Inside Democrats' Secret Effort to Stack Alaska's Midterm Ballot With Another Dan Sullivan  —  Inside Democrats' Secret Effort to Stack Alaska's Ballot  —  In May, an unusual challenger entered the Senate race opposing Senator Dan Sullivan, the Alaska Republican.

Vivek Ramaswamy's explosive attack ad against Democratic rival Amy Acton in Ohio governor race backfires after horrifying claims from her long-lost stepsister that father also raped another daughter  —  Vivek Ramaswamy's explosive attempt to discredit his Democrat rival Amy Acton's childhood abuse claims …

What Our New Senate Polls Tell Us About the State of the Midterms  —  South Carolina seems like a serious race; Minnesota may not be; and Florida still appears out of reach for Democrats.  —  How big is the battleground for Senate control?  —  It might be at least one state wider than generally assumed.

Dolores Huerta, Who Founded United Farm Workers With Cesar Chavez, Dies  —  She founded the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez.  In early 2026, she told The Times that she had been raped by him decades earlier.  She was 96.  —  Dolores Huerta at a women's march in Utah in 2017.By Getty Images

ICE Is Running One of the Largest Anti-Left Surveillance Operations in US History  —  ICE's Homeland Security Investigations is engaged in far-reaching spying against left-wing activists that rivals the FBI and CIA crackdowns on the Civil Rights and anti-war movements.

Putin salutes Musk's genius as Russia plays catch-up with Starlink  —  President Vladimir Putin hailed Elon Musk as a genius on Wednesday, acknowledging Russia is only beginning to roll out its answer to his Starlink satellite internet system.  —  The admission was all the more striking …

EXCLUSIVE: Hoekstra tells closed-door meeting Canada could be blamed if U.S. midterms go against Trump  —  OTTAWA - U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra told a closed-door meeting on Tuesday that Ottawa could be blamed if key races in next week's midterm elections go against U.S. President Donald Trump's Republican Party.

Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady in face of persistent inflation  —  Federal Reserve officials held interest rates steady Wednesday despite stubborn inflation.  —  The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted 10-2 to keep the benchmark federal funds rate range at 3.75 percent to 4 percent.

Federal judge disqualifies Trump-appointed prosecutor for ‘unlawfully serving’ in role  —  Bill Essayli, a former GOP lawmaker and ally of president, has not been confirmed by the Senate in his role  —  A US judge ruled on Tuesday that Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in southern California …

Israeli Arab Parties Claim Kingmaker Status in Tight Vote  —  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent much of election day warning his base that Arab citizens were voting in record numbers.  He was right.  —  Results on Wednesday showed the two Israeli Arab parties are likely …

A List of Things Democrats Might Do If They Retake Power  —  There are plenty of reasons to fear a Democratic trifecta in Washington, which next week's midterms may very well set up for 2028.  Below is a list of actions and policies that give conservatives cause for alarm:

Right-Wing Provocateur James O'Keefe Charged in Minnesota Voting Stunt  —  He and another content creator, Cam Higby, are accused of breaking the law when they posed as Islamic voters in August.  —  The two men wearing mock Islamic attire and speaking with fake accents at a Minneapolis polling place …

U.S. Warns Gulf of Possible Short, Intense Renewal of Iran War After Midterms  —  There are new signs that the American and Israeli militaries are preparing a potential wave of strikes to muscle Tehran to the negotiating table  —  DUBAI—The U.S. has told several Gulf Arab countries …

Outrage as gun control nut spray paints 9/11 Memorial in sick political stunt  —  A gun control nut vandalized the 9/11 Memorial Reflecting Pool with red spray paint in a broad daylight political stunt.  —  Jonathan Andrew Tijerina, 31, was arrested and charged with criminal mischief …

MS NOW, CNN and Politico amend lawsuit, seeking to restore access to Oval Office and Air Force One  —  Three news organizations that sued the White House after President Donald Trump banned them from the grounds have amended their lawsuit.  They are now asking a federal judge to permanently restore …

Trump Cannot Be the End of the Story  —  Writing under the pseudonym Publicola in support of the new Constitution, the North Carolina attorney and legislator Archibald Maclaine rebuffed critics who charged that the president was little more than a king.  —  “It is a maxim in the British government …

Spain's Deadly Train Crash Risks Deepening Political Divisions  —  Pedro Sánchez started his Wednesday proclaiming reasons to be “optimistic” as Spain's election neared.  Hours later, he was standing at the scene of a high-speed rail crash, explaining why at least 68 people were dead.

Democrat House candidate hit with felony summons at campaign event  —  Lakesha Womack is challenging Rep Tim Moore in North Carolina and faces charges over a rental car  —  A Democratic candidate running for the U.S. House of Representatives said she is facing criminal charges and that she was hit …

Massive Leak Exposes 41,000 Homeland Security Workers—Including Undercover ICE Agents  —  The leaked records include the locations of ICE and CBP facilities, workers' cellphone numbers, and the members of groups tied to wiretap programs, Palantir software, and xAI's Grok chatbot.

Google's AI Chatbot Refuses to Answer Question of Who Won 2020 Presidential Election  —  Maybe Google's AI chatbot is gunning for a place in President Donald Trump's administration.  —  The artificial intelligence would not directly answer the question Wednesday of who won the 2020 presidential election …

McMahon Spends $43,000 for New Furniture as She Looks to Close Her Department  —  The education secretary says her old furniture “cannot be configurationally or aesthetically integrated” into new office space.  —  Linda McMahon, the education secretary, plans to spend $43,000 on new furniture …

Record Lows Say Congressional Incumbents Deserve Reelection  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, record-low shares of U.S. registered voters say they would reelect their own representative or most members of Congress.  For the first time in a final pre-midterm reading …

A US cruise ship suspends a global voyage in Asia due to fuel costs, stranding 200 passengers  —  A U.S. cruise ship on an around-the-world voyage that touted its cabins as floating homes suspended its three-year voyage in Cambodia due to fuel costs, forcing hundreds of passengers to disembark.

OpenAI launching election war room to track interference efforts  —  OpenAI is standing up an election “war room” ahead of the midterms, the company exclusively told Decoded by POLITICO.  —  The Election Operations Center will begin running this week until all votes are counted …

How the midterms will determine the next phase of the redistricting wars  —  Dozens of states are holding elections that will decide who controls the mapmaker's pen  —  The redistricting wars triggered by Donald Trump and turbocharged by the Supreme Court are not over—they've only paused long enough for the November midterms.

Flávio Bolsonaro heading to Ecuador, Argentina says, after losing Brazil's presidential election  —  Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and his family were en route to Ecuador after leaving Brazil and stopping off in Argentina, the Argentine National Directorate of Migration said on social media.

White House actions spur worry among FBI agents about being called to polling places, sources say  —  Some agents have expressed fear that they may be ordered to take actions designed to disrupt elections.  —  As Election Day nears, recent events have prompted some FBI agents to express concern …

Brazilian judge orders investigation into JD Vance donor network  —  A presidential candidate in Brazil alleged that Vance's Rockbridge Network discussed potential aid to the campaign of Flávio Bolsonaro.  Rockbridge denies involvement.  —  SummaryLoading...

Ted Cruz calls Abdul El-Sayed a “jihadist leprechaun,” as GOP closing message leans into attacks  —  Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan — At a campaign event outside of Detroit, GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas attempted to tie Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood — a claim El-Sayed has repeatedly denied.

Kevin McCarthy Is Working to Boost His Former Foe Jim Jordan  —  MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy may be out of Congress, but he's still playing the inside game.  —  McCarthy is working as a key advisor to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan as Jordan potentially seeks …

Classified material missing from Epstein files, documents suggest  —  Attorney General Todd Blanche has long maintained that the so-called Epstein files, even those kept from the public, contain no secret information related to national security.  —  When the document releases began last winter …

Game recognize game  —  With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Irie Sentner  —  POLITICO Named Digiday's Most Innovative Publisher  —  Yesterday POLITICO was named 2026 Most Innovative Publisher by Digiday.  We are proud of this honor and of the incredible efforts of our team around the world.