The midterm election campaigns reached their final hours on Monday as candidates and party leaders prepared to deliver closing arguments following a weekend marked by unexpected controversies, high-profile endorsements, and shifting battleground dynamics. Voters across the nation face pivotal choices that will determine the balance of power in Washington and shape the remainder of President Trump’s term.
President Trump is scheduled to speak on Monday at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, coming off a series of weekend rallies in red states. Meanwhile, polls indicate that voter frustration with the cost of living has made even deeply conservative states competitive, with a recent survey showing Democratic Senate candidates leading their Republican rivals in seven major battleground states as Democrats eye a potential path to reclaiming the Senate.
Yet the final days have been rocked by distinct controversies and logistical scrambles across the map. In Michigan, the Senate race was jolted on Sunday when Representative Haley Stevens, who lost the Democratic primary to Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, endorsed the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers. The move thrust party divisions into the open just as Democratic leaders pleaded for unity. Despite the friction, El-Sayed’s campaign announced it raised $2.4 million on Sunday from more than 65,000 donors.
In Kansas, embattled Republican Senator Roger Marshall took the unusual step of filming a video to rebut attacks regarding lawsuits he filed against more than 700 former patients seeking debt payments. The video circulated on social media on Saturday as Senator Marshall bypassed some top advisers to address the controversy directly. Meanwhile, President Trump campaigned in Iowa and Kansas, while a federal judge in Alaska dismissed a pre-emptive challenge by the Trump administration regarding that state’s Senate outcome.
Financial contributions have reached unprecedented heights this cycle. Elon Musk has injected $474 million into federal and state political groups since January 2025, marking the largest political donation by an individual donor outside of self-funded presidential bids. His spending includes $216 million to his super PAC, America PAC, $168 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, $30 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, and tens of millions more directed toward state-level and other Republican efforts. A substantial portion of these funds has targeted the Texas Senate race, where Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton faces a formidable challenge from Democrat James Talarico.
Mr. Paxton’s campaign has leaned heavily on high-profile surrogates, including Vice President JD Vance, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and President Trump, to draw crowds amid voter anxiety over a late start to his airwave advertising and bus tour. Mr. Paxton has faced persistent questions regarding past legal and ethical challenges, which he has denied, while focusing his stump speeches on economic costs, border security, and sharp critiques of his opponent.
In California, potential 2028 presidential contenders Governor Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris appeared together in public for the first time this year on Sunday night. Speaking at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, the two longtime allies rallied support for Xavier Becerra, the Democratic candidate seeking to succeed Mr. Newsom, while keeping their remarks strictly disciplined on flipping control of Congress.
With tens of millions of early votes already cast and turnout surpassing previous midterm levels in states like Texas, the final outcome remains heavily contested. Parties on both sides made their final appeals on Monday, urging supporters to turn out and cast ballots as the campaigns draw to a definitive close.
