Click here to see how popular Trump is today, and click here for a quick breakdown on what the midterms are all about.
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midterms → click → what
Here's what you need to know today
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you → need → what
Presidents hit the trail:
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Presidents → hit → trail
Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic former president Barack Obama are heading to Ohio and Georgia respectively to shore up votes as the US enters its last week before the midterms.
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US → head → midterms
These states are the sites of critical contests that could decide which party could control the US Senate for the remainder of Trump's term.
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party → decide → term
Obama kept a low profile for most of this election cycle, but has hit the campaign trail in recent days to deliver some fiery speeches against his successor.
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Obama → keep → successor
The Trump administration has issued more than 100 subpoenas demanding records on tens of thousands of voters in at least 13 states, Reuters reports.
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Reuters → issue → states
It's the latest in an effort to uncover evidence of voter fraud.
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It → uncover → fraud
Election officials and lawyers worry the investigations could undermine confidence in election systems, and be used to attack the legitimacy of narrow races.
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investigations → worry → races
Since Trump returned to office, prosecutors have accused at least 147 people of illegally voting, Reuters reports, but the cases amount to fewer than one for every million people who voted in 2024.
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who → return → 2024
If you missed it, Republican senator Dan Sullivan is defending his Alaska seat from independent candidate … Dan Sullivan.
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Sullivan → miss → Sullivan
It's been a point of ire for Republicans for months, with (unsuccessful) challenges to throw the newcomer off the ballot making it all the way to the Alaska Supreme Court.
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challenges → throw → Court
They argue the second Sullivan (AKA, Dan J Sullivan) is running just to confuse voters.
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Sullivan → argue → voters
Dan J Sullivan has maintained he's running for legitimate reasons.
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he → maintain → reasons
But a New York Times exclusive has put a new twist in the tale, reporting that campaign aides for Democratic candidate Mary Peltola sought a spoiler candidate by the name of Dan Sullivan to undermine the senator back in 2025.
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aides → put → 2025
A deeper dive
I messaged North America correspondent Kamin Gock about the Republican Party's standing in states that are typically conservative.
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that → message → states
Here's what he had to say.
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he → have → what
That's a lot of time spent on what are usually safe Republican areas.
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what → spend → time
Is he worried about losing ground here?
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he → lose → ground
But it could now be a crucial battle ground, with polls showing a very competitive race between Republican Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown.
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polls → show → Husted
If the Democrats pick up four Senate seats across the country, they'll retake control of the upper house.
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they → pick → house
In Ohio, Democrats also hope they can pick up a seat in the House of Representatives and none of that spells good news for Trump.
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none → hope → Trump
You spent some time in Nebraska — another typically red state — not long ago.
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You → spend → Nebraska
What did you learn there?
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you → learn → What
Some farmers are really feeling rising costs linked to tariffs and the Iran war, particularly fuel and fertiliser price hikes.
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farmers → feel → tariffs
One farmer told me he is paying an extra $US1,400 ($1984) a day for diesel to operate his farm.
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diesel → tell → farm
Those are extra costs the farmers I spoke to say they did not vote for.
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they → speak → ?
There was a lot of disquiet and disappointment among Republicans, but just because they are unhappy with Trump doesn't mean they will vote Democrat.
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they → be → Democrat
As one man told me, he probably just won't vote.
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he → tell → me
You can read more about Kamin's trip to Nebraska here.
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You → read → Nebraska
US President Donald Trump might not be up for election at the midterms, but his popularity will have a strong influence over the outcome.
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popularity → have → outcome
The president's party almost always loses House seats in midterm elections and that trend gets steeper when the president is unpopular.
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president → lose → elections
Historic polling data collated by analytics firm Gallup shows presidents with approval ratings below 50 per cent have seen their party lose an average of 37 House seats.
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party → collate → seats
Presidents with approval ratings above 50 per cent have netted smaller loses, with an average of 14 seats.
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Presidents → net → seats
Your crash course on the midterms
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You can keep track of the latest out of the US here.
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You → stay → US
The Aporia
