Final weekend before the midterms: nearly 48 million votes already cast as Trump heads to Iowa and Kansas
Democrats are aiming for the House and possibly the Senate; the president still sees a chance for his party but admits history is against him.
On Tuesday 3 November, Americans elect an entirely new House of Representatives, with 435 seats, and roughly a third of the Senate. Early voting is at a record high: by Friday afternoon, 47.9 million Americans had already cast their ballots, according to La DH. Turnout is particularly high in the swing states, and among those who have already voted there are more registered Democrats than Republicans, the paper reports, citing AFP. De Morgen also reports a record number of early votes.
Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday that Republicans have a chance, before adding straight away that a president usually loses in midterm elections, La DH writes. On Sunday he campaigns in Iowa and Kansas, conservative states where the races are proving harder than expected. His popularity is very low, as Americans blame him for the high cost of living and the war with Iran. De Morgen explains why the president's weak support and rising prices make the election a close contest.
According to CNN polls cited by RTBF, House Democrats are heading for one of their biggest popular vote wins in decades, and a Senate majority also appears within reach. Knack notes that The Economist's forecasting model is more cautious than those of other analysts, and lists ten races that could make the difference. One of them is in Alaska, where Democrat Mary Peltola could win a seat that may prove decisive for the balance of power in the Senate; Trump is demanding that she withdraw, HLN writes. Democrats have deployed former president Barack Obama at rallies in states including Ohio, Michigan and Georgia, RTBF reports.
La Libre takes stock of almost two years of Trump's second term. On his two core promises, a lower cost of living and the fight against illegal immigration, the paper finds a mixed record. Inflation, at 3.7 percent, is higher than in January 2025, manufacturing jobs have declined and the number of Americans out of work for more than six months has risen by about 36 percent since the start of his term. Energy prices, driven up by Iran's blockade of Hormuz, weigh heavily on household budgets.