Millennials

Political analyst Natalie Arceneaux says Texas women voters, spanning a wide range of ages and political leanings, could play a decisive role in November's elections, including the governor's race and a potentially competitive U.S. Senate contest. Rather than a monolithic bloc, women's priorities vary by life stage and circumstance, with affordability, health care costs and access, and personal autonomy over health decisions cutting across party lines. Arceneaux argued candidates must broaden their messaging beyond primary-style partisan appeals to win over loosely affiliated voters. She was skeptical that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa can unseat Gov. Greg Abbott without a wider appeal, and downplayed data center development as a major statewide voting issue compared to kitchen-table concerns.

A New York Times/Siena College poll shows Democrats with narrow leads in Ohio's marquee 2025 races, though both contests remain within the margin of error. Democrat Sherrod Brown led Republican Jon Husted 49%-46% in the Senate race, while Democrat Amy Acton led Republican Vivek Ramaswamy 49%-45% for governor. The poll surveyed 616 voters from Sept. 22 to Oct. 1, with a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4.5 percentage points.

Both races are rated toss-ups by the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball. Brown and Acton held stronger net favorability than their opponents, drawing more support from younger and non-white voters, while Husted and Ramaswamy performed better among men and white voters. Voters cited the economy as their top concern, followed by inflation and immigration, and a plurality said Ohio is headed in the wrong direction. The same pollster showed Brown and Kamala Harris ahead in Ohio in October 2024, before Republicans won both races that November, underscoring the uncertainty around the latest numbers. Election Day is Nov. 3, with early voting underway.

Iowa Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson drew attention during a Wednesday Senate campaign debate against Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek after pivoting a question about Social Security's solvency toward criticism of millennial savings habits. Hinson said millennials are "the worst group of savers in the country right now" and called for a broader national conversation about young people saving for retirement, alongside efforts to shore up Social Security.

Hinson said she would oppose cutting Social Security benefits and proposed a bipartisan commission to recommend solutions to Congress, while declining to rule out other unspecified changes. Turek countered by calling for removing the payroll tax cap so higher earners and large corporations contribute more, arguing it would meaningfully extend the program's solvency. Hinson dismissed that approach as simply raising taxes. The exchange comes as Hinson faces a competitive reelection race amid widespread voter pessimism about the economy and concern over Social Security's long-term future.

Agawam's City Council voted 10-1 to oppose provisions in Massachusetts' pending economic development bill that would let duplexes be built by right in all residential zones and multifamily housing by right on land owned by religious institutions. The resolution, backed by Mayor Christopher C. Johnson, argues zoning decisions should remain local rather than be set by state lawmakers on Beacon Hill.

The lone dissenting vote came from Councilor Thomas D. Hendrickson, who cited long waitlists for units managed by the Agawam Housing Authority as evidence that restrictive local zoning is worsening the region's housing shortage. Other councilors who supported the resolution acknowledged an affordability crisis but said denser zoning wouldn't necessarily lower costs, pointing to high construction costs and concerns about strain on local services and property values.

A legislative conference committee is currently reconciling House and Senate versions of the bill, which differ on whether to include duplex zoning, multifamily-on-religious-land provisions, both, or neither. Advocacy group Abundant Housing Massachusetts has pushed for both measures as part of efforts to close the state's housing gap.

A new Newsday/Siena University poll finds Long Islanders narrowly opposed to New York's Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which bars local law enforcement from entering cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The poll found 51% opposed and 45% in support, with responses split sharply along party lines: 75% of Democrats back the law while 74% of Republicans oppose it. Independents lean against it, 57% to 38%.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the law earlier this year, prompting Nassau County to end its ICE agreements in August and 15 upstate sheriffs to sue over the measure. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican challenging Hochul in November, has criticized the law and says the county still plans to join the sheriffs' lawsuit. Siena pollster Don Levy said the Long Island numbers, weaker in support than statewide polling, could give Blakeman an opening on the issue. The law restricts civil immigration enforcement cooperation but does not bar police from working with ICE on criminal matters.

President Donald Trump traveled to Houston to headline a Republican National Committee fundraiser for Ken Paxton's U.S. Senate campaign, marking his first in-person push for the Texas attorney general's bid against Democrat James Talarico. The visit comes as recent polling, including a University of Texas survey, shows Talarico opening a narrow lead after trailing two months earlier. Sen. Ted Cruz has publicly warned that Talarico has a "real chance" of flipping the seat, while Sen. John Cornyn, who lost the GOP primary to Paxton, has criticized Paxton as a lazy, uncompelling candidate.

The race highlights a fundraising gap: Talarico has vastly outspent Paxton on advertising, though GOP ad spending recently overtook Democrats' for the first time. National Republican super PACs, including the Senate Leadership Fund and MAGA Inc., have so far held back major spending on Paxton's behalf, and conservative legal figure Leonard Leo has directed money to other Senate races instead. A pro-Paxton group has begun attack ads against Talarico, while Talarico unveiled a healthcare proposal backed by Mark Cuban. The contest is viewed as a key test of GOP strength in Texas and could affect Senate control.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman faced off in a debate ahead of their runoff, sparring over homelessness and policing. Raman argued Bass has failed to make sufficient progress on homelessness despite her Inside Safe program, while Bass noted Raman recently chaired the council's housing committee. Bass also resurfaced Raman's 2020 "defund the police" social media post; Raman countered by criticizing Bass's support for a 2023 police pay raise. Bass led the June primary with 34% to Raman's 29%, but is viewed as a vulnerable incumbent heading into the runoff.

Separately, the LA City Council voted 10-3, with two abstentions, to repeal its anti-camping ordinance, amid debate over whether enforcement near schools helped or simply displaced unhoused residents and hindered outreach services. A new UC Berkeley poll also found California voters, especially younger ones, increasingly favorable toward progressive and democratic socialist candidates.

Minnesota voters went to the polls August 11 in Democratic primaries pitting moderate Rep. Angie Craig against progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for the open Senate seat left by retiring Sen. Tina Smith. Flanagan drew backing from Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Ilhan Omar and Smith herself, while Craig secured establishment support from Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi, Pete Buttigieg and Gwen Walz, and roughly doubled Flanagan's fundraising. The race centered on Craig's contested vote for the Laken Riley Act, which she has since disavowed, immigration enforcement after federal agents killed two protesters during "Operation Metro Surge," and clashing views on Israel and AIPAC funding. On the Republican side, Michele Tafoya leads a fundraising-heavy field including party-endorsed Adam Schwarze and Royce White, while Amy Klobuchar faces minimal opposition for governor against Republicans Mike Lindell (Trump-endorsed), Lisa Demuth and Kendall Qualls, as the GOP seeks its first statewide win since 2006.

Craig's departure also triggered a six-way Democratic primary for her open 2nd Congressional District seat. The results will help determine whether Democrats lean moderate or progressive heading into the midterms and test Republican hopes of ending their statewide losing streak. Prediction markets, which favored Flanagan and Craig-adjacent dynamics entering Election Day, are watching outcomes as an early signal for the broader 2026 fight over Congress and Minnesota's state government.