Chuck Schumer

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation into allegations, first reported by The New York Times, that Senate candidate Mary Peltola's campaign recruited a retiree named Dan J. Sullivan to run against incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan to confuse Republican voters. President Trump called for Peltola's removal from the ballot, though early voting already began October 19. The Justice Department has filed a preemptive lawsuit seeking to block certification if Peltola wins, a move Sen. Lisa Murkowski publicly opposed. Peltola's campaign dismissed the story as a distraction, while a former aide said Peltola was aware of the effort but not directly involved. It remains unclear whether any law was broken.

Alaska's record-breaking Senate race between Democrat Mary Peltola and Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan has taken a new turn as the Justice Department filed a lawsuit seeking to block certification of results if anyone other than Sullivan wins. The DOJ argues a same-named candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., could confuse the outcome, though the ballot lists the senator's party and incumbent status. Peltola called the suit a "desperate attempt" to cling to power; election integrity advocates and Democratic leaders, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, condemned it as an unprecedented intervention. The lawsuit adds legal uncertainty to a contest already defined by record spending and viewed as pivotal to Senate control.

Peltola has outraised Sullivan roughly $32 million to $13 million since January, with outside groups adding over $80 million more, as early voting continues ahead of the ranked-choice general election.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and over 100 other state and local officials signed a letter asking private parking lot and garage owners to deny ICE use of their properties as staging areas for enforcement operations. The request follows the shooting of 28-year-old Dominican national Oscar Belgal by immigration officers during an arrest in Marble Hill last week, which sparked protests; officers had reportedly staged nearby in a private lot beforehand. DHS said Belgal had a prior criminal conviction and arrests. City law already bars outside agencies from staging on public property without a judicial warrant, but that rule does not cover private lots. A DHS spokesperson dismissed the letter, saying it would not stop deportation operations.

Three weeks before Election Day, President Trump traveled to Alaska's Matanuska-Susitna Valley on an extensive, multi-leg trip to rally support for Republicans and boost the reelection campaign of Sen. Dan Sullivan. Despite the show of support and heavy outside spending, Sullivan faces a tighter-than-expected race against Democrat Mary Peltola, a former U.S. House member popular with Alaska's large bloc of independent voters. The Cook Political Report has shifted its rating of the race from Lean Republican to Toss Up.

Alaska strategists and voters note that Trump's approval rating in the state has slipped, and independents outnumber registered Republicans and Democrats combined, complicating turnout math for the GOP. Veteran strategist Scott Kendall, who has worked on Sen. Lisa Murkowski's campaigns, described Trump's influence as "both a blessing and a curse" for Sullivan. Alaska's ranked-choice voting system adds further complications, including confusion tied to a minor candidate dubbed "Decoy Dan," as Sullivan and Peltola prepare to debate ahead of an election Sullivan argues could decide control of the Senate.

Democrat Angie Nixon, who upset Alex Vindman in Florida's Senate primary by nearly 12 points, is now challenging Republican Senator Ashley Moody in a race most analysts consider a longshot for Democrats. Florida has 1.5 million more registered Republicans than Democrats, and polls show Moody leading, though margins vary. Nixon faces a severe funding gap, having raised under $1 million to Moody's more than $11 million as of late July, limiting her ability to counter attack ads tying her to the Democratic Socialists of America.

National Democrats have been slow to invest in the race, but Senators Chris Murphy and Bernie Sanders are campaigning with Nixon this week, with Sanders contributing $250,000. Nixon is running on universal health care, child care, and affordable housing, and is working to mobilize Black voters and women while courting GOP-leaning communities. She has embraced an unapologetically progressive, grassroots-driven campaign, drawing comparisons to gubernatorial nominee David Jolly's more moderate crossover strategy, with both races seen as tests of competing Democratic approaches ahead of 2028. Analysts say Trump's unpopularity and cost-of-living concerns give her an opening, but she would need exceptionally high Democratic turnout combined with Republican voters staying home to overcome the state's structural disadvantages.

Adam Hamilton, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Kansas, said he would not support Sen. Charles Schumer's bid to remain Senate Democratic leader, citing a need for "fresh ideas" and "fresh people." Hamilton, a Methodist pastor and former Republican running as a centrist against GOP Sen. Roger Marshall, made the comments Sunday on ABC's "This Week." He has held a slight edge in recent polling, fueling Democratic hopes of flipping the seat as part of a path back to a Senate majority.

No Democrat has formally challenged Schumer's leadership, but Hamilton named Sens. Tim Kaine, Mark Kelly, and Elissa Slotkin as senators he respects who could fill the role. He also pointed to Vice President J.D. Vance's recent campaign visit to Kansas for Marshall as evidence Republicans are worried about the race. Hamilton further distanced himself from national Democratic positioning, saying he opposes biological men competing in women's sports while criticizing Republican rhetoric he called fearmongering toward transgender people.