BBC News • 4:18 • intermediate • News
Q1. What do the latest polls suggest about the upcoming midterm elections?
6 words to learn — tap cards to flip and save favorites.
/ədˈvæn.tɪdʒ/
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Definition
A condition or circumstance that puts one in a favorable or superior position.
Example
The team had the advantage of playing on their home turf.
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/ˈhæm.pɚ.ɪŋ/
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Definition
Hindering or obstructing the progress or movement of something.
Example
The heavy rain was hampering the construction work.
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/ˌdɛt.rɪˈmɛn.təl/
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Definition
Causing harm or damage.
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Smoking has a detrimental effect on health.
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/ˌdɪs.ɪnˈtʃæn(t).mənt/
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A feeling of disappointment about someone or something you previously respected or admired.
Example
His disenchantment with the political system led him to stop voting.
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/ˌrɛf.əˈrɛn.dəm/
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A direct vote in which an entire electorate is invited to vote on a particular proposal and can result in the adoption of new legislation.
Example
The government held a referendum to decide on the new tax laws.
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/sɜrdʒ/
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A sudden powerful forward or upward movement.
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There was a surge of support for the candidate in the final weeks of the campaign.
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Now in America, the latest polls suggest the Democrats hold the advantage in the upcoming midterm elections on November the 3. Both chambers of Congress are currently controlled by the Republicans. But Democrats are hoping they can flip vulnerable seats
in the House of Representatives and also even take control of the Senate, too. That would potentially make life difficult for Donald Trump in his final two years in office, hampering chances of passing his legislative agenda. Well, the state
of Iowa has voted three times for Mr. Trump, but some voters are angry about rising prices and the war in Iran. So, could the Democrats win? Sarah Smith has more from Iowa. The Iowa Hawkeyes are the clear underdogs
in this American college football game, but their diehard fans still gather early for this tailgate party. Iowa also has a tight electoral contest coming with polls suggesting Republicans might abandon the party because they are so fed up with
Donald Trump. He's got us in the war. Prices, groceries high, skyhigh, gas skyhigh. Many Republican candidates are feeling the heat, not unlike this roasting alligator. And by leading the campaign, Donald Trump risks detering some voters, not attracting them.
President Trump's campaigning hard. Would that make people more likely to vote Republican, do you think, or less? With the the current climate, I would think possibly less. Believe it or not, as a Republican myself, I would think it
might be detrimental. Into this rivalry rolls the Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turk, a parolympian who has a decent shot at winning in this conservative state. If you win here, that would be quite something. Oh, I I I think
that Ians are uniquely struggling and and hurting and so I think they're ready for change. The Republican Senate candidate Ashley Henson has voted to support the war in Iran, but is now trying to distance herself from the conflict.
It's why I've called for an immediate and successful end to the war in Iran. Famed for its corn fields, Iowa is an agricultural state and farmers have been hit particularly hard. The price of diesel has risen more than
petrol. While Trump's trade tariffs have added even more costs, he's definitely a little more brash. Since Jason Rogers voted for Trump two years ago, he's seen his own costs rise due to a war he doesn't believe the US
should be engaged in. He did start the war in Iran, which I will say I don't think we probably should be in that one. I don't I don't think that we need to be a policeman of the world
anyways. But most people are not singleissue voters. And Jason's disenchantment with the president does not mean he wants to punish every Republican who supported the war. Opinion polls suggest a huge surge for Democrats in the midterms that could
flip even a largely Republican state like Iowa if voters treat this election as a referendum on Donald Trump and use it as an opportunity to punish him. But what I found by coming here is that a lot of
voters just don't neatly fit into that script and that Democrats probably cannot rely solely on Donald Trump's low approval ratings to try and boost their vote. Two hours away and two years ago, I first met the McKinnons when
they were deciding to vote for Donald Trump in the presidential election. Hi. I've come back to find out what they think now about his record in office. this world stage intervention time after time after time. We don't love
it. We just don't love it. We didn't expect necessarily him to be perfect choir boy. Obviously, we didn't vote for him on those levels. They are disappointed to a degree, but not so much that they'll change their votes
as they don't feel their basic fundamental values would be represented by Democrats. A dollar more a gallon of gas is not going to change what we believe in. For me to describe the Democrat, I would just say some
of the policies just don't line up fully with what we would like to see going forward for our country, for our kids, for our grandkids. So, we do lean Republican for that way. America is heading in the wrong
direction, say a majority of voters who blame that on Donald Trump. But right across Iowa, the message I heard repeatedly was that the predicted Democratic wave may not flood across Republican states like this one. Sarah Smith, Automa, Iowa.
