Charleston, South Carolina(National Times)- Americans voted on Tuesday in pivotal midterm elections, with Democrats hoping to seize control of Congress and impose the first significant checks on Donald Trump\u2019s chaotic second term in the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Multiple polls predict Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives and have a shot at seizing the Senate on the back of voter resentment at a deeply unpopular president, soaring energy costs and the dragging conflict with Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Republicans losing the House would give Democrats the power to stall Trump\u2019s legislative agenda and launch sweeping investigations of his administration. A Senate defeat would also threaten his ability to appoint Supreme Court justices and senior officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voters cast their ballots inside a polling location in the social hall at St Patrick\u2019s Church on November 3, 2026 in Youngstown, Ohio. \u2014 AFP
Donta Comer, a 38-year-old project manager in an Atlanta suburb, told AFP he \u201cvoted for mostly Democratic candidates\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just about the cost of living, gas prices, those kind of things,\u201d Comer said. \u201cIt needs to change for the everyday person and I\u2019m an everyday person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump defended his record in a final TV phone-in pitch to voters on Tuesday, saying he had rebuilt the country through his immigration crackdown, war on Iran and tariff policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have to keep America great. We\u2019re great now. We were terrible two years ago,\u201d Trump told \u201cFox & Friends\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The election amounts to a nationwide judgment on Trump, with the mood turning sharply against Republicans amid anger over soaring living costs and the war on Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All 435 House seats and 35 of the 100 Senate seats are at stake, along with governorships in 36 states. Democrats need only three House gains and a net four seats in the Senate to wrest both chambers from Republican hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump returned to office last year promising to bring down prices, but inflation, tariffs and fuel costs inflated by the Middle East conflict have squeezed Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A person holds a sticker, during the US midterm elections, in Durham, North Carolina, US, November 3. \u2014 Reuters
The 80-year-old\u2019s approval rating has hovered near the low 30s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, retired teacher Jane Callum, 77, was among Democrats canvassing for Senator Jon Ossoff, who framed the race as a watershed moment for the country\u2019s future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI really feel an obligation to do everything that I possibly can to change the direction that our country is going in now, and put it more on the path to democracy and away from autocracy,\u201d she told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Economic discontent
Republicans insist that Trump\u2019s tax cuts and immigration crackdown will benefit Americans, and they are portraying Democratic candidates as left-wing radicals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in his final public campaign appearance Monday, Trump barely touched on the economy and spent most of the time in a rambling talk about his problem-plagued renovation of Washington\u2019s Reflecting Pool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democratic US Senate candidate Chris Pappas speaks to members of the media after voting in the US midterm elections at Webster Elementary School in Manchester, New Hampshire, US, November 3. \u2014 Reuters
\u201cThis is the last day before the midterm elections, the most important midterm I believe in our lifetime,\u201d he said, 26 minutes into the speech, before quickly returning to talking about renovations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer branded it a \u201cpathetic closing message.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some Republican supporters remain confident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to win. As a matter of fact, we\u2019ve probably already won,\u201d Texas military veteran Yvonne Clouser told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But while Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, the battlefield is extending into conservative states like Kansas, Texas, Iowa, Ohio and Alaska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democrats must also defend competitive seats, including in Michigan, where a bitter internal dispute saw congresswoman Haley Stevens endorse Republican Mike Rogers rather than the Democratic nominee, Abdul El-Sayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Decision Desk HQ\u2019s final forecast forecasted 241 House seats for Democrats against 194 for Republicans, and a narrower 52-48 Democratic Senate majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Disputed results?
More than 57 million Americans had already voted early before Tuesday, indicating high engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A voter poses with their \u201cI Voted\u201d sticker after submitting their ballot at a polling place in the Marine on St Croix City Hall on November 3, 2026 in Marine on St Croix, Minnesota. \u2014 AFP
The campaign has attracted more than $11 billion in political advertising, while billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Republican political efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As soon as polls close, concerns will mount over whether results will be accepted by the Republicans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump, who tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat, has repeatedly alleged widespread voter fraud and accused Democrats \u2014 with no evidence \u2014 of cheating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Justice Department, run by a close Trump ally, has already sued to potentially block certification of Alaska\u2019s Senate race if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan narrowly loses, although a court ruled against the effort on the eve of the election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the Supreme Court rejected on Monday an emergency bid to force California to set aside the mail-in ballots of more than 20,000 people on the grounds they may not be American citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump, who will watch the midterms results at the White House on Tuesday night, signalled that if he does lose control of Congress he could simply defy Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI veto everything,\u201d he told a podcast on Monday, although he said he might strike deals with Democrats eventually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Charleston, South Carolina(National Times)- Americans voted on Tuesday in pivotal midterm elections, with Democrats hoping to seize control of Congress and impose the first significant checks on Donald Trump\u2019s chaotic second term in the White House. Multiple polls predict Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives and have a shot at seizing the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n