Political campaign

Wendy Alvarez, mother of Arlene Alvarez, a 9-year-old fatally shot in Houston in 2022, is demanding Gov. Greg Abbott's reelection campaign remove an ad featuring her daughter's photo. The ad shows Arlene's aunt, April Aguirre, discussing the killing while criticizing Democratic opponent Gina Hinojosa's positions on bail and policing. Alvarez says she never consented to her daughter's image being used politically, though Aguirre brought the photo and volunteered for the ad without payment, according to Abbott's campaign. The man convicted in Arlene's death was sentenced to 20 years for manslaughter in September 2025. Alvarez says the backlash has led her to pause efforts for "Arlene's Law."

Washington's Public Disclosure Commission said it will stop enforcing the state's $7,500 cap on individual donations to political action committees during the final three weeks before an election. The cap had applied from Oct. 13 through Election Day, Nov. 3. Commissioners voted Thursday and announced the change Friday, after ballots had already gone out to voters. Direct contribution limits to candidates remain unchanged; only the restriction on large late donations to PACs is affected.

The timing raises the stakes for five contested Washington Supreme Court seats and Democrats' push for legislative supermajorities, since PACs can now accept unlimited sums from single donors in the campaign's closing days. Large contributions must still be publicly reported, generally within 48 hours, though officials acknowledge some donations may not surface until after votes are counted. The PDC said it acted over constitutional concerns about the cap's enforceability, not political considerations.

Kansas House District 19, covering parts of Overland Park, Prairie Village and Leawood in Johnson County, will see a rematch of its 2024 race. Democratic incumbent Stephanie Sawyer Clayton, who has held the seat since 2012 and switched parties from Republican to Democrat in 2018, faces Republican challenger Mark Hermes again after defeating him previously. A win would give Clayton a seventh term. Clayton's platform emphasizes government transparency, education funding, tax relief and reproductive access, while Hermes centers his campaign on judicial accountability, court reform and child welfare policy, including support for electing rather than appointing Kansas judges.

General elections are set for Nov. 3, with most polling locations open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Jackson County District Judge Nicole Hughes, appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in April, faces scrutiny over her ties to County Prosecutor Kelsey Guernsey, who has endorsed her, appeared at campaign events, and door-knocked on her behalf. Fellow Judge Robert Gaecke, who backs Hughes' opponent George Lyons, publicly criticized the arrangement as creating an "appearance of impropriety." Hughes and Guernsey deny wrongdoing, calling the criticism a campaign tactic, and Chief District Judge Daniel Goostrey backed Hughes' conduct. Legal ethics experts are split: some say a prosecutor campaigning for a judge who hears that office's cases raises serious neutrality concerns, while others see no formal violation of Michigan's judicial conduct canons.

More than a thousand people gathered at B.A. Clark Park in Spokane for the city's fifth "No Kings" rally, part of an ongoing series of demonstrations against the Trump administration. Attendees carried signs criticizing the president, the economy, tariffs, gas prices, immigration enforcement, the war in Ukraine, and Rep. Michael Baumgartner, while advocacy groups and political campaigns tabled nearby. Organizer Cynthia Hamilton, founder of Spokane Indivisible, said the recurring rallies aim to build community and sustain activist momentum into the November midterms, emphasizing organizing and education alongside protest. The event reflects continued grassroots opposition activity in the lead-up to the midterm elections.

California voters will decide in November whether to lift a 1988 ban that bars the state and most local governments from using public funds to finance political campaigns. Proposition 4 would authorize the state and most localities to establish public campaign financing systems for state and local races, similar to programs already used by seven charter cities including San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland. Candidates would need to meet qualifying criteria, such as securing small-dollar donors or accepting spending caps, to receive funding as grants, matching funds or vouchers.

Supporters, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, the state Democratic Party and good-government groups, argue public financing counters the influence of big private money and could broaden the pool of candidates. Opponents, including Republican lawmakers and some newspaper editorial boards, say taxpayers shouldn't subsidize campaigns and criticize the measure for lacking enforcement specifics, since it exempts the state's campaign finance watchdog from overseeing local programs. Voters rejected similar measures in 2000 and 2010, and recent polling shows continued public skepticism toward Prop. 4.