elections

Democrats are going back on the air in support of Ohio’s Aftab Pureval, after Republicans seized on a brief lapse in spending early this week to speculate about the viability of his House campaign. 

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee renewed its ad reservation in Ohio’s 1st District on Monday night, which would leave a lag of about one day between the time the previous reservation expired and when the new one goes into effect Wednesday morning, spokeswoman Amanda Sherman said. 

It’s two weeks until Election Day, and with some parts of the country already engaged in early voting, Roll Call’s coverage of the midterms showcases reporting on the ground in battleground states, the latest political handicapping from our election and political analysts, and a rundown of the most competitive House and Senate races. 

Here’re a few helpful links to race ratings, analysis, stories from the campaign trail, a predict-the-midterms contest and more. We’ll add more as Election Day draws near. 

President Donald Trump must’ve spent some time offstage Monday night in Houston talking up his new middle-class tax cut idea to Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, because the House chief’s tax writer has agreed to take on the project. 

In recent days Trump has started talking about working with Congress on new tax cut legislation focused on providing further relief to the middle-class. He initially said a measure would be unveiled before November 1, revised that to after the election and then reversed the time back to next week.

PHOENIX — Rep. Ruben Gallego is focused on helping Democrats win in Arizona in 2018, but he’s also weighing a Senate run of his own in two years time. And he’s confident he would win a Democratic primary.

The Arizona Democrat has previously said he is considering a run for the 2020 special election for the last two years of the late Republican Sen. John McCain’s term. Former GOP Sen. Jon Kyl was appointed to McCain’s seat, but he has said he plans to step down at the end of the year.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 6. Despite what you may have heard.

A rumor in North Carolina that independent voters are ineligible for early voting. Fliers in Florida that falsely tell voters who have already mailed in their ballots that they have “not yet returned” them.

Embattled Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein finally testifies. The Senate Judiciary Committee will continue its autumn of discontent. And President Donald Trump will sign opioids legislation before taking his midterms road show to Wisconsin.

No, Wednesday will not be your typical recess day. Rather, it will be a cable news bonanza chronicling the country’s era of tribal political warfare.

Just two weeks before the midterm elections on Nov. 6, Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester held a 3-point advantage over his Republican challenger in a new poll released by the Montana Television Network and Montana State University.

Tester, seeking a third term, led state auditor Matt Rosendale, 46 percent to 43 percent in the survey of registered voters. That’s within the margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points for the poll conducted by mail of more than 2,000 registered voters from late September through early October.

President Donald Trump’s approval rating among men has climbed to an all-time high in Wisconsin at 59 percent, while his approval among women in the state stands at a paltry 39 percent, according to a new poll.

The gap is reportedly the largest in the history of Marquette Law Schools’ polling and suggests Democrats should look to turn out women in November.

ANALYSIS — Are we still headed for a Democratic wave in the House next month? That all depends on how you define a wave. But one thing is clear: Democrats are still likely to flip the chamber even after all the buzz about a post-Kavanaugh Republican bounce.

A wave occurs when a large number of one party’s seats flip to the other party, invariably because of a national political figure (the president, usually) or a national issue. Many competitive seats change hands, and at least a few entrenched incumbents suddenly find themselves in trouble.

LEDGEWOOD, N.J. — Nobody dislikes New Jersey Rep. Leonard Lance. 

The moderate Republican voted against what were supposed to be his party’s major legislative achievements this Congress: the tax overhaul and the repeal of the 2010 health care law. And unlike many of his GOP peers, he’s actually held town hall meetings. His civility and the carefulness with which he chooses his words hark back to a different political era.