On the campaign trail
• Early voting data: In three Southern states, Black voters who didn’t cast ballots in either or both the 2022 and 2024 elections are turning out this year at higher rates. See what the data shows about more than 34 million votes cast so far in CNN’s early vote tracker.
• Obama and Trump battle again: The longtime rivals are hitting the campaign trail today, with former President Barack Obama going to Georgia to rally with Sen. Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms, and President Donald Trump going to Ohio to help Sen. Jon Husted.
• New Hampshire Senate debate: Rep. Chris Pappas and former Sen. John E. Sununu will debate at 9 p.m. ET. They’re vying for an open seat Republicans have hoped to flip but where Pappas has held a polling lead. CNN’s latest ranking of Senate seats most likely to flip lists New Hampshire as No. 9.
Updates
(11)California judge promises to weigh in on voter data today
The California voter rolls court hearing with the Justice Department ended after three and a half hours with no ruling, though Judge David O. Carter promised to weigh in with a decision by Wednesday on whether the DOJ could force the state to set aside the votes of 20,000 people the Trump administration claims could be noncitizens.
Carter said the parties would hear from him today, after earlier saying he planned to appoint an expert, known as a special master, to dig into the Justice Department’s allegations of noncitizens on California’s voter rolls.
The judge, a Bill Clinton appointee, concluded with a cryptic comment:
It was unclear if Carter was referring to any attorneys or parties represented in the case, or other threats entirely. The Justice Department had argued during the hearing that state and county officials could be prosecuted if they allowed noncitizens to vote.
Tuesday’s hearing was just the latest step in what’s shaping up to be a drawn-out legal fight. The Justice Department had already tried to bypass the district court when it felt Carter wasn’t moving fast enough to issue a ruling — but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that effort on Monday, sending the case back to Carter.
New Hampshire candidates to debate as voters decide if name recognition delivers for GOP
Though New Hampshire hasn’t elected a Republican to the Senate since 2010, Republicans view the Granite state as one of their best opportunities to flip a Democratic-held seat this cycle, as three-term Sen. Jeanne Shaheen retires.
The matchup features Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, a four-term congressman from southeastern New Hampshire, and GOP former Sen. John Sununu, who represented the seat in the House and later served in the Senate from 2003 to 2009.
The two candidates will take the debate stage tonight with less than a week to go until Election Day.
Republicans hope voters’ affection for the Sununu family – his brother and father were both popular former governors – can help him overcome a tough political environment. He’s also split with Trump, criticizing the decision to start the war in Iran and impose tariffs on Canada.
While the state went for Harris in 2024, it was by her narrowest margin. Plus, voters elected Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who’s favored to win another term this year. Her presence on the ballot could benefit Sununu.
The rivaling messages of Trump and Obama
Former President Barack Obama is back in battleground states trying to push Democratic midterms candidates over the line to thwart the political momentum of his nemesis Donald Trump.
Obama is manifesting as a messenger of hope, beseeching voters to understand they have the power to create change, though that signature brand’s assumptions have been sullied by two Trump terms.
It’s a sharp contrast to Trump’s message. The president, saddled with low approval ratings and public anger over the Iran war and the cost-of-living crisis, conjured an alternative vision of a nation that’s never been more prosperous. “We’re in the golden age of America,” he said Saturday.
The dueling campaign trail appearances thus far underscored how Trump and Obama are politically entwined at a turbulent moment of American history.
More of that is likely to be on display today, when Obama will be in Georgia and Trump will rally in Ohio.
Obama built his movement on the argument that red states and blue states shared unifying aspirations of embracing a more racially diverse, optimistic and inclusive nation. This vision resonated among his coalition of college-educated, minority, urban and suburban liberal voters.
But Trump built his own coalition among others who fear the country’s traditional culture is threatened by social change and increasing diversity. He enlisted rural, non-college voters and working-class Americans disaffected by the economic globalism they believe Obama represents.
"I was working out," Husted says, leaning into Trump’s body compliments
Sen. Jon Husted said he was working out in the weight room ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to Ohio. The president has praised Husted’s physique at several campaign events.
Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) said he was working out in the weight room ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to Chillicothe, Ohio. Trump has praised Husted’s physique at several campaign events ahead of the midterm elections.
How higher Black turnout could reshape the midterms
Several states across the South have large Black populations and longstanding Democratic hopes that they can flip statewide races with higher turnout.
Black turnout is strong in both Georgia and North Carolina, according to early voting data.
Former President Barack Obama is visiting Georgia on Wednesday, where he will campaign with Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms.
North Carolina is home to a key Senate race where Democrat Roy Cooper has been leading Republican Michael Whatley in a bid to flip the seat held by GOP Sen. Thom Tillis.
Democrats are also launching a longshot bid to flip a deep-red Senate seat in Mississippi, where Donald Trump rallied on Monday and both Democrats and Republicans have invested recently. While Mississippi has very limited early voting, similarly strong Black turnout in the state would greatly bolster Democratic candidate Scott Colom.
Trump is intensifying his anti-Muslim jabs at El-Sayed
President Donald Trump and members of his administration have made a series of disparaging remarks about Muslim Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, targeting his faith. CNN’s Anderson Cooper beaks it down.
President Trump and members of his administration have made a series of disparaging remarks about Muslim Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. CNN's Anderson Cooper breaks it down.
Early voting data suggests strong motivation among Black voters in the South
Early voting data suggests strong motivation among Black voters in several Southern states, including the key states of Georgia and North Carolina.
Black voters are 36% of the early voting electorate in Georgia, up from 29% at the same point in 2024, according to data from Catalist. A similar share has turned out in Louisiana (34% compared to 25% in 2024), while the share in North Carolina has increased from 19% to 23%.
One encouraging sign for Democrats, beyond the high share of Black voters, is relatively strong turnout among Black voters and other voters of color who sat out one or both the 2022 and 2024 elections.
Among early voters in Georgia who turned out for both of those previous elections, 35% are Black and 59% White, compared to 38% Black and 46% White who voted in just one of the two elections. Voters who participated in neither election are 39% Black and 43% White.
This pattern, where Black voters are a larger share among more infrequent voters, is also present in North Carolina and is particularly strong in Louisiana, where Black voters are 33% of voters who cast ballots in 2022 and 2024. This goes up to 43% among voters who took part in just one of the elections and 39% among voters that skipped both.
While the most frequent voters make up the lion’s share of the electorate in all three states, less frequent voters still make up a meaningful portion of the electorate. In Georgia, 6% of early voters so far skipped both 2022 and 2024 (4% and 6% in Louisiana and North Carolina), and 13% cast ballots in just one (15% in Louisiana and 17% in North Carolina).
Iran war cost soars to $47.1 billion
The cost of the US war with Iran soared to $47.1 billion as of October 16, according to data the Pentagon recently provided Congress.
The latest price tag shows the US spent $2 billion in the last six weeks.
The war has also pushed up fuel prices in the US, and polls show voters are furious about the high cost of living that has been exacerbated by President Donald Trump’s policies – including the Iran war.
The war has caused about $2,000 in higher costs for the average American household since it started, according to Moody’s Analytics.
Trump has repeatedly brushed off the rising prices, arguing that it’s worth ensuring that Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon.
And as recently as yesterday, he’s boasted about the profits made by US fuel companies. At a rally in Corpus Christi, Texas, he said that the US is “making a fortune” off the war in Iran.
CNN previously reported that the Pentagon put the cost of the Iran war at $45.1 billion as of September 3, according to two sources.
The newest unclassified Defense Department report recently shared with lawmakers and obtained by CNN includes a breakdown of expenses for the different branches of the armed forces.
Those expenses include:
- Air Force: $7.6 billion.
- Army: $2.1 billion.
- Navy: $1.45 billion.
- Special Operations Command (airlift operations): $645 million
CNN’s David Goldman and Aaron Blake contributed reporting.
“I think we made a big impact,” Trump says of Texas campaign stop
President Donald Trump touted his campaign blitz to Texas ahead of next week’s midterm elections as he continues to hit the trail in red states in support of GOP candidates.
“We had a tremendous day in Texas. We had two big rallies. They were packed. Had people watching outside the streets,” Trump said upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews early Wednesday morning.
With Election Day next week, President Donald Trump rallied in Lubbock for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, while state Rep. James Talarico held a campaign event just a few miles away on the same night. CNN's Arlette Saenz reports.
In recent days, the president has made stops in traditionally red states, such as Mississippi, underscoring GOP concerns about once-safe seats.
On Wednesday, he’s set to hold a campaign rally in Chillicothe, Ohio, marking his third campaign visit this month to a state he won in 2024 amid signs it may turn purple again.
He’s also expected to visit South Carolina on Thursday, where he has rallied for Sen. Darline Graham, who is running against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews to succeed her late brother in the Senate.
Trump and Talarico campaigned two miles apart in Texas. Here are Tuesday's highlights
President Donald Trump sought to bolster Republicans facing tougher-than-expected contests in the Lone Star State yesterday with rallies in Corpus Christi and Lubbock, two miles from where Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico also campaigned.
Democrats are hoping to snap a 32-year statewide losing streak in the Senate and governor’s races.
Here are Tuesday’s highlights:
- At his rally in Lubbock for Ken Paxton, Trump announced he’s rolling back methane regulations enacted under former President Joe Biden to “save consumers and energy producers” billions of dollars.
- In Michigan, Vice President JD Vance called the state’s Senate race “the most important election in the United States of America,” accusing Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed of seeking to undermine the nation’s values.
- This midterm cycle has set a new record for ad spending, according to tracking service AdImpact, with $11.21 billion spent. Projected ad spending in the final week of midterms campaigning shows money pouring into red states with competitive Senate races, AdImpact shows.
- Twenty-one midterm races shifted in favor of Democrats, according to Sabato’s Crystal Ball, an election forecasting report.
- The races for governor in Kansas and Nebraska have shifted slightly toward Democrats, according to the latest Cook Political Report.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson committed to a peaceful transfer of power in Congress if Democrats win. Trump, meanwhile, said he will respect the outcome of the midterm elections — if they are “honest.” He has repeatedly attacked the integrity of the voting process and used the federal government to try to assert more control over how states oversee elections.
CNN’s Danya Gainor, David Wright, Adam Cancryn, Alejandra Jaramillo, Katherine Koretski and Sarah Owermohle contributed reporting.
A full circle moment for Amy Acton as she returns to her hometown
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton’s return to her hometown of Youngstown took on new resonance after Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign dropped an ad depicting her estranged mother. CNN’s Lauren Fox reports.
Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton returned to her hometown of Youngstown just one week before Election Day, after her Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign dropped an ad depicting Acton’s estranged mother calling her a liar. CNN's Lauren Fox reports.
