It’s last-minute garbage time as the midterms are just over a week away, with candidates uncorking their dirtiest ads, their filthiest charges and their ugliest rhetoric. This barrage is fueled as never before by social media, and a surging public interest since any one of a dozen states could tip the battle for Senate control. I feel like taking a shower. The chairman of Montana’s Democratic Party, Shannon O’Brien, just resigned, underscoring the extreme sensitivity to national politics.The party, she said in an MS NOW essay, "is more divided than ever not because of our values but because of the race for the U.S.
Senate… The winner of this race will almost certainly vote on a nominee to the Supreme Court."THE NINE KEY RACES THAT WILL DECIDE WHO CONTROLS THE SENATE, AND WHERE THEY STANDPresident Donald Trump speaks on stage on the first day of the 2026 Republican National Convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Sept.9, 2026.
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)O’Brien said there are "real questions" about the Democratic candidate’s views on such issues as abortion and poverty.Virginia’s Democratic state senator L.Louise Lucas was just indicted on federal charges including racketeering conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, related to her co-ownership of a cannabis business.The probe predates the Trump administration, but Lucas vowed to fight back: "I grew up under Jim Crow.
I’ve seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up to them."It’s like an echo chamber.President Trump has already nationalized the election by saying people should vote as if he’s on the ballot–and barnstorming with increasingly tough talk about the Democrats.A local council member in suburban Des Moines, Shellie Flockhart, appeared in an ad ripping a Democratic candidate as "just plain dangerous" for kids–but the Washington Post reported that she once pleaded guilty to child endangerment after driving drunk with...