Midterm elections: A referendum on Trump

President Donald Trump reminds supporters at his rallies he is not on the ballot for the midterm elections, and in the same breath, adds he is, actually.

Americans will vote on Tuesday to elect 35 senators, 435 members of the House of Representatives, 36 state governors and scores of state and city officials.

But each ballot will be watermarked with Trump’s presidency, a tumultuous two years marked by a booming economy, deep and bitter divisions over immigration, healthcare, taxes, racial tensions. All of that under the shadow of the Russia meddling probe and scandals about Trump and his aides.

“I’m not on the ticket, but I am on the ticket, because this is also a referendum about me,” Trump said at a rally in October. “I want you to vote. Pretend I’m on the ballot.”

Midterm elections are generally considered a referendum on the man in the White House— there has not been a woman president yet —but Trump has been seen to have embraced it as one, and more than any of his predecessors.

At stake is the remaining two years of his term and his re-election. A Democrat-controlled Congress could throttle his legislative agenda, block his nominations and, worst of all, impeach him as some Democrats have already said they would.

But the chances of that have dimmed as the possibility of a Blue Wave — Democrats sweeping the mid-terms, winning both chambers the House of Representatives and the Senate — has dimmed as elections draw closer.

FiveThirtyEight, a leading poll forecaster, says Democrats have an 85% chance of winning the House and an 84% possibility of retaining the Senate’s control.

WASHINGTON: