President Donald Trump and Republicans are hoping to recover from recent losses as Tennessee voters choose a representative for the conservative 7th Congressional District on Tuesday. The special election follows Rep. Mark Green's resignation this summer. The race has seen a surge in spending, with Republican Matt Van Epps receiving over $1 million from Trump-backing super PAC MAGA Inc. The House Majority PAC supported Democrat Aftyn Behn with $1 million. Democrats recently won big in New Jersey and Virginia, and a strong showing in Tennessee could boost them ahead of midterms next November. Both parties have focused on turnout, as early voting coincided with Thanksgiving week.

As the leadup to the 2026 midterm elections begins, social media users — among them billionaire X owner Elon Musk, who briefly served as a top advisor to President Donald Trump — have claimed that it is illegal for voters to show ID when casting a ballot in New York and California. This is false. Voters in both states need to show ID when it is necessary to complete their registration, but it is not required otherwise.

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FILE - Election workers process ballots for the 2024 General Election, Nov. 5, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

The economy and rising prices were high on the minds of voters on Election Day, and those concerns contributed to a Democratic sweep of statewide offices in Virginia and New Jersey. The voting pattern in two traditionally Republican counties in each state is evidence of how strongly Democrats campaigned on pocketbook issues. Spotsylvania County in Virginia and Morris County in New Jersey backed Donald Trump and Republican candidates for governor in earlier elections. This month, voters in those counties went with Democrats up and down the ballot. With congressional midterm elections in 2026, the November results have sent a message to conservatives who hold power in Washington.

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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks after the final vote to bring the longest government shutdown in history to an end, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., walks from the chamber to speak with reporters after the final vote to bring the longest government shutdown in history to an end, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., joined at left by Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., arrives to speak with reporters after the final vote to bring the longest government shutdown in history to an end, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)