The Justice Department is escalating a criminal investigation over an Alaska Senate candidate who shares a name with the Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan, issuing a raft of new grand jury subpoenas, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday. The subpoenas were issued after The New York Times reported that Democratic candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan Jr. as part of an alleged effort to confuse voters in the hotly contested race.
Trump, meanwhile, campaigned in South Carolina for the second time this month to rally Republican support for Darline Graham as she spends the final days of the midterm election trying to fend off a robust challenge from Democrat Annie Andrews for a critical U.S. Senate seat. Andrews has mounted an unexpectedly competitive race against Graham.
With a handful of campaign stops left on Trump’s schedule, the president converted a planned event in Kansas into a virtual tele-rally. Trump plans to hold more than 20 tele-rallies before Tuesday’s Election Day, according to the White House. GOP Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall faces an extraordinarily competitive race for reelection against Democrat and Methodist megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton.
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Hours after the White House scrapped a planned weekend rally for Kansas, Trump took offense when asked by a reporter whether the cancellation was because he’s sick.
Trump, who has been on a weekslong campaign push for fellow Republicans, noted he still plans to travel to Florida on Friday to campaign and that he would do telephonic rallies for several candidates, including Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall.
“You’ve been following me for two weeks. I feel perfect,” Trump snapped at the reporter. “You are disgusting. Put yourself in shape. You look like hell.”
Trump, however, noted earlier on Thursday at a rally in South Carolina that his campaign barnstorming has left him a bit hoarse.
Asked about the cancellation of a Saturday campaign rally in Kansas and whether it was tied to an illness, Trump on Thursday denied being sick.
“I’m not going to Kansas because he’s doing very well,” Trump said, apparently referring to Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, who is locked in a competitive race.
“I feel perfect,” said Trump, who spoke with a rasp at a Thursday campaign stop in South Carolina.
“I don’t feel I have to go to Kansas,” Trump said, adding that he will hold a tele-rally instead and keep plans to travel to Florida on Friday.
The president will participate in tele-rallies Thursday night for candidates in Colorado and Montana, as part of a plan to have him hold nearly two dozen tele-rallies before Election Day, according to a person familiar with the operation who spoke on condition of anonymity to share internal plans and strategy.
Decisions about Trump’s schedule for the days coming days may change as data comes in to his team, according to the person. But Trump’s team is feeling more optimistic about Republican prospects, feels the contests are tightening in the final days and feel bullish in particular about Kansas, where Trump’s planned in-person event for Saturday is being converted into a tele-rally.
The decision to convert Kansas to a tele-rally and add many more to the president’s calendar in the final days is an attempt hit as many areas as possible in limited time, the person said.
Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who ran an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate after being endorsed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, said Thursday she has voted for Troy Jackson.
Mills is termed out as governor and initially emerged as the establishment favorite to run against Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a race Democrats believe is key to taking back the chamber. But her campaign stalled and she suspended it before she lost a June primary to Graham Platner.
Platner then dropped out in July after a sexual assault allegation that he has denied. Democrats called a special nominating convention that month.
Jackson won, while Mills did not seek the nomination.
Mills has not endorsed a candidate in the race. She said via X on Thursday that she voted for Jackson and encourages Mainers to “vote for Democrats up and down the ballot who will stand up for our values and stand up to Trump.”
The Justice Department is escalating a criminal investigation over an Alaska Senate candidate who shares a name with the Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan, issuing a raft of new grand jury subpoenas, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The subpoenas seeking grand jury testimony or documents, along with records preservation demands, were issued after The New York Times reported that Democratic candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan Jr. as part an alleged effort to confuse voters in the hotly contested race.
More subpoenas were expected to be sent on Thursday, according to a person briefed on the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing probe. Neither the recipients of the subpoenas nor the number of them was immediately clear.
The Justice Department for months has been looking into allegations that Dan J. Sullivan Jr. entered the race to siphon votes from the incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan.
The new subpoenas were confirmed by a person briefed on the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing probe.
By Meg Kinnard and Alanna Durkin Richer
Rob Sand, the Democrat running to be Iowa’s next governor, asked a few dozen voters in Clive, Iowa, to make sure they aren’t reflecting back next Wednesday thinking they wish they had done more to get him and other candidates elected. Sand asked loyal Democrats to knock doors and make phone calls to help turn out the vote.
The message reflects years of day-after disappointment for Iowa Democrats who have seen Republicans take control of state government and the entire federal delegation. Sand, who is state auditor, is currently the only Democrat elected to statewide office.
Sand emphasizes the benefits of divided government, saying he’d likely be working as governor with a Republican-controlled state Legislature.
“That means that the people on the far left and on the far right will both be a little bit disappointed,” Sand said, “but the vast majority of us who find ourselves somewhere in the middle can actually be satisfied with the direction of things for our state.”
“So go out, vote as soon as possible,” Trump said as he wrapped up. “Vote on Election Day. Just get out. You got to vote.”
Trump will head back to Washington to help his wife, first lady Melania Trump, hand out candy at an early Halloween trick-or-treating event at the White House.
About half of registered voters say the economy, healthcare and the situation in Iran are each “extremely important” to their vote for Congress this year, according to a new Gallup poll.
The poll — conducted earlier this month — found the share of voters saying the economy is “extremely important” to their vote is roughly in line with Gallup’s measurement from 2022, as Americans worried about high inflation.
Democratic voters are more likely than Republican voters to say many issues are highly important to their vote, including the economy, healthcare and the situation in Iran. That heightened concern is typical for the party that’s out of power.
Pivoting to yet another marquee Senate contest as he rallied in South Carolina, Trump said Thursday that he feels Democratic Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola “actually should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted.”
Trump has called for the criminal prosecution of Peltola and her staff after revelations that her campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting another candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan.
Overnight, Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation into Peltola. Earlier Thursday, Trump cast doubt on whether Peltola would be seated in the Senate even if she won.
After he talked at length about North Carolina’s open Senate contest, Trump veered off the South Carolina campaign trail to comment on tight races in Michigan and Texas.
Saying Abdul El-Sayed is “definitely” part of the Muslim Brotherhood, Trump also said any Black or Jewish voters who supported the Democratic nominee were “crazy.” There is no evidence that El-Sayed, who is Muslim, has any affiliation with the group, an Islamic movement with branches that the U.S. government has designated as terrorist organizations.
And of Democratic Texas Senate nominee James Talarico, Trump said he “doesn’t want meat, oil or guns.”
Ultimately getting back to the state where he was rallying, Trump called South Carolina’s Democrat Annie Andrews “too crazy, too radical and too dangerous” to serve in the U.S. Senate.
Two minutes into his Rock Hill rally on Thursday, Trump pivoted to a neighboring state, delivering five minutes’ worth of comments on the North Carolina Senate race.
Trump in that contest has endorsed Republican Michael Whatley, who helmed the Republican National Committee during his 2024 campaign.
Most of Trump’s comments focused on his criticism of “terrible governor” Roy Cooper, now the Democratic Senate nominee.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance have stumped with Whatley multiple times during the general election campaign. Trump’s appearance in Rock Hill is just south of the border between the two Carolinas.
“I’m really here to talk about Darline,” Trump said, before talking more about Cooper.
The president’s planned campaign stop in Salina has been converted into a virtual tele-rally, according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The White House said in a statement that the president is going to hold more than 20 tele-rallies before Tuesday’s Election Day.
“These events give him the opportunity to highlight his accomplishments and expand his reach across the country,” the statement said.
—By Michelle Price
The cancellation of Saturday’s event was confirmed Thursday by Danedri Herbert, the chair of the Kansas Republican Party.
The rally had been planned as an effort to help GOP Sen. Roger Marshall, who’s in an extraordinarily competitive race for reelection against Democrat and Methodist megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton.
Herbert did not immediately give a reason, but the director of the Salina Airport Authority told KSNW-TV that as saying it resulted from a scheduling issue. The rally was to have been held at 10:30 a.m. in a hangar at the airport in Salina, about 100 miles (177 kilometers) west of Topeka.
Trump had a rally for Marshall on Oct. 19 in Wichita, and his plans for a second rally had been seen as a sign of deep concern about Marshall’s chances of winning. JD Vance also headlined rallies for Marshall in the Kansas City area in September and in Topeka on Monday.
Speaking ahead of Trump at his second rally in South Carolina in two weeks, the interim GOP senator commended the president for having “delivered what Washington promised for decades” on law enforcement and border security.
But Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, Graham said, “would just throw it all away.”
Invoking occasional profanities in a style of speech that sounded reminiscent of her late brother, Lindsey Graham, Darline Graham decried “the liberals and socialists” she said were trying to turn her deeply conservative home state more purple.
She also called Andrews “crazy” and said her opponent was running “deceptive ads trying to hide her radical past and rewrite her record.”
Trump urged Graham to seek her late brother’s seat and has doubled down on his support of her as the race has appeared to tighten in the closing days.
He also rallied for her last week.
As the president made his way to a rally in South Carolina, he was asked whether Democratic nominee Mary Peltola would be seated to represent Alaska in the Senate if she wins.
“Well, you’re going to have to see what happens,” Trump responded. “It’s hard to believe that she could even be allowed to run.”
Republicans have made similar moves before. House Speaker Mike Johnson delayed swearing in Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona after she won a special election in 2025, preventing her from supplying the last signature needed to force a House vote on releasing the Epstein files.
Vice President JD Vance didn’t go as far as the president did in calling for Mary Peltola, the Democratic Senate candidate in Alaska, to be prosecuted over her campaign’s alleged role in recruiting the non-incumbent Dan Sullivan onto the ballot.
But he said “I think we should certainly look into whether she committed election fraud.”
“I mean, she is a person who, for months now, has pretended that she has had nothing to do with the fact that they have put a fraudulent person, a person explicitly designed to confuse Alaska voters, on the ballot,” Vance told reporters ahead of his campaign trip Thursday to Texas. “She is trying to steal a Senate seat from the voters of Alaska, and it’s disgraceful.”
The president said he’s willing to talk to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after the Brazilian President’s election victory over conservative Flávio Bolsonaro in a hotly contested race that bucked a trend of conservative electoral results in Latin America.
“I thought the election was a very great embarrassment to the people of Brazil,” Trump told reporters. “I watched the election. I didn’t take sides. I let it be. I was asked not to take sides by the president, the current president. I didn’t take sides.”
Experts on Brazil said Trump tried to sway the election by citing the prosecution of Bolsonaro’s father as he imposed steep tariffs on Brazil, sanctioning the Brazilian judges involved and designating two Brazilian gangs as terror groups to reinforce Bolsonaro’s tough-on-crime campaign.
Asked if Lula was the rightful winner, Trump demurred.
“I don’t want to come into it right now,” Trump said.
Republican mailers promoting a socialist Senate candidate in Ohio have begun portraying the Democratic candidate, Sherrod Brown, as a yes man for Donald Trump.
The continuing effort to pull support from Brown comes in the former three-term senator’s tight race against Republican Sen. Jon Husted. Federal disclosure reports show Enough Promises Ohio PAC, which sent out the fliers, received $2.5 million from Conservative Americans PAC. It has ties to Trump’s MAGA Inc.
The new mailers promote independent candidate Greg Levy over Brown with messages such as “When Donald Trump Asks … Sherrod Brown Always says ‘YES’” and “Stop Trump. Ditch Sherrod.”
Levy has condemned the mailers as “dirty tricks.” Brown’s campaign said Ohioans “won’t be deceived.” For months now, Husted and his allies have assailed Brown as a liberal beholden to Democrats.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has a few suggestions for Nicki Minaj after the Trump-supporting rapper called the governor an “evil woman” who “will not escape God’s wrath.”
“Well, maybe she ought to get outside and be offline a little more,” Hochul told reporters when asked about Minaj’s comments. “Stop going to Trump rallies because it’s kind of poisoning your mind.”
Hochul’s response came after Minaj fired off a tirade against the Democrat on X that also endorsed the governor’s Republican opponent, Bruce Blakeman.
Minaj has been amping up her relationship with the White House and spoke at a Trump rally in Michigan this week.
Democrats, election officials and voting rights groups have long worried that Trump would try again to overturn an election when his party is trailing.
It’s no longer hypothetical.
Academics believe the Department of Justice lawsuit seeking to preemptively contest a potential Republican loss in the Alaska U.S. Senate race is the first time since the Civil Rights era that the federal government has sued to halt certification of an election, a duty the Constitution places in the hands of states.
Democrats and other groups that oppose Trump have been running exercises for months to rehearse responses to election interference, and have lawsuits pre-written. They also plan to have tens of thousands of people monitoring the polls on Election Day.
So far, early voting has been quiet, with about 35 million Americans already casting ballots without any notable disruption.
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That means voters like Brent Chaplin — a 37-year-old who works in finance and accounting. He said he’s a registered Republican, “but it’s hard to be that right now.”
He said he cast his ballot for Annie Andrews for Senate, and encouraged voters to think beyond partisan politics.
“You just can’t go and say I’m a Republican, I’m just going to vote Republican,” said Chaplin, who voted for Trump in 2016. “You’ve got to put some brainpower into it and think about it. So hopefully it is a message to the powers that be to wake up, pick better candidates.”
Benjamin Updegraft, a 32-year-old software engineer, expressed frustration that the Senate seat might stay in the Graham family.
“The Senate is not an inherited position,” he said. “This is not a country where these noble titles are passed down between families.”
Annie Andrews has a request for voters in South Carolina who haven’t sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in nearly three decades: Just give me a chance.
“Let’s try something new for once,” Andrews said Wednesday. “If she doesn’t do what she says she’s going to do, you can fire me in six years. I promise that I won’t let you down, that I’m going to win you all over.”
Senate races are often an afterthought in this Republican stronghold. But Andrews, a pediatrician who previously ran unsuccessfully for Congress, has mounted an unexpectedly competitive race against the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was appointed by the Republican governor to fill the remaining months of her brother’s term.
Holding South Carolina is essential if Republicans have any hope of keeping their Senate majority. In a sign of the party’s anxiety, Trump is traveling again to the state to press the party faithful to show up for Sen. Darline Graham in her unexpectedly tight race against Democrat Annie Andrews.
The trip marks the second time this month he will have visited South Carolina, a state he won by nearly 18 percentage points in 2024.
“Big Rally in South Carolina for the wonderful Darline Graham, today,” Trump posted on social media Thursday morning. “She is fantastic. Lindsey is watching, and very proud of her!!!
Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Adam Hamilton hugs a supporter of his campaign for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., after speaking at Washburn University, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
FILE - Mary Peltola, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate seat in Alaska, addresses supporters at an election watch party on Aug. 18, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
FILE - This combination photo shows Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, left, in Palmer, Alaska, Aug. 17, 2026, and a candidate in Alaska's Senate race, Dan Sullivan, right, in Petersburg, Alaska, July 3, 2026. (AP Photos/Mark Thiessen/Becky Bohrer, File)
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, center, joined by former President Barack Obama and Democratic candidate Sen. Jon Ossoff, walk off stage after a rally ahead of the Georgia Primary Election on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, Morrow, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Shoemaker Center at Ohio University Chillicothe in Chillicothe, Ohio, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
