US votes on Trump rule

Americans started voting yesterday in critical midterm elections that mark the first major voter test of Donald Trump’s presidency, with control of Congress at stake. As polling stations opened at 6:00 am (1100 GMT) on the East Coast, Republicans were keenly aware that losing their majority will hamstring his divisive, nativist political agenda over the next two years. At stake are all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 seats in the 100-member Senate, 36 governor’s posts and seats in state legislatures across the country.

For almost two years, Trump’s rule-breaking, sometimes chaotic administration has enjoyed a largely free hand from the twin Republican-controlled chambers, but the midterms could finally see his wings clipped. According to nearly all pollsters, the Democrats have a good chance of winning the House, while the Republicans are likely to retain the Senate.

But with turnout a key unknown factor and pollsters still unsure about the effect of Trump’s maverick style on voters, both parties admit that they may be in for nasty surprises. After a campaign in which Trump was accused of race-baiting with repeated and unsubstantiated references to an “invasion” of undocumented immigrants bent on rape and murder, left-right divisions in America could not be deeper. Trump made himself the focus of the entire contest, jetting around the country to hold rallies -- in three states on Monday alone. The election is widely seen as a referendum on the first two years of his term.