A new CBS News/YouGov poll in Maine finds Troy Jackson (D) and Susan Collins (R) tied in the U.S. Senate race, 50% to 50%.
The same poll in Maine finds Hannah Pingree (D) leading Bobby Charles (R) in the governor’s race, 56% to 44%.
“For America’s two major political parties, Nov. 3 is shaping up to be an Election Day of mutual distrust. The proof is in the deluge of litigation already filed in courthouses around the country,” the New York Times reports.
“The Trump administration is heading into the midterms fixated on the unfounded claim that voter registration by noncitizens is a widespread problem. The Democrats, noting that President Trump tried to overturn his 2020 election loss — and that he recently encouraged his followers to ‘cheat like hell’ in the midterms — are bracing for what they say will be an onslaught of Republican tactics, from the intimidation of voters to the potential seizure of ballots.”
“The specific contours of these anxieties are evident in the scores of election-related lawsuits filed by the two parties and their allies. They are concerned with matters as granular as the proper way to seal a ballot envelope in North Carolina, and as sweeping as the role of the federal government in an election system that is, per the Constitution, administered by the states.”
“The Democrats’ main Senate super PAC is turning an explosive ProPublica investigation into Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) into a 30-second, $3.4 million attack campaign in one of the closest Senate races of the midterms,” Axios reports.
A new Quantus Insights poll in Alaska finds Dan Sullivan (R) and Mary Peltola (D) tied in the U.S. Senate race, 46% to 46%.
A new InsiderAdvantage poll in South Carolina finds Darline Graham (R) leading Annie Andrews (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 46% to 45%, with Mark Hackett (C) at 3% and Kasie Whitener (L) at 2%.
Sarah Fitzpatrick: “Earlier this year, FBI Director Kash Patel vowed before God, Fox Nation, and Donald Trump that he would punish the ‘deep state‘ for its manifold transgressions, especially the (actually nonexistent) conspiracy to steal the 2020 election.”
Said Patel: “I’ve been with the president nearly since day one on this. I can announce on your show that we’ve got all the information we need. We’re working with our prosecutors at the Department of Justice under Attorney General Todd Blanche, and we are going to be making arrests, and it’s coming, and I promise you, it’s coming soon.”
“That was five months ago. Patel has not yet delivered on his promise. But in interviews with more than 40 current and former administration officials, FBI employees, and members of Congress and their staffers, as well as others close to the White House, I’ve learned that it is not for lack of trying.”
“The Democratic fundraising organization ActBlue raised $833 million for the party’s candidates and causes in the third quarter, a record amount that will help narrow the financial advantage the GOP enjoys with big donors in what is projected to be the most expensive election in U.S. history,” Bloomberg reports.
“The total — which includes money raised for federal, state and local candidates as well as Democratic and progressive political and advocacy groups — surpassed the previous midterm record of $586 million in the second quarter, the organization said Friday.”
“Senate Republicans’ top super PAC is making a tactical change, pausing its ad campaign in North Carolina’s Senate race and launching a new one in Kansas,” Semafor reports.
“Senate Leadership Fund is plowing seven figures into Kansas to help incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall against Democrat Adam Hamilton. After spending more than $30 million in North Carolina’s Senate race, the super PAC is putting further spending there on hold.”
A new Global Strategy Group (D) poll in Kansas finds Adam Hamilton (D) leading Roger Marshall (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 47% to 43%, with David Graham (L) at 5%.
“President Trump on Thursday said ‘it’s possible’ that the Iran war could cost him the November midterm elections by risking Republican control of the House, Senate or both,” NewsNation reports.
Said Trump: “Well, it’s possible. It should help. Because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. So when you say, ‘Is it OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon?’ I would say 100 percent of the people say no, including worldwide. So, when you say it that way, it would help. If you don’t say that, it could hurt.”
“President Trump’s appearances with Chinese President Xi Jinping, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) and leaders from Silicon Valley risk turning off his political base just as Republicans are seeking to turbocharge turnout ahead of the midterms, say GOP strategists,” NewsNation reports.
“Taking their lead from president Donald Trump, election deniers have dismissed the GOP’s terrible polling numbers by claiming the polls themselves are fake, a psyop, or a ploy to stop Republicans from turning out to vote in November,” Wired reports.
Elaine Godfrey: “Last week, as the war with Iran dragged into its seventh month, gas prices shot up to an average of $4.50 a gallon, and polling showed President Trump about twice as far underwater with American voters as he was at this point in 2018, Republican senators determined that the time had come to discuss the most pressing issue of the 2026 campaign: transgender athletes. ‘Girls’ sports are for girls. Boys’ sports are for boys,’ Senator Marsha Blackburn said in a news conference.”
“With 32 days to go until the midterm elections, Republicans’ closing strategy is obvious: They’re going all-in on trans.”
“House Democrats’ campaign arm announced Friday that it added eight additional districts to the party’s ‘Districts in Play’ list, expanding the battleground map deep into Republican territory as the party grows increasingly confident that November’s elections could bring upset wins,” the Washington Post reports.
New York Magazine: The biggest sign yet that Democrats will flip the House.
“Last year, a super PAC supporting Texas Senate hopeful Ken Paxton received a $250,000 donation from a man calling himself ‘Paul McLaren,’ a supposed ‘entrepreneur’ living in Plano, Texas,” Politico reports.
“But there is no ‘Paul McLaren’ residing in Plano, and the address listed on the campaign finance record is for a rented mailbox in a strip mall.”
“The donor, it turns out, is a Texas businessman whose father was a well-known construction executive who received a pardon from President Donald Trump years after he pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return.”
Associated Press: Inside Ken Paxton’s jet-setting lifestyle: California wineries, European hot spots and ski resorts.
Paul Krugman: “So where are we as we head into the final month of the midterm campaign? Election models based on political polls are almost surreally favorable to the Democrats, who Elliott Morris gives a 99 percent chance of winning the House. But it’s not just the polls. Even though the U.S. economy looks OK by some measures, the overall economic environment looks really bad for Trump and his party.”
“Oh, and there’s the small matter of that disastrous war.”
“Yet the Trump administration insists that this troubled environment is a Golden Age. This isn’t just bad politics. It’s an indication that Trump is living in a bubble of fantasy and sycophancy, in which nobody dares suggest — even as a matter of cynical political strategy — acknowledging that things are less than perfect.”
“Republicans insist publicly that the Senate races in North Carolina and Georgia are still highly competitive,” Punchbowl News reports.
”Their TV reservations may tell a different story.”
”According to AdImpact, the NRSC is running coordinated TV ads with several GOP Senate campaigns in Ohio, Maine, Alaska, Iowa, Michigan and New Hampshire.”
”It isn’t running any with Michael Whatley, the GOP’s Senate nominee in North Carolina, or Republican Rep. Mike Collins, the nominee in Georgia.”
”President Donald Trump’s allied super PAC appears to be winding down in both races, too.”
“Democrats are making moves to try to secure a big enough House majority to sideline blocs of both progressive and moderate holdouts who could cause constant headaches for Hakeem Jeffries if he becomes speaker next year,” Politico reports.
”Democrats are investing in deep-red districts that could pad a future majority, banking on what appears to be a strong political environment to not just win but win big. That would strengthen Jeffries’ hand.”
Said one senior House Democrat: “Another five-or-so-seat buffer would be a game-changer.”
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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