by Steve Benen | Nov 4, 2026 | elections, Maddowblog, World
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Fresh evidence of Russian brutality: “A day after a Russian glide bomb attack killed at least 31 Ukrainians at a school distributing medicine and food, emergency workers braved armed Russian drones on Tuesday as they searched for dozens of people still missing, officials said.”
* The crisis conditions in federal law enforcement are ongoing: “The Justice Department is intensifying its investigation into the recruitment of an opponent with the same name as a Republican senator in Alaska, sending letters to about 20 Democrats informing them they might be targets, two people with knowledge of the move said. Sending such a notification at the decisive moment in a close race between the incumbent Republican, Dan Sullivan, and his Democratic opponent, Mary Peltola, is highly unusual.”
* It’s probably best to approach this claim with great skepticism: “On the morning of Election Day, Trump said $4 billion in U.S. military aid to Israel would be cut off at the end of the year, though the country would still be able to buy American weapons. … The president said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brought up the topic of stopping the aid, and Trump said Netanyahu told him he thought it would be ‘appropriate if we do not receive aid.’”
* The results of a rapid investigation: “Federal authorities charged an Oklahoma City man with sending hundreds of threatening letters, some containing a nontoxic white powdery substance, to lawmakers and election offices across the country ahead of the 2024 and 2026 elections.”
* Measles claims the life of another child: “A 7-month-old, unvaccinated child in New York’s North Country died after contracting
by Symone D. Sanders Townsend | Nov 3, 2026 | elections, Opinion
The election isn’t even over, and some people are already trying to lower expectations.
With Democrats favored to win back the House, the familiar warnings are already coming: Senate Republicans will block most of their bills. Trump will veto anything that gets through. And when administration officials refuse to testify, the Justice Department won’t enforce congressional subpoenas.
Those are real obstacles. But some naysayers go further: Since Democrats may not be able to force the administration to cooperate or enact their agenda, they should be wary of investigating it. Voters want their lives to get better, the argument goes, not another “accountability tour.”
In other words, holding the administration accountable for its actions over the past two years won’t work — and Democrats should resign themselves to being powerless before they’ve even taken control.
If voters give them the House, Democrats will have to show what they can accomplish with it.
Come on now. If this is how you approach politics, you should find another line of work.
Back in April, I wrote that Democrats needed to plan what they would do with power if voters gave it back to them. A victory would come with the expectation that they could improve people’s lives. If voters give them the House, Democrats will have to show what they can accomplish with it.
That work would test Hakeem Jeffries as speaker, along with the progressives promising a different approach and the moderates whose victories could make a majority possible. The disagreements that animated contentious primaries would move into caucus meetings, committee rooms and negotiations over which bills get a vote.
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‘You’ve still got to vote!’: MS NOW panel reacts to
by Chris Walker | Nov 3, 2026 | 2026 Elections, Adam Smith, Donald Trump, elections, Impeachment, iran war, News, Pete Hegseth
A high-ranking member of the Democratic congressional conference who previously had reservations about the idea of impeaching President Donald Trump has changed his mind, describing impeachment as imperative should Democrats win control of one or both houses in the midterm elections. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Washington) declined to commit to the idea of impeachment back in May…
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by Steve Benen | Nov 3, 2026 | 2026 election, elections, Maddowblog
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* While Donald Trump has been willing to invest his time in the midterm elections, speaking at a series of campaign rallies, he has been unwilling to invest his money. The Washington Sun reviewed Federal Election Commission records that indicated the incumbent president “hasn’t donated to any candidate committee, national party committee or super PAC during the 2026 election cycle, through Oct. 14.”
“There’s no public indication that Trump, who’s grown significantly richer during his second presidential term, has contributed his own money since then, either.”
This runs counter to claims the Republican made in early September, when he vowed, “I’m going to be making contributions to various campaigns and people that I think are good, Republicans that I think are good, people that I think are going to win, or can win, or are close to winning.”
That said, Trump’s super PAC, called MAGA Inc., has spent heavily in support of Republicans this year, even if the president kept his personal wallet closed for reasons he hasn’t explained.
* Speaking of campaign contributions, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg invested an additional $36 million in support of Democratic candidates in the election cycle’s closing weeks, on top of a previously reported $80 million in donations.
Among the beneficiaries were Keisha Lance Bottoms’ gubernatorial campaign in Georgia, Adam Hamilton’s Senate campaign in Kansas, and, in Texas, James Talarico’s Senate campaign and Gina Hinojosa’s gubernatorial campaign.
* Speaking of Lance Bottoms’ candidacy, the former Atlanta mayor launched an 11th-hour campaign ad from former President Bill Clinton. As Politico reported, “With Clinton’s election eve endorsement, Bottoms has achieved
by Mike Ludwig | Nov 3, 2026 | 2026 Elections, 2026 midterms, Donald Trump, elections, ICE, Know Your Rights, News, Voter Suppression, Voting Rights
Today is Election Day, and voting rights advocates are encouraging voters to assert their rights and go to the polls with confidence if they have not already cast a ballot. Meanwhile, Republicans continue to play defense after a surge in early voting, particularly among Black and Latino voters who were the targets of gerrymandering and voter suppression efforts. In addition to promoting…
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by Austin C. McCoy | Nov 3, 2026 | 2026 Elections, 2026 midterms, AI, ALPR, Anthropic, big tech, data centers, elections, Flock, labor, license plate readers, Meta, midterms, Op-Ed, OpenAI, Organizing, Taxes, Workers
Since taking front row seats at Donald Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025, Big Tech companies led by Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and others have accumulated more profits and political power than they have ever before enjoyed. However, as Big Tech has sought to impose AI technology onto U.S. communities, often without consent, masses of Americans have risen to challenge AI data…
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