Washington Today

Election Day in the USA. At stake every U.S. House seat, 35 U.S. Senate seats and 39 governorships, both states and territories; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says he is 'nauseously optimistic' about his party's chances of taking control of Congress from the Republicans; We also hear from President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and candidates in close races in Michigan, New Hampshire, Texas, Alaska and Ohio after they have voted; President Trump announces the U.S. will end about $4 billion in annual aid to Israel by the end of the year; Great Britain's King Charles III apologizes for his country's role in the transatlantic slave trade; U.S. Supreme Court hears a religious liberty challenge to Colorado's excluding Roman Catholic schools from a state-funded preschool program because they would not agree to LBGTQ+ non-discrimination.

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With less than 24 hours until Election Day, President Donald Trump delivers his final campaign remarks from the Lincoln Memorial, calling the 2026 midterms "the most important midterm in our lifetime." He also discusses his plans for a Triumphal Arch and improvements near the Lincoln Memorial.

In Michigan, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens shakes up the Senate race by endorsing Republican Mike Rogers after a falling-out with Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed. And in Alaska, a federal judge dismisses a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to block certification of the Senate election if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses.

We hear from the key players and examine where the battle for control of Congress stands on the eve of Election Day.

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In this weekend's episode –with election day just DAYS away – we bring you three segments from last week's Washington Journal focused on key battleground states that'll play an outsized role in determining which party controls Congress come Tuesday night.

We begin in the state of MICHIGAN and its toss up Senate race and a handful of competitive House contests. That conversation with with "MichMash" podcast co-hosts Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben KAZ-been .

Then it's on to Texas where there's an unusually competitive Senate AND gubernatorial this cycle. We speak with Rice University political science professor Mark Jones on whether the Lone Star State REALLY is in reach for Democrats.

Finally: we head to OHIO for an update on the contentious gubernatorial & senate races in the Hawkeye state with Cleveland.com chief politics reporter Jeremy Pelzer.

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An update from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska on the investigations into the two Dan Sullivans on the Alaska election ballot for U.S. Senator: incumbent Republican Dan S. Sullivan and Daniel J. Sullivan, which Republicans accuse Democrats of recruiting to sow voter confusion; President Donald Trump reverses course and will hold election rallies this weekend in Iowa and Kansas, which have tight U.S. Senate races; Tonight President Trump campaigns in Florida. We will hear from the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor and U.S. Senator and talk about the races with New York Times reporter Patricia Mazzei (26); In Michigan, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed plans to campaign this weekend with the person he beat in the primary, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI); We take a closer look at two U.S. Senate races that have not gotten as much attention as the competitive ones, in Louisiana and Illinois; FBI Director Kash Patel announces indictments in an anti-fraud crackdown in Minnesota; In Houston, Harris County District Attorney announces the indictment of an ICE officer accused of intentionally ramming his car into a Mexican construction worker.

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President Donald Trump campaigns in South Carolina for Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC), admitting the polls are closer than he wishes they were against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews. We will hear from all of them and talk about the race with USA Today reporter Erin Mansfield (10); Inside Elections moves the Kansas U.S. Senate race to 'toss up', with Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) getting a stiff challenge from Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton; Investigations over the Alaska U.S. Senate race are accelerating at the state and federal level after a New York Times report that Democrats intentionally recruited a candidate named Dan Sullivan to challenge Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and confuse voters; Commerce Department releases the inflation and economic growth report before election day: U.S. economy grew at a 3.4% annual rate in the 3rd quarter, faster than expected, and inflation was 3.6% vs. last year; New federal rule on pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) cost transparency; Justice Department goes after so-called 'ghost students', when criminal create fake college student profiles to apply for and collect federal grants; Democratic nominee for Wisconsin governor David Crowley celebrates his hometown Milwaukee Brewers MLB World Series victory.

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Federal Reserve votes to hold interest rates steady in its last decision before the midterm elections; President Donald Trump campaigns tonight in Ohio. We will talk with Columbus Dispatch State Government Reporter Haley BeMiller about the close races in Ohio for governor and U.S. senator (16); Former President Barack Obama campaigns tonight in Georgia, which also has competitive elections for governor and U.S. senator; Candidates for Iowa governor, still another tight race, hold their final debate just a week before election day; U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz and Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez shout at each other during debate over a resolution condemning the U.S. embargo on Cuba. The resolution passed but with fewer votes than last year; President Trump talks about granting asylum to Flavio Bolsanaro, the losing candidate in Brazil's presidential election, who is under criminal investigation in Brazil; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Lech Walesa talks about on U.S. policy in the war between Russia & Ukraine; Longtime farm union activist Dolores Huerta has died.

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One week until election day. President Donald Trump says he will work with Democrats if they win majorities in Congress and respect the midterm results 'if they are honest'; President Trump campaigns in Texas for Republican candidates including Attorney General Ken Paxton running for U.S. Senator against Democratic state Representative James Talarico. We will hear from them and talk with Associated Press Washington Correspondent Steven Sloan (15); Vice President JD Vance holds rallies in Michigan, where there is also a close U.S. Senate race between Republican Mike Rogers & Democrat Abdul El-Sayed; We will check on a few of the tight U.S. House races in Maine and New York; Family of Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis during an enforcement surge, calls upon the Justice Department to prosecute those responsible; Update on Israel's election day, where voters are casting ballots for the first time since the Hamas military attack on Israel three years ago, testing the support of the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance campaign in traditionally Republican states as the 2026 midterm elections approach. President Trump heads to Mississippi, while Vice President Vance makes stops in Montana and Kansas. Meanwhile, candidates across the country are making their final pitches to voters, with campaign events in Michigan, Texas, Iowa, Alaska, and Ohio. We bring you the latest from the campaign trail as Election Day draws closer.

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First: We're in the final stretch in Campaign 2026. We speak with Cook Political Report founder Charlie Cook about the races HE'S watching that'll determine which party will control Congress.

Then – a conversation with Melissa Deckman – CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute – about her group's new survey examining the political mood among Americans ahead of the midterms.

Finally: Author and History Professor Allan Lichtman discusses his latest book, "Great American Presidents: The Twelve Who Transformed the Nation."

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President Donald Trump says he ordered the Justice Department to file a lawsuit to block the certification of Alaska’s U.S. Senate race results if incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan loses (R-AK) so there can be an investigation into whether another candidate on the ballot with a very similar name confused voters; Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican nominee for Ohio governor, doubles down on his ad that includes the mother of his Democratic opponent Amy Acton accusing Acton of being a liar, after the mother supported Acton's stepfather when he was accused of raping her as a child; President Trump campaigns today in Florida for Republican candidates. Thursday night he was in Iowa. We talk with New York Times National Political Reporter Bayliss Wagner about why the races for Iowa governor and U.S. Senator are so close this election cycle (14); We also check in on the close open U.S. Senate race in Texas, and what may turn out to be a close race in North Carolina's 7th Congressional District, where a Republican incumbent is starting to run TV ads; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Starlink and Starshield are still running slowly, despite President Trump saying he would speak to Elon Musk about the problems; former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt talks about her successor Katie Zacharia leaving after less than a week.

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) campaigns with Troy Jackson, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Maine, who is running against incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). We will hear from them and talk about this close race with Matt Junker, elections reporter with The Maine Monitor (7); Latest on U.S. Senate races in Nebraska, where Vice President JD Vance held a rally today; in Michigan, which held a final debate Wednesday night; and in Iowa, where President Donald Trump heads tonight; Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) criticizes a controversial ad run by Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy featuring the mother of Democratic nominee Amy Acton, but President Trump defends the ad; Attorney General Todd Blanche announces an indictment against senior Democratic Virginia Senator L. Louise Lucas and six co-defendants, including some of her relatives, on charges of marijuana drug trafficking and money laundering; Federal authorities charge 15 people in an alleged $2 billion health care fraud scheme in California; United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gutteres says the world is witnessing 'the El Nino of war' amid many conflicts occurring around the world.

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Vice President JD Vance in Ohio less than two weeks before election day, says Republicans should 'stop whining' about whether an ad from Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy is appropriate and focus on winning. The ad has Democratic nominee Amy Acton's mother calling her a liar. The mother defended her husband, Amy's father, 50 years ago when he was accused of sexually assaulting Amy; Former Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) campaigns for Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), calling her the 'soul of the Senate', as she faces a close race for reelection against Democrat Troy Jackson; Senate Democratic leadership campaign arm is investing over a million dollars in the Senate race in Mississippi, usually a solid Republican state. We will talk about the contest between Democrat Scott Colom and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) with Joey Cappelletti, Associated Press Congressional reporter (17); U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff meets Russian President Vladimir Putin to talk about the war in Ukraine, calling Putin a 'humanitarian' for releasing 74-year-old retired American teacher Stephen Hubbard, who was serving a prison term for allegedly being a mercenary in Ukraine; Israel arrests U.S. Congressional candidate Brad Lander (D) in the West Bank; U.S. Secret Service releases a report on how businesses and organizations can prevent workplace violence; U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announces indictments in a North Carolina-to-DC firearms smuggling pipeline.

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The annual American Values Survey from the Public Religion Research Institute is released two weeks before election day. This year two of the questions were on how President Donald Trump uses the power of his office and Americans' views of socialism; We will take a closer look at some of the competitive U.S. Senate races: in Michigan between Mike Rogers (R) & Abdul El-Sayed (D); in Kansas where we'll talk with Kansas City Star columnist David Hudnall, who was at Monday's night rally in Wichita with President Trump on behalf of Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), who is getting challenged by Adam Hamilton (D) (19); and in North Carolina, where President Trump is campaigning tonight for Michael Whatley (R), who is facing Roy Cooper (D); President Trump announces a Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, paying 1% to anyone who reports fraudulent federal spending; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with U.S. envoys in Norway on the war with Russia and strained relations with the Trump Administration over weapons and intelligence support; Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says he is glad Alberta voters defeated a referendum on whether the province wants to break away from Canada and become independent.

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Republican senators are pushing back against President Trump's decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel fuel.

North Carolina's Thom Tillis, South Carolina's Lindsey Graham, and Texas' John Cornyn have all criticized the move.

But President Trump is defending his decision, saying easing economic pressure could help bring Russia to the negotiating table with Ukraine.

The president spoke to reporters before leaving for Kansas today, where he's campaigning for Republican Senator Roger Marshall in his closely contested race against Democrat Adam Hamilton.

It's the first stop on a swing through key election battlegrounds...

And with just 15 days until Election Day, we'll check in on the latest races in Minnesota, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and North Carolina.

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In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal.

First: A discussion on polling & how MAGA has impacted the Republican Party with Mark Mitchell, founder of The Honest Poll.

Then: Jessica Tarlov, Democratic strategist and co-host of Fox News Channel's "The Five," discusses her new book "I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends."

Finally: The winner of the 2026 National Civics Bee Championship, Peter Daniell from Broomfield, Colorado, discusses the competition and the importance of civics education.

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President Donald Trump says he told the new White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia she should reconsider whether she wants to continue in that job less than a week after she started; President Trump holds a campaign rally in Georgia, where there are competitive races for governor and U.S. Senator; Debates in the tight U.S. Senate races in Maine and Alaska. We will hear from the candidates and talk about the Alaska contest with Alaska Public Media reporter Liz Ruskin (25); Cook Political Report moves 11 more U.S. House races towards the Democratic side. We'll hear from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who have been campaigning with House candidates across the country; Bend Police provide an update on the mass shooting at an elementary school; Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh at the IMF-World Bank Meeting in Bangkok on the economy, high prices and the impact of AI; Cuba's Ambassador to the UN criticizes the U.S. trade embargo and accuses U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio of having an 'obsession' with Cuba.

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) campaigns in Michigan for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, saying special interest money is being used to make sure no one can 'open their ears and their eyes to even give this guy a shot'; Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District race is a prime example of a Republican held seat that Democrats are hoping to flip on their way to getting majority control of the House. We will hear the candidates debate and talk about the race with Margery Beck, Flatwater Free Press Elections Reporter (14); Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) defends telling a UMD student reporter that she must stop filming his news conference; President Donald Trump says the execution of the Ft. Hood mass shooter will not be livestreamed; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presents the annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards for Advancing Women in Peace and Security; Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is asked about the growing deadly measles outbreak in Pennsylvania; Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) celebrate the 20th anniversary of a climate change law.

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Final Commerce Department inflation report before the midterm elections show the Consumer Price Index increasing 0.6% in September and 3.7% year over year; U.S. Senate race in New Hampshire is a close one that could help decide which party controls the Senate in the next Congress. We will hear from the candidates John Sununu (R) and Chris Pappas (D) on Social Security at an AARP forum and talk with Andrew Sylvia, Assistant Editor of Manchester Ink Link (11); President Donald Trump campaigns in Arizona for Rep. Andy Biggs (D-AZ), who is challenging incumbent Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ); Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announces cuts to Affordable Care Act subsidies for nearly 200,000 enrollees because of duplicate coverage or the recipients are deceased; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is heckled by anti-war protesters at the annual meeting of the U.S. Army, and he defends the Trump Administration's request for a large, one-time increase in the defense budget; Supreme Court hears a case asking whether a 1980's law barring the disclosure of consumer information from a 'subscriber of goods or services from a video tape service provider,' at the time VHS tapes, applies to modern day online sites with videos. Tonight is the National Civics Bee Championship brought to you as a partnership between C-SPAN and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

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U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle resigns amid allegations she asked a Republican donor to pay off a $100,000 credit card debt in exchange for political access; new White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia holds her first White House news conference; President Donald Trump answers questions about continuing military strikes by Russia and Ukraine against each other targeting energy infrastructure despite the President announcing an 'energy ceasefire'; President Trump flies to Alaska to campaign for Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan's reelection; Vice President JD Vance is back in Texas in support of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton, after the spread of false rumors that Democratic opponent James Talarico was not off the campaign trail sick with the flu, but supposedly getting mental health treatment in Ohio; U.S. Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro talks about a joint U.S.-UK-technology company operation to close down online scammers based in Africa; former First Lady Jill Biden speaks at an event in Delaware for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

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Federal agents search the home of Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, prompting reactions from both parties just weeks before the midterm elections. A bipartisan group of senators calls on President Trump to reverse his agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow Russian diesel sales in an effort to lower fuel prices. Plus, with just 22 days until the midterm elections, we examine key congressional races in Iowa, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

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