October 10, 2026

“Senator Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican, has faced a series of challenges in his unexpectedly close race for re-election,” the New York Times reports.

“The latest: A six-year-old unpaid bill for 150 frosted sugar cookies, 100 mini strawberry muffins and 100 fudge brownies, posted online by an angry baker.”

“The bill, the baker wrote in a social media post that quickly went viral on Thursday, was from Mr. Marshall’s primary night watch party in 2020. The cookies’ buttercream frosting carried his name in blue and yellow. And the source of her frustration was that Mr. Marshall’s 2020 campaign had never paid her the nearly $700 she said it owed her.”

“On Saturday, Mr. Marshall wrote on social media that he had paid the bill, bringing more attention to a curious saga that his opponent’s campaign had seized on.”

New York Times: “The president announced the arrangement, which undercuts U.S. sanctions on Moscow, under pressure to rein in the surging price of diesel. The product’s cost has climbed because of the war with Iran, which has clogged a vital oil-shipping corridor, and high energy prices have become a severe campaign liability for Republican candidates in the midterms.”

“But the campaigns of two Republicans running in pivotal Senate races — former Representative Mike Rogers of Michigan and Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska — expressed disapproval of the deal with Russia. And other Republicans running in competitive Senate and House races had little to say about the agreement.”

“For months, Republican donors insisted they didn’t want to bankroll Ken Paxton’s Texas Senate race after President Donald Trump endorsed him over long-time incumbent John Cornyn,” Politico reports.

“To them, that decision made bailing out Paxton the president’s responsibility.”

“But polls have deteriorated in the weeks ahead of the midterm election so much so that many of these same donors are dropping their objections. The only thing that matters now, they say, is keeping the Senate – by whatever means necessary.”