President Donald Trump is continuing to rally Republicans with a stop in North Carolina tonight, hoping to boost voter turnout and support for GOP Senate nominee Michael Whatley.
And while some candidates, like Whatley, are embracing the president’s involvement in their campaign, others appear less eager.
John Sununu, the Senate Republican nominee in New Hampshire, has distanced himself from Trump in a new TV ad — even though he has the president’s endorsement.
Meanwhile, this year’s midterm elections are poised to break records for ad spending, with more than $11 billion projected by Election Day. A big driver of those skyrocketing costs is billionaire megadonors on both sides of the aisle, fueling the advertising blitz.
If you’re just joining us, here’s the latest:
Money pouring in
Shifting races: The Cook Political Report, an election forecasting agency, made changes to its ratings for three Senate races. Cook moved the Senate race in South Carolina from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican.” The Senate race in Mississippi was also moved from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican,” reflecting deteriorating GOP prospects there. Cook also shifted the Senate race in Minnesota from “likely Democrat” to “lean Democrat.”
Voter turnout in North Carolina: Just over 9% of North Carolina’s registered voters have already cast a ballot in the 2026 midterm election, according to the state’s Board of Elections. A total of 733,299 early in-person and absentee ballots have been cast.
Slight Democratic edge in Ohio: A new CNN Poll of Polls average, including four recent surveys of likely voters, finds Democrat Sherrod Brown with a narrow advantage over Republican Jon Husted, 49% to 44%.
Michigan Senate race: Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed laid out their competing visions for how to bring jobs and manufacturing back to the state, as they work to make their closing pitch to voters ahead of Election Day at a Detroit Economic Club candidate forum.
Michigan Senate candidates vie for Black voter support in final weeks
Black voters on both sides of the aisle say that Michigan Senate candidates should not take their vote for granted in this pivotal election. CNN’s Jeff Zeleny reports.
CNN Shorts:
Michigan Senate candidates vie for Black voter support in final weeks
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CNN’s Kit Maher, David Wright, Patrick Svitek, Katherine Koretski, Ariel Edwards-Levy, Elise Hammond and Dianne Gallagher contributed to this report.