- Published
Millions of Americans are about to decide the future of the Republican-controlled Congress in a midterm election that will have a significant impact on President Donald Trump's final two years in office.
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that → publish → office
All eyes are on a handful of Senate races that will decide control of the prized upper chamber.
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that → decide → chamber
A four-seat gain by Democrats would give them control - and with it the power to limit Trump's ambitions, reject his judicial nominations and investigate his administration.
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gain → give → administration
Billions of dollars are being poured into the 35 races across the country, but only a handful could go either way.
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handful → pour → country
Here, we profile the personalities making waves in these much-watched contests.
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we → profile → contests
This race has been marred by controversy over the appearance of a second candidate named Dan Sullivan on the ballot.
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race → mar → ballot
The Republican senator of that name faces stiff competition from Mary Peltola and accuses her of introducing his namesake to confuse voters, which she denies.
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she → face → which
The race may ultimately be the tipping point state that decides which party controls the chamber if, as expected, Alaska is one of the slower states to reach an outcome.
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Alaska → decide → outcome
Peltola, a former House member and the first Alaska Native to be elected to Congress, has run on a platform of "fish, family, freedom" and has attacked Sullivan's record as Alaska's natural resources commissioner.
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Peltola → elect → commissioner
Two-term senator Sullivan, a long-time Marine Corps reservist who also served as Alaska's attorney general, has accused Peltola's campaign of links to an effort to confuse Republican voters which led to a second man named Dan Sullivan entering the race.
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man → serve → race
The Peltola campaign denies any such link, though the issue is the subject of a state investigation and a justice department lawsuit, which on Sunday was rejected by a judge.
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which → deny → judge
Alaska's ranked-choice system also adds uncertainty to the mix, and the state has historically been difficult to poll, with surveys historically underestimating Republican voters.
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surveys → rank → voters
How they got here:
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they → get → ?
Sullivan, 61, only retired from the US Marines as recently as 2024, after a 30-year career that included deployments in to Afghanistan and the Middle East.
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that → retire → Afghanistan
Peltola, 53, grew up fishing salmon with her father, later becoming the first person born in the state to actually represent it in Congress.
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Peltola → grow → Congress
In a nutshell:
One of the few Republicans who voted to convict Trump when he was impeached in 2021, longtime senator Susan Collins has outperformed her party in this Democratic-leaning state, partly by presenting herself as a rebel.
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Collins → vote → rebel
Her opponent Troy Jackson, who draws on his background as a lumberjack to persuade blue-collar Mainers he can relate to them, hopes that time is finally running out for one of the great survivors of US politics.
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time → draw → politics
Collins is hoping her reputation as a centrist will persuade independent-minded voters in a state that reliably votes Democratic in presidential elections.
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that → hop → elections
Now her campaign will test whether Republicans can win by distancing themselves from Trump.
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Republicans → test → Trump
Collins, who is seeking her sixth term, entered the midterm cycle as one of the most vulnerable incumbent Republicans seeking re-election.
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who → seek → election
But she has been helped by controversy on the other side of the aisle involving Graham Platner, who was ultimately replaced as the Democratic nominee by Jackson, a former president of the Maine state senate.
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who → help → senate
Both Jackson and Collins oppose Trump's tariffs on Canada, mindful of the impact they are having on this border state.
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they → oppose → state
Unlike Collins, though, he favours the abolition of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).
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he → favour → agency
How they got here:
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they → get → ?
Collins, 73, began her political career fresh from college in the 1970s and she entered the US Senate in 1997.
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she → begin → 1997
Jackson, 58, is a logger who became politically active when he helped to lead a protest to block lower-paid workers from Canada entering Maine.
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workers → become → Maine
James Talarico aims to end a decades-long electoral drought for the Democrats in Texas - and show that one of the Republicans' main strongholds could be in play for the 2028 presidential election.
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one → aim → election
His match-up with Ken Paxton has become the most expensive Senate race ever.
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up → become → Paxton
Republican Paxton knows his party has been winning statewide races in Texas for more than 30 years.
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party → know → years
Texas State Representative James Talarico, a former schoolteacher and Presbyterian seminary student, is the latest Democrat hoping to break his party's long losing streak.
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Talarico → hop → streak
Texas Republicans are facing a daunting combination of headwinds.
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Republicans → face → headwinds
It is a challenging national political environment for conservatives and there are several state issues like data centre construction and aggressive immigration enforcement that have cut against their party.
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that → challenge → party
Added to that is a controversial candidate, Paxton.
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candidate → add → that
The campaign has been acrimonious, with Talarico targeting Paxton's 2023 impeachment by the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives for alleged corruption, bribery and abuse of power.
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Talarico → target → power
Paxton denied the charges and was later acquitted by the state Senate, calling the impeachment a "politically motivated sham from the beginning".
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Paxton → deny → beginning
Supported by more than $170m in funds from tech mogul Elon Musk, Paxton has attempted to paint Talarico as a liberal who is out of touch with Texans on issues like transgender rights, law enforcement, immigration and energy policy.
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who → support → rights
A Democratic victory here might indicate America's second-biggest electoral prize in a presidential election could be within their reach in 2028 - a notion that could dramatically reshape the nation's political landscape.
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that → indicate → landscape
How they got here:
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they → get → ?
Before he entered public service, Paxton spent 14 years launching and building his own law firm.
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Paxton → enter → firm
He served in the state House and Senate before becoming the chief legal officer in Texas.
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He → serve → Texas
…and 48 more, not listed.
The Aporia
