Midterms 2018: Early voting sees record-breaking turnout as Oprah heads on campaign trail for Stacey Abrams
The major elections are less than a week away
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Your support makes all the difference.The US is just four days away from the 2018 midterm elections on 6 November and races around the country are heating up.
Democrats are attempting to gain control of the US House and Senate in the wake of a contentious, partisan battle over the newly-confirmed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
There are several state and local races of importance, too, as the parties square off for control of state legislatures and local city councils.
Follow our liveblog below for all the latest as the elections approach
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President Donald Trump has endorsed Representative Dave Brat, calling the Republican a hard worker and one of the "smartest" people in Washington.
Mr Brat is running for reelection in Virginia, where he is facing Democrat Abigail Spanberger in what has shaped up to be a tough race. The district has been considered a Republican stronghold for years, but appears to be up for grabs this year with Mr Trump in office.
Early voting is already underway in many parts of the country, with some areas seeing incredible turnout for a non-presidential election year.
In Nashville, Tennessee, for instance, the turnout was close to the level seen during presidential elections on the first day of early voting before the midterms.
Other areas have experienced some snags, however, with changes to the rules in North Carolina resulting in nearly 20 per cent fewer places to cast a vote before Election Day. That decrease has led to bipartisan protest, with Democrats saying the new rules disproportionately impact African American voters, while Republicans say that it puts too much top-down control from the state on elections.
↵There is a lot of money being thrown around in Florida, and billionaire Tom Steyer has donated another $2 million to help democrat Andrew Gillum, who is running to become the governor of Florida.
Here is our story on the donation:
That is it for our coverage today, we are wrapping it up for the night.
Thanks for reading along with us, and please join us tomorrow for continued coverage as the midterm elections in America creep ever closer.
Good morning from New York and around the US! We're back to bring you updates on the US midterm elections set to take place in just a few weeks on 6 November.
Our own Clark Mindock is on the campaign trail in Florida where there are some of the most expensive and important races taking place.
As the peninsular state continues to recover from the massive damage wrought by Hurricane Michael, just one year after Hurricane Irma, climate change becomes a topic of debate between Democratic candidate for governor Andrew Gillum and Republican Ron DeSantis.
Read more here:
For readers wondering what all the terms in the very specific US election and campaign rhetoric mean, we have put together a useful glossary for you to keep on hand as you read through our 2018 midterms coverage.
This is the first election taking place in the US since Donald Trump's victory and while elections in the middle of a sitting president's term can be a sort of referendum on the administration and party in power, 2018 could shape up to be a reinforcement of his particular brand of politics.
Here is a guide to the seven major issues to watch in this election from Mr Trump's unprecedented campaigning, taking control of Congress, women in office, Taylor Swift and Kanye, and the obscene amounts of money being spent.
Our own Andrew Buncombe reporting from Washington, DC, poses the five biggest questions on voters' and candidates' minds in the next few weeks.
Read more here:
The Independent has tried to profile some of the more 'unlikely' candidates in this election cycle and our own Chris Riotta went to Texas to talk to Gina Ortiz-Jones, who is looking to be Texas' first out lesbian, Filipina, Iraq war veteran to serve the state in the US Congress.
Read more here:
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