US voters go to the polls in mid-term elections

Voters in the United States go to the polls today for the Congressional mid-term elections.

President Barack Obama’s Democratic Party is expected to lose its majority in the House of Representatives and is struggling to keep control of the Senate.

There are over 500 individual contests taking place today ranging from all 435 seats in the House of Representatives to dozens of State Governors.

The key battles will be over a series of constituencies in swing-states across the country.

With the economy in the doldrums and unemployment stagnant at almost 10% of the working population, all the opinion polls point to a drubbing for the Democrats.

President Obama has been criss-crossing the country in a last-ditch attempt to rally his supporters, but the polls show Democrats trailing badly.

Most pundits are predicting the Democrats will lose the House of Representatives, some say even the Senate could go Republican, with many of those new politicians elected specifically to oppose President Obama’s policies on the economy, energy policy and regulation.

If the predictions come true, it will be a difficult couple of years ahead with the White House and Congress at loggerheads on a vast range of key issues.RTE