Republicans eye 'wake-up call' for Biden as midterms loom

Bullish Republicans on Sunday promised to deliver a "wake-up call" to Joe Biden and retake Congress in this week's crucial midterm elections, as the US president's Democrats insisted they were still in the fight with two days to go.

According to Press TV, Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump have been pulling out the stops to draw voters to the polls in Tuesday's contest -- which Biden says marks a "defining" moment for US democracy.

After rival Saturday night rallies in battleground Pennsylvania, both men had new appearances set for Sunday -- Biden in New York, Trump in Miami -- while senior party leaders took to the airwaves seeking out every last American vote.

A massive 40 million Americans have already voted early, according to NBC News on Sunday, and both sides were predicting victory.

But the latest polls have put Democrats on the defensive, while Senator Rick Scott, Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, summed up the mood in his party by predicting "a great night" in both chambers of Congress.

Fellow Republican Glenn Youngkin, the Governor of Virginia, told ABC News talk show "This Week" that his camp was the one now "offering common-sense solutions" to pressing issues like sky-inflation and crime.

"This is going to be a wake-up call to President Biden," Youngkin said.

With Republican figurehead Trump doubling down on voting conspiracy theories ahead of the midterms, and several candidates in his camp casting doubt on the upcoming results, party leaders sought to assure voters that Republicans will accept the outcome -- even if they lose.

Asked directly whether every Republican candidate will accept the results, whatever they are, party Chair Ronna McDaniel told CNN: "They will."

Several hundred Republicans seeking office next week have endorsed Trump's baseless claims of fraud in 2020 -- and a number are casting doubt on the midterms as well, in contrast with McDaniel's comments.

Kari Lake, the party's far-right candidate for governor in Arizona, for example has refused to say whether she would honor the results.

US midterm elections are typically seen as a referendum on the president in power, whose party tends to lose seats in Congress, particularly if -- as with Biden -- the president's approval rating is under 50 percent.

Polls put Republicans ahead in the fight for the House, and also show them gaining momentum in key Senate races as voters seek to take out frustration over four-decades-high inflation and rising illegal immigration.

ME