President Donald Trump delivered a closing campaign appeal on Monday afternoon, urging his base to head to the polls ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections while warning that Republicans face stiff political headwinds.
Speaking at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., just under 24 hours before polls opened, Trump characterized the midterm contest as “the most important midterm, I believe, in our lifetime.” He launched sharp attacks against the Democratic Party, accusing them of nominating “the most extreme and dangerous slate of candidates in American history” and criticizing their positions on immigration and transgender rights.
“We have to keep our Congress strong, free, a little bit of apple pie,” Trump told the gathered crowd.
Recalling his 2024 presidential victory, Trump asserted that “America is ready to go. They’re ready to vote. I hope they’re ready to do the right thing.” He added that if his supporters turn out in sufficient numbers, Republicans “will win in a landslide.”
At the same time, the President acknowledged historical trends that typically weigh against the party in power during midterms. “That doesn’t happen because usually, whoever the sitting President is, Republican or Democrat, good or bad, good President, great President, bad, for some reason, the sitting President doesn’t win the midterms. But we gave this a very strong shot,” he said.
Political science experts note that midterm elections frequently function as a referendum on the administration in power. Michele Swers, a professor of American government at Georgetown University, previously noted that voters tend to channel their dissatisfaction with the presidency toward the sitting president’s party during midterms.
Republicans face a demanding political environment as voting begins. Trump’s approval rating dropped to historic lows ahead of the election, reaching levels comparable to Harry Truman’s standing prior to the 1946 midterms. Meanwhile, generic ballot polling has shown most voters favoring Democratic candidates, and recent surveys in historically Republican strongholds such as Texas and South Carolina indicate GOP candidates fighting to maintain traditional advantages.
Final pre-election polling from major independent trackers showed Democratic Senate candidates leading or competitive in several pivotal races, including Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, James Talarico in Texas, Troy Jackson in Maine, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, and Adam Hamilton in Kansas.
Ahead of Tuesday’s in-person voting, more than 57.5 million Americans had already cast ballots, according to data compiled by the University of Florida’s Election Lab. In states that track party registration, registered Democrats accounted for roughly 43% of early ballots, compared to 31.7% for registered Republicans, with unaffiliated or third-party voters making up the remaining 25.3%.
Because Republican voters have shown a stronger preference for in-person voting on Election Day in recent cycles, GOP turnout on Tuesday is expected to narrow the early voting gap. Official results and final outcomes in several competitive states may take days to resolve after polls close.
