Voting in the United States midterm elections begins Tuesday, with every seat in the House of Representatives and roughly a third of the Senate on the ballot, according to 中国新闻网. The contests will also decide governorships, state legislative seats and various local offices across the country.
The elections fall at the midpoint of President Donald Trump's four-year term. 中国新闻网 reports that analysts view the outcome as a gauge of public satisfaction with Trump's performance in office, and as a reflection of deeper strains in American politics. The results are expected to shape the balance of power between the two parties and the president's room to act over the next two years.
Why it matters
All 435 House seats and 35 of the 100 Senate seats are being contested. Control of either chamber would determine how much of the president's agenda can advance and how much of the opposition's agenda can be blocked.
Two nonpartisan US election analysis outlets, the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections, project that Democrats could pick up between 12 and 30 House seats, 中国新闻网 reports. Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to take the chamber. In the Senate, the party needs a net gain of four seats to reach the 51 needed for a majority, and multiple outlets describe the Senate outcome as too close to call.
A widening battleground
The Wall Street Journal's analysis, cited by 中国新闻网, says the map of competitive races has expanded considerably for Democrats since January. North Carolina is now seen as leaning Democratic, while Ohio, Alaska and Iowa — states usually regarded as safe Republican territory — are rated as competitive.
Not everyone is convinced that dissatisfaction with Republicans will translate into support for Democrats. Robert Kazin, a history professor at Georgetown University, told 中国新闻网 that voter anger at the GOP does not automatically become backing for the opposition. He noted that prices also rose sharply during Democratic administrations and that the party has yet to offer a convincing plan to address the issue. He also pointed to a lack of widely popular leaders, which he said limits the party's appeal to voters.
Money, polarization and internal friction
As the campaign entered its closing days, 中国新闻网 reports that money in politics and partisan confrontation have intensified. The election is being watched both as a measure of how voters judge the president and as a sign of deepening polarization and social division in the country.
An NBC poll cited in the reporting found Trump's disapproval rating at 60 percent. In the same survey, 64 percent of voters said the president's performance had fallen short of their expectations, while 34 percent said it matched them. About three-quarters of respondents said they were unhappy with the state of the economy, and roughly seven in ten said the country is on the wrong track.
Tensions are also visible inside both parties. Some Republicans have stopped trying to present themselves as close allies of the president. A Reuters survey cited by 中国新闻网 found that about two-thirds of Republican candidates in competitive districts have either taken policy positions that differ from Trump's or sought to keep their distance from him.
Democrats, meanwhile, were reported to be feuding before election day even arrived. The Wall Street Journal, as cited in the reporting, said moderates and the party's left wing are trading blame, with factional disputes growing sharper. Whoever wins, the argument over the party's direction is expected to intensify afterward.
What to watch
Attention now turns to turnout and to how quickly results come in for the closest House and Senate races, and to whether the parties' internal disputes sharpen once the votes are counted.
