Midterm Elections Updates: Tulsi Gabbard Endorses Republican Adam Laxalt for Senate
Midterm Elections Updates: Tulsi Gabbard Endorses Republican Adam Laxalt for Senate

By The Epoch Times Staff

The latest on the midterm elections.

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Tulsi Gabbard Endorses Republican Adam Laxalt for Senate

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has handed her endorsement to Nevada Republican Senate candidate Adam Laxalt, while calling his contender “Joe Biden’s rubber stamp.”

In her Oct. 17 video, Gabbard cited the “woke” ideologies that “demonize police, back open borders, and believe biological men should compete in women’s sports,” as the reason for her to leave the Democratic Party.

She pointed out that these are all the policies embraced by incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who is challenging Laxalt in the Senate race.

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Murkowski Faces Tshibaka and Chesbro in Alaska Senate Debate

Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Alaskans want results, not “partisan political rhetoric,” as she faced her former President Donald Trump-backed Republican rival Kelly Tshibaka in a televised debate Thursday. Tshibaka questioned the value of Murkowski’s seniority and said it’s time for a change.

Murkowski “cannot accomplish in the next six years what she hasn’t been able to accomplish in the last 21 years,” Tshibaka said.

Murkowski, who has held the seat since late 2002 and is the most senior member of Alaska’s congressional delegation, said the race is about “who can best deliver for Alaska.” Murkowski pointed to and defended her record.

The debate, held less than two weeks before the Nov. 8 ranked-choice election, also included Democrat Pat Chesbro, who has significantly trailed Murkowski and Tshibaka in fundraising. The other candidate on the ballot, Republican Buzz Kelley, who finished fourth in the August primary, last month suspended his campaign and endorsed Tshibaka.

Trump, who came to Alaska in July for a rally with Tshibaka and Republican Sarah Palin, whose House run he’s endorsed, participated in a tele-rally for Tshibaka earlier this week. He called Murkowski “one of the worst senators even imaginable.” He criticized her for voting for the “insane impeachment” and for opposing the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Murkowski was censured by state Republican party leaders last year for reasons including her criticism of Trump and vote to convict him during his second impeachment trial last year. Trump was acquitted.

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Schumer Caught on Hot Mic Warning Biden Democrats ‘Going Downhill’ in Georgia Senate Race

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was overheard on a hot mic on Thursday telling President Joe Biden that Georgia’s Senate race was “going downhill” for Democrats.

“The state where we’re going downhill is Georgia. It’s hard to believe that they will go for Herschel Walker,” Schumer can be heard telling Biden at the airport in Syracuse, New York.

Walker, a former NFL and college football star running back, is campaigning against Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-S.C.) in a heated race for Georgia’s Senate seat.

With fewer than two weeks until the midterm elections, a recent Monmouth University poll released on Oct. 26 found the race remains close, showing 48 percent of voters definitely, or probably, voting for Warnock, while 45 percent said the same thing about Walker.

“The poll does not attempt to predict turnout, but past voter history metrics and self-reported enthusiasm give a picture of a range of possible outcomes,” Monmouth University noted.

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Biden to Vote Early in Delaware With His Granddaughter

President Joe Biden will cast his midterm election ballot this weekend in his home state of Delaware, where in-person early voting begins Friday.

The White House said Biden will vote alongside his granddaughter Natalie, 18, who is a first-time voter. The Democratic president is casting his ballot as his party is facing an uphill battle to hold on to control of Congress and as Democrats have made a priority of encouraging their supporters to vote early in jurisdictions where it is available to maximize turnout.

Biden’s trip to his polling place comes as he is spending a long weekend at his Wilmington home. He’ll make a brief trip to nearby Philadelphia on Friday night to attend an event for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party with Vice President Kamala Harris. A Democratic official said the fundraiser will raise $1 million for the state party, with Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in a close race against GOP nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz for a critical U.S. Senate seat.

Last month, Biden made a quick last-minute trip to Wilmington to cast his ballot in the state’s Democratic primary. At the time, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden’s schedule required the brief Air Force One jaunt to Wilmington to vote.

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Florida Voters Asked to Scrap One Way to Amend Constitution

Florida voters are deciding whether to get rid of a commission that meets every 20 years to recommend changes to the state constitution, the only such panel among the U.S. states that refers amendments directly to a statewide ballot.

Opponents of the Constitution Revision Commission say it has gone beyond its original mandate, lacks accountability and has become a venue for new statewide policy to be proposed to a group of temporary officials who—in contrast to the elected Legislature—are unelected appointees.

The commission isn’t the only way to refer state amendments to voters. The Legislature can do so, as can citizens through initiative petitions.

Still, some citizen groups don’t want to lose the commission, which Common Cause Florida calls “an important pathway Floridians have to change their state’s constitution.” The group is urging voters to reject the measure in voting that started in Florida on Oct. 24 and culminates Nov. 8.

The commission was created in the late 1960s and met in 1977–1978, 1997–1998, and 2017–2018. Its critics say it was only intended to propose clean-up language or delete obsolete provisions, though the constitution gives it broad authority to set its own rules, procedures, and agenda.

The governor, Senate president, House speaker—who in some years can be all from the same political party—appoint 33 of the panel’s members. The Supreme Court chief justice appoints three members, and the attorney general is an automatic appointee.

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Biden, Harris to Campaign for Fetterman After Rocky Debate Performance

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will head to Pennsylvania on Oct. 28 and make a rare joint appearance to campaign on behalf of Senate hopeful John Fetterman, a fellow Democrat, after his rocky debate performance fueled concern inside his party, reports and public records indicate.

Biden and Harris, who rarely appear together, are scheduled to attend the Pennsylvania Democratic Party’s 3rd Annual Independence Dinner on Friday, along with the party’s 2022 candidates, including Fetterman.

Fetterman, who experienced a stroke five months ago, appeared onstage Tuesday to debate rival Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz as the two vie for a key Senate seat.

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Kari Lake’s Former TV Station Declares Lake’s Opponent Winner 2 Weeks Before Election

The television station that used to employ Arizona Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake on Oct. 27 called the race for Lake’s opponent, despite the fact the election won’t be held until November.

A graphic displayed by Fox 10, the TV station, said that Katie Hobbs, the Democrat nominee, won the election with 53 percent of the vote.

The graphic was shown during a newscast at about 5:50 p.m. local time.

Fox 10 acknowledged airing the graphic, blaming what happened on a test gone wrong.

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Obama Looks to Light Up Democrat’s Chances in Key Georgia US Senate Race

Democrats call in Barack Obama on Friday in the hopes that the former president can excite voters in Georgia and help the party hold onto a critical U.S. Senate seat.

Obama, a two-term Democrat who left office in 2017, will stump in Atlanta for Senator Raphael Warnock, who faces Trump-backed Republican challenger Herschel Walker, and Stacey Abrams, who is running against Republican Governor Brian Kemp.

Georgia is top takeover target for Republicans, who need to pick up just one seat to gain control of the Senate.

Obama’s appearance is the start of a five-state tour that will take him to the battleground states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. That last appearance, on the Saturday before the Nov. 8 midterm elections, will be joined by President Joe Biden, who has held back from campaigning in some key battlegrounds as he struggles with low public approval ratings.

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Nevada County Pauses Hand Vote Count After Supreme Court Says Process Illegal

A Nevada county’s hand count of mail-in ballots was put on pause on Thursday after the state’s Supreme Court ruled the process was illegal, after previously giving it the green light.

Nye County began counting mail-in ballots on Wednesday after the state supreme court last week ruled that it be conducted in a way that prevents the public release of early results before polls close to in-person voting.

Some 60 volunteers have begun the unprecedented hand-count process, during which multiple teams of five people were split up and placed in separate rooms to count batches of 50 ballots by hand at a Nye County office building in Pahrump, 60 miles west of Las Vegas, according to local reports.

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Pennsylvania GOP Congressional Candidate Running to Protect the American Dream

Republican U.S. House candidate Lisa Scheller told attendees at a campaign event that she is running for Congress to protect the American dream for future generations.

Scheller—who is the CEO of Silberline Manufacturing Co.—is looking to unseat incumbent Democratic Representative Susan Wild. Midterms are less than two weeks away, and polling suggests the two candidates are evenly matched.

Scheller held a press conference after a fundraising event on Wednesday, to talk about her platform, which emphasizes crime, border security, and inflation.

“What I want to make sure happens is that we protect the American dream for generations to come. Because right now, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and my opponent, Susan Wild are working hard to turn it into a socialist nightmare,” she said.

Katabella Roberts, Tom Ozimek, Zachary Stieber, William Huang, Lily Sun, Lorenz Duchamps, Hannah Ng,  Reuters, and The Associated Press, contributed to this report.

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