• A North Carolina stop: President Donald Trump is set to travel to Greenville today to rally for Michael Whatley — another Republican in a tight race against his Democratic opponent Roy Cooper. Trump was in Kansas yesterday, as he campaigns overwhelmingly in red states that voted for him by double digits in 2024.
• Ramaswamy’s challenge: In Ohio, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is attempting a rare route in politics, going from national notoriety as a presidential candidate to running for governor. It has not been easy.
• Early voting: In-person voting will begin today in Hawaii, Louisiana, Utah, Wisconsin and Missouri. Follow CNN’s early-voting tracker here.
Updates
(4) Link Copied!Holding a town hall Saturday in the second least populous county in Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy, who has promised to be the “most conservative” governor ever in the state, seemed further than ever from the presidential campaign trail where he made his political debut three years ago.
President Donald Trump barely came up. The war in Iran wasn’t mentioned.
Instead, Ramaswamy fielded multiple questions in Monroe County, along the Ohio-West Virginia border, about how he would pay for the property tax cuts he’s promising if he’s elected, which he touts as the largest such rollback in state history.
The biotech entrepreneur is attempting a rare route in politics, going from national notoriety as a presidential candidate to running for state office, toning down the hard-charging and provocative style of his presidential campaign.
He’s making his pivot during an election cycle where headwinds are blowing against all kinds of Republicans.
And on top of it all, he’s trying to convince an overwhelmingly White, Christian and middle-class state to make him its first Indian American governor, first Hindu governor and first billionaire governor.
Polls show the contest remains close between Ramaswamy and Democratic opponent Amy Acton, even though his campaign and allied groups have poured over $120 million into advertising in the state, more than triple the spending on Acton’s side.
Read more on this in our full article here.
Link Copied!With exactly two weeks to go until Election Day, midterm candidates are out campaigning across the US today. President Donald Trump is also expected to hold a rally in North Carolina.
Here are some of the major events taking place today:
- In Texas, Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico will continue his “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts Tour” in Texarkana and Tyler, while his GOP opponent Ken Paxton will make stops in Conroe and Richmond. Senator Bernie Sanders will also hold a rally in Houston alongside Greg Casar, who is running for re-election to the House, and former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke.
- In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown, who is seeking to return to the Senate, will hold a meet-and-greet in Chillicothe and a get-out-the-vote rally in Athens. Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who is seeking re-election, will deliver remarks at a rally dinner in Portsmouth. Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for Ohio Governor, will participate in a Faith & Freedom Town Hall in Westerville.
- In Iowa, GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is running for Senate, will take part in a fireside chat in Des Moines. Josh Turek, the Democrat running for Senate, will make stops in Council Bluffs and Sioux City today.
- In Michigan, the state’s Senatorial Candidates, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers, will take part in a forum hosted by the Detroit Economic Club.
- In Florida later, former President Bill Clinton will join David Jolly, the Democratic nominee for Florida Governor, at an interfaith event in Hollywood. The visit marks Clinton’s first public campaign event of this year’s election cycle.
Democrats are hungry for a blue wave in the November election, and a series of recent polls has them thinking they could pull off victories in some deeply red territory that would have seemed unthinkable a few months ago.
Expectations for the party are so high that one could envision a fair amount of disappointment in the party — and celebration among Republicans — if Democrats don’t shoot the moon on Election Day and take control of both chambers of Congress.
The polling favors Democrats
Democrats are excited about this election. They held a nearly 10-point advantage over Republicans in a recent ABC News / Washington Post poll when voters were asked which party they will support in November.
In Senate races, Democratic candidates are competitive against Republicans in red states including Alaska, Iowa, Kansas and Texas.
There are also tight races in purple states like Michigan and Georgia, where Democrats are hoping momentum can save seats they currently hold. The inevitable post-election review of polling will hinge on whether pollsters this year captured or over-indexed Democrats’ enthusiasm.
What does history suggest will happen?
The president’s party almost always loses House seats.
Only twice in the past 100 years has the president’s party not lost at least some – and frequently a lot of — House seats.
The two exceptions were in 2002 under President George W. Bush, in the run-up to the US invasion of Iraq after 9/11; and in 1998, when the dot-com boom buoyed the economy and there was a public backlash to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.
Read more of this analysis in our full article here.
Link Copied!Early in-person voting begins today in Hawaii, Louisiana, Utah, Wisconsin and Missouri — after several other states began voting.
President Donald Trump is on a campaign blitz in overwhelmingly in red states that voted for him by double digits in 2024. Today, Trump travels to Greenville to rally for Michael Whatley — another Republican in a tight race against his Democratic opponent Roy Cooper.
Last night, the president rallied in Kansas for GOP Sen. Roger Marshall. Democratic Senate candidate Adam Hamilton said he sees Trump’s Kansas visit as a “big compliment,” and that the president’s campaigning for his GOP opponent is “only going to hurt him.”
Video Ad Feedback
Why this Kansas Democrat sees Trump's visit to his state as a 'big compliment'
1:21
• Source:
CNN
Why this Kansas Democrat sees Trump's visit to his state as a 'big compliment'
1:21
Here are more of Monday’s highlights:
- In Kansas, Trump told the crowd that riots and looting in France are foreshadowing what could happen to the US if Democrats win in November.
- Kansas voters are feeling the economic pinch, with one woman telling CNN the cost of living is the biggest issue motivating her decision on who to vote for. The state has emerged as one of the most unexpected battlegrounds as Democrats try to pull off their first Senate victory in the state since 1932.
- In Michigan, Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed put his faith at the forefront in a new video asking voters to elect him as the country’s first Muslim senator.
- In Florida, cost-of-living expenses and unkept promises are among the reasons Latino voters in Miami-Dade County say they are rethinking their support for Trump.
Video Ad Feedback
Democrats court Latino voters in Republican-leaning Florida
2:53
• Source:
CNN
Democrats court Latino voters in Republican-leaning Florida
2:53
- In California, federal authorities charged more than two dozen foreign nationals as part of a statewide sweep targeting people who officials say have illegally registered and voted in US elections.
- In CNN’s latest Poll of Polls average, Trump’s approval ratings stand at 34% among US adults, with 65% disapproving.
- And a review of AdImpact data for the final two weeks of the midterms shows more than $300 million pouring into races for the 10 Senate seats CNN rates as most likely to flip.
CNN’s Betsy Klein, Kit Maher, Elise Hammond, Aditi Sangal, Arlette Saenz and David Wright contributed reporting.
