Midterms in the United States: five days left – What the polls say about the Trump and Harris campaign | News 2026 US midterm elections

Five days before the midterm elections in the United States, Democrats are leading in national polls, but several senatorial elections remain close.

President Donald Trump, former President Barack Obama and Vice President JD Vance were campaigning Wednesday in Ohio, Georgia and North Carolina, as the two parties battle for control of Congress.

Here’s what you need to know:

What do the latest polls say about the midterm elections in the United States?

Democrats lead Republicans 51.4 percent to 43.2 percent, a gap of 8.2 percentage points, according to RealClearPolling’s national polling average.

But the national lead is not reflected in every Senate race.

In Texas, where Democrats have not won a Senate election since 1988, Democrat James Talarico leads Republican Ken Paxton 48.5 percent to 46.7 percent, according to the poll aggregator.

In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed widened his lead over Republican Mike Rogers to seven percentage points, according to a Mitchell Research poll conducted for CBS Detroit.

The Oct. 26-27 survey finds El-Sayed leading Rogers 51 percent to 44 percent, up from a 4.2-point advantage earlier this month.

RealClearPolling showed a closer race, with El-Sayed at 48 percent and Rogers at 46 percent.

Despite this lead, Democrats continue to campaign for the support of young voters in Michigan.

“We need everyone and young people are a big part of the coalition and could really make a difference on November 3,” Will Lawrence, a Democratic candidate who hopes to win Michigan’s 7th Congressional District against Republicans, told Al Jazeera.

Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost, who came from Florida to campaign for El-Sayed, said face-to-face conversations with voters were particularly important.

“Everyone has seen the negative, Islamophobic ads, but what hasn’t happened is not everyone has had an in-person conversation about why Abdul is the right senator for Michigan,” he said.

Republicans are also trying to reach younger voters, with one supporter telling Al Jazeera: “I think there’s definitely a movement that people don’t realize within Gen Z that’s becoming more conservative.” »

Beyond Michigan, some voters told Al Jazeera they were frustrated with both parties.

“Every party wants to be in power and I think they will say what they want their voters to hear,” said one voter in Lexington, Kentucky.

Democratic strategist Joel Rubin described the midterm elections as a potential “protest election,” with many Democratic voters seeking to limit Trump’s power.

“I think the overwhelming majority of American voters who will vote Democratic are voting because they want to put a check on the power of President Trump,” he said.

Republican strategist Suhail Khan said Trump was losing the support of a number of his own voters, frustrated by rising fuel prices, rents and mortgage costs.

“I still vote and I’m independent, I vote for both sides…I’m so frustrated and hopeless,” said another voter in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Can Democrats Take Control of Congress?

Democrats hope to overturn Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, but the Senate presents a bigger challenge.

They need a net gain of three seats in the House of Representatives and four in the Senate, where Republicans currently hold 53 of 100 seats. Democrats hold 47, including two independents who caucus with them.

Democrats need to reach 51 seats to take control, but the path to a majority in the Senate is not simple.

“Even the most optimistic Republicans will tell you it will be quite difficult for the Republican Party to retain the House of Representatives,” said Al Jazeera’s Scott McLean. “But it’s a different story when it comes to the U.S. Senate.”

McLean said that even if Democrats won North Carolina and Ohio and kept their current seats, they would still be two seats short of reaching the 51 needed for a majority.

Alaska and Texas could help close this gap. But the Republicans also hope to win Michigan, where the race remains close.

Taking sole control of the House of Representatives would still have significant consequences for Trump. If Democrats flip the House, they can block parts of his legislative agenda and launch investigations into his administration.

They could also call administration officials to testify before congressional committees, although the White House could challenge those requests.

What happened in the US midterm election campaign in the last 24 hours?

Trump was in Ohio to campaign for Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who is facing former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

During the rally, Trump defended Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy following backlash over an ad featuring his Democratic rival’s estranged mother, Amy Acton.

Ramaswamy was treated “very unfairly,” Trump said. “How the hell is this his problem?” »

Trump also spoke about Jeffrey Epstein after protesters interrupted his speech, saying he kicked the late sex offender out of his Mar-a-Lago club two decades ago.

Meanwhile, in Georgia, former President Obama joined Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Obama criticized Republicans for their reaction to his recent Cheesecake Factory joke about White House renovations, saying they were more concerned about that than the rising cost of living.

“They’re not serious people. They don’t have solutions to real problems,” he said.

Vance also rallied in North Carolina, where former Gov. Roy Cooper faces Republican Michael Whatley in the Senate race.

What’s next for Trump, Democrats and Republicans?

Trump is expected to campaign in South Carolina on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. GMT, before traveling to Florida on Friday and Kansas on Saturday.

South Carolina is among the Republican Senate seats Democrats are targeting, although the party faces tough competition in a traditionally conservative state.

In Texas, Vice President JD Vance will hold a rally in Weatherford at 17:15 GMT, with Republican candidate Ken Paxton facing a tight Senate race against Democrat James Talarico.

Talarico will also campaign in Dallas on Thursday, Friday at 00:00 GMT (19:00 local time Thursday).

Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle reported from Texas that Republicans are particularly concerned about turnout in rural areas, where 21 percent of registered voters cast ballots, compared to 24 percent in more densely populated metropolitan areas.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to campaign in Georgia, where Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff is defending his seat against Republican Mike Collins.

In-person early voting in Georgia ends Friday as both parties make their final push before Election Day.