from States Newsroom
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By Robin Opsahl |
There are eight days left until Election Day. In the final stretch, President Donald Trump, and other high profile surrogates, including Democratic former President Barack Obama, are headlining rallies in several states in efforts to help their party’s candidates in races considered “toss-ups” in the Nov. 3 election.
Trump is still on a midterm travel blitz, which started last week with trips to Iowa, Florida, Georgia and Michigan. On Monday, Trump will rally in Mississippi, before heading to Corpus Christi and Lubbock, Texas, Tuesday and Chillicothe, Ohio Wednesday.
Trump began his October campaign road trip in GOP-friendly states, but has begun venturing into territory that’s deemed to have become perilous for Republicans.
Though he came to campaign in states alongside candidates in tough elections, Trump spent time at rallies over the past week talking about national stories and candidates in other states. In Iowa, he defended Vivek Ramaswamy as the Republican candidate has faced significant backlash for a campaign advertisement in the Ohio gubernatorial race.
Trump and Republican leaders are working to defend GOP majorities in U.S. Congress. But analysts say the 2026 midterm landscape is more favorable for Democrats as the candidates have used President Donald Trump’s unpopularity to expand the midterm map, even as Democrats are expected to flip fewer U.S. House seats than wave elections this century.
TOP IMPACT
Vicki Wanamaker, left, and Cathy Mager, right, talked in Wanamaker's Springdale, Pennsylvania, home on Oct. 19, 2026, about their opposition to a proposed hyperscale data center roughly a quarter mile away. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
By Ashley Murray | News from the States
Both Democratic and Republican candidates during the heated midterm election cycle have had to navigate deep voter resentment of data centers, the massive advanced computer server farm developments that will power artificial intelligence.
The issue is permeating politics and races at the federal, state and local levels. Resentment against the large-scale projects has become a dominant issue in hotly contested U.S. Senate races that will determine party control for the closely divided upper chamber.
General Manager Brian Horak walks down an aisle at Post 60 Market in Emerson, Nebraska. A new national report shows how everyday costs have increased for Americans. (Photo by Kevin Hardy/Stateline)
By Kevin Hardy | Stateline
Americans’ growing frustration over high prices has defined many political campaigns ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Rising costs of healthcare, gas and groceries during President Donald Trump’s second term have put Republicans on defense, not only in Washington, but in statehouse and gubernatorial races across the country. As the political environment continues to sour for Republicans, a new analysis released by the Urban Institute on Monday underscores just how expensive everyday life has become in America: Gas and electricity prices are rising much faster than paychecks. Housing, childcare and healthcare are becoming a bigger strain for millions of people.
BIG PICTURE
It’s been a busy October, and the last week of early voting promises to bring more big names to Georgia, with former President Barack Obama and former vice president and 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris. (Photos by Georgia Recorder)
CAMPAIGNS, VOTING AND ELECTION LAW
GA: Georgia draws high-profile boosters to the campaign trail as candidates enter the homestretch | Georgia Recorder
MI: Trump invokes anti-Muslim rhetoric to attack El-Sayed at Michigan rally supporting Rogers, James | Michigan Advance
OH: Ramaswamy tries to reframe controversial ad, claiming it wasn’t about child sex abuse amid protests | Ohio Capital Journal
OH: Former President Obama rallies with Ohio Democratic ticket in Cleveland | Ohio Capital Journal
NM: Democratic US senators considering presidential runs rally party faithful at New Mexico matanza | Source New Mexico
USA: Most US House races aren’t competitive. What does that mean for how lawmakers govern? | News from the States
KY: Not a ‘David and Goliath race’: Dems challenge long-standing Republicans in KY House races | Kentucky Lantern
TN: In Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District, Democrat Barnett tries to flip a long-held GOP seat | Tennessee Lookout
AR: In Arkansas’ US Senate race, rivals paint Cotton as not focused on the state | Arkansas Advocate
USA: A record number of women are running for state legislatures this year | Stateline
USA: Why the new progressive Democrats in Congress might unite with the old Dems, for now | News from the States
USA: Trump’s DOJ sues over Alaska Senate race, expanding preelection legal fights | News from the States
USA: Judge blocks Homeland Security from conducting election-related sweeps in 9 states | News from the States
SD: ‘Not only convenient, but necessary’: Voices of mail-in voters | South Dakota Searchlight
WA: DOJ sending election monitors to WA’s King County | Washington State Standard
CO: Colorado must approve federal election observers in Adams County, state law says | Colorado Newsline
NC: Denied a campus early voting site, NC A&T students again march to the polls | NC Newsline
NH: US Supreme Court ruling restores NH ban on use of student IDs at polls | New Hampshire Bulletin
TN: Tennessee officials urge caution amid reports of ballot problems | Tennessee Lookout
USA: Dems in Congress say they’re wary Trump won't accept results of election | News from the States
ND: Early in-person voting in North Dakota begins as group looks to encourage Native voters | North Dakota Monitor
OH: Ohio Crime Statistics dashboard shows 9 convictions for illegal voting in 35 million ballots cast | Ohio Capital Journal
USA: 2026 ballot measures are written at a graduate-school reading level, report finds | Stateline
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, CONGRESS AND COURTS
USA: The percentage of people without health insurance is growing | Stateline
MN: Hospitals: Federal changes will worsen Minnesota healthcare crisis | Minnesota Reformer
USA: Cost of employer-sponsored health insurance plans rises again, nonpartisan survey finds | News from the States
AL: Alabama’s SNAP error rate on downward trend, preliminary data shows | Alabama Reflector
NH: New Hampshire sets up digital system to accommodate new Medicaid work requirements | New Hampshire Bulletin
ME: GOP focuses on fraud, seeking to redirect voters’ ire over healthcare costs | Maine Morning Star
GA: Bottoms is vowing to expand Medicaid. But has the longtime Democratic priority lost its zip? | Georgia Recorder
USA: Trump order sets up new women’s health research initiative at NIH, White House task force | News from the States
USA: US Supreme Court allows gender-affirming care for trans people in federal prisons | News from the States
OH: Ohio Haitians and their supporters march on Columbus with demands | Ohio Capital Journal
USA: Analysis: Trump deportations near 1M, but few are criminals | Stateline
TN: Lawsuit: Tennessee to impose immigration checks in HIV/AIDS safety-net program | Tennessee Lookout
USA: In 6 states, ballots include bans on noncitizen voting | Stateline
WI: Elections Commission to send clerk guidance on law enforcement at polls | Wisconsin Examiner
NJ: ICE in the crosshairs as NJ Democrats fight to win back control of Congress | New Jersey Monitor
NC: ICE agents arrested US citizen at gunpoint in Charlotte, NC immigration advocates say | NC Newsline
KS: U.S. Court of Appeals finds due process violation in ICE incarceration of Iranian refugee in Kansas | Kansas Reflector
OR: ICE affirms in court documents there are no plans to build detention center in Newport | Oregon Capital Chronicle
AZ: Arizona congressman demands answers on unmarked ‘pop-up’ immigration courts | Arizona Mirror
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