2026 US midterm elections timeline
The campaign and the results of the 3 November 2026 vote for Congress and the governorships: the Senate races and their debates, the rallies, the court fights over ballots and the Democrats' win of both chambers.
40 timelines from the outlets of our US edition, 3 October to 9 November 2026, oldest first. Each one gathers the articles about one development, day by day.
Latest timeline: US midterm elections: Democrats win control of the Senate and the House of Representatives
- Trump rallies in Ohio to boost Jon Husted in a tight Senate race against Sherrod Brown
President Donald Trump is taking his midterm tour to Ohio, a battleground state with a crucial Senate race, to boost Jon Husted in a tight contest against Sherrod Brown. His Saturday rally just outside Dayton is meant to stump for key candidates in competitive races for the House, the Senate and the governor's mansion in Columbus, PBS NewsHour reported.
- Michigan Senate race: Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed trade insults in a hostile first debate
Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman, and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed are competing for an open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, one of the nation's most closely watched races, after weeks of sparring both online and in advertisements flooding the state; in a new ad, Rogers bashed Trump's trade war with Canada, saying 'Canada is not our enemy'. Former President Barack Obama, who taped two dozen ads for Democratic candidates for governor and Senate, plans to appear with El-Sayed in Detroit this month. Their first debate, on Thursday 8 October, quickly turned acrimonious: they sparred over the war in Iran, gas prices, tariffs and cost-of-living issues and traded insults, accusations and even comparisons about their mothers, according to NBC News, CBS News and Bloomberg.
- Trump criticizes Arizona election officials over error affecting 3,000 ballots
President Donald Trump criticized election officials in Arizona's Maricopa County after about 3,000 ballots were mistakenly mailed to voters early.
- Republicans re-emphasize tough-on-crime message ahead of midterm elections
From coast to coast, Republicans are returning to a tough-on-crime message in their midterm campaigns, focusing on public disorder, illegal immigration and violent crime as voters sour on the party's handling of the cost of living and the war with Iran. The effectiveness of the strategy remains uncertain, with some Republicans skeptical about its impact on voters.
- Republican Super PAC Pours $5 Million Into South Carolina Senate Race
The top Republican super PAC involved in Senate races plans to spend $5 million in South Carolina's Senate race, a source familiar with the spending confirmed to NBC News.
- Maine Senate race: Susan Collins and Troy Jackson clash over Trump in two testy debates
Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson debated for the first time on October 6 in Maine, trading attacks over President Donald Trump, the cost of living and abortion in one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country. In an often testy debate, Collins touted five terms in Congress and kept a distance from Trump, taking aim at some of Trump's policies and arguing that Collins has maintained political independence by repeatedly voting against Trump's agenda. Jackson argued that Collins has failed to effectively push back. Their second debate quickly grew heated, The New York Times reported, describing Collins as a vulnerable Republican.
- Republicans fear a $1 billion cash advantage may not buy them the midterms
Republicans are facing anxiety as they enter the final month of the midterm campaign, fearing that even $1 billion in campaign spending won't fend off sweeping election losses as the party reckons with President Donald Trump's unpopularity, inflation and the war in Iran. The cash advantage, spread out across a half-dozen groups, is driven largely by the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc., which had nearly $416 million in cash on hand at the end of August and began stepping up its spending on critical races in September. The GOP has twice as much cash as Democrats, but soaring political ad rates and voters' frustration with rising costs could blunt its advantage, Fortune reports.
- Texas Senate race: Paxton and Talarico tussle in the closing sprint as Trump backs Paxton
President Donald Trump traveled to Texas on October 7 to speak at a rally in San Antonio for Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, as even Republicans increasingly said they might lose the stronghold, and Trump wants Paxton and Democratic nominee James Talarico to debate, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer and PBS NewsHour. On October 16 Talarico, aiming to become the first Democrat to win statewide in over 30 years, compared the campaign to the biblical David after the GOP invested over $158 million against the Democrat, PBS NewsHour citing outside spending by Republican leadership and the world's richest man, Elon Musk, and CNBC reported on October 22 and 23 that Talarico hit back at Musk's attacks and spending, Musk having donated $158 million in September to a Republican super PAC, which sent that cash to a PAC backing Paxton. Trump held two rallies in Texas, where Paxton is locked in a tight race with Talarico, NBC News reported on October 27, and Talarico and Paxton appeared at dueling rallies in Lubbock, The NY Times reported, as Talarico vowed to 'take back Texas', decrying what Talarico calls a 'corruption crisis' plaguing the U.S. political system, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. On October 31 Paxton and Talarico were tussling for the Texas Senate seat in the closing sprint, with Trump taking time off from the in-person campaign trail for virtual rallies, The Philadelphia Inquirer, PBS NewsHour and ABC News reported.
- Homeland Security targets Democratic campaign after ICE arrest in Pennsylvania
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security publicized the ICE arrest in Pennsylvania of a Nigerian man for indecent exposure, including a political attack on a Democratic campaign that's drawing complaints, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. President Trump's administration is already under scrutiny for using federal resources for political purposes, the LA Times noted.
- Elon Musk spent at least $445 million to help Republicans keep Congress and came up short
Elon Musk quietly became the biggest known spender in the midterm elections, doling out more than $276 million since July to try to save Republican majorities in the House and Senate, The Philadelphia Inquirer and PBS NewsHour reported on Monday 12 October, the money including $158 million given to the Senate Leadership Fund, according to the New York Times cited by the LA Times. Wired reported on Wednesday 4 November that of every traceable dollar Musk put into races that have been decided, more than 99 cents went to a race Musk lost, Engadget headlining that Musk spent nearly $500 million on the midterms and lost big-time. Business Insider wrote that Musk's Election Day post urging Americans to 'vote red' vanished from Musk's X timeline on Wednesday after the Democratic sweep, Musk having been the largest single donor of the cycle, spending more than $440 million to back Republican candidates, and that shares of both Tesla and SpaceX slumped on Wednesday as investors digested the election results. On Thursday 5 November The Philadelphia Inquirer and the LA Times reported that Musk spent at least $445 million to try to help Republicans keep control of Congress, the Inquirer headlining that Musk came up short and writing that Musk now faces new threats to the bottom line in places including Texas, and PBS NewsHour wrote that few others had more on the line than Musk, who came up holding the midterm's worst return on investment.
- Trump heads to Alaska in a sign of how close its Senate race may be
President Donald Trump is making an unusual campaign trip to Alaska with the midterm elections looming, in a sign of just how close the state's Senate race may be, The Philadelphia Inquirer and PBS NewsHour reported on October 13. Trump is headlining a rally for Sen. Dan Sullivan in Wasilla, about 45 miles north of Anchorage, famous for being the hometown of former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and the headquarters of the Iditarod sled dog race across the state, the LA Times reported.
- Georgia Senate race: Jon Ossoff and Mike Collins trade attacks in a heated debate
Sen. Jon Ossoff and Republican challenger Mike Collins traded attacks over the 2020 election and alleged connections to white nationalists in a debate in Georgia's Senate race, CBS News reported. During the heated debate on the night of October 13, Jon Ossoff ruled out running for president in 2028, NBC News reported, and pushed back on speculation about a 2028 presidential run, citing 'zero interest in running for president', according to CBS News.
- House Democrats plan a first 100-days agenda if they win the House majority in the midterms
Democrats are preparing an ambitious 100-days agenda if they win the House majority in the midterm elections, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Wednesday 14 October. Their focus will be on making life more affordable for Americans and increasing oversight of the Trump administration, according to the Inquirer.
- Justice Department moves to dismiss its suit over 20,000 California ballots after the Supreme Court's rejection
The Trump administration sued California on Thursday 15 October to bar the state from counting ballots from about 20,000 voters it suspects are not U.S. citizens, the LA Times reported, and federal prosecutors then demanded that county registrars set aside and verify such ballots, CBS News reported on 24 October. Judge David O. Carter rejected the bid on Wednesday 28 October, saying it would 'wreak havoc' on the midterm elections, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Bloomberg reported. The Justice Department appealed, issued grand jury subpoenas to local election officials and opened a criminal investigation, the Inquirer, The NY Times and NBC News reported, and on Friday 30 October an appeals court again rejected the bid 2-to-1, calling the notion plainly unconstitutional, The NY Times wrote. On Monday 2 November, the day before the midterm elections, the administration appealed to the Supreme Court, asking the justices in an emergency application to order California to set aside 20,000 ballots, The NY Times, the Inquirer and PBS NewsHour reported, and the court rejected the bid, NBC News, the Inquirer and CBS News reported. On 7 November CBS News and the Inquirer reported that the Justice Department moved to dismiss its own lawsuit, PBS NewsHour writing that the move comes days after Republicans' significant losses in the midterm elections and about a week before a scheduled hearing where a special master was slated to evaluate the accuracy of the list of alleged noncitizens.
- Trump campaigns in Arizona and Montana on day two of a Western swing for GOP candidates
President Donald Trump is campaigning in Arizona and Montana on the second day of a Western swing to help boost GOP candidates, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported on Wednesday 14 October. Trump's midterm roadshow to rally the GOP is stopping in swing-state Arizona and in a Republican-leaning U.S. House district in Montana, according to both outlets.
- Speaker Mike Johnson campaigns for House Republicans in Maine's second congressional district, dismissing skeptics
Speaker Mike Johnson is making a campaign swing through Maine's second congressional district, convinced that Republicans will defy history and maintain their House majority, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported on Wednesday 14 October. Campaigning for the House GOP in the Maine battleground, Speaker Johnson dismissed skeptics, according to both outlets.
- Democratic National Committee says it raised more than $10 million from grassroots donors in September
The Democratic National Committee says it has raised more than $10 million from grassroots donors in September, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Thursday 15 October, Democrats seeing voter enthusiasm in the fundraising haul from small-dollar donors before the midterms. The party has struggled with fundraising during President Donald Trump's second term, lagging behind Republicans and carrying debt into this year's campaign season, PBS NewsHour reported.
- Wisconsin elections officials issue guidance for handling federal agents at the polls
Elections officials in battleground Wisconsin approved guidance on Thursday 15 October for local clerks to help them know what to do if federal law enforcement officials show up at the polls on Election Day, The Philadelphia Inquirer and PBS NewsHour reported. Some activists fear that federal law enforcement officials might show up at the polls, according to the two outlets.
- Oklahoma man charged with mailing hundreds of letters containing powder to officials ahead of the election
Federal authorities, the FBI and the Postal Service among them, were investigating letters with 'suspicious substances' mailed to congressional and election offices nationwide, The Philadelphia Inquirer, ABC News and PBS NewsHour reported on Thursday 15 October, the authorities urging recipients to treat the mailings as 'potentially hazardous'. Mailed packages containing a powdery substance led to the evacuation that week of election offices in at least two states, Louisiana and Oklahoma, and the Ohio secretary of state said the Postal Service intercepted a package containing a white powder intended for its office, the LA Times reported, the Inquirer recalling a similar threat in 2023, when election offices in six states received mailings that contained a white powder. On Tuesday 3 November federal authorities charged an Oklahoma man with sending hundreds of letters containing nonhazardous white powder to public officials, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the LA Times reported, PBS NewsHour saying the letters carried ominous warnings about treason and were sent ahead of the 2024 and 2026 elections, and CBS News that the letters allegedly also went to media outlets.
- Trump heads to Georgia to rally Republican candidates for Senate and governor despite party divisions
President Donald Trump is headed to Georgia on Friday 16 October to campaign with Republican candidates for the Senate and governor, despite party divisions in the battleground state, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Trump's midterm campaign blitz arrives in Georgia for a rally with top Republican candidates in a state that has long been the epicenter of the president's false claims about election fraud, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer and PBS NewsHour.
- No Kings rallies across the U.S. urge voters to cast ballots early ahead of the midterms
No Kings rallies calling for election integrity and urging voters to cast ballots early in the upcoming midterms were being held in dozens of cities, towns and communities across the United States, The Philadelphia Inquirer and PBS NewsHour reported on Saturday 17 October. PBS NewsHour said the hundreds of planned events were billed as nonpartisan, though they sought to build on nearly two years' worth of No Kings marches and demonstrations by people upset with Trump's presidency, and the LA Times reported that participants in Saturday's widespread protests, in Southern California and across the nation, rallied behind voter participation. The rallies pushed early voting at county elections offices and also encouraged people to sign up to serve as poll watchers on Election Day, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
- Trump rallies in Kentucky for Republican candidates, saying 'I can do stuff that is unbelievable'
At a rally in Kentucky, President Donald Trump emphasized the president's influence during the second term to energize voters ahead of the midterm elections, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Saturday 17 October, CBS News saying Trump spoke in the city of Highland Heights to boost Republican candidates, including Ed Gallrein for the U.S. House. Trump said 'I can do stuff that is unbelievable' and 'This is a much more powerful term', and told voters DOD will revive a Kentucky drug plant if the GOP wins, Fortune reported.
- Hakeem Jeffries likes Democrats' chances of retaking the House, saying Republicans are 'divorced from reality'
Campaigning in Ohio, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries says the election climate is holding firm for Democrats as they race to retake the House, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported. On Monday 19 October, PBS NewsHour reported that Jeffries says Republicans are 'divorced from reality', and Fortune said the House leader says Democrats 'hold firm' in the midterm race and that Trump undermines 'democracy, freedom and dignity'. Jeffries, who is in line to become House speaker if Democrats win back the majority, has traveled to some 50 cities campaigning for Democratic candidates, according to PBS NewsHour and Fortune.
- Trump invokes an antisemitic trope again at a rally for Kansas Senator Roger Marshall
President Donald Trump invoked an antisemitic trope again at a rally for Kansas Senator Roger Marshall, The NY Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Tuesday 20 October. In remarks on opponents of Marshall, Trump used the words 'some kind of a Shylock-type guy', The NY Times reported, noting that Trump used the same slur last year at a rally in Iowa. The Philadelphia Inquirer said Trump has used the term before but, when called out for it last year, claimed not to know its meaning.
- Mississippi Senate race: Democrat Scott Colom leads Cindy Hyde-Smith as the vote count stretches on
The Senate Majority PAC, aligned with Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, will spend $1.2 million on a new television advertisement to boost Scott Colom, a district attorney, in Colom's campaign against Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, the LA Times reported on Tuesday 20 October, as Senate Democrats' midterm optimism spreads to the South. PBS NewsHour said Senate Democrats' campaign spending group is wading into Mississippi's Senate race for the first time this cycle, and NBC News that Democrats seek inroads in Republican-leaning states to try to flip the Senate majority. On Friday 6 November Colom, the Democratic nominee, had kept the edge over the Republican incumbent, Hyde-Smith, as more provisional and mail ballots were reported throughout the state, The NY Times reported, and CNBC that the longshot candidate Ty Pinkins avoided campaigning in heavily Black areas of Mississippi to avoid harming the chances of Colom, according to Pinkins. On Saturday 7 November the state was still tallying ballots that could make Colom the first Black senator from the Deep South state since post-Civil War Reconstruction, PBS NewsHour reported, the LA Times writing that Colom leads the race while the vote count continues and The Philadelphia Inquirer that Colom hasn't won the race but was welcomed as a historic figure in the Jackson business district where civil rights leaders once organized.
- Ohio governor's race: Gov. DeWine denounces Ramaswamy's ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother, Trump backs it
Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton condemned a new ad featuring Acton's estranged mother, NBC News reported on Tuesday 20 October, CBS News saying that in the GOP ad the mother calls Acton a liar, while Acton's brother says the ad marks a 'despicable low' and that their stepfather sexually abused Acton as a child. On Wednesday 21 October Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's team confirmed it produced the ad and will spend millions to promote it, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the LA Times and PBS NewsHour reported, and Vice President JD Vance declared being 'disgusted' by the pushback from fellow Republicans, according to the Inquirer and PBS NewsHour. On Thursday 22 October the term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who has endorsed Ramaswamy as successor, denounced the ad and called on Ramaswamy to stop airing it, the Inquirer, the LA Times and NBC News reported, while President Donald Trump defended the ad, calling it 'very powerful', according to Bloomberg, urged Ramaswamy to keep running it and called DeWine disloyal, according to the Inquirer, CBS News reporting GOP officials divided over the ad. On Friday 23 October Ramaswamy defended the ad, saying at a campaign stop that it had nothing to do with childhood abuse, PBS NewsHour reported. PBS NewsHour wrote that questions about the video will likely shadow Ramaswamy, a biotech billionaire who previously ran for president but has never before held public office, in the final two weeks of the contest.
- Trump's political groups spend nearly $277 million in a late midterm blitz for Republican candidates
President Donald Trump's flagship super PAC, MAGA Inc., had about $164 million remaining last week after spending $277 million to boost Republicans in midterm races, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Wednesday 21 October. Trump's political groups have spent more than one-quarter of a billion dollars to bolster Republicans in the final stretch of this year's midterm elections, the Inquirer and PBS NewsHour reported, PBS NewsHour calling it an unprecedented amount for a sitting president that underscores the stakes on November 3. Fortune headlined 'It's more than any president has ever spent', Trump still having $164 million left to spend, and wrote that one bright spot for Republicans has been their huge financial advantage over Democrats this election cycle, aided by billionaires such as Elon Musk.
- South Carolina Senate race: Trump rallies for Sen. Darline Graham against Democrat Annie Andrews
President Donald Trump was set to visit South Carolina on Wednesday 21 October to support Republican Sen. Darline Graham, in a tough campaign against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, The Philadelphia Inquirer and PBS NewsHour reported, PBS NewsHour saying Trump would speak at the midterm rally as early voting begins. Graham's stumbles in the first campaign since replacing a late brother have Democratic voters hopeful that their candidate can break Republicans' grip on the state, according to the Inquirer and PBS NewsHour, PBS NewsHour adding that those voters are not necessarily optimistic. On Wednesday Trump rallied for Graham in South Carolina, the Inquirer reported, saying Trump is in the state to boost Graham.
- Maine Senate race: Susan Collins enlists former Democratic colleague Joe Manchin to highlight Collins's independence
Republican Sen. Susan Collins, trying to fend off a challenge from Democrat Troy Jackson, a onetime state Senate president, made appearances on Wednesday 21 October with Joe Manchin, a West Virginian who became an independent late in Manchin's career before retiring, the LA Times reported. The Philadelphia Inquirer said Collins is campaigning with the former Democratic colleague in the late stage of the Maine senator's tight reelection campaign, in an effort to highlight Collins's independence. According to Fortune, Collins is partnering with Manchin and breaking from Trump to promote independence and 'true blue-blooded Maine'-ness, Manchin saying that to lose Collins would be 'to lose the soul of the Senate'.
- Michigan Senate race: Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers clash in their second and final debate
Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed clashed onstage on Wednesday 21 October during the second debate in the increasingly bitter Michigan Senate race, CBS News reported. The two candidates traded sharp attacks and questioned each other's loyalties in their final debate, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, NBC News saying the debate featured several heated clashes and sets up the final sprint in Michigan. PBS NewsHour, which also headlined that the two candidates questioned each other's loyalties, reported that this time the exchanges focused on policy, though both candidates repeatedly returned to their central attacks.
- Judge restricts Homeland Security field operations aimed at unearthing voter fraud in nine states
A judge restricted Department of Homeland Security field operations aimed at unearthing voter fraud, The New York Times reported on Thursday 22 October, the ruling largely blocking homeland security agents from carrying out field interviews in nine states, including California, as part of a sprawling effort to find noncitizens registered to vote. CBS News reported that the federal judge ruled that DHS's practice of knocking on doors and asking people about their immigration status, and whether they have voted in recent elections, likely violates the Voting Rights Act. The ruling covered stops and field interviews being carried out by hundreds of Department of Homeland Security agents assigned to fan out across the country, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Later that day The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported that the federal judge ordered that President Donald Trump's administration must halt investigations in nine states into whether noncitizens are registered to vote.
- Kansas Senate debate: Roger Marshall blames Ukraine war, not Iran war, for high diesel prices
Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall says Ukraine's war with Russia, and not the U.S. war with Iran, has caused high diesel prices, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Thursday 22 October. The answer, delivered during a debate with Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton, aligned Marshall with President Donald Trump's freshly antagonistic posture toward Ukraine, which has spent more than four years defending itself against an invasion, PBS NewsHour reported.
- Supreme Court allows New Hampshire to fully ban student IDs for voting in the midterms
The Supreme Court said New Hampshire student IDs cannot be used to vote in November, NBC News reported, in a win for Republicans, the court saying a federal judge should not have changed the rules so close to the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The Philadelphia Inquirer, ABC News and PBS NewsHour reported that the Supreme Court has cleared the way for New Hampshire to fully ban student IDs for voting during the midterm elections, PBS NewsHour saying the court cleared the way on Thursday 22 October.
- Alaska Senate race: judge dismisses Trump administration's suit to block certification, probes target alleged spoiler scheme
The Trump administration filed a lawsuit to block certification of the Senate race in Alaska if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Friday 23 October, Republicans accusing the other Dan Sullivan on the ballot of being a Democratic plant to siphon away votes, according to PBS NewsHour. On 28 October The NY Times reported that operatives aligned with Democratic nominee Mary Peltola spent months recruiting candidates to peel votes from Sullivan, and Trump called for Peltola to be banned from the race and prosecuted, Bloomberg and the Inquirer reported. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation into Peltola's campaign on 29 October, and on Friday 30 October the top federal prosecutor in Alaska confirmed a criminal investigation into the alleged scheme, which Peltola denied knowing about, the Inquirer reported. The Inquirer reported on Sunday 1 November that a federal judge had dismissed the lawsuit, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason writing that the relief the United States seeks is 'infeasible' because many voters have already cast their ballots. On Tuesday 3 November the Justice Department sent target letters to Democrats in an escalation of the Alaska inquiry, The NY Times and the Inquirer reported, CBS News writing that Marc Elias, a longtime Democratic attorney and vocal opponent of the Trump administration, received one of about 20 target letters.
- Obama campaigns for Democrats in the Midwest, calling Trump an agent of 'chaos and cruelty'
Former President Barack Obama characterized President Donald Trump as an agent of 'chaos and cruelty' and a man of broken promises during a midterm election rally, NBC News reported on Saturday 24 October, and The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that Obama, working to rally Democratic voters in battleground Ohio, has stepped into one of America's ugliest midterm fights. On Sunday 25 October the Inquirer and PBS NewsHour headlined that Obama, in the Midwest, assails 'cruelty' and indecency from Trump and the president's allies in the midterm campaign, the Inquirer saying Obama works to rally Democratic voters in two Midwestern battlegrounds. PBS NewsHour called Obama the Democratic Party's best motivator nearly a decade after leaving the White House, on the road in the final days of the midterm elections, which will help determine the balance of power in American politics on Nov. 3.
- Advocacy groups sue over Trump administration bid to set aside Washington ballots from 400 alleged noncitizens
The Trump administration is asking Washington state to set aside any ballots received from more than 400 people it suspects registered to vote without U.S. citizenship, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Monday 26 October, PBS NewsHour writing that noncitizen voting is exceptionally rare. Federal prosecutors said they sent a letter to the Washington secretary of state with a list of 400 people they claimed are not U.S. citizens, CBS News reported on Tuesday 27 October, NBC News calling the move the administration's latest attempt to involve itself in ballot counting and certification that's handled by state officials. CBS News reported on Thursday 29 October that Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs told two federal prosecutors that 'many' U.S. citizens were included on the list, and on Saturday 31 October The NY Times reported that advocacy groups sued to stop the effort, calling the lawsuit the latest move to stave off pressure from the administration to pursue its unsubstantiated claim that noncitizens are voting en masse.
- Michigan Senate race: Abdul El-Sayed defeats Mike Rogers, becoming the first Muslim elected to the Senate
Tensions flared between Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan, and El-Sayed's former primary rival, Rep. Haley Stevens, The NY Times reported on Saturday 31 October, and on Sunday 1 November Stevens appeared at a church event with Republican candidate Mike Rogers, sealing the rupture with El-Sayed, according to Bloomberg. Stevens endorsed Rogers two days before the election, a major shakeup in a top battleground race that could determine which party controls the Senate, NBC News reported, The Philadelphia Inquirer writing that Stevens stunned party officials, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized Stevens for backing a Republican, The NY Times reported. On Monday 2 November The NY Times wrote that the relationship between El-Sayed and Stevens shattered in part because of Israel, while Michigan Democrats scrambled to move past the defection, the Inquirer reported. El-Sayed and Rogers were competing for the open seat on Tuesday 3 November, the Inquirer reported, and on Wednesday 4 November El-Sayed defeated Rogers, CBS News and NBC News projected, becoming the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate, according to NBC News and TIME, The NY Times writing that El-Sayed triumphed in one of the country's most bitter and expensive races, keeping El-Sayed's party in control of a crucial seat, Rogers issuing a statement conceding the race, according to the LA Times.
- US midterm elections: Democrats win control of the Senate and the House of Representatives
Democrats won control of the Senate in the U.S. midterm elections of Tuesday 3 November, Mark Warner, Jon Ossoff and Chris Pappas holding Virginia, Georgia and New Hampshire as Roy Cooper flipped North Carolina's open seat, James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton in Texas, Sherrod Brown won Ohio, Josh Turek defeated Ashley Hinson in Iowa, the Rev. Adam Hamilton ousted Kansas Senator Roger Marshall and Troy Jackson defeated Susan Collins in Maine, according to NBC News, CBS News, The NY Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Democrats also won the House and unified control of Congress, PBS NewsHour reported, with at least 228 House seats, Bloomberg reported, Bob Brooks and Janelle Stelson defeating Republican incumbents Ryan Mackenzie and Scott Perry in Pennsylvania. Democrats Amy Acton, Gina Hinojosa and Rob Sand won the governor's races in Ohio, Texas and Iowa, for 29 governorships, a majority, The NY Times reported, and won full control of more state governments and the Texas House, the Inquirer reported, while voters in Washington and Colorado approved measures banning transgender athletes from school sports, the Inquirer and ABC News reported. U.S. stock futures rose sharply and the Dow jumped more than 3%, the Inquirer and NBC News reported, while chipmakers fell in Asia on concern over greater scrutiny of AI, Bloomberg reported, and Trump, who had accepted the results, renewed on Monday 9 November unsubstantiated claims that voting was manipulated, The NY Times reported.
- Harmeet Dhillon resigns as head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division
Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, resigned on Thursday 5 November, CBS News reported, Bloomberg reporting that Dhillon was the first senior DOJ official to resign following Democrats' massive midterm wins and Forbes that Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the resignation in a post on X. The NY Times reported that the move came after conflicts with Justice Department leaders, including disagreements over legal strategy in the midterm elections, people familiar with the matter said. Dhillon, a conservative attorney, oversaw a radical reshaping of the division, celebrated the mass departures of career lawyers and spearheaded sweeping investigations into elite universities, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, and has drawn fierce criticism from former Justice Department attorneys, who have accused Dhillon of abandoning the division's traditional civil rights enforcement mission in favor of conservative causes.
- Trump names Stephen Miller chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles after the GOP's midterm defeat
President Donald Trump announced on Friday 6 November that Stephen Miller will replace Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, NBC News reported, three days after Democrats' landslide victory in the midterm elections, which won them majority control of the House and Senate, according to CNBC. Wiles, the first woman to hold the top staff job in the West Wing, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, will move to Trump's political operation on November 9th, according to Bloomberg, and The NY Times called Wiles the first high-level official to leave the Trump administration after the midterms. Miller has served as White House deputy chief of staff for policy and as a homeland security adviser, playing an integral role in the administration's hard-line immigration and deportation policies, NBC News reported, and one House Republican told Semafor the move was 'a horrible decision.' CBS News reported that Trump made the announcement just hours after telling 60 Minutes to expect post-midterm firings. There were new reactions on Saturday 7 November to the president's first major staffing shake-up since Republicans lost control of the House and Senate, NBC News reported.
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