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DETROIT — Americans head to the polls Tuesday to vote in U.S. midterm elections that will serve as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s chaotic and controversial second term.
The outcome will decide which party controls Congress and whether there will be a check on Trump’s unprecedented use of executive power over the remainder of his time in office.
Trump made his closing arguments of the campaign Monday afternoon by defending his administration’s tariffs and policies and claiming his second term has seen the “best” economy ever, despite widespread voter disapproval of his handling of pocketbook issues.
Trump also denigrated Democrats, calling their party extreme and dangerous and claiming they hate America.
“We’ll defend our country, our culture and our heritage for generations to come” Trump said at a press conference that largely focused on his accident-prone refurbishment of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington.
“We’re gonna keep it the way it is. We’re going to make it better and just.”
Republicans have been on defence throughout this turbulent midterm campaign season, with polls showing Trump’s approval plummeting due to rising gas and diesel prices, high inflation and the unpopular war with Iran.
Democrats have faced controversies of their own, including a shocking eleventh-hour party fracture in a tight Michigan Senate race. Democrat candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s former opponent in the U.S. Senate primary, Haley Stevens, stunned party officials Sunday by endorsing Republican nominee Mike Rogers.
Polling shows Democrats are close to taking the House, where a net gain of three seats would give them a narrow majority.
Control of the Senate is much less clear and the Michigan race could prove critical to Democrats’ chances of securing the net gain of four seats they need for a majority.
Democrats would need to win seats in places like Maine and Alaska, where Trump’s unpopular trade war with Canada has become a ballot box issue.
Trump recently made changes to 50 per cent tariffs on an array of Canadian goods to offer a reprieve to industries hit hard in border state Maine, where longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins faces a tough contest.
Trump told reporters that his administration had the “concept of a very good deal with Canada” after talks with Prime Minister Mark Carney over the weekend.
Polling has shown the main issue for voters is affordability. Many Americans are angered by Trump policies which have driven up costs at gas stations and grocery stores.
“Affordability and health care,” said Steven Sherman when asked to name his voting priorities. “I’m a Type 1 diabetic and access to insulin and access to health care (is important).”
The 27-year-old Michigander was working with a construction logistics company when Trump’s tariffs first hit. He said a lot of the people he worked with were Trump voters and they were shocked to see material prices skyrocket.
Trump returned to the White House after promising to boost the economy, reduce inflation and keep America out of foreign wars. He made gains among young men, the Hispanic community and Black men based on those pledges.
Halfway through his second term, many of those same voters feel duped.
Dylan Raford supported Trump in 2024 — even though he was too young at the time to vote — and hyped up the president to family and friends. The 19-year-old described himself as a business owner, entrepreneur and “big free market type of guy.” He also works in data centres, which — despite the vocal support of the Trump administration — remain politically toxic for many voters.
Raford said he now feels betrayed. He said he thinks Trump is enriching himself from the presidency and is failing to uphold the dignity of his office.
“I did like Trump. I did. As a Black person, I got so much hate for it,” Raford said.
“He made me a fool. He made all those people right.”
Like many voters who turned out for Trump in 2024, Raford doesn’t really have a party affiliation. He said he’s voting Democrat in the South Carolina midterm races because he wants Trump to face restraints.
The Senate race for Lindsey Graham’s old seat in historically red South Carolina has turned out to be a surprise battleground. Many voters have criticized Trump’s endorsement of Darline Graham Nordone to run for her late brother’s seat, citing her lack of experience and multiple fumbles on the campaign trail.
But a blue wave — which would make Trump a lame duck president — is not guaranteed. Many Republicans remain motivated and organized ahead of the vote.
Jay Jamil, with Chaldean Association Iraqi Catholics in Michigan, said his community was motivated to get out the vote for Rogers because the Republican would be good for local businesses and families.
“Mike Rogers has filled the Chaldean need list. What they asked him for, he helped them,” Jamil said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2026.
— With files from The Associated Press
Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
