05 November 2018 - US Midterm Elections
Trump Rallies and a Race for Votes: Scenes From the Final Stage of the Campaigns
(The New York Times, 04/11/2018)
President Trump may be crisscrossing the country in an intensive effort to keep Republicans in control of Congress, but he would like everyone to know that if that does not happen, it is not his fault.
At rallies and in public remarks, Mr. Trump is engaging in a subtle effort meant to absolve him of blame if Republicans lose the House, which his advisers are privately telling him is likely to happen.
On Sunday, as he left the White House for rallies in Macon, Ga., and Chattanooga, Tenn., Mr. Trump told reporters he cannot campaign for all Republican House members because there are too many, but boasted that his involvement has made a “big difference” in as many as seven Senate campaigns.
High Voter Turnout Expected for Midterm Elections Based on 30 Million Early Ballots
Bill Barrow and Gladys Negrete (TIME Magazine, 05/11/2018)
More than 30 million Americans have cast early ballots ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections, eclipsing the 2014 early totals nationally and suggesting a high overall turnout for contests that could define the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term.
At least 28 states have surpassed their 2014 early votes. And perhaps even more indicative of the unusual enthusiasm this midterm cycle, some states are approaching their early turnout from the 2016 presidential election.
The Forecast: Democrats are still favored to win the House. But it's far from a sure thing.
Harry Enten (CNN Politics, 04/11/2018)
House forecast: Democrats will win 226 seats (and the House majority) while Republicans will win just 209 seats. A Democratic win of 203 seats and 262 seats is within the margin of error.
Senate forecast: Republicans will hold 52 seats (and maintain control of the Senate) next Congress while Democrats will hold just 48. Anything between Republicans holding 48 seats and 56 seats is within the margin of error.
The final weekend of the long 2018 campaign is coming to a close.
Is this the most racist US midterms campaign ever?
Oliver Laughland (The Guardian, 04/11/2018
In the US, political advertising is often laced with venom.
From the Nixon-Kennedy attack ads of 1960 to the Romney-Obama clashes of 2012 this unique, aggressive form of campaigning has a long history, protected by the first amendment. But rarely, if ever, has a president endorsed advertising as nakedly divisive and overtly racially prejudiced as has been seen this year.
This week, Donald Trump tweeted an incendiary video that stoked panic about migrants and falsely claimed Democrats were responsible for the murder of two police officers in California.