Politics

Politico reports: A new super PAC backed by Donald Trump is placing its first ad buys, as the ex-president invests in Republican candidates in the final stretch of the midterm election. MAGA Inc., made an initial ad buy in the Columbus and Cleveland media markets and has also placed ads in Pittsburgh, according to AdImpact, a media tracking firm. Ohio …

Politico reports: Ben Sasse is likely to accept a job at the University of Florida and resign his Senate seat in the near future, according to two people familiar with the Nebraska Republican’s plans. The Nebraska governor would then appoint a replacement for Sasse under state law. The second-term Sasse made a name for himself as a consistent Trump critic …

CNN reports: New CNN polling in two critical Senate battlegrounds finds that Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly holds a narrow lead over Republican challenger Blake Masters, while there is no clear leader in the race in Nevada between Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and her GOP opponent, Adam Laxalt. The Arizona poll finds that 51% of likely voters are behind …

The Associated Press reports: The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has scheduled its next hearing for Oct. 13, pushing the investigation back into the limelight less than three weeks before the midterm election that will determine control of Congress. It will be the panel’s first public session since the summer, when lawmakers worked through …

The Hill reports: Arizona gubernatorial candidates Katie Hobbs (D) and Kari Lake (R) are in a deadlock among likely voters ahead of next month’s election, according to a new poll from CBS News’s Battleground Tracker and YouGov published on Wednesday. The poll found the candidates tied at 49 percent support. Fifty-four percent of respondents said they like how Hobbs, Arizona’s …

The Associated Press reports: Even before Ian, Florida’s home insurance market was dealing with billions of dollars in losses from a string of natural disasters, rampant litigation and increasing fraud. The difficult environment has put many insurers out of business and caused others to raise their prices or tighten their restrictions, making it harder for Floridians to obtain insurance. The …

NBC News reports: Ahead in fundraising and advertising, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis has a large 11-percentage-point lead over Democratic challenger Charlie Crist, according to a new poll of likely voters. DeSantis’s 52% to 41% advantage in the Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy survey comes as Floridians began receiving vote-by-mail ballots across the state as it recovers from the ravages of Hurricane …

CBS News reports: Arizona is another battleground where strong opposing forces underpin the race. And in this state that was so close in 2020, election denialism does not find favor beyond a handful of those in the Republican base – nor do voters want it to be a campaign focus. What’s working in Democratic Senator Mark Kelly’s favor is the …

Axios reports: Republican firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert is dangerously close to being upset by a little-known Democratic rival, a new poll in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District shows. By the numbers: Boebert received support from 47% of likely voters, while Democrat Adam Frisch landed at 45% — making the race a statistical tie within the plus-or-minus 4.4-percentage-point margin of error. 7% …

The Detroit News reports: Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s lead over Republican challenger Tudor Dixon has reached 17 percentage points with five weeks remaining before the Nov. 8 mid-term election, according to a new poll from The Detroit News and WDIV-TV (Channel 4). The statewide survey of 600 likely Michigan voters found 49.5% supported Whitmer, who’s seeking a second four-year term, …

Reuters reports: Lawyers for Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, facing a U.S. lawsuit over the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, told a court on Monday the crown prince’s appointment as prime minister last week ensured him immunity from prosecution. Khashoggi was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in an operation …

USA Today reports: Democrat John Fetterman is hanging on to a six percentage-point lead over Republican Mehmet Oz in the nation’s most closely watched Senate race, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll of Pennsylvania finds, stoking Democratic hopes of keeping control of the Senate in the midterms. The Pennsylvania contest is believed to be the best shot Democrats have to …

From the Des Moines Register editorial board: A primary aspiration for the Register’s editorial board and Opinion section is to identify and promote solutions for challenges that confront Iowa. Punditry about politicians’ campaign commercials doesn’t usually meet that bar, but Gov. Kim Reynolds’ most recent offering is hard to shrug off as just part of the noise. In 10 days …

The Hill reports: Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman is out with a new ad mocking his GOP rival Mehmet Oz and comparing the celebrity surgeon to a quack doctor character from “The Simpsons.” “Before there was Dr. Oz, there was Dr. Nick,” Fetterman wrote in a tweet Monday, referring to the recurring character from the long-running animated sitcom. “They …

The New York Post reports: Scores of Venezuelan migrants in New York City are hopping on vans to head down to Florida for Hurricane Ian clean-up, they told The Post. The migrants had scant information about whom they would be working for, but they still piled into vans in Queens that they said were headed to the Sunshine State over …

The Birmingham News reports: When you vote in Alabama, state law requires you to show a photo ID at the polls. For most folks, this means a driver’s license, but other forms of government-issued ID are permitted — a military ID, a passport or a college student ID, among others, will do. But the last few times Alabama Republican Party …

NBC News reports: Republicans are abandoning their long crusade to repeal the Affordable Care Act, making the 2022 election the first in more than a decade that won’t be fought over whether to protect or undo President Barack Obama’s signature achievement. The diminished appetite for repeal means the law — which has extended health care coverage to millions of people …

The Associated Press reports: The British government on Monday dropped plans to cut income tax for top earners, part of a package of unfunded cuts unveiled only days ago that sparked turmoil on financial markets and sent the pound to record lows. In a dramatic about-face, Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng abandoned plans to scrap the top 45% rate of income …

Reuters reports: The second round of Brazil’s presidential campaign kicked off Monday after right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro outperformed polling and robbed leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of an outright victory in the first round of voting. The unexpectedly strong showing by Bolsonaro on Sunday dashed hopes for a quick resolution to the deeply polarized election in the …

Fox News reports: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Sunday refused to say whether he will campaign with former President Donald Trump if the fellow Republican chooses to hold a rally in his state. “Fox News Sunday” anchor Shannon Bream cited a recent report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that speculated Trump may hold a rally in Georgia this month and asked …