“The race for Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District shouldn’t be competitive, just based on history and math,” NPR reports.
”But the Republican Party’s nominee, David Flippo, is facing an unusually tough race despite having President Trump’s endorsement, bogged down by allegations that he exaggerated his military service and lacks real ties to the district.”
A new Politico Poll finds that 50% of Democratic midterm voters “said that if Dems flip both the House and Senate, it will be because of Trump’s actions, versus only 35% who would attribute it to a strong Democratic campaign.”
A new Marist Poll poll in New York finds Kathy Hochul (D) leading Bruce Blakeman (R) in the governor’s race, 53% to 42%.
“When President Donald Trump rallies in San Antonio on Wednesday, the stakes for his party will be clear: In a difficult national climate for Republicans, they likely need to hold Texas’ Senate seat to keep their majority,” MS NOW reports.
“For Trump, people close to him say, the stakes are more personal: protecting his record as the GOP’s kingmaker.”
CNN: Trump rallies in Texas as Paxton deflects blame for flailing campaign.
“Republican senators say President Trump has fumbled the issue of immigration, something that was an advantage for GOP candidates in 2024 but is now a growing political liability for their party,” The Hill reports.
Washington Post: The border counties that swung to Trump are now short of workers. They may swing back.
A new Suffolk University poll in Iowa finds Josh Turek (D) leading Ashley Hinson (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 48% to 44%.
The same poll in Iowa finds Rob Sand (D) leading Zach Lahn (R) in the governor’s race, 55% to 43%.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Iran has passed up ‘multiple’ chances to reach a deal on its nuclear program, as talks between Washington and Tehran over a lasting Middle East peace agreement remain stalled,” CNBC reports.
New York Post: Vance says Iran must cut nuclear enrichment to end seven-month war.
“Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to have confidence in the honesty of U.S. elections, despite President Donald Trump and his party controlling Washington,” Semafor reports.
“Sixty-three percent of Democrats say they have confidence in election integrity, according to Gallup polling, compared with 37% of Republicans and just 35% of independents.”
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) calls out Iowa gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn (R) in a new video:
“Imagine my surprise when I learned that one of my constituents is running for governor. Not here in his home state of Kansas, but two states over, in Iowa.”
“I was a top target in 2020, I was the top target in 2014, in 2008. I mean, I’ve always been a top target.”
— Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), quoted by the Washington Post.
“Republicans’ unprecedented mid-decade redistricting push created 14 new strongly red districts,” Punchbowl News reports.
”But with less than a month until Election Day, the GOP is a sure bet to win only five of these races.”
”And here’s a crazy statistic: since Sept. 1, Republican candidates and super PACs have spent nearly $100 million on ads trying to flip the other nine districts.”
Wired: “To monitor America PAC’s spending in the midterms, Wired has created a live tracker that updates daily and highlights where America PAC is putting money into the midterms, from individual races to Musk’s overall influence on the election season. It draws on America PAC’s filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which the agency processes daily and which lists all the payments America PAC has made for ads, mailers, and texts.”
“Much of President Donald Trump’s second term has focused on changes to the nation’s capital.
But his ambitions to remake the physical architecture of the presidency transcend Washington: Trump wants to transform his West Palm Beach golf club into a presidential retreat modeled after Camp David,” the Washington Post reports.
”The plan calls for a parcel of the private club to be designated a permanent, official sanctuary for foreign leaders and future U.S. presidents, designed to host international summits and house presidents when they take vacations in Florida.”
”Future presidents would also be offered comped memberships to the Trump club.”
“Since Labor Day, when President Donald Trump opened up his war chest for the midterms, Republicans have pumped half a billion dollars into competitive House and Senate races,” the Washington Post reports.
”A month later, the polls haven’t moved in their direction.”
“Republicans are flooding the electoral map with a deluge of advertising to defend their House and Senate majorities. But their once-towering financial advantage is starting to show its limits,” Politico reports.
”In recent days, Republican campaign groups began to make concessions to the punishing political environment, shifting money away from races they no longer believe to be winnable and falling back to reinforce another tier of seats in solidly red states that no longer look safe.”
“After abandoning a GOP-held Senate seat in North Carolina — a state President Donald Trump won three times — the outside groups began spending money to defend a seat in South Carolina. And they’re intensifying their advertising in Kansas, where Democrats haven’t won a Senate race in nearly a century.”
“Israel is marking the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attacks three weeks before an election where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal culpability for the country’s worst-ever security failure will be a central issue,” Axios reports.
“Netanyahu has never looked more politically vulnerable than in the weeks after Oct. 7, but he has defied expectations by keeping his government afloat — presiding over simultaneous wars and an atmosphere of perpetual emergency. Though the polls are tight, they leave a clear path for the ultimate political survivor to hang on yet again.”
Washington Sun: Israel may have been warned about Oct. 7. Biden officials say the U.S. wasn’t.
“So many factors in this federal race are uncontrollable. I don’t make the decisions, and I don’t know what’s behind some of the decisions.”
— Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), quoted by Axios.
“Most national attention in this year’s midterm elections is focused on congressional and governors’ races,” the Washington Post reports.
”But Democrats are also making a strong push to win power in state legislatures across the country, forcing Republicans to play defense in a terrain they have dominated in recent years.”
”Democrats are on offense. They could break up full Republican control in as many as six states and win unified control in as many as seven of their own.”
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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