“Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the opening of a new $6.6 billion shipbuilding factory in Baltimore, partly funded by the U.S. government but owned by Anduril Industries, a politically connected defense company,” The Guardian reports.
“Trump’s appearance at a currently unused shipyard in Sparrows Point is a boost to Anduril, whose founder, Palmer Luckey, is a major GOP campaign fundraiser.”
A new YouGov poll in New Hampshire finds Chris Pappas (D) leading John E. Sununu (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 51% to 43%.
A new YouGov poll in Ohio finds Sherrod Brown (D) leading Jon Husted (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 49% to 45%.
A new YouGov poll in Texas finds James Talarico (D) leading Ken Paxton (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 50% to 44%.
A new YouGov poll in Nebraska finds Dan Osborn (I) leading Pete Ricketts (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 48% to 47%.
A new YouGov poll in Michigan finds Abdul El-Sayed (D) leading Mike Rogers (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 49% to 48%.
A new YouGov poll in Kansas finds Adam Hamilton (D) leading Roger Marshall (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 48% to 45%.
The Cook Political Report moved Kansas’ Senate race into ‘Toss Up’ territory, a big development in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in nearly a century.
“President Donald Trump said that he is weighing a potential suspension of the federal gas tax, as his administration looks for ways to ease high energy costs ahead of November’s midterm elections,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Trump: “Well, we’re thinking about that.”
“He did not offer any additional details about how seriously the idea is being considered or any steps to further the proposal in Congress.”
“Quebec’s new leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, says he won’t back down on his pledge to hold an independence referendum by 2030, despite polling that suggests most Quebecers aren’t on board,” Bloomberg reports.
“With about 70% of residents opposed to breaking away from Canada, the promise of a referendum is drawing little enthusiasm and likely cost the Parti Québécois some seats in Monday’s election, depriving it of a majority in the French-speaking province’s legislature.”
“President Trump is again raising the prospect of federal intervention in Chicago, saying the city is suffering an ‘unprecedented’ crime wave that’s ‘getting worse by the day,'” Axios reports.
“Trump’s renewed focus on Chicago comes as the city is on pace to record even fewer homicides than last year, when killings fell to their lowest level in 60 years.”
“Republicans have dominated power in the states for years: They’ve held a majority of the nation’s governors’ offices and have had control in a majority of state legislatures going back to when President Barack Obama was in office,” the Washington Post reports.
“That could change this November. In addition to control of Congress, many state lawmakers and governors are on the ballot in the midterm elections, and Democrats are eyeing big wins.”
“A Washington Post analysis finds Democrats could break up full Republican control in as many as six states and win unified control in as many as seven of their own. That means Democrats could rewrite policy on redistricting, abortion, climate, education and taxes in more states than ever in the Trump era.”
“Texas Railroad Commission candidate Bo French’s incendiary anti-immigrant post about students celebrating at a University of Texas football game last month appears to have backfired,” the Washington Post reports.
“Despite widespread criticism from fellow Republicans, French, had refused to take the viral post down, and instead attempted to raise funds off of the publicity.”
“Money has poured into the race from across the country. But it has favored his opponent, Houston Democratic state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, according to the latest campaign filing for July through September.”
“During the summer, GOP Rep. Max Miller’s re-election hopes looked dim following domestic-violence allegations. Fellow Republicans—including the state’s two senators—said he should drop out, and President Trump told him his prospects for winning weren’t good,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“But headed into the final stretch, Republican groups are now throwing millions of dollars behind Miller, as the GOP tries to salvage the seat amid a grim outlook in the midterms. Miller said Trump called last month to praise him after initial doubts, and he said he had a ‘really good’ conversation recently with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). He said voters in his red-leaning constituency are aware of the allegations but are sticking with him.”
Said Miller: “The people of our district know who I am. We’re going to be OK.”
“Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said he was not happy about some remarks from President Donald Trump and his administration about the court, in a rare expression of disagreement with the executive branch,” MS NOW reports.
Said Alito: “I personally am not pleased with that. Everybody in this country has the right to criticize what we do. The substance of their criticism can be quite harsh. If we deserve it, then that’s fine. But rhetoric is a different story.”
Foreign Policy: “President Donald Trump authorized the deferral, through the end of the year, of federal taxes on diesel fuel used to power vehicles on roads and highways. (That tax revenue, like the gasoline tax, helps pay for highway maintenance.) His solution is to temporarily legalize the use of so-called red-dye diesel—a tax-free diesel flavor normally earmarked for off-road uses such as agriculture, mining, and logging—for use by truckers…”
“But there are a lot of problems with the hail-mary measure. For starters, it is only a deferral of those federal fuel taxes, not an outright suspension. Unless Congress passes legislation, at some point those deferred taxes will come due, which simply means storing up bigger bills and bigger accounting headaches for truckers down the road.”
“President Trump went on another tirade Tuesday against Fox News, slamming the network for platforming Independent Nebraskan Senate candidate Dan Osborn and Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed over ‘good old fashioned Republicans,'” The Wrap reports.
Said Trump: “They don’t show my record breaking Rallies the morning after, but others do, and that’s what MAGA is watching. Fox is promoting the Dumocrats, not the Republicans and MAGA. They have totally lost their way!”
“Paul LePage, a Republican running to represent Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, is violating the Ethics in Government Act by failing to properly disclose details about his personal finances,” the Washington Sun reports.
“LePage, a former Maine governor who is facing Democratic State Auditor Matt Dunlap, is the latest in a string of high-profile politicians to break federal ethics rules designed to curb conflicts of interest and enhance public transparency.”
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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