President Donald Trump points during a campaign rally for the mid-term elections. Photo / AP
American President Donald Trump is doing everything possible to make himself the "centrepiece" of the United States mid-term elections, one expert says.
In the past few days Trump has continued his divisive style of politics, tweeting an ad on immigration labelled by critics as racist, announcing his intention to overturn a Constitutional amendment to repeal "birthright citizenship", and sending US troops to the border to meet a caravan of asylum seekers not due for a month, and many of whom have accepted asylum in Mexico.
Trump is what's driving the vote in midterm elections, despite it not being a presidential election, University of Southern California professor of political science Robert Schrum said.
"Donald Trump is the elephant in the voting place. He seems to be doing everything right now to make himself the centrepiece of the campaign," Schrum said.
Polls show 46 per cent of Americans said their vote was against Trump and his Republican party, 28 per cent said it was for him and the rest said they didn't know.
"If those numbers are correct them Democrats will almost certainly take the House [of Representatives]."
Schrum said there were almost no scholars who believed Trump could repeal by executive order the 14th Amendment of the Constitution that grants birthright citizenship to anyone born in the United States.
"I don't think he cares. I think he wants to try to make this the big, dominant issue of the midterms.
"The problem with that in my view is that it's a base argument. He's really appealing to his base. His real base is probably about 35 per cent."
Trump plans to visit eight "red" states in the week leading up to the elections on November 6 and Schrum expects the President to continue to "distract and motivate" voters with such polarising issues.
By contrast Democratic candidates were running a pro-Democratic policy campaign, Schrum said, a marked difference from Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign targeting Trump as unfit to be leader of the Free World.
"In fact Democrats are running very few ads about Trump, even though I think he's the dominant issue in the election and people want to put a check and balance on him."
Democrats are targeting healthcare, protecting the prohibition on denying insurance for pre-existing conditions, income stagnation and economic fairness.
In 2016 Schrum, a former Democratic campaign strategist for the unsuccessful Al Gore nominee for presidential election campaign in 2000, said there was "no how, no way, no chance Donald Trump could be elected president", is predicting the Democrats will flip the House of Representatives in the midterms.
While the Senate appears safe for Republicans with only about 35 per cent of seats up for re-election and many of them expected to remain with the incumbents, flipping the Lower House will mean Trump and the Republicans will have to be open to more negotiation to get legislation passed.
In California, once a reliable Republican state but now Democratic, there is a 69 per cent disapproval rate of Trump.
Suburban voters, white women college-educated and white women non college-educated voters, and independents have largely swung away from the Republican party because of Trump, Schrum said.
Of the 51 Californian members of Congress, Schrum said he wouldn't be surprised if 45 will be Democratic after Tuesday.
Schrum said the pipe bombs sent to Trump critics and the attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue where 11 people were killed, only served to lock in Democratic votes.
"I also think they tend to increase the anxiety about the President and his style of leadership."
College kids
Ben Rich has already voted in the midterm elections.
The 20-year-old third year University of Southern California student in city planning hails from Hershy, Pennsylvania and cast his vote early.
Rich voted Republican because the party's values aligned more with his, he said.
The college junior voted in the 2016 Presidential elections too, and voted the same way.
When it came to President Donald Trump he said he was conflicted.
"It's so hard because I don't agree with everything Trump does but because I am Republican I feel like I have some sort of obligation to support him in some way.
"I'd definitely say I'm more socially Democrat but fiscally Republican and I think that's really important right now and for my future."
Rich admitted he was probably influenced by his parents, also Republican supporters, in the way he voted.
Mari Cruz has lived in Los Angeles since she was eight-months-old but the 21-year-old University of Southern California accounting student cannot vote because she's ineligible.
"I'm not a US citizen because I was born outside the US."
Cruz's parents came to Los Angeles from Puebla, Mexico and set up their own businesses in catering and hairdressing.
"I'd vote Democratic for sure. For many things, not just immigration policies but monetary policies, interest rates, their social agenda also such as welfare.
"Allocating more money to social causes is important to me. I didn't grow up low income because my parents have always been extremely hard working and entrepreneurial, but I do have family that did grow up low income.
"So it's important to me that taxes can get allocated to that as opposed to the military... there's no world war three right now so I don't think military expenses should be as high as they are which is something Republican parties really push for."
Cruz thought it was "super unfortunate" that someone would try to take away America's "birthright citizenship".
A senior in her fourth year, Cruz was also concerned about being able to secure a job when she graduates.
As part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals [DACA] community she faces an uncertain future because the programme, initiated in 2012, is not guaranteed.
"It basically grants you the ability to have your work permit. Although I'm not a citizen I do have a work permit and I'm allowed to have a regular job like any other person would.
"And the fact I could get that taken away from me means I'm kinda going to school for no reason. So I'm getting a degree and not being able to practice what I'm going to school for because I would be ineligible."
Natalie Akoorie is covering the United States' midterm elections courtesy of the US State Department.
