US Midterms: Biden, Trump to Make Final Appeals

Facts

• Pres. Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump are firing up their respective political bases a day before Tuesday's midterm elections, with Biden set to hold a rally in Maryland on Monday evening, while Trump holds the final rally of the campaign in Ohio.
• Biden has already held a rally in New York — and Trump in Florida — to help cement support for Democratic and Republican candidates, respectively. Polling suggests that Republicans are to likely take the lower chamber but the Senate is still a toss-up between the main political parties.
• During their campaign, the GOP have strongly criticized Biden and the Democrats over high inflation and increased crime in the wake of the COVID pandemic. In contrast, Biden has claimed that many Republican candidates are threatening American democracy by echoing Trump's claims that the 2020 election was "stolen."
• Former Pres. Barack Obama — who has spent the last week traveling across the country to support Democratic Senate candidates — arrived in Pittsburgh on Saturday to promote John Fetterman. The Senate hopeful, who is also Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, faces a close fought race in the key state against GOP candidate Mehmet Oz.
• While in Pittsburgh, Obama told Democratic voters that “sulking and moping is not an option," saying: “let’s make sure our country doesn’t get set back 50 years.”
• The loss of control in either governmental chamber could pose a set back for the future of Biden's legislative agenda, and mean the likely return of crippling political division in the US.

Sources: Al Jazeera, BBC News, Reuters, FT, Associated Press, and Guardian.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by BreitBart. With Republicans showing gains in the polls nationwide, Democrats have been reduced to sending a desperately unpopular party leader to campaign for incumbent Democrats. Even in the supposedly "safe" blue area of southern California, Rep. Mike Levin faces a potential loss due to his party's woke social policies and economic agenda. This referendum on Biden's presidency will reflect a record of failure.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by CNN. In a set of elections with so many too-close-to-call races, Biden has focused strategically on retaining and sparking enthusiasm in typically Democrat supporting districts. Democratic campaigning has also highlighted those GOP election deniers who are continuing to make baseless claims about the 2020 presidential results — by putting forward such candidates, the Republicans are sabotaging their own chances.

Predictions