memeorandum: Democrats, Don't Despair. There Are Bright Spots for Our Party. (Lis Smith/New York Times)

1:50 PM ET, November 6, 2022

Top Items:

Mark Murray / NBC News:

Democrats catch up to GOP on enthusiasm in final NBC News poll before midterms — NBC News poll: Republicans have momentum ahead of Election Day — The final national NBC News poll of the 2022 midterms finds a highly competitive campaign landscape ahead of Election Day.

Discussion: Politico, Des Moines Register, New York Post and PoliticusUSA

Lis Smith / New York Times:

Democrats, Don't Despair. There Are Bright Spots for Our Party. — The Democratic Party and Senator Mitch McConnell rarely see eye to eye on anything. But if Democrats hold the line in the elections on Tuesday and keep control of the Senate — and we still have a shot — it will come down to candidate quality.

Discussion: Fox News, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Post

Daniel Dale / CNN:

Trump and other Republicans are already casting doubt on midterm results — Former President Donald Trump posted on social media on Tuesday to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the midterm election in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania. “Here we go again!” he wrote. “Rigged Election!”

Discussion: Vanity Fair, New York Magazine and Detroit News

Bridget Bowman / NBC News:

NBC News poll: Voters most blame social media, cable news and Trump for political violence — More voters also said extreme rhetoric contributed to the attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband compared to past instances. — Social media, cable news media and former President Donald Trump bear …

Wall Street Journal:

A Quarter-Billion Dollars for the Walker-Warnock Georgia Senate Race Buys Tossup — Both parties are betting a win by their candidates, Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock, will yield a Senate majority in Tuesday's midterm election — ATLANTA—To win a single Senate seat …

Discussion: NBC News and Fox News

Henry J. Gomez / NBC News:
Vance projects confidence and Ryan predicts an upset as Ohio's turbulent Senate race nears its end

Discussion: HuffPost, Washington Free Beacon, TheBlaze, RedState, Plain Dealer and Fox News

NBC News: A spiral of violence and fear is creating angst for many voters ahead of the midterm elections

Washington Post:
Post-ABC poll: House vote nearly split, GOP has edge on economy and turnout

Discussion: The Hill and ABC News

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
The Marjorie Taylor Greene-ing of America

Discussion: CNN, Agence France-Presse, Axios and WHNT-TV

Steven Lee Myers / New York Times:

Russia Reactivates Its Trolls and Bots Ahead of Tuesday's Midterms — Researchers have identified a series of Russian information operations to influence American elections and, perhaps, erode support for Ukraine. — The user on Gab who identifies as Nora Berka resurfaced in August …

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

How Molly Jong-Fast Tweeted Her Way to Liberal Media Stardom — She wasn't a political expert. But her Trump-era angst found a following among Democrats — and even the White House is interested. — Molly Jong-Fast had just finished interviewing Vice President Kamala Harris for her podcast …

more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Ronald Lauder: New York's Billionaire Political Disrupter — The cosmetics heir has pumped at least $11 million into efforts to elect Representative Lee Zeldin, a Republican, as governor of New York. — Ronald S. Lauder, a 78-year-old cosmetics heir, philanthropist and art collector …

Discussion: Politico

Ed Pilkington / The Guardian:

‘He was chosen’: the rightwing Christian roadshow spreading the gospel of Trump — Part Trump rally, part religious service, and much conspiracy theory thrown in - on the eve of the midterms, Ed Pilkington visits the ReAwaken America tour — here is a man by the name of Donald," the voice on the recording says. "

Shia Kapos / Politico:

GOP megadonor: I'm ready to back DeSantis for president in '24 — MIAMI — Hedge fund CEO and philanthropist Ken Griffin smiled when asked if he wants to be the No. 1 political donor in 2024. — He has given nearly $60 million to federal Republican candidates and campaigns this election cycle.

Discussion: RedState and Washington Examiner

New York Post:

Democrat Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney's idea to combat inflation: have some Chef Boyardee — Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney said when inflation put the squeeze on his family he popped a can of Chef Boyardee - and declared “that's what families have to do.

Adam Sabes / Fox News:
Rep. Maloney recalls ‘eating Chef Boyardee’ as kid during inflation talk, says it's ‘what families have to do’

Discussion: Breitbart

Andy Bounds / Financial Times:

EU accuses US of breaking WTO rules with green energy incentives — Washington's Inflation Reduction Act could trigger retaliation from Brussels and other US allies — The US's flagship green technology legislation breaches global trade agreements, risks a global “race to the bottom” …

Discussion: Bloomberg

Olafimihan Oshin / The Hill:

Rick Scott says he will accept midterm results: ‘Absolutely’ if election is ‘free and fair’ — Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said on Sunday that he'll “absolutely” accept the results in Tuesday's midterm elections but then suggested Republicans would do so if they determine the contests are “free and fair.”

Discussion: NBC News, The Daily Beast and Raw Story

Tokyosand / Political⚡Charge:

The Week's Best Cartoons: The GOP Chooses Violence — My only message to you today is to please, please be sure you vote by Tuesday. As this week's cartoons clearly demonstrate, the GOP is eager to continue to drag us down a dark, dark path. We must keep them out of power at every level of government.

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

A Key Polling Warning Sign Has Dimmed Since September — The emergence of Republican-leaning pollsters has reduced the risk that polling averages will overestimate Democrats. — Way back in September, we noticed a warning sign in the polls: Democrats were showing strength in exactly …