Aman Batheja

“Nearly 600 high-profile, right-wing social media accounts, podcasts and other online media have published more than 7,000 statements questioning the election’s integrity so far this year, a Washington Post analysis found” (Gift article)

"The D.C. folks are sure they know everything, and I feel like in so many of our national races they don’t listen to us and they screw it up" —Activist in Maine worried Troy Jackson isn't being allowed to give voters enough of a reason to choose him over Susan Collins

New: In Maine, Troy Jackson isn't the most exciting candidate. But that may not matter in a race that's more about the incumbent that any other Senate battleground. “He’s got a unique challenge because this race really isn’t about him," says one strategist. "He just happens to be the alternative.”

The top election official in Nevada is so convinced Trump will try to seize ballots, he has a fully written "Mad Libs" legal filing ready. He just needs to add plaintiff, defendant and jurisdiction. He says the goal is to file the lawsuit “within seconds” of agents showing up at a polling place.

“‘I don’t know how Netanyahu wants to close the story,’ Eisenkot says. “He decided he would try to write the ending himself.” Fantastic profile of the man vying against Netanyahu in Israel’s election this week

“Perhaps his most powerful political asset is his devastating personal loss. In a country scarred by the trauma of Oct. 7 and the war that followed, Eisenkot’s grief is familiar to countless Israelis. His effort to persevere mirrors a nation’s struggle.” On the man who could end the Netanyahu era

An excellent look at the anger fueling the protests sweeping India: “Voting carries an almost existential significance for Indians…A government in India can retain its legitimacy despite failing to provide functioning schools…It cannot do so if it also violates the sanctity of the vote.”

“In one upside-down moment, industry executives provided the agenda for a meeting with E.P.A. staff and then effectively presided over it.”

There's a scenario in which the Supreme Court gets this case in December and three justices involved in Bush v. Gore on behalf of Bush will be asked whether confusion is grounds to reject election results.

White House says Melania Trump has "successfully secured a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, localized to the city of Oleshky... to allow for humanitarian aid to enter and to prepare a civilian evacuation through a designated safe passageway."

TIME has revamped its morning newsletter, The Brief. Today’s is an especially good one. Sign up here: time.com/newsletters/...

The Kennedy Center is hiring a locksmith

Good point here from Politico's NY Playbook about how Mamdani was expected to be the GOP boogeyman for 2026: "Very few TV spots across the country since September have mentioned the mayor by name"

“We’ve lost the plot,” one Republican strategist told Time. “We had a real good chance and then we do this two weeks out.” Adds a second: “We now deserve to lose this race.” #Panic

“When I suggest that removing Palestinians from Gaza and resettling it would deepen Israel’s international isolation, he dismisses the concern.”

Ramaswamy’s campaign includes several operatives who previously worked for JD Vance, who declined while in Ohio on Wednesday to say anything against an anti-Amy Acton ad that's been roundly criticized by both parties.

Ramaswamy’s campaign includes several operatives who previously worked for JD Vance, who declined while in Ohio on Wednesday to say anything against an anti-Amy Acton ad that's been roundly criticized by both parties.

A Republican strategist's response to that Ramaswamy ad: "We now deserve to lose this race.”

“Ramaswamy's campaign confirmed to Axios that it produced the ad…Despite bipartisan criticism, Ramaswamy's campaign continued to treat the mother's statements as campaign gold.”

NEW: A firm started late last year by the family of the Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Velutini offered to pay Alina Habba $10m/year while she was an administration advisor. Weeks after she started at the company, Trump pardoned Herrera Velutini, who had been charged in a bribery case.

"Republicans have spent $133 million on TV ads trying to win in 15 redrawn districts that were supposed to be easy pickings...On their down days, Republicans privately worry that the great redistricting war of 2026 will net them only one seat nationwide, according to top GOP strategists."

"The Democratic Governors Association announced Tuesday it is investing half a million dollars to flip the governor’s mansion in Oklahoma — a state the president won by 34 points" The race between Republican Mike Mazzei and Democrat Cyndi Munson "is a statistical tie, according to recent polls"

It was great speaking with TIME Senior Correspondent Phil Elliott for this piece on the Ohio gubernatorial race. time.com/article/2026...

WaPo: Small group of current and former US national security officials is discreetly advising key states on how to prepare for Trump trying to interfere in the midterms, according to people involved in the effort.

“When it was all over, federal authorities had arrested 105 people for alleged immigration violations. Yet on paper, this wasn’t an immigration raid at all.”

“This is a guy who has been flying around the state on his corporate jet. Ohio is not a huge state geographically. It’s a state that’s incredibly driveable.”

VoteHub's head of data science: "Early vote data across the county, but especially in Nevada, increasingly suggest that concerns about USPS handling of mail ballots are changing how some Democrats vote, complicating comparisons with 2024." x.com/ZacharyDonni...

New: The consultant class in Ohio feels like they may be in for a political earthquake and Ramaswamy’s struggling campaign for governor is at the center of it. Says one nervous Dem strategist: “Something is happening here. I just can’t tell you what”

“For the first time in almost a decade, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon had lines in an episode of The Simpsons. And they were not read by Hank Azaria.”

Meta is apologizing for the No Kings IG suspension. Says its systems detected a spike in Claude traffic around it and thought it was bot activity.

“The bet is that all this will stymie Republicans’ momentum in the Valley and remind voters of the Democratic Party their abuelitas loyally supported for decades. ‘I’m the Democrat that you used to vote for,’ Pulido said when asked how he sells himself to people who voted for Trump. ‘That’s it.’”

(Reuters) - The order to limit a satellite system used by Ukraine for battlefield communications and drone operations came from inside the White House, according to two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter. @reuters.com 🇺🇦 www.reuters.com/world/europe...

The Atlantic: "Since early last month, Ukrainian drones have interfered with air traffic over the Russian capital almost every day...The operation does not rely on U.S. technology or intelligence, two of its architects told me."

The New Campaign Strategy: Don’t Debate time.com/article/2026...

Feb. 2019: Trump launches ai.gov Oct. 2026: ai.gov now redirects to si.gov

The New Campaign Strategy: Don't Debate (Philip Elliott/Time) Main Link | memeorandum Permalink

New: What happened to debates? Despite those viral Ossoff clips, most candidates running for Governor or Senate likely won’t take part in a single debate. “Nowhere has the debate over whether to debate been more tortured than in Texas”

WSJ scoop: “Among those at the event with Texas’ top law-enforcement official were two Americans who had been indicted months before on federal healthcare-fraud charges but failed to return to the U.S….[One of the men] had donated $190,000 to Paxton, campaign finance records show”

“The New York Times reviewed time-stamped images from a security camera at Mr. Talarico’s home, which were provided by his campaign on the condition they not be published for security reasons. The images showed Mr. Talarico at the home between Oct. 1 and Oct. 8.”

“What started as a routine day on the campaign trail turned into a police scene when two statewide Libertarian candidates discovered a dead body in the Maumee River near downtown Toledo”

“…and he’s the only white guy who is legally allowed to say ‘Wakanda Forever.’”

Trump, quoted in the pool report from today's Columbus Day event: "You know this guy, I call him Muhammad Al-Sayed. Some people call him Abdul, I call him Mohammed. Somebody said why? I said, 'I don't know.'"

Social Security comes up in MAINE Senate debate: As we reported, Troy Jackson calls for lifting payroll tax cap on higher incomes to raise more revenue. Susan Collins, who previously called for a commission, revises her position tonight, saying she'd like to "adjust the cap" too.

From The Archive: DOJ To Bring Back Firing Squad As Means Of Entertainment