Americans vote in US midterms seen as a referendum on Trump as Democrats chase a 'blue wave' to seize Congress
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which Trump suggested renaming after himself on the eve of midterm polling day, as voter anger over grocery and gas prices driven by his Iran war and tariffs dominated the final campaign stretch.
Polling stations have opened across the United States as midterm elections get under way, with turnout expected to surpass 100 million voters and control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives at stake. Trump's approval rating has fallen to an all-time low of 36 per cent, while disapproval has climbed past 60 per cent; voters name the Iran war, rising gas prices and grocery costs as their chief concerns. Democrats require 218 House seats to take the chamber, and the Senate is widely considered the harder contest to win.
Trump staged 25 rallies during October, yet experts caution that his involvement may be alienating independent voters through what analysts are calling a 'red undertow' effect.
A Supreme Court rebuke of Trump on Monday night cast a shadow over the final stretch of the campaign as candidates made last-minute pitches for votes.
Republicans are citing $100 billion in small business support as evidence that Trump's economy is delivering — yet pollsters report that voters say they can barely afford groceries.
