Sawt Falasteen - Biden agenda at stake and Trump in the wings as US votes

Biden's Democrats are facing a gargantuan struggle to hang on to Congress, after a race the president has cast as a "defining" moment for US democracy -- while Trump's Republicans campaigned hard on kitchen-table issues like inflation and crime.

"It's Election Day, America," the 79-year-old Biden tweeted. "Make your voice heard today. Vote."

Casting his ballot in Florida, Trump again teased a potential announcement next week of a 2024 presidential run, telling reporters that November 15 "will be a very exciting day for a lot of people."

At stake in Tuesday's election are all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate and a slew of state and local posts. Five states are holding referendums on abortion.

Democrats currently hold a slim majority in the House and control of the evenly split Senate thanks to the vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.

But Republicans are heavily favored to win the House and possibly also flip the Senate.

First results will begin trickling in after 7:00 pm (0000 GMT) but, with razor-thin margins in key races, a full picture may not be available for days or even weeks, setting the stage for acrimonious challenges.

The bitter political divide in the country was on the minds of many voters as they cast their ballots.

"Politicians, a lot of them, are playing games to keep us fighting amongst ourselves, the little people," said Kay Georgopolous, who recently retired from her sales job, as she cast her vote in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

For others, it was abortion or the state of the economy.

"Abortion is probably the biggest issue for me," said Alexandra Ashley, a 30-year-old lawyer as she voted in Pittsburgh. "I want to make sure it's available for everybody and safe."

Voting in Phoenix, Arizona, Kenneth Bellows, a 32-year-old law student, said the chilly economy is "hurting Americans who are just trying to get by."

- 'Giant red wave' -

On election eve, Biden made a final appeal to Democrats to turn out en masse.

"The power's in your hands," Biden told a rally near Washington. "We know in our bones that our democracy is at risk and we know that this is your moment to defend it."

Biden said he believed Democrats would hold on to the Senate but it would be "tough" to retain the House and his life may become "more difficult."

If both the House and Senate flip, Biden would be left as little more than a lame duck and his legislative agenda would be paralyzed as Republicans launch aggressive investigations and oppose his spending plans.

That would raise questions over everything from climate policies, which the president will be laying out at the COP27 conference in Egypt this week, to Ukraine, where some Republicans are reluctant to maintain the current rate of US military support.

An influx of far-right Trump backers in Congress would also accelerate a shift inside the Republican Party since the former real estate tycoon stunned the world by defeating Hillary Clinton for the presidency in 2016.

Despite facing criminal probes over taking top secret documents from the White House and trying to overturn the 2020 election, Trump has used the midterms to cement his status as the de facto Republican leader.

In a typically dark, rambling speech to supporters in Dayton, Ohio, the 76-year-old Trump said, "if you support the decline and fall of America, then you must, you absolutely must vote for the radical left, crazy people."

"If you want to stop the destruction of our country, then tomorrow you must vote Republican in a giant red wave," he said.

- 44 million early votes -

More than 44 million ballots have been cast through early voting options, meaning the midterms outcome had already begun to take shape before election day.

Senate races in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Ohio are expected to be close and any one of them could swing the balance of power in the chamber.

Trump has already claimed -- baselessly -- that swing state Pennsylvania "rigged" the midterms -- reprising his playbook from the 2020 election which he falsely asserted was stolen by Biden.

Citing growing support for voter conspiracy theories among Trump and his Republicans, as well as their push to curb abortion access, Biden has warned that basic rights are at stake on Tuesday.

The outcome will likely determine whether Biden, who turns 80 this month and is the oldest president ever, will seek a second term in 2024 -- or step aside.

L.Hussein--SF-PST