Trump makes final midterm pitch as candidates seek last votes

President Donald Trump told Republicans they had given the midterm elections “a very strong shot” in his final scheduled remarks before voters choose the next Congress on Tuesday, Nov. 3. More than 57 million Americans have already voted early, according to the University of Florida Voting Lab, as candidates make their last appeals in close races across the country.

Speaking at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, Trump warned that Republicans could lose seats, saying the sitting president’s party often struggles in midterm elections. “For some reason, the sitting president doesn’t win the midterms,” he said. “But we gave this a very strong shot.” He called the country’s economy strong and claimed, without evidence presented in the remarks, that Democrats want people in the country illegally so they can vote.

Trump also spent part of his appearance describing renovations to the reflecting pool, saying its bottom had been resurfaced in a dark shade he called “American flag blue.” The project ran nearly three months late and cost more than 10 times its initial budget, Al Jazeera reported, citing the Associated Press.

Republicans are defending their majorities in both the Senate and House. In an interview with the New York Post’s Pod Force One podcast, Trump said he would become “Mr. Veto” if he had to work with Democrats. “They set stuff up, you veto it,” he said. “After a month or two of getting things vetoed, they come over, and you make a deal.”

Vice President JD Vance, after campaign stops in New York and Ohio, sounded confident but cautious. “I feel good about tomorrow, but obviously it’s in the hands of voters,” he told reporters. Vance said he believed Republican Mike Rogers would benefit from an endorsement by Michigan Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost her party’s Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed. Leading Democrats condemned Stevens’ decision, while Trump praised it, CBS News reported.

In Iowa’s competitive Senate race, Democrat Josh Turek urged supporters to make “six touch points” with voters, recalling that he won his first state House race in 2022 by six votes. “If each and every one of us does just a little bit more than what we’ve done before, it will be the difference between winning and losing this election,” he said in Onawa. His Republican opponent, Rep. Ashley Hinson, has emphasized living costs and called for the Iran war to reach a “successful and immediate end,” CBS News reported.

Immigration is shaping a competitive House race in South Texas. Democratic challenger Bobby Pulido said Republicans had secured the border but that “now there’s chaos in the streets” from aggressive immigration enforcement. Republican incumbent Monica De La Cruz said she had warned the White House that ICE operations were hurting the local economy. “Enforcement should focus on the cartels and the criminals, not hardworking immigrant families,” she told CBS News.

A federal judge in Washington was also due to hear a challenge to the administration’s position that armed immigration agents may enter polling places for enforcement. The plaintiffs say such operations could intimidate voters. The Department of Homeland Security says ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations, according to Al Jazeera.