![\"Oliver](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Oliver-Milman,-L.png\")
Oliver Milman<\/p>\nMore than 50.5m early votes have been cast, far outpacing 2022 numbersOliver Milman<\/p>\n
There has been a surge of early voting for the US midterm elections, with millions more Americans going to the polls compared with the last such election amid a series of tight contests that will determine control of Congress.<\/p>\n
More than 50.5m early votes have been cast across the US as of Saturday morning, according to an analysis by the University of Florida<\/a>. This is already nearly 5m more votes than the total number of early votes made in the last midterm elections, in 2022.<\/p>\n Voter enthusiasm for Tuesday\u2019s election appears to be strongest among Democrats, with 10.7 million registered Democrats voting so far, according to the states that collate such information, compared with 7.8 million registered Republicans<\/a>.<\/p>\n These party affiliations are not indicative of actual votes cast but polling has shown widespread unhappiness with the presidency of Donald Trump<\/a> and unusually close races in states usually won comfortably by Republicans.<\/p>\n Republicans are defending a 53-47 Senate majority in a midterm election in which the battleground map has expanded significantly, with Democrats<\/a> aiming to pull off victories in traditionally conservative-leaning states such as Texas, Alaska and even Kansas that will allow them to take control of the Senate.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.38 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n A remote Alaskan town and major seafood producer reels from Trump’s policies Located further west than the Hawaiian islands, Unalaska is closer to Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul than Washington DC. Most visitors arrive on flights from Anchorage, which cost at least $1,600 round trip and are prone to cancellation, due to the region\u2019s unpredictable storms and fog.<\/p>\n But Unalaska is by no means a backwater. It has been the country\u2019s most productive seafood port by volume for more than two and a half decades, and when its crab and pollock seasons are open, thousands of deckhands and processors arrive from elsewhere to work tough but well-paying jobs on boats offshore and in seafood plants crowded in the city.<\/p>\n Even here, the impacts of Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to remake the US government in his image can be felt. Since Trump returned to the White House, the library, museum, public radio station and local government have had funding they relied on disrupted or canceled altogether. Longshoremen have been tasked with loading empty containers on to ships to avoid tariffs. And the soaring price<\/a> for diesel has squeezed not just the seafood industry, but all of the nearly 4,300 residents of the city, who rely on the fuel for electricity.<\/p>\n \u201cThis whole town runs on diesel,\u201d said Daneen Looby, a longtime Unalaska resident who sits on the city council and owns the Norwegian Rat Saloon. With distributors upping the fuel surcharges she pays for food and alcohol shipments, Looby is thinking of raising her menu prices. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to, but I kind of have to, otherwise I\u2019m going to become a charity.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris Stein reports from Unalaska:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>El-Sayed, Stevens joint campaign event in doubt after renewed schism, Stevens’ fiance says<\/p>\n A planned campaign event between Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan\u2019s Democratic nominee for Senate, and Haley Stevens, his erstwhile primary opponent, appears in jeopardy after a renewed feud between the two.<\/p>\n Jason Turkish, Stevens\u2019 fianc\u00e9, was asked on Fox News on Saturday morning whether Stevens would go ahead with the appearance tomorrow.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know where that stands,\u201d Turkish replied.<\/p>\n El-Sayed and Stevens\u2019 joint appearance \u2013 brokered as a sign of unity between two bitter Democratic primary foes in the final days of the midterm election \u2013 has started to unravel over an issue that fiercely divided the two during the primary: US support for Israel.<\/p>\n Stevens has indicated that she believed her appearance at the event was contingent on El-Sayed disavowing a campaign ad put out by an outside group, which attributed the rising cost of living in the US to American military support for Israel.<\/p>\n Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed. Photograph: Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cHer only ask, small ask, was that we not blame all of society\u2019s high cost on one group of people,\u201d Turkish said on Fox News, explaining his fiance\u2019s rationale. He added: \u201cIt puts Jews at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n El-Sayed fired back on Saturday, accusing Stevens of \u201crelitigating a primary that ended three months ago\u201d.<\/p>\n El-Sayed has been an outspoken critic of Israel, and has said he would seek to end US military aid to the country. Stevens, meanwhile, was about as staunch a supporter of Israel as is likely to be found in the Democratic party.<\/p>\n Their primary contest in many ways encapsulated the growing rift between the pro- and anti-Israel wings of the Democratic party, amid a groundswell of voters increasingly displeased about the country\u2019s ruthless campaign against Gaza and its escalation of wider conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.35 EDT<\/p>\n More than 50.5m early votes have been cast, far outpacing 2022 numbers There has been a surge of early voting for the US midterm elections, with millions more Americans going to the polls compared with the last such election amid a series of tight contests that will determine control of Congress.<\/p>\n More than 50.5m early votes have been cast across the US as of Saturday morning, according to an analysis by the University of Florida<\/a>. This is already nearly 5m more votes than the total number of early votes made in the last midterm elections, in 2022.<\/p>\n Voter enthusiasm for Tuesday\u2019s election appears to be strongest among Democrats, with 10.7 million registered Democrats voting so far, according to the states that collate such information, compared with 7.8 million registered Republicans<\/a>.<\/p>\n These party affiliations are not indicative of actual votes cast but polling has shown widespread unhappiness with the presidency of Donald Trump<\/a> and unusually close races in states usually won comfortably by Republicans.<\/p>\n Republicans are defending a 53-47 Senate majority in a midterm election in which the battleground map has expanded significantly, with Democrats<\/a> aiming to pull off victories in traditionally conservative-leaning states such as Texas, Alaska and even Kansas that will allow them to take control of the Senate.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.38 EDT<\/p>\n Ads hammer Republican candidates on Epstein in final days before midterms<\/p>\n In races across the country, Democratic candidates or groups that support them have released ads accusing Republicans<\/a> of protecting pedophiles by voting against legislation to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n The ads appear intended to evoke an emotional response by accusing candidates of \u201cprotecting\u201d Epstein, a notorious pedophile accused of running a sex-trafficking ring involving minors.<\/p>\n An analysis from CNN found that candidates and outside groups have spent more than $35m on Epstein-related ads. Another from the Washington Post found that Democrats<\/a> spent more than $40m on Epstein-related ads across six key Senate races.<\/p>\n In Colorado, ads targeting Republican Jeff Crank note that the lawmaker voted against releasing the Epstein files. In one, the family members of Virginia Giuffre, a woman who survived abuse at the hands of Epstein and died by suicide last year, claim Crank \u201ccovered up Epstein\u2019s crimes to protect Donald Trump\u201d.<\/p>\n Ashley Hinson, a Senate candidate in Iowa, was accused of voting to \u201cprotect her donors\u201d by refusing to vote to release the Epstein files.<\/p>\n \u201cThis week I had to explain to my boys, \u2018No, Mom does not protect pedophiles,\u2019\u201d Hinson said in a campaign ad responding to attacks over the Epstein files.<\/p>\n My colleague Ariana Baio has the story:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.25 EDT<\/p>\n DC, Virginia sue to halt construction of Trump\u2019s monumental arch<\/p>\n Washington DC and the state of Virginia jointly filed a lawsuit on Saturday to prevent the Trump administration<\/a> from moving ahead with plans for a 250ft arch the president envisions in the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project is flagrantly unlawful,\u201d the two plaintiffs said in their complaint, accusing the administration of trying to skirt around laws requiring them to consult and gain the consent of other parties before enacting a plan that would \u201ctransform the District\u2019s physical landscape\u201d.<\/p>\n It also alleged that the arch\u2019s construction would place an exceptional burden on both Washington and Virginia, for which they would have to foot the bill.<\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as Defendants break ground on this project, they will inflict irreparable harm on both the District and Virginia,\u201d the lawsuit read.<\/p>\n An artist\u2019s rendering of Trump\u2019s proposed arch. Illustration: US Commission on Fine Arts\/Reuters<\/p>\n It continued: \u201cDuring the three year period of construction, the Arch project will inevitably snarl traffic between the jurisdictions, produce pollution and stormwater runoff in the Potomac, interfere with emergency services, and pose numerous other challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n The Trump administration has been undertaking something of a remodeling blitz in the nation\u2019s capital (see: the demolished east wing of the White House) at the president\u2019s behest, and at breakneck speed.<\/p>\n The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of knowingly overstepping its bounds, and simply trying to move ahead with construction before the courts can catch up.<\/p>\n \u201cThis Court should not allow this effort to escape judicial scrutiny,\u201d the lawsuit read. \u201cIt should declare the Arch unlawful, enjoin its construction, and ensure that Congress \u2013 and the people it represents \u2013 have the final say in any new monuments constructed in the Nation\u2019s capital.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.41 EDT<\/p>\n How Trump and his allies seek to interfere the US midterm elections Donald Trump is waging a brazen effort to interfere with voting in this year\u2019s midterm elections, escalating concerns that the federal government will try to slow down certification of election results \u2013 a strategy that could create chaos when the new Congress is seated next year.<\/p>\n Experts are certain the administration\u2019s efforts to subvert America\u2019s elections will not work. And some have bemoaned \u201cfearmongering\u201d about far-fetched scenarios that are unlikely to go anywhere in court.<\/p>\n But after the attack on the Capitol on 6 January 2021, voting lawyers and other democracy groups aren\u2019t dismissing the possibility of anything.<\/p>\n The potential for interference is related to how close the contest winds up being, said Ned Foley, a professor at the Ohio State University and an expert on disputed elections.<\/p>\n \u201cThe more it looks like a blowout or a \u2018blue tsunami\u2019, the harder it\u2019s going to be for any attempt to make mischief to get any traction,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI put the probability of these impactful nightmare scenarios materializing at under 50%, so I\u2019m not expecting them to make a difference,\u201d he added. But he said there are \u201crisks of weird things happening, and you need to pay attention to them even if the risk is rather low\u201d.<\/p>\n The Guardian\u2019s Sam Levine has the full story:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.41 EDT<\/p>\n At campaign stop, Peltola again denies recruiting second Dan Sullivan into Alaska Senate race<\/p>\n During a rally in Anchorage yesterday evening, Democratic candidate Mary Peltola denied she was aware of an alleged effort to stack the ballot in her Alaska Senate race.<\/p>\n Reporting from the New York Times last week indicated that top members of Peltola\u2019s campaign staff were involved in an effort to recruit individuals with the same name as her main opponent, Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan, to join the race. One of those other Dan Sullivans ultimately wound up on the ballot.<\/p>\n \u201cI am so deeply offended by these accusations about having any involvement with anyone else\u2019s candidacy,\u201d Peltola told the campaign crowd.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cI\u2019m not out soliciting more competition.\u201d<\/p>\n Prior to the revelations of the Peltola campaign\u2019s possible involvement, the Trump administration<\/a> had moved to try to have the election results in Alaska blocked if the second, non-incumbent Dan Sullivan peeled away enough votes to change the outcome.<\/p>\n Since then, the president and other top Republicans<\/a> have called for Peltola\u2019s disqualification from the race and possible criminal prosecution. The governor of Alaska has announced the launch of a probe into the matter. (The tactic Peltola\u2019s campaign allegedly employed, while underhanded, has been used elsewhere, and is not clearly illegal.)<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.13 EDT<\/p>\n Affordability, AI and Iran: survey indicates key issues steering midterm voters<\/p>\n Maya Yang<\/p>\n Millions of Americans will head to the polls on 3 November in elections that will determine control of the Republican-held House of Representatives<\/a> and Senate, as well as the governorships of 36 states.<\/p>\n The midterms come amid mounting public frustration over issues ranging from the rising cost of living and immigration to the climate crisis, artificial intelligence, big tech and the US\u2019s overseas wars. Donald Trump\u2019s approval rating has fallen to 36%<\/a>, according to a New York Times\/Siena poll conducted this month.<\/p>\n Voters across the US described to the Guardian their concerns and disillusionment with the current political climate, with one characterizing the country under the Trump administration<\/a> as a \u201crogue nation, ungoverned by the rule of law\u201d. (Some respondents only shared their first name or declined to share their name for privacy reasons.)<\/p>\n For many, the cost of living is a central concern ahead of the midterms, particularly as inflation reaches 3.7%.<\/a><\/p>\n Kathryn Warren, a retired staff member from Dare county schools who lives on Hatteras Island, North Carolina, said she and her husband had already voted early.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are dying on the vine in this economy. We live in a remote area and the cost of gas is taking a big chunk of our social security. Groceries and medicine are outrageous. The medicine that keeps me alive costs $7,000 a month before insurance. In what world is that reasonable?\u201d Warren said.<\/p>\n My colleague Maya Yang has the full story: <\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump boosted US coal plants with taxpayer dollars and ‘passes to pollute’<\/p>\n Hilary Beaumont<\/p>\n It\u2019s a good time to be a coal plant in the US. The Trump administration has given support to almost half of the nation\u2019s coal plants, helping them to continue operating despite economic and regulatory headwinds, according to a new analysis<\/a> by the Environmental Defense Fund.<\/p>\n The analysis, which looked at the 184 operating coal plants that are connected to the grid, found that 90 received support from the Trump administration<\/a> through \u201ccash handouts, free passes to pollute, and requirements to stay online past their retirement dates\u201d.<\/p>\n The administration provided $950m in taxpayer dollars to 24 coal plants and handed Clean Air Act exemptions from toxic pollution limits to 70 coal plants, according to the EDF analysis.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s extending the life of these coal plants,\u201d said Surbhi Sarang, director and senior attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund. \u201cThe administration has leveraged a multitude of tools to prop up coal plants, and ultimately all of that is harming Americans even more by increasing electricity costs, by increasing pollution \u2013 it\u2019s like Americans are getting hit twice.\u201d<\/p>\n My colleague Hilary Beaumont has the full story here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Judge bars DoJ from threats to election workers as Trump to hold tele-rallies<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to the US politics<\/a> live blog.<\/p>\n Donald Trump is tele-rallying from Mar-a-Lago with just three days to go before the midterm elections. On Sunday, he will make appearances at rallies in Iowa in Kansas in a reversal after he initially backed out<\/a>.<\/p>\n With control of the US Congress<\/a> on the line, next week\u2019s midterm elections amount to a referendum on Trump, who has repeatedly urged voters to pretend he is himself on the ballot, as his approval ratings continue to decline.<\/p>\n Late on Friday, a federal judge barred<\/a> Trump\u2019s justice department from threatening or coercing election workers to stop processing ballots, the Associated Press reported. The decision also bars the department from demanding local election officials segregate or not count ballots that the federal government deems may have been cast by ineligible voters.<\/p>\n It marked another blow to the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to assert control over local elections, after a federal appeals court on Friday rejected the Department of Justice\u2019s request for California to sequester 20,000 disputed ballots.<\/p>\n In other developments:<\/p>\n![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Chris_Stein.png\")
Chris Stein<\/p>\nOliver Milman<\/p>\n![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Sam_Levine_Next_Gen.png\")
Sam Levine<\/p>\n