2026 midterm elections live updates: Latest news, results, and analysis

Expect tonight’s second and final Michigan Senate debate to be even more combative than the first.

University of Michigan public policy lecturer Rusty Hills told the Washington Examiner that Democratic nominee Abdul el Sayed and Republican nominee Mike Rogers will likely come prepared to sharpen the attacks that worked in their first face-to-face clash — and ditch those that didn’t.

“This is like Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali,” Hills said. “This is just a 12-round knockdown dragout fight.”

Hills said he expects the candidates to spend less time on policy than in the first debate, as both campaigns focus on the issues and attacks their polling and analysis show are resonating with voters.

One possible flash point: foreign policy.

During the first debate, moderator Rick Albin repeatedly pressed el Sayed on whether Iran or Israel posed a greater threat to the United States. Hills said Rogers could seize on that exchange if the candidates return to foreign policy tonight.

“If we can’t distinguish between friend and foe, you know we’ve got a problem in the U.S. Senate,” Hills said.

Hills said the candidates may never get there, however, predicting the debate is more likely to remain focused on issues such as gas and grocery prices.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) presented a custom gold coin to President Donald Trump upon his arrival to Florida on Friday.

Engraved on the coin was Trump flipping his middle finger with the words: “YOU MISSED B****ES.” The message was presumably directed at those who prosecuted Trump before he returned to the White House last year.

DeSantis said he got the coin from a friend. Recapping his conversation with the friend, the governor said, “I need to get this to the president. Can I please have one to give to him?”

DeSantis gave the gift as Trump was on his way to a rally in Fort Myers, where the president is campaigning for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL). The congressman is running against Democratic candidate David Jolly for governor of Florida.

MARTINS FERRY, Ohio — Former Sen. Sherrod Brown downplayed the importance of national politics in his race to return to the Senate when asked by the Washington Examiner during a meet-and-greet with voters in Martins Ferry, Ohio.

“I don’t care what the national political climate is,” Brown told the Washington Examiner. “It’s what I’ve done all my life. I’ve always, I’ve taken on the reg system. I’ve taken on Wall Street. I’ve taken on the drug companies. I’ve taken on the oil companies. I’m one of the leaders against these data centers where Jon Husted’s given them a $2.5 billion tax break.”

When pressed on whether he would support a hypothetical Trump nominee for the Supreme Court should a seat open up, Brown demurred.

“I’ll have to see what happens when the Supreme Court nominations come up,” he said.

Brown is in a margin-of-error race to replace Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) in the Senate, who was appointed in 2025 to take over Vice President JD Vance’s seat in the chamber.

Brown, in turn, served three six-year terms in the Senate before he lost his seat in 2024 to Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH).

President Donald Trump said Friday that he would protect Elon Musk from government weaponization if Democrats regain control of one or both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections.

Asked by a reporter if he is concerned about Democrats going after Musk, Trump explained that “we have to protect our brilliant people because we don’t have too many of them.”

The SpaceX CEO has drawn criticism from Democrats over his handling of Ukraine’s access to Starshield, a military-grade satellite network similar to Starlink. Musk reportedly ordered a slowdown of the Starshield system, limiting Ukraine’s ability to use the network for military operations.

Democrats threatened to take congressional action over Musk’s alleged efforts to hamper Ukraine in its war with Russia. Such a congressional investigation is dependent on whether Democrats can retake the House or the Senate.

“Elon said nothing wrong,” Trump said. “Elon is a very good guy. He’s a very different kind of a guy. But I think people have an obligation to protect our geniuses. You know, there aren’t that many of them.”

Musk has proven to be a strong ally of Trump and other Republicans, having spent up to $442 million on the election cycle. His latest contribution, totaling $76 million, was sent to his own America PAC in the first half of October.

President Donald Trump said Friday that he is eager to headline a campaign rally this weekend in Michigan, where he gets to talk about progressive Democrat Abdul el Sayed.

“I look so forward to Michigan, and I think it’s going to be wild,” Trump told reporters. “Because he’s a total phony, he’s a little phony. And everything about him is fake, and he’s a liar.”

The president called el Sayed a “vicious, violent jihadist” who poses as a centrist.

“I can talk about a man who’s a Muslim Brotherhood person, who’s a jihadist, and he can’t be in our Senate,” Trump said.

El Sayed denounced the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt in 1928, after Republicans tried to tie him to the group.

The rally will take place Sunday in Port Huron, Michigan. Trump is expected to stump for Republican Mike Rogers, who is running against el Sayed for the Senate. Rogers previously represented Michigan in the House from 2001 to 2015 and unsuccessfully challenged now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) in 2024.

At least four Senate Democrats plan to headline a post-election event, called Popular Mandate, in Washington.

The Nov. 10 event will come exactly one week after Election Day, when Democrats may retake control of the House and even the Senate.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Andy Kim (D-NJ) will attend the event, joining prominent progressive leaders and policy experts in reflecting on the election results. CNN reported the event details.

The event is being organized by progressive economic think tanks Groundwork Action, Public Citizen, Roosevelt Forward, and Fighting Corporate Monopolies.

“Americans aren’t casting their ballots for half-measures or moral victories – they want leaders who will bring down costs, hold corporate bad actors accountable, and make billionaires pay their fair share,” Groundwork Action President and CEO Lindsay Owens said in a statement.

Democrats are preparing to hold other events following the midterm elections. For instance, Majority Democrats will host a Nov. 12-14 summit in Denver, where possible 2028 presidential candidates are expected to be in attendance.

President Donald Trump argued at length with a reporter over a question about Ohio Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s attack ad that featured his gubernatorial opponent’s mother, which has caused disagreement within the Republican Party.

“Why wouldn’t you listen to a mother that says that?” Trump told NBC News White House correspondent Monica Alba on Friday outside the White House. In the one-minute video, Donna Arthur repeatedly called her daughter, Amy Acton, a liar.

In response, Alba tried to say that Arthur “stayed with a stepfather who was charged with raping his stepdaughter in 1978.” The president kept interrupting her.

“You just keep talking,” he said. She responded, “I am answering you, sir.”

Trump went on to say he doesn’t “know anything about stepfathers” before giving a long-winded defense of the ad.

“I know that recently a mother got on television and said that her daughter should not be governor of Ohio,” Trump told reporters. “And she said, ‘I love my daughter, but my daughter lies all the time and lied about her opponent, and I can’t watch it.'”

“This has nothing to do with the stepfather or anything else,” he continued. “This has to do with the fact that a woman got out, the mother of a person running for governor of one of the greatest states, where I set records, and said that she’s a liar. Her daughter’s a liar. She said her daughter lied about Vivek, and the mother couldn’t take it anymore. She basically said her daughter should not … be the governor of Ohio.”

Warren Norman, the son of Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), announced Friday that he will not be sharing his father’s support for Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) in the general election.

Instead, Warren Norman will be voting for Democratic Senate nominee Annie Andrews.

“I didn’t make that decision lightly, and it isn’t personal,” he wrote in an op-ed for South Carolina news outlet FITSNews. “Senator Graham lost her brother this year, and I have nothing but sympathy for her family. My decision comes down to what I believe South Carolina needs in a senator, and what I’ve seen get in the way.”

“What we need is strength, courage and real leadership,” he continued. “We need senators with the backbone to stand up to pressure from both parties, including their own, and the commitment to root out corruption wherever they find it. My family has been involved in politics for years, and I’ve seen firsthand how rare that is. The pressure to go along to get along is enormous, and it is strongest at the top.”

The congressman’s son went on to say that while he disagrees with Andrews on certain issues, they agree on “fighting corruption and reforming insurance.” He added that she appeared “genuine” in his conversation with her.

“As of today, I’m leaning her way,” he said. “It will be the first time in my life I’ve voted for a Democrat in a partisan election.”

While he will be voting for Andrews in the Senate election, Warren Norman noted he will still support South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson for governor and other Republicans up and down the ballot.

His stance on Graham is slightly different from that of his father, who ambivalently supports the senator after losing to her in South Carolina’s Republican primary runoff election. The congressman recently said he will vote for the interim senator but not campaign with her.

“I would not do an event with her, and I made that pretty clear,” Norman said in a Wednesday radio interview with The Nashional Briefing with Kelly Nash, two days before his son’s op-ed was published. “When I conceded the race, I called her and congratulated her, but that’s the only time I’ve spoken with her.”

Warren Norman also revealed his family won’t vote for Graham. He has four adult children with his longtime wife.

President Donald Trump will vote Saturday morning in Florida, according to a White House aide.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump will be taking advantage of Florida’s early-voting period, which lasts until Oct. 31.

The president previously voted by mail twice in the red state this year before the midterm elections got well underway.

Trump is campaigning Friday in Fort Myers at a midterm rally, where he will reiterate his support for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) for governor.

Six Democratic Minnesota state senators released a statement late Thursday in advance of Twitch streamer Hasan Piker’s scheduled appearance on socialist state Sen. Omar Fateh’s podcast.

The state lawmakers said they “strongly object to giving a platform and legitimacy to Hasan Piker, a nationally known Jew-hater, homophobe, and misogynist,” citing his past controversial statements.

The statement was signed by Minnesota state Sens. Ron Latz, John Hoffman, Matt Klein, Steve Cwodzinski, Ann Rest, and Jim Carlson.

“The undersigned DFL members of the Minnesota Senate reject his messages of hate and urge the cancellation of his appearance on the podcast,” they wrote. “Hate — and Piker — are not welcome here!”

Piker is set to join Fateh and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) on Fateh’s I’m the Host Now show on Monday.

Other Minnesota lawmakers, this time House Republicans, also condemned Piker’s scheduled appearance with Fateh and Omar.

“Hasan Piker has repeatedly made reprehensible statements that deserve unequivocal condemnation, not a platform alongside elected officials,” Reps. Brad Finstad (R-MN), Tom Emmer (R-MN), Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), and Pete Stauber (R-MN) said in a joint statement on Thursday. “It is deeply troubling that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and State Senator Omar Fateh would choose to elevate someone with his record, and every elected Democrat in the State of Minnesota must join us in rejecting his hateful and violence-ridden rhetoric.”

Omar is facing an intense investigation led by the Trump administration regarding her U.S. citizenship. She says the investigation is politically motivated because it comes so close to the election.

Texas Democrat James Talarico has received millions of more dollars from major donors in the first half of October.

Among the most notable donors contributing to Talarico’s super PAC were former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg with $2.5 million, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman with another $5 million, and Texas personal injury attorney Thomas J. Henry with $1 million. Additionally, the Democratic-aligned Senate Majority PAC gave $1 million in support of Talarico.

The donation from Henry is notable, considering he formerly backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Lone Star State’s Republican primary election before switching to Talarico’s side. Meanwhile, Hoffman has given a total of $16.5 million to the Democratic candidate.

At a campaign event this week, Talarico boasted that his candidacy is “funded by 1.3 million individuals who have donated their hard-earned money to our campaign,” whereas his Republican opponent is primarily bankrolled by “one dude” named Elon Musk.

Elon Musk poured an additional $76 million into his own America PAC in the first two weeks of October as the midterm elections heat up.

The latest contribution brings his total spending this election cycle to over $442 million, considerably more than the roughly $290 million he spent in 2024 to support President Donald Trump and other Republicans.

Musk is considered the largest single donor this election cycle, drawing criticism from Texas Democrat James Talarico earlier this week. The Senate candidate said the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive was “trying to buy” the open Senate seat in Texas by donating between $158 million and $190 million to back Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Musk made the contributions to Paxton primarily through the Senate Leadership Fund, which sent the money to the pro-Paxton Texas PAC. The world’s richest man also contributed to Paxton’s Senate campaign through the Lone Star Liberty PAC and the America PAC, which he founded during the 2024 election cycle.

Angie Nixon, not Keisha Lance Bottoms, will be campaigning with David Jolly at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee on Friday.

Jolly’s campaign released a new statement, trying to clarify that Bottoms will not be in attendance at a joint Get Out the Vote rally. A prior statement from Jolly’s campaign said Bottoms would be at the event.

“We previously advised that Keisha Lance Bottoms would be in attendance which was shared incorrectly,” the new statement reads. “We apologize for any confusion.”

The Washington Examiner contacted Bottoms’s campaign, asking if she planned on going to the campaign event. Florida A&M University is the Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate’s alma mater.

Nixon and Jolly are joining forces less than two weeks before Election Day. Nixon is challenging Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) in Florida’s Senate race, and Jolly is challenging Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) for the governor’s mansion in Florida. Meanwhile, Bottoms is running for governor of Georgia against Republican candidate Rick Jackson.

Nixon and Jolly will be joined by director and producer Will Packer at the 2 p.m. rally.

Both parties in Michigan are turning to some of their biggest names in the final stretch, seeking to consolidate their coalitions while reaching voters who could decide the outcome.

Former President Barack Obama will campaign for Democratic nominee Abdul el Sayed on Saturday. The following day, President Donald Trump will headline a rally for Republican nominee Mike Rogers and others. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will also be in Grand Rapids on Sunday to campaign for el Sayed, while Rogers is set to join Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) next week for a discussion aimed at Jewish voters.

“Michigan is a fascinating race because we’re watching two very different political coalitions try to accomplish the same thing: energize their bases without scaring away the voters in the middle,” campaign expert Michael Fahey told the Washington Examiner. “Obama, Trump, Sanders, and Cruz are all descending on the same state, and that tells you everything you need to know about how important this Senate seat has become. Nobody is flying these people in because the race is comfortable.”

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