South Carolina Governor winner?

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott addressed the Dallas GOP midterm convention, casting November's election as a stark choice between "common sense and crazy" as he seeks a fourth term against Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa. Speaking to a crowd of nearly 15,000, Abbott touted his record on border security, including Texas's own border wall, a sanctuary city ban, and a state crime for illegal crossings, contrasting it with the Biden administration's approach.

He also highlighted laws barring China, Russia, and Iran from purchasing Texas land, an executive order designating the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as terrorist organizations, and a pledge to ban sharia law in the state. Abbott criticized Democrats over energy policy, taxes, and transgender-related issues, linking Hinojosa and other statewide Democratic candidates to positions he characterized as extreme. Polling shows Abbott holding a slight edge over Hinojosa, though Democrats say they see a tightening race heading into the fall.

Early voting is underway in Texas's midterms through Oct. 30, ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. Gov. Greg Abbott faces Democrat Gina Hinojosa, while in one of the most expensive nonpresidential races on record, Republican Ken Paxton battles Democrat James Talarico for U.S. Senate, with ad spending topping $442 million and Republicans outspending Democrats roughly three to one. Polls, including recent FOX News and New York Times/Siena surveys, have shown Talarico consistently ahead since September, raising the possibility Texas could elect a Democrat statewide for the first time since 1994. Trump made three campaign visits backing Paxton, who faces past fraud indictments and an impeachment acquittal. Prominent Texas attorney Thomas J. Henry, who had previously backed Paxton with a $600,000 super PAC donation, has now endorsed Talarico after meeting with him, a notable crossover in the closely watched contest.

Democrat Amy Acton and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy are courting rural Ohio voters ahead of the Nov. 3 governor's race to succeed term-limited Mike DeWine, with the Cook Political Report ranking the contest a toss-up. In Marietta, Acton proposed a three-year moratorium on new fracking injection wells over groundwater fears, winning praise from a local Republican official. Both candidates have also targeted data centers, with Ramaswamy pushing a plan requiring tech companies to cover residents' electricity bills, halt non-disclosure agreements, and build only on pre-zoned industrial land rather than farmland, while Acton wants data center projects to prove they can cover utility costs and use union labor before proceeding.

The race has grown notably hostile, including an incident in which an armed man charged toward Acton at a campaign stop, injuring bystanders. Acton has refused to debate Ramaswamy, accusing him of lying and attacking her family, though she remains open to forums. Early voting began Oct. 6, with polling showing Acton holding a narrow lead. Other close Ohio contests include U.S. House races in the 7th and 9th districts.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley launched a statewide tour blaming Republican rival Tom Tiffany for record-high diesel prices in Wisconsin, visiting a Kewaunee County farm with U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Farmer Clark Riemer described 2025 as his worst farming year in 35 years, citing soaring fuel and fertilizer costs tied to geopolitical instability, including U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran that disrupted fertilizer pricing.

Crowley criticized Tiffany's House votes against resolutions to end the Iran conflict, arguing the ongoing war has driven up fuel costs and hurt farmers. Tiffany countered by attacking Crowley's record on taxes and budget shortfalls as Milwaukee County executive, framing his own platform around tax cuts to ease affordability pressures.

Wisconsin diesel prices reached $6.56 per gallon, worsened by refinery outages in Illinois and Indiana and Russian export bans following Ukrainian attacks on refineries. Both candidates support repealing the state's minimum markup law on gasoline, though industry representatives dispute claims that repeal would meaningfully lower prices, noting crude oil costs are the primary driver of pump prices.

Wisconsin's open governor's race is shaping up as one of the tightest contests of the midterms, pitting Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley against U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a longtime Trump ally who has recently distanced himself from the president on Iran policy and AI data centers. Polling, including a Marquette University Law School survey, shows the race roughly even despite Trump's low approval ratings nationally. Tiffany, backed by three billionaire megadonors, has outspent Crowley roughly $53 million to $35 million and has attacked him on crime and immigration, including a Milwaukee County inmate tablet program Crowley recently curtailed. Crowley, who narrowly won a chaotic Democratic primary over democratic socialist Francesca Hong, is trying to tie Tiffany to Trump, tariffs, and gas prices, while Democratic leaders including Gov. Tony Evers, Hong, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, and Kamala Harris rally behind him. Crowley would be Wisconsin's first Black governor. The race, open for the first time in 16 years, could also affect control of the Legislature.

Republican nominee Alan Wilson and Democratic nominee Jermaine Johnson have agreed to face off in a live, one-hour debate on Oct. 6 in South Carolina's governor's race. The debate, moderated by WIS anchor Judi Gatson with questions from Gray Media political reporters and anchors across the state, will air from the WIS studios in Columbia and stream across Gray-owned stations and digital platforms in Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, Columbia, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Augusta-Aiken, Charlotte and Savannah.

The race marks South Carolina's first open gubernatorial contest in nearly a decade. Gov. Henry McMaster, who took office after Nikki Haley left to become U.N. Ambassador and won full terms in 2018 and 2022, is term-limited. The November election will determine his successor, making this debate a key early test for both candidates ahead of a race prediction markets are watching closely.

Sen. Darline Graham defeated Rep. Ralph Norman 52% to 48% in South Carolina's Republican runoff for the Senate seat held by her brother Lindsey Graham for 23 years before his death in July. Gov. Henry McMaster had appointed her to fill the seat temporarily, and President Trump endorsed her bid for a full term, holding a tele-rally and headlining a Myrtle Beach rally while directing more than $800,000 from his super PAC, MAGA Inc., toward her campaign. Norman, a five-term congressman who largely self-funded his campaign and drew roughly $700,000 in outside spending tied to Nikki Haley, conceded but noted lingering bitterness among his supporters over Trump's involvement. Graham had weathered criticism after admitting during an August debate she was "not that informed on national security," shifting her campaign's focus to domestic issues and her brother's legacy. She now advances to face Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, in the November 3 general election for the seat, considered a safe Republican hold.

The result, alongside a narrow Trump-backed win in Oklahoma's gubernatorial runoff, reinforces the president's continued sway in GOP primaries despite recent Trump-endorsed losses elsewhere, including Wyoming and Florida.

Oklahoma voters head to the polls in runoff elections deciding the Republican nomination for governor and the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, alongside two statewide ballot measures. State Attorney General Gentner Drummond and former state Sen. Mike Mazzei, who narrowly split the June 16 primary vote, face off for the GOP gubernatorial nod; the winner will meet Democratic state House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson in November, with Democrats not having won the governorship in 20 years. Mazzei has self-funded heavily and drew President Trump's endorsement, while Drummond has outraised him in contributions—another test of Trump's mixed 2026 primary endorsement record.

On the Democratic side, nurse N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas and attorney Jim Priest are competing for the Senate nomination after neither cleared 50% in June; Priest holds a large fundraising edge. The winner faces Republican Rep. Kevin Hern, who won his primary outright. Voters also decide State Question 846, adding a voter ID requirement to the constitution, and State Question 844, concerning property tax reimbursements tied to manufacturing incentives.