All posts tagged "Midterms"

CNN's top numbers cruncher couldn't hide his surprise as he walked through Senate polling in states Republicans once considered safe.

Appearing Thursday on "Anderson Cooper 360," CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten pulled up polling averages in races from Kansas to Texas and found Democrats tied or narrowly ahead. "My goodness gracious, you really can't get tighter than this," he said.

Enten told Cooper the chamber had not looked competitive when the year began. "When we started off this year, I don't think that most people thought that the Senate was really going to be in play," he said. "But where we are right now, the Senate is very much in play."...

President Donald Trump drew swift condemnation from critics after making a promise to ailing families that came with a political string attached.

On Tuesday, Trump vowed that his administration would settle outstanding claims from people sickened by toxic water at Camp Lejeune, the Marine Corps base in North Carolina, but only if Republicans prevail in both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections.

"If we win the House and Senate, I am directing the Department of Justice to settle all remaining legitimate claims as soon as possible," the president declared in a clip that journalist Aaron Rupar shared on X. "If we don't win, there's no money."...

A Supreme Court justice delivered a blistering assessment of her own court's record on elections just two weeks before the midterms.

Justice Elena Kagan told an audience at Catholic University's law school on Tuesday that the conservative majority's rulings on campaign finance, partisan maps and voting rights have deepened the nation's divisions, The New York Times reported.

"In all these areas, the court has kind of blinded itself to the very deleterious effects of their rulings on how the political system works," Kagan said, adding that the result is "a democracy that does not work as well as it should."...

Anxiety is spreading through President Donald Trump's orbit as aides brace for what one insider fears could become an all-out purge.

With the midterms two weeks away, Trump administration officials expect heavy Republican losses to set off sweeping personnel changes across the government, CNN reported Tuesday. Trump is expected to look for aides to blame while others consider leaving a weakened lame-duck White House.

"If we lose both the House and Senate, there's really no telling what happens," one Trump adviser told CNN. "Everyone is fair game."...

A retiring GOP congressman broke with President Donald Trump over the fight for his seat and sounded an alarm for his party.

Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) told Politico in an interview Saturday that he would "absolutely not" cast his vote for businessman David Flippo, the Trump-endorsed Republican running to succeed him in Nevada's 2nd District. Amodei warned the seat, which Trump carried by 14 points and which has never sent a Democrat to Congress, is now "at risk."

Amodei pointed to a pile of allegations against Flippo, including accusations of stolen valor over claims about his military record and his delays in filing required financial disclosures. Flippo has blamed staff and others for what he called mistakes in describing his service on campaign materials....

A planned campaign stop featuring President Donald Trump in a crucial swing state fell apart while Republican candidates debated whether to show up.

Trump's team had been mapping out a Michigan visit, possibly on the western side of the state, when GOP candidates across the ballot found themselves unsure whether they should be seen with the president, Politico reported Saturday, citing three Republicans with direct knowledge of the discussions. The candidates worried about being tied to Trump's tariffs, which have battered Michigan, and to high fuel prices linked to the war with Iran.

Trump officials ultimately scrapped the event and said the president would return later in the month. He is now slated to rally in Michigan on October 25....