Millions of Americans will head to the polls on 3 November in elections that will determine control of the Republican-held House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the governorships of 36 states.

The midterms come amid mounting public frustration over issues ranging from the rising cost of living and immigration to the climate crisis, artificial intelligence, big tech and the US’s overseas wars. Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 36%, according to a New York Times/Siena poll conducted this month.

Voters across the US described to the Guardian their concerns and disillusionment with the current political climate, with one characterizing the country under the Trump administration as a “rogue nation, ungoverned by the rule of law”. (Some respondents only shared their first name or declined to share their name for privacy reasons.) For many, the cost of living is a central concern ahead of the midterms, particularly as inflation reaches 3.7%.

Kathryn Warren, a retired staff member from Dare county schools who lives on Hatteras Island, North Carolina, said she and her husband had already voted early.

“We are dying on the vine in this economy. We live in a remote area and the cost of gas is taking a big chunk of our social security. Groceries and medicine are outrageous. The medicine that keeps me alive costs $7,000 a month before insurance. In what world is that reasonable?”Warren said.

A 36-year-old counsellor in Tennessee described financial pressures compounded by health issues and expressed concern about the US “sliding into an authoritarian state”.

“I have a migraine medication that costs nearly $2,000 out-of-pocket for a month’s supply. My health insurance has agreed to pay for five months. That’s it. After 24 years of chronic migraines, I have tried everything under the sun and this is the first medication that has ever reduced the pain levels, so it isn’t like I can try some cheaper, knock-off brand. But I find it absurd and financially prohibitive to spend that much on medication every month,” she said.

Vicki Stein, a 66-year-old retired marketing communications professional from Alpine Township, Michigan, said she had already voted for Democrats across the ticket.

“Working Americans can’t afford healthcare, let alone gas nor groceries due to tariffs, and children are losing Snap benefits while we blow our gold on [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s war. We can’t even trust our lettuce under this administration’s [Department of Health and Human Services],” she said, referring to a cyclospora outbreak across 27 states this summer that was traced to contaminated lettuce.

George, a 23-year-old business school graduate in Houston, Texas, also linked the affordability crisis to the administration’s policies, criticizing “Trump’s idiotic tariff scheme”.

“The priorities of both parties are clearly more in line with billionaires than regular people … It has been heartening to see politicians like [James] Talarico abandon that side of politics to focus on affordability and quality of life for average Americans. Who cares about 1% of the population when everyone is struggling?”

George also criticized the US’s war in Iran and called for the US to divest from Israel, saying: “Billions upon billions of American taxpayer dollars spent on killing children. No matter how you cut it, all we get from our investment in Israel is a mountain of dead bodies. Any politician who refuses Aipac money or promises to stop funding Israel’s perma-war has my vote and many other Americans’ as well.”Opposition to the US war in Iran and military aid to Israel remains a driving concern among voters.

Joel Young, a 66-year-old retired civil litigator in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said: “The single most important issue in any election for federal office is whether the candidate or incumbent will approve another dollar, weapon, or material to support Israel, or support the US’s historical pattern of cover for Israel’s apartheid regime and program of ethnic cleansing in place since 1948, which has now clearly become genocidal.”A 30-year-old machine operator and father in Bogalusa, Louisiana, who voted for Trump in 2024, also criticized the “evil war against Iran which must end”.

“Every day it continues is another day that the president scandalizes our service members, taxpayers and nation. It’s also another day of stealing present day purchasing power from embattled American workers, stealing future prosperity from our children through a climbing national debt and stealing tranquility from people in the Middle East,” he added.

Beyond economic pressures and foreign policy, voters also raised concerns about the growing influence of AI and big tech.

Dave Neps, a 74-year-old retired teacher in Georgia, said: “I’m … concerned about the AI financial bubble. This market reminds me of the dotcom crash in the late 90s and the financial crash in 2008. My wife and I lost money both times in those markets. Now I’m looking at a pension and a country that’s heavily invested in AI that so many of us don’t want. Give these guys time and they’ll just turn it into another commodity that we’ll have to pay for like cable TV.”Joy, a 47-year-old insurance executive in north Georgia, similarly raised concerns about the expansion of datacenters and the influence of technology companies on local government.

“I live in rural Georgia where they are buying off local officials to build datacenters and the county and city reps are ignoring their constituents and offering massive tax incentives,” she said, calling for datacenter moratoriums.

The climate crisis and environmental protection were also prominent concerns, particularly among older voters who described witnessing the degradation of natural spaces over their lifetimes.

David Tucker, a 57-year-old registered nurse in Washington, said: “The climate crisis and public lands protection are my main concerns, along with protecting democracy and healthcare funding cuts. I grew up in Utah and spent a lot of time camping and fishing with my parents and siblings on public forests and deserts. Natural spaces and our ecosystem are essential for our survival.”

Similarly, Kaye, a 71-year-old resident of Bothell, Washington, said: “While Donald Trump is evil and incompetent in so many ways, the degradation of the planet is my greatest concern as it is larger than all of us and we’re so close to a tipping point that will be catastrophic. I’m old enough to have known a world with more birds and animal species; where the forests, coasts and plains were so much more alive. Our vile destruction of the land that feeds us is tragic.”Another 78-year-old Washington resident similarly described the climate crisis as the “biggest threat to the planet and causes suffering, disease, fear, inequality”.

“A candidate with a clear track record of ethical standards, who is direct about the threat, and who can muster a coalition to face it will have my vote. This issue is bigger than political affiliation,” she added.

Immigration enforcement and fears of voter intimidation were other major concerns, with some readers expressing alarm about potential federal interference in the midterm elections.

Katie, a 34-year-old arts professional in Denver, Colorado, pointed to the killings of two Americans, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal immigration agents in Minnesota earlier this year.

“Maga lost America when they murdered Renee Good and Alex Pretti. First and foremost I’m concerned about Trump’s immigration secret police, and I am voting for candidates who will defund and prosecute ICE,” Katie said.

Julie Stielstra, a retired librarian living in rural Kansas, said she was worried about the potential presence of immigration agents and armed individuals at polling stations. Stielstra said she would be working as a poll worker the following week.

“I am apprehensive about the possible presence of ICE, which has been active in my state recently … [and] armed government agents or self-appointed ‘poll watchers’ who may be intimidating at best. I trust my county clerk’s vigilance and honor, but worry about federal minions and officials who could disrupt or try to negate or overturn our ballots,” she said.

Those concerns extended beyond intimidation at polling stations to the possibility that the Trump administration could challenge the election results.

Richard Corcoran, a 63-year-old licensed clinical social worker in Lumberton, North Carolina, said: “I do not have faith that the federal government under Trump and Republican control of Congress and the supreme court will respect the outcome of this election. I expect problems in the aftermath,” he said.

Michael Pitts-Campbell, a 78-year-old law enforcement retiree living in Brookings, Oregon, similarly worried that Trump would reject a Democratic victory.

“My biggest concern is that if the results of the election are overwhelmingly Democratic, Trump will claim that the election results are false. Whether the appropriate member of the government attempts to not certify the vote or not seat the new representatives and senators, the proclamation from Trump will only widen the current political chasm,” he said.

But even among voters hoping for a Democratic victory, there was little consensus that the party would be prepared to deliver the changes they want.

Several readers expressed concern that Democrats could fail to use a potential congressional majority to enact effective change.

For a 52-year-old insurance professional in New Lenox, Illinois, their “biggest fear is that despite a likely massive Democrat wins, they will not have the guts to do what is necessary to prosecute this administration and pass laws that are sorely needed limiting the powers of the president, abolishing [the Department of Homeland Security] and establishing Medicare for all”.

D Turner, a California resident, similarly said: “I’m concerned that the reflexive centrist impulses of current Democratic leadership and advisers will assume that if they just get a majority, everything will be back to normal. There is so much hard work that needs to be done to preserve the rights of all.”Brad Southard, a 54-year-old teacher in Irvine, California, criticized Democratic leaders for focusing “too much on courting the illusive ‘undecided middle’ to the detriment of the needs of working-class people”.

“I worry that the party will again choose to seize defeat from the jaws of victory by supporting pro-corporate neoliberal candidates and policies and refuse to pay attention to the real material pain felt by so many Americans,” Southard added.

For other voters, disillusionment extended beyond either party’s leadership, reflecting a broader lack of faith in the US political system.

Mark, a 68-year-old retiree in Parma, Ohio, said both parties had become too beholden to wealthy interests to represent ordinary Americans.

“Both political parties share the blame. The GOP has morphed into something even worse than the [Democrats]. Neither party offers policies that meet the needs of the people. Rather, both parties are captured by moneyed interests. It just turns out the GOP has openly embraced the dark side while the [Democrats] are more coy about their corruption.”