2026 elections live updates: Michigan Democratic rift spills into public view and more in midterm final push

Haley Stevens gave her first interview since she endorsed Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers on Sunday, telling CNN's Anderson Cooper she felt like there was a "weight off my shoulders."

During their 15-minute interview, Cooper repeatedly asked Stevens why she changed her mind after she reportedly told her colleague Rep. Debbie Dingell in a phone conversation Saturday night that she was not going to endorse Rogers. 

Stevens confirmed the conversation took place but never gave Cooper a direct answer about what changed her mind. She told him, "That's just where I landed with this. I woke up this morning clear-eyed, fresh and, you know, focused on what was in my heart, and that's that."

Asked again what changed her mind, Stevens replied, "I was there and just, you know, alone with my thoughts. I was writing things out, and look, this level of anger and the things that we are seeing — look, we all want Democrats to win. I'm a really proud Democrat. And by the way, Abdul's got every other Democrat with him. He just doesn't have me and a few other people who love this party."

"Nothing with me changed, Anderson," said Stevens, who had previously endorsed El-Sayed.

She cited El-Sayed's alliance with left-wing streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker and a controversial ad from Rebellion PAC that tied the war in Gaza to increased costs at home. It shows a couple in a grocery store shopping for food for their children, and the woman instructs her husband to put the eggs back. The children still "like eggs," she tells him. "But we have to set that $7 aside for killing Palestinians." El-Sayed said his campaign had nothing to do with the ad.

"That ad was very painful," Stevens said. "There are so many Democrats who want to vote for our Democratic nominee, and they're just being told, 'Hey, this is a party you don't belong in, or this is a campaign you don't belong in.'"

Stevens told Cooper she "absolutely" wants Democrats to take control of the Senate after Election Day and that it's essential for Democrats to retain the seat in Michigan to take control of the Senate.

Cooper pointed out that in August, Stevens had posted on social media that Rogers would be "another rubber stamp for Donald Trump's dangerous agenda. We can't afford to give MAGA another Senate seat in November." He asked Stevens, "Why is it OK now ... why can you afford to give MAGA another Senate seat in November?" 

Stevens replied, "Well, why is it OK to have the Democratic Party and a top nominee injecting ... this type of anger and lack of kindness?"

Cooper asked if she was referring to being disinvited from a planned joint appearance with El-Sayed Sunday.

"Anderson, I was just trying to help this campaign and stand up for people who feel hurt," Stevens replied. 

Cooper interviewed Dingell immediately following Stevens' appearance, and Dingell described the back-and-forth between the CNN host and her colleague as "one of the most painful interviews I have ever watched."

"I'm very concerned that this has all become a distraction," Dingell said.

Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton's campaign will no longer hold an event on the eve of Election Day at the Alamo, as originally advertised.

The campaign has not publicly commented on the change of plans. But Monday's schedule included events in Conroe and Allen, both of which are hundreds of miles from San Antonio, where the Alamo is located. The Allen event is set to start at 6:30 p.m. CT, which would not give him time to get to San Antonio that night. 

The Paxton campaign did not respond to requests for comment. 

Read more here. 

 President Trump will be holding an event at Washington, D.C.'s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday afternoon, the day before Election Day.

Mr. Trump told reporters that he wanted to hold an event there "just to show how beautiful it is." The president has made renovations to Washington a central theme of his second term in the White House, although the Reflecting Pool renovations have not gone so smoothly. 

"But it's finished," Mr. Trump said. " It looks beautiful. Hasn't worked since 1922. It's always leaked terribly, and it works really well now. We had it working well, but it was vandalized."

The Trump administration announced plans to resurface the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in April and paint it "American flag blue" at the president's request. The last time the reflecting pool underwent a significant renovation was from 2010 to 2012 during the Obama administration. At the time, the government tapped $34 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to cover the cost of the project. 

Images showed the Reflecting Pool's water turning green less than two weeks after Mr. Trump announced that the site had reopened to "rave reviews."

A spokesman for the Interior Department said supply lines that had been dormant for two months are to blame for the residual algae causing the color change.

Days later, chunks of peeling paint from the blue coating were spotted in the water. Mr. Trump claimed in a Truth Social post, without any evidence, that the Reflecting Pool was vandalized. Five people were arrested for vandalism and five others were served citations, according to the U.S. Park Police. The charges were eventually dropped against Olympian David Hearn, who asked the Justice Department's internal watchdog to investigate — a request which was denied. 

Mr. Trump insisted on Sunday that it had been "vandalized badly," alleging that the lawn had been "burned" with acid. 

A campaign official for Abdul El-Sayed confirmed to CBS News that they've raised over $1.2 million since Rep. Haley Stevens publicly backed Mike Rogers. 

The number was first reported by Politico.

It comes as Democrats express they feel betrayed by Stevens' endorsement of a GOP nominee.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Stevens' endorsement a "despicable act" while House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said Stevens "has chosen to dangerously betray Michigan families' healthcare, freedoms and future with her horrific endorsement of Mike Rogers."

Adam Hamilton, the pastor of the nation's largest United Methodist church, posted the video on social media ahead of the president's planned visit to Kansas for a rally in support of incumbent GOP Sen. Roger Marshall.

Hamilton and Marshall are locked in a tight race as Hamilton seeks to become the first Democrat to win a Senate race in Kansas since 1932. He needs to win over disaffected GOP and GOP-leaning independent voters to succeed.

He said in his video that he will be "a senator who listens" and noted the 25,000 members of his Church of the Resurrection in the Kansas City area are split in their political affiliations.

"I'll work across the aisle to do what's best for the people of our state," he said.

Republicans argue that a Hamilton victory would put liberal Democrats in charge of the Senate and that he would follow them.

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate for Michigan, reacted to Rep. Haley Stevens' endorsement of GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers, saying he is more focused on the 10 million Michiganders and that "none of this matters."

"I'm a lot more focused on the 9,999,998 that are not the ones you guys are talking about, okay? They pay too much in gas. They pay too much in groceries," El-Sayed told reporters during a gaggle on Sunday and brushed off questions about Stevens and Rogers.

"At the end of the day, I actually don't think about Haley Stevens," he added. "I'm just less interested in the politics of it all than I am in the policy of it all … None of this matters."

In an interview with "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Sunday did not answer if he'll serve a full term if he wins reelection on Sunday.

"I'm going to focus on getting done what I've pledged to get done here, and continuing to listen, see, and do, and make a lot of good things happen for the people of Pennsylvania as their governor," Shapiro said. 

When asked about others who have speculated that Shapiro will be running for president if he has a resounding victory in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Shapiro said "I wouldn't be focused on speculating."

"I'd be focused on these midterms, which is all I'm focused on," Shapiro said. "You know, we talked here today not just about my re-election, but the fact that I'm working hard to elect four more Democrats to Congress to tilt the balance of power, take the gavel away from Mike Johnson, working hard to win a trifecta here in Harrisburg, something that hasn't been done since 1992." 

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Sunday that lawmakers must "lead by example" amid what he called "dangerous" campaign rhetoric that's escalated as Election Day approaches.

"I think what you do is try and lead by example — as we are trying to do here, as I am trying to do here — try and bring back kindness in the face of the cruelty that we see from this president," Shapiro said  on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."

Shapiro, who was first elected governor in 2022 and is seeking reelection this year, spoke about the threats against him and his family. He highlighted the arson attack on the governor's residence in 2025 after he and his family celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover with a Seder in the residence, saying, "It weighs on me, but it doesn't control me." 

He said he has "profound differences from the person I'm running against, from the president and others."

"But I don't think engaging in cruelty is the answer," Shapiro added. "I think it makes everyone less safe."

Read more here and watch Margaret Brennan's full interview with Shapiro here. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer railed against Haley Stevens' move to endorse GOP candidate Mike Rogers in the Michigan Senate race. 

"This is a despicable betrayal from Rep. Stevens," Schumer said in a post on X. 

Schumer added that Senate Democrats "are united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed," who he said will "fight for the economic interests of working families in Michigan, unlike Mike Rogers, who is a tool of Donald Trump and billionaire donors."

GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers, speaking to reporters after he appeared with Democrat Haley Stevens at a Detroit church, said he was honored to receive her support.

"This is more a statement about standing together against hate and the future of this state and this country than it is anything else," Rogers said. 

Rogers said he got the call Sunday morning from Stevens, and the two decided to appear together at the church. He said he and Stevens talked about what was better for the future of the state. And he noted that Stevens reminded him at the end of their call that she remains a Democrat. 

Stevens said she's "not trying to harm" the Democratic Party with the move, insisting that she isn't "turning her back on Democrats."



"It is this one vote," she said. "And I will tell you why: Because when you see hate, when you see us standing with Hasan Piker, and repeated hate, it's not acceptable."

President Trump on Sunday lauded Democrat Haley Stevens for her move to endorse GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers over her party's nominee, Abdul El-Sayed. 

"Congresswoman Haley Stevens, a Highly Respected Democrat, who narrowly lost in the Primary to Abdul Mohamed El-Sayed, and who has been breathlessly wined and dined by the Dumocrats to help in their Michigan Campaign for the United States Senate against Mike Rogers, has just ENDORSED Mike Rogers for Senate," Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

The president added, "Her following is huge, and the level of respect from the People of Michigan, especially our African American and Jewish populations, is virtually unparalleled. Haley said what few people are willing to say. She showed great and almost unprecedented loyalty to the Great People of Michigan with what she did."

A federal judge in Alaska has thrown out the Trump administration's lawsuit seeking to block certification of the state's Senate election results in this week's midterm elections if the Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan loses. 

U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason wrote in a 20-page order Sunday that the Justice Department did not have proper legal standing to bring the suit last week. The suit asked Gleason to block the state's election results from being certified because a teacher named Daniel J. Sullivan is also on the state's ballot, alleging that his candidacy deliberately sought to confuse voters by running with the same ballot name and party affiliation as the state's incumbent senator.

The Justice Department argued that Daniel J. Sullivan's name on the ballot potentially diverted voters, and the Democrat running in the race, Mary Peltola, would benefit as a result.

Gleason said she could not grant the injunction that the Trump administration sought "because the United States has failed to establish the redressability prerequisite for Article III standing."

Read more here. 

Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens endorsed Senate candidate Mike Rogers on Sunday amid a rift with Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed that has come front and center in the final sprint to Election Day. 

"Our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Abdul, said that I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away, and he's right," Stevens said in a video posted on social media Sunday. "And that's why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today."

The endorsement came shortly after Stevens appeared with Rogers at an event together at a Detroit church. 

Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens appeared with Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers Sunday amid a rift with Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed that has come front and center in the final sprint to Election Day. 

Stevens, who narrowly lost to El-Sayed in Michigan's Democratic primary in August, appeared alongside Rogers at a Detroit church on Sunday. 

The development comes after Stevens, who had been heavily supported by the Senate Democrats' campaign arm in the primary and has since said she was supporting the Democratic ticket, called on El-Sayed last week to condemn an outside group's ad linking U.S. military aid to Israel to rising grocery prices, which she characterized as antisemitic. El-Sayed accused Stevens of "relitigating a primary that ended three months ago," although he has also clarified that the ad "was not made by me" and said he disagrees with its contents.

Sen. Bernie Sanders decried some of the rhetoric from Republicans in the Michigan Senate race, as the GOP has leaned in heavily on attacks on Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed's ethnicity and religion. 

"That level of racism, overt absolute racism, is frankly disgusting and should appall every decent American," Sanders said on "Face the Nation."

Sanders, who's supported El-Sayed's campaign, specifically referred to comments made by Republican surrogates such as President Trump and GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Republicans have accused El-Sayed of being a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, and implied that electing him could even be deadly to Americans. El-Sayed, who would be the first Muslim senator, has denied any connection to the Muslim Brotherhood and condemned the comments. The Trump administration earlier this year designated certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group.

Sanders said, "What Cruz and Trump and Vance and others are saying is disgusting."

"The fact of the matter is that Abdul is running an extraordinary campaign, and I think what you're going to see is a good victory in Michigan for him," Sanders said. "People will rebel against that type of ugliness."

The Vermont independent also condemned advertisements in the Michigan Senate race, saying, "I have never in my life seen such disgusting, racist, fearmongering ads as those that are taking place in Michigan right now."

"They are calling Abdul El Sayed — who's a medical doctor — they're calling him a terrorist, a jihadist, really disgusting things," Sanders said. "And the fact that any Republican would stand behind those horrible ads is a disgrace."

Read more here.

Rep. Mike Lawler of New York defended his record and standing with his constituents as he fights to hold onto his House seat in one of the most closely watched races this cycle.

"I think we're going to be victorious on Tuesday night," Lawler said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." "I've done the work."

Lawler said, "The fact is, I show up and my constituents know me." He contrasted his candidacy with his opponent, Democratic challenger Cait Conley, whom he claimed "parachuted into this district from Virginia." Conley is a combat veteran and national security expert who boasts being a fourth-generation native to the district's Hudson Valley.

"I own a home here. I pay taxes. I'm raising my family here, and I think my constituents respect the fact that I've consistently been rated among the most bipartisan and effective members of Congress," Lawler said. 

Lawler, who's looking to defy serious headwinds to win reelection in a district with 70,000 more registered Democrats, noted that despite being a Republican, he's been endorsed by a Democrat in Congress, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine.

"I think people know that I've delivered for them," Lawler said. "Especially when it comes to the issue of affordability."

Former President Barack Obama endorsed Democratic nominee Charles Booker in the Kentucky Senate race on Sunday, two days before Election Day. 

"I'm proud to support Charles Booker for the U.S. Senate," former President Barack Obama said in a statement shared first with CBS News. "Charles cares deeply about the people of Kentucky, and by sending him to Washington, working families across the Commonwealth would have a leader who understands their struggles and has what it takes to make real change." 

Booker said he was "humbled and honored" to receive the endorsement. He is running against Republican Rep. Andy Barr to succeed Senator Mitch McConnell. McConnell, 84, announced his retirement last year and is Kentucky's longest serving senator. 

"Mitch McConnell essentially built a career leveraging Kentucky to become one of the most powerful politicians in our country, and we know that by flipping Kentucky, we flip the U.S. Senate," Booker told CBS News in an interview earlier this year.

Read more here. 

A rift between Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and his former primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, has taken much of the focus in the final sprint of the campaign, as El-Sayed pushes to return the attention to the issues facing Michigan voters as he takes on GOP candidate Mike Rogers.

After Stevens called on El-Sayed last week to condemn an outside group's ad linking U.S. military aid to Israel to rising grocery prices, which she characterized as antisemitic, and El-Sayed accused her of "relitigating a primary that ended three months ago," El-Sayed faced questions Saturday about the ongoing rift. He reiterated that the ad "was not made by me," adding that he disagrees with its contents. And on Stevens, he said, "The outcome of the primary are what they were."

"I understand some folks are upset about that. I get it," El-Sayed added. "But I'm here trying to beat Mike Rogers."

Meanwhile, Rogers praised Stevens for calling on El-Sayed to denounce the ad and for expressing concerns raised by Michigan Jewish voters. 

"Representative Haley Stevens is a courageous leader who deserves the respect of every Michigan voter," Rogers said in a post on X. "She has conducted herself with nothing but class since the Democratic primary, a primary where a majority of voters did not vote for her party's nominee."

The latest developments come after Stevens was asked to stay away from all remaining campaign events in the final days before Tuesday's election, CBS News previously reported. When asked whether he wanted Stevens to appear with him at a unity event Sunday alongside Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, El-Sayed said, "I would rather not distract from the key issues of this campaign."

Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan told CNN that she talked to Stevens, saying "I am the one that said, 'This isn't working.'"

"There's nothing to be gained by the two of them being in the same place for the next few days," Dingell said. "We need to be talking about the issues, not how, you know, what's the relationship between those two. And she's been clear from the beginning — she's supporting the ticket, she's voting for him." 

The FBI has begun reaching out to donors of Daniel J. Sullivan, asking about potential deception, as federal authorities ramped up their investigation of the independent U.S. Senate candidate in Alaska who shares a name with the Republican incumbent.

Agents have contacted donors in at least two remote communities in Alaska and a couple in Massachusetts. An Anchorage-based FBI agent visited a boat dealership in Petersburg, a small fishing community accessible only by air or water where the candidate lives. The agent left a business card for Charles Flint, who told The Associated Press he has known Dan J. Sullivan for years as a respected teacher and musician.

The FBI visits came after federal officials confirmed the existence of a criminal probe over the candidate. The Justice Department also pushed Friday for a court order to isolate certain Alaska ballots to investigate potential voter confusion.

Sullivan left his hometown of Petersburg earlier this week, multiple sources confirmed to CBS News on Friday.

One resident and former student of Sullivan's told CBS News she saw him on a flight to Anchorage on Monday — two days before The New York Times first reported that he was recruited by operatives linked to Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign. The source added she did not know where Sullivan was headed, but another friend said he and his wife are known among friends as "world travelers."

Sullivan's current whereabouts after leaving his hometown are not clear.

CBS/AP

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined a rally in Virginia Beach on Saturday afternoon ahead of the battleground race for Virginia's 2nd Congressional district — a rematch between incumbent Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans and Democratic nominee Elaine Luria.

With Election Day just three days away, Jeffries told CBS News ahead of the rally that he's "very confident that House Democrats are on the verge of taking back control because the American people are fed up with MAGA extremism."

Asked what he'll view as a good night for Democrats on Tuesday, Jeffries replied, "the majority."

When it comes to whether he believes President Trump will accept the results of the election if Democrats win back one or both chambers, Jeffries told CBS News that Mr. Trump "will have no choice but to accept the results, because I believe that the American people are on the verge of delivering a decisive verdict."

Alex Johnson contributed to this report.

The Alaska Attorney General's Office filed a motion Saturday to dismiss the Justice Department's lawsuit that seeks to stop certification of a possible Democratic Senate win in Alaska over the Senate candidacy of Daniel J. Sullivan — an independent with the same first and last name as incumbent GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan.

The DOJ's lawsuit is predicated on allegations that the second Sullivan's candidacy violates the National Voter Registration Act.

In its filing, however, the state argued that the DOJ's argument has "no legal basis," and saying there is "no reason for this Court to entertain this meritless lawsuit any longer."

"What's more, the relief demanded is inappropriate and not even possible given Alaskan voters' vital right to ballot secrecy," the state wrote.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason has set a deadline of Saturday for arguments over whether she should dismiss the case.

The DOJ filed a civil lawsuit this week seeking to block certification of the results if Sen. Sullivan loses due to what it claimed was "voter confusion."

Alaskan officials countered in Saturday's motion that "state officials carefully designed the ballot to minimize voter confusion." 

All this follows a New York Times report that found that people associated with the campaign of Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola had helped recruit the second Sullivan, a retired teacher, to run. Peltola has denied that she knew anything about the alleged scheme.

In June, state election officials found that Daniel J. Sullivan was ineligible to appear on the ballot, calling his candidacy a "determined effort and a deliberate attempt" to confuse voters and was not "in good faith."

However, later that same month, the Alaska Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that overturned that decision, ruling that the "good faith" argument did not apply because it was not based on the Constitution, Alaska law or the election division's own regulations.

The DOJ has also launched a separate criminal investigation into the Alaska Senate race, for which it has issued multiple subpoenas of Democratic officials.

Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for Texas governor, took the stage as a guest at Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico's "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts" tour in Houston on Saturday.

Following a performance by local musician Kam Franklin at the Bayou Music Hall, Hinojosa addressed Talarico supporters, saying, "No one ever thought that we would ever get this close."

"It is a fight to decide … is it going to be a Texas that is by and for the people, or is this the billionaires' world and we just live here?" Hinojosa said before introducing Talarico.

President Trump said on Truth Social that he will host a telerally supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and others running in Ohio. 

The other candidates Mr. Trump is supporting with the event include Sen. Jon Husted, who is running for reelection in the Senate, and Rep. Mike Carey, who is running for reelection in the House. He also said he is supporting Congressional candidates Eric Conroy and Derek Merrin. 

"They LOVE the Great People of Ohio, and so do I," Mr. Trump wrote. 

This is the second of six telerallies Mr. Trump is hosting to support Republican candidates nationwide. 

President Trump said on Truth Social that he was holding a telerally for Republican candidates in Pennsylvania. 

He said that he is supporting Stacy Garrity for governor, and Reps. Ryan Mackenzie, Rob Bresnahan, Scott Perry and Lloyd Smucker for congressional seats. All five candidates have his "Complete and Total Endorsement," Mr. Trump wrote. 

This is the first of six telerallies Mr. Trump is expected to host today. 

Sen. Ted Cruz issued a stark warning to conservative voters on his Verdict podcast on Friday, cautioning that Republicans risk losing both chambers of Congress and face a total wipeout in Texas.

Sounding the alarm over massive early turnout among Democratic stalwarts, Cruz stated that Republicans could suffer a devastating defeat across eight to 10 close Senate races if base conservative voters remain home on Tuesday.

"We could lose Texas ... If the election were over today, if just the early votes that have been cast so far were counted, Republicans would lose massively. It would not be close," Cruz said. "We would lose both the House and Senate. It would be a bloodbath." 

Pointing to early voting data in his home state, Cruz warned that the entire statewide Texas Republican ticket is in serious jeopardy of falling to Democrats in a historic shift. Cruz emphasized that the election remains a battle of turnout, noting that the GOP retains a larger total pool of registered voters who typically vote on Election Day.

"Now, some conservatives, they say, I don't trust the polls, the polls are all wrong. Well, let me tell you that there is a bias in the polls. They do skew left," Cruz said. "But I can tell you, having run a lot of campaigns, having examined a lot of numbers, these data are not fake. The Democrats are massively outturning out the Republicans. We got to fix that." 

Closing out his multi-state campaign swing, Cruz urged conservative, independent, and libertarian voters to get to the polls immediately to avert a Democratic legislative sweep.

Heading into the final weekend before the midterms, Republican nominee Ken Paxton and Democratic nominee James Talarico are making their last pushes to mobilize voters across Texas. 

Paxton is rallying base supporters in Houston on Saturday as part of his statewide "Come and Take It" bus tour, emphasizing conservative legal victories and driving turnout. 

Meanwhile, Talarico is in Dallas for a "Texas Together" block walk and GOTV drive, targeting urban and suburban voters to cap off his final push before Tuesday.

CBS News has confirmed that Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed's campaign has asked his former primary rival, Rep. Haley Stevens, to stay away from all remaining campaign events in the final days before Tuesday's election, according to two sources familiar with the matter. 

This development, which was first reported by Politico, follows a public dispute between the two Michigan Democrats, who had been expected to make a rare joint appearance Sunday at a Detroit church alongside South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn to help galvanize Black voters to support El-Sayed in his Senate race. 

On Friday, Stevens called on El-Sayed to condemn an outside group's ad linking US military aid to Israel to rising grocery prices, which she characterized as antisemitic. She also called on El-Sayed to apologize for previous remarks that she said linked US support for Israel to Michigan's affordability challenges and urged him to remove a campaign ad featuring conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.

El-Sayed's campaign has said it has no affiliation with the outside ad. In a response Friday night, El-Sayed accused Stevens of attempting to rehash their acrimonious Democratic primary battle, saying she "seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago," rather than focusing on defeating Republican Mike Rogers.

This comes just days after Stevens' fiancé, Jason Turkish, publicly announced he would vote for Rogers, despite Stevens reaffirming her support for El-Sayed during a CNN interview. 

Read more here.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joins Democratic nominee Elaine Luria in Virginia Beach on Saturday, October 31, for a final-weekend Get Out The Vote rally. 

The event marks the final day of early in-person voting in Virginia, with Jeffries rallying base voters in key coastal precincts to boost Democratic turnout in the battleground 2nd Congressional District. 

Days before Election Day, Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa is stepping into the ring for a critical voting bloc in the Lone Star State: Hispanic men.

Hinojosa's campaign plans to air a 30-second advertisement Saturday during Mexican boxing superstar Canelo Álvarez's fight against Christian Mbilli, an effort to reach Hispanic voters, especially Latino men, who played a significant role in President Trump's 2024 victory.

The advertisement is titled "No Te Dejes," a Spanish expression meaning "Don't let yourself be pushed around," and repeats Hinojosa's central campaign message: "Fight back."

According to her campaign, the spot contrasts Hinojosa's proposals to protect public schools, restrict data center expansion and lower taxes with what she argues is three-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's prioritization of wealthy donors and large corporations.

Read more here. 

Latino voters in South Texas may play a pivotal role in the midterm elections, spurred by conversations about illegal immigration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportations. 

It's a bloc that swung towards President Trump in the 2024 presidential election. But the key U.S. Senate race between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton remains tight. CBS News' latest poll shows nearly 60% of Hispanics backing Talarico. Texas has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1998. 

Griselda Vera told CBS News that ICE operations dominate local conversations in Mission, Texas. Some families "aren't even leaving their homes," she said, and others "are scared to call the police in case of an emergency." She thinks that fear might translate to the ballot box. 

"I think that the community is tired of being under attack," Vera said. "We're tired of having a foot on our neck." 

Not everyone agrees. Arturo Salas, a resident of McAllen, Texas, said he supports mass deportations and a border wall. He emphasized the need for law and order. 

"You broke the law. You cannot break the law, brother. You can't," Salas said. "Why have a law if it's gonna be irrelevant?" 

Texas resident Raul Ortiz, who has served in the U.S. Border Patrol for over 30 years, said the past two years are the quietest he's ever seen the southern border. While he praised the Trump administration for slashing illegal border crossings, he worried that the crackdown has instilled fear among workers critical to the country's economy. 

"I think Americans want moderation. They want something in the middle," Ortiz said. "We have an immigrant population out there that is important to our society, and then we also need to recognize that we have some folks in here that don't belong in this country. We need to figure out how to get them out." 

Nearly 50 million people have already voted in the 2026 midterm elections, according to data collected by the University of Florida's Election Lab. 

Over 26,831,000 early voters had filled out their ballots in person, the lab said. Around 22,863,000 votes came from returned mail ballots. In total, 49,564,545 people had voted early as of Friday evening. 

The voting data does not include information from New Hampshire and Alabama. The states have not reported data to the lab. 

On the evening before Halloween, Democratic nominee for Texas Senate James Talarico spoke to a crowd that his campaign says consisted of 1,900 people. 

A noticeably coarse-voiced Talarico spoke for roughly 26 minutes on the Wood Stage at Aggie Park on the Texas A&M Campus, amid rainy weather. 

"This election shouldn't be about the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. It's bigger than that. This election should be about chasing a vision of what this state can be," Talarico said. "Texas public schools that are the envy of the nation, a Texas economy that is second to none, and Texas families that are stronger and healthier than they've ever been before. This won't happen overnight, but a giant state deserves giant dreams." 

Talarico was joined by Brazos County Precinct 4 Commissioner Wanda Watson, Texas House 14 Candidate Janet Dudding, Texas State Senate District 5 Candidate Paul Thomasson, Democratic House Candidate Caitlin Rourk (TX-10) and Texas Commissioner Candidate Clayton Tucker.

Cesareo Sifuentes-Roacho contributed reporting. 

A California judge late Friday ordered the federal government to stop demanding that state and local election officials separate out ballots or not count certain votes from alleged noncitizens, and to stop threatening officials with criminal prosecution if they do not comply.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson came in response to a lawsuit filed a day earlier by labor unions and other groups, accusing the Trump administration of intimidating California election workers and interfering in the administration of the midterms.

The Justice Department has pressed officials in California this month to separate out mail ballots for roughly 20,000 people it alleges are not U.S. citizens, and has issued grand jury subpoenas for officials in Los Angeles County — part of a sweeping campaign by the Trump administration. Federal officials have also suggested for months that election workers could be prosecuted if they fail to stop noncitizens from voting.

Read more here.

During his rally in Florida late Friday, near the tail end of a weekslong campaign blitz, President Trump acknowledged that  "28 days of this crap is a lot," telling the crowd his "voice is … operating at about 49.2%."

"I thought this was going to be my last one," he said. "I thought this was it. I thought I could relax."

Instead, Mr. Trump is planning to visit Iowa and Kansas on Sunday, two states with tight Senate races. He canceled his weekend rallies in both states on Thursday, but announced a day later that they're back on.

He told the crowd in Daytona Beach that "they called me in Iowa and they called me in Kansas, and they said, 'Sir, would it be possible to do a little rally of about 50,000 people each?' And I said, 'Does it matter?' They said, 'We just want to make sure that we win.'"

The Justice Department on Friday asked a federal judge to order Alaska officials to segregate all ballots that rank Daniel J. Sullivan, a Senate candidate with the same first and last name as the GOP incumbent.

The filing came in a civil lawsuit from the Trump administration seeking to block the certification of Alaska's Senate election if Democrat Mary Peltola wins due to "voter confusion." Those efforts were amplified this week after The New York Times reported that operatives linked to Peltola's campaign helped recruit Daniel J. Sullivan — allegations Peltola has denied.

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward wrote Friday afternoon that "there is a substantial risk that Mr. Sullivan's sham candidacy will mislead voters and ultimately result in an electoral process that lacks integrity." For that reason, he argued, a preliminary injunction should be issued ordering Alaska to "preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purposes of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation become necessary."

The federal government is also asking for expedited discovery into Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Woodward asked a judge to rule by Monday.

Alaska election officials opposed the request, arguing the Justice Department's lawsuit "lacks any merit." They also said votes are "comingled in the ballot box on Election Day" and therefore can't be segregated without violating ballot secrecy requirements, and noted that "the ballots (whether segregated or not) will not reveal any voter's reasons for voting for Daniel J."

And they said an order to preserve ballots is unnecessary since the state already saves ballots for 22 months.

"The United States' delay further undermines its request for expedited consideration. It waited until two weeks before Election Day to file a lawsuit about issues that arose months ago," the state said.

The defendants in the case include Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, who previously attempted to keep Daniel J. Sullivan off the ballot. State courts overturned that decision.

President Trump was interrupted by multiple people early in his Florida rally. 

A protester was escorted out at 8:12 p.m. Mr. Trump claimed the person was a "paid protester." Several minutes later, another person interrupted him. 

"What a loser," he said. "Get him out of here."

President Trump has taken the stage at a rally in Daytona Beach, Florida, as he seeks to boost Republican Senate, House and gubernatorial candidates.

The CBS News data desk has added South Carolina to its list of battleground Senate races, rating it Republican-leaning, as new data and public polls show the contest could be closer than initially expected.

Republican Sen. Darline Graham is running for a full term, after she was appointed to the Senate earlier this year to replace her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham. The Democratic nominee is Annie Andrews.

President Trump won the state by an almost 18-point margin in 2024, and Lindsey Graham won reelection against a well-funded challenger by 10 points in 2020. But recent polling suggests the race could be tight: A New York Times/Siena College poll released Wednesday showed a tied race.

Mr. Trump has campaigned heavily for Darline Graham, holding a rally in South Carolina on Thursday.

CBS News is now tracking a total of 11 Senate battlegrounds. 

Five states are rated toss-ups (Maine, Michigan, Ohio, Texas and Alaska), three lean toward Republicans (Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina) and three lean toward Democrats (Georgia, North Carolina and New Hampshire).

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate, hit back at Rep. Haley Stevens, whom he defeated in the primary, after she demanded an apology for comments he made about Israel.

The dispute between the former Democratic rivals comes two days before they are expected to appear at an event in Detroit with Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina — marking one of their only joint appearances since the contentious primary.

In a statement Friday night, El-Sayed said his former rival "seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago" instead of focusing on beating the Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers and addressing Michiganders' cost of living concerns. 

Stevens said in an earlier statement Friday she planned to appear with El-Sayed on the campaign trail, but she expected him to apologize for comments about Israel and condemn an ad from an outside PAC that she said was antisemitic. She also wanted El-Sayed to take down his own ad featuring Tucker Carlson. 

"Abdul promises to get money out of politics," she said. "He can begin by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford."

Read more here.

Speaking about her closing message to voters, GOP Sen. Susan Collins said, "My final message to the people of Maine is to think about who can do more for Maine."

"If I am fortunate enough to be reelected, I will be fifth in seniority among the 100 senators. My opponent [Democrat Troy Jackson] would be either 100 or 99," she said while campaigning in Milo, Maine. 

"And the fact is that seniority, relationships, knowledge and experience all really count in the Senate. They're the key to whether or not you're effective," she continued. "It has been 92 years since a Maine senator was chair of the Appropriations Committee. I feel that I've had a once-in-a-century opportunity to really deliver for Maine and for America."

Collins, who is seeking a sixth term in a blue-leaning state, has made her role atop the Senate Appropriations Committee central to her campaign, touting the federal funds that she has helped secure for projects in Maine.

The Justice Department's top prosecutor in Alaska called new reporting about the origins of an independent candidate's Senate campaign "troubling," and said the new information "has resulted in a significant surge of law enforcement assets" to the state. 

But Michael Heyman, the U.S. attorney for the District of Alaska, declined to detail what specific crimes are being investigated as Daniel J. Sullivan, a candidate with the same first and last name as the Republican incumbent senator, Dan Sullivan, is set to appear on the ballot Tuesday. Heyman said he's "not making any assumptions on whether a crime has been committed or not."

"That's what we do, is we investigate whether a crime has been committed under several theories, so I'm not going to comment on what those theories are, and I'm also not going to put the cart before the horse," he said.

Read more here.

President Trump hedged his bets Friday when he talked about the midterms in the Oval Office. 

"Tuesday, we're going to see how it all works out," he told reporters. "I think we're doing well. Typically, a president, whether he's good or bad, Republican or Democrat, loses the midterms. Nobody's ever explained why. But I think we have a shot at doing well, maybe very well, but you know, pretty well."

Speaking in the Oval Office with Stephen Hubbard, an American who was recently freed from a Russian prison, the president addressed the back-and-forth over whether he would hold in-person rallies in Kansas and Iowa. 

"I wanted to see if I could do tele-rallies, because I'm very successful with — we're batting unbelievable at tele-rallies. I do them well, and it's a great instrument and it only seems to work for me because other people call and nobody gets on the phone," Mr. Trump said.

"I got a call from both states, Kansas and Iowa. We're in good shape, I think, in a lot of states. We had a great rally yesterday, as you know, for Darlene [Graham] in South Carolina. But I got a call from Iowa and from other people, and from my friends that are very, very good, and we have a couple of races that are very important. And they said, 'If you could go, it would be better than a tele-rally.' And I tried to talk them out of that. I said, what about a tele-rally? But they asked me, so I'm going to do two on Sunday."

The president said he would travel to Iowa first and then to Kansas.

"Monday is going to be exciting. But Sunday is going to be a very exciting day," he said. "And then Tuesday, we're going to see how it all works out. I think we're doing well."

Petersburg, Alaska — Daniel J. Sullivan, the independent candidate running for Senate in Alaska whose name is almost identical to the Republican senator running for reelection, left his hometown of Petersburg earlier this week, multiple sources confirmed to CBS News.

One resident and former student of Sullivan's said she saw Sullivan on a flight to Anchorage on Monday — two days before The New York Times first reported that he was recruited by operatives linked to Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign. The source added she did not know where Sullivan was headed, but another friend said he and his wife are known among friends as "world travelers." 

Dozens of Petersburg residents also told CBS News they never saw or received any campaign materials like mailers, flyers, brochures or signs since the former elementary school teacher announced his candidacy last spring.

"I don't think it's a serious candidacy," said Andrew Worhatch, a Petersburg fisherman. "I haven't seen a platform."

Read more here.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected the Justice Department's request for California to set aside disputed ballots received in the midterm election.

The panel's 2-1 ruling is the latest setback for the Trump administration's efforts to assert control over state-run elections.

The administration has alleged California sent ballots to some 20,000 people who may not be U.S. citizens. It wants the state to set those ballots aside and not count them until citizenship can be verified. California officials say the list is highly unreliable and likely includes many people who are U.S. citizens.

A district court judge already forcefully denied that request and warned that the Justice Department's demands could disenfranchise citizens.

"As the district court found — and we discern no clear error — there is no feasible way to identify and segregate the ballots of specific individuals without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system," the appeals court wrote.

The Justice Department said in a court filing on Friday that it sent letters to all 50 states reminding them of their obligation to preserve election records for 22 months after an election. 

The disclosure came in a filing in a suit brought by Democratic groups and officials over the Trump administration's efforts to pressure states to remove alleged ineligible voters from their rolls. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., is overseeing the case. The judge had directed the DOJ and DHS after a hearing on Thursday to identify states where federal officials had sent communications since July 1, 2026. 

The administration told the judge that federal agencies contacted election officials in five states about voters they identified as potentially ineligible. 

The lawsuit, filed Oct. 20, was brought by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Democratic Governors Association, Nevada State Democratic Party, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and a California voter.

The government confirmed it sent communications to California, Nevada, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington. (DHS contacted California, Nevada, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, while the Justice Department contacted California and Washington.) 

The government said the July 16 letters to California, Nevada and Pennsylvania did not demand that states remove voters, withhold ballots or segregate ballots, but asked state officials to work with DHS to verify whether individuals identified through a preliminary analysis were noncitizens.

In the final days of her campaign, incumbent Sen. Susan Collins is focusing on bolstering support in the northern, more rural part of Maine through smaller-scale stops highlighting projects and developments she helped secure for local communities.

On Friday morning in Greenville, a town of about 1,400 year-round residents on the southern tip of Moosehead Lake in Piscataquis County, Collins attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a new childcare facility at Greenville Consolidated School. The facility will accommodate more than 60 children and include a new town recreation and fitness center.

During brief remarks ahead of the groundbreaking, Collins spoke about her role in advancing the project and the impact the new facility will have on the community.

"I worked hard to secure more than $1.5 million in federal funding to advance this project because I am so confident that it will produce a great return in terms of quality of life," Collins said. "Quality child care helps children be ready for school as active and engaged learners. It promotes economic development by enabling parents to work, further their education and increase their own skills, knowing that their children are in a safe and happy environment. This supports the businesses that are already here, and it helps the region attract even more employers."

Collins did not take questions at the event. 

Election Day is fast approaching, and many candidates for office are busy doing everything they can to convince any remaining undecided voters.

And then there are Democrats running in New York City Districts 7 and 13, areas so blue that candidates for Congress don't need to campaign at all. 

Darializa Avila Chevalier is running in the 13th District. Claire Valdez is running in the 7th District. They're both members of Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA. 

"We're still encouraging folks to go out. Early voting has already started. Election Day is Nov. 3," Avila Chevalier said.

The district she's running in covers parts of Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. Valdez's district covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens. Both are viewed by election analysts as safely Democratic. 

The inevitability of their victories doesn't make them any less notable, since they're both DSA members, along with Mayor Zohran Mamdani. 

Mamdani's endorsement of both of them was the key to their primary victories over more experienced, non-DSA opponents, according to political expert and law professor J.C. Polanco. So does that make Mamdani the most powerful politician in Washington who doesn't work out of Washington?

Read more from CBS News New York here.

Supporters of Democratic Senate nominee Mary Peltola in Juneau, Alaska, told CBS News they still support her bid. 

Peltola is facing intense criticism over a New York Times report that operatives aligned with her campaign were involved in the Dan Sullivan recruitment effort. Peltola has denied any involvement or knowledge of the scheme.

Democrat Bob Coghill said he thinks the controversy could hurt Peltola with late deciders. 

"I do think it will hurt her chances," Coghill said. "I think there are people that will see this as something just a little too clever, a little too untoward, and it's going to hurt some votes of the people who — particularly the last-minute voters."

Carter Bancroft, an independent voter heading to vote early for Peltola, said he disliked the political gamesmanship, but questioned the push to prosecute Peltola.

"Seems like a mess," Bancroft said. "Seems to me possible, probable, that he is in this race to confuse things."

He added: "I don't like the shenanigans that go on on both sides, gerrymandering in a variety of ways, that it seems like politicians stump more on confusing people, in many ways, than they do on actual issues. I feel like that's possible here, and I don't like that. On the other hand, it doesn't seem — it may be tasteless if that's true, but it's not criminal."

Democrat Leah Haskell-Cummins called the allegations against Peltola "ridiculous" and "fearmongering." She said the ballot clearly distinguished between the two Dan Sullivans, making voter confusion unlikely.

A coalition of labor unions and civil rights organizations — including the Service Employees International Union; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; the NAACP; and the League of United Latin American Citizens — have sued the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security, alleging that federal officials are unlawfully intimidating California election workers and interfering with the administration of the midterm elections.

The 46-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Northern California on Thursday, accuses the Trump administration of using subpoenas, threats of criminal prosecution and demands involving voter eligibility to pressure state and local election officials. Plaintiffs argue that the actions exceed federal authority and threaten the lawful processing and counting of ballots.

The groups are seeking a court order barring federal officials from threatening election workers or improperly interfering with ballot processing. 

President Trump will hold rallies in Iowa and Kansas on Sunday, reversing course on plans to cancel the events and hold tele-rallies instead.

A source familiar with the plans told CBS News the rallies "were rearranged for scheduling purposes to accommodate dozens of additional tele-rallies that were recently added to the President's schedule."

Mr. Trump bristled on Thursday when a reporter asked whether he had canceled the Kansas rally because he is "sick of travel."

"You're sick to ask that question. You are sick," Mr. Trump said. 

"I don't feel I have to go to Kansas. … You've been following me for two weeks. I feel perfect. You are disgusting. Put yourself in shape. You look like hell," he added.

GOP candidates in Iowa and Kansas are in close races for the Senate. Mr. Trump was in Iowa last week and held a rally in Kansas on Oct. 19. 

Speaking to KCMO radio in Kansas, President Trump said voters need a "190 IQ" to understand the ballot in Alaska, and said people don't know what the word "incumbent" means. 

Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is on the ballot, but so is Daniel J. Sullivan. Democratic candidate Mary Peltola has come under scrutiny after a New York Times report that operatives aligned with her campaign sought out a candidate named "Dan Sullivan" to add to the ballot and peel voters away from the incumbent senator. 

"You need about 190 IQ to figure out the ballot," the president told KCMO. "They put a ballot down where they're talking about the incumbent Republican, and the other one. Most people don't know in Alaska, in a lot of other states too, what does incumbent mean? They don't know what incumbent means."

The sitting senator Sullivan has "Incumbent" and "Registered Republican" next to his name on the ballot, while Daniel J. Sullivan's name stands alone:

Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, submitted a mail ballot for the midterm elections in Illinois, the Vatican said Friday.

"Pope Leo XIV has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so. The Holy See Press Office confirms that in keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago," the press office said in a statement.

The statement said Leo also voted while living in Peru, where he served as a missionary priest and bishop for years.

"The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes," the Vatican said.

Read more here.

In an interview with Kansas City's KCMO radio Friday morning, President Trump said he "would imagine" incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall is in "good shape" in the race against Democrat Adam Hamilton. A scheduled Trump rally in Kansas this weekend was abruptly canceled, replaced by tele-rallies. An Iowa rally was also canceled. 

"I just want to make sure he's in good shape," the president told KCMO. "I would imagine he would be, but, just, nobody does more for the farmers as a group. But this man is respected by everybody in Washington. … And when Kansas needs something, I will tell you, he will call me a lot. Sometimes I say, 'Roger, just relax.' We'll take care of it. He's a great guy."

On Thursday, the president said the Kansas rally was canceled because Marshall is "doing very well."

The Senate race in Kansas is unexpectedly tight, given that Mr. Trump won the state by 16 points in 2024.  

Why Pennsylvania could be one of last states to count ballots this Election Day

With four days until Election Day, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker and city commissioners are urging people to vote.

Officials on Thursday escorted the media through a warehouse in Northeast Philly known as Philadelphia Election Headquarters. Every ballot placed in the city, whether in person or by mail, ends up at the warehouse to be counted on Election Day.

As mail-in ballots are returned, they are first sorted by a huge machine that separates the envelopes by ward and division.

Then, they are stored securely behind locked cages and won't be touched until Tuesday.

Unlike most states, Pennsylvania doesn't allow workers to start processing mail-in ballots until Election Day.

Then, starting at 7 a.m., workers use heavy-duty machines known as extractors to open the envelopes, but a person has to physically remove the ballot. From there, election workers sit at long tables and flatten the ballots before they are scanned and counted.

Read more here.

Vice President JD Vance had been scheduled to be in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on Friday for a press conference on fraud, but the trip has been canceled, according to a source familiar with the visit. 

President Trump will head to his adopted home state of Florida on Friday for a rally in Daytona Beach, after canceling a set of weekend visits to Kansas and Iowa.

The stop in Florida — a onetime swing state that has increasingly leaned red — comes as Republican Sen. Ashley Moody vies for reelection against Democrat Angie Nixon, and as GOP Rep. Byron Donalds seeks the governor's office against Democratic candidate David Jolly. There are also a handful of closely watched House races.

A day earlier, Mr. Trump campaigned in South Carolina for GOP Sen. Darline Graham.

The president has crisscrossed the country in recent weeks, holding rallies both in battleground states and on redder terrain. He has typically urged voters to "pretend that I'm on the ballot."

He canceled rallies planned for Kansas on Saturday and Iowa on Sunday, which the Republican National Committee said was because the party is "in a strong position."

Instead, he is planning to hold telerallies in 19 states in the coming days.

In a rally on Thursday, Democratic Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola offered some of her fullest public remarks on the controversy that has roiled her state for days.

"I just want to clear the air. I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent. That is all I have ever known about. I am not interested in tricking voters. I know I can beat Dan Sullivan," she told supporters in the state capital of Juneau.

Peltola has faced two days of intense questions about how a man with nearly the exact same name as her Republican opponent, Sen. Dan Sullivan, ended up on the ballot in one of the nation's most competitive Senate races. The New York Times reported Thursday that Democratic operatives linked to Peltola's campaign helped recruit a man named Daniel J. Sullivan — allegations Peltola's team and national Democrats have strongly denied.

The Justice Department has issued new subpoenas in a criminal investigation into the election, CBS News reported, and the Trump administration is suing to block the election from being certified if Sen. Sullivan loses due to "voter confusion." President Trump says both Peltola and Daniel J. Sullivan should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted.

Alaska's Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a state-level investigation, and said Thursday the probe could "impact whether somebody is seated in the U.S. Senate."

A Peltola campaign spokesperson pushed back, calling Dunleavy's comments a "threat to overrule the will of Alaska voters."

"Mary won't be intimidated by Dunleavy, Sullivan, or any of their DC allies who are trying to steal this election from Alaskans before votes are counted," the spokesperson said.

As the controversy over the two Dan Sullivans draws nationwide reactions, CBS News visited remote Petersburg, Alaska, to look for one person who hasn't spoken out — Daniel J. Sullivan.

The retired teacher hails from the small fishing town, located on an island in southeastern Alaska that's only accessible by air or sea. In prior interviews, he has insisted he isn't trying to trick people and is genuinely interested in becoming a senator.

CBS News visited his house, only to find no one home.

But we spoke with a friend and former colleague who said Daniel J. Sullivan wouldn't do anything malicious.

"I wouldn't be surprised if this was actually, some campaign person may have come up with this idea," Mary Ellen Anderson said. "Whether Dan bought into it or not, I don't know. I don't think so. I can't imagine him being used that way."

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed will make a joint appearance with Rep. Haley Stevens at an event in Detroit on Sunday, two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News, marking one of their only side-by-side campaign events since facing off in the primary.

The Associated Press was first to report the event.

Stevens endorsed El-Sayed, but the former rivals — who offered starkly differing visions for the future of their party during the primary — largely haven't campaigned alongside each other.

On Wednesday, Stevens' fiancé, Jason Turkish, told The Detroit News he plans to vote for Republican nominee Mike Rogers, arguing El-Sayed — a vehement critic of Israel — had acted "recklessly toward the safety of Jews in the community."

In a CNN interview later that day, Stevens reaffirmed her support for El-Sayed, saying, "We're a household divided." She added that El-Sayed still needs to work to win undecided voters.

Ohio governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's controversial attack ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton, is off the air after the Republican spent about a quarter of what his campaign initially said it would invest to run it.

Ramaswamy said during a campaign appearance in Vandalia, Ohio, on Thursday that the ad's planned run was over. His campaign originally said it would spend $4 million to air the ad, but data from the ad-tracking firm AdImpact showed it spent roughly $1 million.

The divisive spot had provoked backlash in Ohio and among politicians of both parties. It featured Donna Arthur calling her daughter a lifelong liar. That was despite the two having not seen each other for nearly 50 years. Arthur lost custody of her children in 1978 after her husband, their stepfather, was indicted for raping Acton when she was 12.

Ramaswamy had defended the ad, though a later version trimmed some portions.

Acton campaign spokesperson Addie Bullock said in a statement that Ramaswamy "should never have run his despicable ad in the first place, and it's totally unsurprising that he took it off the air in the most cowardly way possible, without even the hint of an apology to Dr. Acton, her family, or to the people of Ohio."

President Trump and Vice President JD Vance said they supported the decision to air the ad. The president said he told Ramaswamy to leave it on the air, adding "she's fair game."

-CBS/AP

The Justice Department has issued grand jury subpoenas to state and local officials in California, according to sources with direct knowledge and copies seen by CBS News.

The move escalates a dispute over allegations by the federal government that the state may have as many as 20,000 non-citizens registered to vote ahead of the midterm elections.

The subpoenas were issued between Oct. 21 and 24. News of the subpoenas came not long after a judge rejected the Trump administration's bid to require California election officials to separate out tens of thousands of mail ballots.

"There's a lot of pissed-off farmers right now at Trump and Marshall," said Kansas farmer Jeff Preisser, "because you see the situation we're in."

In the final stretch of Kansas' unexpectedly competitive Senate race between Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and Democrat Adam Hamilton, the Preisser family laid out their situation for CBS News, handing over a piece of paper detailing their heightened expenses. 

It cost them $737,375 more to operate their farm in 2026 than last year, almost entirely due to higher diesel and fertilizer costs wrought by the Iran war. Meanwhile, drought, low commodity prices and trade wars have cut their revenue by $325,000.

The squeeze has pushed Kansas farms to the edge — scrambling farmers' political loyalties.

Read more here.

Voting in the midterms is already well underway, with 44.8 million Americans already casting ballots as of Thursday evening, according to the University of Florida Election Lab.

That includes nearly 23.6 million in-person early votes and 21.3 million returned mail ballots.