Washington: Voters struggling with high prices and angry over an unpopular war with Iran will decide Tuesday whether to drastically shift power in Washington in midterm elections that will serve as a referendum on President Donald Trump's second term.
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Democrats were cautiously optimistic as they watched Republicans spend the campaign's final stretch pumping tens of millions of dollars into states and districts that Trump won handily two years ago. They're betting that discontent over Trump's failure to deliver on his promise to tackle rising costs and perceptions that he has focused more on gilding the nation's capital than on their pain at the pump will depress Republican turnout and drive their own voters to the polls.
Republicans held out hope their money advantage would help stem the tide, but they were bracing to lose control of the US House and fighting to hang onto the US Senate — an outcome that seemed unlikely earlier this year, given a map widely seen as favouring their party.
Still, margins are tight in both chambers; one or two seats could tip the balance. Democrats need a net gain of four seats in the 100-member Senate to win the majority, an uphill climb because many of the most competitive races are in historically red states. In the 435-member House, they need only three.
More than 57 million people had already cast ballots as of Monday, with turnout surpassing the early vote four years ago in many closely watched states.
Trump, whose party has struggled when he's not running to turn out the low-propensity voters who've fuelled his victories, has told voters to act as though he is running, even as many Republican candidates have tried to keep their distance.
“I really want you to pretend I'm on the ballot,” he told the crowd in Salina, Kansas, on Sunday at the final of several dozen rallies in the campaign's closing weeks.
On Tuesday, Mark Barker, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, said Trump was very much top of mind as he voted. “I've just been following Trump the whole time. I really think he's doing an awesome job,” said Barker, noting the president's promise of $5,000 for every US adult if Republicans retain control of Congress, border policy and war in the Middle East. “Everything he's done has been outstanding.”
In Raleigh, North Carolina, 57-year-old librarian James Moore said he voted for Democrats to push back on Trump's big tax breaks and spending cuts bill. “I'm paying more taxes. I'm paying more for my healthcare. I'm paying more for everything,” he said. “We need more representatives in Congress that are going to stand up to Trump.”
Trump's aggressive schedule had stops in the reddest states, including Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas, underscoring his party's challenges.
He has also continued to make false claims about voting fraud, such as insisting noncitizens are casting ballots en masse. His administration has filed lawsuits in Alaska and California, and Democrats fear interference and voter intimidation as his Justice Department threatens to prosecute local election officials.
