms is projected to be the winner in Georgia's gubernatorial election.

She is making history as the first black woman elected as governor in US history.

Her victory over Republican Rick Jackson means Democrats have flipped the governor's office.

Bottoms previously served as mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022 and went to work for the Biden administration.

What evidence is there of non-citizens voting?published at 02:22 GMT

02:22 GMT

By Jake Horton, BBC Verify

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have been posting on social media about arrests they say have been made in several states of non-citizens illegally registering to vote and voting in this and past elections.

This is in line with what we have seen in recent weeks, as the DOJ has announced similar charges against people it says are non-citizens - but, even if proven, these have been small numbers.

For example, the DOJ requested that California not count 20,000 postal ballots it claimed are from "likely non-citizen registrants" - but charged 34 people, external out of those with illegally registering to vote and voting.

Multiple studies suggest proven instances of non-citizens voting in past US elections are rare.

A database kept by the Heritage Foundation, external - a conservative think tank - records cases of electoral fraud that resulted in a conviction. It identified 24 instances of non-citizens being convicted for voting between 2005 and 2025.

A 2026 analysis by Reuters, external of non-citizen voting cases brought in federal courts found that over the last 30 years, 129 people had been criminally charged and 73 of those cases resulted in a conviction.

CBS News and the Associated Press have just projected another three Senate seats:

• John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, has won re-election in Colorado
• Ben Ray Lujan, a Democrat, has won re-election in New Mexico
• Harriet Hageman, a Republican, has won re-election in Wyoming

The BBC's US news partner CBS has just rated several Senate races in states where polls have recently closed, but where a result is not yet clear.

South Carolina: Leans Democrat

Iowa: Toss up

Kansas: Toss up

Michigan: Toss up

Nebraska: Toss up

Texas: Toss up

Democrat Chris Pappas is projected to win the New Hampshire Senate seat.

In January, when he is sworn in, Pappas will make history as the first openly gay man elected to the US Senate.

In 2013, Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin made history as the first openly gay person elected to the chamber.

Speaking to supporters, Pappas says he is "ready to fight" for voters in the state.

Image source, CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

'Bloodbath': Texas Republicans tell me they're worriedpublished at 02:07 GMT

02:07 GMT

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

The night is still young, but a text message from one Republican source in Texas sums up the mood inside the party at the moment.

Asked how Republicans feel about the state’s Senate race, the longtime Republican operative responded with one word: "Bloodbath."

Only roughly 40% of the vote is in so far in that Senate race. James Talarico, the Democratic candidate, is leading his Republican opponent, Ken Paxton, by nearly 20 percentage points. The race will likely tighten as more votes get counted. But Republicans don't seem optimistic.

Image source, AP

Over to North Carolina, where Democrat Roy Cooper - the first Senate flip of the night - has been speaking.

"You have made your voices heard and they were loud," Cooper says, addressing his supporters from the state capital of Raleigh.

"For too many people in North Carolina, the middle class was feeling like a distant dream," while "the richest Americans were getting unimaginable wealth at our expense", he says.

Cooper adds that "chaos and corruption in Washington" were "hurting our people".

"Today you said this has to stop," the Democrat says.

"As your new United States Senator, I am ready to take that message to Washington and work to do something about it."

Polls have just closed in Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Colorado and Arizona.

The polls have now closed in almost all of the states with key Senate races - except for Alaska, which is still open.