US midterm elections: Republicans confident of a 'red wave'

Voters in the United States, are casting their ballots in key midterm elections, which will determine the make up of the next Congress, and Republican officials are confident that Grand Old Party (GOP) is on track to clean majorities in both houses of Congress ending two years democratic control in Washington.

After voting in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump predicted that Republicans would have "a great night" and that the upcoming event "would be very exciting for a lot of people."

Election officials are stationed outside every voting centre in the country keeping a close on the polls for any site of voter intimidation and in 24 states the justice department will send poll monitors.

The US midterm elections will determine who will control Congress with the Senate 35 seats are up for grabs, and 36 governorships. Republicans are heavily favoured to regain control of the House. The narrowly divided Senate's fate would be determined by key races in Wisconsin, Arizona, and North Carolina.

The term midterm comes from halfway through a president's four-year term and the presidency is not on the ballot however the party is. Issues that are pulling voters to come out and vote range from the state of the economy hurting Americans, abortion rights, Trump's election-denying rhetoric and the state of American democracy.

For President Biden, the outcome of the November 8 election is about far more than who controls the house and senate. If Democrats lose control of the house, Biden will be hamstrung for the final two years of his presidency at least when it comes to domestic policy. Then there's the impact on the president's broader political standing to consider.

A Republican victory would mean very little can be achieved on the remaining policy goals that would need to go through a republican led Congress. The defeat could also weaken President Biden's case for reelection. President Biden could also face a blitz of investigations that Republicans have promised to pursue into the business dealings of his son Hunter Biden.

Biden said Monday evening he felt optimistic about Democrats' odds of keeping the House and Senate, but added he's always optimistic and maintaining a majority in the House will be "tougher."

Former President Donald Trump, who has frequently hinted at running for president again in 2024, said on Monday that he had a "very big announcement" coming November 15"I'm going to be making a very big announcement on Tuesday, Nov. 15," Trump said at an evening rally in Ohio on behalf of Republican candidates.

Trump has involved himself in the midterms from the start, making a huge number of endorsements in Republican primaries. In most cases, his backing helped lift his chosen candidates to victory.

But November 8 brings a moment of truth as the former president and his party mull the possibility of him running again in 2024. The fate of Trump-backed candidates in tight races will be crucial.

On the other hand, if the Trump-backed candidates lose, it is bound to fuel doubts, even within the GOP, about his polarizing approach.

As voters across the US wake up on Wednesday morning after the election, the results of the 2020 midterms are unlikely to be completely clear - with officials across the country warning that elections may drag on for days or weeks.

The expected delays are the result of a number of factors, including razor-thin margins between candidates, potentially contested elections and the possibility of recounts.

Other delays will be due to the decentralised way in which elections are set up in the US, in which states have varied rules for how mail-in ballots are counted, and when.

The issue of delays has been a politically contentious one since the 2020 presidential election, when then-President Donald Trump attempted to claim victory the following morning while votes were still being tallied, declaring continued voting counting a "fraud" and an "embarrassment".

( With inputs from ANI )