Trump makes closing pitch as US midterms enter final day

US midterm campaigns are in their final day, with President Donald Trump making a closing pitch in Washington and control of both chambers of Congress at stake.

Voters will decide all 435 House seats and 35 of the 100 Senate seats. BBC News reported Republicans held 219 House seats including two Republican-leaning independents, Democrats 214, with two vacancies, and that 218 seats are needed for a majority. Sky News put the Republican total at exactly 218 and said Democrats needed to gain just three seats. In the Senate, Republicans hold 53 seats to the Democrats' 47, including two independents who vote with them; 51 seats secures a majority. Democrats need a net gain of four. More than 50 million people had already voted, with around 100 million expected to vote in person.

Trump spoke at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington on the final day of campaigning, calling the vote 'the most important midterm, I believe, in our lifetime'. He warned that Democrats had nominated 'the most extreme and dangerous slate of candidates in American history'. BBC One West and ITV both noted that a large part of his speech dealt with construction projects and the reflecting pool rather than the cost of living. ITV reported that the pool renovation cost seven times the initial estimate and was beset with problems.

Polls suggest significant losses for Republicans, though several broadcasters noted that polls have underestimated Trump before. ITV reported that the latest New York Times-Siena poll put Democrats ahead in five of the seven key battleground states, more than enough to win the Senate, but that several leads were within the margin of error.

The Michigan Senate race was roiled by a last-minute Democratic split. Haley Stevens, a sitting Democratic congresswoman, endorsed Republican Mike Rogers after losing the primary to Abdul El-Sayed. El-Sayed would be the first Muslim elected to the US Senate. Sky News reported he was ahead by about six points. ITV reported that Stevens had accused him of trafficking in anti-Semitism and that the row had raised questions about whether Islamophobia would decide the race.

Other Senate races were also in focus. Sky News reported that in Georgia, Democrat Jon Ossoff led Republican Mike Collins by 15 points, and that Trump had launched legal challenges in Alaska and California and offered $1m for whistleblowing on election fraud. ITV reported that the Iowa Senate race was too close to call and that in Texas Democrat James Talarico was neck and neck with Republican Ken Paxton, with Trump's approval in the low 30s.

The cost of living was the dominant issue for many voters. BBC One West reported that voters' primary concern was the cost of living, and that most blamed Trump and the war in Iran for pushing up prices. Sky News reported that Trump had said he would not strike Iran until after the midterms, amid speculation about military action.