Nov. 2, 2022 US election coverage

President Joe Biden’s speech tonight warning about election deniers’ assault on American democracy will take place at Union Station in Washington, DC, not far from Capitol Hill.

The location of the event – hosted by the Democratic National Committee – is meant to reference the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol building which was intended to interrupt the certification of Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory.

Earlier Wednesday, Biden adviser Anita Dunn said of the location:

The decision to speak to the matter from Washington follows a midterm campaign season in which Biden has largely avoided headlining large political rallies. Instead, he’s opted to travel to states for a mix of targeted presidential events highlighting legislative accomplishments and closed-door fundraisers.

In this crucial last full week before the midterm elections, Biden traveled to attend similar events in Florida and will also travel to New Mexico.

President Joe Biden is set to deliver a speech tonight in Washington, DC, warning that American democracy is under assault from election deniers who are running for office at all levels as he tries to make defending democracy a top issue in next week’s midterm elections.

“That is the path to chaos in America. It’s unprecedented. It’s unlawful. And, it is un-American. As I’ve said before, you can’t love your country only when you win.”

“This is no ordinary year,” Biden will say according to another excerpt. “So, I ask you to think long and hard about the moment we are in. In a typical year, we are not often faced with the question of whether the vote we cast will preserve democracy or put it at risk. But we are this year.”

The speech – a political event hosted by the DNC, not the White House – will underscore the points Biden has been making for weeks since a prime time speech in Philadelphia.

That address, which covered many of the same topics that the president is expected to touch on Wednesday night, was criticized by Republicans and others for being too political for an official White House event.

John Fetterman listens to democratic candidate for governor Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania's attorney general, during a joint rally on October 15.

The Democratic nominee for Senate, John Fetterman, is attacking his Republican opponent, Mehmet Oz, for holding a campaign rally at the Stone Gables Estate in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, Wednesday night — a venue that does not permit same-sex weddings. 

Fetterman’s campaign put out a statement criticizing Oz for hosting a rally at the venue, writing in part, “Oz is currently on TV lying to the people of Pennsylvania that he is a moderate, but now he is holding a campaign event at a venue that bans same-sex couples.”

On the Stone Gables Estate website, within the “Our Core Values” section, it says:

The Washington Post first reported that the venue doesn’t permit same-sex weddings. 

Rachel Tripp, senior communications adviser with the Oz campaign, told CNN at a Safer Streets Event in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Wednesday afternoon that the campaign does not have a comment, pointing to Oz’s support of same-sex marriage.

Mehmet Oz speaks on stage at the Stone Gables Estate Wednesday evening.

On Sept. 12, Oz tweeted his support for codifying same-sex marriage into federal law, along with several Republicans. He wrote, “I believe that same-sex couples should have the same freedom to get married as straight couples.”

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that Mehmet Oz’s campaign event would be held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is being held in Elizabethtown, which is located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is coming to the aid of Republican Sen. Mike Lee, who is locked in a spirited battle for his Utah Senate seat.

The Florida Republican endorsed Lee in a 30-second video released Wednesday by Club for Growth. In the ad, DeSantis calls Lee’s main opponent, Independent candidate Evan McMullin, a “donkey in sheep’s clothing.”

“He’ll be a vote for (President Joe) Biden, not for Utah,” DeSantis says.

More on DeSantis’ endorsement: It’s the second time in recent weeks that DeSantis has waded into a Senate race in the Mountain West. He previously endorsed Republican Joe O’Dea in Colorado against Democratic incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet.

The endorsement of O’Dea, who has publicly distanced himself from Donald Trump, caught the attention of the former President. Trump called DeSantis’ involvement in the Colorado race a “BIG MISTAKE!” on his Truth Social platform.

Club for Growth is one of the biggest contributors to DeSantis’ own reelection effort. The organization’s PAC gave DeSantis’ political committee $2 million in August.

The Democrats’ hope to maintain control of at least one chamber in Congress comes down to Republicans blowing it. For a time, that looked quite plausible because of the unpopularity of the GOP brand at large and Republican candidates in specific races.

But as we’re now less than a week from Election Day, the momentum is clearly on the Republicans’ side and the possibility of a Republican rout has increased.

Why? We’re dealing with a deeply dissatisfied electorate, which almost always means the president’s party is punished by voters.

Take a look at a Gallup poll released on Tuesday. Just 17% of Americans say they were satisfied with the direction the country was going. That’s the worst in any midterm since at least 1982 when Gallup first measured satisfaction in a midterm.

Importantly, this satisfaction with the direction of the country is highly correlated with midterm outcomes in the House. In the midterms when more Americans are dissatisfied than satisfied with the direction of the country, the party that held the White House has lost an average of 33 seats. That jumps to 46 seats in a president’s first midterm.

If we look at seat totals instead, the party holding the White House ends up with 186 seats on average when more Americans are dissatisfied than satisfied in a president’s first midterm. This would be an over 35-seat loss for Democrats in the 2022 midterms. Never has the President’s party ended up with more than 204 seats when more Americans were dissatisfied than satisfied.

Not surprisingly, the picture is very different in the three midterms when a plurality of Americans were satisfied. Those three elections (1986, 1998 and 2002) actually averaged a two-seat gain for the president’s party.

Read the full analysis here.

Max Rose speaks during a press conference in New York on September 29.

A sign at New York Democratic congressional candidate Max Rose’s campaign headquarters was defaced with what Rose described as an “anti-Semitic trope,” he said on Twitter Tuesday.

“Over night my campaign HQ sign was graffitied with an anti-Semitic trope. ENOUGH. We cannot stand for a violent and extreme ideology to be embraced by our politics any longer. Together, we must extinguish this hate and choose a better America,” the tweet said.

In a statement Wednesday, Rose said “enough is enough,” adding, “I won’t back down from these gross attacks and we’re not going to stop campaigning for what we believe in, no matter how many hateful attacks we get.”

Rose, who is Jewish, also tweeted out a photo of the graffiti, which shows the word “SOROS” written in black lettering over a green sign that reads “Max Rose for Congress.”

“Soros” refers to George Soros, a billionaire philanthropist and frequent target of conservative conspiracy theorists. As CNN noted in a 2018 profile, Soros’ Jewish heritage, wealth and politics have fueled such theories, with his enemies frequently labeling him a “globalist,” plotting to undermine US sovereignty. 

“Criticizing Soros or his politics and actions is not antisemitic,” according to the American Jewish Committee, a Jewish advocacy organization. However, AJC also noted that “when Soros is used as a symbol for Jewish control, wealth, and power, the criticism may be an updated version of traditional antisemitic tropes.” 

Where things stand in the investigation: The NYPD said Wednesday that the investigation into the graffiti is ongoing. No arrests have yet been made and the incident has not been deemed a hate crime at this time, an NYPD spokesperson said. 

This is not the first time Rose’s campaign has been the target of graffiti. In September, a yard sign for his campaign was found defaced with a swastika.

Soaring inflation and the tumbling stock market have upended Patricia Strong’s retirement.

The Scottsdale, Arizona, resident had hoped her husband could also retire so they could spend the winter in Mexico. But now, the couple hesitates to plan even a short getaway since the price of gas and groceries have increased while the value of their investments has gone in the opposite direction.

The price of both her haircuts and manicures have gone up by $10. And it recently cost her $62 to fill up her 2021 Buick Enclave – that’s about twice as much as she paid when former President Donald Trump was in office.

Scott, who says she is fiscally conservative and socially moderate, considers herself an independent. She voted for Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and for several local Democratic candidates. But she also supported Republican Gov. Doug Ducey.

This year, she is voting solidly Republican in her swing state races – for Blake Masters over Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly and for Kari Lake over her Democratic opponent Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s secretary of state.

“The price of everything was better during Trump,” she said. “We were looking forward to retirement because everything was good.”

Like Strong, some 78% of Americans rate economic conditions in the country as “poor” or “very poor,” according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS and taken in September and October. Half of Americans say that President Joe Biden’s policies have served to worsen economic conditions, only 32% approve of his handling of inflation and 36% approve of his handling of the economy.

The latest economic data shows that inflation remained uncomfortably high in September, and gas prices are still higher than they were a year ago, though they’ve drifted down after surging earlier this year.

Keep reading here.

A mail ballot drop box is displayed outside Philadelphia city hall on October 24.

In the months and weeks leading up to the midterm, officials charged with administering the elections have boosted security for their staff, polling places and voters, as baseless conspiracy theories about fraud continue to swirl around the 2020 election and the one now underway. 

In Madison, Wisconsin, where a top election official faced death threats in the aftermath of the 2020 election, officials have redesigned the city clerk’s office, adding cameras, locking doors and covering the windows with white paper, said city attorney Michael Haas. In addition, a new city ordinance establishes a fine of up to $1,000 for disorderly conduct directed at election officials. 

In Colorado, meanwhile, a new state law – the Vote Without Fear Act – prohibits carrying firearms at polling places or within 100 feet of a ballot drop box. And in Tallahassee, Florida, officials have added Kevlar and bullet-resistant acrylic shields to the Leon County elections office, said Mark Earley, who runs elections in the county. 

As CNN reported in September, the concerns about threats and harassment are so great that federal officials are now offering de-escalation training to local and state officials to help avert violence at the polls. 

Tina Barton, a former election official in Michigan who sits on the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, said election officials are deploying a bevy of tactics to secure the elections – from installing cameras and lighting at drop boxes to adding GPS and other tracking devices to ballot bags to monitor their movement on Election Day. 

“We certainly are in territory that we have not navigated in the past,” Barton said. 

Barton said election officials are deploying a bevy of tactics to secure the elections – from installing cameras and lighting at drop boxes to adding GPS and other tracking devices to ballot bags to monitor their movement on Election Day. 

Election officials in North Carolina issued what they described as their “most comprehensive” guidance to local elections officials for maintaining order at polling places this fall. It reinforces that it’s a crime to interfere with voter or election workers. The North Carolina State Board of Elections has also developed a guide for local law enforcement to help officers identify and respond to voter intimidation. 

In Leon County, Florida, Earley said his staff has received active-shooter training as part of their preparations in recent election cycles. But he said it has taken on “more significance since January 6,” referring to the 2021 attack on the US Capitol. 

Keep reading here.

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Former Vice President Mike Pence addressed the deep rift between him and former President Trump during a promotional video for his new book, “So Help Me God.”

The promotional clip comes as both men have begun to lay the groundwork for a potential 2024 presidential run.

Pence has traveled the country supporting Republican candidates in the midterms and used the opportunity to separate himself from the former President and criticize Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Last month, Pence declined to say whether or not he would vote for former President Trump should he run in 2024.

More on their relationship: Pence drew Trump’s ire after resisting pressure from the former President and his allies to block Congress from certifying the 2020 election. The hearings from the House select committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 riot revealed details of the intensity of the pressure campaign that was put on Pence and footage aired during the final hearing showed the former vice president working with Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers to make sure that the election was certified despite the violent riot.