memeorandum: Democrats fear the midterm map is slipping away (Michael Scherer/Washington Post)

10:45 AM ET, October 23, 2022

Top Items:

Michael Scherer / Washington Post:

Democrats fear the midterm map is slipping away — Polls in both the House and Senate show improvements for Republicans amid economic and crime concerns — The liberal Navigator public tracking poll flashed a major warning sign for Democrats in mid-October, reporting a 20 percentage point …

Mark Murray / NBC News:

‘Anger on their minds’: NBC News poll finds sky-high interest and polarization ahead of midterms — Less than three weeks before Election Day, voter interest has now reached an all-time high for a midterm election, with a majority of registered voters saying that this election is “more important” to them than past midterms.

Discussion: Financial Times

Brittany Shepherd / Reuters:

GOP opens edge on economy, crime ahead of midterms: POLL — These leads for Republicans have numerically solidified since August. — President Joe Biden speaks about gas prices during remarks in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building's South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, D.C., June 22, 2022.

Discussion: ABC News Public Relations

CNN:

Democrats predict an ‘extremely busy’ lame duck. Here's what's on the agenda — A packed legislative to-do list awaits Congress when it returns to session after the midterms - and Democrats, who currently control both chambers, will face a ticking clock to enact key priorities if Republicans win …

Hannah Knowles / Washington Post:
Oz-Shapiro. Warnock-Kemp. Split-ticket voters loom large in midterms.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Bloomberg:

The Seven Men Who Will Lead China Into Xi's Third Term — For the third time in little over a decade, Chinese President Xi Jinping led a procession of Communist Party officials onto the red carpet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, revealing who will lead the world's most populous country for the next five years.

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Kyiv Post, ARY NEWS, NPR, Reuters, WHYY, New York Post, Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Associated Press

Christian Shepherd / Washington Post:
As China's Xi extends his rule, his predecessor makes an unusual exit

Discussion: Associated Press, The Guardian, The Daily Wire, CNN, Reuters, BBC and New York Times

James Palmer / Foreign Policy:
What the Hell Just Happened to Hu Jintao?

Natasha Singer / New York Times:

Why Am I Seeing That Political Ad? Check Your ‘Trump Resistance’ Score. — To help campaigns target ads, voter-profiling firms score millions of Americans on issues like guns, vaccines and QAnon. — In the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election, a voter analytics firm called PredictWise came …

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Court clears way for Jan. 6 probe to get Ward's phone records — A federal appeals court has turned down former Arizona GOP senate candidate Kelli Ward's attempt to block a House committee subpoena for her phone records in connection with an investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, JONATHAN TURLEY, Reason, Raw Story, Insider, New York Post and HuffPost

Laura Reiley / Washington Post:

It's not a trick: Your Halloween treats are getting smaller — Chocolate and candy packs are getting smaller due to ‘shrinkflation’ and candy companies reducing calorie counts — Standing in the center aisle of the drugstore, with its seasonal display of spooky bat decorations …

New York Times:

For Trump's Backers in Congress, ‘Devil Terms’ Help Rally Voters — In vilifying tweets and speeches, G.O.P. lawmakers who contested the election have far outpaced other Republicans and Democrats in fueling polarization. — As Representative Mary Miller embarked on her first congressional campaign …

Discussion: Raw Story

Edward McKinley / Houston Chronicle:

Trump's 2019 El Paso rally cost the city nearly $500,000. He still hasn't paid the bill. — As former President Donald Trump prepares to host a MAGA-palooza near Corpus Christi this weekend, he still hasn't paid back the city of El Paso the more than $500,000 he owes for hosting his 2019 rally there, a city spokeswoman confirmed.

Discussion: PoliticusUSA and Raw Story

Scott Wong / NBC News:

Young Democrats ready their plans for a post-Pelosi shake-up — House Democrats have unified as they fight to retain their fragile majority in next month's midterms. But if they lose, as many election prognosticators predict they will, that unity will likely be short-lived.

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Blunder in Affirmative Action Case May Cost Harvard $15 Million — A missed insurance notice opened a window onto the cost of litigating challenges to race-conscious admissions programs to be heard this month by the Supreme Court. — WASHINGTON — As Harvard prepares to defend …

Discussion: Reason

Raja Abdulrahim / New York Times:

Resisting Israeli Efforts to Displace Them, Palestinians Move Into Caves — Israel's Supreme Court has ordered the removal of about 1,200 Palestinians from their villages in the occupied West Bank. The United Nations says that could amount to a war crime.

Carlisa N. Johnson / The Guardian:

Early voters in Georgia face obstacles under state's new election law — Unlimited challenges to eligibility and poorly trained poll workers cause frustration in key gubernatorial and US Senate contests — Jennifer Jones, a Morehouse School of Medicine PhD student, showed up to her precinct …

Discussion: Common Dreams and New York Times

Nate Hochman / National Review:
Where Do Georgia Republicans Go to Get Their Apology?

Discussion: Politico and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Shayna Jacobs / Washington Post:

Fraud-related criminal trial against Trump Organization to start Monday — NEW YORK — Trump Organization, former president Donald Trump's namesake company, is set to go on trial Monday for alleged tax crimes — the result of a lengthy investigation into the company and its executives related …