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(46)Key developments
• Michigan divisions: Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed insisted his rift with former primary rival Haley Stevens is irrelevant to voters. He also denounced a controversial ad by an outside group that has been central to the tensions.
• Final stretch: Republican candidates in five states got a virtual boost with President Donald Trump’s telerally appearances. He has reinstated rallies in Iowa and Kansas tomorrow despite questioning the merits of his remaining in-person campaign stops.
• Alaska ballot controversy: As party officials await a ruling in a Justice Department lawsuit over an alleged Democratic scheme to stack the ballot in Alaska’s Senate race, an FBI probe has extended to campaign donors.
• Texas battleground: Democrat James Talarico’s Senate campaign has energized his party in the Lone Star State — and elicited dire warnings from Republicans.
Central Arizona county reminds voters the “president is not on the ballot”
The recorder’s office for a county in central Arizona reminded voters late Saturday that President Donald Trump “is not on the ballot” this midterm election.
“We are receiving many calls asking why that race is missing,” the Yavapai Recorder’s X post reads.
Trump has repeatedly told voters during his nationwide GOP rally sprint to “pretend” he is on the ballot.
In the last two weeks, the president has made appearances in nearly two dozen different rallies, stopping in states like Texas, Ohio, and Florida. Trump wraps his weekend traveling to rallies in Iowa and Kansas.
Yavapai County is mostly covered by Arizona’s 2nd and 8th congressional districts, both where Republican incumbents are running for reelection. Trump won both districts during the 2024 presidential election.
Trump unloads on former personal lawyer after report of $50 million employment deal
President Donald Trump unloaded on his former personal lawyer Alina Mildon on Saturday, saying reporting from The New York Times that she secured a $50 million employment deal was “terrible” and “obnoxious.”
“I thought it was terrible,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago Halloween party on Saturday night. “I told her, and I said I don’t want her paid.”
The New York Times reported last week that Mildon secured a deal for $50 million over four years to work as general counsel for a newly established company set up by the daughter of Julio Herrera Velutini, who was seeking a pardon from Trump. The deal was finalized when Mildon was serving as US attorney in New Jersey, The Times reported.
In response on X, Habba said, “The Fake News still seems very confused by this so let me be even more clear: I was never paid to secure a pardon. I never met with anyone at the White House or DOJ about a pardon. I’ve never done any work in any capacity whatsoever for a pardon for anyone, period.”
Earlier this month, two of Trump’s top political advisers donated consulting fees they made working in the Balkans on behalf of a pro-Russian government to Trump’s library — after he floated firing them.
At Mar-a-Lago Halloween party, Trump says he's not spooked by midterms
This year’s Halloween decorations at Mar-a-Lago are anything but subtle, with strobing green lights, cheetah print and a jungle-themed extravaganza fit for Donald Trump’s taste for spectacle. But the president says his attention is fixed only on the approaching midterms, just three days away.
“I came as Donald Trump,” the president told reporters, showing off his blue suit jacket, the American flag lapel pin catching a flash of strobe lights. He’s been so busy that he didn’t have the time to get a costume together, he said.
Trump has headlined more than 20 of midterm rallies this month and spent Saturday afternoon dialing into telerallies in support of Republican candidates running in key races across five states.
With less than 72 hours until Election Day, Trump maintained victory is within the GOP’s reach, despite narrowing polls. He previewed his upcoming rallies, including in Iowa and Kansas tomorrow.
“I think we’re going to do very well. I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people. And you know why? Because of the rallies,” he said.
“Can we get now to Halloween?” he asked the reporters. “I’ll have about 15 minutes of Halloween, and then I go back to work.”
"You got to give her credit," Trump says about Stevens amid her rift with El-Sayed
President Donald Trump weighed in on the rift between Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens and Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, giving Stevens “credit” and amplifying baseless attacks against El-Sayed.
It comes after Stevens, who ran against El-Sayed in the Michigan Democratic primary, issued a statement aimed at pressuring the nominee into denouncing an outside group’s advertisement that blamed US foreign aid for Israel for Americans’ struggles with high costs.
“Well, they’re really fighting. Nobody wants Abdul, and Stevens is in there fighting,” he said at his Mar-a-Lago estate, adding, “You got to give her credit.”
“You can’t live with him,” Trump said before repeating baseless claims that El-Sayed is a “jihadist” who “hates Black people, hates Jewish people, and, I think probably hates all people.”
“If he won, that’d be a devastating blow for our country,” Trump said.
With just days to go in the midterms cycle, here’s where things stand
President Donald Trump made a series of telerally appearances Saturday in a final midterm sprint before Tuesday’s election. The president has reinstated rallies in Iowa and Kansas for Sunday after they were canceled earlier this week.
With a few more days to go in this cycle, more than 50 million Americans have cast their ballots early, with Texas leading the count at 7.4 million ballots.
Where things stand in the midterms:
Michigan Democrat tensions: The public rift between Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens has become a distraction from key issues, El-Sayed told reporters Saturday. He sidestepped questions from reporters on the drama and denounced an outside group’s controversial ad that has been central to the divisions. Longtime Michigan lawmaker Debbie Dingell said she is the one who spoke to Stevens, amid reports that El-Sayed disinvited his former primary opponent.
Alaska candidate controversy: FBI agents have begun visiting the homes of Daniel J. Sullivan’s campaign donors in the Alaska Senate race, a sign that the probe into the state’s ballot has reached a new phase. Meanwhile, Montana Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy posted to social media that Democratic candidate Mary Peltola should not be seated in the Senate if she wins in Alaska. While there has been speculation about whether some Senate Republicans might try to prevent Peltola from being sworn in should she win, such a move has never been done before.
Alleged noncitizen voters: An attorney for the Department of Justice acknowledged in a federal court hearing that the federal government’s databases of potential noncitizen voters contains errors. The Department of Homeland Security and DOJ have demanded that election officials in multiple states use their data to sequester those votes so they can be examined.
Voting scrutiny pushback: California Gov. Gavin Newsom urged the state’s federal chief district judges to closely scrutinize any attempts to seize election materials before November’s election results are certified, saying such seizures would pose a risk “to election integrity.” Newsom added that his plea is preemptive but he cited threats of prosecution from DOJ officials against election workers who resist federal demands concerning ballots cast by alleged noncitizens.
CNN’s Logan Schiciano, Ethan Cohen, Katherine Koretski, Danya Gainor and Kyung Lah contributed to this report.
Newsom urges judges to scrutinize any efforts to seize California election materials
California Gov. Gavin Newsom urged the state’s four federal chief district judges to closely scrutinize any requests for search warrants seeking to seize election materials before results from November’s election are certified, saying such seizures would pose a risk “to election integrity.”
In a Saturday letter, Newsom argued that since California law already safeguards potential evidence of ballot-related wrongdoing, there is “no legitimate law enforcement reason to seize ballots, ballot materials, and equipment needed to process and tabulate ballots.”
“Indeed, the only reason to do so would be to interfere in a State’s lawful counting of ballots and certifying the results of the election,” he said.
Newsom added that his plea is preemptive, as he is “unaware that there are any such matters at this time.” But he cited threats of prosecution from Justice Department officials against election workers who resist federal demands concerning ballots cast by alleged noncitizens.
A federal judge on Friday imposed an emergency order barring the Trump administration from threatening election officials with prosecution or taking other actions that “threaten, intimidate or coerce” election officials to make changes in ballot processing procedures on claims that voters are ineligible. The DOJ has appealed the order.
"He phones it in": Shapiro calls out Trump for not visiting Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro called out President Donald Trump for not visiting the Keystone State ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections as several Republican congressmen battle for their political lives.
The president held a telerally earlier today for candidates in Pennsylvania as he spends the day at his Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida.
Shapiro spoke with CNN after an Allentown rally in support of Bob Brooks, the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District. Republican Ryan Mackenzie narrowly won the district in 2024.
Shapiro, widely seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender, has put a tremendous amount of political capital into flipping the 7th District and three other congressional seats blue.
Shapiro also said he was concerned about the possibility of the Trump administration interfering with Tuesday’s election.
“I will not let anyone — Trump or his enablers — thwart the will of the people here in Pennsylvania,” he said.
Lawmaker says she's the one who told Stevens "this isn't working" ahead of El-Sayed events
The rift between Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens “has become a total distraction,” Rep. Debbie Dingell said Saturday.
Asked by CNN’s Jessica Dean about reports that El-Sayed disinvited his former primary opponent from upcoming campaign events, the longtime Michigan lawmaker said she is the one who spoke to Stevens.
She added that media coverage of tensions between the two Democrats is distracting from more critical issues, and that “there’s nothing to be gained by the two of them being in the same place.”
Dingell said she told Stevens to focus on matters impacting voters, such as affordability and healthcare.
Some background: Stevens has not participated in any of El-Sayed’s previous events in her home base of Oakland County — or anywhere else in the state. El-Sayed also hasn’t called Stevens in months, CNN previously reported.
Nonetheless, Stevens has said she will be casting her ballot for El-Sayed come Tuesday.
CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere contributed to this report.
El-Sayed says rift with Stevens is a distraction from key issues
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed told CNN that comments by Rep. Haley Stevens, his former primary rival, over a controversial outside ad are not relevant to his campaign.
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed said Saturday that the deepening public rift with his former primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, is irrelevant to voters, sidestepping questions from reporters on the unfolding drama at a campaign stop in Sterling Heights.
When asked whether he wanted Stevens to attend a planned joint appearance Sunday at a local church with South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, El-Sayed responded: “I would rather not distract from the key issues of this campaign.”
He added: “I want to be talking about getting money out of politics, putting money in pockets, passing ‘Medicare for All.’”
CNN reported Friday that El-Sayed’s campaign has asked Stevens to skip all campaign events in the race’s closing days, according to a person familiar with the matter.
El-Sayed: "I do not agree with the contents" of controversial ad
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed on Saturday said he didn’t agree with an outside group’s controversial ad that Rep. Haley Stevens, his former primary opponent, has called for him to denounce.
The two traded barbs Friday when Stevens issued a statement aimed at pressuring El-Sayed into denouncing the ad, which blames Americans’ struggles with high costs on US foreign aid for Israel. El-Sayed responded in a statement Friday night that Stevens “seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.”
Speaking to reporters at a campaign stop in Sterling Heights today, El-Sayed said his team had no involvement in the ad, adding: “I do not agree with the contents of that ad.”
“I just really don’t think any of this matters,” he said, arguing that voters are more concerned with the cost of living than the dispute between the two Democrats.
His remarks come as the rift deepens between the two Democrats. El-Sayed hasn’t called Stevens in months — and there are no plans for that to change before Election Day, CNN has reported.
GOP candidates in five states get virtual boost from Trump
President Donald Trump spent Saturday afternoon at his Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida dialing into telerallies in support of Republican candidates running in key races across five states.
Trump stumped virtually for candidates in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and Michigan, according to a series of posts on his Truth Social account. He also said he joined two calls to promote candidates from Florida — including some who joined him at a Friday rally in Daytona Beach.
While Trump has crisscrossed the country in October, headlining more than 20 midterm rallies, delivering his message virtually allows him to maximize his presence in competitive districts, officials previously told CNN.
The president was originally scheduled to rally in Kansas today, but that event was canceled and then moved to Sunday.
Some Republican operatives quietly welcomed the initial decision to scrap the rally, as well one in Iowa, in favor of virtual events, pointing out that Trump is less likely during telerallies to veer off topic.
The president has emphasized his busy schedule in the lead-up to Election Day, telling his supporters this week, “The one thing I can say is that no president has ever worked so hard on a midterm.”
More than 1.4 million early votes cast across New York
As the last weekend of early voting comes to a close, more than 1.4 million New Yorkers have cast their ballots early, according to data released by the State Board of Elections.
Voters at a Mount Kisco, New York, polling site today told CNN they are feeling confident the 17th Congressional District will flip back to Democrats.
Alyssa Taylor, a teacher who lives in Westchester County, said her top issue is the high cost of living. She said many of her colleagues struggle to afford daily expenses in the county.
Mount Kisco is a small blue dot in a sea of purple. The 17th District, about an hour north of Manhattan, is represented by GOP Rep. Mike Lawler and has been a swing area in recent years.
Richard Anfang, a longtime Westchester County resident, said he considers voting a civic obligation. He believes the district is likely to flip back to Democratic control.
The district’s race between Lawler and Democrat Cait Conley is considered a tossup — one of many that could determine the balance of power in Congress.
"Under no circumstances" should Peltola become senator, GOP Sen. Tim Sheehy says
Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy said Saturday that Democratic candidate Mary Peltola should not be seated in the Senate if she wins in Alaska amid a controversy over the state’s ballot.
“This was a fraud perpetrated against the people of Alaska,” the Montana senator wrote on X. “Under no circumstances should Mary Peltola be seated if she wins an election in a fraudulent manner.”
Alaska has been at the center of a political controversy over how a second candidate named Dan Sullivan ended up on the state’s Senate ballot, which has sparked lawsuits, criminal investigations and threats to stop certification of the election if incumbent GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan is defeated by Peltola.
The turmoil comes on the heels of a New York Times report published Wednesday describing an alleged coordinated effort linked to Peltola’s campaign.
While there has been speculation about whether some Senate Republicans might try to prevent Peltola from being sworn in should she win, such a dramatic move has never happened before.
Senate practices dictate that if a challenge is made to the accuracy of the election results, the matter is referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration for investigation. The committee’s findings and recommendations would eventually circle back to the full Senate, which could then decide to expel the individual on a majority vote.
This was last an issue when Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat from Louisiana, was first elected in 1996. She was sworn in even as her opponent alleged voter fraud. A lengthy Senate investigation cleared her.
CNN’s Jeremy Herb and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.
DOJ says database of alleged noncitizen voters has "not been perfect"
An attorney for the Department of Justice acknowledged in a federal court hearing Saturday in Washington, DC, that the federal government’s databases of potential noncitizen voters contains errors, a point of contention in efforts to stop the Trump administration from requiring state and local officials to set aside those ballots.
The Department of Homeland Security and DOJ have continued to allege they have built lists of hundreds of thousands of suspected noncitizen voters, demanding state and local election officials in multiple states use their data to sequester those votes so they can be examined.
District Judge Tanya Chutkan pressed DOJ attorney Elizabeth Shapiro on whether US citizens have been falsely accused of illegally voting based on the federal government’s database.
“I believe that’s correct, your honor,” Shapiro said.
Chutkan then asked whether the federal government’s database, being full of inaccuracies, show that efforts by DHS and DOJ are not “designed to ferret out fraudulent voting but really to scare people?”
Chutkan added: “The government has been wrong. In fact, they’ve very rarely been right.”
“I cannot disagree with you that the government has made mistakes,” Shapiro said. “Obviously they have not been perfect.”
Plaintiffs who filed the initial lawsuit are asking the judge to issue an order stopping DHS and DOJ from sending the flawed databases to election officials, arguing that they have already resulted in spreading fear among lawful voters of being accused of voting illegally.
A judge in California has already ordered DHS and the Justice Department to stop threatening state and local election workers with criminal prosecution if they do not bend to demands that they halt ballot processing for those on the government’s list.
The Justice Department is appealing that ruling.
FBI investigation into Alaska Senate race extends to campaign donors
FBI agents have begun visiting the homes of Daniel J. Sullivan’s campaign donors in the Alaska Senate race, a sign that the criminal investigation into the state’s ballot has reached a new phase.
“It’s astounding,” Alaska state Rep. Rebecca Himschoot told CNN about the searches. “This is just out of control and I’m frustrated that these resources are being used to knock on doors in person.”
Himschoot, who is listed as nonpartisan in Alaska, said a constituent in Sitka reached out to report that two agents came to their home Friday afternoon. The constituent, said Himschoot, donated to Daniel J. Sullivan, the independent candidate who is not the GOP incumbent, Sen. Dan Sullivan. The agents arrived to the remote island community that is most easily reachable by plane with a simple question to the donor: Did they know which Dan Sullivan they had donated money to?
The agents showed their FBI badges and were polite, according to Himschoot. But the state lawmaker’s concern is the use of federal resources and that the election is just three days away.
“That’s my greatest fear,” Himschoot said on whether politics is directing a federal law enforcement action. “It’s a bizarre choice to make in my mind to use the resources of the agency to send agents to Sitka and Petersburg.”
Himschoot said her community has been fighting for federal resources to deal with other problems such as senior citizen scams and human trafficking.
A retired schoolteacher, said she also donated to Daniel J. Sullivan, a fellow retired teacher who lives in her district. The representative defended Daniel J. Sullivan as an upstanding member of her community who she has known for years, saying the FBI has not contacted her about her donation.
But Himschoot said, federal agents are welcome to come knock on her door. “I’m sitting here. I will even give them a cup of coffee.”
The Associated Press reported on Friday that several other Daniel J. Sullivan donors were visited by FBI agents.
In purple New York district, Democrat Cait Conley is courting Republicans
Democratic nominee Cait Conley says her strategy to flip New York’s competitive 17th Congressional District includes directly appealing to Republicans — even voters who previously supported incumbent GOP Rep. Mike Lawler.
Conley, a former Army officer and decorated combat veteran, is fanning out across the district today, making stops with New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and swinging by a Halloween event in Mount Kisco.
Despite having 70,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, the 17th Congressional District has been a solidly purple area in recent years, making it one of the few swing districts in deep blue New York.
Lawler, who took office in 2023, has positioned himself as a bipartisan lawmaker who is sometimes willing to break with President Donald Trump. In the final campaign stretch, the Republican has tried to paint Conley as a far-left Democrat aligned with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The 17th District is north of Manhattan, home to commuter suburbs and smaller communities where Mamdani is not as popular.
“Mike Lawler has tried very hard to try to lie about who I am, and voters, when I meet them, they don’t buy it. I’m not a member of the DSA,” Conley said, referring to the Democratic Socialists of America.
Ted Cruz warns GOP on Texas: "We could lose every single statewide race"
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz sent a stark warning to his fellow Republicans on Friday, saying they could lose the crucial Senate race in his home state of Texas, along with “every single statewide race” in this year’s midterms.
Texas leads all states with more than 7.4 million ballots cast early, according to data from the secretary of state. Cruz pointed to the early-vote count as evidence that “Democrats are showing up. They’re energized. They hate, hate, hate Donald Trump.”
“Texas is excruciatingly close. Understand, we could lose Texas. Let me repeat that we could lose Texas, and by the way, not just the Senate race, we could lose every single statewide race in Texas. That’s how close these numbers are,” Cruz said.
The senator also sounded the alarm for Republicans across the country.
“If we have a good night on Election Day, we could have a fantastic result … we could end up growing our majority in the Senate,” Cruz said. “If we have a bad day … we could wake up the day after Election Day, instead of 53 Republicans with 45.”
Cruz noted a potential silver lining for the GOP: That its voters tend to vote on Election Day, rather than early. “That being said, the imbalance is really, really big,” he added.
CNN polling released this week show that Democrats are in striking distance to a Senate seat in the Lone Star State, which hasn’t elected a Democrat in a statewide race in three decades. In the poll, Democrat James Talarico (49%) held a narrow lead over Republican Ken Paxton (43%) among likely voters.
Voters outline importance of Michigan election ahead of El-Sayed rally
What happens in Michigan next week on Election Day is going to be critical, according to Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, who traveled to the state to rally for Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed today.
“Americans understand what’s at stake,” she told CNN’s Omar Jimenez. “Abdul, I’m here to support him. I believe he’s going to be a strong person in the Senate. He’s going to be one of my colleagues.”
Ahead of El-Sayed’s rally in Michigan, voters also recognized that importance, saying they’re casting their ballots for the Democrat to make change.
One voter told Jimenez he’s voting for El-Sayed in attempt at “getting people to come back together and not be at war with each other.”
The voter said he’s at his first rally for El-Sayed because communities “need to step up” to make change.
“We got to do better for our children,” Pittman said.
Paxton: "If we lose Texas, we lose America"
Speaking to voters in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday, GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton posed the competitive race as having high stakes for Republicans across the country.
Paxton said a vote for his Democratic opponent, James Talarico, was also a vote for his party to seize control of Congress:
Speaking to voters in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday, GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton posed the competitive race as having high stakes for Republicans across the country.
