“Donald Trump returned to the key battleground state of North Carolina for a rally Saturday, but declined to mention Mark Robinson — his party’s nominee for governor in the state,” ABC News reports.

“Vice President Kamala Harris will not attend next month’s Al Smith charity dinner in New York City, her campaign has told organizers, opting instead to stump in a battleground state on October 17, less than three weeks before the election,” CNN reports.

“The historic Catholic fundraiser traditionally features light roasts by the two major-party nominees – aimed at one another and others – in presidential election years…”

“Donald Trump stunned attendees in 2016 when he abandoned the collegial banter and launched a series of personal attacks on Hillary Clinton, who in her own remarks had offered the expected round of self-deprecating humor.”

Wall Street Journal: “Tester, known for his signature flat-top haircut and three missing fingers—he lost them in a meat grinder when he was 9 years old—is the most vulnerable senator up for re-election. If he goes down in this red-leaning state, so does the Democrats’ Senate majority. They currently have a 51-49 margin but are sure to lose a seat in deeper-red West Virginia, where Sen. Joe Manchin is retiring.”

“A loss by Tester would give Republicans a stronger hand in rewriting the tax code for millions of American households and businesses in 2025. The party that controls the Senate confirms Supreme Court appointments and can approve—or block—cabinet picks.”

“That is why this race is attracting tens of millions of dollars in outside spending and campaign ads. But for voters here, there is something more personal gnawing at them. The country is changing. Montana is changing. Has Tester changed too?”

Nate Silver: “In 16 years of running election forecasts, I’ve never seen such a close election.”

“Our polling averages in seven swing states — in alphabetical order: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — are within 2 percentage points. A systematic polling error, or a shift in the race in the final six weeks of the campaign, could result in one candidate sweeping all of these states. In our simulations this morning, Kamala Harris swept all seven of these battlegrounds 20 percent of the time, and Donald Trump did in 23 percent of the simulations.”

“But that leaves a majority of cases where the election will probably be close, and it’s worth sorting through the electoral math in case it is.”

“Kamala Harris’ campaign advisers say the ongoing Mark Robinson scandal in North Carolina has given them a fresh opening with the state’s Black and suburban voters, as they continue to try to tie Donald Trump to the embattled candidate for governor,” Politico reports.

“The plan, Harris advisers outlined in a memo… involves seizing on the current barrage of negative attention on Robinson and putting resources behind targeting suburban voters in the Charlotte and Raleigh areas, moderate Republicans and Black voters in the critical battleground state.”

“Their messaging will focus not on a CNN report about comments Robinson made on a pornographic website — including that he enjoys ‘watching tranny on girl porn,’ and instead will emphasize the controversial candidate’s ties to Trump and his ‘extreme’ policy positions.”

“Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday accepted an invitation from CNN to debate former President Donald Trump on October 23, challenging her rival to another engagement on a public stage in the final weeks of the campaign,” CNN reports.

Said Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon: “Trump should have no problem agreeing to this debate. It is the same format and setup as the CNN debate he attended and said he won in June.”

“Donald Trump’s top advisers have insisted for months that his 2024 bid for the presidency is the most disciplined campaign he has ever run. They pointed to fewer leaks, less infighting and a more deliberate strategy honed by seasoned professionals and driven by data,” the Washington Post reports.

“But with just 45 days left until the election, the past three weeks reveal whatever control and self-restraint helped launch Trump’s third presidential campaign has largely disappeared in the crucial final stretch.”

“Tired of playing only defense, a small but vocal number of Senate Democrats are pushing party leaders and political operatives to pour money into trying to knock off GOP incumbents in races most view as long shots for Democrats,” the Washington Post reports.

“They fear Democrats are leaving potential pickups on the table, particularly in Florida and Texas, where unpopular incumbents, Sens. Rick Scott and Ted Cruz, have not seen anything resembling the financial onslaught faced by GOP candidates in Ohio, Pennsylvania or Arizona.”

With just 45 days until the election, Donald Trump is selling $100 “Official Trump Coins” to his fans in a new video.

“The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday that roughly 98,000 Arizonans whose voter registration status was in limbo will be able to participate in the full ballot in November,” NBC News reports.

“The uncertainty regarding the voters’ fate came after the Maricopa County Recorder’s office discovered a clerical error from 2004 that granted the nearly 100,000 Arizonans voting registration status despite not providing documented proof of citizenship.”

“Brad Raffensperger is all too familiar with attempts to subvert U.S. democracy,” the Financial Times reports.

“The Secretary of State for Georgia was on the receiving end of the infamous Donald Trump phone call after the 2020 election, when the then-president urged his fellow Republican to ‘find’ the 11,780 votes he needed to win the state. Raffensperger refused and death threats ensued.”

“Almost four years on from the unrest that followed the last presidential election, Raffensperger is again in the crosshairs of the Trump faithful, as he battles a MAGA-friendly majority on the swing state’s election board who passed last-minute laws that critics claim will pave the way for post-election legal chaos, if not violent unrest.”

Said Raffensperger: “There are a lot of bad actors out there.”