Democrats crisscross major midterm states as Trump heads to deep-red Kentucky

On the campaign trail

• Top Democrats out in force: As the party grows more bullish about its chances of seizing control in Congress, top Democratic surrogates such as Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are campaigning with candidates in red and purple states this weekend.

• Trump’s travel: Meanwhile, President Donald Trump will head to Kentucky today, continuing a series of campaign events and rallies mostly held in conservative strongholds. Trump was in battleground Georgia last night, where he slammed Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff , who is holding his own major rally today.

• Republican fundraising woes: GOP Senate candidates in competitive races have reported shockingly small fundraising numbers in Kansas and South Carolina .

Jon Ossoff will hold major rally tonight after Trump tore into him in Georgia

Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia is set to hold a major rally tonight in metro Atlanta as he seeks reelection — a day after President Donald Trump visited the state and criticized him during a campaign appearance.

At a Friday rally in Dalton, Georgia, Trump showed his support for Rep. Mike Collins, the GOP candidate facing an uphill fight to unseat the Democratic senator. During his remarks, he took shots at Ossoff’s physical appearance, saying: “Somebody said he’s a good looking man. I don’t think he’s a good looking man.”

Besides dwelling on appearances, he also criticized the Democratic senator as “Open Borders Ossoff.”

Ossoff and the state’s Democratic nominee for governor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, will deliver remarks in Cobb County tonight. It’s the first weekend of early voting in Georgia.

CNN’s Kaanita Iyer, Kit Maher and Molly English contributed reporting.

Top Democrats are revving up their campaign travel as the midterms grow closer

Democrats will be all over the country today with the midterms just 17 days away. Top surrogates for the party are trying to boost candidates in purple and red states amid growing hopes that Democrats can flip the House and Senate.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will be in New Hampshire for events with Democratic candidates Chris Pappas, Stefany Shaheen and Cinde Warmington.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is taking his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour to Melbourne, Florida, where he’ll appear alongside Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be in Ohio to attend events alongside Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes, who is running for reelection.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren will campaign in Maine alongside Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson at a canvass launch, rally and town hall.

Trump continued his midterm blitz in red cities last night. Catch up here

The campaign trail Friday saw President Donald Trump rallying in Georgia for Rep. Mike Collins, who’s waging an uphill battle to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff and entering the final stretch at a huge financial disadvantage.

President Donald Trump, appealing to the crowd in a conservative area of Georgia, claimed he jokingly called Google to float the idea of renaming the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as the Strait of Hormuz.

Voters also heard from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rallying Detroit’s Latino community for Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, and in Minnesota, Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and her Republican opponent, former sportscaster Michele Tafoya, faced off over key state issues, including welfare fraud.

Here’s what else you may have missed:

Early in-person voting turnout in Iowa and North Carolina added to the growing pool of evidence since Trump’s return to office that Democrats are motivated to vote while Republicans are not. Registered Democrats outvoted registered Republicans by nearly 28 points on Thursday. That’s up from just a 2-point advantage on the first day of early voting in 2024, according to data from the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin threw his support behind Rep. Kevin Kiley — a former Republican who is now running as an independent .

Sen. Bernie Sanders has transferred $250,000 to help elect Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, according to a person familiar with the move. And Ocasio-Cortez is providing $1 million to help his campaign. The unusually high transfer for a House member backing an out-of-state Senate race is yet another sign of the importance Ocasio-Cortez is placing on a potential El-Sayed win.

In South Carolina, Democratic Senate nominee Annie Andrews outraised her Republican opponent, Darline Graham, by more than five times, $9.4 million to $1.8 million, in the period.

CNN’s Gloria Pazmino, Edward Wu, Kit Maher, Melissa Giaimo, Aditi Sangal, Sarah Ferris and David Wright contributed to this report.

El-Sayed gets major cash boost from leading progressives

Sarah Rice/Getty Images

As the Senate race in Michigan speeds toward a tightly contested finish, Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed has gotten a major financial boost from two high-profile progressives in Congress.

Just over two weeks away from Election Day, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York gave $1 million to help El-Sayed, while a source said Sen. Bernie Sanders transferred $250,000 to him.

Ocasio-Cortez donated the funding to the Abdul for Michigan Victory Fund, a coordinated fundraising effort between his campaign, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee, according to a spokesperson for the congresswoman.

The quarter-million-dollar transfer from Sanders came amid mounting pressure within the Democratic Party for him to use his sizable campaign war chest to help in critical Senate races. Top Democrats specifically asked Sanders to step up in Michigan, where the party has been massively outspent by Republicans on the airwaves.

Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders have been active supporters of El-Sayed’s campaign, making clear they see it as pivotal for the party’s progressive movement. The congresswoman is campaigning for El-Sayed across Michigan this week, and Sanders previously helped raise $595,000 for his campaign.

CNN’s Gloria Pazmino and Sarah Ferris contributed reporting.

在竞选活动中

• 民主党高层倾巢而出：随着民主党对夺取国会控制权的信心日益增强，包括加州州长加文·纽森、参议员伯尼·桑德斯和众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯在内的民主党高层代表本周末正在红色州和摇摆州与候选人一起进行竞选活动。

• 特朗普的行程：与此同时，唐纳德·特朗普总统今天将前往肯塔基州，继续一系列竞选活动和集会，这些活动和集会大多在保守派的大本营举行。昨晚，特朗普在关键摇摆州佐治亚州抨击了民主党参议员乔恩·奥索夫，奥索夫今天也将举行自己的大型集会。

• 共和党筹款困境：在堪萨斯州和南卡罗来纳州竞争激烈的参议院选举中，共和党候选人的筹款金额低得惊人。

在特朗普于佐治亚州猛烈抨击乔恩·奥索夫之后，他将于今晚举行大型集会。

佐治亚州民主党参议员乔恩·奥索夫今晚将在亚特兰大都会区举行大型集会，寻求连任——就在前一天，唐纳德·特朗普总统访问了该州，并在竞选活动中批评了他。

周五在佐治亚州道尔顿举行的一场集会上，特朗普公开支持共和党候选人、众议员迈克·柯林斯，后者正面临着一场艰苦的选战，力图击败现任民主党参议员。在讲话中，特朗普还嘲讽了奥索夫的外貌，说道：“有人说他长得帅。我不觉得他长得帅。”

除了关注外表之外，他还批评这位民主党参议员是“开放边境的奥索夫”。

奥索夫和该州民主党州长候选人凯莎·兰斯·博顿斯今晚将在科布县发表讲话。今晚是佐治亚州提前投票的第一个周末。

CNN的卡尼塔·艾耶尔、基特·马赫和莫莉·英格利希对此报道亦有贡献。

随着中期选举临近，民主党高层人士正在加紧竞选活动。

距离中期选举仅剩17天，民主党人今天将在全国各地奔走拉票。随着人们越来越希望民主党能够拿下众议院和参议院的控制权，该党的高级代理人正努力在摇摆州和共和党占优势的州为候选人助选。

加州州长加文·纽森将前往新罕布什尔州，与民主党候选人克里斯·帕帕斯、斯蒂芬妮·沙欣和辛迪·沃明顿一起参加活动。

参议员伯尼·桑德斯将带着他的“反对寡头政治”巡回演讲来到佛罗里达州墨尔本，届时他将与民主党参议员候选人安吉·尼克松一同亮相。

众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯将前往俄亥俄州，与正在竞选连任的民主党众议员艾米莉亚·赛克斯一同出席活动。

参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦将与民主党参议员候选人特洛伊·杰克逊一起在缅因州开展竞选活动，包括竞选启动仪式、集会和市政厅会议。

昨晚，特朗普继续在共和党占优势的城市展开中期选举冲刺。点击此处了解详情。

周五的竞选活动中，唐纳德·特朗普总统在佐治亚州为众议员迈克·柯林斯助选。柯林斯正面临着一场艰苦的战斗，他试图击败民主党参议员乔恩·奥索夫，并且在最后的冲刺阶段面临着巨大的财务劣势。

唐纳德·特朗普总统在佐治亚州一个保守地区向人群发表讲话时声称，他曾开玩笑地打电话给谷歌，提出重新命名大西洋、太平洋以及霍尔木兹海峡的想法。

选民们还听到了众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯在密歇根州为民主党参议员候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德在底特律的拉丁裔社区进行动员；在明尼苏达州，民主党副州长佩吉·弗拉纳根和她的共和党对手、前体育播音员米歇尔·塔福亚就包括福利欺诈在内的关键州问题展开了辩论。

以下是您可能错过的其他内容：

爱荷华州和北卡罗来纳州的提前现场投票率进一步印证了自特朗普重返总统宝座以来不断涌现的证据：民主党选民的投票积极性很高，而共和党选民的投票积极性则较低。周四，注册民主党选民的投票率比注册共和党选民高出近28个百分点。根据北卡罗来纳州选举委员会的数据，这一优势远高于2024年提前投票首日的2个百分点。

前西弗吉尼亚州参议员乔·曼钦公开支持众议员凯文·基利——凯文·基利曾是共和党人，现在以独立候选人身份参选。

据一位知情人士透露，参议员伯尼·桑德斯已向密歇根州民主党参议员候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德的竞选活动捐赠了25万美元。而奥卡西奥-科尔特斯也向他的竞选活动提供了100万美元的资金支持。对于一位支持外州参议员竞选的众议员来说，如此巨额的捐款再次表明了奥卡西奥-科尔特斯对埃尔-赛义德胜选的重视程度。

在南卡罗来纳州，民主党参议员候选人安妮·安德鲁斯筹款金额是共和党对手达琳·格雷厄姆的五倍多，达到 940 万美元，而对手仅为 180 万美元。

CNN的Gloria Pazmino、Edward Wu、Kit Maher、Melissa Giaimo、Aditi Sangal、Sarah Ferris和David Wright对本报道亦有贡献。

埃尔-赛义德从进步派领袖那里获得了大量资金支持

Sarah Rice/Getty Images

随着密歇根州参议院竞选进入白热化阶段，民主党候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德从国会两位知名进步派人士那里获得了巨大的资金支持。

距离选举日仅剩两周多一点，纽约州民主党众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯向埃尔-赛义德捐赠了 100 万美元，另有消息人士称，参议员伯尼·桑德斯向他转账了 25 万美元。

据这位女议员的发言人称，奥卡西奥-科尔特斯将这笔资金捐给了阿卜杜勒密歇根胜利基金，这是他的竞选团队、民主党参议员竞选委员会和密歇根州民主党州中央委员会之间协调的筹款活动。

在民主党内部，桑德斯面临着越来越大的压力，要求他动用其雄厚的竞选资金来帮助关键的参议院选举。与此同时，民主党高层特别要求桑德斯加大对密歇根州的投入，因为民主党在该州的电视广告支出远远落后于共和党。

奥卡西奥-科尔特斯和桑德斯一直积极支持埃尔-赛义德的竞选活动，明确表示他们认为这场竞选对民主党的进步运动至关重要。这位女议员本周在密歇根州各地为埃尔-赛义德助选，而桑德斯此前曾帮助他筹集了59.5万美元的竞选资金。

CNN的Gloria Pazmino和Sarah Ferris也参与了报道。