Republicans ‘losing support’
President Donald Trump was campaigning down to the wire with warnings of immigration chaos if the Republicans lose control of Congress, amid signs of voters turning against his divisive style hours before today’s midterm elections.
He held three rallies yesterday, trusting in his aggressive attack on ‘‘far-left’’ Democrats and migrant ‘‘invaders’’ to rouse his base despite an appeal from senior party figures to focus more on the booming economy.
Polls in the bellwether state of Florida, the third most populous in America, gave a seven-point lead yesterday to the Democratic contenders for both Senate and governor, despite several personal appearances by the president. Earlier polls had put the candidates much closer.
The sides were expected to spend a midterm record of US$5 billion (NZ$7.5b) each nationally thanks to a surge in Democratic fundraising fuelled by the passions aroused by Trump’s presidency.
The elections will be seen as a verdict on two years of ‘‘Trumpism’’, the abrasive style of leadership championed by the president and pursued by some Republican candidates, including Ron DeSantis, the contender for governor in Florida. A survey of likely voters by Quinnipiac showed that 50 per cent favoured the black, progressive Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum, with 43 per cent backing DeSantis.
In the Florida Senate race Bill Nelson, the Democratic incumbent, was put on 51 per cent and his Republican challenger Rick Scott, the outgoing governor, on 44 per cent. Shortly after the numbers appeared Trump tweeted: ‘‘REMEMBER FLORIDA: I have been President of the United States for almost two years. During that time Senator Bill Nelson didn’t call me once. Rick Scott called constantly requesting dollars plus for Florida. Did a GREAT job on hurricanes. VOTE SCOTT!’’
In another potential blow to Trump the race for a Senate seat in Tennessee vacated by a retiring Republican was put at a dead heat by The Tennessean newspaper, as the singer Taylor Swift continued to urge her fans on Instagram to back the Democratic candidate. In the battle for another retiring Republican’s seat, in Arizona, the Democrats received a boost yesterday when the Green candidate pulled out and endorsed their woman.
Three TV networks – including Fox – refused to run a Republican advert denounced as ‘‘racist’’ by CNN and ‘‘insensitive’’ by NBC for referring to the ‘‘invasion’’ of migrants and focusing on an illegal immigrant jailed for murdering two sheriff’s deputies in 2014.
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are being contested today, with the Democrats expected to pick up the 23 they need to take control. The Republicans are forecast to retain their slim majority in the Senate, where they hold only nine of the 35 seats in play.
Nobody was making firm predictions, however, after the failure of pollsters to predict a Trump victory two years ago. ‘‘I don’t think there’s a Democrat in this country that doesn’t have a little angst left over from 2016,’’ said Stephanie Schriock, president of the action committee Emily’s List, which spent dollars 60 million to support Democratic women. ‘‘Everything matters and everything’s at stake.’’
Trump has made the midterms a referendum on his presidency, urging voters to ‘‘pretend I’m on the ballot’’, but has distanced himself from the House battle after picking up on signs that control may be slipping away.
‘‘I think we’re going to do well in the House,’’ Trump said as he left the White House for rallies in Tennessee and Georgia. ‘‘But, as you know, my primary focus has been on the Senate, and I think we’re doing really well in the Senate.’’