Political Wire

Jeff Yass Pours $110 Million Into Republican Midterm Push

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“Billionaire Jeff Yass gave almost $110 million to boost Republicans in the U.S. midterm elections, making him the third-largest individual donor of this cycle and the top financial backer of embattled Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy,” Bloomberg reports.

“Ramaswamy, who faced bipartisan backlash this week over an advertisement his campaign produced featuring Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother, has received $30 million from Yass, making him by far the largest recipient of donations from the founder of proprietary trading firm Susquehanna International Group.”

Trump Asked Musk to Lift Ukraine Starlink Restrictions

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“President Trump called Elon Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on a military-grade version of Starlink in Ukraine that the SpaceX chief had throttled,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The system was working more normally Thursday, shortly after their conversation, U.S. and Ukrainian officials said. Some Ukrainian officials said the system wasn’t restored to full functionality but was working at higher speeds than under the cap.”

Third Party Candidates May Cost Republicans the Senate

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Dan Pfeiffer: “Over the years, third-party candidates have been devastating to Democrats and America. In 2000, George W. Bush wouldn’t have become president without Green Party candidate Ralph Nader siphoning votes from Al Gore. Then in 2016, Jill Stein, also of the Green Party, helped put Trump in office. In Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, the three states that decided the election, Stein’s vote total exceeded Trump’s margin of victory.”

“Republicans have tried to re-run this play ever since. In 2020, Republican operatives quietly helped Kanye West get on the ballot (yes, that happened).”

“This year, third-party candidates could play a major role in delivering the Senate to Democrats.”

Trump Is Still Sitting on Money in His Super PAC

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Punchbowl News: “It’s 12 days out from Election Day. It’s not clear how much this late infusion of cash will make a difference or prevent Republicans from losing the House. It’s also not clear what message Republicans can try that they haven’t used already. This is really about Trump’s own standing with Republicans post-Election Day as anything. Trump can’t visit any of these contested districts, but he can spend money in them.”

“MAGA Inc. has $164.3 million in the bank as of mid-October. They only authorized about $25 million more for House races.”

Election Deniers Could Hold Key Posts in 2028

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Wired: “A review has identified a slate of GOP attorney general candidates in more than half a dozen states, including key swing states, who have repeatedly expressed their belief that the 2020 election was stolen.”

“If elected, several have said, they are willing to relitigate 2020 once again—and all will potentially play a key role in the 2028 presidential election.”

Top RFK Jr. Adviser Quits

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“A top ally of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is departing the Trump administration after frustrations with White House delays on Kennedy’s food agenda,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Calley Means, a senior adviser to Kennedy who also worked in the White House to further ‘Make America Healthy Again’ policies, quit his role on Thursday.”

“Means was greatly frustrated by White House delays of some of Kennedy’s most popular policy ideas and blamed others in the administration for allowing food companies and special interests to have too much sway.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

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“I think… we should seriously look at expanding the court while the Democrats are in power. You know, it used to be that you’d have one justice for each circuit. We now have 13 circuits, we should have 13 justices.”

— Hillary Clinton, quoted by MS NOW.

Redwood

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Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold War's Most Extraordinary Spy by Ben Macintyre.

“In 1981, KGB Major Vladimir Kuzichkin, codenamed ‘Redwood,’ was the best Soviet officer in Iran, running spies in the wake of the Islamic revolution and working with a hidden network of Iranian communists to undermine the new regime. But Kuzichkin had a problem, a sexual secret that, if revealed, would humiliate him with his colleagues, cost him his job, and send him into exile. Desperate for a solution, he reached out to the only place he believed could help: Britain’s MI6.”

Redwood
The Untold Story of the Cold War's Most Extraordinary Spy
by Ben Macintyre · Crown · 2026
Buy on Amazon
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Netanyahu Says U.S. and Israel Must Overthrow Iran

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“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday night that the Iranian regime must be overthrown once and for all,” the Washington Post reports.

Netanyahu said that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei “decided to follow in his father’s footsteps” and attempt “once again to develop the bombs of death.”

Said Netanyahu: “Therefore, there is only one way to remove this threat once and for all: overthrow the regime in Iran. And that is my directive to the IDF, the Mossad, and the security branches.”

Young Voters Say Country Is On Wrong Track

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Harvard Youth Poll: “Among 18-to-29-year-olds, 9% say the nation is generally headed in the right direction, 62% say it is off on the wrong track, and 26% are unsure. Asked how they feel about America’s future, 69% say they are more fearful, compared with 26% who are more hopeful.”

“These concerns extend across party lines, though their intensity varies. Just 5% of young Democrats, 5% of independents, and 24% of Republicans say the country is headed in the right direction.”

Canada Orders Diplomats to Keep a Low Profile

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“Canadian diplomats working in the U.S. have been directed to stay away from candidates running in the midterm elections, and to keep a low profile to avoid allegations by the Trump administration of political interference,” Bloomberg reports.

Hakeem Jeffries Is Poised to Make History

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“If Democrats retake the House in November, Hakeem Jeffries is all but certain to become speaker in January — the first Black American to hold the post,” the Washington Post reports.

“Yet the question facing the 56-year-old New York lawmaker is not whether he can make history, but how he would lead — specifically, whether the consensus-building style that helped him rise through the ranks to minority leader can hold together what is expected to be an increasingly restive and ideologically diverse Democratic caucus.”

“Jeffries is a highly focused strategist and approachable leader who seeks to persuade through discussion… Colleagues also say he can be cautious and deliberative — to a fault, at times.”

Democrats Are Gaming Out a January 3 Nightmare

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Democrats panicked over President Donald Trump’s preelection attacks on California are preparing for a GOP-led effort to maintain control of Congress by mutiny,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

“Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) said Democrats are closely monitoring Trump allies’ claims of voter fraud in California, including a lawsuit last week over alleged noncitizen voting, as a pretense to invalidate midterm election results in the new Congress.”

Putin Restores Ties with the U.S. While Giving Up Nothing

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“Last October, President Trump imposed significant sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, complaining that negotiations with President Vladimir V. Putin over ending the war in Ukraine ‘just don’t go anywhere,'” the New York Times reports.

“A red-carpet welcome for the Russian leader in Alaska had done nothing to bring peace. A planned summit in Budapest had fallen apart. Mr. Trump had started to acknowledge that Mr. Putin might just be playing him, with no intention of making peace. Faint Ukrainian hopes glimmered of a Trump-Putin break.”

“But the Russian president was playing a longer game.”

“Now, exactly a year after the oil sanctions, Mr. Putin has never been so close to his goal of normalizing relations with Washington without having to make any compromises on Ukraine.”

Taegan Goddard

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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