13 days until midterms, Trump heads to South Carolina as Democrats widen battleground map

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said during Minnesota's gubernatorial debate on Wednesday that the war in Iran will not end "without a check on Donald Trump," attempting to tie the midterm elections to the conflict in the Middle East, which has led to soaring gas prices in the U.S. and around the world.

"Without a check on Donald Trump, this war is not coming to an end. Soon, as people go to the ballot box, they better think about that," Klobuchar said.

The senator also vowed to lower taxes after the Trump administration's trade war and conflict in Iran that she linked to higher prices for Americans.

"I'm not going to raise taxes. And if I can, I will lower them, including on Social Security, because I believe that with the headwinds we're seeing right now from Donald Trump from the tariffs that my opponent has said are effective — which amounts to a $2,000 tariff tax on every family in Minnesota — from the war in Iran, which I have voted against now 14 times, which has raised the price of gas by $500. I view those things as headwinds, but not excuses. When I am your governor, I'm going to do a comprehensive review of all of our taxes, make it fit the modern world, and make it fit your lives," she said.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said during Minnesota's gubernatorial debate on Wednesday that retiring Gov. Tim Walz should have caught fraud earlier, as she vowed to prosecute people who engage in fraud.

"The fraud is simply unacceptable. And as a former prosecutor, I'm going to send those fraudsters to jail. Tim Walz should have caught the fraud earlier and he should have done more," Klobuchar said.

"We need to vet these contracts before they come in and there needs to be surprise audits. You can't just do them by Zoom. People need to show up at these places and make sure that they're delivering the services and the people that need the services get them. And then finally, we need to have a list of the fraudsters so they never come back again. And that is what I will do. I am committed to this," she continued.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a Democrat, said during Wisconsin's gubernatorial debate on Wednesday that local law enforcement agencies should not have contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and that federal immigration agents should be prohibited from wearing face coverings.

"We need to make sure that there are no contracts when it comes down to our local police departments and our sheriffs. We hire our local PD and our sheriffs to protect our local communities. If they can't do their job, which is based off of trust, how can we make sure that undocumented immigrants will call the police when they see a fire, when somebody is actually in need? Because we've eroded that trust," Crowley said.

"The other thing that we need to make sure is in place when it comes down to ICE is that they cannot wear a mask. They cannot. They must show a badge, and they cannot incite fear. They have to let us know that they're in these communities. And then third, they cannot come into our jails and our prison without a judicial warrant," he added.

Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., said during Wisconsin's gubernatorial debate on Wednesday that he would not sign a six-week abortion ban and instead continue to support the state's 20-week abortion law.

"A decade ago, when I was in the state Senate, we passed a five month bill, 20 weeks officially. But it's basically a five month bill. And I voted for that bill. And it's now the law in the state of Wisconsin. Five months. And when I talk to my constituents, they said, we want you to find a middle ground on this. We want you to compromise. And that's exactly what we did. I stand by that vote of a decade ago, and I will uphold it as the governor of Wisconsin," Tiffany said.

Asked by the moderator if he would sign a six-week ban if it passed the legislature and landed on his desk, Tiffany said, "no."

Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., said during Wisconsin's gubernatorial debate on Wednesday that he would certify the 2028 presidential election regardless of the winner.

This comes after Tiffany voted to reject electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania during the congressional certification of former President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory over President Donald Trump.

"I will certify the election in 2028, regardless of who the winner is," Tiffany said on Wednesday in the debate against his Democrat opponent, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.

Crowley said Tiffany could not be trusted to certify the 2028 presidential election "because he has shown us that because of one disagreement, he'll throw them out."

"This is why we need a governor who's going to work for you. We cannot afford to have Congressman Tom Tiffany as governor of Wisconsin," he added.

Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat, is standing up for defending Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., after she received faced backlash for suggesting that young professionals should reconsider accepting a job with the Trump administration.

In a radio interview with on "The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent," El-Sayed argued that Republicans were attempting to "manufacture" a controversy.

"The way that Donald Trump has wound himself around the justice system is frankly unprecedented. It’s ugly and it’s antidemocratic," El-Sayed, who is running against former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., for Michigan's open Senate seat, said on Wednesday.

"And so I’ll take seriously what they’re up in arms about when they start taking themselves seriously around what Donald Trump is doing and every other congressional Republican just looks away," El-Sayed continued. "They’re not serious people."

President Donald Trump said roughly half of the moves he said he has taken since returning to the Oval Office were never mentioned during his 2024 campaign, including efforts to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"When I make a promise, promises made, promises kept. Another pundit who is not a Republican-type person said whether you like Trump or not, he made promises, but he kept more promises than he made," Trump said during a rally in South Carolina. "Half of the things that I'm telling you I did, I never discussed on the campaign."

"But I never told you that most of these things, I would say, but probably half of them, I never discussed. And we did them and we did them successfully. I never said we're going to take over Venezuela beautifully. I never said we're going to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon. You know, we have to do it. I think if they had a nuclear weapon, we would be a tinderbox. We would be not knowing. I mean, our lives would be very different because they are nuts. They are nuts. They don't play games with me. They don't play games," he continued.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris urged voters to make their voices heard in the upcoming midterm elections during a campaign appearance in Las Vegas on Wednesday night, emphasizing the stakes of races in Nevada and across the country.

Speaking at a union event, Harris told attendees that the Nov. 3 elections would give voters an opportunity to influence the direction of government.

"In that era of feeling powerless, like, what can we do? This just keeps happening. That era is over because we are now 13 days away from doing something about it to stop the pain," Harris said.

The former vice president also highlighted the importance of Nevada's gubernatorial race and control of Congress, pointing to the impact elected officials have on everyday issues.

Harris' appearance in Las Vegas comes as she campaigns for Democratic candidates across several states in the closing stretch of the midterm elections.

Incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton, a Kansas pastor, faced off Wednesday night in a U.S. Senate debate, less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

The candidates took the stage in Kansas City, Missouri, to discuss issues facing Kansas voters. Marshall is seeking a second term, while Hamilton serves as senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas.

The debate comes as the Kansas Senate race has drawn increased national attention, with recent polling showing a close contest in a state that has not elected a Democratic U.S. senator since 1932.

Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany and Democratic Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley faced off Wednesday night in Wisconsin's gubernatorial debate, less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

The candidates, who are competing to succeed outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, took the stage in Milwaukee to discuss issues facing Wisconsin voters.

Recent polling has shown a close race, with Crowley holding a slight edge over Tiffany.

During Wednesday night’s Michigan Senate debate, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed passionately denied ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and admonished Republican Sen. Mike Rogers for attempting to link him to the organization.

"[El-Sayed] was passionate about defunding the police," Rogers said, responding to a question about law enforcement funding. "As a matter of fact, he asked the Muslim Brotherhood, excuse me, head Morsi in Egypt, to defund the police there, too. I mean, it's unbelievable."

Rogers was referencing a letter that the Washington Free Beacon reported El-Sayed signed in 2012 calling on the Egyptian president, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, to purge his nation’s police force.

"To bring into question my commitment to the Constitution is really beneath you," El-Sayed responded. "I am proud of America. I'm proud to be an American. I'm proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray. And the question that you would ask that, I think is actually really quite shameful. As somebody who's actually served under that Constitution, it is shameful."

El-Sayed also caught flak after social media posts from his half-sister alleging that their mother was involved in Muslim Brotherhood activism in the 1970s resurfaced. El-Sayed has denied personal or family ties to the organization and maintained that he was not raised by his biological mother.

"He keeps raising this question about this association with the organization," El-Sayed said at the debate. "I've never been a part because my mom, who's a nurse in Missouri, it doesn't make any sense. And it's actually really quite beneath you, Mike. It's really quite beneath you."

This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News Digital's Robert Schmad.

NORAD F-16 fighter jets intercepted a civilian aircraft that violated temporary flight restrictions over Clemson, South Carolina, on Wednesday evening as President Donald Trump visited the area for a midterm campaign rally.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command said the aircraft entered restricted airspace at approximately 5:39 p.m. and was intercepted by military jets.

The aircraft landed safely at a nearby airfield while being monitored by NORAD, according to a statement released Wednesday.

The incident occurred near Pendleton, where Trump was scheduled to rally support for Republican Senate candidate Darline Graham ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

NORAD warned that pilots who violate temporary flight restrictions could face federal authorities upon landing and potential enforcement action.

Officials did not identify the pilot or provide additional details about the circumstances surrounding the airspace violation.

President Donald Trump called for Democratic Senate candidate Annie Andrews to have her medical license revoked Wednesday night during a midterm campaign rally in South Carolina, accusing her of supporting gender transition treatments for minors.

Trump made the remarks while campaigning for Republican Sen. Darline Graham, who is facing Andrews in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

The president criticized Andrews' positions on transgender-related medical care, alleging that she supports providing puberty blockers to children and using taxpayer money to fund such treatments.

Trump also accused Andrews of portraying herself as a moderate while holding more progressive positions on the issue.

"Annie Andrews should have her medical license revoked," Trump said during the Wednesday night rally.

Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown holds a 5-point lead over Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio's closely watched U.S. Senate race, according to a new Fox News Poll released Wednesday, less than two weeks before Election Day.

The survey found Brown leading Husted 52% to 47% among likely voters, with economic concerns and a significant gender gap shaping the contest.

Women favor Brown by 14 points, while men back Husted by 4 points, creating an 18-point gender gap.

The poll also found that 46% of Ohio voters say their financial situation is worse than two years ago, compared with 19% who say they are better off. Voters reporting worsening finances favor Brown by 49 points.

President Donald Trump's approval rating in Ohio stands at 43%, with 57% disapproving of his job performance, according to the survey.

In the governor's race, Democrat Amy Acton leads Republican Vivek Ramaswamy 50% to 48%. The survey was conducted before Ramaswamy's controversial campaign ad featuring Acton's estranged mother became public.

The Fox News Poll surveyed 1,592 Ohio likely voters from Oct. 15-19 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico are tied in Texas' closely watched U.S. Senate race, according to a new Fox News Poll released Wednesday, less than two weeks before the midterm elections.

The survey found both candidates receiving 49% support among likely voters, compared with 51% for Talarico and 49% for Paxton in September.

Despite the deadlock, Texas voters favor Republican control of the U.S. Senate by 4 points, 51% to 47%, according to the poll.

Talarico holds a substantial advantage among Hispanic voters, who favor him 64% to 34%, while nearly 3 in 10 Republicans who do not identify with the MAGA movement support the Democrat.

The poll also found Democrats holding an enthusiasm advantage, with 69% extremely interested in the election compared with 61% of Republicans.

The Fox News Poll surveyed 1,398 likely voters from Oct. 15-19 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

Top congressional Democrats sued the Trump administration Tuesday, alleging unlawful efforts to remove suspected noncitizens from state voter rolls and intimidate election officials just two weeks before the midterm elections.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., includes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., among the plaintiffs.

The complaint alleges that the Department of Homeland Security has pressured states to review unreliable lists of suspected noncitizens, while federal officials have threatened state and local election administrators to secure compliance.

Schumer accused Trump of attempting to interfere with Americans' voting rights in a Wednesday post on X.

"Trump knows he can’t win a fair fight, so he's resorted to bullying election officials into stripping Americans of their right to vote. It’s illegal, it’s un-American, & we’re taking him to court to stop it. The voters decide who wins elections. Not Trump," Schumer wrote.

The lawsuit argues that the administration lacks authority to dictate which voters remain registered or whose ballots are counted, asserting that those responsibilities belong to states under federal law.

The Trump administration has defended its election integrity efforts as lawful measures to prevent noncitizen voting. 

With Election Day less than two weeks away, Minnesota’s leading candidates for governor meet for their second debate, with Democrat Amy Klobuchar and Republican Lisa Demuth making their case to lead a state grappling with fraud, affordability and government oversight.

Klobuchar and Demuth debated earlier this week, discussing the economy, business climate and workforce; both pledged not to raise taxes.

The candidates also clashed over Minnesota’s fraud scandal and who should be held accountable. Klobuchar said she would have caught the fraud, while Demuth vowed to fire state commissioners she says failed to prevent it. The scandal has become a central line of attack against outgoing Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s administration. Walz is not seeking reelection.

Klobuchar, a longtime U.S. senator, is emphasizing affordability and restoring trust in state government. Demuth argues voters should choose new leadership after years of Democratic control.

Minnesotans vote Nov. 3.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he was unfamiliar with the controversy surrounding an attack ad by Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said he had heard about the advertisement but did not believe Ramaswamy was responsible for the strained relationship between Acton and her mother.

"I don't know about it, I heard that there's something where... her mother went against her. I don't know what that has to do with Vivek," Trump said.

The president also suggested the controversy was receiving attention because it involved a Republican candidate.

"The fact is, I know nothing about it, but, I hear the mother went, very rogue on the daughter, doesn't have a lot of respect for the daughter. And I think the mother is a witness to things also. So, who knows? And you'll have to figure that out," Trump said.

"It's a very unusual situation to have a mother hate a daughter that much. But I don't think that has anything to do with Vivek," he added.

The advertisement features Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, criticizing her daughter. Acton has publicly discussed experiencing childhood sexual abuse, and the ad has drawn criticism from Republicans and Democrats, including GOP Sen. Jon Husted, who said he would not have run it. 

Republican Sen. Darline Graham accused Democratic challenger Annie Andrews of misleading South Carolina voters with campaign advertisements Wednesday as President Donald Trump prepared to rally support for Graham in the increasingly competitive Senate race.

Appearing on Fox News' "America Reports," Graham claimed Andrews was spending approximately $1 million a week on advertising and questioned the sources of her campaign funding.

"84% of her donors are from out of the state. So that tells me that they want to flip our state from a red state to a blue state," Graham said.

The Republican senator also accused Andrews of misrepresenting her professional background, claiming she had been fired from the University of South Carolina and criticizing her ties to a gun control organization.

Andrews, meanwhile, has argued that South Carolina needs a senator willing to challenge Washington rather than align closely with the president.

"We need someone in this seat who will wake up and fight for South Carolina first," Andrews said in a clip played during the interview.

Graham also addressed rising living costs, supporting a temporary suspension of gas taxes while arguing that easing regulations on oil drilling and refineries would provide longer-term relief.

Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico got a big-name boost from a surprising corner of the Republican Party as former first daughter Barbara Bush recently donated to the main PAC supporting his campaign.

Former President George W. Bush has had a strained relationship with President Donald Trump dating back to the 2016 campaign, when Trump mocked both his mother and brother. But the donation by Bush’s daughter, the twin sister of NBC host Jenna Bush Hager, comes at a crucial time for Republicans’ hopes of holding the U.S. Senate.

Fox News Digital confirmed through FEC filings that Barbara Bush — who shares the name of the late first lady, her grandmother — contributed $2,500 to Lone Star Rising PAC this quarter. The PAC accounts for almost all the outside spending supporting Talarico, according to Houston Public Media.

While the amount is smaller than contributions from some other big-name donors, including The Eagles’ Don Henley, who gave $150,000 to the PAC, analysts said it is notable that Bush did not make an effort to conceal her politically famous identity.

"She didn’t give it to a 501(c)(4), in which her contribution would’ve been completely anonymous. She gave it to a PAC that reports all the money in and out," Texas campaign finance expert Andrew Cates told Houston Public Media.

This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News Digital's Charles Creitz.

Republican Sen. Jon Husted distanced himself Wednesday from a controversial attack ad by Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, even as Vice President JD Vance defended his fellow Republican amid criticism from within the party.

“I would not have run that ad,” Husted told The Associated Press in a statement.

Husted's remarks came as Vance criticized Republicans who objected to the 60-second advertisement featuring the estranged mother of Ramaswamy's Democratic opponent, Amy Acton.

“I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America,” Vance said, according to the AP.

The disagreement emerged as Vance campaigned alongside Husted and Ramaswamy in Ohio. Husted, who is facing former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in November, did not address the controversy during the rally.

The advertisement features Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, criticizing her daughter. Acton has publicly discussed experiencing childhood sexual abuse, and the ad has drawn criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Democratic Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola acknowledged Wednesday that her campaign is being outspent in the final 13 days before the midterm elections, pointing to financial support from billionaire Elon Musk.

Speaking during a DNC Native Caucus call, Peltola said her campaign is struggling to keep pace with Republican spending as she seeks to unseat incumbent GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan.

"And we're being outspent here at the end. Elon Musk made a huge cash infusion and Alaska was one of the biggest, you know, places that they invested. So, we are we are really scrambling," Peltola said.

Despite the financial challenges, the former congresswoman pointed to increased grassroots support, saying her campaign has attracted more than 15,000 volunteers this election cycle, compared with roughly 1,000 during her 2024 campaign.

A protester was escorted out of Vice President JD Vance's rally in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Thursday after shouting at the vice president, prompting Vance to mock the man's appearance.

Vance accused the protester of pretending to be a supporter of President Donald Trump's MAGA movement after the man removed his Make America Great Again hat and threw it to the ground.

"He was trying to pretend to be MAGA ... you noticed how he took off his [Make] America Great Again hat and threw it down?" Vance said.

"Here's the problem, ladies and gentlemen: he told on himself. Because when he took that hat off, it was very obvious that he has not washed his hair in about three months," the vice president added.

MAGA Inc., the super PAC aligned with President Donald Trump, has spent $25 million on television advertising to support Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan's U.S. Senate race, a source familiar with the spending told Fox News.

The investment makes Michigan the group's second-largest Senate television advertising expenditure this election cycle, behind Texas, where MAGA Inc. has spent $46 million supporting Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, according to the source.

The spending figures come ahead of Rogers' Senate debate against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed on Wednesday night and Trump's scheduled campaign stop in Michigan this weekend.

The spending underscores the financial resources Trump-aligned groups are directing toward the two Senate contests in the final days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Fox News' Aishah Hasnie contributed to this post.

Attorney Paul Mauro joined ‘The Faulkner Focus’ to discuss Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and her two federal investigation as she faces scrutiny over fundraising tied to her legal challenges.

Vice President JD Vance defended an attack ad from Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy that featured his opponent's mother on Wednesday.

The add featured Democrat Amy Acton's mother calling her daughter a "liar" and urging Ohio voters not to support her. Vance defended the ad when asked about it during a campaign appearance on Wednesday.

"Well, I'll be honest with you. Whether the ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern. What is my concern is who's going to govern the next generation of American government? Who is going to win the Senate race in the state of Ohio? Who's going to win the governor's race in the state of Ohio? And I got to be honest, that when I see Republicans, people in my party reacting so strongly, especially elected officials, look, have the opinion you want to have on that ad. If you think it was too tough, say it was too tough. If you think it wasn't tough enough, say that. But I have to admit that I'm a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America," Vance said.

"So I would say to Ohio Republicans, do you actually think that Amy Acton is unfit to serve as governor of the state of Ohio? I do. Do you actually think that Sherrod Brown should not be given a 50th year in public service to ship American jobs overseas and to bring men into women's sports? Because I do I actually think and I would hope that my fellow Republicans think, that the reason that John Husted should be a United States senator is because he's the right man for the job, and because Vivek should be the governor of Ohio. We should actually fight for these candidates," he continued.

"So my message to Republicans is, remember some of the ads that have been run against me, I've run in, I guess, two races now in my entire life, people have called Vivek Ramaswamy a murderer, and some of the advertisements ran against him. People have called, you know, used the president of the United States. How many times have we seen advertisements using his family members as strange family members to go after the president of the United States? Politics is a tough business. And my message to my fellow elected Republicans is, if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days," he added.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that he’s not turning his back and cutting bait on any of the several tight races across the map, but shifting money and worsening polls show that some contests might not be salvageable.

While campaigning with GOP Sen. Susan Collins in Maine on Wednesday, former Sen. Joe Manchin, a longtime Democrat who switched to independent less than a year before leaving office, declared that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is "crazy ... to work against" the Republican incumbent.

Manchin pushed back when asked whether his campaigning amounts to giving the Democratic Party the middle finger, as well as what Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said about the move.

"No," Manchin said, adding that "Chuck Schumer would not be surprised at all, me being with my dear friend. There's no surprise there at all.

"I told him he was crazy in 2020, from working against her so hard. And he's crazy now to work against her. This is not right. She is the soul of America. She's the soul of the Senate," he said, suggesting that Schumer "knows, he needs more Susan Collins," regardless of which side of the political aisle such individuals occupy.

"This is ridiculous," he added.

The Schumer campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's comment request on Wednesday.

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

Democrats are up in arms after a so-called polling firm that projected far-left candidates as strong contenders in several primaries admitted that it had fabricated its polling data.

Wedgewood Polling, which billed itself as an election survey company, released a statement Tuesday night admitting it used "fabricated numbers" for an "experimental project to demonstrate the vulnerabilities, lack of oversight, and overall low barrier to entry in the modern political polling industry.

"The group's polls were cited by Abdul El-Sayed's campaign amid a high-profile primary race against Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and U.S. House Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich. The nonpartisan polling aggregator Political Polls also cited Wedgewood in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race, showing socialist Francesca Hong having an edge over Republican candidate Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis.

McMorrow said Wedgewood's numbers led to her donations drying up and reporters having "hounded" her with calls to drop out of the race.

"Sure, a point was proven. Polling is broken. But tens of thousands of people poured their hearts, time, energy, hard-earned money into something they believed in - for a year-and-a-half, and it was treated like a game," she said in a statement on X. "Trust is already at an all-time low. We don't get out of this mess without rebuilding trust. And media - who loves to ride the drama of a pollercoaster - needs to take a hard look at what's legitimate and what's not."

Unlike El-Sayed, who advanced from Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, Hong lost Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary to the establishment-backed candidate. El-Sayed, a former Michigan public health official, is currently locked in a tight race against former U.S. House Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., for Michigan's open Senate seat.

Democrat strategist Jennifer Holdsworth said she ran a super PAC that raised money for McMorrow and that "this poll was used by several donors to pull back funding at a time we were being outspent by $80 million."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind.

Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy admitted that his campaign is responsible for an ad featuring Democratic opponent Amy Acton's estranged mother urging voters not to cast their ballot for her daughter.

“It is an ad from our campaign,” Ramaswamy said on Tuesday, adding that he “would love for this race and this election to be about the substantive issues that impact Ohioans. And unfortunately, Amy Acton has been hiding from those issues. She won’t debate me. She doesn’t allow cameras at her events. And I think her record of continuously, certainly during this campaign, I would say spreading some defamatory, disparaging lies about me and my family, that does deserve to be scrutinized.” 

"I've never met Amy Acton, which is a regret," he said, noting he wishes he had met his rival. “I've also never met her mother. She was not compensated."

In the controversial video, Acton's mother called her daughter "a liar."

“I love my daughter. But when I saw her lying about her opponent — it's not easy for a mother to say this — but Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar," Donna Arthur said in the video. "Don't vote for people who lie. Don't let her become your governor. If you think she'll make your life better, you're fooling yourself. It will only get worse."

The Acton campaign slammed Ramaswamy in a statement on Wednesday.

“Vivek Ramaswamy investing $4 million to run a repulsive advertisement that gives star billing to Dr. Acton’s abusive mother is both despicable and entirely predictable from a scam artist who has spent this campaign standing alongside abusers and sex predators,” Acton campaign spokesperson Addie Bullock declared in the statement issued on Wednesday.

“Ramaswamy is showing Ohio exactly who he is — a self-serving billionaire who will do or say anything for his own gain, no matter who he harms along the way. The stakes of this race have never been higher and the contrast has never been clearer: Vivek Ramaswamy is totally unfit to lead Ohio.”

Acton's campaign spokesperson also released a statement about the ad on Tuesday.

"The choice to use, and then stand by, Dr. Acton’s estranged and abusive mother who stayed married to her rapist stepfather until the day he died shows Ohioans exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is," Acton campaign spokesperson Addie Bullock said in the statement issued on Tuesday.

"Ramaswamy has taken every opportunity possible to campaign with pedophiles, abusers and sex predators while accepting more than $100,000 from Epstein associates and mocking Dr. Acton for being a survivor of childhood sexual abuse," the statement said. "Ramaswamy will do anything, including embrace child sex predators, to get what he wants. This isn’t just disturbing; it’s disqualifying. Ohio deserves better."

Former Sen. Joe Manchin III, a long-time Democrat who became an independent during his waning days in the Senate, is campaigning with incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins today in Maine.

Collins is facing Democratic challenger Troy Jackson, a former Maine state senator.

Manchin served in the U.S. Senate from late 2010 until early 2025, switching to independent in 2024.

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

A federal judge denied a motion for preliminary injunction on rules pertaining to North Carolina absentee ballots.

The case involved a legal challenge against rules on mail-in ballot envelopes and signatures.

The decision issued Monday by U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina Judge Thomas D. Schroeder, a George W. Bush nominee, noted that early voting in the state was already "underway."

Early, in-person voting started last week in the state.

"The Supreme Court has repeatedly admonished lower courts that they 'should ordinarily not alter the election rules on the eve of an election,'" the ruling noted.

"Plaintiffs have also delayed. They waited eighteen days after the 2026 Numbered Memo was issued to bring this action, and they did not file their motion for preliminary injunction until the day before the counting of absentee ballots would begin," the judge wrote. "Apart from these deficiencies, Plaintiffs have not made the 'clear showing' the law requires that they are likely to succeed on the merits."

A New York Times/Siena poll found that while 52% of likely voters are more likely to cast their ballot for the Democratic U.S. House candidate in their congressional district, only 41% were more likely to back the Republican running for the seat.

That statistic in the poll represents an overall 11% preference among likely voters toward Democratic congressional candidates, which could bode ill for the GOP as it seeks to retain its House majority during the midterms.

The poll of 3,494 likely voters was carried out Oct. 12 to 19, and had a plus or minus 1.9 percentage point margin of error for both the likely electorate as well as registered voters, according to the outlet.

Former Obama staffers who host the "Pod Save America" podcast debated Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s handling of a recent question about his family’s alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

While Tommy Vietor and his co-hosts sympathized with El-Sayed over questions they considered "bigoted," Jon Favreau warned that El-Sayed must keep in mind that he is speaking not just to the questioner, but also to voters who may be concerned about the Muslim Brotherhood itself.

Concerns about alleged ties between El-Sayed's family and the Muslim Brotherhood emerged after the Washington Free Beacon reported on social media posts in which El-Sayed's half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, described her family's history with the organization, including her and El-Sayed's mother.

At an October 17 town hall, El-Sayed bristled when an audience member asked whether he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood. After disavowing the organization, El-Sayed turned the scrutiny back on the audience member, saying, "You’re asking the question because, implicitly, you assume that I’ll have dual loyalties, right? You assume that I wouldn’t disavow, or that I'll have some higher order allegiance than to the Constitution, correct? Tommy, is that what you imply?"

Favreau criticized Republican attempts to tie El-Sayed to the organization through his family connections, but argued that the GOP was using the issue to sway voters.

Click here to read more

Investor Bill Ackman called the Democratic Party "crazy, radicalized and anti-American" during an interview on Tuesday, arguing that the party is "in a very bad place."

"I think the Democratic Party is in the worst place it's ever been, in the 250-year history of the country," Ackman told Katie Miller, host of the "Katie Miller Podcast." "I think it's become like this crazy, radicalized, you know, anti-American thing. I think it's — and by the way, I think there's some very high-quality Democrats, you know, senators and, sure, some congressmen — but the party itself, I think, is in a very bad place."

Ackman specifically named Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as someone he used to be friendly with but now believes has "compromised" on his values.

"And I think the problem with people who've chosen to be a politician for a career, you either have to get with the party in order to continue, or you get primaries," Ackman said. "You know, actually, Senator Schumer, I had a good relationship with him over the years. I thought he was a good man. But in recent years, I felt he's just trying to keep his job." 

Click here to read more

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is taking aim at President Donald Trump's administration and trying to boost Democrats during the midterms.

"The cost of everything from groceries and gas to housing and childcare is going up because of choices made by Donald Trump's administration. Those choices have consequences. So do elections. The midterms are our chance to elect leaders who will fight for the people," Harris wrote in a post on X. "Over the next week, I will hit the trail in Nevada, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Georgia to campaign for some of those incredible leaders. I'll see you out there."

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's comment request on Wednesday.

Elon Musk urged Texans to vote for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton.

“The fate of Texas and America is at stake. Vote for @KenPaxtonTX today,” Musk wrote in a Tuesday post on X.

Paxton, the Lone Star State's attorney general, is running for U.S. Senate against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, who has said that “Elon Musk is trying to buy this Senate seat in Texas.”

President Donald Trump is scheduled to campaign in South Carolina on Wednesday for Republican Senate candidate Darline Graham as the GOP works to protect its Senate majority.

Graham is seeking a full six-year term after being appointed to the seat previously held by her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Trump’s campaign stop in Pendleton comes as Democrats seek to expand the Senate map and challenge Republicans in states that have traditionally favored the GOP.

The president has made a series of campaign appearances for Republican candidates in the final weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, urging voters to preserve GOP control of Congress.

The midterm affordability debate is expanding beyond gas and grocery prices to include childcare, housing and the cost of raising a family.

Childcare costs have risen faster than inflation in recent years, with the average cost of full-time care topping $13,000 in 2025, according to Child Care Aware of America.

The issue is becoming a focus in competitive House races, including Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, where Democratic candidate Bob Brooks supports universal prekindergarten and expanded federal childcare assistance.

Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie has backed a more limited approach centered on tax credits for families and employers that provide childcare benefits.

The debate comes as President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance offer different tones on the economy, with Trump promoting a “golden age” while Vance acknowledges that families are still feeling financial pressure.

Democrats are expanding their midterm strategy into traditionally Republican states as they seek to regain control of the Senate.

The Senate Majority PAC is making a $1.2 million television ad buy in Mississippi to support Democratic Senate candidate Scott Colom against Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.

Mississippi has not elected a Democratic senator since 1982, and President Donald Trump carried the state by nearly 23 points in 2024.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to campaign with Colom on Thursday as part of a broader five-state swing that also includes Nevada, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Georgia.

The Democratic push comes as former President Bill Clinton campaigns in Florida for gubernatorial candidate David Jolly and other high-profile Democrats target competitive races across the country.