Races to watch in US midterm elections
A number of notable races are taking place on Tuesday in the US midterm elections, when Americans go to the polls to elect governors and members of the US House of Representatives and Senate. Here is a look at some of the most interesting contests:
BETO-MANIA
One of the most expensive and closely watched Senate races is in Texas, where incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz is facing Democratic Representative Beto O'Rourke. O'Rourke, 46, whose given names are Robert Francis but who goes by Beto, is mounting a surprisingly strong challenge to the 47-year-old Cruz in the reliably Republican "Lone Star State".
O'Rourke, a three-term congressman and former member of a punk band, is drawing enthusiastic support from many urban dwellers in Texas, while Cruz does better in conservative rural areas.
DUELLING FEMALE
CANDIDATES
Arizona will have a woman representing the southwestern state in the US Senate for the first time as two women battle for the seat being vacated by Mr Jeff Flake, a Trump critic who is not running for re-election. Martha McSally and Kyrsten Sinema are running neck-in-neck in a state which President Donald Trump won by 3.5 percentage points in the 2016 presidential election.
DEMOCRATS IN DANGER
Democratic Senate candidates are in danger of losing their seats in Missouri, North Dakota and Indiana. In Missouri - which Trump won by 18 points in 2016 - Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, 65, is facing a strong challenge from Republican attorney-general Josh Hawley. Trump has campaigned personally for the 38-year-old Hawley and called him a rising star in the party.
CLOSE EYE ON FLORIDA
Two of the most-watched races in the country are in Florida. Democrat Bill Nelson, 76, was first elected to the Senate in 2000 and was easily re-elected in 2006 and 2012. But Nelson, who served as a payload specialist on a Space Shuttle in 1986, is facing a tough challenge this time from Florida's Republican Governor Rick Scott.
