On the campaign trail
• Final countdown: President Donald Trump will campaign in Iowa and Kansas, holding rallies he briefly canceled before bringing them back. These are his last scheduled campaign stops of the midterm cycle, with plans for him to hold telerallies on Monday.
• Michigan Democratic unity: Senate Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed campaigns today with South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn in Detroit as they try to boost Black turnout in Tuesday’s election. It remains to be seen whether Rep. Haley Stevens, El-Sayed’s former primary rival, will join them after plans for the two to campaign together fell apart amid their dispute over an outside group’s controversial ad.
• Track early voting: More than 50 million voters have already cast their ballots. See CNN’s early voting tracker for analysis of the partisan breakdown in key states.
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Updates
(13)Alaska Sen. Sullivan accuses Democrats of same-name voter deceit
CNN’s Jake Tapper sits down with Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan ahead of the midterms where he’s seeking a third term.
He discusses the “double Dan Sullivan” controversy, involving two candidates with the same name running for the same seat.
Watch the full interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” from 9 a.m. ET.
CNN's Jake Tapper sits down with Republican Senator Dan Sullivan ahead of the midterms where he's seeking a third term. He discusses the "double Dan Sullivan" controversy, involving two candidates with the same name running for the same seat. Watch the full interview on CNN at 9a ET.
Alaska has been one of the slowest states for reporting election results. Here's why
Alaska is at the center of a roiling political controversy this week over how a second Dan Sullivan ended up on the state’s Senate ballot. It has sparked lawsuits, criminal investigations and threats to block certification of the election if incumbent GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan is defeated.
The uproar about the Alaska Senate race could ratchet up to 11 if control of the Senate comes down to who wins in the state, one that election officials and experts say is unlike any other when it comes to voting. That’s because it might take two weeks before a winner can be determined.
Alaska has long been one of the slowest states for reporting election results. Why this is so:
Geography: The state is massive, with residents in far-flung areas where ballots have to be flown in to be counted because communities aren’t on the state’s roadway network. That remoteness is why the state gives mail ballot deadlines of 10 and 15 days after the election, so long as they are postmarked by Election Day.
Ranked choice voting: Alaska uses a system called ranked choice voting to count votes, a process where results won’t be finalized until after that 15-day period if no candidate receives 50% of the vote on the first ballot. The state waits for the 15-day deadline to run out before running the ranked choice tabulation. How it works: The votes of the fourth-place finisher are distributed among the top three vote getters, based on how voters rank the four candidates on the ballot. Then the votes of the third-place finisher are distributed to the top two vote-getters, which will put a candidate above the 50% threshold.
How could Democrats win the Senate? CNN's Harry Enten breaks down the numbers
51 seats are required in the Senate for either party to win a majority, and Democrats are favored to win 47 so far this cycle. CNN’s Harry Enten explains which states Democrats would need to hit the majority mark:
CNN's Harry Enten breaks down what it would take for Democrats to take control of the Senate.
Look back at past elections with same-name candidates
Same-name ballot stacking is age-old election trick that’s in the spotlight again because Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is on the ballot alongside Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher, in the Alaska Senate race.
Longtime Republican election lawyer Ben Ginsberg told CNN this isn’t even the first time Sen. Dan Sullivan has been joined on a ballot by another Dan Sullivan.
Some past elections with same-name candidates:
3 Bob Fergusons in primary race
In 2024, Washington’s Democratic state Attorney General Bob Ferguson was joined in the gubernatorial primary race by two other Democratic hopefuls with the same name.
A Republican activist had paid the other two Bob Fergusons to run in the hopes that their names on the ballot would confuse voters and weaken the attorney general’s candidacy.
The decoys dropped out after just a few days when the first Bob Ferguson, who went on to be elected governor, threatened legal action.
George W. Norris vs George W. Norris
In the 1930 Nebraska Republican Senate primary, incumbent George W. Norris was dismayed to see another George W. Norris, a grocery clerk, running.
It was a technicality that spoiled the candidacy for the grocer. Just as Sen. Norris prepared to withdraw from the Republican primary and run as an independent, the chief justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that the other Norris was ineligible because his petition had not been filed in time.
The “other JFK”
John Francis Kennedy, a Gillette razor factory stockroom supervisor, was a private citizen who capitalized on the Massachusetts name recognition of then-Sen. John Fitzgerald Kennedy. John Francis filed for state treasurer in 1954 and won without any party endorsement or public campaigning.
He went on to win three terms. During his 1956 reelection bid, he was challenged by another political newcomer who entered the race because he was outraged that someone would pirate the good name of the Massachusetts senator. That candidate’s name was John M. Kennedy.
Record numbers of election monitors expected at polls
The Justice Department is sending more than 1,000 election monitors to polling places in all 50 states, and the Republican National Committee, Democrats and outside groups are deploying observers too. What they document could shape challenges after the polls close, Gabe Cohen reports.
The Justice Department is sending more than 1,000 election monitors to polling places in all 50 states, and the Republican National Committee, Democrats and outside groups are deploying observers too. What they document could shape challenges after the polls close.
Here’s a rundown of what election monitors do — or don’t do:
- The monitors are Justice Department lawyers, typically either in its Civil Rights Division or in local US attorneys’ offices. They are not law enforcement officers.
- Their job is to 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.
- They can’t talk to voters or poll workers, don’t have access to voting machines or ballots and are not involved in tallying votes.
- The monitors will “report concerns to the Department, which the Department will review after Election Day and act where appropriate,” DOJ spokesperson Keirsten Pels said.
Iowa Republicans in tight battle with Democrats
Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, Republicans in reliably red Iowa are finding themselves in a tight battle with Democrats. CNN’s Manu Raju reports that the GOP is at risk of losing three House seats and one in the Senate.
Ahead of the 2026 midterm election, Republicans in reliably red Iowa are finding themselves in a tight battle with Democrats. CNN’s Manu Raju reports that the GOP is at risk of losing three House seats and one in the Senate.
Why Trump canceled then put his weekend rallies back on schedule
Flying on Thursday to South Carolina to headline his 25th midterm rally this month, President Donald Trump and his political team made a decision, according to one of his advisers: Instead of holding an in-person rally this weekend in Kansas, Trump would deliver his closing argument there over the telephone.
A few hours later, another weekend rally in Iowa was similarly scrapped.
Trump told reporters he didn’t “feel I have to go to Kansas” because GOP Sen. Roger Marshall was “doing really well.”
The decision relieved some political operatives on the ground, who were happy to hear Trump would be engaging in telerallies that tend to be more scripted.
Less than 24 hours later, the plans changed again. The rallies in Kansas and Iowa were back on, both now scheduled for Sunday.
Speaking at the White House on Friday afternoon, Trump said he’d received calls from friends in Iowa and Kansas asking him to reconsider the cancellations.
Officials said the schedule had merely been rearranged to allow more time for Trump to dial into virtual events. But people familiar with the matter described different motivations to CNN.
After signing off on the changes, Trump had grown irked over the media coverage about his decision to cancel his final rallies, those people said. His irritation was apparent when he returned from South Carolina and lashed out at a reporter who questioned why he called off the events.
President Donald Trump said Thursday his decision to scrap a planned rally in Kansas this weekend had nothing to do with Sen. Roger Marshall’s electoral prospects — or his own stamina after a month of nonstop travel. When a reporter asked Trump about his health and followed up with a question about whether the cancelation was because he was sick of traveling, Trump lashed out.
The president demanded the rallies be reinstated, the people familiar said, sending staff who had just worked to pull the events off the calendar scrambling to put them back on.
Talarico slams Paxton as "bought and paid for"
Texas Senate candidate James Talarico accused his Republican rival Ken Paxton of serving “billionaire megadonors” like Elon Musk, who has poured nearly half a billion dollars into elections in the 2026 cycle.
Texas Senate candidate James Talarico accuses Republican rival Ken Paxton of serving "billionaire megadonors" like Elon Musk, who has poured nearly half a billion dollars into elections in the 2026 cycle.
Michigan Democrat rift: What happened between El-Sayed and former primary rival Stevens
Michigan Democrat Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed will campaign with South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn at a Detroit church on Sunday. His former primary rival Rep. Haley Stevens had also been scheduled to appear at the event, but a public rift between the two Democrats appears to be deepening.
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.
More on what happened:
Earlier reports of division: Their scheduled joint appearance on Sunday would have been the first in recent months following reports of tensions between them. Stevens had appeared with El-Sayed at unity events in the days immediately after she narrowly lost to him in the August primary, but conversations quickly dried up.
“This isn’t working”: El-Sayed’s campaign on Saturday reportedly asked Stevens to stay away from his upcoming events. Longtime Michigan lawmaker Rep. Debbie Dingell clarified later that she’s the one who spoke to Stevens. “I’m the one that talked to Haley and I am the one that said, ‘This isn’t working,’” she explained.
Controversial ad: An outside group’s advertisement, which blames Americans’ struggles with high costs on US foreign aid for Israel, is central to the tensions between El-Sayed and Stevens. There were talks about getting Stevens onto the campaign trail with El-Sayed, but she was only willing to do so if he clearly disavowed the ad, according to a source.
Both trade barbs: Stevens issued a statement aimed at pressuring El-Sayed into denouncing the ad. El-Sayed responded that Stevens “seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.” He later said: “I do not agree with the contents of that ad.”
“Total distraction”: El-Sayed has sought to downplay the rift, saying it’s irrelevant to voters and sidestepping questions from reporters on the unfolding drama. When asked whether he wanted Stevens to attend the planned joint appearance on Sunday, El-Sayed responded: “I would rather not distract from the key issues of this campaign.” Dingell echoed his comment, saying the rift “has become a total distraction.”
GOP rival weighs in: Meanwhile, El-Sayed’s Republican rival Mike Rogers said he would welcome Stevens on the campaign trail. He earlier accused El-Sayed of antisemitism and told Stevens’ supporters “you have a home with us.” President Donald Trump also weighed in, giving Stevens “credit” and amplifying baseless attacks against 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.
The “president is not on the ballot,” central Arizona county reminds voters
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.
These are some of the events we're watching on Sunday
With two days left in the midterms race, candidates are making their final attempts to reach voters ahead of Election Day.
Here are some events that are taking place on Sunday:
- President Donald Trump is heading to Iowa and Kansas to stump for Senate candidates in those states. He earlier scrapped these rallies, and then reinstated them. These are his final scheduled in-person campaign stops before Election Day.
- Former Vice President Kamala Harris will be among several Democratic politicians campaigning for California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra at a rally in Los Angeles.
- Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is campaigning with South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn in Detroit, Michigan. Rep. Haley Stevens was scheduled to make a joint appearance with El-Sayed, but she was later reportedly told to skip his events amid a growing public rift between them.
Trump stumped for GOP candidates in 5 states via telerallies on Saturday
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 on Saturday, 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.”
FBI agents begin visiting homes of campaign donors in Alaska Senate race
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.
