A nation in turmoil is preparing to pronounce a verdict on Trump

Former Ohio governor Ted Strickland, the last Democrat to have headed this state, said the election had become a referendum on Trump, leaving Democrats "confident in the House and a little worried about the Senate. "

"He's on the ballot, whether his name is there or not," Strickland said of the president. Trump added that the change in the political climate between 2016 and 2018 looked like "the difference between paradise and hell".

Over the past few days, Mr. Trump has seemed to be diverting his attention from efforts to keep control of the House and to protect Republicans in coveted Senate races. He focused mainly on the electrification of the Right and the appeasement of some influential voters who supported him against Hillary Clinton two years ago.

During the last weeks of his campaign, Mr. Trump launched violent attacks on immigration, pleading against the birthright, linking evidence-free and violent crimes and amplifying conspiracy theories denied on a caravan of migrants in Latin America. Anticipating his reaction to the electoral defeat, Trump criticized House Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Twitter after criticizing his dubious proposal to nullify the constitutional guarantee of citizenship granted to anyone born on the ground. American.

Trump's approach may resonate in several states with the closest Senate, although it may potentially turn against several states where Republican-occupied seats are at risk, including Nevada, Arizona, and New York. Texas.

"It eliminates independent voters," said senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland and head of the Democratic Senate's campaign branch, saying such states offer his party "a narrow path" towards the majority.

Christine Matthews, a Republican pollster, said the Democratic message, focused on health care, was "more relevant" to most voters than what Mr. Trump had proposed to them in his final argument. Comparing the election to a showdown, Matthews said the president was trying to revitalize his predominantly white and male base, even as moderate women recoiled before him.