US midterms: Millions of Americans to vote with Congress at stake

Millions of Americans volition ballot successful the midterm elections connected Tuesday, with the equilibrium of powerfulness successful Congress astatine stake.

The full US House of Representatives, astir a 3rd of the Senate and cardinal authorities governorships are up for grabs.

President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and ex-President Donald Trump, a Republican, made their closing arguments successful duelling rallies.

Mr Biden's quality to walk laws volition beryllium stymied if Republicans instrumentality the House, arsenic astir projections expect.

Democrats presently power the White House and - by razor-thin margins - some chambers of Congress.

The enactment successful powerfulness typically sheds an mean of 2 twelve oregon truthful seats successful the midterms, which autumn midway done a president's 4 years successful office.

While Mr Biden himself is not up for re-election connected Tuesday, midterms are often seen arsenic a referendum connected a president's leadership.

Despite delivering connected promises to little medicine cause prices, grow cleanable vigor and revamp US infrastructure, Mr Biden has seen his popularity endure from the worst ostentation successful 4 decades, unprecedented amerciable migration and elector concerns astir precocious crime.

A governmental thumping for Democrats connected Tuesday could embolden murmurs wrong the Democratic enactment astir whether Mr Biden, who turns 80 this month, should tally for re-election successful 2024.

He went to Maryland connected Monday nighttime to run for Wes Moore, who is expected to marque past arsenic the 3rd achromatic politician ever elected successful the US.

"Today we look an inflection point," Mr Biden told a cheering assemblage astatine a historically achromatic assemblage extracurricular Washington.

"We cognize successful our bones that our democracy's astatine hazard and we cognize that this is your infinitesimal to support it."

According to a tally by the BBC's US partner, CBS News, much than fractional of Republican midterms candidates person raised doubts astir the integrity of the 2020 White House election, echoing Mr Trump's unfounded claims of wide fraud.

Mr Trump spent the eve of predetermination time holding a last rally successful Ohio alongside Republican Senate campaigner JD Vance.

The erstwhile president, who has been teasing a 2024 White House comeback bid, said helium would marque a "very large announcement" astatine his Florida property Mar-a-Lago connected 15 November.

He told the crowd: "If you enactment the diminution and autumn of America, past you must, you perfectly indispensable ballot for the extremist left, brainsick people.

"If you privation to halt the demolition of our country, past time you indispensable ballot Republican successful a elephantine reddish wave."

Republicans request to nett lone 5 seats to flip the House and a azygous spot to instrumentality implicit the evenly divided Senate.

Non-partisan predetermination observers task the Republicans volition prime up astir 15-25 seats successful the 435-seat House.

But the conflict for the precocious enclosure of Congress could spell either way, according to astir governmental forecasts, and is expected to travel down to hotly fought races successful Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona.

Should Republicans triumph the House, they person vowed to unopen down the Democratic-led enquiry into past year's Capitol riot and motorboat investigations into the Biden administration.

Kevin McCarthy, who would astir apt go Republican talker of the House - placing him 2nd successful enactment to the presidency - has refused to regularisation retired impeachment proceedings.

Mr Biden's powerfulness to name judges oregon administrative posts for the adjacent 2 years would beryllium severely curtailed if Republicans triumph the Senate.

More than 43.5m aboriginal votes person already been cast, according to the US Elections Project.

But it mightiness beryllium days oregon weeks earlier the result of the midterms is wide if races are close, arsenic immoderate states let ballots to beryllium posted connected predetermination day, and determination could beryllium recounts.