According to early-voting export Prof. Michael McDonald, more than 42 million Americans have already voted this year. The pace is similar to the 2018 midterms, when the Democrats flipped 41 House seats. McDonald said that if the pace keeps up, it could exceed the 2018 midterms, which had highest midterm turnout rate since 1914. Early voting is up 30% over 2022.
McDonald said that the turnout is very uneven, with Democrats and independents fully engaged and Republicans much less so. So far, 44% of early voters are Democrats vs. 31% who are Republicans. He also said that young voters and minorities are turning out in large numbers. In fact, he sees very high engagement among Blacks, Latinos, and Asian Americans, but less among whites. He also noted that early voting banks votes that can't change, even if there is some major news today or tomorrow. Nate Silver estimates that at least 40% of Michiganders and Michigeese have already voted, so their votes can't be affected by someone going rogue...
In-person early voting is up more than voting by absentee ballot. This is consistent with more Democrats voting early, with many of them afraid the USPS will intercept and destroy their ballots to please Donald Trump. Voting in person eliminates that threat, even though Trump's threat was to have the USPS seize ballots going to voters, not from voters.
Early voting also varies a lot by state. In Texas, which has hot races for senator and governor, more than 6.3 million had voted as of last Wednesday. That is 50% more than in 2020. Early voting is also up more than 30% compared to 2022 in Kansas, Maine, Michigan, and North Carolina, all of which have Senate races this year. Early voting will taper off now as some states do not allow it up to Election Day.
We'll get a clearer picture of what all this means starting in about 36 hours when many polls close across the Eastern time zone. Voters in Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones have to "run through the tape" and not be influenced by what they may or may not be seeing reported earlier tomorrow night. Every vote counts, every State counts, every race counts.
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke, his chief of staff said in a statement on Sunday.
The 53-year-old Democrat was taken to a hospital on Saturday after he started to feel numbness in his arm while attending his son's hockey game, said Allison Herwitt, Murphy's chief of staff.
Upon examining Murphy, doctors determined he had suffered a stroke, Herwitt said, adding that the senator has been transferred to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
"The doctors are encouraged by his progress, he is awake and alert, and we are optimistic he will make a full recovery," Herwitt said.
No further information was released about Murphy's condition.
For the past several weeks, Murphy has been traveling the country campaigning for Democratic candidates in Tuesday's midterm elections. He was scheduled to appear Sunday with Democratic Senate candidate Chris Pappas in New Hampshire, according to the New Hampshire Democratic Party.
In 2024, Murphy won his third term to serve Connecticut in the U.S. Senate and has been viewed by some Democratic party officials as a possible candidate for president in 2028.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont released a statement on social media on Sunday saying he and his wife, Annie, are keeping Murphy and is family "in our prayers."
"Just two days ago, I was with Senator Chris Murphy doing what he loves most: Encouraging Connecticut residents to make their voices heard and vote on Tuesday," Lamont said. "There is no stronger advocate for our democracy. And no one who fights harder for the people of this state. Chris is a great friend to Connecticut and to me personally."
"I am sure that he will be walking across the state again very soon. And we will all be cheering him on," Lamont added.
He's young and, we trust, in otherwise good health. We hope he makes a swift, full recovery, and that this doesn't affect his future career. Sen. Murphy is one of the best we have, unlike this backstabbing slug --
Rep. Haley Stevens, the Michigan Democrat who narrowly lost her party’s Senate primary in August, endorsed Republican nominee Mike Rogers on Sunday, an extraordinary break with her party two days before an election that could help decide control of the Senate.
Stevens and Rogers arrived separately at Perfecting Church, a prominent Black church in the city, and attended Sunday morning services together. Afterward, Stevens posted a video online saying that Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee who defeated her in the primary, had told her she was no longer welcome in his campaign and should stay away. “And that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today,” she said.
The move set off an exodus from her congressional office. “As of this morning, many members of our team have resigned, including myself,” Justin German, Stevens’ chief of staff for eight years, said in a statement Sunday.
“We are shocked and heartbroken by Congresswoman Stevens’ decision to support Mike Rogers,” German said, adding that he was speaking on behalf of the team “in wholeheartedly supporting Abdul El-Sayed for Senate.”
“I’m sorry people are upset,” Stevens told reporters outside the church as she stood alongside Rogers. “I understand that.”
She also said she was “still a very proud Democrat.”
Hours later, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel wrote on X that Stevens “is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future.”...
This despicable betrayal after assuring party leaders hours earlier that she was still supporting El-Sayed says everything about her stability, character, authenticity, and judgement. Michigan dodged a bullet when it rejected her as the Democratic Senate nominee (another Chuck Schumer pick gone awry). What a selfish, childish excuse for a person. Her political career is in the rear view mirror, guaranteed. Moving on.
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