Partisan (politics)

A Los Angeles Times op-ed argues California should strip party labels from elections for state controller and treasurer, two technical fiscal watchdog roles currently elected like partisan offices. The author, a former controller candidate, contends party affiliation dominates these races—citing research showing partisanship explains over 80% of vote variation in partisan contests versus just 10% in nonpartisan ones—letting incumbents like Controller Malia Cohen and Treasurer Eleni Kounalakis avoid scrutiny of their records. About half of states already treat controller races as nonpartisan, and roughly a third do so for treasurer.

The piece calls for a citizen-led ballot initiative, since the Democratic-controlled Legislature is unlikely to act on its own.

A little-known outlet called the Buckeye Bulletin, which presents itself as an Ohio local news source, has been running Facebook and Instagram ads promoting Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, including a controversial ad featuring opponent Amy Acton's estranged mother. The site has no bylines, staff list, or funding disclosure, but its social accounts are managed by the Lincoln Media Foundation, tied to the Orange County-based Lincoln Club, a major California conservative donor group.

Researchers say the tactic mirrors "pink-slime" sites the foundation ran in 2024 targeting swing states. The outlet mixes political attacks on Acton with local-news-style filler to appear legitimate, raising concerns about undisclosed partisan influence ahead of Ohio's closely watched governor's race.

Following a FOX59/CBS4 debate between Democrat Beau Bayh and Republican Max Engling, Indiana's minor-party Secretary of State candidates, Lincoln Party's Greg Ballard and Libertarian Lauri Shillings, gave their own reactions. Both were excluded from the debate after polling below 10% support, with Bayh and Engling drawing the bulk of backing in a prior Free Press Indiana poll. Ballard and Shillings criticized the major candidates' sparring, pledged to avoid negative campaigning, and said they would have refused to share voter rolls with the federal government. Both also questioned the U.S. Department of Justice's plan to send election monitors to Marion and Lake counties for the midterms. Election Day is November 3, with early voting already underway.

U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-La., is heavily favored to win a third full term representing his New Orleans-to-Baton Rouge district on Nov. 3, facing token opposition from four little-funded challengers, including Republican Peter Williams. Carter, who is running unopposed to become the next chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, says the post will position him prominently ahead of the next presidential race, arguing "all roads to the White House will go through the South." He criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, both Louisiana Republicans, for backing Trump-era Medicaid cuts he says will hurt their own constituents. Carter expects Democrats to retake the House majority, giving him a larger platform to push back on Medicaid cuts and ICE enforcement tactics.

An ad from Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas) in her competitive reelection race against Democrat Bobby Pulido featured "Deputy Garcia" of Goliad County, who criticized Pulido as "anti-cop." Reporting identified the officer as Zachary Garcia, who was fired from the Wilson County Sheriff's Office in 2024 after an internal investigation found he sexually harassed a female dispatcher and a female supervisor. Records describe him tracking the dispatcher's phone location, repeatedly calling her, and waiting outside her home in uniform after she ended their relationship. Garcia later took the same role in Goliad County, whose sheriff defended him and criticized the ad's critics as partisan.

De La Cruz's campaign says it filmed the ad before the allegations became public and stands by its content, pointing instead to Pulido's past social media criticism of police and his association with a convicted sex offender. Pulido's campaign disputes those characterizations. The race is rated a toss-up, and the dispute adds a new flashpoint to an already contentious contest.

Alaska voters will decide this November whether to repeal the state's four-year-old election system, which combines an open top-four primary with ranked-choice voting in the general election. Supporters, including Senate President Gary Stevens and House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, say the system has fostered bipartisan governance and protected moderates from partisan primary pressure in a state where more than 60 percent of voters are unaffiliated. Critics argue the system is confusing and invites gamesmanship, pointing to two Republican candidates both named Dan Sullivan running for U.S. Senate, and to Democrats consolidating behind gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins after a rival dropped out.

The repeal campaign has drawn heavy out-of-state funding, including large donations from Elon Musk and Jeff Yass to a PAC backing the measure. This marks the third time since 2020 that Alaskans have voted on their primary system. The outcome could shape competitiveness in key races, including the three-way Republican gubernatorial field and the Senate contest involving Democrat Mary Peltola, while determining whether Alaska keeps its distinctive alternative to traditional partisan primaries.

Republicans redrew Texas' 35th Congressional District last year hoping to flip it, setting up a San Antonio-area race between Republican Carlos De La Cruz, an Air Force veteran and first-time candidate whose sister is Rep. Monica De La Cruz, and Democrat Johnny Garcia, a longtime Bexar County sheriff's deputy. Both are Latino men with law enforcement or military backgrounds who blur typical partisan lines: De La Cruz echoes anti-corruption, cost-cutting messaging similar to Democrats', while Garcia, a self-described "old school Democrat," breaks with his party on border policy and some social issues.

Analysts rank the 35th as a pivotal test of the GOP's mid-decade gerrymander and of whether Latino voters continue trending Republican after 2024. The district is majority Hispanic by eligible voters but leans Republican as drawn, having favored Trump by double digits last cycle. Spending has topped $9 million combined, with Trump's political network and House Majority PAC both pouring in money. Trump is set to rally for De La Cruz in San Antonio, underscoring national Republican stakes in preserving their House majority through races like this one.

Oregon's 2026 governor's race between Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek and Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan remains a toss-up, polling similarly tight to their 2022 contest, when Kotek won narrowly. A Drazan victory would be historic: Oregon hasn't elected a Republican governor in 44 years. Kotek has leaned heavily on tying Drazan to President Trump's unpopularity in the state, while Drazan has distanced herself from Trump and shifted toward working-class, bio-focused messaging after a divided GOP primary win.

Interviews with voters in Sherwood, a Portland suburb that nearly perfectly mirrors Oregon's statewide party registration and split three votes between the candidates in 2022, show ambivalence rather than enthusiasm on either side. Many voters say they are motivated more by fear of the alternative than support for their chosen candidate — concerns about housing costs, jobs, taxes, and Trump-era politics are driving decisions. Analysts say this anxiety-driven dynamic could determine turnout and ultimately decide the outcome of a race both candidates have framed as existential for Oregon's future.