Trump, Obama offer dueling speeches Sunday in final 48-hour countdown to midterm elections

Republican President Donald Trump and former Democratic President Barack Obama made dueling speeches Sunday in an attempt to drum up support for their parties just 48 hours before Tuesday’s midterm elections.

How is it shaping up?

Opinion polls have shown dozens of close U.S. congressional and gubernatorial races for Tuesday’s elections, Reuters news reported. Although they disagree on the issues, Trump and Obama both agree that the election results will decide what kind of country America  will become over the next two years.

“This election will decide whether we build on this extraordinary prosperity we have created,” Trump said before cheering crowd in Macon, Georgia. He went on to say  Democrats would “take a giant wrecking ball to our economy.”

On Friday, the Labor Department reported that the unemployment is at a 49-year low (3.7 percent) and wages have grown annual to their best in nearly a decade, the report noted.

Trump campaigned with Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who is in a tight and controversial race with Democrat Stacey Abrams for the governor’s office.

Without naming names, Obama condemned Trump and other Republicans for what he called divisive policies and lies, Reuters reported. He also defended Obamacare while “claiming to support the law’s protections for those with pre-existing conditions.”

“The only check right now on the behavior of these Republicans is you and your vote,” Obama told supporters in Gary, Indiana, during a rally for Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly.

“The character of our country is on the ballot,” he said.

Is this effective?

Their appearances on the campaign trail are considered effective because Trump and Obama are regarded as the most popular figures in their parties. It's likely they will fire up voter turnout even more in the final hours before the election, according to the report.

Opinion polls and analysts have suggested Democrats will attain the 23 seats they need to capture a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. It’s a move Democrats hope will thwart Trump’s legislative policies. They have also repeatedly called for an investigation of his administration.

Republicans are expected to keep their slight majority in the U.S. Senate. That would allow them to keep the ability to approve “U.S. Supreme Court and other judicial nominations on straight party-line votes,” the report states.

Still, all of that remains to be seen.