Democrats fracture in Michigan as Trump campaigns before midterms

President Donald Trump concluded the final weekend of a turbulent midterm campaign by holding rallies in two states he had previously won easily. On Monday afternoon, he planned to make his closing pitch at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, drawing renewed attention to his slow, expensive, and problem-plagued efforts to repair the site.

Meanwhile, Democrats began to fracture in Michigan, risking their effort to retake the Senate. Haley Stevens, Abdul El-Sayed's former opponent in the U.S. Senate primary, stunned party officials on Sunday by endorsing Republican Mike Rogers.

“The Iran war is making it exponentially harder for Republicans to keep the House and Senate.”

The midterm elections are set for Tuesday and almost always serve as a referendum on the president's party. Losses typically ensue for the party in power.

Trump's decisions to impose tariffs, start a war, and oversee extravagant Washington renovations have made it harder for Republicans to navigate historical headwinds. These actions have a direct connection to higher gas prices, costlier groceries, and persistently high inflation.

Republicans cannot blame the fallout from those decisions on past administrations because Trump has owned them so fully. They also cannot easily distance themselves from an unpopular president who demands loyalty and routinely tells voters the economy is just fine.

At virtually every juncture before Election Day, Trump has complicated the task of protecting Republican majorities in Congress. Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin said the Iran war is making it exponentially harder for Republicans to keep the House and Senate.

The NAACP is asking a judge for an emergency order limiting which federal staffers can monitor the polls on Election Day.