On the campaign trail
• Ohio governor’s race: Vice President JD Vance, who is campaigning with Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio today, warned state Republicans not to break ranks over the GOP gubernatorial candidate’s new campaign ad, which is drawing fierce criticism for featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent.
• New polling: In the closely watched Michigan Senate race, a new CNN Poll of Polls finds no clear leader between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers. Democrats enter the midterms with a 10-point advantage over Republicans nationwide, a CNN poll shows.
• Candidate detained: Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander has been released after being detained today by the Israeli military. He had been accompanying Palestinian olive pickers and activists in the occupied West Bank.
• Another red-state rally: Trump will campaign in South Carolina tonight for Sen. Darline Graham, who is in a tough contest against Democratic candidate Annie Andrews.
Updates
(23)Doctors defend El-Sayed's experience ahead of second Michigan Senate debate
More than 1,000 medical professionals from Michigan are defending the state’s Democratic Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, ahead of his second debate with Republican opponent Mike Rogers.
Rogers argued during their last debate that El-Sayed is “not really a doctor,” adding to scrutiny he’s faced throughout the race about his professional credentials. El-Sayed has a doctor of medicine degree but is not licensed to practice medicine and has instead focused his career on public health.
In an open letter, the medical professionals argued that his situation is not unusual.
The letter was organized by the Committee to Protect Health Care, which works to mobilize doctors in elections.
El-Sayed and Rogers are set to debate at 7 p.m. at the studios of WXYZ, ABC’s affiliate for Detroit.
Brad Lander says his group was "not a security risk" after West Bank olive field detention
New York Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander reiterated that he and other volunteers were “peacefully” accompanying Palestinian olive pickers and activists in the occupied West Bank when they were detained by the Israeli military today.
While Lander was released, dozens of volunteers and activists remain detained.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that the olive harvest near the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit was “uncoordinated,” and that harvesting in the area requires a request at the beginning of the season.
Lander refuted that claim as “a lie,” adding that the group was not in a closed military zone and did not cross any checkpoints.
The olive harvest is a “critical economic time” for Palestinian farmers, Lander said. “Palestinian farmers need the olives to survive, but settler violence is pushing them off their fields.”
Lander, who is Jewish, claimed that “it seemed like” Israeli settlers called the IDF “to put fear into the Palestinian farmers.”
Some context: Research from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) shows that settler violence is spreading into parts of the West Bank that have previously seen little or none. Since the olive harvest began on September 27, Israeli human rights group Yesh Din has documented more than 530 incidents of “settler and soldier violence.” Read CNN’s latest report on settler violence in the region.
CNN’s Zeena Saifi and Jeremy Diamond contributed reporting to this post.
Vance defends Ramaswamy amid backlash to controversial ad
Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday defended Vivek Ramaswamy amid bipartisan criticism of an ad from the Ohio gubernatorial nominee that features the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent.
“I’ve watched the Democrats throw every dirty trick in the political book at Vivek, and the whole time, and the whole time, Vivek has stood tall,” Vance said at a rally in Ohio.
“And now, the media and the Democrats in the state of Ohio are obsessed because, guess what? Vivek Ramaswamy had the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar,” Vance continued.
In pivoting to attacking Acton, the former director of the Ohio Department of Health, for her actions during the Covid pandemic, Vance argued that she couldn’t handle the heat of politics.
“Now I don’t want to be too mean, because when you’re mean to Amy Acton, she sticks the American media, and of course the Democrat Party operatives all across the state of Ohio, after you,” Vance said.
“I think that a person who is more worried about whether somebody says something mean about them, that person could never serve in the governor’s mansion of the great state of Ohio,” he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Vance said “politics is a tough business” and urged Republicans to “stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days.”
Ohio voters weigh in on Ramaswamy ad featuring Amy Acton’s estranged mother
CNN spoke with Ohio voters outside a midterm rally in Cincinnati featuring Vice President JD Vance and Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy about a campaign ad featuring Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother.
Ramaswamy’s campaign is drawing fierce pushback over the viral campaign video.
Kari Freudenberger, a substitute teacher and social worker from Madeira, is undecided and said she heard about the ad this morning.
She said the ad makes it less likely for her to support him, adding that while she does not know “much about Amy Acton and her plans and how she would fix the state, but… we are letting people get away with stuff and saying, ‘Oh, but their policies, but their policies.’ Why don’t we care about character and integrity anymore?”
John Zerbe, a 73-year-old physician from Cincinnati who is a Republican, said he is confident Ramaswamy will defeat Acton.
He went on to criticize Acton for her time as director of the Ohio Department of Health.
“I had to live through a few years of Doctor Acton managing Covid in the state of Ohio, and it was atrocious. So I can’t believe she’s even close to Vivek in the running,” he said.
Vance vows not to talk "about Jon Husted's ass" in praising the Ohio senator
Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday urged voters to “work our tails off” to elect Ohio GOP Sen. Jon Husted. But unlike his boss, that was as far as he was willing to go in addressing Husted’s — or anyone else’s — physique.
“Don’t worry, I’m not talking about Jon Husted’s ass,” Vance joked. “I’m not talking about it.”
Vance’s remarks came as President Donald Trump has repeatedly commented on Husted’s physical attributes, including that he had admiringly “looked at his ass.”
“I said, ‘His ass is like, it’s like a pile of muscle,’” Trump said during a rally in Ohio earlier this week.
Speaking at his own event in Ohio on Wednesday, Vance instead stuck to praising Husted’s political and legislative accomplishments, highlighting that he’d “already had several bills signed into law” despite being a senator for less than two years.
“What could I possibly say about Jon Husted that Donald J. Trump has not already said?” Vance joked at one point. “What I am going to tell you is that over the last two years, in less than one-third of a Senate term, Jon Husted has gotten more done than most United States senators get done in 10 years.”
Despite Vance's comments, Ohio GOP leaders have largely been quiet on Ramaswamy ad
Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday warned “elected Republicans” against criticizing the controversial GOP ad in the Ohio governor’s race featuring the estranged mom of Democratic nominee Amy Acton.
But few prominent Ohio Republicans have been speaking out about it.
The campaign of Sen. Jon Husted, who’s in a highly competitive reelection race, has not responded to a request for comment on the ad, despite pressure to do so by his Democratic opponent, former Sen. Sherrod Brown. Gov. Mike DeWine also hasn’t said anything, even though Acton worked as the former state health director under him.
One outlier has been a member of DeWine’s Cabinet, Lydia Mihalik. She said Tuesday on X that the ad crossed a line.
“We can disagree on plenty of things without losing our sense of decency,” said Mihalik, director of the state’s Department of Development. “I don’t have to agree with Amy Acton’s politics to believe that exploiting someone’s childhood trauma is wrong.”
One Ohio Republican activist, Nick Owens, told CNN the ad is “frankly despicable” and would help Acton raise “a lot of money.” Owens, who calls himself a lifelong Republican, is former county GOP chair in the state who’s been organizing opposition to data centers.
Rogers and Hinson distance themselves from some Trump policies, but not rallies
Mike Rogers and Ashley Hinson were among the first two Republican Senate candidates to distance themselves from some of President Donald Trump’s policies, but they won’t be keeping their distance when he visits their respective states in the coming days.
When the president arrives in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday, Hinson will be on hand in the most conservative corner of the state, aides said, hoping to benefit from rallying Trump’s loyal base.
And Rogers will join Trump when he travels to Port Huron, Michigan, on Sunday, according to GOP aides familiar with the campaign’s plans, who see it as a chance to fire up voters in a state the president won two years ago.
Rogers was among the first GOP candidates to call for an end to the Iran war. He has also forcefully broken with Trump on his trade war with Canada. He appears in a TV ad sitting at a bar with a bottle of Labatt Blue, a Canadian lager, to drive home his point.
Hinson quickly followed suit, calling for a quick and successful end to the Iran war, saying the rising costs of diesel and other goods have been too punishing for Iowans.
Republicans close to both campaigns told CNN that they hope the benefits of appearing with Trump, such as firing up his devoted supporters, outweigh any political disadvantages of motivating Trump critics.
“When the president comes to town at this stage of a campaign, it’s better to go than not go — and hope for the best,” a longtime GOP strategist involved in one of the races said.
New polling finds no clear leader in Michigan Senate race between El-Sayed and Rogers
With less than two weeks until Election Day, newly released polling sheds some light on the current state of the race in some closely watched contests across the country.
Michigan: In the state’s highly competitive Senate race, a new CNN Poll of Polls finds no clear leader, with Democrat Abdul El-Sayed polling at an average of 49% among likely voters and Republican Mike Rogers at an average of 47%. The Poll of Polls includes four surveys conducted in September and October, from Marist College, Fox News, New York Times/Siena and Washington Post/GMU Schar School.
Ohio: In the Buckeye State’s gubernatorial race, a new CNN Poll of Polls average finds Democrat Amy Acton leading Republican Vivek Ramaswamy among likely voters, 50% to 44%. That average includes polling from CNN, Bowling Green State University/YouGov, NYT/Siena and Marist College.
Other states that have been less heavily polled also saw some new numbers this week:
Georgia: In the Peach State’s Senate race, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution Poll conducted by the University of Georgia finds Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff with an 8-point lead over Republican Mike Collins, 48% to 40%, among likely voters. AJC/UGA’s polling defines “likely voters” as those who’ve voted in the last two general elections or this year’s primary and also say they intend to vote in this election.
Florida: A new poll from the University of North Florida finds Republican Senate candidate Ashley Moody with a 4-point edge over Democrat Angie Nixon, 49% to 45%, among likely voters — a tighter race than in the organization’s last poll in July.
Vance chastises Republicans for their criticism of controversial Ohio governor ad
Vice President JD Vance lashed out today at Republicans who criticized a controversial attack ad from their party’s candidate for Ohio governor that featured his rival’s estranged mother.
“Politics is a tough business,” Vance said during a visit to the state, “and my message to my fellow elected Republicans is: if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days.”
Vance did not explicitly endorse the ad being aired by Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The spot drew backlash from Republicans Nikki Haley and Meghan McCain, though Ohio Republicans have been more quiet.
The ad featured Democrat Amy Acton’s estranged mother criticizing her daughter. Acton has said she has not seen her mother since she was about 12 years old, when a man her mother married abused her and faced criminal charges.
“Whether the ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern,” Vance said. “What is my concern is who’s going to govern the next generation of American government.”
“Look, have the opinion you want to have on that ad. If you think it was too tough, say it was too tough. If you think it wasn’t tough enough, say that,” he went on. “But I have to admit that I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America.”
Vance is scheduled to attend a campaign event with Ramaswamy later on Wednesday. Ramaswamy’s campaign said it was putting $4 million behind the ad.
In an interview released earlier in the day, Vance acknowledged that complicated family dynamics are “always very tough,” but said he didn’t want to get involved in Acton’s specific circumstance.
“My prayers for her and her family,” Vance told EWTN. “Getting in the middle of that drama is not something I want to do. I think that she made a mistake and she’s make a lot of mistakes as a public office.”
Illinois first lady donates $500k to Ohio Democrats and Amy Acton
Illinois first lady MK Pritzker, the wife of Gov. JB Pritzker, announced today she was donating $500,000 to support Ohio Democrats and Amy Acton, the party’s gubernatorial nominee in the Buckeye State.
Pritzker in a statement referenced the ad campaign produced by Acton’s opponent, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, that featured Acton’s estranged mother and drew criticism from even some Republicans.
Individual campaign contribution limits in Ohio are capped at $16,615.67 per election for statewide candidates. A spokesperson for Pritzker said she donated that amount to Acton’s campaign, and the remainder to the Ohio Democratic Party.
Darline Graham's campaign performance is under increased GOP scrutiny
“Darline is not Lindsey” is a phrase often repeated around South Carolina these days.
Even after a crash course in politics this summer following her brother’s sudden death, Darline Graham, the candidate, remains very different from Lindsey Graham, the candidate. Her campaign performance is coming under increased scrutiny as Republicans in South Carolina and Washington rush to bolster her with millions in new ad spending.
Democratic nominee Annie Andrews is newly competitive in a state President Donald Trump won two years ago by 18 points. A Democrat hasn’t won a Senate seat in South Carolina since 1998.
US congressional candidate released after being detained by Israeli military in West Bank
New York Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander says he was released from Israeli military custody “with a ‘warning’” after he was detained today while accompanying Palestinian olive pickers and activists in the occupied West Bank.
Video shared by activist groups shows the former New York comptroller being loaded onto a bus by an Israeli police officer.
An ally of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Lander won the Democratic primary for a US House seat earlier this year and is expected to win in the midterm election in two weeks.
Lander, who is Jewish, posted a photo of himself detained on a bus with other volunteers on X, writing: “The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know.”
Dozens of volunteers and activists remain detained, with Lander calling for their immediate release.
Well-known Israeli activist Andrey X, who regularly provides protective presence to Palestinians in the West Bank, was also detained, according to footage shared with CNN by his colleague, Jasper Nathaniel.
Some 90 volunteers from the Israeli organization Rabbis for Human Rights were accompanying Palestinian farmers, alongside Lander, to land they haven’t been able to reach in three years when they were detained in the village of Nahalin near Bethlehem, according to a statement from the group.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the olive harvest near the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit was “uncoordinated,” saying harvesting in the area requires a request at the beginning of the season.
Some context: The olive harvest season in the West Bank has become synonymous with settler violence, often backed by Israeli forces. This year especially has seen daily attacks on farmers and communities who rely on harvesting for their livelihoods.
This post has been updated with Lander’s release and additional details.
Trump’s approval rating stands at a record low, CNN poll shows
President Donald Trump’s approval rating stands at a record low of 32%, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, and voters express broad dissatisfaction with both the economy and the state of the country nearly two years into unified GOP control of the federal government.
Trump’s approval rating is a new low by one point, and 7 points lower than his approval rating just before the 2018 midterms.
The share who strongly approve of his presidency stands at just 13%, down 17 points from Trump’s last midterms.
Americans are judging Trump’s performance against a political landscape that looks very different than it did eight years ago. In the autumn of 2018, a 55% majority of the public said things in the US were generally going well, and 69% called economic conditions good. Weeks before the 2026 midterms, those numbers stand at 30% and 26%, respectively.
And while in 2018, the economy was a bright spot for Trump – most approved of his handling of the issue, even while his ratings stood underwater overall – it’s now the factor most weighing him down.
Trump’s approval ratings on economic issues are lower than his rating overall, with 27% approving on the economy and just 23% on inflation.
Two-thirds of Americans, including roughly one-third of Republicans, say that his policies have made economic conditions worse. And even as majorities say that Trump has gone too far in using his presidential power and overseeing deportations, nearly 7 in 10 say he has not gone far enough in trying to reduce prices.
Witkoff's praise for Putin strikes a jarring note as Russia dragged into midterm elections
President Donald Trump has often complained that the Democratic Party is obsessed with “Russia, Russia, Russia.”
But it’s the president who dragged his deferential relationship with President Vladimir Putin into the current midterm election campaign, with his sanctions-busting diesel deal with Moscow and by lashing out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Still, there was some good news on Wednesday with the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American jailed in Russia for more than four years on charges of fighting for Ukraine, who has been in poor health.
But Trump envoy Steve Witkoff’s latest shower of praise for Putin is likely to cause more pain in Ukraine and incite more pre-election criticism of the president’s Russia policy ahead of the midterms.
The word “humanitarian” rarely springs to mind to describe Putin, who launched an unprovoked assault on Ukraine that has killed tens of thousands and has been accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
And while flattery is part of diplomacy, Witkoff’s pattern of repeatedly lionizing Putin will only fuel concerns in Ukraine and among its allies that the Trump administration is hardly an honest broker in the war.
Everyone will be happy that Hubbard is free. But GOP candidates can expect more tough questions over Trump and Russia on the trail.
Trump’s political machine still has nearly $181 million available to unleash in midterms
President Donald Trump’s political operation entered the final weeks of the midterm campaign with nearly $181 million in cash reserves to help boost his party’s House and Senate candidates, new filings show.
Trump’s team already has spent staggering sums on the election — $300 million by his own account — and the balance sheets of the political committees aligned with Trump show he has ample resources to fulfill his pledge to spend $400 million by Election Day.
His main super PAC, MAGA Inc., has brought in more than $464 million, an unprecedented sum for a term-limited president. Donations to it from wealthy individuals and corporations have helped fuel advertising and voter outreach across multiple competitive contests this fall as the president works to salvage the GOP’s majority in Congress.
MAGA Inc.’s money has financed two other super PACs, No Going Back PAC Inc., and Safety & Affordability PAC Inc., that are spending heavily in the midterms but whose names are not closely associated with Trump’s MAGA brand.
In all, MAGA Inc. has transferred $225 million to those committees through October 14, records with the Federal Election Commission show.
Data from AdImpact shows the two affiliated super PACs put those funds to quick use — No Going Back PAC has since spent more than $160 million on advertising, with eight-figure buys for key Senate races in Michigan, Ohio and New Hampshire, and millions more directed to other Senate contests and dozens of House races.
In addition, Safety & Affordability PAC has spent more than $40 million on ads, according to AdImpact, focused solely on House races, with top targets including House races in Arizona’s 1st District, Michigan’s 7th District, and Maine’s 2nd District.
The new FEC filings also show that some of the country’s richest individuals continue to help underwrite Trump’s political spending.
In September alone, three wealthy donors provided three-quarters of the $24 million raised by MAGA Inc. that month. Casino mogul Steve Wynn donated $8 million, while Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and Wisconsin roofing billionaire Diane Hendricks each donated $5 million.
Viral campaign ad against Democratic candidate draws criticism from some Republicans
A controversial campaign ad from Ohio’s Republican gubernatorial nominee has drawn criticism from some of his fellow Republicans.
Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign said yesterday that it would launch a $4 million ad campaign with the viral video, which features his opponent’s estranged mother.
Nikki Haley, Ramaswamy’s former rival in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, said the video was the latest evidence that Ramaswamy is “a bad guy.” “It’s a shame he continues to get away with it,” she wrote on X.
Some other GOP commentators called the ad a mistake. Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, said on X that the ad was “dastardly” and “never should have been created.”
Ohio Republicans, however, were more quiet. Ramaswamy and other statewide GOP candidates were preparing for a statewide bus tour starting on Friday.
Sherrod Brown, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Ohio, said on X that the video was “disgusting” and that his opponent, GOP Sen. Jon Husted, should condemn it. CNN has reached out to Husted’s campaign for comment.
How Democratic Party expectations for the midterms could be inflated
Expectations for the Democratic Party in the election are so high that one could envision a fair amount of disappointment in the party — and celebration among Republicans — if Democrats don’t take control of both chambers of Congress.
CNN’s Zach Wolf explains why expectations could be inflated.
Expectations for the Democratic party in the November election 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. CNN's Zach Wolf explains why expectations could be inflated.
At least one Bush in Texas is backing James Talarico
The era of the Bush Republicans may be long over in Texas, but how members of the family vote still draws attention, particularly when it’s for a Democrat.
Neil Bush, the youngest brother of former President George W. Bush, said Tuesday that he cast his ballot for James Talarico, the Democratic nominee in the hotly-contested Texas Senate race.
He said that his vote was motivated by his “deep concern about Ken Paxton’s record and genuine admiration for (Talarico’s) character and principles.”
Bush, a Texas businessman who leads the George H. W. Bush Points of Light foundation, said he remains a Republican, “but character matters more than party affiliation.”
One of the biggest questions hanging over the Texas Senate race is the degree to which Talarico will be able to build a coalition of Republicans and independents to join his Democratic supporters. Bush said he has never met Talarico, but has been impressed by him from afar.
“I voted against a style of politics that I believe has damaged our country,” Bush wrote. “More importantly, I voted for the kind of character and leadership I hope will help heal it.”
CNN’s Jamie Gangel contributed to this post.
Democrats have 10-point national advantage over Republicans, according to CNN poll
The Democratic Party, riding a tide of anti-Donald Trump sentiment, enters the final stretch of the midterm campaign with a 10-point advantage over Republicans nationwide in voters’ choice in their own congressional district, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.
More than three-quarters of voters see this election as their chance to change things up in Washington, the poll finds. Voters express broad dissatisfaction with both the economy and the state of the country nearly two years into unified GOP control of the federal government.
Those sentiments work against the GOP in its effort to hold on to Congress, even as some voters express skepticism that a Democratic win would bring meaningful improvement.
Behind the numbers: Democrats’ 49% to 39% advantage among registered voters nationally is the largest in CNN polling since just before the 2020 election, and rests on wide margins among traditional pillars of Democratic support such as Black voters (who favor the Democrats by 70 percentage points), Latino voters (+40), women (+21) and younger adults (+31), as well as a steep advantage among independents (+15) and those who say they’re extremely motivated to vote (+18).
Even with those broad advantages, the scale of the Democratic Party’s potential gains could be limited by mid-decade redistricting and the large number of competitive races in GOP-friendly territory.
Should a 10-point margin in favor of the Democrats materialize in the nationwide popular vote, that would represent roughly a 13-point swing from the nationwide popular vote for House in 2024. But even a swing that large may not ultimately translate into deep-red pickups for the party, as many of this year’s competitive campaigns are playing out in places that Trump carried by double digits.
First on CNN: Pro-renewable energy super PAC expands list to target 8 GOP candidates
A pro-renewable energy super PAC that’s already helped defeat three House Republicans in primaries is expanding its target list in the final days of the midterm elections.
Invest in Tomorrow Coalition is launching a $1 million mail campaign opposing eight House GOP incumbents and candidates in competitive races, according to an announcement first shared with CNN. The group said each candidate has “turned on the solar and clean energy industry” through their public positions and votes.
The new targets include six House Republicans running for reelection: Reps. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Tom Barrett of Michigan, Robb Wittman of Virgina, Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, Monica De La Cruz of Texas and Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida. They also includes two GOP candidates for open House seats, Brinker Harding in Nebraska and Jim Desmond in California.
The super PAC is already spending $15 million to defeat seven other House Republican candidates. And in primaries earlier this year, it helped beat Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Ralph Norman of South Carolina, who were seeking higher office, as well as Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee, who was running for reelection.
