GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "News Hour."

Millions of Americans from Anchorage to Atlanta are voting on this Election Day.

Polls in some states are just now starting to close, but much of the country still has hours to go.

And we will be here tracking it all.

AMNA NAWAZ: The midterm elections will determine whether control of the House and the Senate will shift to Democrats.

And many see the outcome as a nationwide verdict on President Trump.

Our White House correspondent, Liz Landers, begins our coverage.

LIZ LANDERS: Across America this morning, early risers lined up before sunup... WOMAN: Polls are open.

Come on in.

LIZ LANDERS: ... to make their voices heard with the cast of a ballot on this final day of voting.

KALYN REEVES, Georgia Voter: I'm here before work to do my civil duty.

And I think it's important because this midterm election is a turning point.

LIZ LANDERS: In battleground states coast to coast from Maine to Alaska, contentious campaigns coming to a close as control of Congress hangs in the balance.

MAN: It's about a 50/50, I think.

LIZ LANDERS: All eyes were on Michigan after a weekend that turned the Senate race on its head.

Republican Mike Rogers today lauded the surprise endorsement from Democratic Representative Haley Stevens and her criticisms of his opponent, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.

MIKE ROGERS (R), Michigan Senatorial Candidate: Here's somebody who said, I voted Democrat all the way down the list, except for one person who I think is too extreme for our state.

That's country over party.

LIZ LANDERS: Some voters were swayed by the move.

PAUL STOCKYJ, Michigan Voter: She elected to support the opposition, which is very rare.

It never happens.

So I got to believe that there's something there.

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), Michigan Senatorial Candidate: In the end, this is about what Michigan wants in its politics.

I'm not running to be the first anything.

I'm running to be the next senator for Michigan.

LIZ LANDERS: El-Sayed supporters say their vote was based on issues like affordability.

WALLETTA KEMP, Michigan Voter: My little car that used to take $30 is now almost taking $50.

It's ridiculous.

Families shouldn't have to go through this.

LIZ LANDERS: President Trump mostly laid low this Election Day, but was optimistic on a call with "FOX & Friends."

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: The inflation is solved.

LIZ LANDERS: The president dismissed voter anxieties about rising prices brought on by the war in Iran.

DONALD TRUMP: I think the results are going to be better than you think.

LIZ LANDERS: A polarizing president playing an outsized role in voters' decisions tonight even without his name on the ticket.

PATRICIA WITT, North Carolina Voter: I think President Trump is doing what needs to be done.

NEIL JONES, Maine Voter: The Republican Party has become the Trump party and I just don't feel comfortable for anyone associated with Trump.

LIZ LANDERS: The administration also taking unprecedented steps in combating what President Trump has falsely long decried as widespread voter fraud.

For the first time, the Justice Department deployed election monitors in all 50 states to pursue -- quote -- "transparency for elections in an assertive and nondiscriminatory manner."

In New York today, some voting machines were plagued with technical issues, impacting a key congressional race between Representative Mike Lawler and his Democratic challenger, Cait Conley.

Officials assured that emergency paper ballots will be counted, though it's unclear when.

KEN JENKINS, Westchester County, New York, Executive: Westchester County voters deserve a fair, secure, and seamless election process.

Today, that has fallen short of that standard.

LIZ LANDERS: In Ohio, a controversial race for governor ends tonight, Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton making last minute pitches at the polls.

AMY ACTON (D), Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate: All of us are longing for this chaotic, hate-filled rhetoric to end.

All of us are longing for public servants again, good people on both sides of the aisle.

VIVEK RAMASWAMY (R), Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate: Vote for the person who can actually make your life better.

Vote for the person who you believe in your heart of heart is actually going to make your family's life better.

LIZ LANDERS: Either outcome would be a first for Ohio, and voters say they're looking forward to a new face for the future.

PREETHA KATAPADI, Ohio Voter: First Asian governor or the first woman governor.

LIZ LANDERS: In Texas, James Talarico is also trying to make history as the first Democrat to win a statewide election in three decades if he defeats the longtime attorney general, Republican Ken Paxton.

HANK SEIGMUND, Texas Voter: Ken Paxton, in my eyes, he's done too many things wrong.

And that's just the way I feel about it.

Let somebody else give it a shot.

LIZ LANDERS: Despite a handful of issues at polling locations, election officials from Minnesota to Arizona telling PBS News the voting is running smoothly, with Americans still turning out in record numbers for early voting in some states this midterm cycle, eager to have their voices heard.

AMNA NAWAZ: That's our White House correspondent Liz Landers reporting.

AMNA NAWAZ: Well, we have a full panel of experts here tonight for analysis.

But, first, we turn to our congressional correspondent, Lisa Desjardins, who's at the Super Screen to break down tonight's results.

So Lisa, start us off.

Let's talk about the House.

How are you watching this contest for the Lower Chamber?

And are the first results in yet?

LISA DESJARDINS: Fascinating election we have here, everyone.

To begin with, look at this map.

These are the 89 competitive House seats we're watching tonight, almost every region of the country.

But let's dig into what is going on.

Magic ball, we have a little bit here.

Let's look at the House races.

There is in fact some set of results coming in.

Let's go first here to Indiana, where we're starting to see just some races, a little bit of data coming in from Indiana.

This is not a competitive seat, but we know that Democrats to take over the House need to pick up three seats in net.

One of the first places they are hoping to do that is here in Kentucky's Sixth District.

This is where the Democrat Zach Dembo, he's a former DOJ prosecutor, is taking on state senator Ralph Alvarado.

And I want to show you what's happening here.

This is a district where Republicans won by more than 20 points just two years ago, but yet Democrats are competitive.

This is the kind of place where Democrats are watching, especially early in the night, to see if they have pickups in red states.

GEOFF BENNETT: Lisa, what about the other early races to watch in the House?

LISA DESJARDINS: Yes, exactly.

Let's go back up here to Indiana, another one we're watching that's competitive.

Oh, it looks like maybe we have some results here.

Oh, we do.

This is Indiana's Fifth District.

Victoria Spartz is the Republican incumbent.

She's known for sometimes changing her mind close to a vote.

She's an independent-minded person.

She's up against state Senator J.D.

Ford.

He's the first gay senator in Indiana's history.

This is obviously a big early lead for Ford, but I want to tell you, in Indiana, the way that they count votes is they count the early votes first.

So it makes sense that a Democrat might be leading early on, but these are the first results we have of the night for the House.

AMNA NAWAZ: All right, Lisa, take us over to the Senate now.

We know this is a very close and hard-to-predict contest.

What are you looking at here?

LISA DESJARDINS: I want people to understand a way of understanding the Senate tonight.

Essentially, Democrats need to pick up a net of four seats across the country.

North Carolina, one of the first races we will hear from, that is something that is expected to go to Democrats.

If in fact it does, that means this number four needs to be just three.

There are six now toss-ups in Republican red states.

So if Republicans -- if Democrats can pick up three seats here, plus North Carolina, they can take the Senate.

However, we will see what happens.

There are some less competitive seats that are in play.

Michigan now has been moved by The Cook Political Report to be less competitive.

But if Democrats lose that, then Republicans would have more of an advantage here with the toss-ups.

GEOFF BENNETT: Lisa Desjardins, our thanks to you.