Barack Obama

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton toured the Youngstown Business Incubator and rallied in Liberty, stressing ties to Mahoning and Trumbull counties ahead of Election Day against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy. Acton has repeatedly addressed a Ramaswamy-backed ad featuring her estranged mother, calling her a liar and alleging mental health issues; Gov. Mike DeWine called it exploitative. Both candidates are closing with pitches on Ohio's affordability crisis, with Ramaswamy touting his business background and property-tax executive orders, and Acton emphasizing public-service experience, a working families tax cut, and school funding.

Ramaswamy has self-funded and outspent Acton nearly $80 million to $34 million overall, though Acton has outraised him recently; both have shattered Ohio's gubernatorial fundraising record, and neither has held elected office before. Democrats are banking on a late push, including a Cleveland rally with Barack Obama and expanded early voting, as prediction markets show Acton favored heading into Election Day.

Project 50, a political group founded by Illinois abortion-rights veterans including former state Sen. Heather Steans and ex-HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, is working to replicate Illinois' decades-old shift toward abortion access by targeting state legislative races in conservative states with bans or heavy restrictions. After early setbacks in Arizona, the group refocused on culturally conservative states in 2023, winning three races in its first three years and four more in 2025, including in Virginia. It has raised over $3.7 million from donors such as Michael Bloomberg and Gov. JB Pritzker. Organizers say the strategy targets voters uneasy with total abortion bans, not broad support for unrestricted access. Abortion-rights opponents call its electoral impact limited so far.

President Donald Trump made his third October campaign stop in Ohio, rallying supporters in Chillicothe ahead of the November 3 midterms. Joined by Sen. Bernie Moreno, Trump backed Sen. Jon Husted, who faces former Sen. Sherrod Brown in a tight special election for the seat JD Vance vacated, and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who faces Democrat Amy Acton. Trump criticized Democratic economic policy and touted Ohio data-center growth while urging turnout.

Democrats countered with their own events, including a Cincinnati rally featuring Acton and Brown, following a Cleveland appearance where former President Barack Obama campaigned alongside them. Early voting is already underway statewide.

Barack Obama campaigned in Cleveland on Oct. 24 for Ohio Democrats Amy Acton (governor) and Sherrod Brown (U.S. Senate) ahead of the 2026 midterms. His remarks on civic decency and criticism of Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth drew praise from commentators like Aaron Rupar, Sarah Posner and Robert Reich, who urged wide sharing of the speech. Obama also condemned a Vivek Ramaswamy ad attacking Acton's family.

A separate line comparing Trump's White House redecoration to a "Cheesecake Factory" drew sharper reaction, with critics like Scott Jennings and Steve Krakauer calling it condescending, while Nate Silver and James Surowiecki defended the joke.

Minnesota's political landscape has shifted repeatedly since the year began, and more change could follow Election Day. Gov. Tim Walz exited his reelection bid early, prompting Sen. Amy Klobuchar to pivot toward a run for governor. Michele Tafoya and later Mike Lindell and Kendall Qualls jockeyed for the Republican Senate nomination, but primary voters chose Lisa Demuth. On the DFL side, Peggy Flanagan beat Angie Craig despite Craig's fundraising lead. Chris Madel dropped his gubernatorial bid over the party's immigration stance. Observers compare the turmoil to 2018's reshuffling after Mark Dayton's exit, when multiple officials moved up the ladder in sequence.

Maine's Senate race between five-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins and Democratic state Senate President Troy Jackson has become a referendum on Collins herself, with polls showing a tight contest. Jackson, a logger-turned-legislator who entered the race after primary winner Graham Platner withdrew amid sexual assault allegations he denies, has hammered Collins over economic anxieties, heating costs, and a ProPublica report on a past FBI bribery inquiry she denies wrongdoing in. Collins has leaned on her record steering federal funding to Maine and warns her seniority loss would hurt the state. A debate exchange over road-salt tariff exemptions went viral, encapsulating the race's focus on her decades-long incumbency rather than Jackson's own candidacy.