Live updates: Candidates gear up for high-stakes debates tonight in Georgia, Iowa, Maine and Michigan
Catch up with NBC News Clone on today's hot topic: Trump 2026 Midterm Elections Congress Live Updates Rcna601756 - Politics and Government | NBC News Clone. Our editorial team reformatted this story for clarity and speed.
President Donald Trump traveled to Baltimore to announce a $6.6 billion investment in a new submarine parts factory.
What to know today
- TONIGHT'S DEBATES: Several general election debates are being held tonight, including in the toss-up Senate race in Maine between Republican incumbent Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson and the governor’s races in Georgia, Iowa and Michigan.
- TRUMP IN BALTIMORE: President Donald Trump went to Maryland to announce that the Navy and the defense company Anduril Industries will invest $6.6 billion for a new factory to build submarine parts.
- LATE DELUGE: Republicans are swamping House and Senate races with an unprecedented flood of late ad spending as the party tests whether hundreds of millions of dollars can buy it some reprieve from the eroding political environment that’s threatening longtime Republican states and districts.
- KANSAS SENATE RACE: NBC News chief data analyst Steve Kornacki analyzes the surprisingly tight race for the Senate in Kansas between Republican incumbent Roger Marshall and Democrat Adam Hamilton in this week's subscriber-exclusive newsletter, The Data Dive.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he won't attend Trump rally in San Antonio tomorrow
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who is running for re-election, said today that he will not attend the Trump rally scheduled in San Antonio tomorrow, citing a scheduling conflict.
“Well, first, whenever he does show up, it leads to excitement among the base, and he does a good job of getting the base organized and turning out,” Abbott said.
“Because of the schedule that I run, where I go to multiple cities a day doing events like this, already have events like this scheduled that day, and I will not be able to make it,” he added.
The governor’s absence in a ruby red state comes as some candidates have distanced themselves from Trump as the midterms approach. Abbott’s race is not expected to be competitive, however, and NBC News rates it as “Likely GOP.”
Texas voters get ‘Are you white?’ political texts targeting James Talarico
Several viewers reached out to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth after receiving text messages asking them, “Are you white?” The messages then claim James Talarico called white men “America’s top terror threat” and direct recipients to a political attack website paid for by the American Political Action Committee.
The text messages and attack site reference a comment made by Talarico after a mass shooting in which he said, “Radicalized white men are the greatest domestic terrorist threat in our country.” Talarico was referencing a Department of Homeland Security report released during the first Trump administration that described white supremacist extremists as the “most persistent and lethal” threat among domestic violent extremists.
Talarico ally Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, described the texts as a throwback to the racial politics of the 1980s and 1990s.
Veasey said he believes the messages are an effort to appeal to voters who are frustrated over issues including the war and high prices.
Trump has no plans to campaign in oft-visited Pennsylvania before Election Day
Trump plans to visit 17 states in the closing weeks of the midterm elections. Conspicuously absent from that list: Pennsylvania.
While the state, a top presidential battleground, does not feature a Senate race, it does feature four swing races that could determine control of the House. What’s more, a prospective 2028 presidential contender, Gov. Josh Shapiro, is seeking another term in office, though his re-election bid against Trump-backed state Treasurer Stacy Garrity is not expected to be particularly competitive.
Still, it’s a departure from every election cycle Trump has been a part of since he launched his first presidential bid more than a decade ago. Pennsylvania is one of his most-visited states, and it’s where he was nearly assassinated in 2024.
The four swing House races — all featuring Republican incumbents — are in districts that range from toss-ups to places Trump won more comfortably in 2024.
In May, Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who represents Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, told NBC News that “should the president choose to come back to Northeastern Pennsylvania, we’re absolutely going to welcome him.” Trump won Bresnahan’s district by more than 8 percentage points in 2024.
Of course, a last-minute change to Trump’s schedule could still be announced, so it can’t be entirely written off that he will appear in the Keystone State. But the state’s absence from his list of planned visits is still notable.
Trump doesn't say whether he'll reimburse government for taxpayer-funded political ads
Trump today equivocated on whether he will reimburse the federal government for the taxpayer money already spent on TV ads that cast him in a favorable light after he reversed course yesterday and said he and his PAC would pay for the ads going forward.
Anna Moneymaker / Getty
Asked by NBC News at the White House whether he would reimburse those funds, Trump said: “The ads, the ads were really good. They were promotions for the country done by many presidents before, so we’ll decide.”
The spots, some of which were identical to 2024 Trump campaign ads, came under fire from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. The White House declined to answer yesterday whether Trump and his super PAC, MAGA Inc., would reimburse the government for the ads that have already run.
The political tracking firm AdImpact has estimated that the government spent at least $10 million on the ads, which were paid for by money intended for Customs and Border Protection. Senior leaders at the agency, were cut out of the decision to use the funds for ads.
NBC News previously reported that a $20 million contract for the ads was awarded to a Maryland-based firm.
Two key groups launch Latino voter turnout operation in South Texas
Latino voters are upset about the cost of living and immigration enforcement operations, according to polls and interviews. Whether they actually show up to vote in November — and in what numbers — is another question.
Voters wait outside a polling place in McAllen, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2024. Michael Gonzalez / Getty
Getting Latinos to the polls next month is a central push of two of the largest Latino advocacy organizations in the country, the Voto Latino Foundation and the Hispanic Federation, according to plans first shared with NBC News. This week, the groups are launching a six-figure get-out-the-vote operation that specifically targets Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, where they estimate that nearly 316,000 Latinos who could vote did not participate in the 2024 election.
PAC aligned with Senate GOP spending $14 million on Kansas Senate race
The Senate Leadership Fund, which is aligned with Senate GOP leadership, is spending at least $14 million on negative ads targeting the Democratic candidate in the competitive Kansas Senate race, according to a SLF spokesperson.
Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican, is squaring off against Adam Hamilton, a Republican-turned-Democrat megachurch pastor and first-time candidate. Democrats have not won a Senate race in the state since 1932.
Hamilton has garnered bipartisan support, with two Republican former governors and Marshall’s opponent in the GOP primary backing him.
The Cook Political Report has shifted the race toward Democrats, changing its rating from “Lean Republican” to “Toss Up” this afternoon, signaling trouble for Marshall.
The PAC canceled its ad spending in the North Carolina Senate race, NBC News reported last week. That money will now be redirected to other red states it hopes to defend.
Republican group cuts ad reservations in Nebraska's 'Blue Dot' House district
The super PACs aligned with House Republican and Democratic leadership are slashing ad spending reservations in Nebraska's 2nd District, one of the hardest districts for Republicans to defend this fall.
Republicans had been hopeful that Omaha City Council member Brinker Harding could have a chance to defeat Democratic activist Denise Powell in a seat that Republican Rep. Don Bacon has held over the years. But Bacon's retirement gave Republicans a tall task in a seat former Vice President Kamala Harris won by almost 5 points in 2024, and both the House Majority PAC and the Congressional Leadership Fund have cut more than $1 million in spending there in the last day.
Justice Department tells employees to adopt Trump’s AI rebrand
Jacquelyn Martin / AP
A top Trump administration official has told the Justice Department to adopt Trump’s rebranding of artificial intelligence, or AI, as “super intelligence,” or “SI,” four people familiar with the matter told NBC News.
In a memo titled "Super Intelligence" sent to Justice Department employees today, acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter referred to Trump’s Sept. 29 executive order that said the term “Super Intelligence” more appropriately captured “the promise, potential, and rapidly advancing capabilities” of AI technologies.
FBI says contractor failure led to hack of its jobs website
Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
The FBI’s internal review of a hack of its jobs portal last month has so far determined that a “security failure” by a contractor managing the site caused the breach.
“To date, our review has determined that the incident occurred as the result of a security failure of a platform managed by a third-party organization — after a contractor failed to implement a security patch explicitly issued to secure the platform,” Cyber Division Assistant Director Brett Leatherman said in a statement today.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will skip Trump's manufacturing announcement in Baltimore
Shannon Finney / NBC
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is not attending Trump’s announcement of a new ship manufacturing facility in Baltimore this afternoon, a project the administration pledges will create thousands of jobs and lead to billions in annual economic output.
According to a source familiar with the plans, Moore, a Democrat, was blocked from speaking at the announcement.
His spokesperson told NBC News: “Governor Moore has always said he will work with anyone when it comes to delivering for Marylanders but bow to no one when it comes to standing up for them. The Governor is proud to welcome Anduril to Baltimore County and the thousands of permanent jobs this investment is bringing to our state.”
A White House official said Moore “was not slated to speak” at the event but was invited to attend.
The official added: “President Trump is willing to work with anyone to revitalize our manufacturing sector, which is why the White House graciously invited Governor Moore to attend today’s event as a guest. It’s unfortunate that the Governor is now making a multi-billion dollar announcement about himself by throwing a tantrum over a federal initiative that will bring sorely needed jobs back to his state thanks to President Trump.”
Latino voters feel buyer’s remorse in battleground Texas
In downtown San Antonio’s historic Market Square, Arturo Flores paces in front of his shop’s handmade horse saddles and leather belts, waiting for customers who aren’t coming.
“The people is not coming. You see, the market is empty,” said Flores, whose first language is Spanish. “Another time, at this time, is a lot of people over here. Yeah, but now it’s empty.”
Much of Flores’ business comes from migrant workers, who filled area flea markets and spent money there. The traffic at those markets has dried up to the point where Flores can no longer afford his booth.
The timing of his drop in business correlates directly with the Trump administration’s mass deportation program. Many migrant workers, even those with proper paperwork, fear being caught up in Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. The result, Texans said in interviews, is fewer people available to work and spend money in a border state like this one.
Michigan House candidates propose differing approaches to regulating AI
In their televised debate, Republican Rep. Tom Barrett and Democratic nominee William Lawrence both called for AI regulations to combat cybercrime, but they outlined different approaches.
Barrett and Lawrence were asked how they would choose to crack down on such crimes.
Barrett said the government and law enforcement must impose harsher punishments for cybercriminals.
“We need robust protections at the FBI, at the Department of Justice, to go after cybercriminals who are preying on Americans,” he said. “These are all things that are very serious. It’s why I support robust law enforcement efforts.”
Lawrence called for pausing AI advancements, saying the technology is "a hacker’s dream, making it easier to scam all of us or hack into secure systems."
“What we need to do is have a process to ensure that AI is deployed safely,” he continued. “So my Stop Tech Overreach Plan would put a pause on advanced AI development because the whistleblowers in Silicon Valley, they’re raising the alarm.”
Lawrence also called for an international treaty to regulate the technology "so that we can ensure that we treat this like other global threats, like nuclear weapons.”
While Barrett said he agreed with Lawrence's point that “we need robust protections for artificial intelligence,” he echoed Trump's often-stated reason to keep AI development going at a fast pace to maintain global leadership on the technology.
“If we simply stand down, our foreign adversaries — the Chinese, Russians and others who are perpetrating all of these cyberattacks against the United States — will only go grow stronger in that effort, with no ability for us to defend ourselves.”
Barrett recently also called for an international agreement on AI, sending a letter asking Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz to work with other nations to put guardrails on the technology.
Former Olympic canoeist asks government watchdogs to probe ‘nightmare’ Reflecting Pool case
A former Olympic canoeist was wrongly charged with causing felony damage to Trump’s renovations of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and lived through a “nightmare” because of “the incompetence and wrongdoing” of Justice Department and Interior Department employees, his attorneys said in a letter today.
David “Davey” Hearn is demanding investigations into the case by watchdogs at both departments, days after a judge barred the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, from ever bringing Reflecting Pool-related charges against Hearn.
FBI whistleblower says White House pushed unconstitutional probe of protesters
The Trump administration pushed the FBI to investigate Los Angeles protesters in violation of their constitutional rights and the bureau’s policies, a former FBI supervisor alleges in a new whistleblower complaint.
Jill Fields, a former supervisory intelligence analyst in the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, made a formal whistleblower complaint to Senate Judiciary Committee leaders over the federal response to anti-ICE protest activity around federal buildings, as well as in a residential area, early last year.
Candidates in Michigan's 7th Congressional District address data center debate and Iran war
In a debate between Michigan 7th district congressional candidates this morning, Rep. Tom Barrett, a Republican, touted a bipartisan data center bill he cosponsored.
Barrett joined Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, on the bill to make sure "data center plans are negotiated in public, not behind closed doors," the news release said.
"It is my position and my firm position that local residents have to have the ultimate decision about whether or not to have a data center built in their community," Barrett said, pointing to his legislative efforts.
Meanwhile, his opponent, Democrat William Lawrence, has been a staunch critic of data centers.
"As residents across the political spectrum — Democrats, Independents, and Republicans — have been fighting back and saying, 'No, we don’t want this in our communities,' he stuck his finger up into the wind and he saw which way it was blowing," Lawrence said of his opponent. “He did a complete 180 on this issue.” Lawrence referred to the House Republicans' passage of incentives for businesses, including major tech companies, in the GOP's sweeping tax cut and spending bill that Trump signed last year.
Data centers and artificial intelligence have emerged as a key mobilizing issue ahead of the midterm elections.
Separately, Lawrence slammed the war in Iran and argued that Barrett has not "offered any meaningful opposition" to it.
"We can’t afford for this war to continue, and I will fight to bring it to an end," he said later.
Barrett pointed to his vote on a non-binding resolution directing Trump to end the war if he did not get congressional approval for it.
"This was not a vote of convenience for me, this was one of conviction," Barrett said, pointing to his time in the Army.
"I saw friends that came home struggling after the effects of war," he added. "I’m the only one on this stage who’s actually been to war to see the the devastating effects that that causes. I take that responsibility very seriously."
California officials condemn Trump for saying Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles or San Diego
California officials denounced Trump for saying at a campaign rally in Nebraska on Monday that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles or San Diego, calling his remarks “deranged” and “irresponsible.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom in Los Angeles in 2025. Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty
In an apparent reference to the effect of the Iran war on U.S. prices, Trump said, “Remember, with the war, it’s just artificial. It’s a little bit high. It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe.”
“They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego,” Trump said, drawing cheers from the crowd.
Debates tonight in Maine Senate race, several governor's races
Several general election debates are being held tonight, including in the toss-up Senate race in Maine between Republican incumbent Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson, and the governor’s races in Michigan, Georgia, and Iowa.
In the governor's races, Democrat Jocelyn Benson and Republican John James are squaring off in Michigan, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson in Georgia, and Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn in Iowa.
Trump to announce a new submarine parts factory in Maryland
Trump will will announce at a shipyard in Baltimore County, Maryland, today that the Navy and the defense company Anduril Industries will invest $6.6 billion for a new facility to build submarine parts, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said.
Baltimore County was selected because of its access to the water and proximity to other shipbuilding facilities on the east coast, an industry official said, who added the factory would not start production for a couple of years.
Kelly said the plant would create more than 13,000 direct and indirect jobs and lead to $2 billion in annual economic output.
The president has made a series of trips in recent days to make economic announcements or campaign for Republican candidates as the midterm elections approach. Within the past week, he has traveled to Texas, Alabama, Ohio and Nebraska, and tomorrow, he will head back to Texas.
Top Republican super PAC pledges $5 million for South Carolina Senate race
The top Republican super PAC involved in Senate races is planning to spend $5 million in South Carolina, a source familiar with the spending confirmed to NBC News on Tuesday.
The injection of funds from the Senate Leadership Fund, a group aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is the latest sign that the race between GOP Sen. Darline Graham and Democratic pediatrician Annie Andrews is competitive. The outlay was first reported by Axios.
Sen. Darline Graham following her primary win on Aug. 25. Megan Varner / Getty
After bipartisan criticism, Trump says taxpayers’ dollars will no longer be used for TV ads promoting him
In a major reversal, Trump said yesterday that he and his super PAC will now pay for campaign-style ads that promote his administration, instead of using federal funds.
Trump made the announcement on Truth Social after intense criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, some of whom questioned the legality of using taxpayer dollars for pro-Trump ads.
Abdul El-Sayed sees his race potentially influencing 2028 presidential candidacies
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan, told donors at a closed-door fundraiser in New York City last night that his race could play a significant role in the trajectory of the 2028 presidential cycle, an attendee told NBC News.
El-Sayed, this person said, drew the connection between his race and the presidential contest because of Michigan’s status as an early primary state in the Democratic nominating calendar, as well as its being a presidential battleground. Should El-Sayed win, he said, it would show that candidates who hail from the party’s left flank have viability in a key battleground, this person said.
El-Sayed’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
El-Sayed is locked in a tight race with Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers that could determine control of the Senate.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., also spoke at the fundraiser, outlining the stakes of the race for the left, this person said, adding that El-Sayed offered her effusive praise.
Others in attendance included Donavan McKinney, Claire Valdez and Chris Rabb, state legislators in Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania, respectively, who knocked off center-left Democrats in competitive House primaries this year, the attendee said, adding that former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio also attended the fundraiser.
The Data Dive: Steve Kornacki on how Kansas became a surprise midterm battleground
The Sunflower State has emerged as perhaps the unlikeliest Senate battleground this year, with Republican Sen. Roger Marshall locked in a surprisingly tight contest with Democrat Adam Hamilton. Kansas hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932, and it has sided with every GOP presidential nominee since 1968.
And yet, a New York Times/Siena poll over the weekend gives Marshall, who has faced scrutiny over his residency status, a scant edge of 1 percentage point, 47% to 46%. The national implications of a Hamilton win would be enormous, dramatically increasing the likelihood of Democrats’ regaining control of the Senate. (Remember, the party needs a net gain of four seats to win the majority, which means it has to successfully defend every seat Democrats currently possess and flip four more.)
Local political polarization is rising sharply ahead of the midterms, survey finds
Local officials from around the country are reporting a spike in political polarization within their communities in the months leading up to the midterm elections, with the high cost of living a top driver, a new survey shared first with NBC News has found.
The results of the more than 1,200-person survey, conducted over the summer by the nonprofit research firm CivicPulse, show that 41% of local officials reported “substantial negative effects” of polarization, about a 10-point spike from the organization’s three previous surveys. The reported levels of polarization differed depending on the size of the community, with 49% of local officials in towns with more than 50,000 residents reporting more, compared to 39% of local officials in smaller communities.
Republicans fight red-state midterm chaos with hundreds of millions in late money
Republicans are swamping House and Senate races with an unprecedented flood of late ad spending as the party tests whether hundreds of millions of dollars can buy it some reprieve from the eroding political environment that’s threatening longtime Republican states and districts.
Since the start of September, Republicans have made more than $700 million worth of new advertising bookings in congressional races alone, according to an NBC News analysis of data from AdImpact, a political ad-tracking firm. That’s new money on top of what had already been committed to those races in ad reservations made over the summer.
By comparison, Democrats booked more than $430 million in new ad reservations across those races last month.
