“Former Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday said she would be campaigning later this month in Mississippi, New Hampshire and Wisconsin, as part of her tour to support Democratic candidates in the midterms,” the New York Times reports.
Roll Call: National leaders crisscross the country at campaign crunch time.
“Sen. Brian Schatz cautioned that if Democrats win big in next month’s elections, it would be because of President Donald Trump — and Democrats will need to work hard to come up with an agenda to keep voters on their side,” the Washington Sun reports.
Said Schatz: “What’s happening out there in the world is not that we unlocked the proper slogan or messaging technique to make sure that people give us a chance, but rather that Donald Trump himself is our best messenger. Trump has sort of driven people into our arms, and if people give us a chance, we should understand that we’re sort of the rebound boyfriend.”
“Hillary Clinton is launching a new podcast with tech journalist and podcast host Kara Swisher ahead of the midterms, part of an effort to promote Democratic candidates and push her priorities as the election nears its final stretch,” the Washington Sun reports.
Wall Street Journal: “Medicare for All has become a defining policy fight within the Democratic Party—and a measuring stick of how far to the left the party wants to move. As a presidential candidate in 2020, Joe Biden said he would veto any Medicare for All bill as too costly and disruptive, while then-candidate Kamala Harris, an early supporter, soon softened her position.”
“This year, Democratic socialists and others on the party’s left flank are calling for Medicare for All. But in many of the competitive states and districts now represented by Republicans, the Democrats trying to flip those seats are taking a more centrist position, akin to Biden’s.”
“The chair of the Montana Democratic Party resigned the position Monday and became the latest Democrat to endorse an independent candidate over the party’s Senate nominee, Alani Bankhead,” the Washington Post reports.
“Democrats should not misinterpret the results of midterm and say, ‘Well, great, we won some seats. That means everyone loves the Democrats again.’ The Democrats owe a positive, affirmative agenda to the public, and a midterm tends to be kind of a protest vote against the leader in power.”
— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), quoted by the Washington Post.
“I think Democrats make a huge mistake when we cede all this ground, when we cede all the terrain around faith and values to Republicans. Why would we do that? Especially given the fact that on matters of morality, in my view, they’ve got so much of it wrong.”
— Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), quoted by the Washington Sun.
“Congressional Democrats aren’t eager to impeach Donald Trump. Pete Hegseth is a different story,” Semafor reports.
“House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership circle remain reluctant to lean too far into talking about impeaching the president if they regain power next month, a move that would revive the bruising battles of Trump’s first term. But as the Iran war squeezes Republicans ahead of the midterms, Democrats are aligning to call for the defense secretary’s ouster or resignation.”
The Guardian: Democratic senator says Hegseth trying to hide costs of Iran war from U.S. public.
“Democrats are zeroing in on the Pentagon and defense contractors as they prepare to scrutinize potential conflicts of interest in the Trump administration should they win control of Congress,” Bloomberg reports.
“Companies that have contracts with the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are particularly vulnerable… That’s partly because Congress expects the administration will continue to ignore or slow-walk their requests for information — as it has even when Republicans were in control.”
“Democrats’ eyes may be bigger than their wallets,” Politico reports.
“Democrats across a slate of deep-red states are clamoring for more cash to fight for Senate seats that suddenly seem within reach, with polling showing them competitive across a swath of normally impregnable territory from Kansas to Florida and South Carolina to Mississippi prompting a sudden bump in late-stage spending from outside groups. The party’s main campaign groups have already begun spending in Texas, another state they once downplayed that’s come seriously into play.”
“But those same groups say they don’t have enough cash to protect the core battleground and also make significant investments beyond it — setting up Democrats for a series of difficult choices in the closing weeks of the midterms.”
“The establishment Democratic Party is a failed enterprise… It is so hard to lose two general elections to Donald Trump. In political terms, to imagine a worse failure than losing two national elections to Donald Trump.”
— Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), quoted by The Lever.
“A group of potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates is heading to Denver days after the midterms to discuss the party’s future, in one of the party’s first major gatherings following the election,” CNN reports.
“Attendees will include former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, as well as Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan… The group of speakers also includes Govs. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, plus several additional members of Congress.”
“What we do is that we break open the entire political calculus in America — period. Because if you can win, if Abdul can win in Michigan, anybody can win anywhere.”
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), quoted by the New York Times.
“If Kamala Harris runs for president again, she would begin with advantages no rival could match: near-universal name recognition, experience in the White House and the hard-earned lessons of already having carried the party’s banner,” the Washington Post reports.
”For many Democrats, that still may not be enough.”
”With roughly a dozen Democrats maneuvering toward possible 2028 bids, Harris retains considerable affection and respect inside the party. But interviews with 18 strategists, donors, former Harris surrogates and other Democrats — including some who backed her in 2024 — revealed persistent uncertainty about whether her moment was cut short or her time has passed, and whether she can lead Democrats back to power.”
“Democrats’ House campaign arm is expanding its targets even further into Trump country, as the party grows increasingly bullish they will not just win, but win big next month,” Politico reports.
”The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added six more candidates to its coveted ‘Red to Blue’ list on Monday, districts President Donald Trump won by an average of 16 points or more in 2024.”
“Democrats are eager to probe President Donald Trump’s business ties if they retake Congress, but those plans are already exposing an intraparty fault line over how hard to go after companies that courted the White House over the past two years,” Politico reports.
”California Reps. Robert Garcia, who could lead the House Oversight Committee, and Maxine Waters, who is poised to retake the House Financial Services gavel, would have broad subpoena powers over companies with ties to Trump and his family. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a potential Senate Banking chair, has already pressed major corporations over their contributions to Trump-linked causes.”
“But some Democrats are cautioning that the party shouldn’t use investigative authority too broadly against corporate America to avoid steering into retribution. The divide is setting up tension over how Democrats should treat some of the largest and most powerful American companies, from technology giants like Meta and Amazon to cryptocurrency leaders like Coinbase and Ripple, if they return to power next year.”
“Democratic House members are writing bills to rein in a president’s emergency powers. Lawyers are strategizing about how to insulate the Justice Department from presidential influence. A House measure would block a president from unilaterally remodeling the White House. Ethicists are writing rules to prevent a future first family from self-dealing,” the Washington Post reports.
”Throughout Washington and beyond, President Donald Trump’s opponents are scrambling to ensure that after he leaves office, the changes he has imposed on the presidency, and the country, will fade with him.”
“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.”
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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