Trump makes fevered campaign push in final weekend before election
The US president rallied in states that Republicans previously won - showcasing how tight Tuesday's elections could be in determining control of Congress.
Trump mounts intense campaign push in final weekend before election
In the final weekend before the crucial midterm elections, Donald Trump made one last appeal to voters in the hope of preserving Republican control of the US Congress.
Trump staged rallies in Florida, Iowa and Kansas — states he had won in earlier elections — underscoring the defensive posture Republicans were taking in Tuesday’s contests.
With voters angry about rising prices, especially fuel, Trump tried to ease those worries and redirect attention toward attacking Democrats, saying they would "bankrupt" families if elected.
Polls indicate Democrats have a strong chance of winning at least partial control of Congress, which would serve as a check on Trump’s power and disrupt the final two years of his presidency.
Trump has been campaigning relentlessly across the country ahead of the vote, including in places once seen as secure Republican territory.
Over the weekend, Trump argued for his party at rallies in Kansas, Florida and Iowa, and also in tele-rallies for candidates in states such as Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
In earlier elections, Trump won Florida, Iowa and Kansas with ease — states once viewed as reliably Republican — but his visits there in the closing days of the campaign showed how competitive they have become in the fight for control of Congress.
Trump told supporters he had changed the country, saying Democrats had left the US in a "dark age" but that under his leadership, "we quickly turned it into the golden age of America".
Trump is confronting a backlash over the cost of living.
Prices have risen, especially for fuel, groceries and health care, since the war in Iran began more than eight months ago. At these rallies, Trump seemed to have two goals: to shift attention away from those problems and to use fear to drive Republican turnout.
At rallies in Florida and Iowa, he emphasized his trade and immigration policies and said that if Democrats were handed power, they would "open the border", "bankrupt your family", "take away your guns" and "mutilate your children". He also showed video montages of Democrats criticising ICE and backing transgender rights.
Supporters in the crowd cheered, but some Republicans have also expressed unease about Trump’s appeal to more moderate voters.
Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries said this weekend that he was "very confident" his party was on track to win control of the House of Representatives, as senior Democrats including former President Barack Obama made their final appeals to voters.
A forecasting tool from Harvard University that analyzes and combines multiple polls and historical data says Democrats have a 96% chance of taking the House and a 76% chance of taking the Senate.
A national NBC News poll released this weekend suggests registered voters favor a Democrat-controlled Congress by 7 points, with Republicans trailing 52% to 45%.
Alongside the final campaign stops, the weekend also brought a dramatic development in the Michigan Senate race, a closely fought seat currently held by Democrats.
Haley Stevens, a sitting congresswoman who lost the Democratic Senate nomination to Abdul El-Sayed, endorsed Republican candidate Mike Rogers on Sunday.
The decision drew broad condemnation from fellow Democrats and praise from Republicans, including Trump, who called her "very brave".
In Alaska, the site of another key Senate race, a judge on Sunday rejected an effort by the Trump administration to delay certifying election results if the Republican incumbent candidate loses because two candidates are listed on the ballot with the same name.
Ahead of the election, Trump and his administration have repeatedly questioned both the credibility and security of the vote, despite evidence that voter fraud is rare. The justice department has opened investigations or sought to have votes thrown out in several US states.
The stakes are high for Trump, since midterm results are widely viewed as a test of how satisfied Americans are with a president’s performance.
In most midterm elections, the party in the White House usually loses congressional seats to the opposition — meaning Trump’s Republican party has the most to lose.
Republicans, who now hold narrow majorities in both the House of Representatives and Senate, do not want to give up their control of Congress, since losing seats would make it harder for them to pass legislation and influence policy.
Democrats, meanwhile, are eager to take control from Republicans. Winning a majority would allow them to challenge Trump’s agenda, give them investigative authority over his administration, and could also help them present their vision for America before the 2028 presidential election.
For lawmakers, the issue is gaining or keeping power and control, but it is Americans who will experience the effects of their policies.
Who is elected at the city, state and federal levels affects many parts of voters’ daily lives, including gas prices, rising inflation and grocery costs, health care and abortion access, income and property taxes, and immigration.