Government budget

Lauren Pinkston, an independent candidate for Tennessee governor, is a former teacher and college professor who has also worked as an anti-human trafficking advocate. She is one of 15 candidates on the ballot and among the four candidates polling has identified as leading contenders, alongside independent David Hatley, Republican Marsha Blackburn, and Democrat Jerri Green.

Pinkston's platform centers on affordability and bipartisanship, including eliminating the state's grocery tax, offset by a proposed medical marijuana program, modernizing the power grid, expanding childcare, and easing home loan access. She supports gun rights alongside school safety measures, favors stricter enforcement against employers exploiting undocumented workers, and backs infrastructure impact fees on new development. Election Day is November 3.

Incumbent Republican Rep. Carter Nordman faces Democratic challenger Chris New in Iowa House District 47, covering Dallas Center and parts of Dallas, Guthrie and Greene counties, with early voting underway ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Nordman, House Ways and Means chair, touts the 2026 property tax reform, teacher pay raises and cancer-research funding, framing the state's revenue decline as a deliberate result of income tax cuts backed by reserve funds. New, a political newcomer, argues one-party rule has produced a budget crisis that will shift costs to local governments and cut services, criticizes school vouchers, and calls for curbing agricultural chemicals tied to Iowa's high cancer rates. Both oppose misuse of eminent domain for pipeline projects.

Ohio lawmakers suspended the state's gasoline and diesel taxes for 90 days under House Bill 519, signed by Gov. Mike DeWine on Oct. 1, replacing the lost revenue with roughly $725 million from the state's anticipated general fund surplus. The measure, pushed rapidly through the legislature after Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy and Democratic nominee Amy Acton both called for gas-tax relief ahead of the Nov. 3 election, suspends the 38.5-cent gasoline tax and 47-cent diesel tax through Jan. 2.

According to Ohio's nonpartisan Legislative Service Commission, the average driver could save up to $55 over the full three-month period, though a Yale University study suggests only about 80% of such savings typically reach consumers, with the rest absorbed by oil companies and retailers. Critics, including some lawmakers from both parties, have called the move an expensive election-season gesture that does little to address larger affordability concerns, such as rising electricity costs tied to Ohio's growing data-center industry. The tax holiday expires before Ohio's next governor takes office on Jan. 11.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and Republican challenger Ryan Fazio remain at odds on nearly every major issue as the November election nears, including whether the race itself is close. Fazio claims internal polling shows a single-digit contest, but Lamont denied this, saying "he's making that up." Public polls from Quinnipiac University and Sacred Heart University show Lamont leading by double digits, and Morning Consult ranked him among the most popular governors nationally.

The candidates also clash on affordable housing, with Fazio pushing to scale back the state's 8-30g zoning law and Lamont favoring increased housing supply. On the economy, Fazio criticizes state spending growth and proposes income tax and electric bill cuts, while Lamont points to balanced budgets and reduced public benefits charges. Both spar over disgraced former state official Kosta Diamantis, convicted of corruption and now a fugitive in Greece. The candidates also disagree on debate scheduling, with only two debates set for late October, and each is spending heavily on advertising ahead of the vote.