Image source, Getty Images

Ken Paxton, the Republican Senate candidate, began his closing message to Texans with a prayer before making a pitch to voters.

"We will work to bring down costs across the board," he says. "On every front, I will fight to make your life better, change Washington, and hold bad actors accountable just like I did as attorney general."

Paxton urged supporters at a rally in Allen, Texas to get out and vote on Tuesday and for those who have cast ballots in early voting to encourage Republican friends and family to also go to the polls.

He says a vote for his Democratic opponent James Talarico is "a vote for every dangerous idea that Democrats across the country are putting forward right now".

He adds: "So, I am not exaggerating when I say if we lose Texas, we lose America."

The US has launched strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Fox News and The Wall Street Journal.

Oil prices rose in response to the news.

Trump, earlier on Monday, told reporters that he was in "no rush" to ramp up strikes on Iran.

"One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush. We crippled them financially,” Trump told news outlet Axios.

“They have no money, no gasoline and their people are getting very tired of it," Trump said.

At an event in Washington DC on Monday, he was also asked by a reporter if he would resume attacks on Iran after the midterms.

"No," he said.

The BBC has contacted Centcom, the part of the US military responsible for operations in the Middle East, for comment.

Image source, Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers has used his campaign to court Democrats sceptical of the party's candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and his final rally tapped into that theme once again.

The Michigan race was rocked on Sunday when Haley Stevens - who El-Sayed defeated in the Democratic primary contest - announced she would support the Republican candidate instead.

"Our world changed" when El-Sayed won the Democratic nomination, Rogers told supporters at his final rally in the northern suburbs of Detroit on Monday night, adding that his opponent's campaign became "mean", "angry" and fuelled by "divisiveness".

Rogers used a significant portion of his speech to laud a group of people who spoke at his final rally, saying they had switched over as lifelong Democrats to support his campaign.

It included a woman called Melanie who said that she would vote for Rogers, despite being a Democrat, because for the first time ever she was "choosing country over party".

The Michigan Senate election is being closely watched. In the 2024 election, President Trump won Michigan's electoral college votes, but the Democratic Party won the state's Senate race.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter

The president is not on the ballot.

But his strategy - attempting to put thousands of local and state elections into a national context - is an unusual one for a midterms election.

It’s by no means clear that this strategy will work. His approval rating is low - in the 30% range according to most polls - and many Americans, including conservative ones, have expressed dismay at the war in Iran, high prices and cost of living, and the general state of their own pocketbooks.

With that in mind, many political observers across the country are wondering whether a strategy in which Trump is on the ballot will backfire for the entire party.

Samira Hussain
Reporting from Durango, Iowa

Jack Smith, a farmer in Durango, Iowa, says the economy is the most important issue for him ahead of the US midterms.

He's specifically concerned about the national debt, which passed $40tn (£29.4tn) this past August.

“I don't know how that looks down the road for our kids.” He laments that he feels no one is talking about the issue on the campaign trail.

Despite being a lifelong conservative, he says he doesn’t typically try to align with one party when he's voting. But tomorrow, it'll be Republican.

“It would be nice if we lived among politicians who were statesmen, who put country before [politics]," he says, noting that "we’re a long way from that at the moment".

"It's a sad state of affairs."

Standing next to him is his cousin Tim Daly, also a cattle farmer. He’s a registered Democrat who was angry when President Trump announced the US would import beef from Argentina. It was a direct hit to his bottom line.

“As far as my farm income, the last 12 months, it's really been affected by the cattle business," he says, adding that it's influencing who he'll be voting for tomorrow.

Image source, Getty Images

"I hope to be your next United States senator because, y'all, it shouldn't be this hard," Democratic candidate for Michigan Abdul El-Sayed says during his closing speech of the campaign in Detroit.

"It shouldn't be this hard in the richest, most powerful country in the world to afford a tank of gas," he says.

He adds it also "shouldn't be this hard" to afford groceries, home ownership, and medical care.

He says his opponent Mike Rogers is like a computer-controlled character from a video game, "doomed to do the same thing they're forced to do because of the programme".

El-Sayed also attacks President Trump, mocking his use of his full Arabic name.

"They keep pointing to my name and my faith because they are trying to distract you," El-Sayed says of Republicans.

El-Sayed was introduced by his wife, Sarah Jukaku, a psychiatrist who has mostly stayed out of the limelight during his campaign.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter

Image source, Getty Images

US President Donald Trump has been busy in recent weeks, criss-crossing the country to bolster candidates, at times in states once seen as safe Republican strongholds.

While Trump has publicly expressed optimism about the midterms, election observers have widely interpreted his presence in these “Deep Red” states as a sign that those races are closer than the party would like.

He has, for example, repeatedly gone to Texas to provide a boost to Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who finds himself in an extremely tight race with Democrat James Talarico.

A Democrat hasn’t won a Senate seat in Texas since 1988 - and a defeat here would be a notable loss for the Republicans.

Similarly, Alaska was once considered an easy win for the Republicans. But incumbent US Senator Dan Sullivan is facing unexpectedly stiff competition from Democrat Mary Peltola.

The outcomes of these races are by no means certain. But in the aftermath of the election, analysts will be looking to see whether Trump’s presence made a difference, or whether proximity to him ultimately did little to stave off defeat in “safe” Republican states.

Image source, Getty Images

Democrats are hoping for an upset in the Texas Senate race, especially because no Democrat has won a statewide election in the Lone Star state since 1988.

Democratic Texas state lawmaker James Talarico is facing off against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Both candidates are holding rallies tonight in a last-minute effort to drum up more support.

The state launched the careers of the two Republican Bush presidencies - George HW Bush and his son George W Bush - but members of that same political dynasty have crossed the political aisle to support Talarico.

Paxton became the Republican nominee after defeating Senator John Cornyn, a prolific fundraiser for the party. Paxton has been hit by several scandals, and was even impeached by the Republican-controlled Texas legislature.

Polls show an extremely tight race. And the two candidates are both scheduled to make one final appeal to Texas shortly.

Jessica Murphy
Canada digital editor

Image source, Reuters

In a recent campaign ad, Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers sits at a bar and waxes lyrical about watching ice hockey while drinking Labatt - a beer with deep Canadian roots - saying: “here in Michigan we know Canada is not our enemy."

"We need to end this tariff war now.”

That ad, by a Republican no less, is just one example of how the Canada-US trade dispute has been playing out in these midterm elections.

It's not a major issue in the race nationwide - though affordability is - but in some US states with deep ties to Canada, Donald Trump’s tariffs are a real factor.

Few states have deeper ties with Canada than Michigan.

Detroit sits across the river from Windsor, Ontario, a city with an auto sector that is deeply integrated with the US, but which is also currently tariffed. Polls also suggest that the Trump administration levies are broadly unpopular with Michiganders.

With Rogers distancing himself from Trump on the issue, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has also been sharply critical, dismissing the dispute as "an insane tariff war we have no business fighting with Canada".

Image source, Getty Images

As we await campaign rallies in Michigan, let's have a look at how this race is shaping up.

Republican Mike Rogers is taking on Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed in the normally Democratic-leaning state.

However, El-Sayed's campaign was a rocked yesterday when Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens endorsed Rogers.

Stevens had previously offered her endorsement to El-Sayed after conceding defeat to him during a closely-fought primary contest in August.

Throwing her support behind a Republican stunned many of her fellow party members, who condemned her decision to switch her support just two days before the election.

Both Rogers and El-Sayed are holding competing rallies this evening.

Stick with us for more updates.

David Willis
Reporting from Los Angeles

Image source, Getty Images

On the eve of the midterm elections, the US Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by the Trump administration to force the state of California to set aside thousands of ballots that it claims were sent to non-American citizens.

The US Justice Department had petitioned the court to order California election officials to set aside 20,000 mail-in ballots that the Trump administration believed may have voted illegally.

President Trump has repeatedly claimed that voter fraud is rampant and that Democrats steal elections by allowing immigrants to vote illegally.

Much of that he blames on mail-in or postal voting that is permitted in many Democratic states. Nearly 26 million people are registered to vote in California, and several lower courts had sided with election officials who argued the federal government was seeking to interfere in state elections and cast doubt on the outcomes.

California has 52 seats in the House of Representatives, more than any other state. Multiple studies and state audits have show that ineligible voting - including that perpetrated by noncitizens - is rare.

The US Supreme Court did not give a reason for rejecting the Trump administration's request to sideline thousands of California ballots.

The decision was announced in a one-sentence order released by the court.

"The application for injunction pending appeal presented to Justice Kagan and by her referred to the Court is denied," it reads.

The high court rejected the move by the US Justice Department hours after it filed a last ditch effort to segregate the disputed ballots on the eve of the midterm elections.

Kayla Epstein
US reporter

As we just reported, the US Supreme Court has rejected Trump's request to segregate California ballots on the eve of the US midterm elections. They moved with unusual haste, rejecting the Trump administration hours after it filed.

After losing in lower courts, the Trump administration asked the US Supreme Court to intervene the day before the election in a highly unusual move.

Here's the backstory:

• Last month, the US justice department alleged that 20,000 "likely" noncitizen voters appear on California's voter rolls, and asked a federal judge to block those votes from being counted unless their citizenship was verified
• California officials pushed back against that tally, and argued that the Trump administration didn't have the authority to demand those votes not count
• Lower courts - including an appeals court, twice - ruled against the Trump administration
• The Supreme Court declining to hear the case means lower court rulings will stand, and essentially ends the Trump administration's emergency bid to disqualify the ballots

The US Supreme Court has rejected the Trump administration's bid to set aside about 20,000 ballots which the government says are votes from people who are "likely" noncitizens.

Carl Nasman
Reporting from Georgia

Cheryl, a volunteer with the Democratic Party, tells me she's knocked on at least 1,000 doors since March in her quest to turn the state blue - the colour associated with her party.

And when potential voters open the door, they often have one man on their mind: Donald Trump.

It’s the president, Cheryl says, who is motivating people - even some independents and Republicans - to vote Democrat in Georgia. She says frustration is boiling over with the high cost of living.

Here in Roswell, a suburb north of Atlanta, Cheryl knocks on the door of Sally, a registered independent who says she is voting for all Democrats this year, because she wants politicians who will “stand up to Trump".

Suburbs like this one in Georgia will be closely watched on Tuesday night for signs of how the state’s crucial races might go.

Iran war casts shadow over the midtermspublished at 22:39 GMT 2 November

22:39 GMT 2 November

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

Donald Trump’s war with Iran is now in its ninth month and as we just heard from the president, it still looms large over his tenure.

In marked contrast to the previous US quick ‘in and out’ operations like last year’s Midnight Hammer air strike that targeted Iran’s nuclear sites, or last January’s decapitation of the Maduro government in Venezuela, this is starting to look like ‘a forever war’.

And forever wars are exactly what President Trump’s supporters expected him to avoid. Net result: oil, gasoline and diesel prices have shot upwards and stayed high, driving up inflation.

The low-intensity warzone that the Strait of Hormuz has become has constricted the global supply of vital commodities like fertilisers and Liquified Natural Gas. US bases up and down the Gulf and beyond have taken direct precision hits from Iran’s drones and missiles.

Separately, but not entirely unrelated, there is the Ukraine war, now grinding on in its fifth year. Trump’s apparent fondness for Vladimir Putin at the expense of Ukraine is not going down well with some in the US.

It also baffles and irritates America’s allies in Europe. So the question is: what will change after the midterms if the Republicans lose control of Congress?

Remember that this president is one of the most unpredictable in history, so nothing can be ruled out.

In the last couple of hours, both Donald Trump and his vice president have been speaking about the US-Iran war, which has sent oil prices soaring since it began in February.

"Iran wants a settlement, as soon as possible. It could happen!" Trump writes in a post on Truth Social, after claiming that "Oil Prices are DROPPING LIKE A ROCK".

Vance echoed that sentiment, telling reporters earlier in the day that he and the president "both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement".

As a reminder: the price of fuel and its attendant cost of living concerns are among the topmost concerns for voters ahead of the midterm elections.

Have a look at some of the unique stickers that some voters have been given after casting early ballots in the US midterm elections.

Image source, Getty Images

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Image source, Reuters

We've just heard from US President Donald Trump, who says in a Truth Social that he intends to appear on the Sean Hannity Show on Fox News tonight.

Trump's public schedule shows he is also participating in a host of virtual rallies for Republican candidates.

The president says that he plans to appear on the Fox programme at 21:00 EST (02:00 GMT).

Will Grant
Reporting from Miami, Florida

While reporting in Miami, there were a couple of striking things among the Cuban Americans I spoke to about deportations.

The first was the acute sense among many Trump voters of having been deceived over the issue.

Yes, they accepted that Trump spoke openly and often as a presidential candidate in 2024 about launching the “largest mass deportation in American history”. But some, like Cuban American immigration lawyer Ismael Labrador, still felt “blindsided” by the president.

“I wanted to get criminals out of the country,” the now repentant Trump voter told me. “But we never thought that he was going to go after everybody.”

The other striking thing was the number of Cuban Americans who remain loyal to Trump on this divisive issue. Particularly among wealthier demographics, many people talked about these deportation policies as being “necessary” after years of softer measures under Biden.

For the midterms, Florida will provide a fascinating referendum on the question among a group which voted overwhelmingly in favour of President Trump two years ago.

Read more of my reporting from Florida and learn why some Cuban Americans are souring on the Republicans.