October 18, 2026

“In the final stage of this year’s midterms, prospective presidential candidates are parachuting into battleground states to rally support for candidates on the ballot this fall, road-test their stump speeches, and introduce themselves to voters and activists,” the New York Times reports.

“The Democratic schedule is especially packed in New Hampshire, an early presidential nominating state where there is a competitive Senate race. While New Hampshire has lost its long vaunted first-in-the-nation Democratic primary status to South Carolina, it will go third in 2028.”

“Vice President JD Vance revealed ‘there’s a chance’ he won’t run for president in 2028 — and second lady Usha and the couple’s four young kids could help make the decision for him,” the New York Post reports.

Said Vance: “Of course there’s a chance. We’ve got four little kids, my wife has never loved politics. She loves public service.”

Sarah Longwell: “Georgia has had close elections in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024—but right now Sen. Jon Ossoff’s lead is pushing into the double digits. Why?”

“One reason is that Ossoff completely eviscerated his opponent, Rep. Mike Collins, in a couple of recent debates for voting to direct money to data-center developers and for hiring ‘half the Third Reich’ to staff his congressional office. In a particularly arresting image, Ossoff said that Collins would be grabbing a billy club if John Lewis were marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge today. He did all of this with the cadence of Atticus Finch, but didn’t spend so much time in the muck that he failed to speak with soaring, Obama-esque rhetoric about the promise of America.”

“It was a performance bound to set off a lot of speculation about a presidential run—which Ossoff promised not to make. In short, Ossoff is doing exactly what I’ve been begging Democrats to do.”

“In red states and blue, unconventional candidates are downplaying — or even disowning — party labels to tap into voters’ deep disdain for Washington,” Axios reports.

“They might not all win, but the sheer number of political outsiders connecting with voters tells us something about the electorate: It’s angry and willing to take risks.”

“The candidates — whether they come from the pulpit or the NFL sidelines — are making the same bet: Voters are tired of career politicians.”