Democratic candidates in Georgia, Maine and Michigan challenged their Republican opponents over President Trump and his policies during Thursday night's Senate debates. Party figures campaigned around the country, while Republicans voiced concern about their midterm prospects. The New York Times reported Trump's approval rating was near 37 percent. The debates covered the economy, tariffs and the war in Iran.
Senate contests and debate clashes
In Michigan, Democratic nominee Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and former Representative Mike Rogers faced off in a race polls describe as tight and one of the country's most expensive Senate contests. Their second and final debate was scheduled for Oct. 21 in Detroit. Rogers defended Flock Safety cameras as useful for catching people suspected of terrorism, then asked, "Why would that bother you?" El-Sayed replied, "Go ahead and say it." El-Sayed, who is of Egyptian descent, would become the country's first Muslim senator if elected. His campaign has faced racist and Islamophobic attacks.
Rogers repeatedly invoked Al Qaeda and Hamas, suggesting El-Sayed had support from people who backed those groups. El-Sayed's campaign denied the claims and pointed to articles it said showed they were false or misleading. On Israel, Rogers said U.S. support was a matter of national security. El-Sayed said Israel was responsible for pushing the United States into the Iran war. He also said both Iran and Israel had "proven dangerous in their own way."
The Michigan candidates clashed over data centers and artificial intelligence, too. Rogers said local governments should decide whether to allow data centers and expressed hesitation about federal rules. El-Sayed supports strong federal guardrails and proposed public control of AI companies. He said more than half the board members at leading companies should be publicly appointed or democratically elected, rather than selected by shareholders. If AI would take "nearly 50 percent of our white-collar jobs," he said, the public should have a real stake.
In Maine, Senator Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson held their second debate in three days. Polls showed them running neck-and-neck in a race that could affect control of the Senate. Jackson accused Collins and her husband of making money from the Iran war, citing her husband's disclosed stockholdings in two aerospace companies with Pentagon contracts. Collins called the accusation "absolutely outrageous" and said Jackson owed her an apology. Jackson replied, "No, you owe me an apology." Collins said she had voted against Trump's domestic policy bill and the war, and had spoken out against Canadian tariffs.
In Georgia, Democratic incumbent Senator Jon Ossoff debated Republican challenger Representative Mike Collins. Ossoff repeatedly asked how Trump's tariffs had helped Georgians. He criticized Collins's support for the Iran war and vote for the domestic policy bill, which included cuts to Medicaid and health insurance premiums. The Nov. 3 election could help determine control of the Senate. Collins criticized Ossoff's opposition to the SAVE America Act, which would impose stricter voter-identification rules and require proof of citizenship to vote.
Campaign strategy and the 2028 field
The Associated Press reported that potential 2028 presidential candidates were campaigning, raising money and helping party candidates during the midterms. California Gov. Gavin Newsom campaigned in several Southern states and backed Proposition 50, California's response to a Texas Republican mid-decade gerrymander. The measure created a congressional map that could help Democrats gain as many as five additional House seats in California this fall.
Vice President JD Vance campaigned across the Midwest, South and Alaska, focusing on the administration's efforts to root out fraud. He said he wasn't focused on running for president but was "trying to help elect Republicans." Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro focused on helping Democrats win both chambers of his state's legislature and flip four congressional seats. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear planned to lead a get-out-the-vote tour through key states, beginning in Nevada on Oct. 22.
Other potential contenders also spent money and time on midterm races. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's team said he had donated $38 million to the party's midterm efforts. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez backed Michigan candidate El-Sayed, saying, "If Abdul can win in Michigan, anybody can win anywhere." Texas Sen. Ted Cruz continued campaigning and fundraising, while former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg's team said he had endorsed nearly 100 candidates.
Party risks and voter concerns
The New York Times compared the midterms with the elections of 2006 and 2018, when Democrats were on offense and Republicans defended an unpopular president from their party. Redistricting had reduced the number of competitive House districts. Democrats held 215 seats and needed to flip three for a majority. In the Senate, they needed to retain all their seats and flip at least four Republican-held seats.
Former President Obama warned Senate Democrats that close polling could still bring losses: "All these races that are showing we've got a two- or three-point lead or it's a tossup, we could end up losing all of them by two points." The Wall Street Journal reported that Republicans were privately and publicly warning the party could perform poorly, with higher prices, the war with Iran and Trump's low approval rating as concerns.