“Pete Buttigieg, the former Transportation Secretary and popular Democratic Party surrogate who has confirmed considering a 2028 presidential bid, is endorsing independent Montana U.S. Senate candidate Seth Bodnar,” ABC News reports.

“Rep. Ilhan Omar raised nearly $1.9 million for her reelection campaign in the first two weeks of October, a haul that coincided with a federal raid on her Washington, D.C., home and her efforts to capitalize on what she called an ‘authoritarian attack,'” the Washington Sun reports. CBS News: Omar says she can’t keep living […]

“House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is heading to Texas this weekend as Democrats become increasingly confident that GOP-led gerrymandering could backfire in both the Lone Star State and in Florida,” Semafor reports. “Shifts among Latino voters, who represent sizable portions of the electorate in both states, and Trump’s sagging approval rating appear to be driving […]

“As President Donald Trump barnstorms the country ahead of the midterms, on top of his usual White House events this week, he’s had some pointed exchanges with journalists in his path. He called one reporter a ‘dummy,’ another ‘a stupid person’ and a third ‘a sick person,'” the Washington Sun reports. “The angry name-calling comes […]

New York Times: “With less than two weeks until the midterms, a wide majority of voters say that they largely trust that the results of the upcoming election will be accurate, according to a new New York Times/Siena poll.” ”But the poll finds that many harbor concerns that Republicans could try to overturn the results […]

“As the limits of where Democrats hope to win in 2026 creep further into reliably red territory, party operatives have been turning more often to a wedge issue that helped Donald Trump win in 2024 — disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein,” the Washington Sun reports. “In Kansas, a state that Trump won by more than more […]

“The Trump administration is steadily ratcheting up pressure on Iran with sanctions, but experts and former officials say the penalties thus far are having a limited effect on the Islamic Republic’s willingness to negotiate,” Semafor reports.

“A township council meeting Wednesday night erupted into chaos when Pemberton Township, NJ Mayor Matthew Bianchini (R) charged toward a resident during what has been described as long-simmering tensions boiling over,” WPVI reports. “The mayor was restrained by others in attendance before being removed from the room.” Said Bianchini: “I just basically snapped. I hate […]

“Iran’s message is stark: If the U.S. and Israel restart their air campaign, Tehran will respond with strikes not only on American bases and warships but on airports, pipelines and other civilian targets in the neighboring countries of the Persian Gulf,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The warnings, issued publicly and in private diplomatic communications, […]

“President Donald Trump attacked Philadelphia 76ers forward LeBron James on Thursday over a video appearing to show the NBA star stretching during the national anthem ahead of his Sixers debut against the New York Knicks on Tuesday,” ABC News reports. Said Trump: “While listening to our National Anthem, LeBron James disrespects our Country!” He added: […]

“Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) did not raise her objections to President Donald Trump waiving bipartisan Russia sanctions named after her late brother during a campaign visit from Trump to support her election and a subsequent ride with him to Washington on Air Force One,” the Washington Examiner reports.

“Elon Musk gave another $76 million to boost Republicans in the first two weeks of October, bringing his total giving this cycle to more than $442 million,” Politico reports.

New York Times: “The country’s economic crosscurrents are cascading across Iowa. High gas prices, elevated interest rates and Mr. Trump’s unpredictable economic policies, including tariffs, have been battering rural America over the last year. Iowa’s economy contracted in 2025 and notched the weakest annual growth rate in the country, according to the federal Bureau of […]

“Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy predicted Republicans will lose the House in two weeks, citing historical midterm trends while also criticizing the sitting GOP leadership for how they’ve managed the chamber,” Politico reports. Said McCarthy: “In the last 100 years, all off-year elections, whoever is the party in power has the White House, has lost seats, […]

“Senate Democrats have taken out a $15 million loan as they hope to expand their map in the final days before the midterms,” Politico reports.

A new Fox News poll in Maine finds Troy Jackson (D) and Susan Collins (R) tied in the U.S. Senate race, 49% to 49%. Maine Senate Race Troy Jackson (D) 49%   Susan Collins (R) 49%   Fox News poll · likely voters · ±2.5%

“Georgia’s early voting surge is fueled by a growing geographic divide, with voters in metro Atlanta’s suburbs and other more populous areas casting ballots well ahead of their 2022 pace while much of rural Georgia lags behind,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

“Flávio Bolsonaro and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are tied just days before Brazil’s Sunday runoff election, a new poll showed,” Bloomberg reports. “Bolsonaro and Lula would each take 50% of valid votes, which exclude null and blank ballots, according to a Datafolha survey published Thursday.”

“In a win for Republicans, the Supreme Court said Thursday that student IDs cannot be used in New Hampshire for the midterm elections,” NBC News reports. “The justices granted an emergency request filed by the state, which had the backing of the Republican National Committee.”

“President Donald Trump’s brand of brash, sometimes offensive, politics has consumed the Republican Party for a decade,” the Washington Post reports. “But bipartisan outrage over Vivek Ramaswamy’s ad featuring his opponent’s estranged mother shows how candidates often fail when they try to embody the president’s bombast.”

“Data from this fall’s early balloting and interviews with officials and voters suggests Americans, particularly Democrats, are moving away from mailing ballots and toward in-person voting and drop boxes, following President Donald Trump’s relentless attack on voting by mail,” the Washington Post reports. “Requests for mail ballots are down compared with the last midterm election […]

Charlie Cook: “One of the most frequent questions I get is about the massive influx of money coming into various political entities. One of the greatest canards in politics is that money determines elections. The reality is that money is important in politics—it is always better to have it than not—but what matters most is […]

Vanity Fair has an excerpt: “The Dutch government had hacked into Jared Kushner’s phone and monitored him as he accessed a Dubai-based bank account. What was odd, the source said, was that the money in the account—hundreds of millions of dollars—had come from a bank in Azerbaijan.” “Most importantly, Kushner appeared to have transferred significant […]

“I’ve never lost an election when my name is on the ballot. And I’ve never lost an election when I worked for either President Clinton, President Obama or helped make Nancy Pelosi Speaker. I don’t lose.” — Rahm Emanuel, quoted by the Financial Times, on speculation he might run for president in 2028.

“Republicans working to keep the Senate are increasingly anxious about holding onto a seat in Mississippi — a GOP stronghold in the deep South — and are investing money in the final weeks to shore up incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith,” CNN reports. “Senate Leadership Fund, the leading GOP super PAC focused on Senate races, made […]

“Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has offered to help President Donald Trump find his next chief spokesperson after her successor, Katie Zacharia, lasted just five days in the job,” The Wrap reports.

A new Saint Anselm College Survey Center 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%   Saint Anselm College Survey Center poll · ±2.4%

“The chair of the El Paso County Republican Party has said he intends to sue Sacha Baron Cohen over footage of the local politician used in new satirical comedy Ali G: Who Iz I?” The Guardian reports. “In the film, Michael Aboud is shown taking part in a training program with another Cohen character, ex-Mossad […]

“Hundreds of U.S. lawyers have agreed to work for free on efforts to monitor next month’s midterm elections in what voting rights groups say is the biggest effort of its kind to prevent meddling at the polls,” the Financial Times reports. “The attorneys are volunteering for non-profit groups that specialise in election integrity, with work […]

“The Justice Department is examining allegations that Corey Lewandowski profited off his top position at the Department of Homeland Security,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The inquiry is based on a referral from the DHS inspector general, which shared its findings about Lewandowski’s tenure at the department in recent days.”