Early Turnout in Key Senate Battlegrounds
Voter turnout is soaring compared with the last midterm election in many of the states that are expected to decide control of the U.S. Senate, according to an Associated Press analysis of early voting two weeks before Election Day.
The surge in early participation highlights the heightened activity in competitive races that will determine the balance of power in the upper chamber. Democrats are targeting Republican-held Senate seats in states experiencing these increases.
High-Profile Campaign Stops and Local Controversies
Presidential involvement in key Senate contests has intensified as Election Day approaches, with President Donald Trump joining Ashley Hinson, Iowa’s Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, at a rally in Sioux City to boost GOP turnout.
The visit drew immediate criticism from Josh Turek, the Democratic opponent of Ashley Hinson, who argued that Trump’s policies had disproportionately harmed his home state. Turek criticized Trump’s tariffs and the Iran war as having hurt Iowa more than any other state.
Meanwhile, in Ohio, President Trump defended a controversial campaign advertisement featuring the estranged mother of Democratic opponent Amy Acton. Trump said Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for Ohio governor, should keep running the ad despite backlash.
The president denounced Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who criticized the ad as “deeply, deeply troubling.” The dispute underscores the friction between national GOP figures and state-level Republicans over campaign messaging strategies.
On the Democratic side, Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned alongside Democratic Mississippi Senate candidate Scott Colom, signaling a concerted effort to energize the party’s base in the South.
Voter ID Measures on Ballots
Advocates for greater voter identification requirements are pursuing a new approach in some states: a mandate to place driver’s license or partial Social Security numbers on mail-in ballots. Variations of the voter ID proposals are being decided in the midterm elections in California, Colorado and Nevada.
In these three states, conservative activists collected petition signatures to bypass Democratic-led legislatures and place the issue directly before voters.
Legal Proceedings Continue
President Donald Trump must sit for a deposition in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC by Dec. 11, a federal judge said, after the broadcaster’s lawyers accused him of delaying his testimony.
The judge warned that, unless the discovery period is extended, Trump could face sanctions including dismissal of his lawsuit if he fails to answer questions from the BBC’s lawyers under oath.