AOC joins Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan to campaign in areas that voted heavily for Trump

On the campaign trail

• Town hall: Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico made his case to skeptical Republicans and independents last night in a town hall hosted by CNN and Jubilee , framing the election in populist terms and insisting he is willing to break with his own party if doing so benefits the state.

• All eyes on Michigan today: Michigan’s Senate seat remains a prime pickup opportunity for the GOP , with Republican Mike Rogers facing Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joins El-Sayed for a bus tour in areas that strongly favored President Donald Trump two years ago. Vice President JD Vance is also headlining a rally in the state.

• Other Senate races: Maine’s incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson are set to meet for their final televised debate before Election Day. Alaska’s Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democratic challenger Mary Peltola are also scheduled to debate today.

Talarico raised record-breaking $64 million in last quarter

Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico raised $64 million in the third quarter of this year, his campaign announced on Thursday, touting it as “record-breaking.”

The previous quarterly record holder was former South Carolina Senate candidate Jaime Harrison in 2020, at $57.9 million, so Talarico has set a new record.

The amount brings the total he has raised since launching his campaign in September 2025 to more than $134.3 million, his campaign added in a statement, sharing that an overwhelming majority of it came from small contributions.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Ken Paxton, Talarico’s opponent in the tight race, raised $18 million in the third quarter through his campaign and affiliated committees.

While Talarico may be leading in fundraising, Republicans continue to have a massive spending advantage and he is trailing in terms of money spent on TV.

CNN’s David Wright contributed reporting to this post.

Abdul El-Sayed heads north to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, deep into Trump country

Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is continuing his “It Shouldn’t Be This Hard” tour through Michigan, heading into the state’s Upper Peninsula on Thursday.

We ran into El-Sayed at the airport in Detroit as he was boarding a flight to Marquette.

“I’m going to the U-P!” he told CNN. He said town halls would be fun. “Can’t wait — a whole bus tour; we’re looking forward to it.”

A handful of passengers seemed to recognize him, with one woman saying, “He’s running for the Senate, he’s great.” As the crowd realized who was boarding, a few held up their phones to take pictures.

El-Sayed is starting the day with a town hall in Escanaba, where he’ll be joined by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who will follow El-Sayed to events in Iron Mountain and Marquette.

The race in Michigan is crucial to both parties in their hopes to secure a Senate majority.

El-Sayed and Ocasio-Cortez are headed deep into Trump country. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has been a reliable Republican stronghold, with Trump winning the area by 19 percentage points in 2024.

As he tries to appeal to disaffected Democrats and even diehard Trump supporters, El-Sayed’s campaign told CNN he will focus on access to healthcare and his Medicare for All proposal. Parts of rural Michigan have been severely impacted by hospital closures and consolidation.

Here's what happened at Talarico's town hall last night

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico appealed face-to-face to skeptical Republicans and independents last night in a joint town hall hosted by CNN and Jubilee, framing the election in populist terms and insisting he is willing to break with his own party if doing so benefits the state.

Talarico faces Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in one of the most important Senate races of November’s midterm elections. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to claim the Senate majority, and flipping a GOP-held seat in Texas would be a significant boost to that effort.

Talarico, a former seminary student, peppered his remarks with references to his “spiritual heroes” and made references to the last three popes. He said he felt he could find common ground with conservatives — in part by looking to solutions to the problems that fuel cultural divides, rather than treating those divides as a political hammer with which to “beat each other over the head.”

And as he campaigns for the votes of independents and moderate Republicans in Texas — where Democrats haven’t won statewide in three decades — he attempted to frame the election in populist terms: regular Americans against wealthy individuals and corporations.

Read CNN’s takeaways from Talarico’s town hall here.

在竞选活动中

• 市政厅会议：德克萨斯州民主党参议员候选人詹姆斯·塔拉里科昨晚在 CNN 和 Jubilee 主办的市政厅会议上向持怀疑态度的共和党人和独立人士阐述了自己的观点，他以民粹主义的措辞来描述这次选举，并坚称如果这样做有利于该州，他愿意与自己的政党决裂。

今天，所有人的目光都聚焦在密歇根州：密歇根州的参议院席位仍然是共和党的一大夺取机会，共和党候选人迈克·罗杰斯将迎战民主党候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德。纽约州众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯将与埃尔-赛义德一同进行巴士巡回演讲，走访两年前曾大力支持唐纳德·特朗普总统的地区。副总统JD·万斯也将在该州举行一场竞选集会。

• 其他参议院选举：缅因州现任共和党参议员苏珊·柯林斯和民主党挑战者特洛伊·杰克逊将在选举日前进行最后一场电视辩论。阿拉斯加州现任共和党参议员丹·沙利文和民主党挑战者玛丽·佩尔托拉也计划于今日进行辩论。

Talarico上季度融资额创下6400万美元的纪录。

德克萨斯州民主党参议员候选人詹姆斯·塔拉里科的竞选团队周四宣布，该候选人在今年第三季度筹集了 6400 万美元，并称这是“破纪录的”。

此前的季度筹款纪录保持者是前南卡罗来纳州参议员候选人杰米·哈里森，他在 2020 年的筹款额为 5790 万美元，因此塔拉里科创造了新的纪录。

他的竞选团队在一份声明中补充说，这笔款项使他自 2025 年 9 月启动竞选活动以来筹集的资金总额超过 1.343 亿美元，并表示其中绝大多数来自小额捐款。

与此同时，在竞争激烈的选举中，塔拉里科的对手、司法部长肯·帕克斯顿通过其竞选活动和附属委员会，在第三季度筹集了 1800 万美元。

虽然塔拉里科在筹款方面可能领先，但共和党人在支出方面仍然拥有巨大的优势，而且他在电视广告支出方面落后于共和党人。

CNN的David Wright对本文亦有贡献。

阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德向北前往密歇根州上半岛，深入特朗普的票仓腹地。

民主党参议员候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德将继续他的“不应该这么难”密歇根州巡回演讲，周四将前往该州的上半岛。

我们在底特律机场偶遇了埃尔-赛义德，当时他正准备登上飞往马凯特的航班。

“我要去上密歇根半岛！”他告诉CNN。他说市政厅会议会很有趣。“迫不及待了——整个巴士之旅；我们非常期待。”

少数乘客似乎认出了他，一位女士说：“他正在竞选参议员，他很棒。”当人群意识到登机的是谁时，一些人举起手机拍照。

埃尔-赛义德今天首先在埃斯卡纳巴举行市政厅会议，纽约州众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯将陪同他出席，之后奥卡西奥-科尔特斯将跟随埃尔-赛义德前往铁山和马凯特参加活动。

密歇根州的这场选举对两党都至关重要，因为他们都希望借此获得参议院多数席位。

埃尔-赛义德和奥卡西奥-科尔特斯将深入特朗普的票仓腹地。密歇根州上半岛一直是共和党的可靠堡垒，特朗普在2024年大选中以19个百分点的优势赢得了该地区。

为了争取不满的民主党人乃至特朗普的铁杆支持者的支持，埃尔-赛义德的竞选团队告诉CNN，他将重点关注医疗保健服务以及他的全民医保提案。密歇根州部分农村地区已受到医院关闭和合并的严重影响。

昨晚在塔拉里科市政厅发生的事情是这样的

德克萨斯州民主党参议员候选人詹姆斯·塔拉里科昨晚在 CNN 和 Jubilee 联合举办的市政厅会议上，与持怀疑态度的共和党人和独立人士面对面地呼吁，他以民粹主义的措辞来阐述选举，并坚称如果这样做有利于该州，他愿意与自己的政党决裂。

塔拉里科将在11月的中期选举中与共和党籍总检察长肯·帕克斯顿展开角逐，这场参议院选举是今年最重要的选举之一。民主党需要净增四个席位才能夺回参议院多数席位，而拿下德克萨斯州一个共和党把持的席位将极大地助力民主党的这一目标。

塔拉里科曾是神学院的学生，他在讲话中不时提及他的“精神偶像”，并提到了最近三位教皇。他说，他觉得自己可以与保守派找到共同点——部分原因在于，他们寻求解决加剧文化分歧的问题，而不是将这些分歧当作政治武器，用来“互相攻击”。

在德克萨斯州争取独立选民和温和派共和党人的选票时——民主党人已经三十年没有在该州赢得全州选举了——他试图用民粹主义的措辞来定​​义这次选举：普通美国人对抗富有的个人和企业。

请点击此处阅读CNN对塔拉里科市政厅会议的总结。