A day before the midterm elections in the United States of America, crucial for the remaining term of Joe Biden and for the political future of Donald Trump, two American presidents, the current and the former, will come face to face. on Monday in competitive campaign rallies, in the final sprint of the campaign.

Two politicians in their seventies are putting their full weight into this electoral process that will lay the groundwork for the 2024 presidential election.

Tomorrow Tuesday, Americans are called to the polls to renew all seats in the US House of Representatives and a third of the seats in the Senate. Also at stake is a number of local elected officials who determine their state’s policy on issues from abortion to the environment.

After a high-profile campaign on inflation, Republicans are increasingly confident in their chances to deprive the Democratic president of his majority in both houses of Congress.

“If you want to end the destruction of our country and save the American dream, then on Tuesday you must vote Republican to create a huge wave” of the Reds, this faction of the American right, Donald Trump said over the weekend.

“Selection”

Two years before the presidential election, these elections are usually characterized as a referendum on the current owner of the White House. Typically, the president’s party rarely avoids penalty voting in these contests.

Joe Biden has consistently stressed that this election gives Americans a “choice”: it is about abortion rights and the future of democracy in America, he insists, and some Republican candidates threaten to reject the results if they lose.

Tonight, the leader of the Democratic Party will speak in Maryland, a state neighboring the capital, Washington.

Just hours before the polls open, Donald Trump’s archrival will find himself in a crucial Ohio state, where one of his foals, J.D. Vance, is reported to have a slight lead in the polls.

The Republican billionaire is fully immersed in the campaign, fully aware of the fact that an eventual victory for his party’s candidates would provide him with an ideal springboard to run for the 2024 election.

Joe Biden has so far said he wants to run again, but the prospect doesn’t appeal to all Democrats, both because of his age (he’ll be 80 soon) and his low popularity. Therefore, the outcome of tomorrow’s elections is of decisive importance for his own political future.

Critical states

The elections will be decided in several key states, more or less the same as in the 2020 elections.

All eyes are on Pennsylvania, a former steel stronghold where Donald Trump-backed multimillionaire Republican surgeon Mehmet Oz will take on former Democratic mayor John Fetterman for the most contested Senate seat.

This seat is likely to determine the balance of power in the American upper house, a body of immense power.

As in 2020, Georgia is also in the spotlight. Democrat Raphael Warnock, the first black senator ever elected by this state with a heavy slave and racist past, is seeking re-election against Herschel Walker, a former African-American athlete whom the former president publicly endorsed.

Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin and South Carolina will also be the scene of fierce battles, especially where Democrats face Donald Trump-backed candidates who swear total loyalty to the former White House master.

These one-sided contests are worth millions of dollars. According to an analysis by the website OpenSecrets, almost $17 billion was spent on these midterm elections in total, an unprecedented amount.

Source: RES-IPE