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Polymarket and Kalshi Face a Major Accuracy Test: The Midterms

30 October 2026 at 19:35
Studies have shown that the betting sites can predict races correctly, but their ability to forecast U.S. midterm elections is an important proving ground.

© Hilary Swift for The New York Times

Prediction platforms like Polymarket are hoping the U.S. midterm elections will be their moment to shine.

The Justice Department’s Unusual Election-Year Activity

Federal prosecutors have targeted President Trump’s political opponents and sued states over election administration just before the midterms. Devlin Barrett, a reporter for The New York Times, explains how this activity is compared with the Justice Department’s usual election-year behavior.

How Michigan’s Midterm Senate Race Could Influence the 2028 Democratic Presidential Primary

30 October 2026 at 12:02
The fate of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive candidate in the race, will serve as a litmus test for the left’s potency heading into the next presidential contest.

© Nick Hagen for The New York Times

The Democratic Party’s activist class believes a victory by Dr. Abdul El-Sayed next week would establish a proof point that left-wing populism is a winning message.

Trump Cancels Rallies in Kansas and Iowa This Weekend

30 October 2026 at 04:08
President Trump has been holding hours-long rallies for G.O.P. candidates nearly every day for weeks.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump at Joint Base Andrews, Md., after a campaign rally in South Carolina.

Republicans Ramp Up Investigation Into Democratic Plan to Pack Alaska’s Ballot

The Justice Department issued subpoenas, a House oversight committee sought interviews and the state opened its own inquiry into a Democratic plan to recruit a spoiler into a Senate race.

© Kerry Tasker/Reuters

Republican anger grew on Thursday over a Democratic effort to stack Alaska’s Senate ballot with candidates to siphon votes from the G.O.P. incumbent.

How Common Is Ballot Stacking? What to Know as Conflict Roils Alaska Senate Race.

30 October 2026 at 03:39
As a conflict over candidates roils the Alaskan Senate race, here’s a look back at the political practice over the years.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times; Christopher Miller for The New York Times

Polymarket Is Investigating Suspicious Bets on Israeli Election

The company said it was looking into hundreds of new accounts that had placed wagers in two markets related to the election on Tuesday.

© Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at a Likud event in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Trump Administration Pressures California With Expanded Voter Fraud Investigation

The department has issued grand jury subpoenas to local election officials as part of a widening effort to prove unsubstantiated claims about large numbers of illegal voters in the state.

© Philip Cheung for The New York Times

Voters casting their ballots in Los Angeles in June. At least two employees of Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s office received grand jury subpoenas last week.

Websites For Midterm Candidates Are Filled With A.I.-Written Text, Analysis Shows

The use of A.I. chatbots to write candidate biographies and policy positions is another way the technology is entangled with elections.

© The New York Times

How Hochul Became a Surprise Champion of the Subway

28 October 2026 at 10:00
Gov. Kathy Hochul isn’t from New York City, but she could be its biggest mass transit defender in a generation. She has embraced that distinction in her re-election campaign.

© Jonah Markowitz for The New York Times

Gov. Kathy Hochul is leaning on her record of funding improvements to New York’s public transit system, including by approving a congestion pricing toll that was the first of its kind in the nation.

2026 Midterm Election Ballot Measures: What Races We’re Watching

29 October 2026 at 19:20
More than 140 statewide ballot measures will go before voters during the midterms. Here are the races we’re watching.

© John Tully for The New York Times

Voters casting their ballots in Franconia, N.H., in the state’s primary earlier this year.
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