Washington (United States) (AFP) - AFP has deployed reporters, photographers and video journalists across the United States as voters cast ballots in pivotal midterm elections.

Here is a round-up of interviews on Tuesday at polling stations from Alaska to Florida.

- Hopeful Democrats -

With polling data suggesting Democrats on track to capture a majority in the House of Representatives and perhaps even in the Senate, many left-leaning voters expressed hope about the results.

“I’ve been really looking forward to this day where we get to have a say again in the future of our country,” Emma Mondadori, a 39-year-old who works in philanthropy, told AFP in New York, referring to President Donald Trump’s election victory.

“What’s the most important issue? Getting control away from the crazy man,” Roberta Brune, a 66-year-old retiree said after voting in Los Angeles, California.

- Cost of living -

With prices of gasoline, food and other necessities soaring, everyday spending was on many people’s minds.

“It’s about the cost of living, gas prices, those kind of things. It needs to change for the everyday person, and I’m an everyday person,” said Donta Comer, a 38-year-old project manager in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Affordability is the main issue driving my vote,” said Taylor Cook, 24, in Los Angeles. “Rent, groceries, utility bills, and property taxes keep climbing, and I want people in Congress who will actually do something about costs.”

- Leadership referendum -

Midterm elections are typically seen as a referendum on the sitting president, and few leaders have polarized public opinion as strongly as Trump.

“I’m independent but I voted Democrat, I just wanted to go back into the culture of decency, integrity, honesty, and the rest follows,” Yan Cardineau, 59, said in Austin, Texas.

Gabriel Layman, a 24-year-old writer in Anchorage, Alaska, described himself as independent but voted for Democrats because of his opposition to Trump and “everything going on: ICE, the war in Iran, prices, tariffs, all of those are things that I care about.”

In Texas, Trump-endorsed and scandal-plagued Senate candidate Ken Paxton is in the fight of his life against Democratic rival James Talarico.

“I wish that we had had another choice for senator,” said Mary Wolf, a Republican voter in Dallas, who said she would vote for him anyway but was “not optimistic at all.”

- Immigration -

In late pitches to voters, Trump has stressed his success in reducing illegal immigration and ramping up deportations.

While his tough stance plays well with supporters, others have been put off by the brutal tactics used by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

“I am very concerned about climate change, school violence and the situation with people who still don’t have immigration status in this country,” Diana Alvarez, a 38-year-old Cuban-born attorney, said in Doral, Florida.

“It’s tough for any presidency, but this one in particular has been a little violent and aggressive (with migrants) and I don’t think that was necessary.”

- Iran -

Trump’s most consequential foreign policy decision of his second term – the February 28 attack on Iran with Israel – was referenced by several voters.

Andrea Nelson, an insurance worker in Anchorage whose father served in the military, said she backs the war and Trump’s effort to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

“I am very afraid of nuclear war, I’ve seen and experienced how war has affected military soldiers and their families,” the 50-year-old said.

- Socialism -

Many Republican candidates and Trump have sought to portray their Democratic rivals as dangerous tax-and-spend socialists intent on destroying American capitalism.

“A lot of today’s younger people think socialism is the way to go,” said Daryl Ruley, an 84-year-old in Austin. “They don’t understand history if they believe that’s the case.”

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