Roe v. Wade

Oklahomans elected Robert Franklin, a veteran educator of more than four decades, as state superintendent despite his lacking Republican Party endorsement. Franklin said he wants to move past the turmoil that marked the office under Ryan Walters, whose tenure brought clashes over library books, teacher certification fears, and tension between the governor's office and the education department. Walters resigned in 2025 to lead a conservative think tank, and Governor Kevin Stitt installed Lindel Fields as interim chief before Franklin's election. Franklin said his priorities include teacher support, smaller class sizes, and using opioid settlement funds for behavioral and counseling resources in schools.

Project 50, a political group founded by Illinois abortion-rights veterans including former state Sen. Heather Steans and ex-HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, is working to replicate Illinois' decades-old shift toward abortion access by targeting state legislative races in conservative states with bans or heavy restrictions. After early setbacks in Arizona, the group refocused on culturally conservative states in 2023, winning three races in its first three years and four more in 2025, including in Virginia. It has raised over $3.7 million from donors such as Michael Bloomberg and Gov. JB Pritzker. Organizers say the strategy targets voters uneasy with total abortion bans, not broad support for unrestricted access. Abortion-rights opponents call its electoral impact limited so far.

A new Detroit News/WDIV poll of likely Michigan voters finds President Trump's job approval largely unchanged since late summer, with about 59% disapproving versus 39% approving—among the weakest pre-midterm numbers for a president in recent history, comparable to George W. Bush in 2006. Disapproval is even steeper on Trump's handling of the Iran War and U.S.-Canada relations. Pollster Richard Czuba says Trump's approval has become the central dividing line in Michigan's 2026 races, including the competitive U.S. Senate contest between Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, where Rogers currently trails. Analysts say the dynamic echoes the 2022 midterms, when abortion politics drove Democratic wins statewide.

Ohio's 2026 governor's race could shape how the state's voter-approved reproductive-rights amendment is implemented, since the governor appoints health officials, directs funding, and decides how vigorously to defend abortion restrictions in court. Democrat Amy Acton supports abortion rights and pledges to protect the 2023 amendment while expanding access to contraception and IVF, though she has offered few policy specifics. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who did not respond to questions, has previously called himself "unapologetically pro-life" and backed six-week abortion bans during his 2024 presidential run, but has not detailed an Ohio agenda. Libertarian Don Kissick opposes both abortion bans and government efforts to expand abortion access, arguing government should stay out of the issue entirely.

Early voting opens Oct. 15 and runs through Oct. 31 in North Carolina, a key battleground in the 2025 midterms. The marquee race is the open U.S. Senate seat left by retiring Republican Thom Tillis, pitting Democrat and former Gov. Roy Cooper against Republican Michael Whatley, the Trump-backed former RNC chair, with Green and Libertarian candidates also on the ballot. Democrats are targeting the seat as part of a broader push to flip the four seats needed for Senate control.

The ballot also includes competitive U.S. House races, including Charlotte-area districts held by Reps. Alma Adams, Tim Moore and Mark Harris, plus down-ballot contests for the N.C. Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, state legislature, and Mecklenburg County offices. Voters will also weigh in on constitutional amendments covering voter ID, income tax caps and property tax limits, along with Charlotte bond measures for transportation, housing and neighborhood improvements. Election Day is Nov. 3, with North Carolina's results seen as a bellwether for national party control in Washington.

The Oregon Government Ethics Commission voted 8-0 to open a full investigation into state Rep. Lamar Wise, D-Portland, after a complaint alleged he failed to disclose $25,000 in stipend income from Seeding Justice, a Portland-based social justice nonprofit, on his 2026 statement of economic interest.

Seeding Justice has administered state funds, including a $15 million fund to protect abortion access and a climate protection allocation it later withdrew from. A commission investigator said Wise's omission likely did not cross the 10% household-income disclosure threshold, but he appears to have violated a separate requirement to list organizations with potential legislative or administrative interest in his role.

Wise said he has amended his disclosure form and is cooperating with investigators, who he said recommended only a letter of education to close the case. He was appointed to the legislature in November 2025, succeeding the late Rep. Hòa Nguyễn, and faces Republican Andrew Morrison in next month's election for the seat.

Sen. Susan Collins (R) and Troy Jackson (D) met Tuesday for the first of four scheduled debates in Maine's closely watched Senate race, with polls showing the contest a near-even toss-up that could help decide Senate control. Jackson repeatedly pressed Collins over her vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh, linking it to the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade; Collins said she disagreed with Kavanaugh's ruling but did not believe he misled her on the issue being "settled law."

Collins emphasized her pro-choice stance and independence from President Trump, disputing claims she votes with him 96 percent of the time and noting her opposition to his tax and spending package's final passage. Jackson countered that her earlier committee vote advancing the bill made her complicit. The two also split on immigration enforcement following a fatal ICE shooting in Biddeford, with Jackson calling for disbanding ICE and Collins favoring reform. The candidates also sparred over Trump's tariffs on Canada: Collins touted securing exemptions for road salt, concrete and pulp, while Jackson argued the carve-outs did little to offset broader price increases. Jackson entered the race after progressive primary winner Graham Platner withdrew amid misconduct allegations; three more debates are set over the coming weeks.

President Donald Trump, speaking at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, said higher gas prices from the Iran conflict were "a small price to pay for keeping the world safe," adding that Iran could "take out" Los Angeles or San Diego and calling it "a very small price to pay" that would be "over with very soon." The crowd cheered. The remark came roughly a month before the midterm elections.

California officials responded swiftly. Governor Gavin Newsom called the comment "dangerous -- if not treasonous," directed the State Threat Assessment Center to monitor for threats against California, and later escalated by calling Trump "mentally ill" and demanding invocation of the 25th Amendment. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told Trump to "keep LA out of your damn mouth," and gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra accused him of treating Californians' lives as "a punchline." San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and other mayors, along with Rep. Derek Tran, condemned the remarks. The White House and allies countered that Trump's full remarks were being taken out of context, arguing he meant Iran could strike those cities only if it obtained nuclear weapons, not that the U.S. should allow such an attack.