Just for members: The latest issue of Ballot Access News.

The latest issue highlights a series of fights over who gets on the ballot, including an Illinois ruling upholding a steep 5% signature requirement for independent House candidates and the Forward Party’s unsuccessful effort to get its statewide nominees on the New Mexico ballot.

There’s no question Democrats are more enthusiastic about this election than Republicans.

Poll after poll has found an enthusiasm gap, sometimes a substantial one. In the latest Marquette Law School survey, for instance, 47% of Democrats said they were very enthusiastic about voting, compared with just 32% of Republicans.

Politico this week offered a neat way to frame the midterm elections: Which kind of money will matter more — the enormous sums Republican groups are pouring into competitive races or the money voters are spending as gasoline prices climb toward $5 a gallon?

It’s a clever framing. But it gives campaign spending far more power than it deserves.

President Trump’s lavish welcome for Chinese President Xi Jinping drew criticism from both the left as well as some prominent Republicans.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) called it a “WTF moment.” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) questioned the decision to honor Xi with a state visit. Even some Republicans who defended the summit acknowledged the awkward optics.

How well did you pay attention to the political news this week?

Take the quiz and find out.

“It’s the economy, stupid” is still the first rule of politics.

But corruption is quickly becoming a close second in this election.

Six years ago this month, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died just weeks before a presidential election.

Senate Republicans wasted no time. Barely five weeks later, they confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to replace her, locking in a Supreme Court seat before voters had their say.

There’s always a chance the polls are missing something.

Democrats know this all too well from the 2016 and 2024 presidential campaigns. 

This midterm campaign is starting to feel more and more like 1994.

Not simply because control of Congress is up for grabs, but because the political map itself seems to be expanding.

Donald Trump still has more than two years left in his presidency, but Republicans are beginning to treat him like a lame duck.

The signs are suddenly hard to miss.

Something unusual is happening in the polls as the midterm elections approach: The political environment keeps getting worse for Republicans.

Midterm elections usually move against the president’s party but the deterioration this late in the campaign has been especially sharp.

No president has ever liked every reporter who covers him.

That’s not the point.

President Trump’s escalating fight with the press may have just created an unexpected problem for the White House.

The White House press pool will not send a replacement television camera to cover Trump’s trip to the United Nations General Assembly after CNN was barred from participating.

How well did you pay attention to the political news this week?

Take the quiz and find out.

Just for members: The latest edition of Inside Elections.

This edition includes a look at how the public Republican optimism doesn’t quite match where the party is spending.

Republicans don’t like what they’re seeing in the Senate polls, so they’re unleashing an enormous wave of late spending.

A Hotline analysis finds the GOP is outspending Democrats by more than $200 million across the nine most competitive Senate races from the beginning of September through Election Day.

One of the oldest tricks in a tough political race is to run against someone who isn’t actually on the ballot.

Republicans appear increasingly eager to do exactly that this year.