Politico: “Armed with subpoena power in Congress and a friendly Justice Department on their side, Republican lawmakers have spent two years promising to expose former special counsel Jack Smith as the leader of an anti-Trump witch hunt that morphed into a full-blown attempt to take down the Republican establishment.”

“Smith’s appearance Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee — his third time testifying under oath on Capitol Hill, the second time in public — was supposed to be a watershed moment for the GOP intent on extracting a smoking gun ahead of the midterm elections. Instead, the hearing was most memorable for the fusillade of insults hurled by the panel’s Republicans.”

New York Times: “Among the nine Republicans whose races are expected to be crucial in determining Senate control, four would like Mr. Trump to join them on the trail ahead of the election, or are open to the possibility, according to their campaigns. Three campaigns left their positions unclear, and two said they would not join the president on the trail.”

“Adam Hamilton doesn’t plan to stay in Washington long if he gets there, and he doesn’t plan to spend his time investigating President Donald Trump,” MS NOW reports.

“The 62-year-old megachurch pastor, running a surprisingly competitive Senate campaign as a Democrat in Kansas, told MS NOW he would serve no more than two terms in the chamber if elected. He also said he had no interest in the investigations of Trump and his family that Democratic leaders have signaled they would pursue if their party wins control of Congress.”

Said Hamilton: “I’m not going to Washington to hold trials. I’m going to Washington to fight for the people of Kansas and make life better for them.”

“Senate Democrats may be feeling pretty positive going into their final campaign sprint, but first they must deal with a handful of political headaches on the Hill,” Politico reports.

“Democrats at their weekly caucus lunch today will talk strategy on a number of measures that could split members who have stuck together on other recent high-profile votes.”

“Senate Democratic leaders expect a mostly unified caucus against a bill targeting data center costs and another restricting lawmaker’s stock trading, according to a leadership aide, who acknowledged it’s possible some members break ranks if it makes sense for them politically.”

“Vote counts on a third bill on violence in the West Bank are less clear.”

The Atlantic: “When this year began, the Democrats were heavy underdogs to take back the Senate in the midterms. The task would require not only toppling Susan Collins in Maine but also winning at least five states that voted for Donald Trump in 2024, while holding on to all of the party’s existing seats. The realistic best-case scenario seemed to be a replay of the so-called blue-wave 2018 election, during Trump’s first term, in which Democrats took back the House but the Senate remained in Republican hands. To gain control of the upper chamber, Democrats would need an incredible stroke of luck. They might have gotten one.”

“Trump’s decision to start a war with Iran, and the resulting spike in oil prices, shifted the boundaries of the politically possible.”

Jonathan Bernstein: “While plenty of people are already voting, there’s still five weeks to election day, and raw polling results five weeks out are hardly the last word in predictions. It’s certainly possible that trends towards the Democrats will continue all through October; it’s also possible that the Republicans have just endured a particularly harsh stretch, and that there will be at least some reversion to more normal partisan balance. The FiftyPlusOne prediction model, for example, has a median estimate of only – only! – 52 Democratic Senate seats.”

“The big point here is that there’s still a pretty large range of plausible outcomes, including some that at this point would be pretty disappointing for Democrats. But also that the upside for Republicans now seems more likely be retaining control with 50 possibly even 51 seats, which is not only awful for them compared to what things looked like a year ago but also worse than it looked even a few weeks ago. And the upside for Democrats? It’s just silly looking at this point. Which doesn’t mean it can’t happen.”

“Former President Barack Obama is looking to give Democrats a financial boost, headlining a fundraiser next month with the party’s Senate campaign arm,” NBC News reports.

“The event, scheduled for Oct. 7 in the Washington area, will be Obama’s first fundraiser with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee this election cycle.”

“With polls showing a tight U.S. Senate race between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton, we decided to see how this year matched up against 2018, the last time a Texas statewide election came down to the wire,” Axios reports.

“Senate Majority Leader John Thune and GOP Whip John Barrasso are preparing to hit the campaign trail in October,” Politico reports.

“Thune is planning to swing through a number of states starting with North Carolina this week…He said he’ll also go to South Carolina, Florida, twice to Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota and Michigan, among others, as Republicans fight to keep control of the Senate in an increasingly difficult political environment for their party.”

“Barrasso, meanwhile, will travel to Ohio, Montana, Kansas and Kentucky next month… Barrasso has already been on the campaign trail in Iowa, Texas and South Carolina.”

“Top national Democrats are preparing to make an initial investment in the Texas Senate race, a strategic shift that speaks to the party’s growing confidence in a state that has dashed its hopes for decades,” the New York Times reports.

“The main super PAC for Senate Democrats, Senate Majority PAC, said on Tuesday that it would begin an advertising effort meant to help James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, by targeting his Republican opponent, Ken Paxton.”

“The super PAC, which is aligned with Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, had so far resisted spending money in Texas, viewing the party’s path to a majority as running through smaller states where advertising is cheaper.”