Twitter Inc owner Elon Musk, the world's richest person, on Monday recommended that voters pick Republican candidates for the U.S. Congress in Tuesday's midterm election.

"To independent-minded voters: Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the presidency is Democratic," Musk said on Twitter. Since Musk's takeover of Twitter, civil rights groups have criticized the Tesla CEO's stance on content moderation over his absolutist free speech stance, which they expect to increase the volume of misinformation and hate speech on the platform.

President Joe Biden's Democrats face a steep battle to retain control of Congress in Tuesday's vote. Nonpartisan election forecasters and polls suggest Republicans have a very strong chance of winning a House majority, with control of the Senate likely to be closer fought.

Musk has previously said he would vote for Republicans but says he backs moderates on both sides of the aisle. "Hardcore Democrats or Republicans never vote for the other side, so independent voters are the ones who actually decide who's in charge!", Musk added on Twitter.

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