With three days left until the U.S. midterm elections, millions of Americans have cast early votes and Democrats are leading in national polls.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump announced he would continue campaigning in Kansas and Iowa as both parties make a final push before Election Day on Tuesday.
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Here’s what you need to know:
What do midterm U.S. polls show?
Democrats still lead Republicans by 8.2 percentage points, according to RealClearPolling’s latest national congressional polling average. The Democratic Party has a lead of 51.4% to 43.2%.
A separate Economist/YouGov poll released Thursday found that 44% of registered voters expect Democrats to maintain a majority in the House after the election, compared to 31% who expect Republicans to retain the majority.
Predictions for the Senate were much closer, with 39% expecting a Democratic majority and 36% expecting a Republican majority.
Kyle Kondik, editor-in-chief of Sabbat’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, told Al Jazeera that the Democratic lead in national polls suggests a different makeup of the two chambers.
“Democrats’ significant lead in the popular vote in the House suggests that it is almost certain that the House will flip to Democrats,” Kondik said.
“But that doesn’t mean the Senate will flip. That’s certainly a possibility, but it’s much more up in the air.”
How many Americans have already voted?
More than 43 million Americans cast early votes or returned mail-in ballots five days before Election Day, according to an Associated Press analysis released Friday.
That’s nearly 10 million more people than at the same time before the 2022 midterm elections, with some of the largest increases in states with competitive Senate races.
More than 6.3 million people had voted early in Texas as of Wednesday, while the number of early voters for the same period in 2022 was 4.2 million, an increase of 50%.
Al Jazeera’s Phil Lovell reported from Houston on Friday that voters continue to arrive at polling places as the state’s early voting period draws to a close.
More than 2.5 million votes had been cast in Georgia by Friday morning, surpassing the 2.3 million votes recorded during early voting in 2022, according to Al Jazeera’s Matthew Torres.
Torres reported long lines at polling places in Atlanta and increased participation from younger voters.
“We really want a better future for all of us, especially for the next generation,” one young voter told Al Jazeera.
Another young voter cited social media as a reason for his increased interest in the election. “It’s definitely social media. Social media and the media have put voting in the spotlight,” the voter said.
Democratic political strategist Celinda Lake said many voters want change.
“There are a lot of voters who say, ‘Long live Mary for change, but I want something done,'” she said.
Maine, Michigan, North Carolina and Kansas also saw early voting increase by more than 30% compared to the same period in 2022, according to an Associated Press analysis.
But early turnout numbers do not indicate which candidates voters chose or what the final result will be.
What happened on the campaign trail in the last 24 hours?
President Trump has reversed his decision to cancel two weekend rallies in Kansas and Iowa, with the White House confirming they will hold both rallies on Sunday.
The rally was canceled Thursday, and the White House announced that President Trump would instead participate in nearly 20 campaign calls.
But less than a day later, the president put the rally back on the schedule.
Al Jazeera’s Tanya Nouri reported that the Trump campaign sees his personal appearances as a way to mobilize Republican voters.
“He is willing to come back on Sunday and go to the rally in person,” Nouri said, citing a campaign official.
Trump’s team also said they believe Trump’s appearance will have the effect of galvanizing Republican voters, especially in states where Republicans are running for Senate seats against strong opposition.
Trump also campaigned Friday in Florida, where Republicans are defending the Senate and governor’s seats.
“You have to vote,” Trump told the crowd. “Bad things happen when you’re too confident, right? So let’s pretend we’re one point behind.”
Meanwhile, in Texas, Republican senator Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico were concentrating their final campaign efforts in Houston, according to Al Jazeera’s Label.
As early voting nears its end, Paxton canceled an event in El Paso to focus on Harris County, Texas’ most populous county.
On Friday, former President Bill Clinton campaigned for the Democratic Party in Mississippi.
He also called on people to vote.
“I can’t begin to tell you how many people I care about have been lost in Mississippi because of people who just didn’t vote,” Clinton said.
Where will President Trump and Democrats campaign this weekend?
President Trump is scheduled to hold back-to-back rallies in Iowa and Kansas on Sunday. He will support Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ashley Hinson in Iowa, then travel to Kansas to campaign with U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall and others.
Recent polls show that the Senate race is fierce in traditionally Republican states. In Kansas, Marshall faces a tough battle against his Democratic challenger, megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton.
According to an Emerson College poll, Mr. Hamilton leads with 49% support, to Mr. Marshall’s 45%. The Democratic Party is also making a final appeal to voters. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear will attend a campaign event with Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton.
Mary Peltola, a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate from Alaska, also plans to attend the rally in Bethel, Alaska.
Alaska’s Senate race is one of seven key issues likely to determine whether Republicans retain their majority in the upper chamber of Congress.
The race has been complicated by controversies involving two candidates named Dan Sullivan. President Trump has accused Democrats of fielding independent candidates with the same names as Republican senators to confuse voters and alienate their support.
The Justice Department took legal action regarding the controversy, but Mr. Peltola denied any involvement in the alleged recruitment efforts.
Separately, Republican candidate Mike Rogers is also scheduled to campaign with House Speaker Mike Johnson over the weekend.
