Tensions rise as midterm campaign ends with control of Congress at stake

Congressional candidates and President Donald Trump made their final arguments to US voters on Monday, the eve of the midterm elections, with tensions running high in Michigan, where Abdul El-Sayed aims to become the ‌first Muslim elected to the Senate.

California was also in the spotlight after the Supreme Court swiftly quashed an attempt by Trump's Justice Department to intervene and block vote counting from alleged non-US citizens.

With control ​of the US Congress at stake ⁠for his final two years in office, Trump devoted his last major speech before voting day to touting renovations of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, one of the Washington ‌public works projects he has made a priority since returning to ‌the White House.

He later spoke by telephone on Fox News' "Hannity" show, urging Republicans to pretend he is on the ballot in an effort to increase voter participation.

Democratic candidate for US Senate Abdul El-Sayed speaks to attendees at the Carpenters & Millwrights Labor Center during a campaign stop in Warren, Michigan, US. File/Reuters

"We have to vote. If our people vote, we win in a landslide," Trump said.

All 435 seats in the US House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 US Senate seats will be contested on Tuesday. Democrats are widely favored to retake the House but face a greater challenge in the Senate.

Loss of control in either ‌chamber would constrain Trump and empower Democrats to investigate his administration, while a Senate majority would also allow them to block his appointees to federal courts including the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Trump administration's attempt to ⁠temporarily block California from counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters who federal officials alleged were likely non-US citizens.

It was quick action from the high court. California had argued the federal lawsuit would disenfranchise 20,000 voters based on vague accusations and that the process for identifying noncitizens was error-prone.

A US judge on Monday also ordered the Trump administration to stop demanding that California segregate ballots cast by people on lists of suspected noncitizens.

Campaign signs are displayed outside a campaign event fpr US Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) on November 02, 2026 in Wasilla, Alaska. AFP

Trump, 80, has campaigned hard for Republicans, holding events in 20 states over the past 32 days, the White House said. His final in-person event was a speech at the belated reopening of the Washington reflecting pool, where the former real-estate developer spent more than 20 minutes discussing pipes, joints, caulking, granite resurfacing, algae and leaks.

"So we have a lot of great things planned for Washington, and I could get into the nation, but for that you don't have enough time," Trump ​said, also mentioning the grass at the White House, his new Marine One helipad, a golf course and plans for a triumphal arch that are facing a court challenge.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed ‌on Monday found 46% of registered voters said they would vote for Democrats in congressional elections, compared with 38% who picked Republicans.
Early voting, whether in person or by mail, has already set a record with 57 million votes cast as of Monday afternoon, up from 45 million in all of the 2022 midterms, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab.

Reuters