WASHINGTON: For the wider world, the US election is all about who gets to move into the White House, but for many Americans, the battle for control of Congress is just as important — and looks set to go down to the wire. While the presidential race sucks up all the oxygen, hundreds of congressional districts nationwide will determine whether the incoming leader gets a unified government dedicated to enacting his or her agenda or bureaucratic deadlock.
"Congressional elections are just as important as the presidential race because Congress creates and passes the laws that directly impact people's lives," said Corryn Freeman of Future Coalition, an organisation that supports youth activists nationwide. "The public should pay close attention since control of Congress determines the direction of key issues like health care, education and climate policy — often having a more immediate effect than presidential decisions."
The US Capitol, the neoclassical citadel of American democracy overlooking Washington's National Mall, is divided into the House of Representatives, where all 435 seats are up for grabs — and a 100-member upper chamber, the Senate, where 34 seats are available.
When Republican candidate Donald Trump was last in power, he was blocked by Congress as he sought deep cuts to the State Department and an end to the Obamacare health insurance programme, and lawmakers could stand in his way again if he returns to the Oval Office. The two sides vying for control of Congress could hardly be more evenly matched in the final weekend before November 5.
Control of the House looks like a toss-up, while the Senate is likely to flip by a razor-thin margin to the Republicans because of the challenging election map for Democrats. The party of Trump's presidential rival Kamala Harris has a narrow one-seat Senate majority but is defending around two-thirds of the seats up for election.
Democrats begin election night with a default deficit of one as they have no chance of hanging on to retiring moderate Joe Manchin's seat in West Virginia, one of the most fervently Trumpist states in the union. Republicans need to flip just one other battleground to have an outright majority and are targeting Montana and Ohio, two more right-leaning states with longstanding Democratic incumbents. Democrats are hoping to offset any losses by unseating Florida's Rick Scott, whose lead has been cut to five points, or Ted Cruz, who is just four points ahead and in danger of relinquishing his party's nearly three-decade grip on Texas. — AFP
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