Election night tips, impeachment plans, sunlight

Richard Hall | November 03, 2026

Hello and happy Election Day to all those who celebrate.

If you’re one of those people who cannot wait patiently for results, and prefer instead to torture yourself with exit polls and cable news, we’re here to guide you through it. TIME’s Philip Elliott, a D.C. veteran, shares some advice below on how to stay sane on election night.

We also have an exclusive interview with a top House Democrat who has come around to the idea of impeaching President Donald Trump if his party takes back the House.

IN TODAY’S BRIEF

Trump’s closing message
Impeachment on the table
Dem power duo
Why you need more sunlight
How to stay sane on election night
El-Sayed’s fundraising haul
AI spelling bee

READ THIS FIRST

Trump delivers closing appeal before midterms

Aaron Schwartz—Bloomberg/Getty Images

Less than 24 hours before Election Day, President Donald Trump railed against the Democratic Party and contended that if his supporters show up to the polls, Republicans “will win in a landslide.”

Speaking in front of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday afternoon, Trump said that this year’s midterm election is “the most important midterm, I believe, in our lifetime.” He leveled a number of attacks against Democrats, including claiming that the party has “nominated the most extreme and dangerous slate of candidates in American history.” He accused Democrats of having a “radical agenda” and criticized their stances on policies ranging from transgender rights to immigration.

Republicans are facing a particularly challenging political climate this year. Trump’s approval rating has fallen to a historic low ahead of Election Day; the last time a President’s approval rating dropped to a comparable level ahead of a midterm election was in 1946, during Harry Truman’s first term. —Chantelle Lee

Read the full story here.

VIEW FROM D.C.

Why a top House Democrat now supports impeaching Trump

Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

When the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee was asked by TIME in May about the prospect of impeaching President Donald Trump, he declined to commit, warning that every impeachment he had witnessed during his decades in Congress had left its target politically stronger. Five months later, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington is prepared to take that risk.

With Democrats hoping to reclaim control of the House in Tuesday's midterm elections, Smith says that he now supports impeaching Trump and is inclined to also back proceedings against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, making him one of the most senior Democrats to endorse such a course.

"Trump has become beyond dangerous. He is just completely out of control in what he says and how he is governing," Smith told TIME in an interview a week before the election. "I think we have to try, even if it doesn't succeed."

Why it matters:

Smith's support is particularly significant because he would be in line to chair the Armed Services Committee if Democrats win the House, putting him at the center of investigations into the Pentagon's handling of the war with Iran, its approach to Ukraine, and military operations in Latin America.
His position comes as Democrats prepare for the possibility of reclaiming congressional power with little agreement over how aggressively to confront the President. —Nik Popli

Read the full story here.

HAPPENING NOW

Two of the most effective Democrats of the midterms aren't on the ballot

Graeme Sloan—Bloomberg/Getty Images; John Tully—Getty Images

One is a former mayor, former Transportation Secretary, and White House hopeful. The other preaches from the pulpit once occupied by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he isn’t casting votes in the Senate.

Neither Pete Buttigieg nor Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia is on the ballot this year, but both have been all over the campaign trail, stumping for candidates across the country ahead of today’s midterm elections.

Democratic operatives say they are two of the most in-demand boosters this cycle. While the likes of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York are surefire base pleasers and former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are draws for legacy Democrats, Warnock and Buttigieg offer an efficient and plain-spoken manner that admirers say cuts across ideologies and generations.

It’s the kind of positive feedback that is sure to gain notice as handicapping for the 2028 presidential race begins in earnest after Tuesday. —Philip Elliott

Read the full story here.

HEALTH CHECK

The surprising link between sunlight and blood sugar

Ippei Naoi—Getty Images

Now that clocks have fallen back, many Americans face a dreary daily reality: finishing the workday after the sun has set. That could be problematic for health, since sunlight benefits us in many ways. It helps regulate our internal clocks, boosts mood, and supports the production of vitamin D, which is essential for bone and overall health. Emerging research offers yet another reason to soak up the sunshine while you can, linking more sunlight exposure to improved metabolism and lower blood sugar.

“Light is an underestimated lifestyle factor when it comes to metabolism,” says Patrick Schrauwen, a senior scientist at the German Diabetes Center in Düsseldorf who has been studying this relationship. “We focus on diet and exercise, but I think exposure to natural light also plays a role.”

What to know:

An August study of more than 420,000 people in the U.K. linked greater sunlight exposure to lower blood sugar. The same study found that people who use tanning beds—which, like the sun, emit UV radiation—had significantly lower likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes.
As winter approaches and evenings darken earlier, experts say accumulating research supports the idea that people should get outside when they can. —Dominique Mosbergen

Read the full story here.

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IN FOCUS

How to stay sane on election night

Lindsey Wasson—Associated Press

It’s tempting to start tonight clicking refresh on the vote tallies as soon as some of the first polls close in Indiana and Kentucky at 6 p.m. Eastern. It would be a waste of time.

This year’s high-stakes midterm elections have drawn intense interest as they stand to shape the final two years of President Donald Trump’s dominance of U.S. politics. Forecasters say the House is poised to flip to a Democratic majority while the Senate remains a jump ball. Polls have shown Trump as a record-breaking unpopular figure who stands to be a drag on fellow Republicans. Yet cash is on the GOP’s side, gerrymandered House districts may prove a safeguard against a national mood, and Democratic confidence may translate to a cockiness that keeps them home.

In short: it is likely to be a long night, if not a week, until the total picture is known. After all, polls for the contested Senate race in Alaska won’t close until 1 a.m. on the East Coast’s clocks. In the last midterm elections, the Senate took four days to call and the House outcome wasn’t known for eight full days.

Complicating matters are the expectations and innuendo that Republicans have been seeding for months. Trump’s drumbeat of rigged elections has led to a seismic drop in confidence in democracy. His fight in the courts against state election processes, and his efforts to curb voting rights all threaten to depress participation. State election officials—especially in red states—have slimmed down voting sites, making it harder for residents to cast ballots. And a midterm air war that is approaching $12 billion—more than the last presidential tally—has voters intensely ready to turn the page on this election season.

Yet, here’s the thing: this is the core of this nation’s identity. As the world’s longest enduring democracy, the United States’ experiment has survived not just through engagement but through patience. Democracy is not social media. Instant gratification via Instagram is not the same as representation. Just because things take time doesn’t mean there’s something hinky about them; it means they’re worth getting right.

So as we head into the vote counting, starting as the sun sets on precincts, that does not mean it’s lights out on democracy. It just means the next days of the United States are taking shape, thanks to millions of Americans who chose to show up. So have patience, keep the faith, but feel free to keep clicking refresh. —Philip Elliott

ONE NUMBER

$2.4 million

Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan Senate campaign said it raised $2.4 million on Sunday, its largest single-day fundraising haul, following his former primary opponent Haley Stevens’ surprise endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers. Most of it came from more than 65,000 donors giving an average of $36.74.

SOURCE: REUTERS

A VIRAL MOMENT

How many E’s?

Matt Husk is a comedian and content creator whose videos poking fun at the weaknesses of artificial intelligence have made him a viral hit. His deadpan delivery in this video, in which his AI tries and fails a basic spelling task, is a classic of the genre.