Americans vote Tuesday in a midterm election that has been cast as a referendum on U.S. President Barack Obama and that is expected to give opposition Republicans control of both chambers of Congress.
But for a country tired of partisan politics and legislative gridlock, the prospect of the Democrats losing their majority in the Senate could make things worse.
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"I would hope that once we get past the election, that elected officials from both parties can sit down and work on policies together," said Danielle Glover, 28, a Colorado voter.
Polling across the board gives Republicans well over a 50 per cent chance of turning out at least six incumbent Senate Democrats or capturing seats left vacant by Democrat retirements. Thirty-six Senate seats are on the ballot.
There was little suspense about the races for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, beyond the size of the new Republican majority. A gain of 13 seats would give Republicans their largest representation since it stood at 246 in 1946. Democrats concentrated on protecting their incumbents.
The party that holds the White House traditionally loses seats in a midterm election, when the president is not on the ballot. Turnout drops, but both parties hope to mitigate that trend with sophisticated new voter-targeting methods used in recent presidential elections.
Candidate for U.S. Senate Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, smiles as he talks with the young daughter of a voter at a polling place during U.S. midterm elections in Charlotte, N.C. (Chris Keane/Reuters)
Democrats weighed down by Obama's low approval ratings kept their distance from him and looked to a costly get-out-the-vote operation in the most competitive Senate races to save their seats and their majority. They were working furiously to reach out to minority, women and young voters who tend to sit-out elections when the presidency is not at stake. Those voters tend to back Democrats.
About 10 Senate races have drawn most of the attention, but Democrats were at a disadvantage because these were either in Republican-leaning states carried by Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election or evenly divided swing states. In these competitive states, astronomical spending and uncountable attack ads have dominated campaigning — with few ideas offered on how best to govern. Serious discussions about trade and energy policies, deficit spending, climate change, immigration and other knotty issues rarely emerged.
Obama and the Democrats face an electorate that remains deeply concerned about the direction of the economy, though it has shown signs of improvement. Terrorism has re-emerged as a top issue, as well as the threat posed by the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, and polls showed Republicans have an edge on handling both issues. And Obama's administration has faced questions about its competency, from Secret Service scandals to the bungled roll-out of the president's health care program, known as Obamacare.
Vice President Joe Biden promoted the president's economic agenda on radio in key states, telling one host that even if Republicans win the Senate, he and Obama will push for policies that address what he called an "overwhelming dislocation of wealth."
Democrats on the ballot didn't so much defend the president as insist they were independent of him.
Republicans were all but assured of winning Democratic-held seats in West Virginia, Montana and South Dakota, and Democrats held out little hope that Sen. Mark Pryor could win re-election in Arkansas.
Polls suggested that races for Democratic-held seats in Iowa, Colorado and Alaska have tilted for Republicans — although Democrats said their get-out-the-vote operation made any predictions unreliable.
Democratic incumbents also faced competitive races in New Hampshire and in North Carolina where Democrats said they had an edge; Republicans disagreed.
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, casts his vote at a polling station in the Brooklyn Borough of New York. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)
Strategists in both parties said candidates in Louisiana and Georgia were unlikely to reach the 50-per cent threshold needed to avoid a runoff. The wildest wild card of all was in Kansas, where polls said 78-year-old Republican Sen. Pat Roberts was in a close race with independent Greg Orman in a state that has only sent Republicans to the Senate for nearly 80 years.
Democrats had hoped to pick up the Kentucky seat held by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, but recent polls showed him building a lead over Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes. McConnell would be in line to control the Senate's agenda as majority leader if Republicans win Tuesday.
That left Georgia as the Democrats' best opportunity to pick up a Republican seat, with Democrat Michelle Nunn, whose father served four six-year terms in the Senate, facing Republican businessman David Perdue.
Also on the ballot were governor's races in 36 states, and an unusual number of incumbents from both parties appeared to be struggling.
Among the most closely watched is Wisconsin, where Republican Gov. Scott Walker is in a bitter and tight race with Democratic challenger Mary Burke. Walker, a favorite of conservative Republicans, is often mentioned as a potential candidate in 2016, but his White House chances likely would evaporate if he loses Tuesday.
In another hard-fought race, Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott is facing a tough challenge from Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor-turned-Democrat.
Early voting topped 18 million ballots in 32 states, and both parties seized on the number as evidence of their own strength.
