It's Election Day in America, with voters heading to the polls to determine control of the U.S. House and Senate for the next two years.
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voters → head → years
Republicans are defending their slim congressional majorities, but President Donald Trump predicts the GOP will hold the House and Senate for the final two years of his presidency.
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GOP → defend → presidency
"We're going to win and let's make the next two years bigger and better and stronger than ever before," Trump told supporters Sunday night at a rally in Kansas.
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Trump → go → Kansas
But Republicans are fighting political history, as the party in power in Washington has traditionally lost seats during midterm election years.
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party → fight → years
The GOP also faces a challenging political climate fueled by persistent inflation tied in part to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and Trump's increasingly negative approval ratings.
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polls → face → Iran
The GOP is also facing a potential turnout deficit, with public opinion polls indicating Democrats are more energized than Republicans to cast ballots in the midterms.
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Democrats → face → midterms
Early voting in the midterms has shattered previous records, with more than 54 million people already casting ballots, according to the Associated Press.
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people → shatter → Press
That's nearly nine million more ballots cast in early voting than in 2022, the previous midterm elections.
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That → cast → 2022
With early voting traditionally favoring Democrats, Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters, pointing to Election Day turnout, recently told Fox News Digital, "If our voters turn out, we win."
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we → favor → Digital
The political climate has the GOP playing plenty of defense on the campaign trail, as the president tries to energize the GOP base.
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president → have → base
Trump's event in red-leaning Kansas, which he touted as his 30th rally over the past month, came hours after the Fox News Power Rankings shifted the state's Senate race from Lean Republican to Toss-up.
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Rankings → lean → Toss
Democratic pastor Adam Hamilton, who is challenging GOP Sen. Roger Marshall, is aiming to become the first Democrat in nearly a century to win a Senate election in Kansas.
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who → challenge → Kansas
The Fox News Power Rankings, as well as many of the leading nonpartisan political handicappers, point to Democrats retaking control of the House, with the majority in the Senate a toss-up heading into Election Day.
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majority → lead → Day
"Think of what is possible tomorrow: Democrats can flip the House, take back the Senate, and stop Trump’s harmful agenda," Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin spotlighted, in an Election Eve social media post.
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Martin → think → post
Plus, all but four states are holding legislative elections.
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states → hold → elections
And voters will also weigh in on 145 statewide ballot measures in states from coast to coast.
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voters → weigh → coast
The big question with Election Day upon us — have the public opinion polls that point to a potential blue wave undercounted Republican voters?
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that → point → voters
We'll find out in the coming hours.
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We → find → hours
Republicans currently control the chamber 53-47, which means Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win back the majority.
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Democrats → control → majority
The GOP needs to hold at least 50 seats to retain control of the chamber, since Republican Vice President JD Vance is the tie-breaking vote in the Senate.
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Vance → need → Senate
Besides Kansas, Republicans are also playing defense in Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas, which are all rated toss-ups in the Power Rankings.
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which → play → Rankings
They're also defending seats in competitive races in Kansas, which is rated Lean Republican, and Ohio, which is rated Lean Democrat.
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which → defend → Kansas
The GOP is hanging on to a razor-thin majority in the House, with Democrats needing a net gain of just three seats to reach 218, which would hand them the majority.
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which → hang → majority
A good night for the Democrats could see them ending up with as many as 240 seats in the 435-seat chamber, according to the Power Rankings.
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them → see → Rankings
But if Republicans have a good night, they could end up with 212 seats.
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they → have → seats
That’s six short of a majority, but enough to make life difficult for the next Democratic House speaker, who would have to balance the demands of the moderate and far-left wings of the party.
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who → ’ → party
The earliest-closing districts on election night will give some sense of the House’s future.
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districts → close → future
"Keep an eye on Kentucky’s 6th District, which covers Lexington and a large central area of the state.
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which → keep → state
Trump won here by 15 points in the last presidential election.
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Trump → win → election
Thanks to a combination of left-leaning college voters and farmers grappling with higher costs, it looks close this cycle," Remy Numa, a Fox News contributor who steers the network's Power Rankings, said.
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who → lean → Rankings
The Power Rankings list three states where the GOP controls the governor's office – Alaska, Nevada and Georgia – as toss-ups.
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GOP → list → ups
Wisconsin, which has an open Democratic-controlled governor's office, is also rated a toss-up.
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which → have → office
The gubernatorial races in red states Florida, Kansas and Texas are rated Lean Republican, according to the Power Rankings.
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races → rat → Rankings
Meanwhile, the showdowns in Arizona, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and Oregon are rated Lean Democrat.
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showdowns → rat → Arizona
BALLOT MEASURES
Referendums requiring voters to present identification when they show up at the polls, or bans on noncitizen voting, are on the ballot in 11 states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota and West Virginia.
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bans → require → states
Voters in Alaska will also decide if they want to repeal the state’s ranked choice voting system, open primaries and a campaign finance disclosure rule.
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they → decide → system
Voters approved the current system in 2020 and narrowly kept it in 2024.
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Voters → approve → 2024
But the voting system has come under fresh scrutiny amid the controversy over a potential spoiler candidate in Alaska's U.S. Senate race.
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system → come → race
Voters in Virginia will decide whether the right to vote should be restored to convicted felons upon their release.
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right → decide → release
California's Proposition 40 is making national headlines.
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Proposition → make → headlines
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia
