Democrats try to show unity in critical Michigan Senate race

On the campaign trail

• Midwestern unity : Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic nominee for US Senate, will hold a get-out-the-vote rally today in Detroit with other members of the party’s statewide ticket. El-Sayed is trying to reach Black voters as Republican nominee Mike Rogers makes a strong push to cut into a core Democratic constituency.

• “Really tough times” : Republicans are privately grappling with voter anger about “corrupt politicians” and billionaires. Amid concerns about the cost of living and foreign policy, corruption appears to be breaking through in midterm campaigns — and particularly affecting the GOP as it tries to hold onto the House.

• Tight Texas contest: GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton and his Democratic opponent, James Talarico , will hold dueling events this evening in one of the upper chamber’s most closely watched races.

How JB Pritzker’s possible 2028 White House bid could be helped by his midterm investments

JP Yim/Getty Images for Clinton Global

As potential 2028 presidential candidates crisscross the country to campaign in the midterms, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is wielding an advantage that none of the others can match: his massive personal wealth.

The billionaire has funneled nearly $40 million to Democratic candidates and groups in the midterms , donating to everything from the party’s biggest super PACs to state legislative campaigns.

And in the closing weeks of the election, he’s funding a $20 million effort to help Democrats push deeper into red territory in their bid to capture the House majority, a particularly ambitious play.

Pritzker has long been a top donor to the Democratic Party, but his midterm giving has unfolded as he considers joining what is expected to be a crowded 2028 presidential primary — and is serving multiple political purposes.

He’s boosting Democratic campaigns in the first states on the party’s revamped 2028 primary calendar. He’s working to patch up bruised relationships inside the party that he would need for a presidential bid, particularly with the Congressional Black Caucus.

And he’s become a unique force in Texas, including by giving more than $1 million to the Democratic nominee for governor, Gina Hinojosa, as her Latino allies plead for more national investment.

Some of the other key events to watch out for today

With just over two weeks left until Election Day, Democratic and Republican Party midterm candidates and their political allies are racing all over the map to make their case to voters and donors at rallies, town halls and other campaign stops.

Here are some of the midterm events we’re keeping an eye on this Sunday:

In Texas, Senate candidates James Talarico and Ken Paxton are holding dueling tour stops this afternoon in different regions of the state. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa is also making a campaign stop in Houston.

Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is holding another town hall today, this one in Flint, as other state Democrats hold a “get out the vote” rally in Detroit.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is rallying in Florida for progressive Senate candidate Angie Nixon as part of his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour. They are scheduled to appear in Gainesville at noon ET and Talahassee in the evening.

Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek is making three stops in small towns and cities on his tour across Iowa, as he faces tight polling numbers against Republican opponent Ashley Hinson.

And Pete Buttigieg is in North Carolina to support several candidates, including Democratic Senate nominee Roy Cooper.

El-Sayed disavows Muslim Brotherhood, criticizes implications he has "dual loyalty"

Jim Vondruska/Reuters

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed yesterday disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political movement, during a heated exchange at a town hall.

El-Sayed, who could make history as the first Muslim elected to the Senate, has frequently faced Republican accusations that he is sympathetic to interests connected to Islamic terror. In recent days, Republicans including his GOP challenger, Mike Rogers, and President Donald Trump have commented about potential connections to the organization.

An attendee at a town hall in Caro, Michigan, repeatedly pressed El-Sayed about the Muslim Brotherhood, saying he had yet to hear the candidate reject the organization.

El-Sayed, after disavowing the movement, blasted the man for implicitly assuming his “dual loyalty.”

The latest attacks came after old tweets from El-Sayed’s half-sister resurfaced online, including a post from 2012 in which she described having “an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college.”

Earlier this week, El-Sayed denied allegations that he or his family has ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, telling reporters that to think that anybody in his family was part of the organization was “an insane thing to assume.”

Read our full report on El-Sayed’s town hall interaction here.

"Man with a plan:" Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico joins The Chicks onstage

Country band The Chicks praised Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico as a “man with a plan” while bringing him onstage at a concert in San Antonio last night.

“We have a very special guest tonight,” Natalie Maines, the group’s lead vocalist, told the crowd. “He’s a man with a plan.”

“He’s a man who would never take another person’s pen that doesn’t belong to him,” she continued, referencing an incident from more than a decade ago involving Talarico’s Republican opponent, Ken Paxton, reportedly pocketing a $1,000 pen, which his campaign has said was a mix-up.

Addressing the crowd, Talarico said that it was “so good” to return to the city, where he once taught sixth grade language arts.

“I have loved The Chicks for as long as I can remember,” Talarico said. “Their music, their songwriting, their harmonies, but also what they represent,” he continued, adding that he is “so proud” that the band is from Texas.

Talarico also lauded the group’s “courage, conviction, and a willingness to speak truth to power.”

More context: The Chicks, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, faced backlash in the early 2000s for their comments about former President George W. Bush.

In 2003, before the invasion of Iraq, Maines said at a concert that the group, which got its start in Dallas, did not endorse the war and were “ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”

Their remarks about Bush triggered boycotts and backlash from fans, resulting in country stations across the country pulling the group’s music from the radio.

CNN’s Jack Guy contributed to this reporting.

US Chamber of Commerce endorses Texas' GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton

The US Chamber of Commerce is endorsing Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race, giving the GOP candidate a boost as he scrambles to shore up support from traditional Republicans in a tight race.

The endorsement comes months after Paxton defeated the chamber’s original choice in the contest, Sen. John Cornyn, in a contentious primary runoff. Paxton, the state attorney general, now faces Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, who is trying to become the first Democrat to win statewide office in decades.

Paxton and his allies have been pushing to consolidate his GOP base in the closing weeks of the race, especially as incumbent Sen. Cornyn continues to withhold his endorsement. President Donald Trump, who endorsed Paxton over Cornyn in the primary, said Thursday that Cornyn is doing “everything possible to make it hard” for Paxton to win in November.

Paxton, a well-known culture warrior, has sought to center his general election campaign around more economic issues that are important to groups such as the US Chamber of Commerce. He has proposed new tax deductions to lower the cost of living and gone after Talarico for voting against a 2019 bill to constitutionally ban an income tax in Texas, a state which does not currently have one.

What protesters told us at yesterday’s "No Kings" events

Amid Farahi/AFP/Getty Images

Enthusiastic voters and protesters turned out by the thousands at “No Kings: Vote Early” events across the country yesterday.

While previous “No Kings” protests were framed primarily as opposition to President Donald Trump and his administration, organizers said yesterday’s events intended to oppose voter suppression efforts and help people make plans to cast their ballots. But there was plenty of anti-Trump sentiment at the events, too.

CNN attended several of the demonstrations to hear why people showed up and why they think voting is so important this election cycle.

A crowd of people gathered in Washington, DC , just steps away from the site of Trump’s proposed triumphal arch, to protest several of the president’s policies and encourage others to vote during the midterm election.

DC college students gathered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, carrying signs ranging from “veto the cheeto” to “grab ‘em by the mid-terms.”

Jeremiah Fuentes, an 18-year-old freshman at Georgetown University, attended the event with the Georgetown College Democrats group. He said he’s “really excited” to vote for the first time and that his top issues are immigration and affordability.

CNN’s Rafael Romo also spoke to voters yesterday at a “No Kings” event in Marietta, Georgia, where people gathered around a busy intersection with signs criticizing Trump and encouraging people to vote.

With midterms campaigning in full swing, catch up on yesterday's biggest developments

Jason Whitman/NurPhoto/AP

With nearly two weeks until the midterm elections, both Democratic Party and GOP hopefuls held campaign events across the US yesterday, while thousands of events aimed at promoting mass turnout for the elections also took place.

Catch up on yesterday’s main developments:

President Donald Trump promised a $100 million investment in a pharmaceutical plant in Kentucky if Republicans hold onto Congress, the latest gift he’s offered to supporters if his party wins in November.

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed held a town hall in the city of Midland, where he slammed gun policies and disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood , an Islamist political movement.

GOP Sen. Darline Graham of South Carolina, who was appointed to fill her late brother’s seat and is now running for a full term, broke with Trump over his executive order waiving sanctions on Russian fossil fuel sales.

Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican nominee for Ohio governor, campaigned in the state’s Monroe County, which gave Trump nearly 80% of the vote in 2024. He promised to be “the most conservative governor we have ever seen in the history of our state.”

“No Kings: Vote Early” events were planned to take place in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Rallygoers in Washington, DC , held signs including “Hands off our vote” and “You can’t fix stupid but you can vote it out.”

CNN’s Aleena Fayaz, Gloria Pazmino, Katherine Koretski, Patrick Svitek and Kaanita Iyer contributed to this reporting.

在竞选活动中

• 中西部团结：密歇根州民主党参议员候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德今天将在底特律与该党其他州级候选人一起举行动员选民投票的集会。埃尔-赛义德正努力争取黑人选民的支持，而共和党候选人迈克·罗杰斯则大力争取民主党的核心选民群体。

• “形势严峻”：共和党人私下里正努力应对选民对“腐败政客”和亿万富翁的愤怒。在民众担忧生活成本和外交政策的同时，腐败问题似乎正在中期选举中爆发——尤其对试图保住众议院控制权的共和党造成了严重影响。

• 德克萨斯州选情胶着：共和党参议员候选人肯·帕克斯顿和他的民主党对手詹姆斯·塔拉里科今晚将举行针锋相对的竞选活动，这是参议院最受关注的竞选之一。

JB·普利兹克2028年竞选总统或将如何受益于其中期投资？

JP Yim/Getty Images for Clinton Global

随着 2028 年总统大选的潜在候选人奔走全国各地参加中期选举，伊利诺伊州州长 JB Pritzker 拥有其他候选人无法匹敌的优势：他庞大的个人财富。

这位亿万富翁在中期选举中向民主党候选人和团体输送了近 4000 万美元，捐款对象涵盖了从该党最大的超级政治行动委员会到州立法竞选的方方面面。

在选举的最后几周，他资助了一项 2000 万美元的行动，帮助民主党人进一步深入共和党的传统票仓，以期夺取众议院多数席位，这是一项雄心勃勃的举措。

普里茨克长期以来一直是民主党的主要捐助者，但他的中期选举捐款是在他考虑加入预计竞争激烈的 2028 年总统初选之际进行的——并且服务于多种政治目的。

他正在为民主党2028年新一轮初选日程表上首批几个州的竞选活动提供支持。他还在努力修复党内因竞选总统而产生的裂痕，特别是与国会黑人议员团的关系。

他已成为德克萨斯州一股独特的力量，包括向民主党州长候选人吉娜·希诺霍萨捐赠了超过 100 万美元，而她的拉丁裔盟友则呼吁国家加大投资。

今天其他一些值得关注的重要事件

距离选举日仅剩两周多一点的时间，民主党和共和党的中期选举候选人及其政治盟友正在各地奔走，通过集会、市政厅会议和其他竞选活动向选民和捐助者阐述自己的理念。

以下是我们本周日将重点关注的一些期中考试事件：

今天下午，德克萨斯州参议员候选人詹姆斯·塔拉里科和肯·帕克斯顿将在该州不同地区展开针锋相对的竞选巡回演讲。民主党州长候选人吉娜·希诺霍萨也将在休斯顿进行竞选活动。

密歇根州参议员候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德今天将在弗林特举行另一场市政厅会议，与此同时，该州其他民主党人在底特律举行“动员投票”集会。

参议员伯尼·桑德斯正在佛罗里达州为进步派参议员候选人安吉·尼克松助选，这是他“反寡头政治”巡回演讲的一部分。他们计划于美国东部时间中午在盖恩斯维尔亮相，晚上则在塔拉哈西露面。

民主党参议员候选人乔什·图雷克正在爱荷华州巡回演讲，期间他将在三个小城镇停留，因为他与共和党对手阿什利·欣森的民调支持率不相上下。

皮特·布蒂吉格目前在北卡罗来纳州为多位候选人助选，其中包括民主党参议员候选人罗伊·库珀。

埃尔-赛义德否认与穆斯林兄弟会的关系，并批评有关他“效忠双重组织”的说法。

吉姆·冯德鲁斯卡/路透社

密歇根州民主党参议员候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德昨天在市政厅会议上与穆斯林兄弟会（一个伊斯兰政治运动）发生激烈争论，并公开谴​​责该组织。

埃尔-赛义德有望成为历史上首位当选参议员的穆斯林，但他经常面临共和党人的指责，称他同情与伊斯兰恐怖主义有关的利益集团。近日，包括他的共和党挑战者迈克·罗杰斯和唐纳德·特朗普总统在内的多位共和党人都对埃尔-赛义德与该组织的潜在联系发表了评论。

在密歇根州卡罗市的一次市政厅会议上，一位与会者反复向埃尔-赛义德追问有关穆斯林兄弟会的问题，称他还没有听到这位候选人公开反对该组织。

埃尔-赛义德在公开否认该运动后，抨击该男子暗中假定他“效忠双重国家”。

最近的袭击事件发生在埃尔-赛义德同父异母的妹妹的旧推文在网上重新出现之后，其中包括她在 2012 年发布的一条推文，她在推文中描述了“与我母亲进行了一次精彩的谈话，谈到了她在 70 年代初上大学时参与穆斯林兄弟会的活动”。

本周早些时候，埃尔-赛义德否认了他或他的家人与穆斯林兄弟会有联系的指控，他告诉记者，认为他的家人中有任何人是该组织的一员是“一种疯狂的假设”。

请点击此处阅读我们关于埃尔-赛义德市政厅互动活动的完整报道。

“胸有成竹”：德克萨斯州民主党参议员候选人詹姆斯·塔拉里科与女子合唱团同台演出

乡村乐队 The Chicks 昨晚在圣安东尼奥的一场演唱会上，邀请德克萨斯州民主党参议员候选人詹姆斯·塔拉里科上台，并称赞他是一位“有计划的人”。

“我们今晚有一位非常特别的嘉宾，”乐队主唱娜塔莉·梅恩斯对观众说。“他是一位胸有成竹的人。”

“他绝不会拿走不属于自己的别人的笔，”她继续说道，并提到了十多年前塔拉里科的共和党对手肯·帕克斯顿据称私吞了一支价值 1000 美元的笔的事件，他的竞选团队称这是一场误会。

塔拉里科在向人群发表讲话时说，回到这座城市“感觉真好”，他曾经在这里教过六年级的语言艺术。

“我从小就喜欢The Chicks乐队，”塔拉里科说。“她们的音乐、她们的创作、她们的和声，还有她们所代表的一切，”他继续说道，并补充说他为这支来自德克萨斯州的乐队感到“非常自豪”。

塔拉里科还赞扬了该组织的“勇气、信念和敢于向权力说真话的意愿”。

更多背景信息：迪克西女子合唱团（The Chicks，前身为 Dixie Chicks）在 2000 年代初期因对前总统乔治·W·布什的评论而遭到强烈反对。

2003 年，在入侵伊拉克之前，梅恩斯在一场音乐会上表示，该乐队（起源于达拉斯）不支持这场战争，并且“为美国总统来自德克萨斯州而感到羞耻”。

他们对布什的言论引发了粉丝的抵制和强烈反对，导致全国各地的乡村音乐电台停播了该组合的音乐。

CNN的杰克·盖伊对本文亦有贡献。

美国商会支持德克萨斯州共和党参议员候选人肯·帕克斯顿

美国商会宣布支持肯·帕克斯顿竞选德克萨斯州参议员，这无疑给这位共和党候选人带来了助力，因为他正在努力争取传统共和党人的支持，而选情胶着。

在帕克斯顿击败州议会最初推选的候选人、参议员约翰·科宁，赢得这场竞争激烈的初选决胜轮数月后，他获得了这项背书。帕克斯顿是州检察长，他现在将与民主党州众议员詹姆斯·塔拉里科展开角逐，塔拉里科正力图成为数十年来首位赢得全州公职的民主党人。

在竞选的最后几周，帕克斯顿及其盟友一直在努力巩固其共和党支持者基础，尤其是在现任参议员科宁仍未表态支持的情况下。在初选中支持帕克斯顿而非科宁的特朗普总统周四表示，科宁正在“竭尽所能”阻挠帕克斯顿在11月的大选中获胜。

帕克斯顿是一位知名的文化斗士，他试图将大选竞选的重点放在对美国商会等团体至关重要的经济议题上。他提议推出新的税收减免措施以降低生活成本，并抨击塔拉里科在2019年投票反对一项旨在从宪法层面禁止德克萨斯州征收所得税的法案——德克萨斯州目前确实没有所得税。

昨天“反对国王”活动中，抗议者们告诉我们什么

Amid Farahi/AFP/Getty Images

昨天，成千上万热情高涨的选民和抗议者参加了在全国各地举行的“反对国王：提前投票”活动。

虽然之前的“反对国王”抗议活动主要针对唐纳德·特朗普总统及其政府，但组织者表示，昨天的活动旨在反对选民压制行为，并帮助人们制定投票计划。不过，活动中也充斥着大量的反特朗普情绪。

CNN 参加了几场示威活动，了解人们参加示威的原因以及他们认为投票在本次选举周期中为何如此重要。

一群人聚集在华盛顿特区，距离特朗普提议建造的凯旋门仅几步之遥，抗议总统的几项政策，并鼓励其他人参加中期选举投票。

华盛顿特区的大学生们聚集在林肯纪念堂的台阶上，举着各种各样的标语，从“否决奇多”到“在期中考试前抓住他们”。

杰里迈亚·富恩特斯是乔治城大学的一名18岁大一新生，他与乔治城大学民主党学生会一起参加了此次活动。他说他“非常兴奋”能第一次投票，他最关心的问题是移民和生活成本。

CNN 的拉斐尔·罗莫昨天也在佐治亚州玛丽埃塔市的“反对国王”活动中向选民发表了讲话。当时，人们聚集在一个繁忙的十字路口，举着标语批评特朗普，并鼓励人们投票。

中期选举竞选活动正如火如荼地进行，让我们回顾一下昨天最重要的几项进展。

Jason Whitman/NurPhoto/美联社

距离中期选举还有近两周时间，民主党和共和党候选人昨天在美国各地举行了竞选活动，同时还举行了数千场旨在提高选民投票率的活动。

回顾昨日主要进展：

唐纳德·特朗普总统承诺，如果共和党保住国会，将向肯塔基州的一家制药厂投资 1 亿美元。这是他向支持者承诺的最新礼物，前提是他的政党在 11 月赢得大选。

密歇根州民主党参议员候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德在米德兰市举行了一场市政厅会议，他在会上抨击了枪支政策，并公开谴​​责了伊斯兰政治运动——穆斯林兄弟会。

南卡罗来纳州共和党参议员达琳·格雷厄姆（Darline Graham）被任命填补她已故哥哥的空缺，现在正在竞选完整任期。她因特朗普签署的豁免对俄罗斯化石燃料销售制裁的行政命令而与特朗普决裂。

俄亥俄州州长共和党候选人维韦克·拉马斯瓦米在该州门罗县进行竞选活动，该县在2024年总统大选中为特朗普贡献了近80%的选票。他承诺将成为“我们州历史上最保守的州长”。

“反对国王：提前投票”活动计划在美国所有50个州和波多黎各举行。在华盛顿特区的集会上，参与者举着“别干涉我们的投票权”和“愚蠢无法治愈，但可以通过投票将其淘汰”等标语。

CNN 的 Aleena Fayaz、Gloria Pazmino、Katherine Koretski、Patrick Svitek 和 Kaanita Iyer 对本报道做出了贡献。