“Midterm ad spending continues to soar toward record highs with less than three weeks until the elections,” NewsNation reports.
“Republican control of Congress is at stake this year, and both parties are flooding the airwaves with ads promoting their candidates. AdImpact announced Wednesday that total ad spending and future reservations topped $10 billion so far this cycle, putting it ahead of the final spending numbers for the entire 2020 and 2022 election cycles.”
“The Department of Justice on Thursday sued the top election officials in California and Los Angeles County, claiming they were planning to count ballots from more than 20,000 alleged noncitizens in next month’s midterm elections,” the Washington Post reports.
“For 86 years, Missouri has held on to a nonpartisan system of selecting its top judges. But after the state Supreme Court overruled the GOP’s redistricting push, some Republican lawmakers are calling for the system to be overturned,” ProPublica reports.
“We should have term limits for politicians. Also, age limits, anybody?”
— Iowa gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand (D), quoted by The Bulwark.
“President Donald Trump on Thursday linked Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood amid scrutiny over his alleged family ties to the Islamist organization,” Fox News reports.
Said Trump: “He’s a Muslim Brotherhood guy, 100%. He’s a Muslim Brotherhood guy. How about having him be on the Senate Intelligence Committee? How about that? The guy’s 100% Muslim Brotherhood.”
“Eric Deters, the Republican donor who accused Kimberly Guilfoyle of asking him to wire her $100,000 to pay her American Express bill in exchange for her help with the Trump administration ahead of her Senate confirmation hearing, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Guilfoyle and her legal team,” CBS News reports.
“Guilfoyle was pushed out of her ambassadorship to Greece earlier this week, announcing her resignation Tuesday. Guilfoyle’s team publicly disputed the authenticity of text messages Deters shared with multiple news outlets.”
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) “was heard telling a woman ‘you are rude’ after she started laughing while he was speaking during a debate,” Fox News reports.
Said Harris: “Ma’am, I gotta tell you. This is the problem, you all say you believe there is a First Amendment, but only if you agree with you. You should let me finish the sentence, ma’am. You are rude. You’re rude, OK?”
“Nine former FBI employees sued the bureau on Thursday, saying they were unlawfully terminated merely for working on former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Trump’s retention of classified records after his first term in the White House,” CBS News reports.
“The former special agents, intelligence analysts and staff operation specialists worked on counterintelligence investigations and were fired over the course of two days in February 2026 — just as the United States and Israel were set to begin military strikes against Iran.”
“Key Democrats on Thursday unveiled legislation that would force federal regulators to disclose financial records related Jeffrey Epstein and his associates,” Bloomberg reports.
“The measure also would require regulators to investigate banks and their executives for potential related legal violations.”
“Since her first appearance behind the podium this week, White House press secretary Katie Zacharia’s past has become murkier by the day,” Wired reports.
“A review of deleted social media and professional networking profiles has helped clear up at least one mystery. Zacharia’s online resume shows a gap extending from 2013 to late 2023. For part of that time, she worked as an affiliate of Beachbody, a fitness company that ran a multilevel marketing operation she describes as ‘sort of a pyramid scheme.'”
“Right now we are defending U.S. assets there, so there is no war as we speak.”
— Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA), quoted by the HuffPost, on Iran.
A new The Economist/YouGov poll finds Donald Trump’s approval at 34%, while 62% disapprove.
Nevada Independent: “You may be focused on the midterms, but some presidential hopefuls are already looking to 2028.”
“Since we introduced our 2028 candidate visit tracker in April, 13 potential presidential candidates have made 21 trips to Nevada, and more will be here soon.”
Washington Sun: Nevada Democrats are suddenly 2028 kingmakers.
“Two women have filed a federal civil lawsuit accusing former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz and two others of participating in an alleged sex trafficking scheme involving young women, drugs and traveling across state lines,” the Miami Herald reports.
“The allegations are the latest chapter in Gaetz’s high-profile sex scandal that ultimately derailed his nomination by President Trump as U.S. Attorney General and also led him to resign from Congress in 2024. His departure came as a bi-partisian House Ethics Committee was in the final stages of an investigation into his alleged misconduct.”
“Sen. Bernie Moreno said Thursday he expects the Senate to move a party-line legislative package after the midterm elections — especially if Democrats flip one or both chambers,” Politico reports.
Said Moreno: “We will do a reconciliation bill — one way or the other we will. Obviously, if we lose control of Congress, it’ll be the Last Supper.”
“Authorities are investigating letters containing ‘suspicious substances’ sent to multiple Capitol Hill offices,” Politico reports.
“President Trump has formally invoked executive privilege to shield certain records from Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio as part of her ongoing legal challenge to the president’s effort to temporarily shutter the Kennedy Center for renovations,” CBS News reports.
“A quartet of polls out this week carries a stark message: Americans feel disgruntled, dizzy and down on the man in the White House,” Axios reports.
“The vibes going into the midterms are bleak, with a large majority of voters wanting significant change. But the question remains whether those sentiments will drive them to the polls.”
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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