中期选举前的民调显示，民主党在许多目标州处于领先地位。插图：Rita Liu/Guardian Design/Getty Images 该党希望选民对特朗普总统任期的不满能给他们带来优势，因为共和党正在捍卫微弱多数席位 共和党正在捍卫其在美国参议院的多数党地位，面对的是势头正劲的民主党。后者认为，选民对唐纳德·特朗普的不满将使他们重新夺回国会上院的控制权，而这距离他们被推入少数党地位仅过去两年。
Pre-midterm polls have shown Democrats leading in many of their target states. Illustration: Rita Liu/Guardian Design/Getty Images Party hopes disapproval with Trump’s presidency gives them advantage as Republicans defend slim majority Republicans are defending their majority in the US Senate against resurgent Democrats, who believe voters’ dissatisfaction with Donald Trump will put them back in control of Congress’ upper chamber just two years after being driven into the minority.
首批竞选结果已开始陆续出炉，美联社宣布民主党籍现任参议员马克·沃纳在弗吉尼亚州参议员选举中获胜，这在预料之中。
The first race results have begun trickling in, with the Associated Press calling the Virginia Senate election for Democratic incumbent Mark Warner, who was expected to win.
中期选举的投票于当天早些时候在全美50个州和华盛顿特区开启，此前已有数百万人提前投票或通过邮寄方式投出选票。
Polls in the midterm elections had opened earlier in the day in all 50 states and Washington DC, after millions of people voted early or sent in ballots by mail.
民主党于2024年失去了参议院多数党地位，当时选民连任特朗普，并让其共和党盟友在国会上院获得了53个席位。该党必须至少赢得四个席位才能重掌控制权，这将使他们在特朗普总统任期最后两年里拥有一件强有力的制衡工具。他们不仅能阻挠总统的法案并发出传票调查其政府，还能否决他提名的联邦法官——包括最高法院大法官。
Democrats lost their majority in the Senate in 2024, when voters re-elected Trump and gave his Republican allies 53 seats in Congress’ upper chamber. The party must win at least four seats to regain control, which would give them a potent tool against Trump for the final two years of his presidency. Not only could they block the president’s bills and issue subpoenas to investigate his administration, but they could also reject his nominees to the federal judiciary – including the supreme court.
在他总统任期伊始，似乎很难相信少数党在中期选举中有多大机会重夺控制权——大多数面临改选的参议员代表的是铁板一块的红州或蓝州，给了民主党极少的进攻机会。
At the outset of his presidency, it appeared difficult to believe that the minority party would have much of a shot of regaining control in the midterms – most senators set to face re-election represented solidly red or blue states, giving Democrats few offensive opportunities.
但自就职以来，特朗普的支持率大幅下滑，主因是选民对其经济管理、至关重要的生活成本问题感到不满。他决定攻击伊朗，在选民中也证明是不得人心的，他强硬推行移民法执法同样如此。
But Trump’s approval ratings have fallen sharply since his inauguration, fueled by dissatisfaction over his handling of the economy, and the all-important cost of living. His decision to attack Iran has also proven unpopular with voters, as has his hardline implementation of enforcing immigration law.
为了翻转参议院，民主党最初将缅因州——唯一一个既投票给卡马拉·哈里斯又有共和党现任议员参选的州——北卡罗来纳州、俄亥俄州和阿拉斯加州视为最有希望的战场。
To flip the Senate, Democrats initially named as their best bets races in Maine – the only state that voted for Kamala Harris and had a Republican incumbent on the ballot – North Carolina, Ohio and Alaska.
随着对特朗普的情绪恶化，该党认为他们的候选人在得克萨斯州、堪萨斯州、爱荷华州和南卡罗来纳州也有获胜机会——这些都是特朗普以两位数优势获胜的红州。
As sentiment towards Trump worsened, the party believed their candidates had a shot at winning in Texas, Kansas, Iowa and South Carolina – all red states Trump won by double digits.
作为共和党担心“蓝色浪潮”可能在其参议院多数派诞生仅两年后将其冲垮的迹象，特朗普在中期选举前的最后几周前往堪萨斯州、南卡罗来纳州和得克萨斯州等地助选，这些地方通常是他所在政党轻松获胜的据点。
In a sign of Republican concern that a “blue wave” could sweep their Senate majority away just two years after it was created, Trump has spent the final weeks before the midterm campaigning in places like Kansas, South Carolina, and Texas, where his party usually romps to victory.
共和党也有自己的目标，即试图在两年前支持特朗普的州，或仅以微弱优势支持哈里斯的州捍卫席位的民主党人。这一组别包括佐治亚州、密歇根州、新罕布什尔州和明尼苏达州。除佐治亚州外，其他州的投票正在进行中。
Republicans have their own targets, namely Democrats attempting to defend seats they hold in states that had broken for Trump two years ago, or that backed Harris only by slim margins. This group includes Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire and Minnesota. Voting in all except Georgia is ongoing.
《纽约时报》和锡耶纳大学周日发布的一项民调显示，民主党在五个受访的关键州领先，在另一个州与共和党统计上打平。但其他民调发现共和党候选人领先，而一些争夺关键席位的民主党人在竞选最后几天陷入了纷争和丑闻。
poll by the New York Times and Siena University published Sunday found Democrats leading in five battleground states surveyed, and statistically tied in a sixth. But other surveys have found Republican candidates ahead, while some Democrats vying for important seats have been dealing with drama and scandal in the closing days of the race.
上周，《纽约时报》报道称，阿拉斯加参议员候选人玛丽·佩尔托拉的竞选团队与民主党操盘手合作，招募了一名名字与她的对手、现任共和党参议员丹·沙利文几乎相同的候选人。该州州长已下令对该指控展开刑事调查，而美国司法部提起诉讼，要求如果沙利文落选则阻止选举认证，尽管一名联邦法官最近驳回了在密歇根州，民主党参议员提名人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德与他在初选中击败的众议员海莉·史蒂文斯之间的紧张关系，在她背书他的共和党对手迈克·罗杰斯后升级为公开冲突。
Last week, the New York Times reported that Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign collaborated with Democratic operatives to recruit a candidate with nearly the same name as her opponent, the incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan. The state’s governor has ordered a criminal investigation into the allegation, while the US Department of Justice filed a suit to block the election’s certification if Sullivan loses, though a federal judge recently dismissed In Michigan, tensions between Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and congresswoman Haley Stevens, who he defeated in the primary, erupted into open conflict after she endorsed his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers.
史蒂文斯表示，她反对埃尔-赛义德在一个由外部团体发起的、将生活成本上涨归咎于美国支持以色列的立场上，但民主党人指责这位四届众议员“背叛”。
Stevens said she objected to El-Sayed’s stance on an by an outside group that blamed the rising cost of living on US support for Israel, but Democrats accused the four-term congresswoman of “betrayal”.