The four debates in Maine’s U.S. Senate race, between incumbent Republican Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson, are over. Early voting is underway. And while Jackson survived the quartet of clashes, the race remains as close as ever.

Debate expectations for Jackson were between middling and low. His down-home style was compared to the senator’s highly polished vibe. He had far less experience in high-profile debates. But ultimately Collins and Jackson both effectively delivered their core messages.

As in previous campaigns, Collins tried to claim the mantle of bipartisanship and argue that only she can deliver for Maine. She shared laundry lists of bills she worked on and specific projects helping towns. (Her campaign also focuses on this in ads; I even received a detailed text to my phone claiming credit for “$59 million for the City of Bangor.”)

“Sen. Collins is like an arsonist who helped set the fire and then she wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put it out,” Jackson said in the first debate.

Jackson took both parts of Collins’ case head on. He again noted Collins’ record of backing Trump 96% of the time, contrary to her assertions of bipartisanship. He contended that Collins’ deliverables are woefully insufficient compared to the cuts she has backed. “Sen. Collins is like an arsonist who helped set the fire and then she wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put it out,” he said in the first debate.

Three debates later, Collins herself helped the case against her bipartisan bonafides. A moderator asked her to identify a time when a vote against Republicans changed the outcome. Collins muffed. She cited opposition she organized to Pete Hegseth’s nomination as defense secretary, which failed after one senator, North Carolina’s Thom Tillis, changed his mind at the last minute. “So that didn’t change the outcome,” one of the moderators replied.

Jackson’s arsonist comparison was not the only memorable image he conjured. After Collins bragged that she stopped Canadian tariffs on road salt, the Democrat replied, “We can’t eat road salt.” Memes proliferated featuring images of a truck carrying road salt labeled as “Meals on Wheels” and Collins pictured as Marie Antoinette saying, “Let them eat road salt.” A Mainer at the Fryeburg Fair confronted Collins with Jackson’s remark.

Beyond its virality online, Jackson’s remark bore real-world heft. Food prices are up and heating oil prices soared 81% since last year. Often using examples about himself and others, Jackson focused on understanding working people, the necessity of a better healthcare system and fighting oligarchic power. He has also challenged Collins’ contention that he would not be able to help Maine like her.

Democrats have often accused the Maine press of catering to Collins, publicizing stories about her securing money for Maine while not covering her contradictions. This year is different.

None of the aforementioned exchanges got the most national attention, though. The one that grabbed out-of-state headlines arose after a protester with a fake press pass interrupted the last forum to rail against the environmental impact of data centers and corporations’ financial power. Collins quickly and without evidence claimed, “So this is obviously one of Troy’s supporters.”

“Oh, shut up. I don’t even know that kid,” Jackson replied.

“Oh, right,” Collins answered.

In a very close race like this election, any moment can matter. But it is striking that, afterward, many Mainers did not find Jackson’s remark problematic. Journalist Kevin Miller of Maine Public Radio wrote that Jackson’s comment was “more flippant than mean-spirited. The two rivals even seemed to exchange snarky smiles before the debate quickly resumed without future disruption.” On a post-debate panel, reporter Rob Caldwell said that, given the negativity of the campaign, the candidates were “going to get ticked off. If they didn’t they wouldn’t be human. … There are a lot of worse things that they could have said.” Callers to a radio show the following day were divided over whether Jackson was rude or had rightly responded with a Maine “shaddup.”

Jackson’s remark was not what the Bangor Daily News highlighted in its front page after the final debate. Instead, the paper focused on Collins saying, “I think our democracy will be just fine,” while Jackson judged American democracy as “at risk” and observed that “Donald Trump is trying every trick in the book to keep power.”

Democrats have often accused the Maine press of catering to Collins, publicizing stories about her securing money for Maine while not covering her contradictions. This year is different. Jackson’s criticisms of Collins’ conflicting votes are getting coverage, and the press is highlighting pay-for-play corruption allegations and examining the dark-money billionaires disproportionately benefiting Collins.

The two campaigns have not been the same and probably will stay that way. Jackson is holding high-profile events with Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Collins’ most high-profile visitor is former Sen. Joe Manchin. Trump has not come and Collins would not want him. While Jackson uses his events to recruit canvassers and grow his field operation, Collins is helped by canvassers paid by Elon Musk.

Maine voters seem sick of the barrage of ads. Jackson’s grassroots operation and earned media look stronger.

Jackson closed with a “who’s on your side” message — the billionaires or the Maine people. Some ads feature past Collins voters who support Jackson now. Some of these voters cite Collins’ vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Collins is defending her Kavanaugh vote by saying that, despite his track record, she could not know he would overturn Roe v. Wade.

National Republicans’ closing message features sharply negative advertising claiming Jackson bullies women, calling him “a creep” and even attacking his relationship with Lana Pelletier, his longtime partner and the mother of his children. (The Collins campaign asked for the ad to be taken down but critics noted that Collins brought up Jackson’s family in a September interview in Politico and Pelletier has spoken out against the personal attack.)

Maine voters seem sick of the barrage of ads. Jackson’s grassroots operation and earned media look stronger, and Republicans are facing the same headwinds in Maine as elsewhere. But it is never easy to defeat an incumbent and Collins’ brand is strong.

Mainers will have to decide if they want to re-elect Collins, who thinks our republic is not threatened by Trump but brings targeted resources to Maine, or if they pick Jackson, a self-described “working-class guy with a funny accent” who pledges to change policies, lift up all Mainers and protect our constitutional order.

The post Troy Jackson survived his debates with Susan Collins. Here’s what to watch for in the final days. appeared first on MS NOW.

Top Democrats and allied organizations filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against President Donald Trump and his administration over their attempts to stymie the midterm elections, including by removing voters from state rolls.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., were among the plaintiffs who filed the suit against Trump, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia. The 44-page complaint takes aim at recent demands from DHS — notably in Nevada and California — that states review lists compiled by federal officials of alleged noncitizen voters.

As the complaint notes, state officials have disputed the accuracy of those lists.

The lawsuit points to Trump’s Truth Social threat earlier this week threatening that election officials in LA County “will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!” if they count the votes of alleged noncitizens. It cites another from U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Aaron Reitz, who said in a social media post on Monday that he would “hunt” and “prosecute” anyone who violates federal election law.

“DOJ’s recent actions confirm that Defendants have settled on a course of intimidating state election officials with threats of criminal prosecution for doing nothing more than adhering to state law and distributing ballots to registered voters,” states the complaint, filed 13 days before the midterms.

The filing alleges the administration’s efforts to wrest control of elections from the states, combined with federal officials’ threats toward local and state officials, violate the Voting Rights Act and constitutional principles that prevent the federal government from forcing states to enact, administer or enforce federal laws.

In addition to Schumer and Jeffries, the plaintiffs include the Democrats’ House and Senate campaign arms, the Democratic Governors Association, the Nevada Democratic Party and Erick Jose Jimenez, a registered California voter who the lawsuit says became a naturalized citizen 20 years ago but fears he could be falsely labeled as a noncitizen and “unlawfully targeted” as a result.

The defendants also include Attorney General Todd Blanche, who has said he would “absolutely” consider taking the issue to the Supreme Court; and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who has said his department will penalize states that do not cooperate with the federal government’s demands. The plaintiffs are asking the court to find the defendants in violation of the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act and to block them from continuing those actions.

“None of this is lawful,” the complaint states. “The Executive Branch enjoys no authority to superintend state voter list maintenance, to supplant state determinations of who is qualified to vote, or to dictate who gets a ballot or whose ballot gets segregated — Congress has kept that responsibility with the States, subject only to a narrow civil enforcement power the administration has declined to invoke during its recent efforts.”

The lawsuit represents the latest challenge to the administration’s efforts to compel states to hand over their voter rolls, which federal courts have also unanimously struck down. Democrats and elections experts have said these efforts could undermine trust in the upcoming elections. But federal officials have persisted, including by filing a lawsuit against California election officials last week.

Trump administration officials slammed the allegations included in the latest lawsuit.

White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said “Democrats and the media continue to dismiss concerns about voter fraud,“ adding, “The Trump Administration is taking decisive lawful action to protect our elections including prosecuting election crimes, strengthening election infrastructure security, and protecting vulnerable voters from fraud and coercion.”

DOJ spokesperson Kirsten Pels said “election integrity is a top priority” for the administration, adding, “Every action the Department has taken to protect the integrity of this year’s elections is grounded in the law and being litigated in open court. Ensuring that only eligible citizens vote and that every lawful ballot is counted a requirement of federal law.”

A spokesperson for DHS called the lawsuit “another political stunt by Democrats.”

The case has been assigned to Chief Judge James “Jeb” Boasberg, an Obama appointee who presided over the first lawsuit challenging the deportation and imprisonment of alleged Tren de Aragua gang members. During an emergency hearing in March 2025, Boasberg ordered that no additional flights to El Salvador could take off; Trump subsequently called him a “Radical Left Lunatic.”

Boasberg was also the subject of a judicial misconduct complaint filed by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi’s chief of staff in July 2025, based on his alleged comments during a panel conversation at the annual Judicial Conference. According to the complaint, Boasberg predicted that the administration “would ‘disregard rulings of federal courts’ and trigger ‘a constitutional crisis.’” The chief judge of the 6th Circuit, Jeffrey Sutton, dismissed that complaint earlier this year.

Lisa Rubin and Selena Kuznikov contributed to this report.

CORRECTION (Oct. 21, 2026, 10:31 p.m. ET):
A previous version of this article misrepresented a statement from White House spokesperson Lauren Bis. Bis claimed that “Democrats and the media” dismiss concerns about voter fraud, but she did not herself dismiss voter fraud concerns.

The post Democrats sue Trump for ‘intimidating’ state election officials appeared first on MS NOW.

Incumbent Mike Lawler is fending off a challenge from Democrat Cait Conley in state’s 17th congressional district

• US politics live – latest updates

Elon Musk’s Super Pac has spent more than $500,000 in New York’s highly competitive 17th congressional district race to help Mike Lawler, the Republican incumbent, hold on to his seat.

Lawler, a moderate Republican, is fending off a challenge from Democrat Cait Conley in the Hudson valley. It is among the most-watched races that could determine whether Republicans hold on to their majority in Congress.

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© Photograph: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

© Photograph: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

© Photograph: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Police claim Brad Lander and 80 other activists didn't coordinate, despite IDF maps showing no coordination needed in area; Israel accuses Lander of 'harvesting headlines'

FIRST ON FOX: Cuban-American lawmakers are welcoming a Florida arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raúl Castro over his alleged role in the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft, saying the move marks a new step toward accountability for the communist regime and vowing to keep fighting for freedom on the island.

The warrant comes after Ariana Fajardo Orshan, chief judge of Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit, found probable cause to believe Castro conspired to commit first-degree murder in connection with the shootdown of two Miami-based civilian aircraft involved in a humanitarian operation near Cuba in 1996.

"As the only Cuban-born member of Congress, this moment is deeply personal," Rep. Carlos Giménez, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. "For decades, Raúl Castro and his communist regime have oppressed the Cuban people while evading accountability."

Giménez described the warrant as a "powerful message" in the "pursuit of justice," adding that those responsible for the suffering of the Cuban people could soon "answer for their crimes."

"No previous administration has taken this historic step, and our community is eternally grateful for it," he continued. "For the millions of Cubans who have suffered under this tyranny, including those of us forced into exile, this represents a significant moment in our decades-long struggle for freedom."

CUBAN AMERICAN LAWMAKERS WARN CUBA IS CLOSER THAN EVER TO REGIME CHANGE UNDER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier told Fox News Digital that Castro allegedly "ordered" the "premeditated, state-sanctioned murder of four Floridians in cold blood," calling the warrant "a step toward accountability" for the conspiracy that led to the deaths of Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Peña and Armando Alejandre Jr.

Uthmeier’s office said the warrant could limit Castro’s ability to travel to countries that have extradition agreements with the United States.

OBAMA’S BASEBALL OUTING WITH CASTRO REIGNITES FURY AFTER TRUMP DOJ DROPS HAMMER ON CUBAN LEADER

Giménez said that although the warrant is "historic," he and other lawmakers will continue fighting until Cuba’s "political prisoners are released" and the "Cuban people can determine their own destiny."

Florida state Rep. Juan Porras, another Cuban American lawmaker, said the warrant shows that Florida "will never forget" the victims of the communist regime’s atrocities.

CUBA’S DICTATORSHIP HAS LONG BEEN A THREAT TO AMERICA. NOW, IT’S FINALLY TEETERING

"Thank you to the Miami judge who signed a state arrest warrant for Raúl Castro for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder," Porras told Fox News Digital. "Thirty years later, justice is still moving, but the work is not done. Cuba is not free yet, and we will not stop until it is."

"Cuba will be free," Porras added in Spanish.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The warrant stems from the Feb. 24, 1996, shootdown of two unarmed aircraft operated by Brothers to the Rescue over international waters. Four people were killed in the attack. Castro, who was Cuba’s defense minister at the time, was federally indicted earlier this year in connection with the deaths.

Abdul El-Sayed’s past support for Muslim Brotherhood protesters in Egypt is raising eyebrows in Congress after a former staffer for the left-wing Michigan Senate candidate says he's angling for a seat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if elected in November.

Two Republican panel members said there is no place on the committee for "radical views" held by El-Sayed, who has associated with controversial streamer Hasan Piker but has attempted during his bid for office to distance himself from the socialist arm of the Democratic Party.

"A man with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, who cheered their takeover of Egypt 15 years ago, and who campaigns with people saying America deserved 9/11, should not come anywhere near the U.S. Senate — and especially not the Foreign Relations Committee," Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who serves on the power panel, told Fox News Digital.

Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., another member of the committee, responded to the controversy on X over the weekend.

TRUMP LINKS MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE ABDUL EL-SAYED TO MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD: 'HE'S A CON MAN'

"El-Sayed says he’s running on affordability, so why does he want a seat on @SenateForeign?" McCormick wrote. "I sit on that committee, and someone with El-Sayed's radical views has no business on it."

McCormick’s post came in response to a report by The Midwesterner that featured comments from Jordan Domingue, who worked as El-Sayed’s security chief during his 2018 campaign for Michigan governor.

"It is extremely difficult to comprehend how dangerous this can be if he is elected," Domingue wrote on X. "It’s especially troubling knowing that despite no foreign policy experience, he REALLY wants a seat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee."

In 2011, while working as an assistant professor at Columbia University, El-Sayed wrote an op-ed for The Huffington Post urging the Obama administration to support protesters associated with Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.

ABDUL EL-SAYED GROWS AGITATED WITH REPORTER AFTER BEING PRESSED ON FAMILY'S ALLEGED MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD TIES

El-Sayed argued that supporting the protesters was in the U.S. interest and wrote that even if the Muslim Brotherhood overthrew Egypt’s government, the resulting state would not necessarily resemble Iran.

"It is in America’s interest to support Egyptian protesters’ efforts to achieve the ability to speak their mind and have a say in how they are governed," El-Sayed wrote . "If the U.S. truly wants to be the beacon of justice and liberty that it claims it does, it would behoove the Obama administration to fall decisively behind the protesters in Egypt."

In a recent town hall, however, El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrant parents, said he does disavow the Muslim Brotherhood. His campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request about his 2011 op-ed about protesters.

The Muslim Brotherhood-backed government took power in Egypt in 2012 but was ousted by the military in 2013.

'POD SAVE AMERICA' HOSTS WARN EL-SAYED TO TONE DOWN 'CONDESCENSION' ON MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD QUESTIONS

El-Sayed has throughout his campaign emphasized healthcare, lowering gas and grocery prices and addressing the cost-of-living crisis, as noted by McCormick in his post about the candidate's reported interest in the Foreign Relations Committee.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

"It shouldn’t be this hard to get by in the richest, most powerful country in the world," El-Sayed said during his primary campaign against Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.

McCormick wonders why, given that context, El-Sayed would be gunning for a spot on a committee that deals solely with issues related to U.S. foreign relations.

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

* With less than two weeks remaining in the election cycle, and with early voting underway in much of the country, a new national poll from The New York Times and Siena University offers nothing but good news for Democrats.

For example, the survey found Democrats with an 11-poing advantage over Republicans on the generic congressional ballot, 52% to 41%. The same poll showed Democrats ahead on every major issue, as well as big leads on questions such as which party “understands the problems facing people like me,” best represents “the working class,” can “fix the problems facing people like me” and “keeps its promises.”

The latest national CNN poll pointed in largely the same direction and showed Democrats ahead on the generic congressional ballot by 10 points, 49% to 39%.

* As if Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas weren’t already struggling enough, an MS NOW analysis of the incumbent’s campaign-finance filings found that the senator still has no one on his campaign payroll, reinforcing ongoing concerns that Marshall is using his taxpayer-funded Senate staff for campaign purposes.

* In Michigan’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, the latest Marist poll found Democrat Abdul El-Sayed with a narrow lead over former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, 50% to 48%.

* Donald Trump held a campaign rally in North Carolina on Tuesday on behalf of Senate hopeful Michael Whatley, though the president seemed to concede that he expects former Gov. Roy Cooper to win the race. “He’s going to become your senator and it’s crazy,” Trump said, referring to the Democratic nominee.

* Though several billionaires have already taken steps to give Republicans a boost in the midterm elections, one notable billionaire is suddenly stepping up on behalf of Democrats: Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a new $80 million investment in support of Democratic efforts to reclaim a congressional majority.

* In case campaign ads created by artificial intelligence weren’t bad enough, Democrats are fighting GOP-led efforts to use AI-generated robocalls ahead of this year’s elections.

* Florida Republicans are so concerned about a new Democratic ad highlighting the Hope Florida scandal that GOP officials are threatening to criminally prosecute television stations that air the commercial.

Meanwhile, in Florida’s gubernatorial race, the Democratic Governors Association is making a new $1 million investment in support of Rep. David Jolly’s candidacy. And on Tuesday, Bill Clinton campaigned with Jolly in the former president’s first appearance of the cycle.

* And in New Hampshire’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, former Sen. John Sununu has a new attack ad that takes aim at House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, despite the fact that the California Democrat hasn’t been a congressional leader in nearly four years, and despite the fact that she’s retiring this year. This won’t help the Republican candidate shake off criticisms that he’s more focused on the past than the future.

The post Wednesday’s Campaign Round-Up, 10.21.26: Democrats’ lead grows on the generic ballot appeared first on MS NOW.

At an unrelated event in the Oval Office, Donald Trump wasn’t asked about Sen. Elissa Slotkin, but the president apparently felt the need to lash out at the Michigan Democrat anyway.

Trump says that Sen. Slotkin "should be tried … we'll see what happens"

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-10-20T19:06:12.877Z

“The senator from Michigan made a statement yesterday that was amazing, where they want to frighten people, young people from ever working in the Trump administration or a Republican administration, that they want to go and they want to frighten people,” he said.

Trump added that “even the most liberal commentators” were amazed by Slotkin, whom the president described as a “stupid person” who “made a statement that was very, very dangerous.”

Then, taking it still further, Trump said the senator “should be tried for what she did,” although he didn’t elaborate on what crime he believes Slotkin had committed.

It’s likely that many of those who heard the president’s remark had no idea what he was talking about, even if the Republican’s message was likely well received in some far-right circles.

What Slotkin actually said wasn’t especially remarkable. Last week (the president got the date wrong), the senator spoke at an academic event at the University of Chicago, where she made a brief, unscripted comment about accountability for those who work within a corrupt bureaucracy and discouraged younger people from joining corrupt bureaucracies.

“I want young people coming out of school to say, ‘Should I go work for the Trump administration?’” she said. “I want them to be like, ‘Lord, that might be buying myself a ton of problems that I don’t want, and so let me avoid participating in that.’”

The senator added that meaningful congressional oversight should focus not just on Trump, but on officials who’ve “enabled him” and are “doing his bidding.”

As the discussion continued, Vox’s Astead Herndon noted that Trump has put loyalists in key positions, making it difficult to hold him accountable, at which point Slotkin made the case that shining a light on White House corruption would likely discourage people from joining the administration in its final two years.

The Michigan Democrat made these rather anodyne comments on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and no one seemed to care. No articles about Slotkin’s remarks appeared in any major news organizations the next day, and no one had reason to think presidential threats of prosecution would soon emerge.

But as The Atlantic’s Jon Chait noted, it was roughly five days after the event that “a tidal wave of conservative outrage suddenly crashed over” the senator, with condemnations coming from Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and a variety of conservative media voices. Trump himself told reporters earlier this week, “Slotkin said that there should be prosecutions in order to scare people from going into politics.”

Except that never happened. The president attributed made-up comments to the senator, since the benign truth wasn’t good enough to sustain a credible smear.

Stepping back, a few elements to this nonsensical “controversy” stand out. First, the degree to which Trump and his party appear terrified of any scrutiny, accountability or congressional oversight into corruption allegations is tough to miss.

Second, Republicans are so desperate to make the case that Democrats are trying to weaponize government — even as Republicans themselves brazenly weaponize government to a degree without modern precedent — that they’re forced to concoct absurdities like these.

And third, this is a classic example of how the right manages to manufacture outrage out of nothing. “So here’s how the game works,” The New Republic’s Greg Sargent explained. “Right-wing propagandists dishonestly clip a Democrat’s comments to conjure up the impression of a dark plot to persecute supporters of Donald Trump. A bunch of them post on it with an algorithmic boost from Elon Musk. Soon the sheer noise itself vaults the story out of the right-wing ecosphere and into mainstream coverage, where the evenhanded airing of both sides’ ‘positions’ transforms it into a ‘controversy.’ Paydirt!”

As for whether Trump’s Justice Department, which already launched one failed effort to prosecute Slotkin, agrees that the senator “should be tried for what she did,” watch this space.

The post How (and why) Republicans manufactured a faux controversy about Elissa Slotkin appeared first on MS NOW.

Democrats are calling for an investigation into SpaceX CEO Elon Musk following a Wall Street Journal report alleging he ordered the Starlink slowdown in Ukraine. “Either the President was lying or Musk was lying, but the decision to slow down satellite speed and access has life or death consequences for Ukraine,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)…

Democrats are calling for an investigation into SpaceX CEO Elon Musk following a Wall Street Journal report alleging he ordered the Starlink slowdown in Ukraine. “Either the President was lying or Musk was lying, but the decision to slow down satellite speed and access has life or death consequences for Ukraine,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)…

This shift is urgently needed.

This shift is urgently needed.

Imagine if Sam and Dario and Elon and Mark, along with their boards of directors, bore individual liability for the damage their companies may inflict on society.

Imagine if Sam and Dario and Elon and Mark, along with their boards of directors, bore individual liability for the damage their companies may inflict on society.

Sen. Roger Marshall’s re-election campaign spent $5 million from July through September as his once-safe Kansas seat turned competitive.

None of it went to payroll.

The Kansas Republican’s latest Federal Election Commission filing showed no outgoing payments for payroll or salary over that stretch, even as his spending jumped from just under $50,000 the previous quarter and his Democratic challenger, Adam Hamilton, began picking up steam.

Running a campaign without paid staff is not illegal. Campaigns can lean on consultants, vendors and volunteers. But it is highly unusual for a Senate race and raises fresh questions about who is doing the day-to-day work of Marshall’s re-election effort and whether the senator’s taxpayer-funded official staff is doing campaign work. Senate rules bar official staff from doing campaign work on government time or with government resources, though aides may volunteer for their boss’ campaign on their own time.

Previous reporting suggests Marshall may have used his taxpayer-funded congressional staff during his 2020 Senate campaign.

For a joint investigation published earlier this month, MS NOW and the Kansas Reflector obtained audio recordings, photos, videos, text messages and calendar items that appear to show Marshall and a top aide repeatedly using congressional staff and government resources in ways that experts say likely crossed the line between official business and campaigning.

One example was a 2020 trip to Dallas. According to a former staffer’s notes, Marshall used campaign funds to book flights and taxpayer dollars to pay for a meal. The only official event on his calendar for the trip was a Zoom meeting, tucked among a list of campaign events.

The investigation also found that no one working for Marshall’s campaign had received a paycheck in the past five years.

In an earlier statement, a lawyer for the Marshall campaign said the senator and his team “fully comply with both FEC rules and Senate ethics.”

At the time of that Oct. 9 report, Marshall’s chief of staff, Brent Robertson, also told MS NOW that the campaign had some paid staff. A “facts” section on Marshall’s campaign website says he “has a full campaign team that is separate from his official office staff.”

But the new filing lists none receiving a salary, at least through the end of September.

The filing does list payments to consultants. They include $6,000 to a Virginia-based firm for “communications consulting” and $2,000 for “campaign consulting” to a woman who lists herself on LinkedIn as a press assistant in Marshall’s Senate office. None of the payments are specifically labeled as payroll or salary.

Asked about the campaign’s staffing situation, Marshall’s campaign referred MS NOW to an Axios report from last week about Republicans “scrambling” to defend the Senate seat. The story noted the recent hiring of Chris Grant, who worked on Marshall’s 2020 campaign and helped lead the main pro-Trump super PAC in 2024.

The campaign did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s question of whether Grant will appear on Marshall’s next FEC filing.

Craig Holman, a government affairs lobbyist at Public Citizen who focuses on ethics and campaign finance rules, said Marshall’s latest filing “just doesn’t make sense.”

“I’ve never heard of a candidate for Senate not hiring campaign staff,” Holman said. “It sounds like Marshall is just abusing his regular staff.”

Brendan Fischer, director of strategic investigations at the Campaign Legal Center, said it is “certainly anomalous for a U.S. Senate campaign to not list any payroll expenses and seemingly not have any paid campaign staff throughout most or all of the campaign.”

Marshall’s spending also sets him apart from incumbents of both parties in other closely watched Senate races, an MS NOW analysis found. According to the FEC filings for Sens. Jon Husted of Ohio, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Darline Graham of South Carolina and Jon Ossoff of Georgia — all of them Republicans, with the exception of Ossoff — each spent tens of thousands of dollars over the same three months on payroll for multiple campaign staffers.

Incumbents in races that are considered all but decided, including those in New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia and South Dakota, also reported payroll expenses in their most recent quarterly filings. One exception was Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who reported tens of thousands of dollars in consulting payments but, like Marshall, no line items explicitly labeled as salary or payroll.

In a statement, Hamilton campaign spokesperson Glynnis Harvey said, “This is one of the most competitive Senate races in the country, yet Marshall has never reported any paid campaign staff — and almost no consultants.”

“There are more and more details emerging about the culture of corruption and illegal activity in Roger Marshall’s office that are deeply concerning, and these new revelations clearly warrant an ethics investigation,” Harvey continued.

Fischer said that in the case of Marshall, there is a chance that the expenses the campaign lists as television and digital ad buys in the latest filing — totalling millions of dollars combined — may include some “campaign consulting.”

He also noted the lack of payroll could be a result of Marshall not “treating it as a serious race” until just recently.

“Some of the expenses may just not be reported until the next report — that he staffed up very quickly, and the payroll just hasn’t hit yet,” he said. “Or they’re not planning on paying some of the staffers until after the campaign.”

Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932.

Six years ago, Marshall won his Senate race by 11 points. President Donald Trump won Kansas two years ago by more than 16 points.

However, recent polls show the race between Marshall and Hamilton neck and neck.

The post Weeks before Election Day, Sen. Roger Marshall’s campaign still had no one on payroll appeared first on MS NOW.

Senator Esmeralda Hernández says Colombia’s two legislative chambers approved different versions of a budget provision without reconciling them before the deadline.

---

A dispute over conflicting versions of a provision in Colombia’s 2027 national budget has raised questions about the bill’s legislative validity. Senator Esmeralda Hernández says the Senate and House of Representatives approved different versions of Article 65 but failed to reconcile them before the October 20 deadline.

RELATED: Colombia’s Congress Approves 2027 Budget Over Opposition Objections

The provision concerns the stabilization of funds against fluctuations in international oil prices and gasoline prices. The budget, approved at 634.9 trillion pesos, is at the center of a disagreement over whether the legislative process complied with the required procedure.

Hernández said she identified the discrepancy alongside Lina García Sierra, Bogotá’s regional ombudswoman. They presented their findings in an interview with journalist Daniel Coronell on his program El Reporte Coronell.

According to Hernández, the Senate approved the original version of Article 65, while the House adopted a different text that included a proposal by Senator Juan Fernando Caicedo of the Democratic Center party and two additional paragraphs.

¡Tumbamos el Presupuesto de Abelardo!

Tras una revisión rigurosa junto a @LinaGarciaSi, encontramos que Cámara y Senado aprobaron textos diferentes, sin la conciliación obligatoria. Por el afán de pupitrearlo terminaron haciéndolo mal, a medianoche y de espaldas al país.

¡A la… pic.twitter.com/nPpWeItzII

— Esmeralda Hernández (@EsmeHernandezSi) October 21, 2026

Text Reads: We’ve taken down Abelardo’s Budget! After a rigorous review alongside@LinaGarciaSi, we found that the House and Senate approved different texts, without the mandatory reconciliation. In their rush to ram it through, they ended up doing it wrong, at midnight and behind the country’s back. We confront mediocrity and lies with rigor and arguments!

Caicedo withdrew his proposal during a Senate plenary session, leaving it on record rather than seeking its approval. “As the sole author of the proposal, I withdraw it and leave it on record,” he said.

“In the Senate, they approve the original text, while the House approves the text with Caicedo’s proposal, signed by a House representative, resulting in a different text,” Hernández told Coronell.

The Senate’s General Secretariat confirmed on October 20 that Article 65 had been approved without proposals or amendments. In a statement, Secretary-General Diego Alejandro González González said he had instructed the chamber’s reporting office to publish the official link to all proposals approved by the plenary, noting that none concerned Article 65.

#Colombia | Congress approved a US$201 billion budget for 2027 amid opposition criticism of cuts to education, social programs, and peace institutions.
The Historic Pact coalition announced legal challenges over reduced funding for the Special Jurisdiction for Peace.#Colombia… pic.twitter.com/Dq6v6E2Ksh

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) October 20, 2026

The House maintained during the debate that both chambers had approved identical texts. John Édgar Pérez, a Cambio Radical representative and coordinating rapporteur for the bill, argued that reconciliation was unnecessary and proposed that the House adopt the version approved by the Senate.

The House passed the budget in the early hours of October 20, with 96 votes in favor and one against.

Hernández argues that the differences required a reconciliation committee to produce a unified text and submit it to the appropriate legislative procedure. She maintains that the House vote came too late to complete that process before the legal deadline.

García warned that the failure to reconcile the texts could jeopardize the legality of the entire budget. She said she would file a constitutional challenge if the government enacted the legislation despite the alleged irregularity. Her statements reflect her legal assessment; no judicial ruling on the budget’s validity was cited.

Carlos Meisel, the Senate’s coordinating rapporteur for the bill, disputed the argument that a potential change introduced during the House proceedings would invalidate the entire process.

Meisel said the version approved during the first debate by the joint economic committees could serve as the basis for issuing the budget by decree. He added that this version accounted for 95% of the content subsequently approved by the Senate and had been developed through agreements with the national government.

El Presupuesto fue aprobado ayer en la plenaria del Senado de la República sin ningún error ni vicio.
Lo que aparentemente ocurrió después en la Cámara de Representantes (de ser cierto), no vicia todo el proceso desde el inicio.
Queda para decreto el texto que se aprobó en primer…

— Carlos Meisel (@carlosmeiselv) October 21, 2026

Text Reads: The Budget was approved yesterday in the plenary session of the Senate of the Republic without any errors or flaws. What apparently happened afterward in the House of Representatives (if true) does not taint the entire process from the beginning. The text approved in the first debate in the economic committees remains for decree. So please, let’s not exaggerate the uncertainty, because in any case, there is a budget and it is the one from the first debate. This one also came from a collective construction with the government. (And among other things, it was 95% of what was voted on yesterday) At this moment, this country does not benefit from us adding more nerves, and that’s why we work so arduously and committedly on a calm construction and agreements.

The dispute centers on whether the two chambers approved different versions of Article 65 and what consequences that discrepancy could have for the 2027 budget. Hernández argues that the lack of reconciliation left the legislative process incomplete, while Meisel maintains that a potential irregularity at a later stage would not invalidate the preceding steps.

Leaders of India’s governing coalition are trying to frame the demonstrations as a power grab by traditional political parties rather than a grass-roots youth movement.

© Saumya Khandelwal for The New York Times

Happy Tuesday! Here’s your Tuesday Tech Drop, some of the past week’s top stories from the intersection of politics and technology.

Democrats decry push for AI robocalls

Democrats are fighting Republican-led efforts to get the Federal Communications Commission to approve the use of artificial intelligence-generated robocalls ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The conservative Club for Growth is behind a proposal currently under consideration by the FCC and its pro-Trump chair that would authorize robocalls like the Joe Biden deepfake in 2024, which was intended to suppress voter participation in New Hampshire’s Democratic presidential primary.

The FCC could issue a ruling by month’s end, The Associated Press reported. If approved, the move could allow conservatives to bombard the public with AI-enabled misinformation in the lead-up to Election Day — and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is warning the public about what’s at stake.

“The FCC MUST reject the request made by a Republican group that would allow political groups to make robocalls to cell phones without people’s permission,” he wrote on X, adding: “Putting Americans in a position where they can be fed misinformation through AI-generated deception ahead of a crucial election is yet another attempt by Republicans to mislead voters.”

The FCC MUST reject the request made by a Republican group that would allow political groups to make robocalls to cell phones without people’s permission.

Putting Americans in a position where they can be fed misinformation through AI-generated deception ahead of a crucial…

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) October 19, 2026

States sue OpenAI

Several states have filed lawsuits accusing OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, of violating consumer protection laws and putting users at risk with its chatbot — which has been used to plan school shootings. I wrote about the lawsuits and the increasing scrutiny toward OpenAI. (A spokesperson said the company has “built industry-leading age-specific protections into our product that many other AI products lack.”)

Read more at MS NOW.

FBI arrests OpenAI employee

The FBI arrested a Saudi national who was working for OpenAI and accused him of illegally planting a recording device in one of the company’s executive conference rooms.

Read more at Tech Crunch.

CBS News’ election coverage

Some staffers at CBS News reportedly have complained that Bari Weiss, their Trump-friendly editor-in-chief, has urged employees to pursue stories about progressive candidates that have been ginned up by conservatives on social media, such as the recent disinformation that MAGA world promoted about James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee in Texas.

Read more at Semafor.

Meta’s machinations

Meta’s temporary suspension of the primary Instagram account for last weekend’s No Kings demonstrations is fueling concerns about the company helping enable authoritarian movements. I explained why the controversy involving the anti-Trump protests, combined with accusations about the company’s role in Brazil’s elections, proves that Meta hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt.

Read more at MS NOW.

Musk and the midterms

MS NOW’s Soorin Kim wrote about how Elon Musk is unleashing a deluge of money to boost Republicans in Texas and elsewhere as the midterms threaten to put the GOP’s control of Congress — and the spigot that Republicans have used to shower Musk with federal benefits — at risk.

Read more at MS NOW.

Trump administration’s Ukraine policy

As President Donald Trump continues to bow to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin in disturbing ways, members of his administration — chiefly, Secretary of State Marco Rubio — are trying to downplay allegations that Team Trump has sought to hinder Ukraine’s efforts to fend off Russia’s invasion, such as by not sharing information and by delaying the delivery of crucial weapons systems.

Read more at Politico.

‘Digital blackface’

A MAGA-linked super PAC is has been accused of “digital blackface” for ads in Ohio’s Senate race promoting a Black socialist candidate whose campaign could draw votes from the Democratic nominee, Sherrod Brown.

Read more at Axios.

Election disinformation in Arizona

MAGA conspiracy theorists promoted a video lobbing baseless accusations of potential election misconduct at the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. There was no reason to believe the claims were true, but that didn’t stop Maricopa election official Justin Heap from trying to get the FBI involved. The fiasco spotlights the MAGA movement’s conspiracy theory-fueled push to establish a pretext for federal intervention in the midterms.

Read more at MS NOW.

The post Republicans look to unleash AI robocalls on voters before the midterms appeared first on MS NOW.

Billionaire ex-mayor of New York City is focusing funds on House races to help Democrats retake majority in midterms

• US politics live – latest updates

The billionaire Michael Bloomberg will spend $80m to help Democratic candidates in the midterm elections, US media reported on Tuesday, a significant infusion of cash for a party that has recently struggled with fundraising as it seeks to win control of Congress.

The reported donations came as Donald Trump announced on Tuesday he intended to spend a total of $400m to aid Republican candidates, with $300m already disbursed.

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© Photograph: Europa Press News/Europa Press/Getty Images

© Photograph: Europa Press News/Europa Press/Getty Images

© Photograph: Europa Press News/Europa Press/Getty Images