Republicans seek US Senate control

Like Republican George W. Bush before him, Barack Obama could start his presidency with his Democrats controlling both houses of Congress, only to lose them both by the end of his tenure. That decision will be rendered on Tuesday during the midterm elections across the US.

Obama's Republican opponents already control the lower chamber, the House of Representatives, and are expected to maintain or even extend their advantage there. All 435 seats are up for grabs on Tuesday.

In the upper house, the Senate, the Democrats' 55-45 advantage appears to be in serious danger, with three major polling stations concurring that the Republicans could claim the extra six seats required.

Biden hopes for upset

"I don't agree with the odds-makers," Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview with CNN. "I predict we're going to keep the Senate."

Biden also denied that losing the Senate could intensify the existing frictions between the White House's desired policies, and those it can push through the houses of Congress.

"I don't think it would change anything in terms of what we're about," Biden said. "And, quite frankly, going into 2016, the Republicans have to make a decision whether they're in control or not in control. Are they going to begin to allow things to happen, or are they going to continue to be obstructionists? And I think they're going to choose to get things done."

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky unusually found himself agreeing with Biden; telling ABC news: "We intend to be a responsible Republican governing majority."

At its most divided, in a bitter dispute over government spending, Congress shut down altogether for just over two weeks in October 2013.

While polls show Barack Obama's public approval rating at a record low of around 40 percent, this still outstrips the meager 14-percent approval rating for Congress itself in a Gallup poll from September.

Unpopular in places, Obama keeps low profile

Obama has largely steered clear of the campaign trail, as Republicans seek to make the president's unpopularity a key talking point in the vote. Obama's official Tuesday schedule included a series of meetings on defense and Ebola, rather than the last-minute campaign rallies and speeches one might expect.

Republican Senator Rand Paul, who is considered likely to seek his party's presidential nomination in 2016, told NBC that the vote on Tuesday was "a referendum on the president."

Unusually, no single issue appears to have gained traction ahead of the vote, with politicians on both sides of the aisle seeking to showcase various topics including taxation, education, and healthcare reform.

Senatorial results could be tight in a string of states, and the final tally might take months to roll in. In remote Alaska, vote counting will likely take several days; while Louisiana and Georgia require a Senator to win an outright majority of votes, or face a runoff ballot. Louisiana's runoff, if required, would take place on December 6, while Georgia's would come on January 6 next year.

Thirty-six of the 50 US states will also elect new governors on Tuesday in gubernatorial elections.

Polls open in eastern states starting at 6 a.m. local time (1100 UTC); the new Congress will take office on January 3.

msh/mz (AFP, AP, Reuters)