Meanwhile, in North Carolina... Marti Maguire speaks to voters in Raleigh:

At a polling place in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday afternoon, Edward Sanders, 59, said the economy was his number one issue and expressed increasing frustration with Democrats’ policies.

After voting for Democrat Kay Hagan for the U.S. Senate in 2008, Sanders said he decided this time to go with her challenger, Republican Thom Tillis.

“I don't particularly like Tillis, but he seemed more likely to shake things up in Washington,” Sanders said, a mechanical engineer.

Sanders said he would like to see Congress simplify the tax code and start repealing policies that hurt small businesses, such as some environmental standards and provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

Kyle Stephenson, 26, an accountant, said he recently switched parties from Republican to Democrat. He cited widening economic inequality as his key issue.

“It seems like the gap between the really rich and the rest of us is just getting bigger and bigger," he said. “It’s gotten harder and harder for regular Americans to make a living."

He said he was not concerned about Washington gridlock stalling progress.

“You don't want progress to move too quickly in either direction because you end up with extremes," Stephenson said. “What we need is balance."

How's it going in Louisiana? Our Jonathan Kaminsky sends an update from New Orleans:

Early voting data from Louisiana shows robust turnout among Democrats and African-Americans. But those figures will likely be of limited comfort to Democratic U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, who is fighting an uphill battle to retain her seat, with most analysts predicting a December runoff against Republican challenger Bill Cassidy, a U.S. congressman.

Nearly 53 percent of early voters are registered Democrats, according to data from the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office, while about 34 percent are Republicans. About 245,000 early votes had been tallied as of Nov. 4, accounting for 8.4 percent of registered voters.

Those figures are deceiving, however, as many registered Democrats in the state have long voted Republican, with little incentive to change their party affiliation given the state’s open primaries, said Kurt Corbello, associate professor of political science at Southeastern Louisiana University.

African-Americans, who overwhelmingly support Landrieu, account for 32.5 percent of early voters - a robust figure, but below their early voting ratios in 2008 and 2012, when Barack Obama’s presence at the top of the ticket compelled many black voters to go to the polls.

“Landrieu’s in trouble and it will be left to the get-out-the-vote machine that both sides have set up to determine the outcome,” Corbello said.

Costly U.S. Senate race in North Carolina in dead heat

(Reuters) - After the most expensive U.S. Senate race in history, North Carolina voters were set on Tuesday to choose between Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan and Republican Thom Tillis in a matchup that will help decide majority control of the chamber.

More than $108 million has been spent on the contest, according to the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation. Yet the candidates remained nearly before Election Day, with the RealClearPolitics poll average showing Hagan up by just 0.7 percentage point.

Hagan, 61, is seeking a second term in a polarized state that has leaned more heavily in favor of Republicans since she beat Elizabeth Dole for the seat in 2008.

Read more

Our David Beasley checks in with voters in Atlanta:

In suburban Atlanta, Josh Bailey, a 32-year-old medical clinic director, said he was voting for Republican candidates David Perdue and Nathan Deal in the state’s close Senate and gubernatorial races, respectively.

Bailey said he did not believe the election was about President Barack Obama's policies. But, he added, "Obamacare doesn't sit well with me."

Photographer Ben Rollins, 31, was in an anti-incumbent mood as he voted against Deal, the incumbent governor, on Tuesday. Deal is being challenged by Democrat Jason Carter, grandson of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

“I don’t like the way things in Georgia are run right now,” Rollins said. “There needs to be some sort of change. I came out to vote for people who aren’t in right now.”

Rollins said he also voted for Democrat Michelle Nunn in the state’s Senate race because he wants more gender diversity among elected officials.

“I voted for her because I want change and diversity, which Georgia needs more of,” he said.

This just in from correspondent Brendan O’Brien:

It is damp, windy and cool fall day in Wisconsin. Jordan Wescott, who supports Republican Governor Scott Walker, voted at Manitoba Elementary School on Milwaukee's south side on Tuesday morning before heading to work.

"I think we are moving the right way," Wescott said. "I feel he's an honest person and he's very black and white on issues and he stays out of the social issues, which I like."

The 33-year-old Wescott, who runs a construction company and is a 14-year veteran of the Wisconsin Air National Guard, said he is a fiscal conservative, but leans liberal on social issues such as gay marriage, which he supports.

"I think if we get the money in order and get people working, the rest of those issues will work themselves out," he said.

Wescott also voted for Republican Dan Sebring, who is challenging incumbent Gwen Moore for the 4th Congressional District seat. He said change in Washington is needed to stop the gridlock.

"I would like to see stuff start moving along and see some bills brought to the floor," he said.

Milwaukee cabbie Sukhdev Singh, 33, and his wife Meenu, 34, also voted at Manitoba Elementary School.

“I’m not that political, I just came to vote to be a good citizen,” he said.

The couple refused to disclose who they voted for, saying they hold both political parties accountable for the shape of the country.

“Everybody is the same. It’s not a big difference,” he said.

Factbox: Republicans poised to expand control of U.S. House of Representatives

(Reuters) - With all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives up for election on Tuesday, Republicans are expected to expand their majority amid dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama, whose approval ratings have dipped to 38 percent.

Republicans, who currently control 233 out of 435 seats in the House, may pick up ten or more in Tuesday's balloting – not enough to override a presidential veto, but good for bragging rights as the party accumulates what could be its biggest majority since the late 1940s.

Take a look at the breakdown here