Early voting is expanding across the country as Election Day approaches, with North Carolina scheduled to begin in-person early voting Thursday.
The state is expected to be closely watched in several congressional and statewide races, and its early-voting period will run through Oct. 31.
Election officials and national groups representing secretaries of state and election directors are also condemning threats against election offices after several facilities received envelopes containing white powder.
Authorities said no harmful substances were immediately identified in the latest incidents, but the threats have renewed concerns about election-worker safety less than three weeks before Election Day.
Texas’ Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico dismissed his past comments referring to God as "nonbinary" and using the Bible to justify his pro-choice stance on abortion during a Wednesday night CNN town hall.
Participating in a "Jubilee"-style town hall in which voters confronted him one-on-one, Talarico met with a fellow Christian from Texas who pressed him on his past statements.
"You've said some concerning things in the past kind of related to faith and social issues. Things such as God is nonbinary, questions about how many genders there really are and your justifications using the Bible for abortion," Sarah Gardner, a small business owner, said to Talarico.
"And so, I think that's led a lot of Christian voters to question the authenticity of your faith. And I wanted to ask you a very direct question. Do you believe that the Bible is the absolute source of truth and God's final authoritative word, even when our culture says otherwise?" she asked.
"Yes," Talarico replied. "And I think it's important to remember that even the early church, the disciples who actually knew Jesus of Nazareth, the early church, we often talk about as a singular body when, in reality, was more like early churches because there was a lot of disagreement, there was a lot of debate."
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the 2024 White House contest to then-former President Donald Trump, noted that she has not decided whether to run for president again.
"I haven't decided. I haven't decided yet," Harris told Keke Palmer when asked about the prospect of a presidential run.
"But the midterms, the midterms, the midterms," Harris added, saying 2028 will not "matter if we don't do '26 right."
{{#rendered}}President Donald Trump issued a Truth Social post early Thursday urging people to vote for Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, as the lawmaker faces former Sen. Sherrod Brown in the Buckeye State's special U.S. Senate election.
"Jon Husted, who is running for the Senate in the Great State of Ohio, is an ALL AMERICAN FOOTBALL PLAYER! He played Safety and, in one season, had 17 Interceptions, a record. As everyone knows, he has, and always will have, my Complete and Total Endorsement! Jon is one of the Greatest Players in the History of the State of Ohio, and he will make a fabulous Senator, beating a guy, Sherrod Brown, who got thrown out by the people three years ago. He was beaten by a now fantastic Senator, Bernie Moreno," the president declared in the 2:00 am ET post.
"GET OUT AND VOTE FOR JON HUSTED! He will make Ohio proud, just like he made Jon Gruden and his teammates proud, in helping Dayton win so many Football games, some of which, they said, were unwinnable — Except for Jon Husted’s brilliant playing. In Politics, he will be even better than he was at Football. AGAIN, JON HUSTED HAS MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!" Trump added.
Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama is backing Brown in the race.
"I’m coming for you, Ohio! Join me in Cleveland on October 24 for a rally to support @AmyActonOH, @SherrodBrown, and Democrats up and down the ballot," Obama declared earlier this week in a post on X.
When voters rate the economy and the president negatively just weeks before Election Day, the incumbent party is vulnerable, and that’s certainly the case in the latest Fox News survey.
The economic landscape is stark. Six in 10 voters say the cost of living is their top economic worry, overshadowing government spending (15%), jobs and income inequality (7% each), tariffs (6%) and taxes (5%).
Majorities rate the economy negatively (74%) and expect it to worsen next year (53%), while two-thirds are dissatisfied with how things are going in the country (66%). Few, 18%, say their family is better off compared to two years ago. Independents say they’re worse off (52%) and think the economy will get worse (70%).
The political strategists I have known in my career are among the smartest, most interesting, most knowledgeable and most impressive people I have ever met.
They are also capable of more white-hot animus for other people than anyone I have ever met.
And I am not talking about Democrats hating Republicans, or vice versa. That is frequently a manageable relationship. Sometimes they even share a corporate client.
The disgust to which I refer is intraparty. That is when the hatred becomes unmatched by all other human relationships.
{{#rendered}}Tensions flared on the debate stage Wednesday night, where Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., faced off against Democrat military veteran Cait Conley to represent their suburban New York district in Congress .
Lawler is vying for a third term representing the Empire State's 17th Congressional District.
One of the few swing seats left in Congress, the race could prove decisive for which party controls the House of Representatives for the latter half of President Donald Trump's term.
Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, a Democrat, said that the Bible does not take a position on abortion during a CNN town hall on Wednesday before a voter pushed back on his claim.
Talarico told voter Jody Hunt, a self-described "one-issue voter," that his support for abortion rights was compatible with her Christian values because "the Bible is silent on the issue of abortion."
But Hunt disagreed with Talarico's characterization of the text.
"I just want to add that the Bible is not silent on abortion. There is the 10 Commandments: 'Thou shall not kill,'" Hunt replied.
"And as Catholics, we take great insult, I guess sometimes, when it’s described that way," she continued.
President Donald Trump brought a blunt warning to Arizona voters Wednesday, declaring Democrats would "destroy our country" as he blasted their State of the Union conduct and urged supporters to turn the state red from top to bottom.
With Election Day less than three weeks away, Trump rallied behind Rep. Andy Biggs, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, and a slate of GOP candidates during a campaign stop in Bullhead City, taking aim at Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs and calling for a victory in honor of Charlie Kirk.
"On election night, Arizona is going to prove that America does not belong to those who hate it," Trump said. "America belongs to those who love, love, love, love — love it."
Biggs joined Trump onstage and pointed back to the president’s February State of the Union address to Congress, accusing Democrats of refusing to stand when Trump challenged lawmakers about their commitment to Americans.
"Vote Republican top to bottom," Biggs told the crowd. "Let’s turn Arizona red."
{{#rendered}}Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., faced off against Democrat opponent Cait Conley Wednesday night in a one-hour debate filled with interruptions and fiery accusations less than three weeks before Election Day.
Lawler is vying for a third term representing New York's 17th Congressional District, a politically moderate area in the New York City suburbs that could decide the fate of who controls the House of Representatives for the final years of President Donald Trump's term.
Lawler called out Conley for misrepresenting his voting record, Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act and her own stance on immigration enforcement. Conley, meanwhile, tried to paint Lawler as a Trump acolyte who put the needs of Washington Republicans ahead of the people of his district.
Their most heated clashes came on the immigration front, when the moderator referenced the recent shooting of an illegal immigrant by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last week in New York City while the man's 5-year-old child was in the car.
House Democrats are preparing a sweeping 100-day agenda in the event that they regain control of the chamber in next month’s elections.
The party’s priorities include lowering the cost of groceries, gas and health care, restoring expanded Affordable Care Act tax credits, reversing Republican Medicaid cuts and seeking votes to end the Trump administration’s tariff policies.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has also tasked lawmakers with preparing investigations into President Donald Trump, his family and his administration.
Republicans currently hold a narrow House majority, making control of the chamber one of the central contests of the 2026 midterms.
President Donald Trump is continuing his campaign blitz for Republican candidates with the midterm elections now just 19 days away.
Trump rallied voters in Arizona and Montana on Wednesday, backing candidates in key races while emphasizing Republican priorities including gun rights, national security and the economy.
In Montana, Trump announced that the Pentagon would establish a new “super range” in the state to test advanced weapons and military technologies.
The president also repeated disputed claims about the 2022 Arizona election and warned voters that Republicans’ control of Congress is at stake in November.
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