U.S. midterms put Congress, campaign spending and markets in focus

U.S. voters will decide control of Congress on November 3, with all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats on the ballot, alongside gubernatorial and other state races. Republicans hold a narrow 218-214 House majority, with two vacancies and one independent who caucuses with them, while Democrats need a net gain of several seats to retake the chamber, according to The Hindu.

The election has drawn a surge of spending by groups formed shortly before Election Day. CNBC reported that 22 super PACs registered during the final 10 weeks of the campaign and spent at least $1 million each on congressional contests. Together, they reported about $637 million in independent expenditures by October 29, roughly one-sixth of such spending in House and Senate races during the election cycle. Republican-linked groups spent about twice as much as Democratic-linked groups, CNBC found.

Because donor disclosures are filed less frequently than expenditure reports, some voters will not know who financed late-forming groups until after the election. One super PAC formed October 15 had spent about $1.2 million across 10 races by October 29, but its donor report is not due until December 3.

Market coverage has generally anticipated a muted or positive near-term response. The New York Times reported that markets were largely unconcerned about the midterms, while MarketWatch said stocks could rally regardless of which party wins. Reuters argued that the election’s biggest market effect may instead come through the emerging 2028 presidential race.