Trump on trial as America votes in mid- term elections

■ Losing majority will hamstring Trump’s agenda over next two years

Washington, Nov. 6: Americans headed to the polls on Tuesday for a pivotal mid- term election seen as a referendum on the first two years of the volatile presidency of Donald Trump. With control of the Congress at stake, all eyes are on several dozen close House and Senate races that will decide if Democrats or Republicans control the legislative bodies. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 seats in the 100- member Senate and 36 governorships are up for grabs as Americans in all 50 states cast their ballots.

Democrats need a net gain of 23 seats to take control of the House for the first time since the Tea Party wave of 2010 and the latest polls give them a good chance to do so.

Republicans enjoy a slim 51- 49 edge in the Senate and are favored to hang on to their majority since Democrats are defending 26 seats on Tuesday and the Republicans only nine.

But with memories still fresh of Mr Trump’s upset victory of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race much uncertainty remains.

Both parties have pulled out all the stops to drive voters to the polls and Mr Trump embarked on a bruising schedule of election rallies over the past few weeks.

Washington, Nov. 6: Americans started voting on Tuesday in critical midterm elections that mark the first major voter test of Donald Trump's controversial presidency, with control of Congress at stake. About three quarters of the 50 states in the east and center of the country were already voting as polls began opening at 6: 00 am ( 1100 GMT) for the day- long ballot. Republicans were keenly aware that losing their majority will hamstring his political agenda over the next two years. At stake are all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 seats in the 100- member Senate, 36 governor's posts and seats in state legislatures across the country. For almost two years, Trump's rule- breaking, sometimes chaotic administration has enjoyed a largely free hand from the twin Republican- controlled chambers, but the midterms could finally see his wings clipped. According to nearly all pollsters, the Democrats have a good chance of winning the House, while the Republicans are likely to retain the Senate. But with turnout a key unknown factor and pollsters still unsure about the effect of Trump's maverick style on voters, both parties admit that they may be in for nasty surprises. After a campaign in which Trump was accused of race- baiting with repeated and unsubstantiated references to an “invasion” of undocumented immigrants bent on rape and murder, leftright divisions in America could not be deeper.

“It's a consequential election,” said Yorgo Koutsogiogasi, 64, who was among 17 people ready to cast ballots at a downtown Chicago polling station when doors opened at 6: 00 am.

“Divisiveness in the country is really tearing the country apart,” said the Greek immigrant, a company CEO.

First in line was a retiree, Jerry, who did not want to give his last name and said he was voting for the first time in midterm elections.

“The Dems are insane,” he said. “I heard Democrats want to give illegals the right to vote.”

AFP reporters saw a steady flow of early voters at the Brooklyn Museum polling station in New York, and many voters at a station in Arlington, Virginia.

US television networks showed lines of voters at stations elsewhere, following high turnout by those who voted ahead of election day itself.

Although not on the ballot, Trump made himself the focus of the entire contest, jetting around the country to hold rallies -- in three states on Monday alone.

At his final event in Cape Girardeau, he called on supporters to seize their “righteous destiny as Americans.”