“Recent spikes in voter registrations are shaking up the already contentious 2024 presidential race, with hundreds of thousands of new voters now signed up to cast ballots and help determine who resides in the White House for the next four years,” USA Today reports.

“In the majority of the seven key battleground states where Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris are particularly close in the polls, the current number of registered voters is up compared to the 2020 presidential contest that coincided with the COVID-19 global pandemic.”

“Many voters know little about Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the men selected to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. That’s not uncommon for vice presidential candidates, who rarely have a major effect on the outcome of races for the White House,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“But the tightness of the 2024 election, potentially coming down to a small number of votes in a handful of battleground states, means extra scrutiny is being paid to Walz’s and Vance’s first and only debate, scheduled for Tuesday.”

“Given former President Trump’s refusal to debate Vice President Kamala Harris again, the clash between their running mates — in front of the largest audience since they were chosen — could be the last time many voters hear directly from candidates on the GOP and Democratic tickets.”

USA Today: Will Vance and Walz draw audiences like the record-breaking Biden-Palin debate?

The Guardian: Walz v. Vance: two midwesterners miles apart in politics ready for debate.

“Republicans have unleashed a flurry of lawsuits challenging voting rules and practices ahead of the November elections, setting the stage for what could be a far larger and more contentious legal battle over the White House after Election Day,” the New York Times reports.

“The onslaught of litigation, much of it landing in recent weeks, includes nearly 90 lawsuits filed across the country by Republican groups this year. The legal push is already more than three times the number of lawsuits filed before Election Day in 2020.”

“Voting rights experts say the legal campaign appears to be an effort to prepare to contest the results of the presidential election after Election Day should former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, lose and refuse to accept his defeat as he did four years ago.”

“Sen. J.D. Vance has driven some of the most attention-grabbing story lines of the 2024 presidential election, encroaching on the precious spotlight that his running mate, Donald Trump, has long kept for himself,” the New York Times reports.

“But instead of admonishing Mr. Vance, the former president has cheered him on.”

Donald Trump criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’s mental capacity Saturday, falsely claiming she was born “mentally impaired” and comparing her actions to that of a “a mentally disabled person,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Trump: “Kamala is mentally impaired. If a Republican did what she did, that Republican would be impeached and removed from office, and rightfully so, for high crimes and misdemeanors.”

He added: “Biden became mentally impaired. Kamala was born that way. She was born that way. And if you think about it, only a mentally disabled person could have allowed this to happen to our country.”

“Tim Walz is telling people he’s just as nervous about facing JD Vance as he was the Sunday afternoon in August when he warned Kamala Harris in his running mate interview that he was a bad debater,” CNN reports.

“Maybe more nervous, according to multiple people who’ve spoken to him.”

“When former President Donald Trump looks up from his seat in Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday night during the Alabama-Georgia football game, he may see more than just 100,000 fans watching a high-stakes college football showdown. That’s because Vice President Kamala Harris plans to troll her opponent over his refusal to debate her for a second time — from the skies,” CNN reports.

“The Harris campaign has arranged to have a small plane fly over Tuscaloosa during the game with a banner declaring, ‘Trump’s Punting on 2nd Debate.’”

“It’s a challenge that won’t just be visible to those cheering on the Crimson Tide or the Georgia Bulldogs from the stands, a campaign official tells CNN. The Harris campaign will also air a national ad during one of the most highly anticipated games of college football where she calls on the former president to meet her on the debate stage one more time.”

Molly Olmstead: “They’re gathering by the thousands. They’re growing fast. They believe that Democrats are possessed by demons — and that Donald Trump must be president again at any cost.”

“Some supporters of former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who ended his White House bid and endorsed Donald Trump last month, are now backing the Republican,” Reuters reports.

“In a race that is expected to be won by narrow margins in battleground states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris are fighting over a thin slice of undecided voters.”

“That makes Kennedy’s endorsement potentially significant, as he left the race in late August with around 4% support.”

“Political polls, betting markets and statistical forecasts have become ubiquitous as November approaches. But there’s one predictive tool you may have missed: primary elections in Washington state, which took place last month,” the New York Times reports.

“It’s an indicator that election nerds pay particular attention to, for good reason: The general election results in the state a few months later tend to move in the same direction — whether becoming more Republican or more Democratic — as the rest of the country.”

“This year, results from Washington state are cause for some optimism among Democrats. They suggest a national environment somewhat similar to 2020, when Joe Biden outgained Donald Trump by 4.5 percentage points in the national popular vote and Democrats retained the House.”

“In the 2022 midterm elections, former President Donald Trump endorsed dozens of candidates down the ballot, positioning himself as Republicans’ undisputed kingmaker,” the New York Times reports.

“But in the competitive races critical to his party’s hopes of regaining control of the Senate, his picks all fell short — leaving the chamber in the hands of Democrats.”

“This year, even with Mr. Trump himself on the ticket, the Senate candidates he has backed to flip the seats of Democrats in key battlegrounds are running well behind him.”