Polls open for US midterms in vote seen as referendum on Trump

Washington [US], November 5: Polling began in the United States on Tuesday, where millions of citizens are indirectly casting their verdict on the policies of President Donald Trump.
In East Coast states such as New York and New Hampshire, polling stations opened at 6 am (1100 GMT). In the north-eastern state of Vermont, some polling stations were scheduled to open an hour earlier still. From 7 am, states including most of Texas (1300 GMT), Colorado (1400 GMT)
and California on the West Coast (1500 GMT) were set to follow.
The last to open are polling stations in Alaska and Hawaii, at 1600 and 1700 GMT respectively.
Millions cast their vote early however - including the president himself. Until shortly before the first polling stations opened in Vermont, the University of Florida's Election Lab counted almost 58.7 million early votes. This can be done by postal ballot or by voting ahead of time.
The midterms are set to shape the remaining two years of Trump's time in office, with control of the House of Congress up for grabs.
Voters will determine whether Trump can continue to rely on a Republican-controlled Congress, or whether he will face greater headwinds and checks from the opposition Democrats.
Americans are choosing all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 Senate seats.
During the campaign, Trump had hoped to boost support for Republican candidates with his appeal to voters: "Pretend I'm on the ticket." But with polls showing his personal approval ratings at a record low, Democrats are hoping that this strategy will ultimately backfire.
If Democrats gain control of one or both chambers of Congress, they could thwart Trump's legislative agenda and launch investigations into his administration, including summoning government officials to testify under oath.
Control of the Senate would also allow Democrats to block Trump's judicial nominees, potentially limiting his ability to shape the federal judiciary.
In addition to the House and Senate, most states are holding elections for governor, the most powerful office in a state, including in California, Arizona and Michigan.
On the eve of the midterms, Trump - who is usually confident of victory - noted that results have often been poor for the party in government. The sitting president usually "doesn't win the midterms", he noted, whether Republican or Democrat. Art the same time, he said, "We gave this a very strong shot."
Historically, the party in government has almost always lost seats in Congress in midterm elections. Given the weak approval ratings for Trump's policies, losing some seats in both chambers of Congress would not be unusual.
Trump is not personally standing in the midterm elections.
Source: Qatar Tribune