memeorandum: In Illinois, a world turned upside down: once-red suburbs swing blue (Ben Jacobs/The Guardian)

11:20 AM ET, November 4, 2018

Top Items:

John Harwood / CNBC:

Democrats hold 7 point advantage ahead of midterms as Trump's base comes back home: NBC-WSJ poll — The election-eve NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows Democrats leading by seven percentage points, 50 percent to 43 percent, among likely voters. That's down from a nine-percentage point lead last month.

Mark Murray / NBC News:

Democrats hold 7-point edge in final national NBC/WSJ poll — Fifty percent of likely voters say they prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress, while 43 percent want Republicans in charge. — WASHINGTON — Democrats hold a 7-point advantage over Republicans in the final national NBC News …

Discussion: Bloomberg

CBS News:

House Democrats in position to gain but still face hurdles — CBS News poll — It may not be easy for Democrats to take the House majority, as they have to win a string of districts in Republican territory and get strong turnout, but they head into Tuesday in position to do so — even if narrowly.

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Could losing the House actually help Trump in 2020? — We're now three days from the 2018 election — an election in which Republicans appear likely to lose the House. The funny thing is that President Trump seems at peace with that. His late strategy seems to be all about motivating the base for key red-state Senate races.

Discussion: ABC News

Ben Schreckinger / Politico: Democrats traumatized by 2016 are having pre-midterms nightmares

Washington Post:
Democrats lead in House preferences, but positive views of the economy and concern about border …

Discussion: Townhall and Des Moines Register

Mark Niesse / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Kemp's office investigates Georgia Democrats after alleged hacking attempt — The Georgia Secretary of State Office, run by Republican candidate for governor Brian Kemp, has launched an investigation into the Democratic Party of Georgia after an alleged attempt to hack the state's voter registration system.

Discussion: Axios, Raw Story and CNN

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Kemp's office opens investigation into Georgia Democrats for ‘possible cybercrimes’ — The office of Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, the state's Republican gubernatorial nominee, said Sunday it has opened an investigation into the state's Democratic Party for possible unspecified cybercrimes …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Splinter and Law & Crime

Allan Smith / NBC News:

Kemp charges Georgia Democrats with attempted voter hack. Abrams fires back: ‘Desperate.’ — The secretary of state provided no evidence for his claim. Democrats called it a ‘political stunt’ two days before the election. — Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Guardian and The Daily Caller

Aiden Pink / The Forward:

GOP Candidate: No Peace In Israel Until Jews Convert To Christianity — A Republican congressional candidate in a competitive race in North Carolina said in a sermon that there would be no peace in Israel unless Jews and Muslims converted to Christianity, CNN reported Friday.

Discussion: Political Wire

John Solomon / The Hill:

Falsehood shames Clapper, Brennan and pledge to protect whistleblowers — In the summer of 2014, then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper sent a letter assuring Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that enhanced monitoring of Intelligence Community workers …

Kristen Inbody / USA Today:

Images from Trump Rally in Bozeman, MT … Kevin Crawford of Bozeman and Curtis Roe of Belgrade decided to protest President Donald Trump's visit Saturday to the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport in grass. — The pair mowed “FU45” on Roe's land under the landing approach Air Force One would make.

Discussion: Political Wire

Dartunorro Clark / NBC News:
Melania Trump joins husband's attacks on Democrats, ‘fake news’ in fundraising appeal

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:
Anxiety high in campaign's final days as voters prepare to render judgment on Trumpism

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and Breitbart

gofundme.com:

Mayor Brent Taylor and Family — $54,249 of $250,000 goal Raised by 547 people in 11 hours — Brent Taylor, Mayor of North Ogden, was killed in Afghanistan today. Mayor Taylor was a hero in every sense of the word. He believed in his community, his country and in selfless service to his fellowman.

Paighten Harkins / Salt Lake Tribune:
North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor killed in Afghanistan in ‘apparent insider attack’

Discussion: The Daily Caller, NPR and New York Times

New York Times:

At Trump Rallies, Women See a Hero Protecting a Way of Life — COLUMBIA, Mo. — Standing in an airplane hangar in the mid-autumn chill awaiting the arrival of President Trump, Joan Philpott said she was angry and scared. Only Mr. Trump, she said, can solve the problems she worries most about.

Discussion: Raw Story and Althouse

Benjamin Kentish / The Independent:

Labour Party branch ‘voted down motion condemning Pittsburgh synagogue attack’ — Members reject motion after saying there is too much focus on ‘antisemitism this, antisemitism that’ — {{#singleComment}}{{total}} comment{{/singleComment}}{{^singleComme nt}}{{total}} comments{{/singleComment}}

Washington Post:

U.S. militia groups head to border, stirred by Trump's call to arms — FALFURRIAS, Tex. — Gun-carrying civilian groups and border vigilantes have heard a call to arms in President Trump's warnings about threats to American security posed by caravans of Central American migrants moving through Mexico.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Laura Washington / Chicago Sun Times:

Hillary Clinton remains the Democrats best chance to defeat Trump in 2020 — She beat Donald J. Trump last time. — At least, by the popular vote. — Can she do it again this time, for real? — Hillary Clinton may be gearing up for a third run for president of the United States.

Discussion: Althouse

Ben Jacobs / The Guardian:

In Illinois, a world turned upside down: once-red suburbs swing blue — Peter Roskam and Randy Hultgren, Republicans in wealthy districts with long service records, face Democratic challenges — Early this week, an underdog candidate savaged his opponent for “using the language of Donald Trump” …

New York Times:

Consulting Firms Keep a Lucrative Saudi Alliance, Shaping Crown Prince's Vision — As Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia charmed Goldman Sachs bankers and Silicon Valley executives on an American tour this spring, some of his most trusted lieutenants were taking care of business in Washington.

Discussion: Politico

Janet Reitman / New York Times:

U.S. Law Enforcement Failed to See the Threat of White Nationalism. Now They Don't Know How to Stop It. — For two decades, domestic counterterrorism strategy has ignored the rising danger of far-right extremism. In the atmosphere of willful indifference, a virulent movement has grown and metastasized.

Discussion: Axios, Hill Reporter, Law & Crime and Raw Story

David Beavers / Politico:

Tillis: Trump ‘is right’ to put troops on the Southern border — Sen. Thom Tillis on Sunday expressed support for President Donald Trump's move to put more troops on the U.S.-Mexico border in response to an approaching caravan of Central-American migrants seeking asylum.

Discussion: ABC News

BuzzFeed News:

Tallahassee Yoga Shooter Was A Far-Right Misogynist Who Railed Against Women And Minorities Online — The man who shot and killed two women at a yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida, on Friday before killing himself was a far-right extremist and self-proclaimed misogynist who railed against women …

Virginia Heffernan / Los Angeles Times:

WikiLeaks' pernicious legacy — empty lulz, bothsidesism and moral flexibility — Not long ago, Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, was considered a lionhearted champion of civil liberties and government transparency. — In 2007, he helped expose human rights abuses at Guantanamo Bay.

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:

Another Kavanaugh accuser admits to fabricating rape story — One of Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh's accusers admitted this week that she made up her lurid tale of a backseat car rape, saying it “was a tactic” to try to derail the judge's confirmation to the Supreme Court.

Discussion: Louder With Crowder

Vann R. Newkirk II / The Atlantic:

Andrew Gillum Is Florida's Homecoming King — TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—There's nothing quite like the cacophony of the homecoming parade at a historically black university. Here at Florida A&M, children run between floats, yelling and laughing as they chase down pieces of hard candy.

Matt Dixon / Politico:

At DeSantis rally, Perdue says Florida governor's race ‘so cotton-pickin’ important' — TALLAHASSEE — During a Saturday rally for Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis, President Donald Trump's top agriculture official used the term “cotton-pickin'” to describe the importance …

Discussion: CNN, The Week and Breitbart

David Eggert / Associated Press:

Voter turnout for Michigan's midterm election may spike — LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Last-ditch efforts are in motion to spur people to the polls on Tuesday. This election, Michigan voters may not need prodding. — The number of absentee ballots issued and returned statewide …

Discussion: Eclectablog