“President Trump on Monday closed out an us-against-them midterm election campaign that was built on dark themes of fear, nationalism and racial animosity in an effort to salvage Republican control of Congress for the remaining two years of his term,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Trump’s fiery, invective-filled campaigning produced what may be the most polarized midterm contest in modern times as he played to tribal rifts in American society in a way that no president has done since before the civil rights era. The divisions exposed and expanded over the past few weeks seem certain to last well beyond Election Day.”

“Storms are expected to hit much of the Eastern United States on Tuesday, which could depress Election Day turnout in some places,” the New York Times reports.

“A strong cold front could cause rain and wind anywhere along the Eastern Seaboard, from the Florida Panhandle all the way up to Maine… There will most likely be severe thunderstorms from North Carolina up to South Jersey. And in the Northeast, especially New York and Pennsylvania, winds could reach 50 miles per hour.”

“The same broad storm system is expected to cause a mixture of rain and snow in the Great Lakes region and Northern Plains, including parts of Michigan, Minnesota and North Dakota.”

“A staggering 36 million voters cast their ballots ahead of Election Day this year, setting the stage for much-higher-than-usual turnout for a midterm — and, potentially, big surprises on Tuesday night,” Politico reports.

“Republican enthusiasm for President Donald Trump and Democrats’ itch to repudiate him at the ballot box have driven people to the polls far faster than in 2014, when 27.2 million people voted early.”

For members: If There’s a Surprise Tomorrow Night…

President Trump pre-emptively spread around blame for the results of Tuesday’s midterms elections, accusing CNN of peddling “fake suppression polls” and floating the prospect of widespread fraudulent voting, Politico reports.

“Hitting the campaign trail on the eve of the nation’s pivotal midterm elections, President Trump told supporters that Democrats would gut his agenda if they win control of the House and Senate,” USA Today reports.

Said Trump: “Everything we have created and achieved is at stake on Election Day.”

Jennifer Duffy: “One interesting phenomenon in Senate elections is that the races in the Toss Up column never break down the middle; one party wins a majority of them.”

“Going back 10 cycles to 1998, the lowest percentage of Toss Up seats one party won was in 2002 when Republicans won 67 percent (6 of 9 races). In 2004, 2006 and 2014, one party took 89 percent of the contests in Toss Up. In 2004, Republicans won 8 of 9 races, but in 2006, Democrats took 8 of 9 races. In 2014, Republicans won 8 of 9 contests. That there were nine races in Toss Up in all three years and there are nine this year is purely a coincidence.”

Wall Street Journal: “Donors who identify their occupation as ‘retired’ gave 52% of the $326 million they contributed through Oct. 17 to Democrats, compared with 48% to Republicans… That is a reversal of their split four years ago—and it’s a record amount of midterm money from retirees.”

“This is the first midterms since the group began keeping donor industry data in 1990 in which retirees favor Democrats over Republicans.”