Weeks of Senate debates ahead of the 3 November US midterm elections produced heated exchanges and three clear themes, according to a BBC analysis. The first was Republican candidates' relationship with President Donald Trump, whose approval ratings had been low amid voter worries over living costs and fuel prices. A Reuters analysis found two-thirds of candidates in competitive House and Senate races had broken with the president in some way. Maine's Susan Collins, seeking a sixth term, told a debate she had voted against Trump 137 times in this Congress; a New York Times/Siena poll in mid-September put her 3% ahead of Democrat Troy Jackson, though other polls suggested Jackson led. In Iowa, Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, facing a narrow deficit against Democrat Josh Turek, criticised the administration's fuel deal with Russia during a 13 October debate. The second theme was personal attacks. In Michigan, Trump-backed Republican Mike Rogers questioned whether anyone in Democrat Abdul El-Sayed's family might be on a watchlist; El-Sayed, who would be the first Muslim senator, called him a sock puppet for the administration. In Georgia, Senator Jon Ossoff called Republican Mike Collins a bigot over social media posts by Collins' son-in-law, David Alan Scheer II, and Collins said he had condemned racism and antisemitism. The third was absent debates: an ABC News analysis found none scheduled in 21 of the 35 contested seats. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico accepted four invitations while Republican Ken Paxton accepted none, despite Trump urging them to debate. Political scientist Peter Trumbore warned that skipping debates handed opponents the chance to define a candidate.