Punchbowl News: “Most Republicans and Democrats agree on one thing (at least privately) — Democrats will take control of the House. The size of that majority remains uncertain, however.”
”But the Senate is up for grabs. Democrats see multiple paths to victory, although Republicans are pouring staggering amounts of money into close races in red states. Republicans are counting on that final blitz of TV ads to blunt the Democratic tide.”
“Republicans are confronting a grim reality about their fundraising: Trump is by far their biggest online rainmaker, and others in the party aren’t even close,” Politico reports.
“The GOP’s cash advantage over Democrats this cycle has been thanks to a small group of megadonors like Elon Musk. But when it comes to the grassroots donor base, there’s a stark contrast between the parties.”
“The number of federal donors giving through WinRed, the major GOP online fundraising platform, is down about 30% versus 2022. Meanwhile, the number of donors has increased by about one-third on ActBlue, the dominant Democratic platform, from 4.9 million to roughly 6.6 million, according to analyses of reports from both groups submitted to the FEC.”
New York Times: “While he says Mr. Bezos has not interfered in news stories, Mr. Woodward writes that the billionaire owner’s sweeping staff cuts, reorientation of the editorial page and personal ingratiation to the president have betrayed the legacy of a newspaper known for courageous coverage.”
“The condemnation of Mr. Bezos by his most famous employee is one of the headlines from Secrets, the long-awaited memoir of his 55 years in journalism to be published Nov. 24 by Mr. Woodward, who still holds the title of associate editor at the paper.”
“Earlier this month, the Supreme Court blocked an executive order from President Donald Trump restricting voting by mail in ways that could have thrown the upcoming midterms into chaos. But the White House originally had far more disruptive plans,” ProPublica reports.
”According to several people knowledgeable about the discussions, the administration initially floated an idea that would have virtually shut down mail voting: requiring all ballots to be delivered exclusively through certified mail. The proposal — which would have required voters to be home and sign for delivery of their ballots — was ultimately abandoned, after vehement Postal Service objections that it would have been impossible to execute.”
A new Targoz Market Research poll in South Carolina finds Darline Graham (R) leading Annie Andrews (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 47% to 46%, with Kasie Whitener (L) at 2%.
Punchbowl News: “Democrats are seizing on a new attack on GOP candidates for House and Senate seats as colder weather sweeps into the Northeast, knocking their opponents over the high cost of home heating oil.”
“High gas and diesel prices have been dominating Democrats’ messaging in races around the country. But President Donald Trump’s war with Iran is now creating more political fallout for Republicans as the winter months approach. The cost of home heating oil spiked dramatically this year, hitting an average of $6.19 per gallon as of Oct. 19, according to the Energy Information Administration. It was $3.60 per gallon last year, meaning it’s increased by more than 70%.”
“A federal appeals court Monday rejected a Trump administration request to immediately require California to set aside mail-in ballots it receives from 20,000 people the federal government says might not be U.S. citizens,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“A panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the Justice Department wasn’t entitled to an emergency order segregating the ballots, in a case the DOJ just filed 11 days ago and hasn’t yet been considered by a trial judge.”
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds Democrats leading Republicans on the generic congressional ballot, 53% to 44%.
“Flávio Bolsonaro, the defeated candidate in Brazil’s presidential election, is abandoning plans to seek to annul the vote and will instead file a case accusing reelected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of abuse of power,” Bloomberg reports.
“A federal judge extended an order blocking tree removal from a Washington, DC golf course President Donald Trump is seeking to renovate, while imposing new notice requirements on any other major changes the administration seeks to make on the golf course grounds,” CNN reports.
“Former FBI Director James Comey has been charged for the third time with federal crimes, according to a court filing unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., at Comey’s request,” CNBC reports.
“Comey is accused in the new case with knowingly communicating information related to national defense to a person not entitled to receive it.”
“He is also charged with conspiring with others to violate the law against sharing such information.”
The Wrap: Trump DOJ accuses James Comey of leaking classified intel to New York Times in new charges.
Rolling Stone: “All around America, voters are fed up with the short-sighted, destructive policies of Donald Trump’s second administration. But rather than addressing those concerns, the president today decided to try a new tactic in shifting the balance of America’s fragile democracy: offering a boat load of cash to anyone who could catch a fraud.”
“In a Truth Social post on Monday afternoon, Trump said that ‘anybody reporting Voter Fraud in the past Elections, or the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election, will be paid $1,000,000 upon the arrest and conviction of those that created the Fraud!'”
“Venezuela and the U.S. are setting up a path toward elections in the South American country that would be triggered by declaring a vacancy in the office, which technically has been empty since American forces captured Nicolás Maduro in January,” Bloomberg reports.
“The plan laid out Monday by a senior State Department official offers the clearest timetable yet for Washington’s effort to move Venezuela toward a new election, while making clear that the U.S. doesn’t want an election held under inherited institutions.”
“It looked like another rigged election, frankly. Elections have to be indisputable, and it looked very bad to me.”
— President Trump, quoted by Axios, on the Brazilian election in which Trump-aligned populist Flavio Bolsonaro lost.
“America’s political class is hurtling toward an election that some fear could turn into yet another public opinion polling flop,” Politico reports.
“Enter the prediction markets.”
“Wall Street’s buzziest startups — Kalshi and Polymarket chiefly among them — have long held themselves up as paragons of the forecasting business, arguing that voters will be more truthful with money on the line. Now, the midterm elections are about to test whether their predictive chops hold up when on display.”
