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The number of Latino lawmakers may appear to be set to rise as we told you earlier - however, the country's first ever Latina senator might be about to lose her post.

No Senate race this year has polled as tightly as the one in Nevada.

Catherine Cortez Masto, 58, won election in 2016. She's viewed as the most at-risk Democrat in the Senate - and Latino voters may help sink her bid for re-election.

Democrats have been losing ground with Latinos in recent years, in part because many prefer conservative policies on abortion and immigration.

But it's the struggling economy - the most important issue for every demographic in this election - which is most damaging. Nevada, which relies so much on the riches generated in Las Vegas and Reno, was particularly hard hit by the pandemic.

Republicans are hoping voters will punish the party in power. Their candidate Adam Laxalt, 44, is endorsed by Donald Trump and led the charge in Nevada two years ago to support the ex-president’s unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

If he wins, Laxalt will follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather who both served in the Senate.

Read more: The races that could decide the US Senate

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

A Republican candidate for New Hampshire senator says he was the victim of an attempted attack before his debate on Wednesday night.

Former Army general Don Bolduc, who is running to unseat Senator Maggie Hassan, was endorsed earlier this week by Donald Trump, who called him a "strong and proud 'Election Denier'".

According to his campaign, the Afghanistan war veteran dodged a punch from a Libertarian activist as he arrived at the university debate site. He was unharmed.

During the debate, Bolduc called the attack "a sign of political problems".

He condemned politicians of any either party "that fuel issues with people that get them to the point where they are just so upset at an individual that they strike out at them".

A spokesman for the Hassan campaign condemned the "disgusting behaviour", tweeting that the same Libertarian party activist had been aggressive with Hassan volunteers at the same debate, as well as the previous one.

Police reportedly arrested the man, who has not been named.

It comes as officials warn of an uptick in political violence ahead of Tuesday's election, and after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband was assaulted in his home by a hammer-wielding intruder.

The House of Representatives could have a record number of Latino members after next week’s midterms, CBS, BBC’s partner in the US, reports.

A Latino group has projected they will take as many as 45 seats - up from the current number of 38 – comprising more than 10% of the 435-member House.

"We think we’ll have a very robust new class of Latinos overall," said Arturo Vargas from the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (Naleo) Educational Fund.

Hispanics are the largest racial and ethnic minority group in the country, CBS reports, numbering 62.1 million in the 2020 Census, or about 19% of the population.

Vargas said he expected Latinos to turn out for the midterms at similar levels to their record 2018 turnout, when 11.7 million Latinos voted, a 73% jump from 2014.

As momentum builds towards next week's midterms, here are some of the things we'll be looking out for on Thursday.

• President Joe Biden will travel to San Diego, California, where he will take part in a rally for vulnerable Democratic Congressman Mike Levin
• He's also going to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to stump for Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham

• Former president Donald Trump will hold an evening rally in Sioux City, Iowa, at 20:00e (00:00 GMT) to campaign for Governor Kim Reynolds
• Vice-president Kamala Harris and failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will appear in New York City to support incumbent Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul
• A Republican ex-general running for the Senate in New Hampshire says a man tried to punch him as he arrived for a debate last night
• The attorney general of Texas has been criminally investigating poll workers as part of his probe into alleged election fraud, according to reports
• Political adverts are blanketing airwaves, websites and social media, with analysts estimating that around $10bn (£8.6bn) has been spent on ads for far by campaigns

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What did President Biden say that got some of his rivals so riled up?

Largely, the reaction appears to be to his comments that democracy was under threat, and his reference to last week’s attack on the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, linking it to dangerous political rhetoric.

Paul Pelosi was hospitalised after he was attacked with a hammer following break-in at the couple’s California home. The accused had allegedly targeted Nancy Pelosi, saying he was sick of the “lies coming out of Washington DC”.

"The assailant entered the home asking, 'Where's Nancy?'" Biden said. "Those are the very same words used by the mob when they stormed the US Capitol on January 6th."

Biden then blamed Donald Trump and his false claims of the 2020 election being stolen for fuelling a "dangerous rise in political violence and voter intimidation over the past two years".

The overwhelming sentiment of his speech was that he sees next week's midterms as a defining moment for the US and democracy is under assault.

Read more aboutlast night's speech here

President Biden's remarks last night focused on the continuous threat to democracy made by those who threaten to deny defeat in next week's elections.

Republicans reacted to Biden by arguing he was trying to distract Americans from his low approval ratings and US inflation.

But what do we know about candidates who have publicly raised doubts about the 2020 presidential election or repeated claims that it was stolen?

The BBC's US partner CBS has crunched some numbers and here’s what they found:

• Of the 595 Republicans running for state-wide office, just over half - 306 - have raised doubts about the 2020 presidential election
• Among the candidates for governor, 20 of 36 have done so.
• Of those running for lieutenant governor, it's 9 of 31
• In the case of candidates for attorney general, it's 9 of 30
• For secretary of state candidates, it's 12 of 27
• Of those running for the US senate, it's 18 out of 35
• And lastly, 238 of 436 US House of Representatives candidates have done so
• Notably, only two states - Rhode Island and North Dakota - do not have election deniers running for office

Republicans have reacted to President Biden's speech last night, where he said that democracy is under threat. They've accused the president of trying to "divide and deflect" from his low approval ratings and rising inflation.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy – the top Republican in the House of Representatives – said: "President Biden is trying to divide and deflect at a time when America needs to unite – because he can’t talk about his policies that have driven up the cost of living."

"The American people aren’t buying it."

In a televised address from Washington DC on Wednesday, Biden urged Americans to unite in opposition to "political violence" ahead of the 8 November vote, warning that candidates who refuse to accept defeat could set the nation on "the path to chaos".

Another Republican, California Representative Darrell Issa, called Biden "the most divisive president in memory", adding that "no one is buying he wants to unite the country".

The accusations of divisiveness came even before Biden’s speech, with Stephen Miller – who served as a senior policy adviser to Donald Trump – saying he would deliver a "sequel" to his "Enemies of the State address", an apparent reference to a speech in September when Biden described Trump and his supporters as "threats to the country".

"If you’re tired of the hate, division and anger, vote Republican," Miller tweeted.

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We're kicking off our coverage again – with five days to go until the election, as lawmakers around the country bicker over President Biden's speech to the nation last night about "threats to democracy".

The balance of power in Congress is at stake, as polls show Republicans stand a good chance of retaking the House - and maybe also the Senate - from the Democrats on Tuesday.

Democrats are hoping to energise voters by touting their support for abortion rights and democracy itself, while Republicans want to focus on crime and the economy.

We'll be bringing you all the latest from the campaign trail here, so stay tuned.