The Cook Political Report moved Kansas’ Senate race into ‘Toss Up’ territory, a big development in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in nearly a century.

Washington Post: Three Senate races shift toward Democrats in Cook ratings.

“Sen. Susan Collins’s bid for a sixth term in the Senate is a test of political gravity,” the Washington Post reports.

“For years, the Republican senator in an ever-more Democratic Maine has run so far ahead of President Donald Trump that she practically floated above him, suspended in air thanks to a mix of selective defiance and canny use of Senate seniority to steer millions to the small state for local works projects.”

“But 11 years into Trump’s political life, Collins’s campaign against Democrat Troy Jackson has been weighed down by the Republican president and his constant controversy and growing disapproval. Trump is everywhere in the race.”

“Democrats have pulled back some of their ads in North Carolina’s Senate race, days after the top Senate Republican super political action committee paused its future spending in the state,” Politico reports.

Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “Of the Democrats’ red state Senate targets, Alaska may be the most promising, and we are moving the race from Toss-up to Leans Democratic.”

“For the first time all cycle, Republicans now need to win more of our Toss-ups to hold the Senate than Democrats need to win in order to flip it.”

Semafor: “In other battleground Senate races this fall, voters must choose between a combative Democrat and a Trump-friendly Republican. Maine’s battle pits that type of Democrat, former statehouse leader Troy Jackson, against a rarer breed in Collins: She’s the only incumbent Senate Republican who criticizes Trump in public while using her personal connections to reverse some of his actions.”

“It’s not clear whether Collins’ backchanneling will be enough to satisfy anti-Trump voters in Maine — or at least enough of them to put her over the top yet again. But her strategy will become a national political story on Tuesday night, when Jackson and Collins kick off a series of Senate debates.”

“In a state that hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1932, Republican Sen. Roger Marshall suddenly finds himself in a competitive race with weeks to go until the 2026 midterm elections,” CNBC reports.

“Stubborn inflation, blowback from White House trade policies, and a formidable Democratic challenger in megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton have combined to turn ruby-red Kansas into an unexpected Senate battleground.”

“The main super PAC supporting Republican Senate candidates plans to inject $5 million into the South Carolina campaign as an ‘insurance policy’ to help GOP nominee Darline Graham, a source familiar with the move tells Axios,” Axios reports.

“The GOP’s concern that a Senate seat in blood-red South Carolina could be in play shows just how bad the political environment is for Republicans, who face a rash of troubles in states long considered conservative strongholds.”

“John E. Sununu was first elected to the Senate in the aftermath of the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks and was the chamber’s youngest member during his single term,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Nearly two decades later, the Republican from one of New Hampshire’s most durable political families is seeking a comeback that could act as a lifeline in the GOP’s quest to cling to its teetering Senate majority.”

“But to do so, Sununu will need to navigate a tightrope, creating enough distance from President Trump in a difficult political environment while still attracting Trump’s MAGA supporters. Polls show his opponent, Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, with a slight edge in a state where Democrats have dominated federal offices for the past decade.”

“President Donald Trump on Monday used an anti-transgender slur to attack Democratic South Carolina Senate nominee Dr. Annie Andrews, as he tries to push his handpicked GOP candidate, Sen. Darline Graham, over the finish line in the midterm election,” CNN reports.

Said Trump: “Annie ‘Trannie’ Andrews is running against our wonderful Darline Graham for the Senate in South Carolina.”

“He used a version of the slur three times in the post.”

“Republican Ken Paxton had one thing going for him early on in his Senate race against Democrat James Talarico: Talarico’s own words,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“So why is Talarico still ahead in many Texas polls?”

“The 37-year-old Democrat has said plenty of controversial things, and in a way, he is sort of owning them. He has acknowledged that some of his past comments are ‘cringey’ and is essentially asking for Texans’ understanding.”

“This is an approach that Vice President JD Vance used quite effectively during the 2024 campaign.”

“The last time a Democrat prevailed in a U.S. Senate race in Kansas, Franklin Delano Roosevelt won his first term, liquor was illegal, dust storms swept through the state and the Great Depression was nearing its peak,” Bloomberg reports.

“No state has been more reliably red than Kansas — at least in terms of Senate seats — over the last century. But Democrats suddenly see a favorable political environment in this farming state where many voters are frustrated with President Donald Trump’s economic policies disproportionately hitting rural America.”

“The angst fueled by Trump’s tariffs and the Iran war has created an opening for pastor Adam Hamilton, a moderate Democrat with a large congregation and strong name recognition. The party has its eyes on an upset victory Nov. 3 over incumbent Senator Roger Marshall, a close Trump ally in a state the president won with 57% of the vote just two years ago.”

The Bulwark: Kansas is in play. Can Adam Hamilton keep it that way?