On the campaign trail today
• Early voting: With eight days until the election and early voting nearing 30 million ballots cast, several Democratic surrogates will be in the key Midwestern states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio. CNN takes a look at what the data shows for each state.
• GOP worries: President Donald Trump will be in Mississippi tonight to bolster Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who is up against Democrat Scott Colom, as the battle for Senate control runs through states Trump won by double digits in 2024. It’s part of his plan to rally in several ruby-red states this week and reflects Republicans’ desire to avoid surprises on their turf.
• Election monitors: The Justice Department will send election monitors to all 50 states for the midterm elections, the largest-ever effort to observe polling locations for potential civil rights violations.
Updates
(36)Oh, nuts: Squirrel causes pole fire outside North Carolina voting site
A squirrel blew a transformer and ignited a pole fire outside an early voting site in North Carolina on Monday, according to Monroe Mayor Robert Burns.
“Only in Monroe,” Burns wrote on social media, adding, “To the rest of the squirrels, I’d sit this one out.”
The mayor did not comment on how the fire impacted voter activity at the library, but reminded residents that early voting runs through this Saturday, with same-day registration available.
The evident “squarrel” between the animal and electrical equipment comes as early voting is underway in North Carolina, where voters will cast their ballots in a closely watched Senate contest between Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper and GOP nominee Michael Whatley.
CNN’s Amanda Jackson contributed to this report.
Trump offers $1 million for voter fraud tips as midterms loom
President Donald Trump on Monday — eight days before the midterm election — promised a $1 million payout to anyone who reports voter fraud that results in a conviction.
“Anybody reporting Voter Fraud in the past Elections, or the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election, will be paid $1,000,000 upon the arrest and conviction of those that created the Fraud! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
The offer goes well beyond a whistleblower program the president unveiled with Vice President JD Vance just last week, which aims to reward Americans who come forward with information on suspected fraud within the federal government.
Under the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, anyone whose tip leads to a fraud conviction or a significant federal enforcement action can receive up to $30,000, according to the White House, which said the Justice Department will run it.
Vance pins gas price spikes on "tinpot” dictators as he courts voters in Montana
Vice President JD Vance acknowledged Monday that high gas prices have left some voters undecided ahead of the midterm election, but argued that price spikes happen “every time some tinpot dictator decides to throw a tantrum.”
“I want to speak a little bit to the undecided voters out there,” Vance said at a GOP rally in Montana. “You will hear many say that gas prices are too high.”
“I agree with it, but remember,” Vance continued, “let’s just talk about gas prices, remember, in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine and gas prices skyrocketed.”
“They skyrocketed, by the way, far higher then than they are today. They skyrocketed in 1979. They skyrocketed in 2001. They skyrocketed in 2007,” he went on. “They skyrocket every time some tinpot dictator decides to throw a tantrum.”
Voters are indisputably feeling the pinch at the pump, with a gallon of unleaded gas costing 40% more today than it did last year. A gallon of diesel is running nearly 75% higher.
The vice president was stumping for various GOP candidates, including Aaron Flint, who is in a tighter-than-expected race for the western Montana congressional seat. Both Vance and Trump have often traveled to pretty red territory lately, signaling GOP anxiety as the party battles to keep control of Congress.
After a heckler tried to derail the speech and was escorted out by security, Vance returned to a common theme of his speeches: While voters may be frustrated with some Republican policies, Democrats would be worse.
“Don’t judge them by the yahoos they send to protest our events, judge them by what they’ve done,” he said.
White House defends Trump bragging about oil profits as Americans hurt from high prices
The White House today sought to defend President Donald Trump’s boasts about the benefits of the same high oil and gasoline prices angering voters across the country.
Trump raised eyebrows and confusion over the weekend by bragging about oil profits.
“The United States oil and gas business is making hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump said at a campaign event on Saturday. “Our country is making hundreds of billions of dollars because of what’s happened in the Middle East, because they’re coming to Texas and they’re coming to Oklahoma and they’re coming to Louisiana and they’re taking that oil.”
Trump said that while his advisers didn’t want him to mention this development because “people are paying a little higher,” he’s doing it anyway.
The White House official told CNN that Trump’s mention of “our country” making money refers to tankers filling up in Texas and Louisiana instead of Iran.
It’s true that US exports of oil, gasoline and diesel are high — so high that Trump briefly flirted with the controversial idea of blocking diesel sales to other countries. It’s also true that Big Oil and its shareholders are cashing in on higher profits.
Trump has disclosed owning shares of Exxon, Chevron and other oil companies.
Of course, Americans broadly are hurting from $4 gas and $6 diesel. US consumers have spent a total of nearly $145 billion extra on gas and diesel alone since the war started, according to research from Brown University.
Alaska Democratic Party leader calls Trump administration's lawsuit a "desperate attempt"
Alaska’s ballot will feature two Dan Sullivans for the Senate seat: One is the incumbent, GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan, and the other a political newcomer who filed to run as a Republican. In the latest development, the executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party described the Trump administration’s preemptive lawsuit on the matter “a desperate attempt.”
What to know: The lawsuit seeks to block certification of Alaska’s US Senate election if the incumbent Sen. Sullivan loses in the critical contest, which could decide the balance of power in the Senate. It alleges the newcomer candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan, could confuse voters and wants a court to potentially delay the certification of the election if the incumbent is defeated but would have won if “all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan” had “been cast instead for Senator Sullivan.” President Donald Trump took credit for the legal challenge.
What the ballot would look like: Republicans have alleged the newcomer is running a spoiler candidacy designed to confuse voters. Daniel J. Sullivan is a registered Republican, but state election officials listed him on the ballot without a party affiliation. Sen. Sullivan is labeled on the ballot as “Registered Republican” and “incumbent.” In the primary, the incumbent Dan Sullivan won 68,726 votes; Daniel J. Sullivan won 4,107.
“Any reasonable Alaskan looking at a ballot knows exactly how to vote. This is not confusing,” Stryker said, adding that in the case of a long-drawn legal battle, the Democrats are “prepared for any fight that stands before us.”
You can also check out CNN’s Dana Bash interview with Attorney General Todd Blanche over the Trump administration’s argument.
CNN’s Tierney Sneed and Ethan Cohen contributed to this post.
Cruz sidesteps question on Ramaswamy ad, says voters want "conservative values"
Sen. Ted Cruz did not raise any issues on Monday when asked about Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s controversial ad showcasing his Democratic opponent’s estranged mother.
“I think there’s nothing the media likes more than to attack Republicans. And at the end of the day, what voters don’t want is the radical left taking over this country. I think that’s common sense, conservative values is what the voters want,” Cruz told CNN when asked about the ad.
Cruz’s comments came as he’s been barnstorming the country for Senate candidates, including on Monday for Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina.
Several Republicans have been sharply critical of the Ramaswamy ad, including Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike Dewine, who urged him to take it down. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have defended Ramaswamy.
The latest campaign moves and what they mean in key states
Early voting is underway in several states as candidates — and their surrogates — hit the campaign trail in full force.
With just over a week to go until Election Day, Democrats are hoping the early voting data is a good sign in their quest to flip congressional seats. Meanwhile, GOP super PACs are moving money to key races where Republican candidates are under pressure.
If you’re just joining us, here’s what to know:
- To get a picture of where things stand, follow the money. A top Republican super PAC is investing more money into Senate races Mississippi, South Carolina and Kansas, red states where Democratic challengers have outraised Republican candidates in the first two weeks of October.
- In Michigan, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost the Senate primary in August, criticized an ad that seeks to boost the nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, by linking US aid to Israel with high costs. The ad is not affiliated with El-Sayed’s campaign, a spokesperson said.
- President Donald Trump has been intensifying his anti-Muslim attacks against El-Sayed, but the Democrat said he’s “not worried” the messaging will weigh on voters. Trump was in Michigan yesterday campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers.
- In South Carolina, another highly-watched race, Democratic Senate candidate Annie Andrews was endorsed by two former governors: Republican David Beasley and Democrat Jim Hodges.
- Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia said today that if Democrats win a Senate majority they should conduct oversight of the Trump administration, including what he said are the misuse of public funds, conflicts of interest and the Trump family’s “self-enrichment.”
- Election monitors from the Justice Department will be at select polling places in every state. The DOJ said it would send about 1,000 lawyers to watch for federal voting-law violations.
Looking ahead: Former Vice President Kamala Harris will join a virtual fundraiser Tuesday for Jermaine Johnson, the South Carolina Democrat running for governor. Though the race is not seen as competitive, it marks a return for Harris to Palmetto State politics as potential presidential hopefuls look to boost support ahead of 2028. Harris will be at events in Wisconsin today.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance are also on the campaign trail, holding events for Republican candidates in Michigan and Texas tomorrow. Trump will be in Mississippi tonight to bolster Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
CNN’s Dianne Gallagher, Jeff Zeleny, David Wright, Patrick Svitek and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed reporting.
Sen. Darline Graham says she's "becoming very informed" after national security debate flub
Sen. Darline Graham insisted that her viral flub during a primary debate — where she said national security is “not my thing” — is not impacting her closer-than-expected race to hold her late brother’s Senate seat.
Speaking to CNN in Myrtle Beach, Graham downplayed her comment and said that her race is only tight because of the influx of Democratic cash flooding the airwaves.
“I don’t think it hurt me at all,” Graham said after a campaign stop with South Carolina Republicans and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. “I’m becoming very informed on national security. I never said it wasn’t important. It’s extremely important. But what’s important to South Carolinians is affordability, the price of gas, putting food on the table. Every time I go to one of these events, they’re not talking about that. They’re talking about affordability. So that’s what’s on my mind.”
Graham, who was appointed to Lindsey Graham’s seat after he suddenly died this summer, argued that the huge amount of money has changed the race and made her race against Democrat Annie Andrews tight ahead of the election next week.
“Democrats are pouring money into this state,” Graham told CNN when asked about the tightness of the race. “She’s spending a million dollars a week on ads, so I think that’s why it’s so close. Because Democrats are pouring money into South Carolina, trying to turn our state blue,” she said.
From the day after the primary, August 26, through Election Day, Democrats are outspending Republicans on ads for the South Carolina Senate race by about $21.5 million to $18 million.
Graham has tied herself closely to Trump, who endorsed her and helped push her to victory in the primary. But she has broken with Trump over easing sanctions on Russia for help with sky-high diesel prices.
Asked on Monday if she has spoken to Trump on the issue, which was a central component of a sanctions law her late brother championed, Graham said: “He knows how I feel, yes.”
El-Sayed on Trump's attacks: "We’re bigger than that"
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed pushed back on President Donald Trump’s intensifying anti-Muslim attacks, telling CNN he is “not worried” the messaging will weigh on voters who are on the fence about his candidacy in the closing stretch of the campaign.
“I know that Michiganders are a lot bigger than that, and I know they’re going to look at that and say that’s not me, that’s not us, that’s not what I teach my kids, that’s not who I want them to be,” he added. “We’re bigger than that. We’re gritty. We are earnest and we don’t want to be taken advantage of by a millionaire from Florida or a billionaire from New York.”
El-Sayed’s comments came one day after President Trump rallied in the state for GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers. Trump focused much of his speech in Port Huron on Sunday on levying Islamophobic attacks against El-Sayed, including again baselessly call him a “jihadist” and suggesting he would “have to go through a metal detector before he’s allowed to go into the Senate.”
“He knows I’ve got those Wolverine claws,” El-Sayed, a graduate of the University of Michigan, quipped.
El-Sayed also spoke of the personal nature of the attacks, saying his young daughters will get to see “the whole arc” of the campaign. “I hope I get to show them how even with those who are small-minded that you can bring whatever bigness is in them out of them.”
Justice Department to send election monitors to all 50 states
The Justice Department will send election monitors to all 50 states for the midterm elections, the largest-ever effort to observe polling locations for potential civil rights violations.
The department says that approximately 1,000 monitors — Justice Department lawyers, not law enforcement officers — will observe polling places for federal voting law violations like racial discrimination, voter intimidation, and failures to provide required language access. They are instructed not to interfere with voting.
Still, some Democrats and voting rights activists have raised concerns that this year’s monitors could be used to undermine the voting process or to collect evidence for long-shot lawsuits to interfere with the election outcomes.
In a statement to CNN, Justice Department spokesperson Keirsten Pels said that the monitors only role is to “observe for potential violations of federal law and report concerns to the Department, which the Department will review after Election Day and act where appropriate.”
While the mobilization to all 50 states is significantly broader than previous efforts, where monitors are dispatched can shift between election seasons and under different administrations. During the primary elections, the department sent more than 100 monitors to polling locations.
During the 2022 midterms, during the Biden administration, the Justice Department sent less than 400 monitors to 24 states.
Andrews gets bipartisan boost from two former South Carolina governors
Annie Andrews, the Democratic nominee in South Carolina’s increasingly competitive Senate race, was endorsed Monday by two former South Carolina governors: Republican David Beasley and Democrat Jim Hodges.
“We may have served as your governor from different political parties, but we agree South Carolina deserves better than more of the same political fighting,” Beasley says in a minutelong video, sitting next to Hodges.
Hodges defeated Beasley in his 1998 reelection campaign, a major breakthrough for the state’s Democrats at the time.
The joint endorsement gives Andrews, a pediatrician, another bipartisan boost as she looks to pull off an upset against GOP Sen. Darline Graham in the solidly red state. Warren Norman — the son of Graham’s former primary rival, Rep. Ralph Norman — announced Friday he would not vote for Graham and was leaning toward Andrews.
Beasley has been open about his disillusionment with the modern GOP. In an interview published last week by PBS News, Beasley declined to say whether he had left the party, instead calling himself an “American.”
National Republicans have been increasingly focused on the state in the final days of the midterms. The Republican National Committee announced earlier Monday that President Donald Trump would return to the state on Thursday for his second rally of the midterms there.
Stevens condemns ad tying Israel aid to affordability struggles
Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan, who lost a close Senate primary earlier this year, criticized an ad Monday that seeks to boost Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed by linking US aid to Israel with cost-of-living problems.
“This type of fearmongering about Israel is wrong,” Stevens wrote on X. “It is not a winning strategy for any state. It does nothing to help Michigan Democrats win up and down the ballot in eight days.”
Stevens lost to El-Sayed, a sharp critic of the Israeli government, in the August primary after she received tens of millions of dollars in backing tied to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Stevens has pledged to support Michigan Democrats in the general election but has hedged on backing El-Sayed, including Sunday on CNN.
The ad from Rebellion PAC, founded by “The Young Turks” host Cenk Uygur, depicts a couple struggling to afford groceries as they lament how much money the United States sends to Israel. At one point, the mother says they have to put eggs back because “we have to set that $7 aside — for killing Palestinians.”
It was not immediately clear where the ad was running and how much money was behind it. Uygur promoted it Friday on X, saying it would be “dropping in Michigan.”
“This ad is not affiliated in any way with the Abdul for Senate campaign,” El-Sayed spokesperson Roxie Richner said in a statement. “Abdul is focused on pushing back against Trump’s agenda that is raising prices for Michiganders. No one speaks for Abdul but himself and his campaign.”
Top GOP super PAC moves money into Mississippi, South Carolina and Kansas
A top Republican super PAC is moving more money into Senate races in Mississippi, South Carolina, and Kansas, three red states under pressure in a difficult midterms environment for the GOP.
According to an FEC filing yesterday, Senate Leadership Fund – the principal GOP super PAC focused on Senate races – reported new spending of $572,000 in Mississippi, $720,000 in Kansas, and nearly $1 million in South Carolina.
Republican candidates in all three races have struggled with fundraising for their campaigns, significantly outraised by the Democratic challengers in the first two weeks of October.
None of these races were on either party’s radar heading into the cycle, but the deteriorating political environment for Republicans and GOP candidate stumbles have created momentum for Democrats facing still long odds.
Over just the final two weeks of the midterms, the Senate race in Kansas is set to see a total of more than $48 million in ad spending, while South Carolina’s is set to see more than $20 million. Mississippi, in deep red territory and coming online even later than the others, is set to see a little over $5 million, according to AdImpact data.
Trump delivered on tax cuts. For some Nevada workers, it's not enough
In 2024, President Trump unveiled his signature “no tax on tips” proposal at this Las Vegas restaurant. Two years later, its owner tells CNN’s Kyung Lah he is dipping into his savings to stay afloat, and his workers are struggling to pay their bills.
In 2024, President Trump unveiled his signature “no tax on tips" proposal at this Las Vegas restaurant. Two years later, its owner tells CNN’s Kyung Lah he is dipping into his savings to stay afloat, and his workers are struggling to pay their bills.
Democrats’ lead in early voting looks like 2022. What does that mean?
Early voting data thus far shows that, in the states that have party registration, significantly more registered Democrats have cast ballots than registered Republicans.
The flipside of that, though, is that the partisan split of the voters casting those ballots doesn’t look a lot better for Democrats than it did at this point in the 2022 midterm elections. And 2022 was more or less a status-quo election rather than the big wave that Democrats are currently hoping for in 2026.
In 19 states that have party registration and comparable data from the data firm Catalist, registered Democrats have accounted for about 44% of ballots cast, compared to 30.4% for registered Republicans.
That 13.6 to 14-point advantage is significantly better than Democrats’ 3.1-point edge at this point in the 2024 presidential race. But it’s only slightly better than Democrats’ 10.3-point edge in the last midterm, in 2022.
So what does that mean?
As always with early voting, just because a registered member of a party casts a ballot doesn’t mean the person voted for that party’s candidate. The data also doesn’t account for many states that don’t have party registration, or who voters not registered with a party will support. So keep those caveats in mind.
But the 2022 comparison is interesting. Democrats gained one Senate seat but lost nine House seats (and the House majority) in that election. You could argue that Democrats would like the early-voting gap to be significantly bigger than that. But in states with key Senate races like Iowa, Maine, Nebraska and Ohio, the numbers are pretty similar.
But there are also flaws with the 2022 comparison. That’s because voters’ usual behaviors may have changed.
In 2022, after years of President Donald Trump maligning mail voting, 60% of voters who described themselves as Republicans cast their ballots on Election Day, according to the CNN Exit Poll, compared to just 42% of Democrats. But in 2024, after a concerted push to get Republicans to vote early, their Election Day share fell to 43%. (The Democratic share also fell, but by a smaller margin, to 35%.)
There’s still a week of early voting to go, but if that partisan early-voting margin doesn’t shift towards Republicans, they’ll need their voters to behave more like they did in 2022 than in 2024.
Dems vow action against corruption if elected, as Trump to rally in Mississippi. Catch up
With just over a week to go until Election Day, nearly 30 million ballots have already been cast in the midterms.
Several Democratic surrogates will be in the key Midwestern states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio today, while President Donald Trump will campaign in Mississippi for Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
Here’s the latest:
- A coalition of nearly 50 Democratic House candidates pledged in a letter released today to make anti-corruption legislation their top priority if elected.
- This comes as voters in a new CBS poll said that Republicans would produce more corruption than less corruption, while they were about evenly split on whether Democrats would do the same.
- Democrats are urging a judge to throw out a Trump administration lawsuit this week that seeks to potentially block certification of Alaska’s Senate election if the Republican incumbent loses.
- Anthropic’s artificial intelligence model Claude accessed publicly available voter data from a Georgia state website without human prompting, the AI firm said over the weekend.
- Sens. Ted Cruz and Tim Scott are coming out to help push Darline Graham over the finish line in South Carolina, in what has become a surprisingly competitive race to hold the Senate seat.
- The main House Democratic super PAC is spending for the first time on television advertisements targeting Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, in a sign of the party’s growing optimism about the battle for House control.
- Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins released a new ad featuring Bill Green, a former sportscaster and host of a program showcasing the state, who also cut ads for her Senate campaign in 2020.
CNN’s Maureen Chowdhury, Tierney Sneed, Sean Lyngaas, Manu Raju, Alison Main, Eric Bradner, Arlette Saenz and Aaron Blake contributed to this reporting.
Maryland governor insists state’s redistricting ballot measure is about democracy
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says his state’s redistricting ballot is a pushback against President Donald Trump, arguing Democrats should not forgo redrawing congressional maps while Republican-led states pursue mid-cycle map changes.
The measure, known as Question 3 on the ballot, would amend the Maryland constitution to specify that current constitutional language stating districts must be compact and contiguous, among other requirements, applies only to state legislative districts, not congressional ones. The amendment would help clear legal hurdles for state lawmakers to draw a new Democratic-friendly congressional map.
Former President Barack Obama recently released an ad urging Marylanders to vote “Yes” on Question 3, but a September survey conducted by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County found 53% of those polled opposed the amendment.
Asked by CNN’s Pamela Brown what he would say to those voters, Moore responded: “Question 3 is about our democracy. Who’s responsible. Who’s in charge. And a ‘Yes’ on Question 3 is a ‘No’ to Donald Trump.”
Moore said while he believes in national redistricting reform, Trump believes in unilateral redistricting reform: “He believes he should be in charge of what states are doing mid-decade redistricting and which ones are not.”
Believing in national reform is not enough if “we allow Donald Trump to steal elections,” he said.
If Republican states are pursuing mid-decade redistricting and “looking at their maps mid-decade, then I think so should Maryland, and so should other states as well,” Moore said.
CNN’s Ethan Cohen and Emilie Plesset contributed to this report.
Harris to join virtual fundraiser for South Carolina gubernatorial candidate
Former Vice President Kamala Harris will join a virtual fundraiser on Tuesday for Jermaine Johnson, the South Carolina Democrat running for governor.
Harris is billed as the special guest for the event, hosted by several prominent Democrats in the Palmetto State. There is a $100 minimum contribution.
Johnson, who convincingly won his primary outright in June, is facing Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson in November. Their race is not seen as being as competitive — and has not received the same outside attention or funding — as the US Senate race between Republican Darline Graham and Democrat Annie Andrews.
If elected, Johnson would be South Carolina’s first Black governor.
It marks a return for Harris to Palmetto State politics. The former VP was in South Carolina this spring for a state Democratic Party fundraiser and also for an event on her book tour.
As potential presidential hopefuls look to shore up support ahead of 2028, South Carolina will have outsized importance as it’s set to host the first Democratic primary.
Democratic Senate would conduct "vigorous oversight," Ossoff says
Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff said today that if Democrats win a Senate majority they should “conduct vigorous oversight of what everybody knows is the most corrupt presidential administration in American history.”
He also did not take impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump off the table but said the “priorities” of oversight should include the misuse of public funds, conflicts of interest and the Trump family’s “self-enrichment.”
“The president’s misconduct has already exceeded any prior standard for impeachment,” Ossoff told CNN during a press conference in Atlanta. “If the House sends the Senate articles of impeachment, then I’ll consider them on the merits as a juror.”
Ossoff, who is the only Democratic incumbent senator facing reelection in a state Trump won two years ago, appeared at a canvass kickoff event with former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee for governor in Georgia.
He rallied supporters, saying: “Do y’all remember how it feels to win?”
The president made a weekend visit to Georgia, which Ossoff seemed happy to point out.
“Donald Trump came to Georgia to remind Georgians of his failure,” Ossoff said. “It costs more than ever in American history to fill up your trucks, to power your home, to stock your fridge or to go to a doctor.”
It's not the first time that 2 Dan Sullivans are on the ballot in Alaska
Longtime Republican election lawyer Ben Ginsberg tells CNN this isn’t the first time Sen. Dan Sullivan has been joined on an Alaskan ballot by another Dan Sullivan.
