US Midterm Elections: A Referendum on Trump's Second Term

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. 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 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 U.S. House and fighting to hang onto the U.S. Senate — an outcome that seemed unlikely earlier this year, given a map widely seen as favoring their party. 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, and most competitive races are in historically red states. In the 435-member House, they need 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 fueled his victories, has told voters to act as though he's running, even as many Republican candidates have kept their distance.