Democrats Face Michigan Senate Rift as Trump Pursues Ballot Court Action Before Midterms

Washington, United States. Democrats tried to limit a split in Michigan’s US Senate race after Representative Haley Stevens backed Republican Mike Rogers, while President Donald Trump continued his legal efforts over ballot counting on Monday. Both parties made their final appeals a day before midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

Michigan endorsement

Stevens lost the Democratic Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed in a bitter contest. Over the weekend she abruptly switched sides and appeared with Rogers at a church in Detroit. The race is central to Democratic hopes of overturning the 53-47 Senate majority held by Trump’s Republicans in Tuesday’s vote.

Related: US Midterms Eve: Trump Urges Turnout as Supreme Court Rejects California Ballot Challenge

RelatedUS Midterms Eve: Trump Urges Turnout as Supreme Court Rejects California Ballot Challenge

A spokesperson for El-Sayed’s campaign said it raised $2.4 million on Sunday, its biggest single-day total. The money came from more than 65,000 donors giving small amounts that averaged $36.74.

Legal moves over ballots

On the same Sunday as Stevens’ announcement, a federal judge threw out a US Justice Department lawsuit that aimed to stop certification of Alaska’s election results if Republican incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan loses narrowly in the battleground state.

Trump has been holding daily rallies around the country for Republican candidates. On Monday he filed an emergency request with the US Supreme Court asking it to temporarily stop California from counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters. Federal officials allege these voters are likely not US citizens.

California argued that the lawsuit could disenfranchise 20,000 voters on the basis of vague accusations. It also said the administration’s method of identifying noncitizens was flawed and prone to error.

Reflecting Pool reopening

Trump continues to claim falsely that widespread fraud caused his 2020 loss to Joe Biden. He was scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. ET (1900 GMT) at the belated reopening of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington. An earlier renovation, part of his beautification efforts for the capital, was botched by contractors, and the “American flag blue” liner peeled away. Trump had wrongly blamed vandals for the damage.

Outlook and turnout

Nonpartisan analysts generally favor Democrats to win a majority in the House of Representatives. A Senate majority is harder to achieve, but the analysts now regard races in traditionally Republican-leaning states, including Texas, Kansas and Iowa, as competitive. That gives the opposition party more possible routes to a majority.

Control of either chamber would limit Trump’s ability to pass legislation and let Democrats investigate his administration. A Senate majority would also enable them to block his nominees to federal courts, including the Supreme Court.

According to the University of Florida Election Lab, 55 million votes have already been cast in person and by mail. That compares with 45 million cast in the 2022 midterm elections.