The Weekend

November 1, 2026, 9 AM; Polling averages from Fifty-plus-one show Democrats pulling ahead in Iowa and Ohio, states where the party hasn’t won a governor’s race since 2006. And tight races in Nevada and Georgia where Democrats would make history. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear joins The Weekend to discuss how Democrats have been hammering home a unified message on the state of the economy and corruption surrounding the Trump administration.

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November 1, 2026, 8 AM; It the issue that propelled Donald Trump to victory in 2024 was the economy and his promises to end inflation and bring prices down. But since the start of Trump’s 2nd term, his tariffs and the war in Iran have caused inflation to spike to it’s current level of 3.7%. Prices have also spiked across the board, with everything from groceries to electricity becoming less affordable. Trump’s policies also ushered in a wave of economic uncertainty, making companies hesitant to hire new people, and created a low-hire, low-fire job market. But despite all of this, Trump still boasts about the so-called successes of his economy while voters continue to give his performance historically low ratings. Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Michigan and the host of "Platypus Economics", Justin Wolfers joins The Weekend to discuss the economy and how it'll likely be the key issue to decide the midterm elections.

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November 1, 2026, 7 AM; According to the Associated Press early voting is significantly outpacing the last midterm election with sharp increases in states hosting competitive Senate races. South Carolina has seen a massive 83 percent surge. Texas is up 50 percent. Maine is up by 44 percent. As candidates continue their sprint to the finish line, it is now in the voters' hands to decide who they want representing them starting in the new year. Former. Rep. Barbara Comstock and MS NOW Political Analyst Elise Jordan join The Weekend to discuss the latest.

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October 31, 2026, 9 AM; In Alaska, we’ve seen the efforts by the Justice Department to potentially block the certification of the Senate race results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan narrowly loses to Democrat Mary Peltola, over allegations Peltola’s campaign recruited another Dan Sullivan to run as a spoiler. The DOJ has expanded its investigation issuing dozens of new grand jury subpoenas. Meanwhile, in California, the Justice Department is escalating its investigation into alleged noncitizen voting, issuing subpoenas to state and local election officials. The administration has also been trying to force California to set aside more than 20K ballots — an effort rejected by a federal judge and, again, by an appeals court last night. Former Sen. Claire McCaskill and Ned Foley join The Weekend to discuss the intensifying, last-minute battles over vote security and what happens to your ballot after Tuesday's elections.

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October 31, 2026, 7 AM; The White House said Trump is expected to make stops in Iowa and Kansas on Sunday. But just a day earlier, the Republican National Committee announced he was canceling scheduled rallies in those states and would opt instead for a series of tele-rallies. Now, it appears he will be doing both, though he's complaining about how much he's had to campaign. Meanwhile, Democrats have been focused on sharpening their closing message around the economy and calling out corruption in the Trump administration. Jeff Mason and Eugene Robinson join The Weekend to discuss the election.

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October 25, 2026; 9am: The Department of Justice has filed lawsuits in California and Alaska, laying the foundation to challenge the counting of ballots and even contest the certification after Election Day. MS NOW reports, “The Justice Department sent threatening letters to California election officials on Friday demanding local registrars immediately sequester ballots from voters the Trump administration alleges are noncitizens.” Those letters were sent to every county in the state and, in at least one letter obtained by MS NOW, it warned that if the official did not follow DOJ’s demands, she could face prosecution. Eric Holder, the 82nd Attorney General of the United States, joins “The Weekend” to discuss. Then, California Senator Alex Padilla joins to weigh in on the DOJ’s request for his state’s voter data.

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October 25, 2026, 8 AM; In order to achieve that win, both parties will need support from Latino voters. In 2024, Donald Trump made big gains among Latinos, winning 48%, according to a Pew Research analysis. In Texas, he did even better, winning 55% of the Latino vote, a record for a Republican presidential candidate in that state. However, there are signs that Latino voters are turning on Trump and Republicans due to his immigration crackdown and soaring prices on pretty much everything. Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones joins The Weekend to discuss how the Latino vote will effect next week's midterm elections in Texas.

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October 25, 2026; 7am: Candidates across the country are hitting the trail and bringing in their parties' heavy hitters. Former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump held rallies in battleground states to help candidates deliver their closing message. President Obama called out the “cruelty” and “indecency” from President Trump and the GOP. In Georgia, President Trump took aim at Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Abdul El-Sayed. Trump will take his closing message back on the road again later today with a rally in Michigan. Dana Milbank, columnist for The Washington Sun, and Scott Macfarlane, Chief Washington correspondent for Meidastouch, join “The Weekend” to discuss.

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October 24, 2026; 9am: This week, the Justice Department, at Trump's direction, filed a lawsuit to block the certification of the Alaska Senate race if incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, claiming a loss would be due to “voter confusion” since there is another candidate on the ballot with the same name. Plus, the DOJ has also started to notify states and counties where it plans to deploy federal election monitors for Election Day, including Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona, Washington, and Utah. Representative Joe Morelle joins “The Weekend” to discuss.

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October 24, 2026; 8am: With 10 days left until the midterms, President Obama is hitting the campaign trail in two key battleground states, Ohio and Michigan. First, he will stump for Democrats in Ohio, where the closely watched Senate race between Sherrod Brown and incumbent senator Jon Husted is taking shape. He will also campaign for Democrats in the governor’s race between Amy Acton and Vivek Ramaswamy, a race at the center of controversy this week. Then, Obama will head to Michigan to energize voters for Jocelyn Benson in the governor’s race and Abdul El-Sayed in the Senate contest. MS NOW Chief Political Reporter, Chris Jansing, joins “The Weekend” from Detroit, and MS NOW Reporter Nnamdi Egwuonwu joins from Cleveland.

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October 24, 2026; 7am: In the next installment of MS NOW's three-part series, "The Deciding Vote," Eugene Daniels traveled to Michigan, where today marks the start of early voting. It's also a key battleground state where Democrats are concerned about the skepticism among some Black voters toward Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. Eugene sat down with El-Sayed and pressed him directly on the warnings coming from the ground. He also met with grassroots organizer Tashawna Gill on the mood of Black voters in the state.

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October 18, 2026; 9am: As the country prepares for the midterm election in just 16 days, President Trump continues to rehash his claims of fraud in the 2020 election, and election officials are reportedly concerned about what could come in the weeks ahead. Vanita Gupta, former Associate U.S. Attorney General under President Biden, joins “The Weekend” to discuss.

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October 18, 2026, 8 AM; Worries are mounting around A.I. with a new AP poll finding 8 in 10 Americans saying they want the U.S. government to ensure that A.I. stays under human control. And 64% of Americans in that poll also think A.I. is developing “too fast”. Machine Gods host Kevin Roose joins The Weekend to discuss the growing concerns of A.I.

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October 18, 2026; 7am: The fourth round of nationwide "No Kings" demonstrations focused on getting people to the polls to vote early for this year's midterms. Events took place across all 50 states and Washington, DC and organizers hoped they would lead to the largest single day of early voting in American history while also building a network of volunteers to help defend elections. MS NOW political analyst Eugene Robinson and Matt K. Lewis, columnist for The Washington Sun, joined “The Weekend” to discuss.

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October 17, 2026, 9 AM; He gave a speech at a rally yesterday in Dalton where he went on several unhinged rants, including renewing false claims of voter fraud and spreading lies about the legitimacy of Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff’s election in 2020. Trump was campaigning for Ossoff’s opponent, Republican Congressman Mike Collins, as well as Republican Gubernatorial Nominee Rick Jackson. Over the last three months, Ossoff raised $33.1 million dollars, nearly 12 times the roughly 2-point-8 million dollars raised by Collins. 10 Steps Campaign founder Stacey Abrams joins The Weekend to discuss the latest.

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October 17, 2026, 8 AM; Organizers say nearly 3,000 events will take place in all 50 states across the country focused on early voting and turnout. It comes in this final stretch ahead of the midterm elections as Democrats are increasingly invoking corruption as part of their final pitch to voters. It follows a week of turmoil for the White House as Kimberly Guilfoyle, the now embattled former U.S. Ambassador, resigned following allegations of corruption including asking a Trump donor to pay her massive credit card bill in exchange for access to the Trump White House. Additionally, there was the reporting that a member of the administration ordered federal financial regulators to retract a referral that flagged possibly suspicious oil trades worth billions of dollars made just before Trump announced he was backing away from strikes on Iran back on March 23, according to people familiar with the matter. The agency declined to comment on the report. Rep. Greg Casar joined The Weekend to discuss the trend of corruption within the Trump Administration.

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October 17, 2026; 7am: With just 17 days until the midterms, “The Weekend” host Eugene Daniels launches his three-part series, “The Deciding Vote,” which focuses on the importance of Black voters, their frustrations, aspirations, and political power. The first installment begins in Ohio, where data shows more than 600,000 eligible Black voters didn't cast a ballot in the 2022 midterms. He spoke with voting rights activists and young Black men who are considering sitting this election out.

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October 11, 2026; 9am: With just 23 days until the midterms, organizers of the widely popular No Kings movement are preparing for its next big day of action next Saturday. Organizers say they already have more than 2 thousand events planned across all 50 states, with a focus on “supporting nonpartisan voter participation by making sure people are ready to vote early to choose their leaders.” Past days of action have seen millions of people take to the streets to protest President Trump and the actions of his administration. Antonia Hylton, host of 'The Assignment' on MS NOW and Adrienne Elrod, Former Senior Advisor and Senior Spokesperson for the Harris-Walz campaign, join “The Weekend” to discuss.

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October 11, 2026; 8am: The New York Times is reporting that the Justice Department is investigating five television networks - FOX, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC - for potentially violating federal antitrust laws after the networks temporarily declined to provide pool coverage of President Trump. The networks' move came in response to Trump’s attempts to bar CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House grounds last month. When CNN was removed from its spot in the television press pool, the other networks acted. In a statement to the Times, Justice Department spokeswoman Emily Covington wrote, “The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws.” Representatives for the five networks did not comment.

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October 11, 2026; 7am: A missile attack on Saudi Arabia's International airport in Riyadh left 12 people dead, including an American, and more than 300 injured. A Saudi-led coalition blamed Iran-backed Houthi rebels for the attack, and President Trump indicated that he is weighing whether the U.S. should join Saudi strikes against the Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen. Two Saudi Arabian government officials have told MS NOW Contributor Inzamam Rashid that the Kingdom is requesting "urgent defense support" from the U.S. following multiple attacks on airports in the capital, Riyadh. MS NOW Senior National Security Reporter David Rohde joins “The Weekend” to discuss.

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