Voters head to polls as closely contested Senate races could determine control of Congress

After months of campaign rallies, debates and political advertisements, Americans are casting their final ballots Tuesday in midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

(NBC)- After months of campaign rallies, debates and political advertisements, Americans are casting their final ballots Tuesday in midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

More than 57 million early votes have already been cast nationwide as candidates make their final appeals to voters.

Democrats need to gain four seats to take control of the U.S. Senate, with several closely contested races drawing national attention. In Michigan, Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has faced repeated criticism from President Donald Trump while competing against Republican Mike Rogers for an open Senate seat.

“Donald Trump can’t seem to figure out what my actual name is,” El-Sayed said. “At some point, I’m gonna teach him how to say my name properly, but after tomorrow, he could just call me Senator.”

The race saw a late development when Democratic Representative Haley Stevens endorsed Rogers instead of El-Sayed.

Rogers said the endorsement reflected a willingness to put shared values ahead of party affiliation.

“We both knew that we both loved America, and we loved America more than we loved our parties,” Rogers said.

In Alaska, controversy continues over two candidates named Dan Sullivan appearing on the Senate ballot. The situation has prompted accusations of political manipulation in the race between Democratic candidate Mary Peltola and incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan. Alaska voter Joe Geldhof said he believes voters understand the main contest.

“There isn’t anybody at this point who doesn’t understand that the choice comes down between Mary Peltola and the incumbent, Dan Sullivan,” Geldhof said.

Texas is also drawing attention as Republican Ken Paxton faces Democrat James Talarico in a competitive Senate race.

“Texas has never been this close to slipping away,” Paxton told supporters. “We have never been this close to losing everything that we hold dear.”

Trump made a final campaign appearance Monday at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, urging voters to support Republican candidates.

“America is ready to go. They’re ready to vote,” Trump said. “I hope they’re ready to do the right thing.”

The president described the election as “the most important midterm in our lifetime.”

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court rejected a federal government request to require California to keep approximately 20,000 mail-in ballots separate from other votes. The Trump administration argued that the ballots could have been cast by noncitizens. California election officials disputed the administration’s information and emphasized that voting by noncitizens is already illegal.

With polls closing Tuesday, attention is turning to the results of races that will determine which party controls Congress.