Election

CNN - Republicans – who are virtually a lock to pick up the West Virginia seat and would need to either win the White House or pick up one more seat for the majority – have an incentive to nationalize many of their targeted races. Well-funded Democratic incumbents, for the most part, are touting statewide and local accomplishments and their support for abortion rights.Two states that are part of the Democratic “blue wall” – and also key White House battlegrounds – move up on this month’s rankings, which are based on reporting, as well as fundraising, polling and advertising data. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are now in the middle of the pack of flippable seats, along with Michigan, which remains at No. 4.

The oddity of this year’s fight for the Senate is that Democrats have consistently led in the public polling of key races, but it’s Republicans who are poised to gain seats and, potentially, control of the chamber.

 Inside Higher Ed - A whopping 57 percent of college students say they’re going to vote Democratic this November—and President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race seems to have made a substantive impact on that number. Forty-two percent of those prospective Harris-Walz voters said they are more likely to vote now that the ticket has changed, according to the results of a new Inside Higher Ed Student Voice flash survey, in partnership with Generation Lab.

A total of 1,012 college students across the United States responded to the survey in the last week of September. (The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.) In addition to whom they plan to vote for, the survey also measured what students see as the key issues dictating how they plan to cast their ballots. Far more said their decision in November will be influenced by the economy and cost-of-living concerns than by hot-button issues like student debt and the Israel-Hamas war.