With one day to go before the United States midterm elections, campaigning has reached a fever pitch with Democratic and Republican leaders pulling out all the stops to mobilise voters. Democrats are hoping to flip control of both chambers of Congress, which is currently controlled by US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats are up for grabs on Tuesday.
Voting will also be held to elect governors in 36 of the 50 US states. With the cost-of-living crisis, exacerbated by the US-Israel war on Iran, becoming one of the key talking points of these elections, here’s where things stand as of Monday: In a dramatic political development on Sunday, Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens threw her support behind Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers over her own party’s nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, in Michigan – one of the most closely watched races of the US midterm elections. Stevens had lost Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary in August to El-Sayed.
Her announcement followed weeks of tension with El-Sayed over US support to Israel, which has been accused of committing genocide in Gaza. El-Sayed has opposed military support to Israel, arguing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed the US into the Iran war. Stevens has accused El-Sayed of anti-Semitism for his criticism of Israeli actions in Gaza.
El-Sayed said a vote for his rival Rogers “is going to be a vote for Donald Trump” as his campaign reportedly saw a fundraising surge after Stevens crossed party lines. Democratic leaders have rallied behind El-Sayed, who has faced Islamophobic attacks during the campaign. The chairman of the Democratic Party in Michigan criticised Stevens.
The leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, slammed Stevens over her endorsement of the Republican candidate. While Democrats have been angered by Stevens’s action, Trump celebrated her decision. During a rally in Iowa later on Sunday, the US president said he would “love” it if Stevens joined the Republican Party.
Polling suggested El-Sayed has largely consolidated Democratic support, according to the news agency. Meanwhile, a federal judge has thrown out a Trump administration lawsuit seeking to block Alaska from certifying a loss by Republican Senator Dan Sullivan. The administration has argued that a rival on the ballot with the same name could change the outcome.
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