Trump expands hunt for voter fraud ahead of midterms

Hello! Welcome back to our US midterms briefing.

I messaged North America correspondent Kamin Gock about the Republican Party's standing in states that are typically conservative. Here's what he had to say.

Trump is off to Ohio after a campaign blitz in Texas yesterday. That's a lot of time spent on what are usually safe Republican areas. Is he worried about losing ground here?

Absolutely — this will be his third visit to the state this month! Ohio has been reliably Republican in Senate races. But it could now be a crucial battle ground, with polls showing a very competitive race between Republican Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown. If the Democrats pick up four Senate seats across the country, they'll retake control of the upper house. In Ohio, Democrats also hope they can pick up a seat in the House of Representatives and none of that spells good news for Trump.

You spent some time in Nebraska — another typically red state — not long ago. What did you learn there?

Some farmers are really feeling rising costs linked to tariffs and the Iran war, particularly fuel and fertiliser price hikes. One farmer told me he is paying an extra $US1,400 ($1984) a day for diesel to operate his farm. Those are extra costs the farmers I spoke to say they did not vote for.

There was a lot of disquiet and disappointment among Republicans, but just because they are unhappy with Trump doesn't mean they will vote Democrat. As one man told me, he probably just won't vote.

You can read more about Kamin's trip to Nebraska here.

US President Donald Trump might not be up for election at the midterms, but his popularity will have a strong influence over the outcome.

The president's party almost always loses House seats in midterm elections and that trend gets steeper when the president is unpopular.

Historic polling data collated by analytics firm Gallup shows presidents with approval ratings below 50 per cent have seen their party lose an average of 37 House seats.

Presidents with approval ratings above 50 per cent have netted smaller loses, with an average of 14 seats.

You can keep track of the latest out of the US here.

Thanks for joining me! I'll be back same time tomorrow with more.