Midterms 2022 updates: Tulsi Gabbard leaves Democratic Party, top takeaways from Ohio Senate debate

MUSKEGO, Wisconsin — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has shifted his position on abortion in the wake of a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, belying Republican claims the issue was manufactured by the Democrats to distract voters from high inflation and rising crime.

Johnson, fending off Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) in his bid for a third term, has an established history of supporting measures curtailing abortion rights: co-sponsoring federal legislation to ban abortions after 20 weeks seven times since 2010; co-sponsoring a bill to extend constitutional protections to the unborn; and signing an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to eliminate federal protections for abortion rights, as it did in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

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Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman has issued his latest attack on opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz, hitting at what he considers to be another example that the Republican candidate is not a "real Pennsylvanian" — Oz is a Dallas Cowboys fan.

Fetterman's campaign is set to unveil two new billboards on both sides of the highway just outside of the Lincoln Financial Field, where the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys are scheduled to face off on Sunday night. The two billboards feature a picture of Oz taken in 2013 outside the AT&T stadium in Arlington, Texas, where the Cowboys play.

“Dr. Oz is a Cowboys fan,” the billboard reads. “Elect a real Pennsylvanian. Vote Fetterman for Senate on Nov. 8th.”

The billboard is the latest attempt from the Fetterman campaign to paint Oz as being out of touch with Pennsylvania voters. The billboards are expected to stay up until Monday.

“The fact that Oz is willing to sell out his supposed Eagles fandom for clout when he’s in Dallas may be a funny example of his inability to take real positions and hold consistent beliefs, but it’s much more than that,” Brendan McPhillips, Fetterman’s campaign manager, said in a statement. “This gets to the heart of who this guy really is. He pretends to be a Cowboys fan when he’s in Dallas, but now that he’s running for office he tailgates at Eagles games like he’s a real Philly fan.”

Republicans always believe the polls are slanted against them. That belief has sometimes caused them to misread big political races. In 2012, for example, a significant number of Republicans convinced themselves that GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney was actually going to defeat incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama.

There was a lot of talk about "unskewing" the polls. Then Obama beat Romney handily. So what does all that mean for today? The midterm elections are one month away, and polls are everywhere. The question is: Do the polls have the same old problems?

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A core reason Georgia gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams is trailing incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp is lackluster support among black men, according to a report.

About a third of black men who are registered to vote in the Peach State show an increased inclination to vote for Republicans compared to black women, Bloomberg News reported.

“I have had very intentional conversations with black male voters. My conversations are grounded in the fact that I respect black men. I respect their voting power. Their voting power is strong, and as candidates, we have to be respectful of that and intentional about it," Abrams previously said, per the report.

Support for Abrams is at 74% among black men, below the 82% support among black women, according to a September poll. If black men had voted for Abrams at the same clip as black women in 2018, she would have been governor, per the report.

Abrams is lagging behind Kemp by 6.4 percentage points, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.

Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard will sit down for an interview with Fox News's Tucker Carlson, following her announcement Tuesday that she is leaving the Democratic Party.

"I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue & stoke anti-white racism, actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms," Gabbard said in a video ripping the Democratic Party.

Gabbard has made frequent appearances on Carlson's show, with the two exhibiting disdain for the so-called neoconservatives who they claim seek to foment wars abroad.

The former congresswoman vied for the Democratic presidential nod in 2020 and later retired from the House in 2021. She has often hurled criticisms at President Joe Biden and her former party in the time since her departure from Congress.

The Supreme Court sided with a Republican candidate who lost his bid for judgeship in Pennsylvania, ordering the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to toss out its ruling that allowed the counting of mail-in ballots in the race.

Justices on the high court vacated the 3rd Circuit Court ruling at the request of David Ritter, who ran in 2021 to be a judge on the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas. He lost to his Democratic rival Zachary Cohen by five votes after 257 absentee ballots without dates on the envelope were counted.

The decision to remand the case does not affect the outcome of the 2021 race.

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Dan Cox, the Republican candidate in the Maryland governor's race, abruptly withdrew from an event he was scheduled to appear at on Monday after a Jewish group raised concerns about the name.

Cox and his running mate, Gordana Schifanelli, were set to appear at a "Unite the Right" event at a restaurant in Arnold, Maryland, as an effort to unite Republicans in the final weeks of the midterm campaign. However, Jewish groups voiced concerns that the event was the first time the name "Unite the Right" has been used since the 2017 riot in Central Virginia that left one person dead and several others injured.

Cox's campaign released a statement on Monday saying the candidate was not aware of the event's name before committing to appear.

“Upon discovery, Delegate Dan Cox and the Dan Cox For Governor campaign have immediately disassociated themselves from any further involvement,” the campaign said in a statement. “Dan Cox, Gordana Schifinelli [sic] and the entire campaign denounce any association with this event. We will not be associated with anything that is reminiscent, accidental or otherwise, of the unspeakable tragedy that took place in Charlottesville, VA on August 12, 2017. Anything less is unacceptable.”

(AP Photos)

Independent candidate Evan McMullin has closed in on Republican Sen. Mike Lee’s lead in the polls for Utah’s Senate race, heating up what is expected to be one of the most competitive elections in decades in the deep-red state.

About 41% of registered Utah voters said they’d vote for Lee if the election were held today compared to 37% who said the same for McMullin, according to a new Deseret News-Hinckley Institute of Politics poll. The 4-point margin is slightly narrower than Lee’s 5-point lead from a similar poll conducted in July.

However, the race tightens when only looking at Utahns who say they “definitely” plan to vote, with 42% saying they’d back Lee compared to 40% for McMullin — giving the Republican only a 2-point advantage, according to the poll. Another 10% remain undecided.

Harry Hamburg

Outgoing Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) is throwing his weight behind several Democrats in the midterm election cycle.

The unabashed critic of former President Donald Trump, who has often bemoaned the state of the GOP, rolled out multiple bipartisan endorsements Tuesday through his Country First political action committee, backing six Democrats, four Republicans, and two independents.

"Now more than ever, it’s critical we elect leaders up and down the ballot who are loyal to the Constitution and willing to be a bulwark for democracy — regardless of their political party affiliation,” Kinzinger said in a statement. “We must set partisan politics and ideology aside in order to preserve our nation’s democracy."

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Arkansas gubernatorial candidate and former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she is “incredibly grateful” and ready to be back on the campaign trail following her cancer diagnosis last month.

She told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday that she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer over Labor Day weekend and shortly thereafter underwent surgery to remove her thyroid and the surrounding lymph nodes.

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In the final stretch of the midterm election cycle, Democrats and Republicans have poured thousands of dollars into Facebook advertising campaigns to reach voters as both parties seek to gain control of Congress in November.

Democrats have spent millions of dollars on Facebook ads focusing on abortion access and reproductive rights in the months leading up to Election Day, beginning an ad blitz on the issue in June and gradually increasing their spending through November, according to data analyzed by Axios. Meanwhile, Republicans have focused their messaging on the economy and former President Donald Trump, as well as crime and public safety.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) urged Democrats to expand their focus to more than just abortion rights in their midterm campaigns with less than one month to go before Election Day.

In an op-ed published by the Guardian on Monday, Sanders rejected advice from some campaign consultants that urged candidates to focus on abortion access as a focal part of their campaign platform. Instead, the Vermont independent argued they should focus more on the economy, prescription drug prices, and healthcare.

“As we enter the final weeks of the 2022 midterm elections, I am alarmed to hear the advice that many Democratic candidates are getting from establishment consultants and directors of well-funded Super Pacs that the closing argument of Democrats should focus only on abortion,” Sanders wrote. “In my view, while the abortion issue must remain on the front burner, it would be political malpractice for Democrats to ignore the state of the economy and allow Republican lies and distortions to go unanswered.”

As the country inches closer to Election Day, voters are homing in on issues that may decide the fate of Congress and several state governments in November.

The Washington Examiner is tracking which issues are on the top of voters' minds as they prepare to head to the polls, particularly in key battleground states that could bring a shift in power to the federal government. Specifically, we’re tracking how voters are researching our top five issues — abortion, crime, education, inflation, and taxes — and how these interests fluctuate as we get closer to Election Day.

Below, you can track the interest in Indiana in each of our key issues on a rolling 30-day basis. The Washington Examiner will be updating this page as interests and voting concerns change.

Click here to read what issues voters care about most in Indiana.

Two states and Washington, D.C., will vote on ballot measures pertaining to the minimum wage in this year’s midterm elections.

The federal minimum wage sits at $7.25 per hour, but over the years, many states have raised that figure through legislation or referendums — some by a significant margin. Raising the minimum wage has proved to be popular in both blue and red states.

This year, voters in Nebraska, Nevada, and the district will vote on measures that would increase the minimum wages of residents.

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Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard announced she is leaving the Democratic Party, denouncing lawmakers on the Left for promoting policies that “[racialize] every issue & stoke anti-white racism.”

In a video announcement released on Tuesday, Gabbard called on other members of the party to abandon the Democratic Party, accusing the Left of only protecting the “powerful elite.” It’s not clear what party Gabbard plans to join next or if she intends to remain independent.

“I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue & stoke anti-white racism, actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms, are hostile to people of faith & spirituality, demonize the police & protect criminals at the expense of law-abiding Americans, believe in open borders, weaponize the national security state to go after political opponents, and above all, dragging us ever closer to nuclear war,” Gabbard said. “If you can no longer stomach the direction that so-called woke Democratic Party ideologues are taking our country, I invite you to join me.”

The super PAC supporting Republican Herschel Walker’s Senate campaign is airing a new television advertisement showing police body camera footage of the wife of Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) after an alleged violent altercation.

The super PAC, 34N22, is spending $1.5 million to air the spot in the Atlanta media market over a two-week period, part of an effort to put Warnock on the defensive and steady Walker’s campaign. The Republican has been reeling since early last week amid allegations reported by the Daily Beast that he paid for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion.

Walker, a staunch opponent of abortion, issued vigorous denials and claimed not to know the woman, prompting new revelations that she is apparently the mother of one of his four children.

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Texas Secretary of State John Scott accused Alex Jones, among other conspiracy theorists, of creating an environment that fosters a growing number of threats against election workers.

The Republican shared his sentiment on the InfoWars host in an interview that was published on Monday. The secretary of state told Texas Monthly that he and other people in the elections division have received death threats. Scott said he does not know "what’s caused it," but he did say Jones has long been a thorn in the side of his office.

"The InfoWars guy has unleashed hell on our election people," Scott said. "This has been going on for many years. And I don’t want to give a free pass to people who are crazy enough to go out there and say they’re going to kill somebody because they’re doing their job."

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Miss the U.S. Senate debate in Ohio between Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Republican J.D. Vance on Monday? Watch video of the event below:

Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia, appeared for an interview on MSNBC on Monday to discuss her race against Gov. Brian Kemp (R), controversies surrounding Herschel Walker, who is running for Senate in the state, and abortion rights.

Ohio Senate candidates J.D. Vance (R) and Rep. Tim Ryan (D) clashed on topics ranging from abortion to foreign policy during their first debate in Cleveland on Monday, with the two engaging in heated exchanges as they look to sway voters ahead of November’s election.

Recent polls have indicated the race to succeed retiring Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) is neck and neck in the state that has trended red in recent years. The Buckeye State is expected to play a key role in which party holds the majority next Congress, with GOP outside groups heavily spending to give Vance, a venture capitalist and the author of Hillbilly Elegy, a boost in the final stretch as Ryan has closed the gap in the polls.

Click here to read about the five key takeaways from the first of their two scheduled debates.

Billionaire developer Rick Caruso, who is running for mayor of Los Angeles and secured a spot this summer in a runoff election against Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), is spending millions of dollars in a bid to reach "marginalized communities" in the final weeks of the race.

Caruso, a former Republican who became a Democrat this year and is boosted by a $60 million war chest filled mostly with his own money, deployed several hundred paid canvassers and volunteers to scour communities for voters overlooked by other campaigns, with an eye for those who did not vote in the primaries, according to the Associated Press. The report said select staff who use demographic research and polling decide where to send canvassers, with a focus on undecided Latinos, Asians, and independents. The canvassers then go door to door or call, text, or email these people.

Caruso has a chance at winning the election if his campaign can convince enough people to vote for him who would not have voted otherwise, according to Dveen Babaian, who oversees the paid canvassers. “Our door knocks are the first door knocks some of these voters have ever gotten," Babaian told the outlet. “This campaign will be won by engaging marginalized communities."

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EXCLUSIVE — A Republican Latina aiming to squeeze the Democratic Party out of a seat it has held for more than a century pulled in more than $1 million in donations in the final quarter before the midterm elections.

Monica De La Cruz reeled in seven figures between July and September, putting her total fundraising for this cycle just below $4 million, according to a spokesman for her campaign. The insurance agent has aligned herself with former President Donald Trump on border security, the economy, and foreign policy.

“South Texans are excited about our campaign because we’re talking about the issues people care about: lowering prices, strengthening our economy, and securing the border,” De La Cruz said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “With their support, this November, we’re going to make history. I cannot wait to roll up my sleeves and get to work for our community.”

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Former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) is going to bat for his former Democratic House colleague, Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), with the former House Freedom Caucus member touting Spanberger's ability to work across the aisle in a new ad.

In the 30-second clip, Riggleman, who served two years in the House before being ousted in a primary after he officiated a gay wedding for two campaign volunteers, noted the unusual nature of the ad and highlighted Spanberger's experience as a CIA officer.

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MUSKEGO, Wisconsin — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) frets about the “anger and division” roiling American politics. How much? Everywhere Johnson goes while campaigning for reelection against Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, he raises the topic, unprompted, and declares his commitment to “unifying and healing” the nation.

“Aren’t you getting tired of the anger and division? I certainly am,” the senator told a crowd of 500 college students on a recent weekday morning. A few hours later, it was more of the same during a town hall meeting with workers on a factory floor. “I’m dedicated to unifying and healing this nation. I truly am,” Johnson said. “That’s my promise to you.”

But Johnson doesn’t spread the blame equally among Democrats and Republicans when it comes to which party, or which party’s leaders, are responsible for the anger and division that has him so concerned. President Joe Biden might have failed to honor the promise of his inaugural address. But is unity and healing, possible with former President Donald Trump, also stoking discord?

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Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez announced her resignation Monday amid mounting backlash over leaked audio that featured her making racist remarks.

A cacophony of voices, including fellow members of the City Council, had prodded her to resign after she was caught on tape disparaging the black child of a white member of the City Council as "ese changuito," which translates to "that little monkey," among other racist retorts.

"I take responsibility for what I said and there are no excuses for those comments. I'm so sorry. I sincerely apologize to the people I hurt with my words," she said in a statement.

"In the end, it is not my apologies that matter most; it will be the actions I take from this day forward. I hope that you will give me the opportunity to make amends. Therefore, effective immediately I am resigning," she added.

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Democratic Arizona gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs refused to say if she would support any week-based limit for abortion should she win the governor's mansion, but she did say that a 15-week ban would be too restrictive.

Hobbs, who serves as the state's secretary of state, said the decision should not be made by the state while speaking with Major Garrett on CBS News's Face the Nation on Sunday.

"I don't support the 15-week ban. But let me just say that Kari Lake is entirely misconstruing my position on this issue. You and I both know that late-term abortion is extremely rare, and if it's being talked about, it's because something has gone incredibly wrong in a pregnancy," Hobbs said when asked if she supports the 15-week abortion ban.

When pressed by Garrett on what the limit would be if she were elected governor, Hobbs refused to propose a limit, instead deferring to "a woman and her doctor."

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Herschel Walker's Senate campaign pivoted to crime on Monday, attempting to link a fatal shooting at a Marriott hotel in New York to Sen. Raphael Warnock's (D-GA) policies on crime.

Roy Johnson Jr., a known fugitive, has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Paul Kutz, a Long Island father who was struck by stray bullets in a hotel lobby after a fight allegedly broke out between Johnson and Devin Taylor.

Authorities said the men tried to shoot one another but that Kutz, a 53-year-old father of three, was hit instead.

Johnson was wanted on gun and drug charges in Fulton County, Georgia, and is a suspect in an Aug. 9 gang-related homicide.

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EXCLUSIVE — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has debuted a series of billboards across the state aimed at exposing how his Democratic opponent, lawyer Rochelle Garza, represented a convicted human smuggler in court despite campaigning as tough on border crime.

Paxton’s campaign on Monday paid for massive billboards in Dallas, Galveston, Houston, and San Antonio that pretend to advertise Garza’s services as a defense attorney for human smugglers, the Washington Examiner was first to learn Monday.

“Busted for human trafficking? Rochelle Garza will defend you!” one billboard said, along with a picture of Garza holding up an altered paper that tells readers to text “Busted” to 82762, which connects to Paxton's campaign.

A second ad has identical text but a different picture.

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The super PAC affiliated with Heritage Action, the political arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, is upping its investment in the Arizona Senate race to $7.5 million with a brand-new advertising buy.

Sentinel Action Fund is spending $1.5 million to air a television spot critical of Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) in a bid to boost Republican challenger Blake Masters, who is trailing in the race. The super PAC has previously aired $5 million worth of ads against Kelly in Arizona. In this new spot, Sentinel Action Fund hammers the senator on immigration and his support for President Joe Biden’s agenda broadly.

“Did you watch the debate?” the voice-over says as the ad opens, referring to last week’s Kelly-Masters faceoff. The spot then plays a clip of Kelly saying he has been a “strong” proponent of border security. “That’s a lie,” the voice-over says immediately afterward, adding, after a clip of Kelly saying he occasionally opposes Biden’s policies: “Another lie. Kelly votes with Joe Biden 94% of the time.”

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Colorado's top election official said 30,000 voter registration notices were sent to noncitizens — accidentally.

Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold's office blamed the error on a glitch, saying the mix-up occurred when department employees compared a list of 102,000 names provided by the Electronic Registration Information Center with a database of Coloradans issued driver's licenses, including noncitizens who were issued special licenses, according to the Associated Press.

“The Department has become aware that approximately 30,000 EBU [Eligible But Unregistered] postcard mailers were incorrectly sent to ineligible Coloradans,” a spokesperson for the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office told Colorado Public Radio. “The office is undertaking an internal review of the incident and will take any corrective action that is warranted.”

Griswold's office stressed that noncitizens who received the postcards would not have been able to register if they tried and added that notices are being sent out to those affected.

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The debate between Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Democratic challenger Charlie Crist has been rescheduled after it was postponed due to the recovery efforts from Hurricane Ian.

The debate, which was initially scheduled for Oct. 12, has now been set to take place in Fort Pierce at 7 p.m. on Oct. 24.

The event, hosted by WPEC, is the only scheduled debate between the two candidates.

The one-hour debate concludes between Ryan and Vance. One memorable quote came from Ryan toward the end as he made his final case on what Ohio needs. "We need an ass-kicker, not an ass-kisser.” The quote refers to former President Donald Trump's comments about Vance that he's "kissing my ass."

The Monday debate between J.D. Vance and Tim Ryan ended with closing statements.

Ryan said he would help build back Ohio’s economy with clean energy jobs, saying the state has an opportunity to be the “manufacturing powerhouse of the world, the arsenal of energy.”

Vance slammed Ryan’s “failed leadership” in Congress, hitting him over crime, inflation, and the border.

Rep. Tim Ryan said he supports the federal legalization of marijuana. J.D. Vance said it should be left up to states and raised concerns about being “soft on crime” for more serious offenders who took plea deals for simple marijuana possession.

J.D. Vance accused Tim Ryan of siding with BLM over police during the height of the protests after the police killing of George Floyd. “Tim Ryan threw the police under the bus” and attacked them as “systemically racist,” Vance said.

Ryan, meanwhile, said he brought in funding for police departments and accused Vance of siding with insurrectionists during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. “J.D. Vance raised money for the legal defense fund of the insurrectionists,” Ryan said.

J.D. Vance and Tim Ryan were asked if they will accept the results of their 2022 race. Both said "yes."

J.D. Vance addressed Tim Ryan's claim that he’s an “election denier.” He said that while Ohio has “great elections,” Big Tech’s power benefits Democrats.

Ryan attempted to tie him to the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.

“J.D. Vance raised money for the Legal Defense Fund of the insurrectionists. This is the kind of extremism, J.D., that we wholly reject. You have video posts, don't even try to deny it. And we got your Twitter posts and everything else. Everybody's seen it,” he said.

J.D. Vance called for more money for policing, saying law enforcement is understaffed. He hit Tim Ryan for supporting changes to “qualified immunity.”

"We’ve got to increase funding for law enforcement. We've got to protect law enforcement, and we've got to do something that Tim Ryan failed to do, which is stop the leadership of this country from going after qualified immunity,” he said.

Tim Ryan said he’s brought more money for law enforcement to Ohio in Congress and said that “we have to keep helping out.”

“I am not going to take a backseat to J.D. Vance on law enforcement,” Ryan said.

He claimed that Vance is extreme, tying him to the Jan. 6 rioters and saying that he holds a double standard on the issue.

“J.D. Vance raised money for the Legal Defense Fund of the insurrectionists. This is the kind of extremism, J.D., that we wholly reject. You have video posts, don't even try to deny it. And we got your Twitter posts and everything else. Everybody's seen it,” he said.

J.D. Vance tied immigration to the flow of drugs across the southern border, recounting a personal story of his mother dealing with addiction. “The illegal immigration problem, I’ve been affected by it,” he said.

He hit Tim Ryan for his tenure in Congress as the “border has gotten worse and worse and worse.”

Ryan, speaking on the topic, disagreed with Vice President Kamala Harris declaring the U.S.-Mexico border “secure” in a recent TV interview.

“Kamala Harris is absolutely wrong on that,” he said. “It’s not secure. We have a lot of work to do."

On the risk of nuclear war with Russia, J.D. Vance said the Biden administration is “sleepwalking into a nuclear war.” On how the United States should respond if Russian President Vladimir Putin used nuclear weapons in its war on Ukraine, Vance admitted that “nobody knows how we should respond if he uses nuclear weapons.”

Rep. Tim Ryan accused Vance of being weak on national defense. “J.D. Vance would let Putin roll right through Ukraine.”

Asked about whether America should defend Taiwan, Tim Ryan said yes, adding that the United States should bolster its military to confront the threat of China.

J.D. Vance answered that the U.S. needs to make sure it’s not reliant on China or Taiwan, citing semiconductor production. He said the U.S. economy being self-reliant in key sectors would mean “we don’t have to defend island countries if it’s not in our national interest.”

Rep. Tim Ryan tried to tie J.D. Vance to hard-line Republican members of Congress like Marjorie Taylor Greene, saying, “This is a dangerous group, and we need to confront it.”

Both candidates looked to hit one another on China, with Ryan claiming that Vance has invested in companies in China.

“The problem we're having now with inflation is our supply chains all went to China. And guys like him have made a lot of money off that, and that is exactly why the supply chains are locked up,” Ryan said.

Vance argued that Ryan flip-flopped on policies related to China, alleging that energy policies he previously backed led to American jobs going to the country.

“You cannot do modern industrial manufacturing without high-quality energy. Tim Ryan just told a big fib," he said.

"You supported banning fracking both on public lands, and generally speaking, that crushes the Ohio energy sector, and that's one of the reasons why manufacturers are going to China,” Vance said.

Rep. Tim Ryan, asked if President Joe Biden should run for reelection, says “no” and reiterates his call for “generational change.”

The Ohio Senate debate between Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Tim Ryan is now underway. The debate is the first of two the candidates have agreed to; the second will be held on Oct. 17.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper will conduct a rare interview with President Joe Biden, which will air Tuesday evening, the network announced.

It will be the second night for Tapper's new 9 p.m. prime-time show, which is starting in the run-up to the midterm elections. Tapper also anchors the Lead with Jake Tapper and State of the Union, which air on weekday afternoons and Sunday mornings, respectively.

Since taking office, Biden has sparingly done sit-down interviews with TV news outlets. He most recently did one last month with CBS's 60 Minutes and made headlines for declaring the COVID-19 pandemic to be over, among other statements.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) joined a growing chorus of California politicians demanding the resignation of multiple Los Angeles City Council members caught making racist remarks in a leaked audio tape.

"I am appalled at the racist, dehumanizing remarks made by Los Angeles City officials and leaders that were made public yesterday. As a father, I am offended that an innocent child was a target of these remarks," Padilla declared in a statement.

Council President Nury Martinez announced plans to resign Monday as backlash continues to mount. Martinez was caught on tape directing racist diatribes at the black son of Councilman Mike Bonin, describing him as "ese changuito," which translates to "that little monkey," among other racist insults.

"At a time when our nation is grappling with a rise in hate speech and hate crimes, these racist comments have deepened the pain that our communities have endured. Los Angeles deserves better," Padilla added. "I call on Los Angeles City Councilmembers Nury Martinez, Kevin DeLeon, and Gil Cedillo to resign and take full responsibility."

Martinez, DeLeon, and Cedillo were caught on recently leaked audio that surfaced on Reddit on Sunday having a racially tinged conversation during October of last year. Cedillo did not appear to say anything racist directly but apologized for not intervening.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie threw his political might behind Republican Rhode Island hopeful Allan Fung in the race for the state's 2nd Congressional District on Monday.

Christie joins a growing list of national Republicans expressing interest in the race. Although traditionally a deep blue district that President Joe Biden won by double digits, Fung has managed to poll strongly against his Democratic rival Seth Magaziner in the race for the seat.

“We need more people like Allan Fung in Congress,” Christie told ABC 6 News. “People who are smart, who vote their principles, and will work across the aisle.”

“I want someone who’s going to go down there and listen to the other side and try to find some common ground,” the former governor added.

Christie backed Fung in the 2014 race, in which Fung unsuccessfully vied for governor against Gina Raimondo. Christie has openly admitted that he is mulling a 2024 campaign for the presidency.

Magaziner's campaign was quick to belittle Christie's stumping for Fung.

"If Allan Fung is palling around with extreme Republicans like Chris Christie who wants to cut Social Security and ban abortion, imagine who he will tie himself to in Congress," said Magaziner's communications director Patricia Socarras.

"Rhode Islanders cannot risk sending Allan Fung to Congress when he has repeatedly shown he supports the most extreme elements of his party," she added.

Fresh off his debate with Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) last week, Republican Arizona Senate hopeful Blake Masters is set to participate in a national security event Friday, Fox News reported.

Masters will headline the event alongside Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf. The event will be hosted by Polaris National Security on Oct. 14. The group has been led by former Trump administration State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus.

"The world has always been a dangerous place, but I think it's gotten a lot more dangerous … and it's because of Biden and his failed leadership," Masters told Fox News ahead of the event.

The GOP hopeful also took a swipe at Kelly, whom he clashed with on border security during their debate last week.

"He's fooled some people, perhaps, into thinking that he's broken with them, but calling policy he's been supporting in lockstep for 22 months … 'a mess' like he tried to do at the debate the other night? Actions speak louder than words," he said.

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa is not pleased with reports that the national party is pulling out of the race for the 15th Congressional District.

"I’m really, deeply disappointed in the DCCC,” Hinojosa said. “I hope they change their mind, and if we lose this election, it’s completely on them.”

Local Democrats have been concerned that a drawdown in resources in the district from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee could ensure a victory for Republican Monica De La Cruz.

The DCCC has planned to cut ad buys for Democrat Michelle Vallejo in the district, Axios reported.

In a memo to staff, Texas Democrats Executive Director Jamarr Brown insisted that the state party plans to ratchet up its efforts in the district, which runs through the Rio Grande Valley.

"Because, even though the Rio Grande Valley may just be a couple of lines of an excel sheet to political operatives in Washington, to us, they are our neighbors," he said.