Midterm campaigns make final push as early voters hit the polls

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who has bucked President Trump and the GOP, on Tuesday backed the Democratic candidate for governor in Alaska, Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, who is widely referred to as JKT.

“JKT is a young Alaskan with a view and a perspective that I think Alaska needs right now,” Murkowski told Anchorage’s KTUU-TV on Tuesday. 

She said Kriess-Tomkins will “work with the legislature,” adding that will be important for the state’s at-large representative and senators in Washington, D.C. In a news release, Murkowski encouraged “Alaskans of every political stripe, whether Republicans, independents, or Democrats” to consider Kriess-Tomkins, adding “Alaska needs leaders who will put our state first, and I’m proud to support them.”

Murkowski said she has “found fault” with the current GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration. Dunleavy is prevented from running for reelection due to term limits. 

“I think that they have left federal money on the table,” Murkowski said of Dunleavy. “I think in certain areas, where we have worked hard to put opportunities from the federal side, here, into the state, the state has failed with it.”

Kriess-Tomkins has three Republican challengers on the ballot on Nov. 3, and Alaska uses ranked-choice voting. 

In a statement, Kriess-Tomkins, who has touted bipartisanship on the trail, said he was “honored to have Senator Murkowski’s support.” 

President Trump held two rallies in Texas on Tuesday to campaign for Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for Senate, and several House candidates, including Rep. Monica De La Cruz in South Texas.

The campaign stops in Corpus Christi and Lubbock came as Republicans fight to stave off their first statewide loss in Texas in more than 30 years. CBS News considers the race between Paxton and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico a toss-up, even though Mr. Trump won Texas by more than 13 points two years ago.

Talarico held a rally nearby in Lubbock. 

During his visit to Lubbock, the president touted his record and offered his familiar refrain for voters to “pretend I’m on the ballot.” He also encouraged voters who are on the fence about voting for Paxton: “Before you pull the trigger … take a look at your 401(k)’s.”

He also predicted gas prices — which are elevated due to the Iran war, frustrating many voters — will come down “very, very rapidly.” But he noted that Texas’ oil industry has performed well. 

“We are making an absolute fortune. More than we ever have,” the president said. “Texas has never, ever done numbers like this.”

Mr. Trump railed against Talarico and said if Democrats win control of the Senate, “I’ll be vetoing like crazy, OK? But I’d rather work from the positive side as opposed to the negative side.”

The president also defended an eyebrow-raising riff at a rally earlier this month, when he marveled at Republican Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio’s college football career, and described “examining his body” and “look[ing] at his ass.”

“I made the mistake of saying that I started off by studying his ass,” Mr. Trump told the crowd in Lubbock on Tuesday, noting that he also complimented other parts of Husted’s anatomy — his hands, feet and shoulders — and lamenting that media outlets “only covered the ass part.”

Mr. Trump argued the joke about Husted helped the Ohioan in the polls.

“Maybe I should do that with Ken Paxton, but I’m not sure your body is gonna qualify,” he said.

President Trump is scheduled to campaign in Ohio on Wednesday for Republicans, including GOP Sen. Jon Husted and Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican running for governor. 

Although Ohio has become more reliably red in recent years, the race between Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown, who served in the Senate from 2007 to 2025, is currently considered a toss-up by CBS News. Polls also show the governor’s race between Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton could also be close. 

It’s Mr. Trump’s third visit to the Buckeye State this month. Vice President JD Vance, who grew up in Ohio, has also made several visits to the state in recent months, including one last week.

Former President Barack Obama campaigned in Cleveland over the weekend for Brown, Acton and more Democrats. 

Control of the House of Representatives will come down to a number of battleground seats. CBS News has identified 47 House districts that will likely determine which party will have the majority. 

Of those seats, 20 are currently held by Democrats and 27 are held by Republicans.  

Republicans currently hold a razor-thin majority, with 218 seats, plus an independent who normally caucuses with them. Democrats hold 214 seats. There are two vacancies. 

CBS News’ Battleground Tracker model estimated on Sunday that Democrats are on track to take control of the House with 229 seats. There is still a path for the GOP to keep the House: The Battleground Tracker’s estimates ranged from 215 Democratic seats — which would give Republicans a narrow majority — to 237 seats.

Republicans currently hold 53 seats in the Senate, while Democrats have 47. 

CBS News has identified 10 key seats this election that could determine control of the Senate.

Seven of those seats are held by Republicans: Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, Texas and Alaska.

The other three are held by Democrats: New Hampshire, Michigan and Georgia.

At two campaign stops on Tuesday, Ohio gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy avoided mentioning his campaign’s recent ad that featured Democrat Amy Acton’s mother. 

At the first event, Ramaswamy did not mention Acton. He spoke for just over seven minutes at Vance Outdoors, a hunting and fishing retailer in Hebron, where he predicted Republicans will win down the ballot on Election Day. 

He framed the election as a “fork in the road,” conflating Democratic socialist candidates’ election wins with socialism around the world and warned it could “infect” Ohio. Around 100 Republicans gathered in the middle of the store, and several down-ballot Republicans spoke before him, including the lieutenant governor nominee.

At the second event, Ramaswamy directly called out Acton for leaving her post as public health director during the COVID-19 pandemic, but he didn’t mention the ad.

Ramaswamy has faced bipartisan backlash, including from Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, over the ad, which featured Acton’s estranged mother calling her a liar. Acton has said she was abused by her now-deceased stepfather, and her campaign provided court documents to CBS News and other outlets detailing that he was charged with abusing her when she was 12 years old. According to Acton, she has not seen her mother since she and her stepfather appeared for a court date decades ago. Acton said that her mother and stepfather left town after posting bond. 

President Trump is scheduled to campaign in Ohio on Wednesday for Republicans, including GOP Sen. Jon Husted and Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican running for governor. 

Although Ohio has become more reliably red in recent years, the race between Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown, who served in the Senate from 2007 to 2025, is currently considered a toss-up by CBS News. Polls also show the governor’s race between Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton could also be close. 

It’s Mr. Trump’s third visit to the Buckeye State this month. Vice President JD Vance, who grew up in Ohio, has also made several visits to the state in recent months, including one last week.

Former President Barack Obama campaigned in Cleveland over the weekend for Brown, Acton and more Democrats.