Wired: “The basic contours of the national map remain uphill for Democrats. They currently hold 47 seats in the Senate, meaning they need to flip four Republican seats and hold their current ones, including in Michigan and Georgia, which President Donald Trump won in 2024.”

“But presiding over an unpopular Iran war that has dragged on for six months and resulted in high gas and grocery prices, Trump’s approval rating is now consistently below 40 percent, a historically perilous level. A Reuters/Ipsos poll has shown his approval nearing 30 percent.”

“The last time a Republican president was presiding over an unpopular war and spiking gas prices with less than 40 percent approval—George W. Bush in 2006—Democrats picked up six seats and took control of the Senate.”

“Senator Ed Markey has seen his lead steadily increase in recent polls of the Democratic primary for Senate in Massachusetts, with a large number of undecided voters appearing to swing toward him in the lead-up to Tuesday’s election,” the New York Times reports.

“In his attempt to secure a third full term in the Senate, Mr. Markey, 80, is being challenged by Seth Moulton, a moderate Democrat who is more than 30 years his junior. With a focus on their age gap, and the concept of ‘generational change,’ Mr. Moulton got close in several polls this spring. That turned around in August, with Mr. Markey leading all five polls fielded that month by double digits.”

MS NOW: He’s 47 and running on age. Many young Democrats back the 80-year-old.

“Republicans are counting on President Donald Trump’s cavalry to carry Ken Paxton to victory — but it hasn’t come yet,” Semafor reports.

“Ultimately, the GOP expects MAGA Inc. to help its Texas Senate nominee win with a significant spend this fall, according to multiple Republican sources, although even presidential super PAC donors aren’t clued in on when that will happen.”