Tensions rise as midterm campaign ends with control of Congress at stake - CNA

In California, the Supreme Court quashed an attempt to block the counting of mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters who federal officials alleged were likely non-US citizens.

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, reopened after months of repairs in Washington, DC, on Nov 2, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Evan Vucci)

DETROIT: Congressional candidates made their final arguments to US voters on Monday (Nov 2), the eve of the midterm elections, with tensions running high in Michigan, where Abdul El-Sayed aims to become the first Muslim elected to the Senate, and in California, where the Supreme Court quashed an attempt by President Donald Trump's Justice Department to intervene.

With control of the US Congress at stake for his final two years in office, Trump devoted his last major speech before voting day to touting renovations of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, one of the Washington public works projects he has made a priority since returning to the White House.

All 435 seats in the US House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 US Senate seats will be contested on Tuesday. Democrats are widely favoured to retake the House but face a greater challenge in the Senate.

Loss of control in either chamber would constrain Trump's ability to pass legislation and empower Democrats to investigate his administration, while a Senate majority would also allow them to block his appointees to federal courts, including the Supreme Court.