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

11:45 AM 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: Des Moines Register

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: The Gateway Pundit and Washington Post

Henry J. Gomez / NBC News:

Vance projects confidence and Ryan predicts an upset as Ohio's turbulent Senate race nears its end — COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republican J.D. Vance believes “we're in a very good place.” — Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan believes “things are moving our way.” — One of them will be wrong Tuesday …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, TheBlaze, RedState, Plain Dealer, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit and Page Array

Washington Post:

Post-ABC poll: House vote nearly split, GOP has edge on economy and turnout — Republicans need to win a net of five seats to take control of the House. Democrats face overwhelming odds to prevent that from happening. — Republicans hold significant advantages on the bread-and-butter issues …

Discussion: The Hill and ABC News

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: New York Magazine and Detroit News

ABC News:

‘This Week’ Transcript 11-06-22: Sen. Cory Booker & Gov. Glenn Youngkin — A rush transcript of “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” airing on Sunday, November 6, 2022 on ABC News is below. This copy may not be in its final form, may be updated and may contain minor transcription errors.

Discussion: Associated Press, Politico and The Hill

Des Moines Register:
Iowa Poll: Chuck Grassley widens lead over Mike Franken in US Senate race

Discussion: Raw Story, Fox News and Vox

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

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

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 …

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

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. "

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 and WHNT-TV

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 …

Washington Post:

U.S. privately asks Ukraine to show it's open to negotiate with Russia — The encouragement is aimed not at pushing Ukraine to the negotiating table, but ensuring it maintains a moral high ground in the eyes of its international backers — The Biden administration is privately encouraging Ukraine's leaders …

Discussion: HotAir, The Guardian, The Times of Israel, TASS, Andrew Korybko's Newsletter, Mike Klonsky's Edu/Pol, Reuters, Al Jazeera and The Hill

Dell Cameron / Gizmodo:

Homeland Security Admits It Tried to Manufacture Fake Terrorists for Trump — A new Homeland Security report details orders to connect protesters arrested in Portland to one another in service of the Trump's imaginary antifa plot. — Alerts — The Department of Homeland Security launched …

Charles / PollsAndVotes:

Pre-election polling trends — Here is my look at the pre-election polling, as of Nov. 5, 2022. — The raw polling data is from FiveThirtyEight.com, who generously allow download of their polling database. The trends are my estimates and not those of FiveThirtyEight or anyone else.

NBC News:

A spiral of violence and fear is creating angst for many voters ahead of the midterm elections — WASHINGTON — Armed men in masks and tactical gear have shown up at secure ballot drop boxes. Candidates of both parties have been physically attacked, election workers intimidated.

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: Washington Examiner