Democratic nominee for US Senate seat in Michigan says Stevens, his primary rival, ‘seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago’

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James Talarico, the Democratic nominee in Texas, attacked his Republican opponent Ken Paxton for cancelling some of his final rallies before the midterm election.

“No one’s going to Ken Paxton’s rallies, so he’s canceling them and hoping Elon Musk will buy his seat for him,” Talarico wrote, referencing the donations Paxton has received from the world’s richest man.

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© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Endorsement not always full-throated but party backing marks major turn after bitter split over nomination

Facing a barrage of extreme attacks from Donald Trump and his allies, the Democratic establishment is finally rallying around progressive Abdul El-Sayed, the party’s candidate in the closely watched US Senate election in Michigan. But the endorsement is not always full-throated, and often even omits his name.

At a rally in Port Huron on Sunday, the US president launched the latest in a wave of Islamophobic rants against El-Sayed, erroneously branding him a “jihadist” and “Muslim Brotherhood member” while invoking 9/11.

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© Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images

The president cancelled the events in favor of tele-rallies, as Republicans face a fight to retain control of Congress

Donald Trump cancelled, and then promptly uncancelled, two in-person rallies in Kansas and Iowa this weekend as polls suggest US midterm election races in the previous Republican strongholds could go down to the wire.

On Thursday, just five days before election day, the Republican National Committee (RNC) announced the president would no longer host the Kansas and Iowa rallies and instead participate in “a large number of tele-rallies”. The RNC claimed it felt it was in a “strong position” in Kansas and Iowa.

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© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

There are 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 in the Senate and 39 governorships up for grabs in Tuesday’s midterm elections. Jonathan Freedland is joined by Carrie Dann, of the Cook Political Report, to run through some of the races to watch before the final weekend of campaigning

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© Photograph: Reuters

© Photograph: Reuters

© Photograph: Reuters

Immigrants at Texas detention facility, protesting against harsh conditions, say they face threats of force-feeding

Members of Congress sent a scathing letter to federal immigration officials this week demanding answers about conditions inside a Texas immigration jail, as detained immigrants on a prolonged hunger strike claim officials are retaliating against them and threatening them with force-feeding.

A group of seven congressional Democrats sent the letter earlier this week to Markwayne Mullin, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, and David Venturella, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting director, protesting about the treatment of hunger strikers.

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© Photograph: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

© Photograph: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

© Photograph: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

Endorsement not always full-throated but party backing marks major turn after bitter split over nomination

Facing a barrage of extreme attacks from Donald Trump and his allies, the Democratic establishment is finally rallying around progressive Abdul El-Sayed, the party’s candidate in the closely watched US Senate election in Michigan. But the endorsement is not always full-throated, and often even omits his name.

At a rally in Port Huron on Sunday, the US president launched the latest in a wave of Islamophobic rants against El-Sayed, erroneously branding him a “jihadist” and “Muslim Brotherhood member” while invoking 9/11.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images

Harris poll for Guardian finds 76% believe officials care more about self-enrichment than helping everyday Americans

Government corruption has emerged as a top issue in the upcoming US midterm elections, with an overwhelming majority of Americans saying US government officials use their public office for personal financial gain, according to an exclusive Harris poll for the Guardian.

Nearly nine out of 10 Americans said that government corruption, as defined as elected officials putting their own or their donors’ financial interests ahead of the public’s, is a problem, according to the survey.

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© Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA

© Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA

© Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA

Both US parties scramble to win young voters via influencer operations. The evidence doesn’t support their efforts

In tight races, any group that shifts a few points can be called decisive. In 2024, however, gen Z voters actually earned the spotlight.

Take Michigan, where Donald Trump won by about 1.4 points: he and Kamala Harris evenly split the youth vote, a 24-point collapse in the Democratic edge since 2020. If young voters made up just 15% of the state’s electorate, their swing toward the president would be worth roughly 3.6 points, larger than Trump’s entire margin of victory.

Alex Bronzini-Vender is a writer living in New York

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© Photograph: Call Her Daddy/Reuters

© Photograph: Call Her Daddy/Reuters

© Photograph: Call Her Daddy/Reuters

Alaska's governor is ordering an investigation into Democrat Mary Peltola's Senate campaign over reports that it recruited a spoiler candidate to dilute Republican votes. That's as President Trump repeated calls for Peltola's prosecution during a trip to another deep red state where his endorsed candidate is facing headwinds. Liz Landers reports.

Democrats are favored to take the House in November, but the size of their potential majority could hinge on a handful of competitive races. Four are in Pennsylvania, where President Trump and Republicans made significant gains in 2024. Now, Democrats are betting that the president's low approval ratings and frustration over high prices will shift the political landscape. Lisa Desjardins reports.

Democrat Annie Andrews neck-and-neck with Republican incumbent, Darline Graham, sister to Lindsey Graham

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A US Senate race in one of the most Republican states in the country is now a dead heat, according to a new poll showing Annie Andrews, a Democrat, tied with Darline Graham, the Republican incumbent senator.

South Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1998, and Donald Trump won it by nearly 18 points in 2024, but a New York Times/Siena poll this week has the two candidates neck and neck, at 48% each.

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© Composite: Win McNamee/Getty Images

© Composite: Win McNamee/Getty Images

© Composite: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Caroline Voaden says Reform UK leader grabbed her by the arm and tried to push past her in incident in May

A female Liberal Democrat MP has accused Nigel Farage of shoving her aside at the state opening of parliament after which one of her male colleagues intervened.

Caroline Voaden gave her account of the incident in May this year after Farage revealed on Wednesday that there had been a “physical altercation” in parliament which meant he had decided to avoid the budget.

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© Composite: House of Commons; Stefan Rousseau/PA

© Composite: House of Commons; Stefan Rousseau/PA

© Composite: House of Commons; Stefan Rousseau/PA

Republican Mike Dunleavy plans search after Peltola accused of recruiting Dan Sullivan to confuse voters

The Republican governor of Alaska announced plans to launch a criminal investigation after a report accused the campaign of the Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola of trying to confuse voters by recruiting a candidate with the same name as her opponent.

Governor Mike Dunleavy wrote on social media that he was “directing the department of public safety to investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska’s laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted”.

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© Photograph: Kerry Tasker/Reuters

© Photograph: Kerry Tasker/Reuters

© Photograph: Kerry Tasker/Reuters

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• Alaska governor orders investigation into Peltola’s Senate campaign

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With days until the midterm elections, a new poll from CNN places Democrats well in the lead in key Senate races in Texas and Michigan, while projecting tighter contests in Kansas and Maine.

In Texas, the poll found 49% of likely voters would back James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, over Republican Ken Paxton, who netted just 43%.

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© Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

Elizabeth Warren and others joined by unions and industry experts in warning against the weakening of regulations

The senator Elizabeth Warren, the congresswoman Ilhan Omar and several other Democratic lawmakers are calling on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) to abandon a rollback of respirator mask regulations, a change the lawmakers say would weaken worker protections against hazardous substances.

Under the proposed rules, employers would face fewer requirements to provide workers with respirators masks when working with substances including “lead, asbestos, formaldehyde and inorganic arsenic, among other chemicals”, the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Osha assistant secretary, David Keeling, a former UPS and Amazon executive.

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© Photograph: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

To discuss how the midterm races are shaping up in the final days, Amna Nawaz sat down with Democratic strategist Mo Elleithee and Republican strategist Doug Heye.

Republicans have condemned the presence of two Dan Sullivans on the ballot, calling it a ploy to split votes

Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign was behind an effort to recruit a challenger with almost the same name as the Republican US senator Dan Sullivan, both of whom will appear on the ballot in next week’s midterm elections, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Republicans have condemned the presence in the race of two candidates named Dan Sullivan – one the two-term US senator, the second a retiree living in south-eastern Alaska with scant political experience – calling the newcomer a ploy by Democrats to cost the incumbent re-election by splitting his supporters.

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© Composite: AP, Bloomberg, Abaca, Getty Images

© Composite: AP, Bloomberg, Abaca, Getty Images

© Composite: AP, Bloomberg, Abaca, Getty Images

Circumstances are ripe for change in this onetime Republican stronghold given the current dissatisfaction with Trump agenda, experts say

Donald Trump has repeatedly asked voters to pretend that he is on the ballot in November’s crucial midterm elections. And in the comfortable confines of Arizona’s most affluent and fiercely contested congressional district, Trump is definitely on voters’ minds.

But whether that helps or hurts the warring congressional candidates in this sun-drenched swath of suburbia, where Teslas and walled-in luxury homes dominate, depends on who you ask.

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© Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

© Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

© Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Democrats urge FTC to tackle ‘systemic failure’ of biggest convenience and dollar stores over pricing practices after Guardian investigations

Thirty-four members of Congress are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate reports of widespread overcharging by some of America’s most-recognized brand-name retailers.

The 28 October letter to the FTC comes in direct response to Guardian investigations of four of the nation’s largest dollar-store and convenience-store chains. Both investigations revealed pervasive mismatches between shelf labels and register prices.

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© Photograph: Erin Scott/Reuters

© Photograph: Erin Scott/Reuters

© Photograph: Erin Scott/Reuters

With one week until Election Day, the final push is on. President Trump is making a swing through Texas, a state Republicans have long counted on, but where Democrats see an opportunity to make gains. With voters pointing to the cost of everyday necessities, the economy is looming large in the final week of the campaign. Lisa Desjardins reports.