Emerson poll | 10/17-10/19 LV Texas statewide races 2026 (Leans pushed) US Senate 🟦James Talarico 49% 🟥Ken Paxton 48% 🟨Ted Brown 3% —— Texas Governor 🟥Greg Abbott 51% (incumbent) 🟦Gina Hinojosa 47% 🟨Pat Dixon 2% Link to poll: emersoncollegepolling.com/te…

NYT: Trump Ties Disaster Aid to Midterm Outcome The White House is using federal disaster relief as leverage while Republicans fight to keep power in Washington, with President Trump saying on one occasion that voting for Democrats could mean less money for states nytimes.com/2026/10/21/clima…

VoteHub/Verasight poll | 10/1-10/20 Ohio Governor 2026 (LV) 🟦Amy Acton 46.2% 🟥Vivek Ramaswamy 45.4% 🟨Travis Kissick 2.0% —— (RV) 🟥Vivek Ramaswamy 45.9% 🟦Amy Acton 44.4% 🟨Travis Kissick 2.1%

VoteHub/Verasight poll | 10/1-10/20 US Senate Ohio 2026 (LV) 🟦Sherrod Brown 47.5% 🟥Jon Husted 43.6% (incumbent) Others 2.1% —— (RV) 🟦Sherrod Brown 45.7% 🟥Jon Husted 43.8% (incumbent) Others 2.3%

F&M poll | 10/7-10/18 Pennsylvania Governor 2026 🟦Josh Shapiro 54% (incumbent) 🟥Stacy Garrity 33% ---- Generic congressional ballot 2026 (Pennsylvania) 🟦Democratic 48% 🟥Republican 43% Link to poll: fandmpoll.org/franklin-marsh…

Washington Sun: Republicans Have Big Post-Election Plans Republican leaders are barreling towards a lame-duck period when they plan to fund the government, address the debt ceiling and push through a must-pass defense authorization bill — all while tempering the expectations of members who have their sights set on a reconciliation package many believe won’t materialize. The party in power is staring down a lengthy must-do list and an even lengthier wish list, especially if they lose one or both chambers come Nov. 3. While the midterm results will determine the top priorities, members are already fretting about the looming issue of fitting 10 pounds into a 5-pound sack. Said one senior Senate Republican aide: “I think our appetite’s definitely going to be bigger than what our stomach can hold on this one.” Link to poll: washingtonsun.com/congress/r…

Politico Corrects Report After White House Threat When faced with a threat from the White House to retract a story or suffer “unspecified consequences,” Politico issued a correction: “An earlier version of this report, including its headline, mischaracterized the role White House chief of staff Susie Wiles played in then-press secretary Katie Zacharia’s interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News. Politico’s follow-up reporting indicates she did not play a direct role in setting up the interview.” politico.com/news/2026/10/16…

#IowaSenate CBS News: Ashley Hinson Pledges to Push Back On Trump Last week, Hinson told Fox News: "If he's going to say something that's wrong, I'm going to challenge him on it." "I'm not afraid to say, 'hey, I disagree with you on this,'" she said. "But I'll be an ally to somebody when they're with me." cbsnews.com/news/trump-rally…

Axios: JD Vance Channels Trump in Ramaswamy Ad Fight Vice President Vance’s call for fellow Republicans to "stop whining" about Vivek Ramaswamy’s controversial attack ad in Ohio’s race for governor showed a key part of his political mindset ahead of his expected run for president in 2028: Never back down. Channeling President Trump, Vance has shown contempt for what he sees as the old-guard GOP’s reflex to cave under pressure from Democrats and the media. He thinks too many Republicans sacrifice allies to make controversies go away, and that giving critics a political scalp only encourages them to demand another. axios.com/2026/10/22/vance-o…

VoteHub/Verasight poll | 10/1-10/20 LV Ohio statewide races 2026 US Senate 🟦Sherrod Brown 47.5% 🟥Jon Husted 43.6% (incumbent) —— Ohio Governor 🟦Amy Acton 46.2% 🟥Vivek Ramaswamy 45.4% — Generic congressional ballot (Ohio) 🟥Republican 46.5% 🟦Democratic 44.8% Link to poll: cdn.votehub.com/pdfs/VoteHub…

Emerson poll | 10/17-10/19 LV US Senate Texas 2026 (Leaners pushed) 🟦James Talarico 49.4% (+1.6) 🟥Ken Paxton 47.8% 🟨Ted Brown 2.8%

WaPo: Pete Hegseth wanted Eisenhower’s globe for his office. His staff broke it. Photos obtained by The Post show a gash in the World War II-era artifact that resulted from a botched relocation attempt inside the Pentagon. Link to article: washingtonpost.com/national-…

State Navigate poll | 10/17-10/20 LV Generic congressional ballot 2026 (Virginia) 🟦Democratic 59% 🟥Republican 39% Link to poll: projects.statenavigate.com/i…

Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball ratings change US Governors Alabama: Safe R —> Likely R Michigan: Lean D —> Likely D Oklahoma: Safe R—> Likely R Ohio: Toss-up —> Lean D Link to article: centerforpolitics.org/crysta…

Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball ratings change Ohio Governor Toss-up —> Lean D Link to article: centerforpolitics.org/crysta…