Texas and Michigan dominated the final weekend of campaigning before the midterm elections, with both Senate races seen as tight contests that could shape control of the chamber. Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate, and Democrats would need at least four net seats for a majority.
In Texas, Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico traded attacks Saturday. Talarico, a state lawmaker, called Paxton a corrupt example of a broken system, while Paxton said Talarico would be a lackey for Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. Elon Musk has spent more than $150 million of his own money to help Paxton, according to the report.
In Michigan, Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed tried to move past a public feud with his primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens. Stevens has demanded that El-Sayed condemn an advertisement linking U.S. support for Israel to rising grocery prices. His campaign has stopped inviting her to events, a person familiar with the matter said. A planned Sunday church visit with Rep. James Clyburn was in doubt.
President Donald Trump skipped rallies for a day to call voters in key states by phone, including two calls for Florida. He spent the morning and early afternoon at his golf club in West Palm Beach before attending a Halloween party at Mar-a-Lago that evening. Early ballots were approaching 50 million, compared with about 112 million total votes in the 2022 midterms.
