The first polls closed on Tuesday evening after millions of Americans voted in midterm elections that could strip President Donald Trump’s Republicans of control of Congress, with Democrats favored in opinion polls to capture the House and a handful of Senate races set to determine whether they can seize both chambers.
The battle for the Senate is unfolding across nearly 10 closely contested statewide races, most in Republican strongholds.
Polling stations began to close in Indiana and Kentucky at 6 p.m. ET (2300 GMT) and will close in another half-dozen states at 7 p.m., but remain open for hours yet in most states.
History is against Trump’s Republicans: The sitting president’s party has lost ground in Congress in all but two midterms since World War Two. Trump’s approval rating is hovering near his career lows, with voters frustrated by war with Iran, higher fuel prices and wider affordability concerns.
There is little doubt this year’s election is all about Trump, nearly halfway through his second four-year term. Trump himself has told his supporters to “pretend I’m on the ballot,” a message Democratic leaders have happily echoed.
In televised remarks on Tuesday that appeared aimed at swaying voters unhappy with US support for Israel, Trump said that he intended to stop $3.8 billion in promised annual funding to Israel after the end of this year, but it was unclear how he would do so, given a 2020 law mandating the funding levels.
The close US-Israel alliance has been a particular focus in Michigan, where progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who would become the first Muslim US senator if elected, has faced millions of dollars in opposition spending from Israel-linked groups over his criticisms of the US ally.
El-Sayed, 42, posed for photos with voters in sunglasses and a signature tight black T-shirt at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday. Led by Trump, Republicans have portrayed El-Sayed and other Democratic candidates as radical, un-American and even communist, labels that Democrats dismiss as typical Trump hyperbole.
