There are six days left until the November 3 midterm elections in the United States, and while national polls show Democrats leading Republicans, several key Senate races appear to be close.
President Donald Trump has stepped up his campaign, holding two Republican rallies in Texas on Tuesday and heading to Ohio on Wednesday. Former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris are also campaigning in Georgia as Democrats.
Recommended stories
1 List of itemsend of list
Here’s the latest poll results, what happened on the campaign trail, and what to expect on Wednesday.
What do the latest polls suggest?
With less than a week until the midterm elections, a Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Democrats leading Republicans by 9 points.
According to the Oct. 22-26 survey, 47% of voters support the Democratic Party, compared to 36% who support the Republican Party. Taking into account undecided voters, Democrats led with 50%, compared to 41% for Republicans.
President Trump’s approval rating improved by one point to 32%, and 73% of American adults said the cost of living is heading in the wrong direction.
A Democrat hasn’t won a Senate race in Texas since 1988, but James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton are virtually tied in the polls.
President Trump has visited the state several times ahead of the midterm elections, but polls predict a much closer race than the president has suggested.
“The good people of Texas have probably never seen President Trump this much. Four visits in seven weeks is twice as many as we saw in the comparable period leading up to the 2024 election, and perhaps this is an indication of how concerned Republicans are,” said Al Jazeera’s Phil Lovell, reporting from the Texas coastal city of Corpus Christi.
Lovell said local analysis suggests more Republicans are voting early than Democrats, but Talarico is also reaching out to Republicans who are dissatisfied with President Trump.
“That doesn’t mean Republicans are voting for Republican candidates,” Lovell said.
In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers are also competing in a close Senate race.
“I’ve been a Republican forever, but in the last two elections I became an independent,” Michael Alexander, a Native American who supports El-Sayed, told Al Jazeera.
“I don’t vote for any political party anymore. I vote for the person I think will do the best job.”
Kansas hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932, but Republican incumbent Roger Marshall currently faces a close race against Democrat Adam Hamilton.
The campaign brought Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance to the state.
“There’s a reason why not only President Donald Trump but also Vice President J.D. Vance is heading to Kansas, and that’s because it’s actually underway,” said Al Jazeera’s Patti Culhane.
According to the Associated Press, both parties and their allies have spent about $71 million on advertising in the Kansas race, making it the most expensive Senate race in Kansas history.
What happened in the US midterm election campaign in the past 24 hours?
Mr. Trump spoke in support of Mr. Paxton at two campaign rallies in Texas on Tuesday.
Speaking in Corpus Christi, President Trump said this was a victory for his administration, pointing to a tanker he said was carrying 1 million barrels of Venezuelan oil. He also floated the idea of making Venezuela the 51st state of the United States. The Trump administration signed an oil deal with Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodríguez after the abduction of socialist President Nicolás Maduro in a military operation in January.
President Trump also announced plans to roll back Biden-era regulations on methane emissions from oil and gas production, which he said would lead to lower energy prices.
Fuel prices have become a major election issue as the US and Israel continue their war against Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also joined President Trump on a rare campaign trip in Texas.
In Alaska, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski endorsed Democrat Jonathan Kreis Tompkins for governor over President Trump’s candidate Bernadette Wilson.
What will be the next move for Democrats and Republicans on Wednesday?
President Trump heads to Ohio on Wednesday for his third rally in the state this month as Republicans seek to defend the Senate seat being challenged by former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.
The US president is scheduled to speak in Chillicothe at 11pm GMT. Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who took over Vance’s seat when he became vice president, is running against Brown, who is seeking a return to the Senate after losing his seat in 2024.
The two sides are in a close race, with more than $400 million spent or secured on campaign advertising as of Oct. 8, according to a report from Axios.
Republicans are especially concerned that even a few percentage points of third-party support could sway the outcome in Texas, Ohio, Kansas and Iowa.
President Trump is scheduled to hold rallies in Ohio on Wednesday and Iowa on Sunday.
Mr. Vance will be campaigning in Kinston, North Carolina, for Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley, who is running against former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. The vice president is scheduled to speak at 16:30 pm Japan time.
In Georgia, former President Barack Obama will be campaigning in Atlanta from 8:00 PM Japan time, along with Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Ossoff will face Republican Mike Collins in the gubernatorial race, while Bottoms will face Republican Rick Jackson. Trump won Georgia in the 2024 presidential election.
Former Vice President Harris will also begin a three-day visit to Georgia on Wednesday, with early voting scheduled to end on Friday, October 30th.
In Wisconsin, Marquette Law School will release its latest statewide poll at 6:15 p.m. Japan time.
Wednesday’s poll will also examine voters’ views on inflation, tariffs, the U.S.-Israel war on Iran and Trump’s presidency.
