One year out from Election Day 2026, Tuesday’s results could shape 2026 midterms
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(WASHINGTON) — From New York and New Jersey to California, millions of Americans are voting this fall in multiple states, in several notable local and statewide elections for the first time since last November’s presidential race.
The results from Tuesday’s off-year elections in New Jersey and Virginia — and the New York City mayor’s race — will give voters an opportunity to weigh in on the state of the country and their communities.
ABC News has launched a series of stories and reports across multiple platforms to comprehensively cover the issues at the center of this year’s elections and look ahead at the 2026 midterms.
Tuesday’s elections could hold clues to how Americans view this pivotal moment in the country, and reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each party’s position one year away from the consequential 2026 midterm elections.
And in California, where Democrats have asked voters to approve redrawing the state’s congressional map as part of a national redistricting battle, the results will help shape next year’s fight for the balance of power in Washington and control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The stakes are high for both parties: A new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel, found that two-thirds of Americans say that the country is “pretty seriously off on the wrong track,” compared to one-third who say it is moving in the right direction.
That figure, while lower than the 75% of Americans who said the same at the same time last year, comes as 6-in-10 Americans blame President Donald Trump for the current rate of inflation.
More than 6 in 10 Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, management of the federal government and tariffs — and 64% said he is going “too far” in trying to expand presidential power.
At the same time, 68% of Americans say the Democratic Party is “out of touch with the concerns of most people in the United States today,” compared to 63% who feel the same way about Trump, and 61% who say the Republican Party is out of touch.
Voters will weigh in on the state of the country this fall as the federal government remains shut down, with Democrats locked in a battle with Republicans and the Trump administration over federal spending and health care.
Americans blame both parties for the logjam that is jeopardizing some federal programs and frozen pay for hundreds of thousands of government workers. The message some voters send this week could potentially break the impasse, and jump start talks to reopen the government.
(NEW YORK) — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday he is “hopeful” a government shutdown can be avoided as Congress lurches toward its Tuesday deadline to reach a spending agreement.
Jeffries’ comments come after President Donald Trump canceled a meeting last week with Jeffries and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to hammer out a deal before saying Saturday he’d meet with the Democrats and Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday.
“Our view going into the meeting is that we want to find bipartisan common ground, to find a spending agreement that avoids a government shutdown and actually meets the needs of the American people in terms of their health, their safety, and their economic well-being,” Jeffries told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
One of the main points of contention between Democrats and Republicans has been the impending expiration of the Affordable Care Act’s tax credits, which Democrats are fighting to extend.
“We know they don’t expire till the end of the year, so why not approve this and just get seven more weeks to negotiate?” Raddatz asked.
“Well, because notices are going to go out in a matter of days and it’s going to be a shock to the system of everyday Americans who are already struggling to get by,” Jeffries said.
Responding to Jeffries later on “This Week,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise advocated for passing a short-term funding bill and continuing negotiations into the coming months.
“Let’s let those talks continue till November with this short-term government funding bill that’s in the Senate,” Scalise said. “But it’s the same levels of funding that the Senate voted for, Democrats included, back in March.”
Scalise noted that he, like Jeffries, is hopeful that a shutdown can be avoided.
“I’m not only hopeful, I, Speaker Johnson, all my Republican colleagues voted to prevent a government shutdown, and we passed that bill to the Senate,” Scalise said.
“There’s still time for an agreement to be reached. I’m glad that President Trump is showing leadership and meeting with all leaders, Republican and Democrat, Monday in the White House,” he added.
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Monday denied a bid from former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis to appeal her $100,000 damages suit and get the justices to revisit the landmark 2015 decision in Obergefell v Hodges.
The court did not explain its decision.
Davis gained international attention after she refused to issue a marriage license to a gay couple on religious grounds in open defiance of the high court’s ruling and was subsequently jailed for six days. A jury later awarded the couple $100,000 for emotional damages plus $260,000 for attorneys fees.
In a petition for writ of certiorari filed in August, Davis argued First Amendment protection for free exercise of religion immunizes her from personal liability for the denial of marriage licenses.
She also claimed the court’s decision in Obergefell v Hodges — which rooted marriage rights for LGBTQ couples in the 14th Amendment’s due process protections — was “legal fiction.”
Lower courts had dismissed Davis’ claims and most legal experts considered her bid a long shot.
Davis’ appeal to the Supreme Court comes as conservative opponents of marriage rights for same-sex couples pursue a renewed campaign to reverse legal precedent and allow each state to set its own policy.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — House Oversight Republicans released a blistering report Tuesday morning that details their findings into former President Joe Biden’s mental acuity and his use of the autopen — calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to examine all executive actions taken during the prior administration, as well as scrutinize the actions of three senior officials who refused to comply with the panel’s closed-door interviews for fear of criminal prosecution.
Democrats quickly dismissed the report as a “sham” — with Biden’s post-presidency office calling it “baseless.”
The 100-page report includes links to transcripts and video of their closed-door depositions conducted with 14 top Biden administration officials, including three senior officials — Anthony Bernal, Annie Tomasini and Dr. Kevin O’Connor — who invoked their Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate themselves rather than answer the committee’s questions.
The committee previously released videos of those three officials declining to testify following their respective depositions. Other aides repeatedly defended Biden’s mental fitness, maintaining that he was mentally engaged in the decision-making process in the White House.
“The Biden Autopen Presidency will go down as one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history,” Oversight Chairman James Comer said in a statement.
Comer claimed Biden’s inner circle “sought to deceive the public” and conceal “his decline.” He said the report reveals how several of Biden’s aides “colluded to mislead the public and the extraordinary measures they took to sustain the appearance of presidential authority as Biden’s capacity to function independently diminished.”
A Biden spokesperson criticized the report, claiming there was no wrongdoing at the Biden White House.
“This investigation into baseless claims has confirmed what has been clear from the start: President Biden made the decisions of his presidency. There was no conspiracy, no cover-up, and no wrongdoing,” the Biden spokesperson said. “Congressional Republicans should stop focusing on political retribution and instead work to end the government shutdown.”
Biden has previously defended the use of autopen.
“The autopen is, you know, is legal. As you know, other presidents used it, including Trump. But the point is that, you know, we’re talking about a whole lot of people,” Biden said.
Comer said that executive actions performed by Biden White House staff and signed by autopen should be “null and void.”
“We have provided Americans with transparency about the Biden Autopen Presidency, and now there must be accountability,” Comer stated.
Comer’s comments echo some of President Donald Trump’s remarks about Biden’s use of autopen — including saying that the pardons Biden approved should be voided because they were signed using an autopen. Trump has said he has used an autopen for some trivial matters, but criticized its use for pardons.
The House committee claimed it found “substantial evidence” that Biden “experienced significant mental and physical decline during his presidency,” while senior White House officials “actively sought to conceal his deterioration from the public.”
Bondi said in a Tuesday post on X that her staff has “already initiated a review of the Biden administration’s reported use of autopen for pardons” and called the report “extremely helpful.”
Speaker Mike Johnson commented on the report Tuesday morning, repeating Comer’s calls to void “every executive action signed by the autopen without written authorization from President Biden.”
“This is an unprecedented situation in American politics and government,” Johnson said Tuesday when asked whether documents signed by the autopen on Biden’s behalf should be “null and void,” as the report concluded. “There is no legal precedent because no previous president … had the audacity to have people signing things on their behalf when they didn’t even know what was in it.”
Oversight Democrats have dismissed the investigation throughout the monthslong probe — complaining about the GOP’s “obsession” with the former president.
“Despite this sham investigation, every White House official testified President Biden fully executed his duties as President of the United States. The testimonies also make it clear the former President authorized every executive order, pardon, and use of the autopen,” House Oversight Ranking Member Robert Garcia said in a statement to ABC News.
House Oversight Democrats released a short 14-page counter report on Tuesday — arguing that the Republicans have “failed to produce any evidence to support their allegations against President Biden.”
Trump has continued to criticize and troll Biden’s use of the autopen — even hanging a picture of an autopen signing Biden’s signature alongside portraits of past presidents in the new Presidential Walk of Fame on the White House West Colonnade.
The committee also sent a letter to Dr. Andrea Anderson, chair of the District of Columbia Board of Medicine, calling on her to investigate whether the actions of O’Connor, Biden’s White House physician, should disqualify him from future practice in the nation’s capital.
“Based on the nature and extent of Dr. O’Connor’s actions, the Committee recommends that the Board of Medicine impose discipline, sanction, or revocation of his medical license,” the letter states. “If Dr. O’Connor failed to meet his minimum standard of care to the president, intentionally misled the American public, or authored false health reports on President Biden, then the Committee believes Dr. O’Connor should be barred from the practice of medicine in the District of Columbia.”
ABC News has reached out to O’Connor’s lawyer for comment.
When O’Connor spoke before the committee, his lawyer, David Schertler, said in a statement that the doctor “asserted the physician-patient privilege, as well as his right under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, in declining to answer questions from the staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding his service as Physician to the President during the Biden Administration.”
Oversight Republicans also knocked Democrats for passive participation in the investigation — clocking the total time of their questioning to “only about 3 hours and 30 minutes’ worth of questions” over nearly 47 hours of depositions and transcribed interviews.
