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 is planning on making a swing through the western United States this week to try and energise Republican voters in some key states.
The swing is a part of an overall effort he has made to get his message out to voters. So far, Mr Trump has mostly stayed in districts and states that he won in 2016.
He will be campaigning on Thursday in Missoula, Montana; on Friday in Mesa, Arizona, and on Saturday in Elko, Nevada
In case you missed it over the weekend, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney announced that he has re-registered as a Democrat in a move that was interpreted as showing he wants to create distance between himself and his former client.
Mr Cohen pleaded guilty earlier this year to eight criminal charges, including one charge in which he admitted to paying off two women who have alleged affairs with Mr Trump.
Comparisons during this election season between Mr Trump and his predecessor Barack Obama are inevitable.
Mr Trump, according to CBS News, has held 33 'Make America Great Again' red hat-filled rallies across 17 states.
Two additional rallies were for actual candidates running for office - in South Carolina and Alabama.
Mr Obama had held nine rallies, all for Democratic candidates in the 2010 midterms election or the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and one for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.
Not being in the White House has not stopped Mr Obama from issuing a host of endorsements this year and saying to the Washington Post recently: "[W]e have a midterm election coming up that will be...an opportunity for us to stop the bleeding, to restore a sense of hope and promise, to, in very concrete terms, save peoples' lives and make sure they have health care."
Even embattled figures like Mr Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen have weighed in on the midterms.
He said in a statement the 6 November elections "might be the most important in our lifetime" just days after he re-registered as a Democrat in New York.
His lawyer Lanny Davis said his client is "putting family and country first -distancing himself from the values of the current" Trump administration.
Mr Cohen is still embroiled in a lawsuit over Mr Trump's alleged $130,000 payment just before the 2016 election to silence adult film star Stormy Daniels about a supposed affair with the president in 2006. He also pleaded guilty to eight counts of tax fraud, making false statements to a bank and two campaign finance violations this past August.
Stacey Abrams is one of many female candidates in this election cycle to watch.
The Democrat is running to become governor of Georgia and if she defeats Republican Brian Kemp, she will be the country's first African-American female elected to lead a state.
She has accused her opponent of creating a “miasma of fear” for Georgia voters to dissuade them from voting for her as voter suppression - and the related racial and socioeconomic tensions - are at the forefront of so many 2018 races.
“The miasma of fear that is created through voter suppression is as much about terrifying people about trying to vote as it is about actually blocking their ability to do so," she said.
Read our Andrew Buncombe's report here:
Republicans are starting to fear a 'blue wave' of Democrats will actually materialise on 6 November.
With just a weeks left, they have started funnelling money away from candidates "far too gone" in districts where upstart Democrats have gained real momentum in previously 'safe' GOP areas as opposition to the Trump administration takes hold.
Read more here about Democrats' bid to gain control of the US House of Representatives:
US voters can check if they are registered to vote on 6 November here:
Those are all the updates we have today on the 2018 midterms, but keep on eye on this page for daily updates until the 6 November election and read more of our coverage from Washington, DC, California, Texas, and points in between here.
Welcome back! Stay tuned on this page for all the latest news about the 2018 midterms set to take place in just 21 days.
One of the rising stars in the Democratic party comes from a surprising place, the reliably 'red' Republican state of Texas.
Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke is trying to defeat Republican incumbent Senator Ted Cruz and even if he loses, the hope is to spark enough fire in Democratic voters in the state to make a difference in the US House.
Our Chris Riotta is in San Antonio, Texas, and reported how Mr O'Rourke dealt with a supporter heckling him about abortions at a campaign rally.
Read and watch more here:
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