NEW YORK — The United States is in high gear election mode with midterm elections just days away. At stake – who controls the House, and which party controls the Senate. The outcome will have a huge impact on the final years of President Obama's presidency. It's a critical time for the future of the Democratic party with 36 Senate seats at stake, and for US President Barack Obama a test for his entire party. If the Republicans regain control of the Senate, and maintain their leadership of the House, many would argue Obama will become a lame duck President, unable to move the country forward with any kind of political agenda — on a domestic or international front. If tradition is anything to go by, Republicans are set to win, as these elections usually favor the party that isn't occupying the White House. With the Republicans controlling 23 states now — the most under single party rule in six decades — the Republicans are also hoping to gain control in four other states. With some of the tightest election races seen in years on both a national and local level, the Republicans are fighting to keep control of Congress, while the Democrats hope they don't loose control of the Senate in which they currently hold a four-seat margin over their GOP rivals. They appear to be in strong position to win four seats held by Democrats — in Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia. It's also a midterm election involving two well known names in US politics — a Carter and a Cuomo. Former US President Jimmy Carter's grandson — State Senator Jason Carter — up for election in Georgia, and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo hoping for re-election for a second term in a seat once held by his father Mario Cuomo. Both parties are pulling out all the stops to win, throwing millions and millions of dollars into the midterm election races, in political TV commercials, and social media. Bloomberg media reported political ads in the 2014 US Senate elections will have aired more than 1 million times once the midterms are over. North Carolina will have aired the most television campaign commercials — over 35,000 — followed by Iowa, Kentucky and Colorado. With more and more people turning to social media to get their news. In a sign of its seriousness about digital outreach, the National Republican Congress Committee has spent over $5 million just for digital advertising, and created over 90 websites for over 20 different races in the past two months. Whether all this money and advertising will pay off favorably with a disenchanted American public remains to be seen, With political gridlock on Capitol Hill at an all time high, the American public seems weary of the lack of progress by either party to pass legislation. When President Obama was elected in 2008, he promised a different style of politics and cooperation within Washington DC, but it's looked like politics as usual with little cooperation between either side to get anything done. The Republican candidate for governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, said earlier this week, "This is going to be bloody and nasty,” of tight race with Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn. With President Obama's low approval ratings, the Democrats are fighting harder to make sure they win. Republicans are known to turn out in greater numbers to vote in the midterms, but this year key Democrats have appealed to their voters to leave home and head to the ballot box. It appears to be paying off for the Democratic Party in the South. In states like North Carolina and Georgia, where race is still key, and so turn out is good among black voters is looking favorable. The Democrats have also turned to younger voters and non-white voters who chose not you vote in the 2010 midterms, and that appears to have paid off. Recent polling data of early voting by The Upshot says more than 20 percent of the nearly three million votes already tabulated in Georgia, North Carolina, Colorado and Iowa have come from people who did not vote in the last midterm election. One thing is certain. These midterm elections are some of the hardest fought political battles the United States has seen in years. Only the voters will decide which political party they feel will produce the legislation they need to govern in the way the American people deserve.
