Elections

The DNC sued the Trump administration over taxpayer-funded advertisements promoting the president, Fox News and NBC News report. The party alleges federal spending and propaganda-law violations. Trump says he and MAGA Inc. will pay for future ads; whether the government will be reimbursed remains unclear. The lawsuit has not been decided.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for resistance to political extremism after an AfD member won the Saxony-Anhalt parliament presidency and the Left Party won Berlin’s election, Reuters reports through Al Jazeera. He criticized support for the AfD within his CDU. His speech follows setbacks for mainstream parties; it announces no new legal ban.

Keisha Lance Bottoms and Rick Jackson debated affordability, taxes, data centers and Trump in Georgia’s only scheduled gubernatorial debate, NBC News reports. Bottoms proposed relief on household purchases and insurance; Jackson pledged income, property and utility tax cuts. Both invoked their records and challenged the other’s approach; the promises remain campaign proposals.

John James said he disagrees with Trump on parts of the Iran war and tariff policy during his first debate with Jocelyn Benson, NBC News reports. Benson challenged his votes against war-powers resolutions and linked tariffs to household costs. James defended those votes as support for deployed troops; their competing claims form part of the gubernatorial campaign.

Susan Collins and Troy Jackson traded arguments over Trump, living costs and abortion in Maine’s first Senate debate, NBC News reports. Collins emphasized disagreements with the administration and federal funding secured through her seniority; Jackson criticized her voting record. Their policy arguments and campaign claims come as the race could affect control of the Senate.

Tobias Rausch became the first AfD speaker of a German state parliament, BBC News reports. He won the Saxony-Anhalt vote with support from nine lawmakers outside his party; four of those voters remain unidentified. The largely symbolic office includes chairing debates, while the AfD’s bid to lead the state government remains unresolved.

Spain’s Supreme Court lifted the arrest warrant for Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont under the amnesty law, DW reports. The decision clears his return after almost nine years in exile over the 2017 independence bid. The decision follows a Constitutional Court ruling applying the 2024 amnesty to embezzlement cases. A snap national election is set for November 29; the report does not give a return date.

Police briefly detained Rahul Gandhi and other opposition lawmakers during a New Delhi march demanding the election chief’s resignation, Al Jazeera and CNA report. Opposition parties allege voter-roll revisions could exclude eligible voters and favor the ruling BJP. The Election Commission rejects wrongdoing and says the exercise aims to improve roll accuracy.

The Parti Québécois won Quebec’s provincial election but fell short of a majority, DW reports. Paul St-Pierre Plamondon pledges an independence referendum after President Trump leaves office; recent polls put sovereignty support near 30%. The party will need opposition support to govern, and the election result does not establish majority backing for independence.

A vendor mistakenly mailed 3,126 Maricopa County early ballots six days ahead of schedule, the Associated Press reports. The county says they reached the correct voters, remain valid and can be returned normally; Runbeck’s chief executive called the mistake accidental. President Trump criticized the county, but the report establishes no fraudulent ballots or changed vote count.

More than 5,000 supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan began a dayslong march toward Islamabad after negotiations failed, the Associated Press reports through NPR. They seek his release, hospital transfer and family visits; officials dispute claims about his access to care and relatives. Authorities have erected roadblocks.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called an early general election for November 29 after lawmakers rejected housing measures, BBC News and AP coverage in the Washington Examiner report. His minority coalition faces protests over rents and evictions. The announcement seeks a stronger parliamentary mandate; the election outcome remains undecided.

The NAACP sued the Justice Department seeking records about planned election-monitor deployments, The Guardian reports. It says a September records request went unanswered and warns of voter intimidation. DOJ says monitors follow legal requirements and will not interfere with voting. The lawsuit seeks transparency; no ruling or finding of misconduct is reported.

An NBC News/Telemundo poll finds registered Latino voters prefer Democratic control of Congress by 59% to 35%, amid concerns about prices and immigration enforcement. The September 21–28 survey included 800 voters and has a 3.5-point margin of error. It measures current preferences, with turnout and regional differences still uncertain.

NBC News interviews with more than three dozen Houston-area residents, officials and organizers describe grief and anger after immigration agents fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in July. Some interviewees say the case has shaped their views ahead of Texas elections. The report documents community reactions and disputed shooting accounts; it does not measure the event’s effect on votes.

Flávio Bolsonaro finished Brazil’s first-round count with 47.03% of valid votes and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with 45.16%, Estadão reports through UOL, citing the electoral court’s completed tally. Neither won a majority, so they will contest an October 25 runoff. The result replaces the earlier partial count; the runoff winner remains undecided.

Southern Baptist Convention president Willy Rice urged pastors to engage in the political process before the midterm elections, Fox News reports. He described abortion, marriage, gender identity and immigration as matters with theological and moral implications. His comments express his position on church involvement in politics; they do not establish that all Southern Baptists share it.

With counting nearly complete, nationalist candidates Željka Cvijanović and Darijana Filipović and Social Democrat Denis Bećirović were reported as winners of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s three presidency seats, DW reports. Officials put turnout at 41.5%. Final certification and governing coalitions remain pending; the result preserves a politically divided presidency.

A Fox News survey puts Democrat Josh Turek at 49% and Republican Ashley Hinson at 47% among Iowa likely voters, within its three-point sampling margin of error. The September 24–28 poll interviewed 1,204 registered voters, including 1,008 likely voters. Cost-of-living concerns dominate respondents’ priorities; the result measures current preferences rather than predicting the election.

James Talarico leads Ken Paxton 51% to 49% among Texas likely voters in a Fox News poll, a difference within the survey’s three-point sampling margin of error. The September 24–28 survey interviewed 1,203 registered voters, including 881 likely voters. It also finds Governor Greg Abbott ahead of Gina Hinojosa 52% to 47%; neither result is an election forecast.

Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs’s United List is expected to hold 42 of Latvia’s 100 parliamentary seats, the Associated Press reports through ABC News. Lawmakers are beginning talks on a multiparty government after the election, with turnout above 51%. Its pro-Ukraine course continues; the new governing coalition has not yet been settled.

The Democratic National Committee sued over the removal of a checkbox for overseas US citizens who have never lived in the country, the Guardian reports. The Pentagon said the change was intended to reduce confusion. The lawsuit argues the rushed procedure was unlawful; experts say changing the form does not itself remove eligible citizens’ voting rights.

An AP-NORC survey found 65% of US adults blame President Trump’s policies for unusually high prices, while 67% of Republicans blame factors beyond his control. The September 24–28 poll interviewed 2,140 adults and has a ±2.9-point overall sampling margin. These are respondents’ views, rather than a measurement of which policies caused inflation.

The Senate voted 53–47 on opening debate on a Republican bill restricting lawmakers’ stock purchases, short of the 60 votes required, The Guardian reports. Republicans said it would restore trust in Congress. Democrats objected that members could retain existing portfolios and that the measure included voter ID rules. The bill has not become law.

The State Department is considering sharing passport records to help officials check voter citizenship, Fox News reports, citing a department statement and a Justice Department filing. The proposal would require a public notice; the report does not establish that passport data is already being shared under this plan.

A federal judge barred the administration from withholding certain counterterrorism grants over state election rules, the Washington Examiner reports. DHS had told affected cities that 20% of their funding depended on adopting five election measures. The ruling limits that funding condition.

Senate majority leader John Thune joined criticism of the administration’s taxpayer-funded advertisements Monday, the Washington Examiner reports. Ad-tracking firm AdImpact estimates nearly $1.5 million spent since last week, including more than $315,000 around football broadcasts. The White House did not provide totals to the outlet; the figures are tracker estimates, not an official accounting.

NPR profiles Democratic congressional candidates who make Christian faith central to their campaigns, including ordained clergy and Texas Senate nominee James Talarico, a seminary student. They connect religious teachings to health care and economic policy. The report describes Republican criticism and mixed voter reactions to religion’s role in politics.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a provisional ban on sports betting and online casinos, the BBC reports. The order bars new deposits and gives customers until October 5 to withdraw funds. Congress must approve it within 120 days for it to remain in force; opponents and football clubs criticized the measure.

The Supreme Court blocked another attempt to restore Missouri’s 2025 congressional map, leaving the 2022 districts in place for November, NBC News reports. The justices cited the disruption of changing boundaries after voting had begun. The order preserves a map with six Republican-held and two Democratic-held seats.

The Cook Political Report shifted fifteen House races toward Democrats and assessed the party as favored to win the chamber, the Washington Examiner reports. Its analysis points to competitive-district polling, economic conditions and campaign spending ahead of November. These ratings are forecasts, and control of the House will be decided by voters.

The California Supreme Court ordered Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to return more than 650,000 ballots seized during an election investigation. The court found that the seizure violated election law. Thursday’s ruling returns control of the ballots to election officials.

Federal prosecutors have charged former postal worker Damon Matai Seei with discarding roughly 300 mail-in ballots before Utah’s June primary. The indictment was unsealed Tuesday, according to The Hill. The allegations have not been established by a trial.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz says he will remain in office after his party suffered defeats in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Sunday. The CDU failed to retain a place in the latter state’s legislature, the Associated Press reports. The results deepen pressure on the chancellor but had not produced a leadership challenge in Monday’s reporting.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed 13 election-related bills on Saturday ahead of the midterms. The measures include new penalties for seizing ballots or election records and restrictions on certain law-enforcement activity near polling places. Newsom presented the package as protection against potential federal interference.

Karen Whitsett criticized Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Democratic leaders she says take Black voters for granted, pointing to his associations on the party's left. El-Sayed's campaign has defended his record and coalition. The dispute underscores tensions inside Michigan's Democratic primary electorate.

Democratic strategists say the party is converging on affordability, health care and anti-corruption themes as it seeks partial control of Washington. The approach is meant to keep attention on costs rather than on Trump himself. Candidates in swing districts are testing the message in early advertising.

An investigation found grave flaws in the analysis behind a Census report on noncitizen voting that President Trump has cited. Reporters also identified several of the report's unnamed authors. The Census Bureau has not addressed the specific methodological criticisms.

Persistent traffic and bridge problems have become the central issue in Rhode Island's governor's race as voters cast primary ballots. The incumbent Democrat faces criticism over the state's handling of a long-running span closure. The outcome sets the field for November.

Surveys show Republicans struggling to hold the gains President Trump made with Latino voters, even as Secretary of State Marco Rubio avoids campaign work. Party strategists say the absence of a prominent Hispanic surrogate is being felt in Sun Belt races. Democrats are targeting the same voters on cost-of-living grounds.

Representative Chris Pappas and former Senator John E. Sununu won their primaries on Tuesday and will compete in November for the seat Jeanne Shaheen is vacating. The race is among the Republicans' best pickup opportunities and a must-win for Democrats. Stefany Shaheen won the Democratic primary for Pappas's open House seat, and Governor Kelly Ayotte will face Democrat Cinde Warmington.

Republicans gathered in Dallas on Wednesday for an unprecedented two-day midterm convention built around President Trump, who has confirmed he will speak both nights. Party organizers plan to showcase tax cuts, border security and a 2026 agenda while casting Democrats as socialists. Critics inside and outside the party question whether centering an unpopular president helps candidates in competitive races.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Tuesday declined Missouri Republicans' emergency request to use a redrawn congressional map in this year's elections. The map, designed to eliminate a Democratic-held seat, had been blocked by the Missouri Supreme Court. Conflicting rulings leave the state's districts in limbo weeks before ballots go out.

Newly released data show a sharp rise in ballots rejected for late postmarks in Washington and Oregon following changes at the Postal Service. Election officials say the trend raises concerns for vote-by-mail states heading into November. Some voters are weighing backup plans, including traveling to vote in person.

A prosecutor said the armed man accused of charging toward Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton at a county fair was attempting to ask her questions and never drew a weapon. Video reviewed in the case shows the man recording and calling her name. The account complicates earlier descriptions of the encounter as an attack.

Iowa has moved onto the list of competitive midterm states as Democratic candidate Rob Sand campaigns across small counties. Republicans have dominated statewide races there for a decade. Analysts point to farm economy strain as a factor in the shift.

A new ad from Ken Paxton's Senate campaign accuses opponent James Talarico of weaponizing Christian faith for political purposes, citing Talarico's own remarks about God and Jesus. Talarico, a seminary student, has defended his statements. The exchange has made religion a central theme of the Texas race.

A Supreme Court ruling requires television stations to offer political parties their lowest available advertising rates. Broadcasters had argued the requirement cut into revenue during peak campaign season. The decision takes effect for the current midterm cycle.

A group of Michigan rabbis and Jewish leaders is circulating a petition setting out five nonnegotiable demands for any Democratic candidate seeking their support. The letter appears aimed at the state's Senate race. Organizers say they will withhold backing from candidates who do not meet the conditions.

New Hampshire voters chose nominees on Tuesday for the Senate seat opened by Jeanne Shaheen's retirement, with Rhode Island voting alongside it in a slate of federal, state and local primaries. The contests are the first major test of President Trump's endorsements since Labor Day marked the unofficial start of the general election season. Forecasters now rate the Senate a pure toss-up after Republicans had expected to hold their majority comfortably.