Democrats are defending several Senate incumbents in Republican-leaning states in their quest to narrow the GOP’s 51-49 majority. The terrain is more favorable in the House, where Democrats need a net pickup of 23 seats to recapture the majority, and in several states with vulnerable Republican governors.
A look at midterm campaign activities Wednesday:
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RYAN
Trump slammed outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., tweeting that Ryan “should be focusing on holding the Majority” instead of weighing in on the president’s push to end the Constitution’s guarantee of birthright citizenship.
Trump tweeted that Ryan shouldn’t offer “his opinions on Birthright Citizenship, something he knows nothing about!”
Trump has said he can end the right to citizenship for babies born to non-U.S. citizens on American soil with an executive order. And he has argued that the right isn’t covered by the 14th Amendment, even though the text of the constitutional amendment says that “all persons born or naturalized” in the U.S. are citizens.
Ryan, who is retiring, said Tuesday that Trump couldn’t “end birthright citizenship with an executive order.”
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PELOSI PREDICTS
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi declared late Tuesday that Democrats will win the House majority, predicting a “great night for America.”
Pelosi said in an interview with Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show” that “up until today, I would have said, ‘If the election were held today, we would win.’” Asked what had changed, Pelosi said, “What now I’m saying is we will win. We will win. We will win.”
Pelosi, who was the nation’s first female House speaker, could be in a position to reclaim the gavel in House leadership elections after the midterms.
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FLORIDA VOTES
More than 3.4 million people in Florida have already voted, surpassing the number who voted early or by mail four years ago.
New statistics released Wednesday by the state Division of Elections show registered Republicans still have the edge, casting 1.43 million ballots compared to nearly 1.37 million by registered Democrats. More than 592,000 voters with no party affiliation have voted.
More than 1.48 million people have voted early, and more than 1.9 million people have voted by mail.
During the last midterm election, nearly 3.19 million Floridians cast their ballots before Election Day. More than 6.6 million voted early or voted by mail in the 2016 presidential election.
Florida has more than 13 million registered voters.
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Associated Press writer Gary Fineout in Tallahassee, Florida, contributed.
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For AP’s complete coverage of the U.S. midterm elections: http://apne.ws/APPolitics
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