First polls close in pivotal US midterm elections

After a full day of voting, the first polls have begun closing in the consequential US midterm elections.

Control of the US Congress is on the line, with all 435 House of Representatives seats and 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats up for grabs.

Democrats, who have campaigned on promises to combat the country’s rising cost of living and end the US-Israel war on Iran, are eyeing a return to power in the US House. The party is also optimistic it could recapture control of the US Senate from Republicans when all ballots are counted.

The first clues to how the midterms may affect each party will appear in the US state of Kentucky’s highly competitive sixth congressional district, where polls closed at 6pm ET (23:00 GMT).

In the conservative district, which includes the state’s second-largest city, Lexington, Democrats have invested heavily in the campaign of US Navy veteran Zach Dembo, who is running against a Trump-backed physician and former state lawmaker, Ralph Alvarado.

If Republicans hold the seat, it could signal how the party may perform in other races across the country.

Results from all of the day’s races will continue to come in throughout Tuesday evening. But some may not be known until Wednesday, or later, as more states finish voting and officials start releasing their vote counts.

Follow all the returns on Al Jazeera’s live results page.