Voters nationwide will decide control of the U.S. House and Senate.
asserted
Voters → decide → House
Democrats must flip four seats in the Senate and three seats in the House to wrest control of the chambers from Republicans.
asserted
Democrats → flip → Republicans
Control of Congress would give Democrats a way to push back against President Donald Trump’s agenda during the final two years of his term.
asserted
Control → give → term
The battle for control is playing out mostly in states and districts Trump previously won by wide margins.
asserted
Trump → play → margins
All eyes are on Senate contests in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Texas, while House battlegrounds are scattered across the country.
asserted
battlegrounds → scatter → country
Democrats have homed in on Trump’s poor approval rating, public dissatisfaction with the war in Iran and affordability concerns.
asserted
Democrats → home → Iran
Republicans have focused on social issues, while Trump has made himself the central character of the midterms.
asserted
himself → focus → midterms
Massive spending and presidential visits signal Ohio is back in play
Republicans should have run away with critical contests for U.S. Senate and governor, based on Trump’s three consecutive sweeping victories in the state.
asserted
Republicans → signal → state
Instead, they headed into Election Day in close contests with their Democratic rivals.
asserted
they → head → rivals
Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown has mounted a comeback bid against Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, appointed last year to the seat formerly held by Vice President JD Vance.
asserted
Brown → mount → Vance
Both Trump and Vance visited Ohio in the campaign’s closing weeks to rally voters, as did former President Barack Obama for Democrats.
asserted
Obama → visit → Democrats
The governor’s contest pits Republican biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy against Democrat Dr. Amy Acton, the state’s former COVID-era health director.
asserted
contest → pit → Acton
An ad Ramaswamy ran featuring Acton’s estranged mother became a flashpoint in the race and across the U.S.
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy warns of massive Russian strikes as the world focuses on US midterms
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia will step up massive drone and missile strikes on his country’s energy facilities this week while international attention is focused on the U.S. midterm elections.
“The world will be watching the American midterms, and what is happening here in Ukraine, along with our difficulties with air defense and Patriot missiles, will be overlooked,” he said in an evening video post.
asserted
he → run → post
Russian ballistic missiles and drones damaged energy facilities in 10 Ukrainian regions Tuesday — part of a campaign by Moscow to pressure Kyiv over the winter months.
asserted
missiles → damage → months
General mood of the country from AP-NORC polling
Americans have been in a sour mood about the country’s direction for several years, according to AP-NORC polling.
uncertain
Americans → accord → polling
About 7 in 10 U.S. adults say the country is heading in the wrong direction, according to AP-NORC polling from September.
uncertain
country → say → September
Only about one-quarter of U.S. adults say things are headed in the “right direction.”
asserted
things → say → direction
Democrats and independents are much likelier than Republicans to say things are not going the right way.
asserted
things → say → Republicans
Roughly 6 in 10 U.S. adults say they are feeling “very” or “somewhat” pessimistic about the state of politics in this country, according to an AP-NORC poll from October.
uncertain
they → say → October
About half are feeling negatively about the future of democracy in the U.S.
US will halt $4B in aid to Israel as ally shifts to buying military hardware, Trump says
The Republican president told Fox News Channel during an Election Day telephone interview that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had approached him about the idea and that they have been talking about it for a couple of years.
asserted
they → feel → years
Trump said Israel doesn’t need the aid and that it’s a lot of money for the U.S. to spend.
asserted
U.S. → say → money
But Trump also said the aid had become a Democratic talking point for candidates such as Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
asserted
aid → say → Sayed
“We give them $4 billion of things and money, and they don’t need it,” Trump said.
asserted
Trump → give → it
Netanyahu’s office had no immediate comment.
asserted
office → have → comment
The United States has sent tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Israel over the past few years.
asserted
States → send → years
Trump has spent months trying to overhaul how US elections work, without much success
This year’s midterm elections are being run by state and local officials, in much the way they’ve always done it — but that’s not for lack of trying by Trump.
The Republican president has been trying to expand his influence over the way U.S. elections operate ever since returning to office, largely unsuccessfully, through executive action, lawsuits and legislation.
asserted
elections → spend → action
The Supreme Court in September closed the chapter on one of his boldest efforts — a plan that would have demanded a dramatic overhaul of the nation’s mail voting processes.
asserted
that → close → processes
Trump also failed this year to coerce the Republican-led Senate to pass his SAVE America Act, which would have required documentary proof of citizenship for anyone registering to vote.
asserted
which → fail → anyone
Still, some of his administration’s efforts have succeeded in reshaping the midterms, including a redistricting push that convinced multiple Republican-led states to pass partisan congressional maps to minimize potential losses.
asserted
that → succeed → losses
Trump says midterm results will be ‘better than you think’
asserted
you → say → ?
Trump says Tuesday’s midterm results will be “better than you think” for Republicans, declaring that “inflation is solved” and “everything’s going good.”
asserted
everything → say → Republicans
Trump’s closing day message conflicts with frustration many voters are feeling with the economy, as the cost of groceries, gas and healthcare has climbed despite the president’s promise to bring down prices.
asserted
cost → conflict → prices
Inflation is running at 3.7% annually, up from 3% when Trump’s second term started.
asserted
term → run → %
Trump didn’t acknowledge concerns about prices in his Tuesday morning interview with “Fox and Friends.”
asserted
Trump → acknowledge → Fox
Instead, he touted his administration’s immigration enforcement and said U.S. manufacturing was expanding.
asserted
manufacturing → tout → enforcement
“I think the results are going to be better than you think,” he said.
asserted
he → think → ?
Talarico takes Democrats’ biggest swing in years at winning Texas
Texas hasn’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1988, but the party is brimming with hope that it has the perfect storm to do so this year: a well-spoken candidate in James Talarico, an opponent saddled with scandals in Republican Ken Paxton, and an election favoring Democrats nationwide.
asserted
it → win → Democrats
Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian and state lawmaker, has focused on Texans’ struggles against everyday costs, which he squarely blames on uber-wealthy people corrupting politics.
asserted
people → focus → politics
Paxton, Talarico argues, is the flag-bearer of that corruption.
asserted
Talarico → argue → corruption
He’s lived under a cloud of ethical questions, which led to his own party impeaching him on corruption allegations in the statehouse.
asserted
party → live → statehouse
…and 112 more, not listed.
The Aporia
