• Magnolia blues : Few would have predicted that President Donald Trump would campaign in Mississippi eight days before the midterms. But he’ll be there tonight to bolster Cindy Hyde-Smith, who is up against Democrat Scott Colom , as the battle for Senate control runs through states Trump won by double digits in 2024.
• GOP worries: Trump’s visit to Mississippi, part of his plan to rally in several ruby red states this week, reflects Republicans’ desire to avoid surprises on their turf. It also shows that the president, who is underwater in polling nationally, is particularly helpful with the MAGA base.
• Harris on 2028 : Former Vice President Kamala Harris told CNN, “If I run, my motivation is not to beat other Democrats. It’s to actually do the job .” She will be in Wisconsin for Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Crowley, in one of the nation’s quietly most important races for 2028.
Much of the political insider world has been clear in not wanting former Vice President Kamala Harris to run for president in 2028, or really not wanting to hear from her again, ever.
Even before Democrats’ horror year of Joe Biden’s collapse, the contortions over Gaza that she’s still struggling with and Donald Trump’s return, Harris was never good about cultivating donors or keeping aides from fleeing her overly cautious style and the constant infighting that followed.
Yet with her stops in Mississippi, where she campaigned for Democrat Scott Colom , she’s hearing from many Democratic campaigns who believe having her around helps — and lots of voters who are turning out to show they agree.
All told, she’ll end the midterms with more campaign appearances than Barack Obama, and after a late flurry that includes Wisconsin and Georgia this week, more than almost any potential top-tier 2028 candidate.
What Harris does know, two years after losing, is that she’s less interested in the game of inches that presidential primaries tend to be.
“If I run, my motivation is not to beat other Democrats. It’s to actually do the job,” she said.
President Donald Trump repeated attacks against Abdul El-Sayed on Sunday while rallying in the Democratic Senate candidate’s home state of Michigan.
And at his own rally, El-Sayed fired back at Trump’s insults over his faith and name.
Here’s a recap of what they spoke about:
During a rally in Michigan, President Trump made a joke about the physique of Ohio Sen. Jon Husted before turning his attention to rapper Nicki Minaj, who was in attendance.
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed joked about President Donald Trump's frequent comments on physical appearances, saying at a rally in Grand Rapids that he won't let the president "see mine."
CNN’s Logan Schiciano and Molly English contributed reporting.
Meanwhile, a three-judge US Circuit Court of Appeals panel expressed significant skepticism yesterday over the Justice Department’s desire to inject itself into California’s midterm vote-counting process by forcing election officials to set aside the votes of suspected noncitizens who have been issued mail ballots.
During a highly unusual emergency hearing, 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals Judge Mark Bennett told a Justice Department attorney that California appears to have legal authority to handle its elections on its own, and that the fact that Congress passed a criminal law prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal and state elections doesn’t mean the Justice Department has authority to regulate California’s voting process.
The judges also questioned the reliability of the Trump administration’s claims that there are 20,000 noncitizens on California’s voter rolls, information the DOJ has said came from a purchased list of voters and analyzed by third parties.
The legal action in California is one of many steps the Trump administration has taken as voting is underway in the midterm elections to try to help prove President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of massive voter fraud.
The Trump administration is attempting to convince the court that it should be able to immediately change California’s ballot processing because of a fear that noncitizens could have sent in votes. Los Angeles County has already processed more than 300,000 midterm ballots.
President Donald Trump rounds out his midterm campaigning blitz on the trail this week, closing out the final days before the election by doing rallies in mostly ruby red states.
Trump travels to Mississippi on Monday, a state he won in 2024 by more than 20 percentage points, to stump for Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who is locked in a tightening race against Democrat Scott Colom. He then does two rallies in Texas on Tuesday before stops in Ohio, Florida and Iowa to round out the week.
The president has repeatedly urged voters to “pretend” he is on the ballot amid fledgling Republican poll numbers and discontent among voters on issues like the Iran war and the economy.
The campaign swing in traditionally friendly GOP states offers some insight into how Republicans are investing in turning out the base to hang on to both chambers of Congress come November 3.
“When I’m not on the ballot, people don’t show up,” Trump said in Michigan on Sunday. “Please show up and vote.”
With just over a week until Election Day, the push to reach midterms voters is gaining momentum.
Here are some events we are watching:
We’ll bring you the latest headlines throughout the day.
