President Donald Trump continues to rally Republicans with a stop in North Carolina tonight, hoping to boost voter turnout and support for Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley. And while some candidates, like Whatley, accept the president’s participation in their campaign, others seem less enthusiastic. John Sununu, the Republican Senate candidate from New Hampshire, has distanced himself from Trump in a new television ad, even though he has the president’s endorsement. Meanwhile, this year’s midterm elections are poised to break advertising spending records, with more than $11 billion projected for Election Day. A big driver of those skyrocketing costs are billionaire mega-donors from both sides of the aisle, who fuel the advertising blitz. If you’re just joining us, here’s the latest: Money flowing in changing races: The Cook Political Report, an election forecasting agency, made changes to its ratings for three Senate races. Cook moved the Senate race in South Carolina from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican.” The Senate race in Mississippi also moved from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican,” reflecting the GOP’s deteriorating prospects there. Cook also changed the Senate race in Minnesota from “likely Democrat” to “leaning Democrat.” Voter turnout in North Carolina: Just over 9% of North Carolina registered voters have already voted in the 2026 midterm elections, according to the state Board of Elections. A total of 733,299 early in-person and absentee votes have been cast. Slight Democratic lead in Ohio: A new CNN polling average, including four recent polls of likely voters, finds Democrat Sherrod Brown with a narrow lead over Republican Jon Husted, 49% to 44%. Michigan Senate race: Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed laid out their competing visions for how to bring jobs and manufacturing back to the state as they work to make their final pitch to voters before Election Day at a Detroit Economic Club candidate forum. Michigan Senate candidates vie for support from Black voters in recent weeks Black voters on both sides of the aisle say Michigan Senate candidates should not take their vote for granted in this crucial election. CNN’s Jeff Zeleny reports. CNN Shorts: Michigan Senate candidates vie for Black voters’ support in recent weeks 2:01 CNN’s Kit Maher, David Wright, Patrick Svitek, Katherine Koretski, Ariel Edwards-Levy, Elise Hammond and Dianne Gallagher contributed to this report.
