Political party

Haywood County, North Carolina voters choose a new sheriff on Nov. 3, with Democrat Tyler Howell facing Republican Mark Mease after both won March primaries; Mease ousted incumbent Sheriff Bill Wilke in the GOP contest. Howell rose from police dispatcher to patrol officer and has spent years in community policing with the Waynesville Police Department. Mease built his career at the Haywood County Sheriff's Office, from narcotics investigator to captain, before joining Cherokee Tribal Police.

Both candidates emphasize rebuilding community trust, improving rural deputy presence, and addressing mental health and addiction in sentencing. They differ slightly on Flock surveillance cameras, with both backing the tool but citing privacy and oversight concerns. Early voting ended Oct. 31.

Ohio state Sen. Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) has introduced Senate Bill 479 to prohibit gambling on elections, a measure that would extend to prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket. The bill follows a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Ohio can regulate prediction markets under state gambling law, a decision Kalshi is appealing. DeMora cited election-security concerns, noting large sums already wagered on Ohio's governor and Senate races, and argued unregulated prediction markets avoid taxes and licensing fees paid by sports betting operators. The bill awaits committee assignment and is unlikely to advance before the legislature returns from break in November.

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.

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.

Texas began early voting for the midterm election this week, with 812,998 ballots cast in the first two days. Analysis of primary voting history, compiled by consultant Derek Ryan, shows voters with a Democratic primary-only history outpacing Republican primary-only voters by 69,046 ballots on day one — a reversal from 2022, when Republicans led by 81,429 votes at the same point. Ryan cautions it's too early to draw firm conclusions, noting highly engaged repeat voters dominate turnout so far, with first-time voters making up only 3% of ballots cast.

A similar pattern has emerged in North Carolina's Buncombe County, where nearly 40,000 voters cast ballots in the first six days, with registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans nearly 4 to 1 (18,639 to 4,861), alongside 16,274 unaffiliated voters.

Colorado, once a reliable Republican state, has leaned decidedly Democratic in recent cycles, and 2026 looks similar. Gov. Phil Weiser and Sen. John Hickenlooper are favored for easy wins over underfunded Republican opponents Victor Marx and Mark Baisley, with some GOP figures, including former Rep. Ken Buck, crossing over to back Weiser. The closest races are in the U.S. House: Democrat Manny Rutinel is seen as favored over Republican incumbent Gabe Evans in District 8, while Republican incumbent Jeff Crank is expected to hold District 5 against well-funded Democrat Jessica Killin despite backlash over the Space Command relocation. Analysts attribute the overall Democratic advantage to anti-Trump sentiment and weak Republican statewide recruitment.