After months of arguments, a state judge in Alaska ruled in late June that retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan could run against incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, overturning the ruling from the Alaska Division of Elections. A few months later, after the first round of balloting, state election officials finalized the top four candidates for Alaska’s unique system, and both Dan Sullivans advanced to the general election.

That Donald Trump and his political team are worried about the race is obvious, but what the president’s team is doing about it is another matter entirely.

Late Thursday, Trump’s Justice Department filed a preemptive lawsuit that intends to block certification of the Senate race — but only if the Republican incumbent loses while the rival with the similar name remains on the ballot.

As The Associated Press reported, the litigation kicks off “what many have feared could become a lengthy battle between the U.S. government and states over certifying an election where the president’s party is struggling.”

What’s more, it’s entirely possible that former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola will win this race and the efforts by Trump’s DOJ will determine whether she’s seated — and which party ultimately holds a majority in the Senate.

The lawsuit is a dramatic escalation, but it didn’t come out of nowhere. At a White House event in early September, the president publicly urged Attorney General Todd Blanche to pursue a case in Alaska specifically focused on the competing candidates with nearly identical names.

Last week, Trump went further, claiming that federal authorities were “looking into” the matter and pushing assorted conspiracy theories for which there was no evidence. As recently as Wednesday of this week, the president used his social media platform to publish a statement that read, in part, “Dan S. Sullivan is leading by a lot, but this is CHEATING in an Election, and the Judge that allowed this to happen should be ashamed of himself. We are looking at powerful legal options to remove the fraudulent Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the Ballot, and holding the Democrats accountable for their Election Interference, in the pursuit of Justice and Fairness.”

The statement included obvious falsehoods — most recent polling in Alaska shows the Republican incumbent trailing, not “leading by a lot” — and there is nothing to suggest Democratic officials have engaged in “election interference,” other than championing their party’s nominee.

Nevertheless, there have long been concerns that the Trump administration might try to derail election results it doesn’t like, and the DOJ’s new lawsuit regarding Alaska suggests those concerns are well grounded.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

The post Trump administration sues to block possible Democratic win in Alaska Senate race appeared first on MS NOW.

Any story about a family dispute is bound to be complex, but the politics surrounding Vivek Ramaswamy’s abhorrent attack ad are relatively straightforward. Amy Acton, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Ohio, was allegedly raped by her stepfather when she was a child.

Her Republican opponent, Ramaswamy, is trying to weaponize this in despicable fashion, pushing a campaign commercial that features Acton’s estranged mother, who sided with the stepfather even after his arrest and stayed with him until his death.

But in recent days, it’s become clear that this ad has taken on far greater significance than one commercial in one gubernatorial election. As The New York Times’ Michelle Goldberg summarized in her latest column:

It’s quite a feat, in this numb and debased era, to create a political advertisement so shocking and indecent that people from across the political spectrum feel the need to denounce it. The Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has long fashioned himself as a kind of Donald Trump 2.0 — younger and brainier but just as brash — has managed it.

By releasing what may be the most disgusting ad in American political history, he’s done more than just reveal his own low character. He’s opened a kind of proxy debate on the right about whether a post-Trump conservatism should try to reclaim some base-line morality or continue along its current smashmouth course.

Donald Trump has changed his party and his nation’s politics in a great many ways, but among the most important shifts is the degree to which the president has championed the politics of cruelty and dishonor. There are messages — from attack ads to speeches to social message postings — that Republican officials used to avoid, even when they agreed with the underlying point, in part to avoid backlash and in part to maintain their public reputations and credibility.

In recent years, however, those scruples have been cast aside. GOP officials and candidates no longer hedge on depraved messaging: After having seen Americans twice elevate a malicious television personality to the nation’s highest office, they now routinely echo his amorality and cynicism, seeing it as a way to satisfy the party’s far-right base, to advance their own ambitions or both.

Most decent people can and will agree that Ramaswamy’s attack ad is indefensible, but the ad has also taken on totemic value.

“What the ad represents … is an opening salvo in the post-midterms fight for the Republican Party’s future,” Politico’s Jonathan Martin explained. “It’s a battle that will accelerate next year but may not culminate until the 2030s. Put simply, what sort of party does the GOP want to be — and what will the market bear?”

Trailing in polls and short on options, Ramaswamy made his choice, and the stain on his character is likely to be permanent. What the Ohioan might not have anticipated, however, is just how much his disgusting tactic has divided his own party.

Several prominent Republicans in the state, including outgoing Gov. Mike DeWine, have publicly condemned the ad, and others outside of Ohio have taken similar steps. Former GOP presidential contender Nikki Haley, for example, said via social media that Ramaswamy is “a bad guy.” A day later, Rep. Ashley Hinson, the party’s Senate hopeful in Iowa, called the commercial “absolutely terrible.”

On the other side, there’s the White House, where the politics of cruelty and dishonor still thrive, and where there are Republican leaders who still believe repugnant messaging will dominate for the foreseeable future.

JD Vance, for example, declared this week that he’s “a little bit disgusted,” not by Ramaswamy’s gutter politics, but by members of his own party who are “whining” about civility.

The vice president’s reaction itself drew swift rebukes — The Bulwark published a piece that described Vance as a “sociopath” — but that didn’t stop Trump from picking up where his vice president left off.

On Wednesday, the president told reporters he didn’t “know anything about it,” before shifting gears and talking about how important he considers it to see a mother “hate her daughter that much.”

A day later, Trump went much further and spent much of Thursday defending the ad, urging Ramaswamy to keep running it, demanding the public take the underlying claims “seriously” and at Iowa rally, predicting that the ad would work in the GOP candidate’s favor.

In other words, Trump took care to keep dividing Republicans — with less than two weeks remaining, during the early voting period — in one of the nation’s most important gubernatorial races, by leaning into support for one of the most repulsive campaign ads in recent memory.

Election Day is 11 days away. Watch this space.

The post Ramaswamy’s vile ad is dividing the Republican Party. Trump is leading the wrong side. appeared first on MS NOW.

During an interview with Mid-Michigan Now on Thursday, Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed discussed his foreign policy vision and said that “we’ve got to remember that our job is to be the principal upholder of international law.” Sinclair

The post El-Sayed on Foreign Policy: ‘Our Job Is to Be the Principal Upholder of International Law’ appeared first on Breitbart.

The series continues as we report on developments following April’s historic election and on the steps taken since then by the Tisza government. This week, we cover the following topics:

• Orbán’s former right-hand man in custody.
• What did we learn from Tisza’s first budget?
• Ursula von der Leyen to give a speech on the anniversary of the revolution.
• Poll of the week: more than four million people back Tisza.

Orbán’s ex-right-hand man in custody

The last time a central bank governor was taken into custody in Hungary was in 1944, during the German occupation, as Válasz Online pointed out. This 82-year hiatus ended on Wednesday (21 October), when György Matolcsy was taken into police custody.

But Matolcsy is not simply a former central bank governor; he is one of the architects of Orbán’s economic policy, a key figure in the former prime minister’s system, and together with his family he has in recent years become one of the symbols of Fidesz’s taste for luxury.

Who is György Matolcsy?

“I have a very strong emotional relationship with Matolcsy. I owe him a great deal, I have learned a great many things from him. Matolcsy is an economist of historic stature,” prime minister Péter Magyar quoted ex-prime minister Viktor Orbán’s words from an interview last November, after the former central bank governor had been taken into custody.

Matolcsy was a member of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party (MSZMP), and after the regime change he became prime minister József Antall’s chief adviser. In 1999 he joined Orbán’s advisory board, and from 2000 to 2002 he served as economy minister in the first Orbán cabinet.

Even after the 2002 election defeat he remained loyal to Orbán, and in 2010 he became minister for national economy, meaning he was put in charge of both the finance and economy portfolios at the head of a merged super-ministry. It was at this time that Orbán called him his right-hand man.

Matolcsy was the architect of Orbán’s “unorthodox economic policy”; he oversaw the nationalisation of private pension funds, the sending home of the IMF from Hungary, and the introduction of high sectoral surtaxes.

The great bank heist

He was appointed central bank governor in 2013, and by 2016 the foundations scandal had already broken. It emerged that 266bn forints’ worth (€840m) of public assets had been shifted into the foundations of the Hungarian National Bank (MNB). These foundations bought buildings and works of art, and also granted substantial benefits to their own leaders.

Later, the foundations’ money was entrusted to an asset management company, which obtained further funds and thus came to control assets of around 500bn forints, of which some 400bn forints (€1bn) – was public money.

This asset manager built up an international corporate network, behind which stood the central bank governor’s son, Ádám Matolcsy, and his circle. The asset manager bought into risky foreign companies, spending a significant part of its resources. The Matolcsy family visibly became very rich, and Ádám also amassed a notorious Porsche collection.

György Matolcsy’s mandate expired in 2025, and after his departure the State Audit Office also concluded that abuses may have taken place at the central bank. For a long time, however, no police investigation was launched.

The current case

The current charges relate to a case that unfolded in the final days of Matolcsy’s activity as central bank governor. Matolcsy wanted to ensure that his family would control the roughly 500bn forints (€1.25bn) of central bank assets even after he no longer held office.

This article continues, but the full version is available only to EUobserver.com subscribers. Visit account.euobserver.com/membership

There’s already violence in the streets, candidates are receiving death threats and a specter of war looms over the country. And that’s before any ballots have been counted

Both candidates remain statistically tied three days before the presidential runoff.

On Thursday, polling firm Datafolha published a survey showing far-right candidate Flavio Bolsonaro and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva tied at 50% of valid votes, three days before the presidential runoff.

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Lula Proposes Constitutional Amendment for Free Weekend Transit in Brazil

This is the first runoff poll to show a numerical tie between the two candidates and represents a two-point recovery for Lula compared with the survey released by the same firm last week.

In terms of voter intention, Bolsonaro has 47%, compared with Lula’s 46%, representing a one-percentage-point increase for the incumbent.

On Wednesday, another poll released by Quaest also showed a trend toward a narrowing gap between the two candidates, in this case with Bolsonaro leading by one point, 45% to Lula’s 44%.

Amazing turnout and energy in London yesterday in support of President Lula, ahead of his crucial election against Bolsonaro. His campaign has given hope to people around the world!

Viva Lula! 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/hukUDShmz2

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) October 19, 2026

In both polls, the results amount to a statistical tie within the margin of error, which is two percentage points for each survey. For its latest poll, commissioned by television network Globo and Folha de Sao Paulo, Datafolha interviewed 2,520 voters between Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

Bolsonaro received the most votes in the first round of the presidential election, held Oct. 4, with 47.03% of the vote, followed by Lula with 45.16%. This was the narrowest result between two candidates in the first round of a presidential election held in Brazil, demonstrating the extreme polarization of the Brazilian electorate.

In Brazil’s recent democratic history, presidential runoffs have been held seven times, and in every instance, the candidate who received the most votes in the first round has won.

On Friday, Lula and Bolsonaro will face off in the second and final televised debate and will wrap up their respective campaigns on Saturday, the day before voters head to the polls.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

Voters across the country are making big decisions about the education of their children at a local, state and federal level in this year’s midterms. Ballot initiatives, school board elections, governor’s races and Senate spots are all on the line as parents head to the polls thinking about AI, school choice and what topics should…

Voters across the country are making big decisions about the education of their children at a local, state and federal level in this year’s midterms. Ballot initiatives, school board elections, governor’s races and Senate spots are all on the line as parents head to the polls thinking about AI, school choice and what topics should…

Obama-endorsed Iowa Democrat U.S. Senate nominee Josh Turek said illegal immigrants should not face immediate deportation during an exchange with NBC News anchor Tom Llamas, while inaccurately linking Republican Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and Randy Feenstra (R-IA) to the Dignity Act, immigration legislation that would establish a pathway to legal status for certain illegal immigrants.

The post Iowa Dem Josh Turek Rejects Immediate Deportation of Illegal Aliens, Incorrectly Links Reps. Miller-Meeks and Feenstra to Dignity Act appeared first on Breitbart.

Singer Stella Parton -- who is best known for being the younger sister of country legend and 10-time Grammy winner Dolly Parton -- called for Elon Musk to "die" and be eaten by "worms," claiming the SpaceX CEO is trying to "rig" the midterm elections.

The post Dolly Parton’s Sister Stella Calls for Elon Musk to ‘Die’ appeared first on Breitbart.

Israeli TV says People of Israel leader, who was Feldstein's army commander, advised his father against hiring PM's personal lawyer: 'You need to think about your son, not Netanyahu'

Russia is running a covert online disinformation campaign targeting U.S. politicians who support Ukraine, two Democratic lawmakers said on Oct. 21.

Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign treasurer doubles as treasurer of a super PAC pouring six figures into a third-party candidate in Michigan’s Senate race, according to an investigation.

The post Report: El-Sayed Treasurer Behind PAC Boosting Libertarian Against Rogers appeared first on Breitbart.

Actor Robert De Niro is again on the attack against President Donald Trump, this time pushing the conspiracy theory that the president and the Supreme Court are trying to take away Americans' right to vote.

The post Robert De Niro Fear Mongers About ‘Would-Be-King’ Trump Rigging Midterms: ‘No F**king Way’ appeared first on Breitbart.

The controversy over Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s ad featuring his Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s mother is pitting President Trump and Vice President Vance against Ohio’s Republican establishment less than two weeks out from Election Day.  A number of Ohio Republicans, including Gov. Mike DeWine and Sen. Jon Husted, have denounced the ad, which…

The controversy over Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s ad featuring his Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s mother is pitting President Trump and Vice President Vance against Ohio’s Republican establishment less than two weeks out from Election Day.  A number of Ohio Republicans, including Gov. Mike DeWine and Sen. Jon Husted, have denounced the ad, which…

Most say they want Netanyahu to resign if he can't form government; Eisenkot gets mixed reception at Western Wall; Kiryat Shmona mayor said to reluctantly appear in Netanyahu video