American voters will deliver a verdict on the first two years of President Donald Trump’s second term in Tuesday’s midterm elections, with polls and nonpartisan analysts favoring Democrats to wrest the House from Republicans while control of the Senate remains uncertain.
The battle for the Senate is unfolding across nearly 10 closely contested statewide races, most in Republican strongholds.
History is against Trump’s Republicans: the sitting president’s party has lost ground in Congress in all but two midterm elections since World War Two. Trump’s approval rating is hovering near his all-time lows, dragged down by deep voter frustration over the war with Iran and the resulting rise in fuel prices.
There is little doubt this year’s election is all about Trump, the central United States (US) political figure for most of the last decade.
Trump himself has told his supporters repeatedly to “pretend I’m on the ballot,” a message Democratic leader have happily echoed.
He has sought to energise his base with more than two dozen campaign rallies since the start of October, the vast majority in states he easily won in 2024, underscoring the extent to which Republicans are playing defence.
Led by Trump, Republicans have portrayed Democratic candidates as radical, un-American and even communist.
–Reuters–
