With four days to go before the United States midterm elections, Democrats are leading in national polls as both parties make their final push for votes.
asserted
parties → go → votes
Meanwhile, a legal dispute threatens to delay the Senate result in Alaska, and President Donald Trump has cancelled two weekend rallies in favour of campaigning by phone.
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Trump → threaten → phone
US midterms approach, farmers decide what to plant and how to vote
- list 3 of
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farmers → approach → ?
3Trump administration renews bid to block Alaska election results
Here’s what you need to know.
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you → renew → what
What do the latest US midterm polls say?
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polls → say → What
Democrats lead Republicans by 51.4 percent to 43.2 percent, according to RealClearPolling, with a difference of 8.2 percentage points.
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Democrats → lead → points
Charles Franklin, professor of law and public policy and director of the Marquette Law School Poll in the US, said Trump’s declining approval ratings and economic concerns are alarming Republicans.
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ratings → say → Republicans
The latest Marquette Law School poll, conducted in Wisconsin from October 14 to October 22 and released on October 28, put Trump’s approval rating at 37 percent and disapproval at 61 percent.
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poll → conduct → percent
Only 16 percent of respondents said they were better off financially than a year ago, while 42 percent said they were worse off and another 42 percent said things were about the same.
“Democrats are more enthusiastic and more certain they will vote,” Franklin told Al Jazeera.
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Franklin → say → Jazeera
“That is giving Democrats an important edge, and reflects Republican disappointment in current national conditions,” he added.
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he → give → conditions
In Arizona, where voters are experiencing increasing living expenses, a retiree told Al Jazeera that the cost of groceries had become a major concern.
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cost → experience → groceries
“We’re retired, and every time we go to the grocery store, it makes me wonder what the heck is going on,” the voter said.
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voter → retire → store
In Texas, Democrat James Talarico is polling at 49 percent against Republican Ken Paxton’s 43 percent, according to a CNN survey released on Thursday.
uncertain
Talarico → poll → Thursday
In Michigan, the same pollster found Democrat Abdul El-Sayed ahead of Republican Mike Rogers, 49 percent to 42 percent.
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Sayed → find → Rogers
However, Franklin warned: “Polls are not perfect predictions of outcomes.
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Polls → warn → outcomes
“We could see those close races go either way, either due to polling errors or due to voters moving just a little more in one direction or the other.”
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voters → see → direction
In Alaska, however, there is also a complication: a legal dispute that could delay the result of a Senate race.
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that → be → race
What is happening in Alaska’s Senate race?
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What → happen → race
The battle for Alaska’s seat could continue in court after ballots close on November 3.
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ballots → continue → November
The dispute centres on two candidates named Dan Sullivan: the incumbent Republican senator and an independent candidate with the same name, who is also registered as a Republican.
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who → centre → Republican
Trump has accused Democrats of recruiting an independent candidate to confuse voters and take support away from the Republican senator.
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Trump → accuse → senator
Total election fraud,” Trump said.
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Trump → say → ?
The Justice Department has taken legal action over the dispute, while Democrat Mary Peltola denied the accusations.
“I feel like this is yet another diversion from the issue that Alaskans want to talk about, which is affordability,” she said.
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she → take → that
Al Jazeera’s US correspondent Alan Fisher said the dispute could have consequences beyond Alaska if the Senate’s control depends on the result.
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control → say → result
“If this becomes the key seat in the battle for the Senate, we might not actually know who has control there for several days, maybe even weeks after November 3,” Fisher said.
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Fisher → become → November
What has happened on the campaign trail in the past 24 hours?
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What → happen → hours
Trump travelled to South Carolina to campaign for Republican senator Darline Graham – sister of the late Lindsey Graham – who is running against Annie Andrews in a closely contested race.
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who → travel → race
In Rock Hill, Trump encouraged voters to cast their ballots and cautioned his supporters not to take the election outcome for granted.
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Trump → encourage → outcome
About Graham, Trump said that she was in the lead but that he still had to campaign there.
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he → say → lead
“In politics you never know, right?
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you → know → politics
So you got to get out and vote.”
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you → got → ?
He also addressed his supporters directly and asked the crowd to pretend that he was on the ballot.
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he → address → ballot
“And I am on the ballot because all of these things that we’ve done, all of these incredible successes that we have,” he added.
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he → do → that
In Texas, Vice President JD Vance attended a rally in Weatherford, near Dallas, alongside Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, as Republicans called on supporters to vote.
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Republicans → attend → supporters
“Texas ain’t surrendering.
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Texas → surrender → ?
Texas is not becoming California.
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Texas → become → ?
It’s going to stay Texas, ain’t that right?” Vance told supporters.
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Vance → go → supporters
Well-known Democrats have also joined the campaign trail.
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Democrats → know → trail
On Wednesday, former President Barack Obama gave a speech in Georgia supporting Senator Jon Ossoff, criticising Trump’s management of the economy and his approach to the war with Iran.
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Obama → give → Iran
When Al Jazeera asked about Obama’s visit, Ossoff’s Republican opponent, Mike Collins, said it showed “the desperation of Jon Ossoff because he knows he’s losing”.
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he → ask → Ossoff
…and 21 more, not listed.