With five days to go before the United States midterms, Democrats are ahead in national polls, but several Senate races remain close.
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races → go → polls
President Donald Trump, former President Barack Obama and Vice President JD Vance were out campaigning on Wednesday in Ohio, Georgia and North Carolina, as both parties fight for control of Congress.
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parties → campaign → Congress
3Tracking the money: The biggest donors in the 2026 US midterm elections
- list 3 of 3Why the US midterms matter even if you don’t live in America
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you → 3tracke → America
Here’s what to know:
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Here → ’ → what
What do the latest polls say about the US midterms?
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polls → say → midterms
Democrats lead Republicans by 51.4 percent to 43.2 percent, a gap of 8.2 percentage points, according to RealClearPolling’s national polling average.
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Democrats → lead → average
But the national lead is not reflected in every Senate race.
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lead → reflect → race
In Texas, where Democrats haven’t won a Senate election since 1988, Democrat James Talarico leads Republican Ken Paxton with 48.5 percent to 46.7 percent, according to the poll aggregator.
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Talarico → win → aggregator
In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has widened his lead over Republican Mike Rogers to seven percentage points, according to a Mitchell Research poll conducted for CBS Detroit.
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Sayed → widen → Detroit
The October 26-27 survey found El-Sayed leading Rogers 51 percent to 44 percent, up from a 4.2-point advantage earlier this month.
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Sayed → find → advantage
RealClearPolling showed a narrower race, with El-Sayed at 48 percent and Rogers at 46 percent.
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RealClearPolling → show → percent
Despite that lead, Democrats are continuing to campaign for support among young voters in Michigan.
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Democrats → continue → Michigan
“We need everybody and young people are a huge part of the coalition and could really be the difference-maker on November 3rd,” Will Lawrence, a Democratic candidate hoping to win Michigan’s 7th Congressional District from the Republicans, told Al Jazeera.
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Lawrence → need → Jazeera
Democratic Congressman Maxwell Frost, who travelled from Florida to campaign for El-Sayed, said face-to-face conversations with voters were particularly important.
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conversations → travel → voters
“Everyone’s seen the negative bigoted ads and Islamophobic ads, but what hasn’t happened is everyone hasn’t had person-to-person conversation about why Abdul is the right senator for Michigan,” he said.
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he → see → Michigan
Republicans are also trying to reach young voters, with one supporter telling Al Jazeera: “I think there’s definitely a movement that people don’t realise in Gen Z that is turning more conservative.”
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that → try → Z
Beyond Michigan, some voters told Al Jazeera they were frustrated with both parties.
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they → tell → parties
“Each party wants to be in power and I think they’ll say what they think they want their voters to hear,” one voter said in Lexington, Kentucky.
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voter → want → Lexington
Democratic strategist Joel Rubin described the midterms as a potential “protest election”, with many Democratic voters looking to limit Trump’s power.
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voters → describe → power
“I think that overwhelmingly American voters who will vote Democratic are voting because they want to put a check on President Trump’s power,” he said.
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he → think → power
Republican strategist Suhail Khan said Trump was losing support among a number of his own voters, who were frustrated by rising fuel prices, rents and mortgage costs.
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who → say → prices
“I keep voting and I’m independent, I vote both sides …
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I → keep → sides
I’m so frustrated and out of hope,” another voter said in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
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voter → ’m → Gettysburg
Can Democrats take control of Congress?
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Democrats → take → Congress
Democrats are hoping to overturn Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress, but the Senate presents a bigger challenge.
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Senate → hop → challenge
They need a net gain of three seats in the House of Representatives and four in the Senate, where Republicans currently hold 53 of the 100 seats.
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Republicans → need → seats
Democrats hold 47, including two independents who caucus with them.
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who → hold → them
Democrats need to reach 51 seats to take control, but the path to a Senate majority is not simple.
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path → need → majority
“Even the most optimistic of Republicans will tell you that it’s going to be pretty tough for the GOP to hold on to the House of Representatives,” Al Jazeera’s Scott McLean said.
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McLean → tell → Representatives
“Different story when it comes to the US Senate, though.”
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it → come → Senate
McLean said that even if Democrats win North Carolina and Ohio and hold on to their current seats, they would still be two seats short of the 51 needed for a majority.
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they → say → majority
Alaska and Texas could help close that gap.
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Alaska → help → gap
But Republicans are also hoping to win Michigan, where the race remains tight.
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race → hop → Michigan
Taking control of the House of Representatives alone would still have significant consequences for Trump.
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Taking → take → Trump
If the Democrats flip the House, they can block parts of his legislative agenda and launch investigations into his administration.
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they → flip → administration
They would also be able to call administration officials to testify before congressional committees, although the White House could challenge those demands.
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House → call → demands
What’s happened on the US midterm campaign trail in the past 24 hours?
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What → happen → hours
Trump was in Ohio campaigning for Republican Senator Jon Husted, who is facing former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown.
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who → campaign → Brown
During the rally, Trump defended Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy following backlash over an advertisement featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic rival, Amy Acton.
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Trump → defend → rival
Ramaswamy was being treated “very unfairly”, Trump said.
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Trump → treat → ?
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
