Donald Trump closed his 2026 midterm election campaign with a rally at the renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, delivering a wide-ranging final pitch to voters on the eve of elections that could dramatically reshape the remainder of his presidency. All seats in the House of Representatives and a third of Senate seats are on the line, with Democrats mounting a serious challenge to Republican control of both chambers.

The elections are shaping up to be among the most expensive in American history, fought across a crowded field of issues: the cost of living, the ongoing war against Iran, abortion rights, immigration, artificial intelligence, and the president's own record.

Trump's Washington makeover takes centre stage

After a brief address from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Trump returned to the podium to outline a series of ambitious projects he has set in motion across the nation's capital. He announced a new riverside "promenade" along the Potomac, featuring statues of American heroes, describing it as "a beautiful project" and "a great architectural concept."

Trump also promoted the forthcoming Triumphal Arch, which he promised would surpass the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in both scale and beauty, as well as a renovation of the East Potomac Links golf course. The golf project has drawn scepticism from Washington DC residents, with the plan replacing a 36-hole public course with an 18-hole championship layout intended for PGA events. Trump sought to soften that opposition by promising discounted access for local residents.

The president used the backdrop of the freshly renovated Reflecting Pool to hold up photographs showing its previous condition, complete with rusted pipes and algae, contrasting those images with its current state. For a deeper look at Trump's appetite for remaking Washington's landmarks, his broader push to redesign federal spaces has attracted significant scrutiny in recent months.

Trump rounded out his Washington segment with a sweeping claim: "We have a lot of great things planned for Washington, and I could get into the nation, but for that you don't have enough time."

Oil prices and Iran feature in closing argument

Trump also pointed to a sharp fall in oil prices on election eve, with Brent crude futures down roughly 8 per cent, and pledged they would drop "a lot further" once the conflict with Iran concludes. Fuel prices have been a persistent and politically sensitive issue throughout the campaign, though the president has largely framed higher costs as a necessary consequence of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons rather than offering a direct remedy for household budgets. The administration's posture on Iran has been a defining and divisive element of the campaign cycle.

Notably, Trump had previously boasted at a rally that American oil companies were reaping billions in profit while ordinary motorists paid more at the pump, a remark he appeared to have quietly dropped from subsequent appearances.

Trump also used the rally to launch a broad attack on Democratic candidates, describing the party as having "nominated the most extreme and dangerous slate of candidates in American history," and listing a string of policy positions he attributed to them, including open borders, tax increases, restrictions on firearms, and changes to energy policy.

Michigan Senate race fractures Democratic ranks

The most dramatic development heading into polling day came not from the Republican side but from within the Democratic Party itself, where a prominent intraparty split threatened to complicate efforts to flip the Senate.

Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens, who lost a bitter August primary to progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed despite the backing of the party establishment, announced she was endorsing Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan's key Senate contest. Stevens had been defeated by El-Sayed in a race that exposed sharp tensions between the party's centrist wing and its progressive base.

"This is a very close election, we all know that, but Abdul made very clear that I was not welcome in his campaign," Stevens said when announcing her decision.

Trump celebrated the move on Truth Social, calling Stevens a "Highly Respected Democrat" and praising her for showing "great and almost unprecedented loyalty" to the people of Michigan. "It's a thing called bravery," he wrote, "and few people have it."

The backlash from within Democratic ranks was swift and fierce. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer condemned the endorsement as a "despicable betrayal," while the chair of the Michigan Democrats' Black caucus said Stevens had "revealed herself to be a sellout."

El-Sayed, a former Michigan public health official who would become the first Muslim member of the US Senate if elected, appeared unbothered by the development. "At the end of the day, I actually don't think about Haley Stevens. I think about the 9,999,998 people who are not those two," he told reporters, referring to Stevens and Rogers.

Trump has repeatedly singled out El-Sayed during the campaign, labelling him a "jihadist" and claiming without evidence that he seeks to impose religious law on the United States. Most polling going into election day showed El-Sayed holding a narrow lead over Rogers.

Michigan is considered critical to any Democratic path to a Senate majority. A shift in congressional control would fundamentally alter Trump's capacity to advance his legislative agenda through the final two years of his term, with the results determining whether Democrats can curb his influence ahead of the 2028 presidential race.