如果民主党拥有足够的财力来利用共和党的弱点，他们面前的任务看起来将不那么艰巨。
The task ahead of the Democrats would look less onerous if they had the financial firepower to exploit Republican weaknesses.
但共和党拥有巨额竞选资金，其支出能力远超民主党全国委员会（DNC）。该委员会不得不凑集2000万美元来弥补卡玛拉·哈里斯2024年总统竞选失利的亏空，此后一直难以吸引大额捐赠者。
But the GOP has a significant war chest and can far outspend the Democratic National Committee, which had to scrape together $20m to cover Kamala Harris’ presidential loss in 2024 and has struggled to attract big-money donors since then.
与此同时，共和党果断放弃了在关键摇摆州（尤其是北卡罗来纳州和佐治亚州）难以取得进展的参议院候选人，将火力集中在有望获胜的州份。
At the same time, Republicans have ruthlessly cut loose Senate candidates who struggled to make headway in battleground states, notably North Carolina and Georgia, to focus their fire on winnable states.
民主党则采取相反策略，将有限的资源广泛分散，在密西西比州、堪萨斯州和肯塔基州等深红州（注：共和党铁票仓）对共和党开辟战场。
Democrats have done the opposite, spreading their limited resources far and wide, opening fronts against Republicans in deep-red strongholds including Mississippi, Kansas and Kentucky.
民调显示，选民对民主党的看法依然不佳，该党尚未从2024年的惨败中恢复过来——那一年它在总统、参议院和众议院选举中一举失利。
Polling shows voters still take a dim view of the party, which has not recovered from the shellacking it received in 2024 when it lost the White House, Senate and House in one fell swoop.
该党因建制派与崛起的社会主义派系的分裂而四分五裂，且认清自身声望低落，正押注“反对特朗普”这一立场足以带其冲过终点线。
Riven by splits between its establishment and the ascendant socialist wing, and recognising its own unpopularity, it is banking that being the opposition to Mr Trump will be enough to carry it over the finish line.
包括卡尔·罗夫在内的评论人士已指出其中的危险。罗夫是小布什总统竞选胜利的缔造者，也是特朗普的非盟友。如果选民认为民主党关于“负担得起”的谈论仅是一个已持怀疑态度的选民群体眼中的政治操弄，那么选民不会以民主党所需的数量踊跃投票。
Commentators including Karl Rove, the architect of George W Bush’s presidential victories and no friend of Mr Trump, have noted the danger here. If the Democrats’ talk about affordability is merely seen as political manoeuvring by an already sceptical electorate, then voters will not turn out in the numbers they need.
2022年，共和党曾希望在乔·拜登总统任内凭借经济议题乘“红色浪潮”进军华盛顿。这股浪潮从未出现：当时这让民主党松了一口气，现在却应让他们感到担忧。
In 2022, Republicans hoped to ride into Washington on a red wave built on economic concerns during Joe Biden’s presidency. It never materialised: something that relieved the Democrats at the time, and should worry them now.
共和党的主要拖累是特朗普本人，尽管他的支持率极低，他仍决心让中期选举完全围绕自己展开。
The major drag on the GOP is Mr Trump himself, who is determined to make the midterms all about himself despite his dire approval ratings.
这就是为什么他奔波全国为候选人助选，并在9月于达拉斯举办了一场组织者称为“特朗普狂欢节”的大会。《纽约时报》报道称，共和党参议员候选人帕克斯顿私下向捐赠者承认，“每个人的数字都下降了”。
That is why he has barnstormed the country to support candidates and held a convention in Dallas in September that organisers labelled “Trumpapalooza”. Mr Paxton, the Republican Senate candidate, privately admitted to donors that “everybody’s numbers dropped” afterwards, The New York Times reported.