Midterm election news and updates as Democrats, Republicans fight for control of Congress in 2022
Live updates from the 2022 Midterm Election campaign trail as Republicans and Democrats begin the final weeks of campaigning before election day in November. Stay up-to-date the events and latest news surrounding the 2022 midterms from Fox News!
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As Lt. Gov. John Fetterman seeks to change his perception amid attacks that he is soft on crime and supports releasing criminals, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania has released an ad featuring a local sheriff who formerly was caught up in a bribery scheme and made statements about not helping ICE enforce immigration laws.
"I'm a county sheriff veteran in Pennsylvania," says Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny in Fetterman's ad. "I'm sick of [GOP candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz] talking about John Fetterman and crime. Here's the truth John gave a second chance to those who deserved it non-violent offenders marijuana users he voted with law enforcement experts nearly 90 percent of the time.
"He reunited families and protected our freedom and he saved taxpayer money. John Fetterman has the courage to do what's right. Dr. Oz doesn't know a thing about crime, he only knows how to help himself."
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kilkenny testified in court that he and his law firm were pressured by a former mayor's office into funding a $5,000 night out for the mayor— which included tickets to a sold-out Eagles game and upscale dinner — while seeking a contract from the city.
Kilkenny stated that he did not consider the suspected bribe to be extortion, and the events happened before he was elected sheriff. Kilkenny was never charged in the FBI's bribery probe against the former mayor.
As sheriff, Kilkenny once stated that his office would allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enter the courthouse and presumably make arrests of illegal immigrants who had been arrested on other charges — but only if ICE had a warrant.
“We’re not going to necessarily lend a helping hand, we’re not going to get in the way,” Kilkenny said of his stance on ICE.
FIRST ON FOX: Oregon Democratic gubernatorial nominee Tina Kotek has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from a group bankrolled by "dark money," despite railing against "unlimited" and "undisclosed" political donations in a recent social media post, according to campaign finance disclosures reviewed by Fox News Digital.
"It's time to end the flow of unlimited and undisclosed money in politics," the former speaker of Oregon's House of Representatives tweeted last week, pushing what her campaign website has described as her campaign finance reform priorities, which include contribution limits and reducing the "influence of dark money."
"Dark money," an increasingly common phrase in campaign platforms, refers to unlimited funds raised to influence elections by organizations not required by law to disclose their donors, and that choose not to do so.
In contrast to her call to end such political financing, Kotek has taken in $590,000 this year from a group called Stand for Children Oregon PAC, a political action committee affiliated with Stand for Children Inc., a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group that the IRS defines as a "social welfare" organization. The group is not required to disclose its donors, and chooses not to do so.
Read more from Fox News' Brandon Gillespie here.
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger Herschel Walker are trading fire over whether Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves should change their name and over the combustible issue of legalized abortion.
Asked whether the World Series champion Braves should change their name, as part of the ongoing argument over the longtime use of Native American names in professional and collegiate sports, Warnock told Fox News, "I am aware that the Braves organization is having conversations with the Native American community. I trust them to work through that process and come to a conclusion that makes sense.
"The senator, taking questions from reporters after speaking and rallying with Korean seniors in this suburban community northeast of Atlanta, Georgia, with a large Asian American population, also said lightheartedly, "I think that I want to see the Braves win the World Series again.
"A day earlier, in an interview in Atlanta with Fox News Digital and later in a conversation with host Sean Hannity on Fox News’ "Hannity," Walker insisted that he didn’t want to see the Braves alter their name.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is seeking re-election against Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes this fall. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
The growing issue of crime and public safety continues to strike the key battleground state of Wisconsin, as voters begin to pin their focus towards candidates who will address these crucial issues going into the midterm elections this fall.
A Marquette University poll, conducted from Sept. 6-11 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points, found that 88% of Wisconsin residents are either somewhat or very concerned about crime in their state. According to WISN 12 News, the medical examiner's office in Milwaukee recently reported that four teenagers in Milwaukee have died violent deaths since the beginning of September.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is seeking re-election in one of the country's most closely watched Senate races of the cycle, against Democrat Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes. On Monday, Johnson shared to Twitter the story of a 17-year-old victim of gun violence in Milwaukee, shining a light on the city's crime problem and claiming his opponent wants to release 50% of the prison population.
Read more from Fox News' Aubrie Spady here.
Republican Minnesota attorney general nominee Jim Schultz speaks with Fox News' Brandon Gillespie during an interview on Sept. 21, 2022. (Brandon Gillespie)
Jim Schultz, the Republican challenger to Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, is not letting the incumbent off easy when it comes to the massive rise in crime taking shape across the state.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Schultz declared Ellison "missing in action" when it comes to addressing the crime plaguing Minnesotans, and argued it was an "absolute disgrace" that he has not held criminals accountable for their actions.
"Keith Ellison is the ‘Defund the Police’ attorney general. He backed defunding the police, of course, in Minnesota here. Sadly, a lot of our so-called leaders helped ignite the ‘Defund the Police’ movement across the country. Keith Ellison was at the forefront of that, and folks resent that," Schultz said when asked about the rise in crime across the state.
Recent polls have showed a tight race in the Democratic-leaning state, with Schultz attributing the close race to Ellison's approach to handling crime, and arguing there was a direct line from his "Defund the Police" and "soft on crime" policies to the crime and violence gripping cities like Minneapolis.
Read more from Fox News' Brandon Gillespie here.
President Joe Biden gives a speech on protecting American democracy in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 1st, 2022. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency)
After Democratic candidates spent the past several months campaigning with laser-focus on abortion, recent polls found Democratic voters in multiple key midterm states say their top concern going into November is "threats to the democracy.
A Marist Poll survey among Pennsylvanians discovered that "preserving democracy" is the top issue to 40% of likely Democrat voters, trumping abortion and inflation. In the state where all eyes are on GOP nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz and Democrat opponent Lt. Gov. John Fetterman as they face off for Pennsylvania's open Senate seat, inflation was the most concerning issue to both Republican and Independent respondents. The poll was conducted among from September 19-22, 2022 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
The sudden priority shift within the Democratic Party comes after President Joe Biden claimed in several recent speeches that "extreme MAGA Republicans" are "threats to the democracy." Following Biden's remarks, political polls tracking the country's top midterm races began asking voters where these "threats" ranked in importance among abortion and inflation on their list of most concerning issues.
Read more from Fox News' Aubrie Spady here.
Democratic Pennsylvania Senate nominee John Fetterman has elicited sharp social media criticism following an odd moment in a recent speech in which he seemingly confused the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Teams while trying to tell a joke.
"The Eagles are so much better than the Eagles!" Fetterman said during a speech to a crowd of supporters in Philadelphia, appearing to say "Eagles" instead of "Steelers," and seemingly experiencing what his campaign has called "auditory processing issues" stemming from the stroke he had earlier this year.
A number of Twitter users slammed Fetterman, with one expressing shock at what he described as Fetterman's inability to speak clearly.
"John Fetterman says the Eagles are so much better than the Eagles. This dude legit can’t speak, worst candidate nominated by either party for statewide office this year. By far," commentator Clay Travis tweeted.
Fetterman has faced continuous pressure over his health following the stroke as his Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and a number of other critics have questioned numerous instances in which he's appeared to have trouble speaking during events.
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, returning the power back to the states to place restrictions on abortion. (Jose Luis Magana)
With just weeks to go until the 2022 midterm elections, most Democrats running in tight re-election races still refuse to explain where they stand on abortion or if they support any limitations despite many making the issue a campaign centerpiece.
The silence from Democrats comes just days after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to explain President Joe Biden's specific stance on abortion during a press briefing Friday. Jean-Pierre was asked by Fox News' Peter Doocy if Biden favored any limits on abortion. Jean-Pierre avoided the question saying, "I'm not going to get into specifics here."
Fox News Digital reached out to more than two dozen Democrats running in this year's midterm elections to ask what limitations on abortion they supported, if any. Only Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., responded by directing Fox News Digital to previous statements.
Read more from Fox News' Aubrie Spady here.
Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker says it is time to "get crime stopped," and he is taking aim at Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia over the issue that Republicans from coast to coast are spotlighting with six weeks to go until November's midterm elections.
Walker, in comments at a Black business roundtable discussion in Atlanta and in an interview with Fox News Digital, also highlighted his independence from Donald Trump, saying that the former president "don't run" him or his campaign for Senate.
Republican candidates, committees and allied groups in recent weeks have been hammering Democrats — both on the campaign trail and on the airwaves — over crime, an issue that national polls indicate voters trust Republicans over Democrats.
Walker, asked what he would do if elected to bring down crime rates, said on Monday that "one of the things you want to do right away is try to bring some type of trust between the citizen and the police."
With six weeks to go until November’s elections, a new public opinion poll in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania indicates that Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is ahead of GOP nominee Mehmet Oz in the race for Senate, with Democratic state Attorney General Josh Shapiro leading Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano by double digits in the gubernatorial showdown.
Fetterman tops Oz, the cardiac surgeon and celebrity doctor, 51%-44% among those likely to vote in the general election, according to a Marist College Poll in Pennsylvania conducted Sept. 19-22 and released on Tuesday. Among a wider pool of all registered voters, the survey indicates Fetterman with a 10-point 51%-41% lead, with 7% of those questioned undecided.
"What is particularly unusual in these numbers, is that, with still six weeks to go, most voters have already picked sides," Marist College institute for Public Opinion Lee Miringoff highlighted. "Few Keystone voters are undecided or say they support a candidate but might vote differently.
"An average of all the recent public opinion surveys in the race compiled by Real Clear Politics indicates Fetterman with a 4.5-point advantage over Oz. The race between the two high-profile candidates to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey is one of a handful across the country that will likely determine if the GOP wins back the Senate majority in the midterm elections.
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