Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Though the 2026 midterm elections have been on the horizon for quite a while, by some measures, they are now officially underway: As The Associated Press reported, “In-person voting for this year’s midterm elections began Friday.”
While in-person early voting isn’t yet available everywhere, as the AP’s report noted, “Friday marked the start of early voting in Virginia. Voters in a handful of other states, including Idaho, Minnesota and South Dakota, can cast absentee ballots in person, typically at a local election office or voting center. More expansive early voting is scheduled to begin in those and other states in the coming weeks.”
Election Day is still 45 days away, though early voting options exist in most states.
* In a sign of the times, Kris Kobach, Kansas’ Republican attorney general, said this week that he doesn’t plan to ask Donald Trump for an endorsement.
“I don’t think it’s necessary,” the longtime Trump loyalist said despite the fact that Kobach won four years ago by less than 2% of the vote.
* In Michigan’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, the latest Washington Post/Schar School poll offers Democrats some good news and some bad news. On the one hand, the survey found that 53% of Michigan voters want to elect a Democratic senator, but only 48% support the party’s Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed. On the other hand, the poll nevertheless showed El-Sayed narrowly leading former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, 48% to 45%.
* In Texas’ closely watched U.S. Senate race, the latest Mason/Dixon poll showed Democratic state Rep. James Talarico leading Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton, 46% to 43%, while the latest Siena University poll found Talarico with a slightly larger advantage, 49% to 43%.
As for the Lone Star State’s increasingly unpredictable gubernatorial race, the Mason/Dixon poll found incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott leading Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, 48% to 41%, while the Siena University poll actually showed Hinojosa leading, 49% to 45%.
* Amid chatter that Republicans might find it necessary to give up on North Carolina’s Senate race, the latest Carolina Journal/Harper Polling poll showed former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper leading former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley, 49% to 34%.
* In Louisiana, outgoing Sen. Bill Cassidy said this week that he doesn’t intend to endorse Rep. Julia Letlow, who defeated him in a Republican primary earlier this year.
“She hasn’t asked me for my endorsement. She doesn’t need my endorsement,” the senator said. “She has President Trump’s endorsement.”
The post Friday’s Campaign Round-Up, 9.18.26: Early voting begins as the midterms get underway appeared first on MS NOW.
