by Steve Benen | Sep 28, 2026 | 2026 election, elections, Maddowblog, White House
Federal laws related to taxpayer-funded electioneering does not offer much in the way of wiggle room. As The Washington Post reported, it is illegal under federal law to use public funds for “propaganda purposes,” and the Government Accountability Office has said the prohibition applies to communications that are “purely partisan” and/or “designed to aid a political party or candidates.”
With this in mind, Donald Trump and his team launched an unusually brazen gambit last week, using taxpayer money to air a 30-second ad, which looked like a campaign commercial because it was: The spot, launched as the early voting window starts to open in earnest, was filled with images and video clips of Trump and his campaign slogans. It concluded with a Trump ally praising the president’s “toughness.”
The ad served no purpose other than to celebrate and glorify the president, who’s eager to run election-season ads intended to generate enthusiasm among core Republican voters.
The White House characterized the commercial as a “public service announcement,” which was every bit as ridiculous as it sounded.
What we didn’t know at the time was that the taxpayer-funded propaganda would be part of a series. As last week neared its end, the Republican administration released a second ad, also financed by the public, touting recent Trump speeches in which he heralded the national status quo as “the golden age of America.”
The third such ad, however, abandons all pretenses.
absolutely demented. like a scene from a horror movie— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-09-27T15:21:23.979Z
As part of his 2024 presidential election campaign, Trump and his team aired an odd black-and-white ad, featuring the candidate walking down a hallway in slow motion.
by Amy Fried | Sep 28, 2026 | Congress, elections, Opinion
Three months ago, Troy Jackson’s hopes of political success seemed dashed, as the former state senator finished third in the Maine Democratic gubernatorial primary. But then came a reversal of fortune so rapid that, if it were a script, Hollywood would reject it as too fanciful. After Graham Platner’s sudden fall, Jackson became the party’s standard-bearer for the U.S. Senate, facing the difficult task of beating Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Now a new poll has provided a reality check. The latest New York Times/Siena survey shows Collins ahead (though within the margin of error), 49%-46%. With control of the Senate in the balance, the poll set off alarm bells among Democrats hoping the upper chamber will be a check on President Donald Trump. But the president’s opponents shouldn’t panic. Other surveys, including two released the same day, show Jackson leading or tied. And regardless of what the polls say on any given day, any race involving Collins was always going to be a true toss-up right till the end.
Collins’ attacks have come fast and furious, and her side has a considerable cash advantage.
In each of her five previous Senate races, Collins has won with ticket-splitting voters who like and respect her. Six years ago, as Joe Biden was beating Trump 53%-44%, Collins prevailed over Democrat Sara Gideon, 51%-42%.
The Times survey shows a similar dynamic: Trump’s approval rating is just 32%, and 55% of the respondents want Democrats to control the Senate. Yet Collins is leading.
Collins’ campaigns include four elements: relentlessly attacking her opponents; responding to criticism with outrage and protestations about its unfairness; insisting that she’s bipartisan and centrist; and touting
by Will McDuffie | Sep 27, 2026 | elections, News
Maine Senate candidate Troy Jackson and fellow Democrats are hoping to finally oust GOP Sen. Susan Collins by focusing on her decisive vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, a justice who joined the majority in the Dobbs decision.
Four years after the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade shook the 2022 midterms, reproductive rights have reemerged as a central campaign issue in Maine, where Jackson aims to prevail where his party fell short six years ago. He has made the issue a core component of his pitch to voters in areas like Portland and its southern suburbs that include a healthy composition of politically moderate female voters.
“The fact that, just recently, [Collins] said that she doesn’t regret her vote on Kavanaugh says everything to me because I sure as hell do, and everybody else in this state and everybody else in this country does,” Jackson said at a town hall this week in the Portland suburb Scarborough.
But Jackson faces some headwinds in his attempts to sell reproductive rights as a core issue this fall. And he lacks potential ammunition in the form of Gov. Janet Mills, the most powerful female Democrat in Maine — who has not endorsed the Democratic nominee.
Jackson and Mills have a notoriously icy history, something Jackson was candid about during his run for governor.
“We obviously disagreed a lot — it’s no secret,” he said in April. “I mean, the governor vetoed more than 40 of my bills.”
A spokesman for Mills said Jackson hasn’t sought her support.
“Since becoming the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, Mr. Jackson has not reached out to the Governor to seek her support,”
by Bram Sable-Smith | Sep 26, 2026 | Abortion, Abortion Access, elections, Missouri, News, Reproductive Rights
After Missouri voters added abortion protections to the state constitution in 2024, Kelly McCoomb decided to keep her yard sign supporting the measure in the basement of her suburban St. Louis home. Abortion access is important to McCoomb. She wants her daughter to grow up in a state where the option is available if needed, and the sign was a keepsake from the day Missourians voted to reverse…
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by James Downie | Sep 26, 2026 | Congress, elections, Opinion
On Thursday, the U.S. Senate yet again surrendered one of its core constitutional powers. The chamber voted 49-50 on a war powers resolution directing President Donald Trump to halt the war with Iran. This was the 12th time a war powers resolution failed in the Senate, but the political climate was unlike any previous vote. The midterm outlook for the GOP has gone from tough to downright awful. Gas is nearly $4.50 a gallon; diesel is $6.50. Yet with one exception, vulnerable Republicans sided with the president. To the question, “Can any midterms result shake Trump’s hold on the GOP?,” we now have our answer.
In the spring, I wrote about the similarities between Trump’s second term and former President George W. Bush’s second term. Once again, a president, his party and many in the press have misread a narrow election victory as something more definitive (a windfall of “political capital” in Bush’s case, a “vibe shift” in Trump’s). Once again, the president’s political fortunes have fallen sharply. And once again, the fallout is endangering Republicans in seats that a year ago would have been considered rock solid for the GOP.
Sen. Jon Husted voted against the resolution, two days after he told Politico, “The war needs to come to an end as quickly as possible.”
If anything, in fact, Trump’s pre-midterm prognosis is even worse than Bush. Polling averages put the president’s net approval rating more than 20 points underwater. In the past week, he hit new lows for this term in a half-dozen polls, including CNN/SSRS, NBC News, Reuters/Ipsos, Strength in Numbers/Verasight and American Research Group. Various gimmicks — beef imports,
by Rudi Keller | Sep 26, 2026 | Congressional Map, elections, Gerrymandering, Missouri, News, Republican Party, Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday drove a stake through the heart of Missouri’s undead congressional map, ordering it be buried for the year and for voters to cast ballots in the districts they’ve used the past two election cycles. In a unanimous decision, the court said that state law rules in the case. “In short, as a matter of state law, the 2022 map — not the 2025 map — must be used…
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