“More than 1 million people have already cast their ballots in Alberta’s referendum on separation from Canada, signaling strong voter turnout that pollsters say may favor the ‘remain’ side,” Bloomberg reports.

“Donald Trump is once again praising Bill Maher following a dinner he had at the White House with the HBO host along with Stephen A. Smith and Kid Rock,” Deadline reports. Said Trump: “It was a great dinner, it was a very informative dinner. Smart people. Stephen A. is great. Bill Maher — I will […]

“President Donald Trump said he didn’t order limitations on Ukraine’s access to SpaceX’s Starshield satellite technology and didn’t think Elon Musk did so either,” Bloomberg reports. Said Trump: “It wasn’t me and I don’t think it was Elon. I don’t know if it was anybody.”

“President Donald Trump said Friday there is ‘zero chance’ he’s considering replacing White House chief of staff Susie Wiles after reports that suggested as much,” CNN reports. Said Trump: “The Susie Wiles story was a fake story She’s been incredible. She’s smart and tough; she just went through a lot with the cancer surgery… Susie […]

Playbook: “With fewer than three weeks to go, the national environment keeps deteriorating for Republicans, and some Democrats are starting to dream of a big blue wave — even as warning signs remain that some GOP backlash may not translate to Democratic conversion.” “The deluge of campaign spending is now hitting its peak, as candidates […]

“Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain.” — Anthony Scaramucci, on X, on Katie Zacharia lasting less than half the 11 days he did in Donald Trump’s White House.

A new NPA Polling poll in New Hampshire finds Chris Pappas (D) leading John E. Sununu (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 50% to 43%. New Hampshire Senate Race Chris Pappas (D) 50%   John E. Sununu (R) 43%   NPA Polling poll · likely voters · ±4%

“The new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, is out of her role just five days into the job, after President Donald Trump said publicly that she should think about leaving,” the Washington Post reports. “Her departure marked a rare and speedy retreat from a presidential appointment that acknowledged a rough start to one of […]

A new City Forward Collective and CFC Action Fund/YouGov poll in Wisconsin finds David Crowley (D) leading Tom Tiffany (R) in the governor’s race, 46% to 42%. Wisconsin Governor’s Race David Crowley (D) 46%   Tom Tiffany (R) 42%   City Forward Collective and CFC Action Fund/YouGov poll · adults

“President Trump said Friday he has given his new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia the option to leave her job after a rocky first week, including scrutiny on her résumé,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Said Trump: “I said, ‘Katie, you know, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want.’” Bloomberg: Trump […]

“A billboard in Brownsville, Texas, featuring Republican congressional candidate Eric Flores so closely resembles his campaign ads it could be one of his campaign posters,” the Washington Sun reports. “Except unlike his campaign posters, it prominently features an endorsement by and photo of Flores with President Donald Trump, which Democrats are now accusing Flores of […]

“A judge threatened to sanction President Donald Trump for failing to sit for a mandatory deposition in the $10 billion defamation suit he filed against the British Broadcasting Corp,” Bloomberg reports.

“The White House has again barred CNN from its traveling television pool Friday, preventing the network from accompanying President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One amid a legal battle over press access,” the Washington Sun reports.

A new Talk Business and Politics/Hendrix College poll in Arkansas finds Tom Cotton (R) leading Hallie Shoffner (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 50% to 41%, with Jeff Wadlin (L) at 5%. Arkansas Senate Race Tom Cotton (R) 50%   Hallie Shoffner (D) 41%   Talk Business and Politics/Hendrix College poll · ±5%

“A billion-dollar war chest was meant to be Republicans’ great equalizer heading into a bleak midterm election environment defined by economic frustration, President Donald Trump’s unpopularity and fallout from the war in Iran,” CNBC reports. “So far it hasn’t worked.” “From Labor Day through Oct 14. GOP groups injected more than $740 million into congressional […]

“One of the most vulnerable Republicans in the House is running on immigration — and taking on both parties over it,” Politico reports. “Rep. Mike Lawler is hammering Democrats over ‘sanctuary’ policies while criticizing the Trump administration’s aggressive — and at times lethal — immigration enforcement tactics.” “Lawler is betting his self-described ‘common sense’ approach […]

Michael Strain: “Inflation is running hot. American workers and households are falling behind, and are deeply dissatisfied with Donald Trump’s handling of the economy. The response of the president and many Republican leaders is to insist that the economy is great and the American people just don’t understand how great it is.” “Joe Biden tried […]

“Elon Musk is putting a small fortune into Republicans’ effort to salvage the Senate seat in Texas, seen as critical to the party keeping control of the chamber in the fall elections,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “According to federal filings, Musk donated $158 million to Senate Republicans’ super PAC in September—the same amount that […]

“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday asked European Union leaders to provide Kyiv an extra $79 billion in funding next year to help it keep fighting Russia,” Agence France-Presse reports.

“Russian disinformation operators are deploying an army of bots to inflate view counts of fictitious posts about celebrities and Democratic candidates ahead of the US midterm elections,” Bloomberg reports. “AI-fabricated video clips of well-known actors and musicians — including Robert De Niro, Julia Roberts and Cher — attacking Democrats began appearing on X in early […]

“Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who is campaigning in Michigan this week for Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, transferred $1 million on Friday to a political account to help elect the fellow progressive to the Senate,” the New York Times reports. “The transfer represents a huge sum for a House member to give to a Senate […]

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“Mayor Daniel Lurie is asking a lot of San Francisco voters in next month’s election as he starts to test the limits of his political popularity,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports. “The mayor wants the electorate to give him and his successors more power over the way City Hall operates. He’s pushing a parcel tax […]

Joe Biden’s presidential memoir comes out right after the midterm elections.

“They will turn every committee of Congress into an investigative body, and they’ll go after the president’s family, the Cabinet, his donors and friends. Half of you in this room will be targeted. I run the protection program. I’ll take care of you.” — Speaker Mike Johnson, quoted by Rolling Stone, telling GOP donors what […]

New York Times: “More than 80 percent of the ads were produced by Republican campaigns or Republican-aligned political action committees. Using AI has allowed them to make their opponents appear alongside polarizing figures in the Democratic Party, such as Hillary Clinton or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”

“A handful of megadonors are giving big to try and keep Republicans’ midterm hopes alive,” Politico reports. “Elon Musk gave at least $276 million to boost Republicans in the third quarter, making him by far the largest spender of the cycle. Midwestern shipping magnate Richard Uihlein put $66 million more into a super PAC that […]

“While President Trump has claimed that noncitizens voted en masse and even tipped the scales in recent elections, research from partisan and nonpartisan groups alike has shown that instances of noncitizen voting are so rare that they have never been significant enough to change the outcome of an election,” the New York Times reports. “Investigations […]

A new Bowling Green State University/YouGov poll in Ohio finds Amy Acton (D) leading Vivek Ramaswamy (R) in the governor’s race, 50% to 44%, with Don Kissick (L) at 4%. Ohio Governor’s Race Amy Acton (D) 50%   Vivek Ramaswamy (R) 44%   Bowling Green State University/YouGov poll · likely voters · ±3.95% The same […]

A new Wesleyan Survey Lab/YouGov poll in Connecticut finds Ned Lamont (D) leading Ryan Fazio (R) in the governor’s race, 57% to 34%. Connecticut Governor’s Race Ned Lamont (D) 57%   Ryan Fazio (R) 34%   Wesleyan Survey Lab/YouGov poll · likely voters · ±4.54%