Trump rally underway in Cleveland

CLEVELAND (AP) — President Donald Trump implored Republicans today to help preserve "fragile" GOP victories that could be erased by Democrats as he closes out a midterm campaign that has been defined by his racially charged rhetoric, hard-line immigration moves and scattershot policy proposals.

One day before polls closed, Trump arrived in perennial battleground Ohio with further stops planned in Indiana and Missouri to boost Republican turnout in elections that could determine the path of his presidency. He laid out the stakes in a telephone "town hall" organized by his re-election campaign.

"It's all fragile. Everything I told you about, it can be undone and changed by the Democrats if they get in," Trump said. "You see how they've behaved. You see what's happening with them. They've really become radicalized."

Throughout the fall, Trump has cast an overwhelming shadow over the midterm elections, which will serve as a testing ground for his nationalist appeals and the strength of the coalition that powered him to the White House. In the final days, Trump has accelerated his harsh rhetoric on illegal immigration and lobbed apocalyptic attacks on Democrats. At the same time, he has sought to distance himself from any potential blame if Republicans lose control of the House.

Whatever the outcome, Trump made clear he knew he was on the line.

"Even though I'm not on the ballot, in a certain way I am on the ballot," Trump said in the town hall. "Tomorrow, whether we consider it or not, the press is very much considering it a referendum on me and us as a movement."

Trump also rejected criticism from some Republicans that his immigration rhetoric was turning off the moderate voters they need to win the House.