Trump and Democrats make final pitches on eve of midterms with Congress at stake

As of 8:40 a.m. ET, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026

Republicans and Democrats are making their last arguments to voters Monday, the final day of campaigning before Tuesday's midterm elections decide control of the House and Senate.

President Donald Trump wrapped up his in-person rally tour Sunday in Iowa and Kansas. He is scheduled to give his closing speech at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington at 2 p.m. ET Monday, a White House official told Axios. The official said Trump will highlight what his administration and congressional Republicans have done. Democrats spent the weekend saying voters are fed up with high prices and Trump's second term. They urged supporters to turn out in big numbers.

More than 54 million votes have already been cast, The Associated Press reported.

Trump: "We're closing it down tonight"

In Dubuque, Iowa, Trump spoke for about two hours and predicted sweeping Republican wins. "We're going to elect 'America first' Republicans up and down the line," he said, according to AP.

He then flew to Salina, Kansas, for an outdoor rally at the airport. That speech ran nearly 90 minutes and ended close to 10 p.m. local time. AP reported that hundreds of people began leaving midway through. "This is our last stop. We're closing it down tonight," Trump said.

Since Oct. 1, he has held more than two dozen rallies in 19 states, according to AP. Most were in states he has won easily before. AP said that reflects how much the GOP is playing defense in an election that has become a referendum on his second term, with voters questioning the cost of his tariffs and the war in Iran.

NRSC Chair Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina said he is confident Republicans will keep the Senate. "His agenda, without any question, is on the ballot," Scott said on NBC's "Meet the Press," according to AP. Outgoing Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., gave a warning on CNN: "Tariffs are not popular here in the Midwest. I tried telling the president that."

A closing speech at the Reflecting Pool

Instead of a final day of travel, Trump picked a Washington event at the Reflecting Pool. AP described his repair project there as slow, expensive and full of problems. Talking to reporters Sunday in Iowa, Trump said speaking at the site would "show how beautiful it is."

The repairs finished nearly three months late and cost more than 10 times his early estimate of about $1.5 million, AP reported. Trump said again Sunday that the pool "was vandalized badly." The U.S. attorney's office in Washington has blamed shoddy workmanship.

Democrats: Turn "anger into action"

Democrats closed on cost of living and on Trump himself. Former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned in seven states and finished with two days in Georgia, according to AP. "This is the moment where we turn that anger into action," she said again and again.

Harris said Trump could try to interfere in Tuesday's election, and she pushed for a huge turnout. "We just need to turn out in really large numbers that would be too big to rig," she said at Elizabeth Baptist Church in Atlanta, AP reported.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries campaigned Saturday in Virginia Beach. He told CBS News he is "very confident that House Democrats are on the verge of taking back control because the American people are fed up with MAGA extremism." Asked what would count as a good night, he said: "the majority."

Democrats also had to deal with a split in Michigan. Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost the Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed, endorsed Republican Mike Rogers on Sunday. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the party is "united in our support" for El-Sayed, AP reported. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who leads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said Democrats would "stand firmly" behind him.

Republicans hold majorities in both chambers. Polls close Tuesday night.