Mid-term elections 2018: Trump makes final bid for votes

US President Donald Trump has made a last bid for voters to back the Republican party on the eve of the mid-term election.

“Everything we have achieved is at stake tomorrow,” he said during a blitz of three final rallies.

The nationwide vote on Tuesday is being seen as a referendum on his presidency.

His ability to govern in the final two years of his term will hinge upon the outcome.

Americans are going to the polls to vote on all 435 seats in the House, 35 of the 100 Senate seats and dozens of state governors.

With the control of Congress up for grabs, the president has ratcheted up rhetoric on divisive issues in a bid to energise his base.

Former President Barack Obama – on the campaign trail for the Democratic party – said earlier on Monday that “the character of our country is on the ballot”.

On Twitter, he said the vote “might be the most important of our lifetimes”.

What is at stake?

The mid-terms will decide which party will control the two houses of Congress.

If Republicans maintain their hold on the Senate and the House of Representatives, they could build on their agenda and that of President Trump.

But if the Democrats wrest control of one or both chambers, they could stymie or even reverse Mr Trump’s plans.

source: BBC