Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell (R) “is locked in a late-breaking, competitive challenge to retain the governor’s mansion–but you wouldn’t know it from the airwaves in Anchorage or Fairbanks, where he barely has a presence,” National Journal reports.

“That’s because the Senate race between Sen. Mark Begich (D) and challenger Dan Sullivan (R) has eclipsed everything else in Alaska. More than 50,000 Senate ads had aired there by mid-October, compared with a paltry 170 spots for Parnell for the entire cycle. For Parnell and his allies, like the Republican Governors Association, there’s almost no ad inventory left to buy (or it comes only at exorbitant rates).”

A new Boston Globe poll in Massachusetts finds Charlie Baker (R) has opened up a 9-point lead over Martha Coakley (D) in the race for governor, 45% to 36%.

Key finding: “The poll reflects an October surge in independent voters toward Baker’s column. It was independents who provided Governor Deval Patrick with his margins of victory in 2006 and 2010.”

A new American Research Group poll in New Hampshire finds Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) barely ahead of Scott Brown (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 49% to 48%.

Wall Street Journal: “Nearly $4 billion will have been spent on this year’s midterm election, including $2.7 billion spent by candidates and parties and almost $900 million spent by outside groups… That’s a stunning figure, making this election by far the most expensive midterm in history–outpacing 2010 by almost $400 million and 2006 by nearly $1.2 billion. It would also outrank the amount of money spent on congressional races in 2012, by about $330 million.”

“What’s even more startling is that the $4 billion figure–which also includes $315 million spent on operating costs by PACs–doesn’t include the full picture of outside spending in this year’s races.”

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Michigan finds the race for governor is a dead heat with Gov. Rick Snyder (R) and challenger Mark Shauer (D) tied, 48% to 48%.

Pew Research: “Voter frustration with members of Congress is currently even higher than it was 2010 or 2006. Fully 68% of registered voters say they do not want to see most members of Congress reelected – 14 points higher than in 2010 and 19 points higher than in 2006. And roughly a third (35%) say they do not want their own representative reelected, compared with 32% four years ago and 26% eight years ago.”

“Yet unlike in those elections, when a single party controlled both the House and Senate, anti-incumbent sentiment now crosses party lines. Republican and Democratic voters are about equally likely to oppose the reelection of most representatives and their own member of Congress.”

A new Civitas Poll in North Carolina shows Thom Tillis (R) leading Sen. Kay Hagan (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 42% to 41%.

Hagan led in the previous poll by five points.

A new InsiderAdvantage poll in Georgia finds Michelle Nunn (D) leading David Perdue (R) in the U.S. Senate race by two points, 47% to 45%.

The race for governor is tied with Gov. Nathan Deal (R) and Jason Carter (D) both at 44%.

A new Rasmussen survey in Kansas finds Greg Orman (I) still holds a five-point lead over Sen. Pat Roberts (R) in the unexpectedly competitive U.S. Senate race, 49% to 44%.

“I don’t think so. If there’s any lesson I’ve learned in the last five years, it’s don’t be so sure about what lies ahead. There are amazing doors that could open.”

— Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), in an interview with People, on whether she’s interested in running for president.

A new Rasmussen Reports survey in Wisconsin finds Mary Burke (D) now leading Gov. Scott Walker (R) in the race for governor by one point, 49% to 48%.

A new Quinnipiac poll in Colorado finds Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) now leads Bob Beauprez (R) in the race for governor, 45% to 44%.

Hickenlooper trailed by 10 points in a similar poll last month.

A new University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll finds Greg Abbott (R) has a 16-point lead over Wendy Davis (D) in the closing days of the race for Texas governor, 54% to 38%.

Said pollster Jim Henson: “The drama of the outcome is not who wins, but what the margin will be. Wendy Davis has not led in a single poll in this race.”

After remarks deemed insensitive to a high school where a student had killed himself, Rep. Don Young (R-AK) doubled-down saying that suicide comes from federal government largesse “saying you are not worth anything but you are going to get something for nothing,” the Alaska Dispatch News reports.

He added: “When people had to work and had to provide and had to keep warm by putting participation in cutting wood and catching the fish and killing the animals, we didn’t have the suicide problem.”