14 days until midterms, Trump heads to North Carolina as GOP fights to hold Senate

Former President Bill Clinton questioned Republicans' immigration strategy in Florida on Tuesday, suggesting that deportations involving Cuban immigrants could carry political consequences for the GOP ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Speaking at an interfaith campaign event for Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly in Broward County, Clinton criticized the idea of targeting Cuban immigrants while seeking their votes.

"I got a great idea to broaden the Republican base. Let's, my God, kick the Cubans out," Clinton said sarcastically.

"I broke my back to get up to 44% of the Cuban vote," he added, referencing his own efforts to win support from Cuban American voters.

The remarks came as Jolly faces Republican Rep. Byron Donalds in Florida's gubernatorial race, with immigration emerging as a point of contention between the parties.

President Donald Trump appeared to take aim at Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed during a North Carolina campaign rally Tuesday, accusing an unnamed candidate of ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

"The Democrats, they want to put jihadists. That guy from, Michigan, he's a jihadist. He's a jihadist. He's a Muslim Brotherhood guy," Trump told supporters in Greenville.

While Trump did not identify the candidate by name, his reference appeared to be directed at El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee in Michigan's Senate race and a Muslim politician who has faced criticism from Republicans over his political positions.

Trump also made unsubstantiated allegations about the candidate's family members appearing on an unspecified government list, without providing evidence.

The remarks came as Trump campaigned for Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

President Donald Trump announced a $1.5 billion federal investment in semiconductor production in North Carolina on Tuesday, alongside plans for a separate manufacturing investment announced by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

"The Department of War will be investing $1.5 billion to produce cutting edge semiconductor chips right here in North Carolina, also. It's breaking news," Trump told supporters at a rally for Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley in Greenville.

Earlier in the rally, Lutnick said Sibelco, a supplier of high-purity quartz used in semiconductor manufacturing, plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in its North Carolina operations.

Trump touted the announcements as evidence of his administration's efforts to bring manufacturing back to the United States, tying his economic message to the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Whatley faces Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina's Senate race.

Democratic Florida gubernatorial candidate David Jolly drew parallels between his campaign and former President Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential bid Tuesday, arguing that Clinton faced similar political attacks before winning the White House.

Speaking at an interfaith campaign event in Broward County, Jolly recalled how Clinton was characterized during his first presidential campaign.

"He was radical. Yeah. He was a socialist, 1992," Jolly said.

Jolly pointed to the economic expansion and policy achievements during Clinton's presidency, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, as he introduced the former president to supporters.

The remarks came as Clinton joined Jolly on the campaign trail ahead of the Nov. 3 election, in which Jolly faces Republican Rep. Byron Donalds.

The latest Fox News Power Rankings shifted Florida's gubernatorial race from Likely Republican to Lean Republican.

More than 812,000 Texans have cast ballots as early voting gets underway for the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with voters who previously participated in Democratic primaries showing higher early turnout rates than their Republican counterparts.

According to a Tuesday report from political data analyst Derek Ryan of Ryan Data & Research, first-day turnout was more than 20% higher than in the 2022 midterms.

Ryan found that approximately 21% of voters who participated in the last four Democratic primaries had already cast ballots, compared with 13% of voters who participated in the last four Republican primaries.

Of the 82,235 mail ballots identified, 50% came from voters with Democratic primary histories, compared with 30% from voters with Republican primary histories.

The figures come as Texas hosts a closely watched Senate contest between Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey suggested that members of the city's Somali community were targeted because of their growing economic influence, praising their entrepreneurial success during remarks at a Somali Networking Night event.

"I think one of the reasons that they were coming after you is they saw the kind of economy and entrepreneurship that you're helping to build," Frey said.

"They saw suddenly that the CEOs of the future are not all gonna look like me. The CEOs of the future are going to be from a thousand different backgrounds," he continued.

The remarks come amid federal scrutiny of fraud schemes in Minnesota, including the Feeding Our Future scandal involving more than $250 million in child nutrition funds.

Former President Bill Clinton is joining Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Jolly on the campaign trail Tuesday in Hollywood, Florida, as the state's race for governor enters its final two weeks.

Clinton's appearance comes as Jolly faces Republican Rep. Byron Donalds in the Nov. 3 election.

The campaign stop follows the latest Fox News Power Rankings, which shifted Florida's gubernatorial race from Likely Republican to Lean Republican amid signs of changing voter preferences, particularly among Hispanic voters.

Jolly, a former Republican congressman, is seeking to flip the governor's mansion after years of GOP control in Florida.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced Tuesday that she will campaign in five states over the next week as Democrats make their final push ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Harris said on X that she plans to visit Nevada, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Georgia, while blaming President Donald Trump's administration for rising costs.

"The cost of everything from groceries and gas to housing and childcare is going up because of choices made by Donald Trump's administration," Harris wrote.

"Those choices have consequences. So do elections," she added.

Harris is also scheduled to campaign in Mississippi for Democratic Senate candidate Scott Colom, who is challenging Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.

Vice President JD Vance said he isn't sure if he'd receive President Donald Trump's endorsement "right out the gate" if he were to run for president in 2028.

Vance expressed that uncertainty during a Monday interview with journalist Mark Halperin on his platform 2Way. The interview aired just weeks before the midterm elections, as Republicans and the White House are focused on maintaining control of Congress.

Vance emphasized that his top priority was the midterms and said he wasn't certain that a 2028 presidential run was in his future.

However, he said, "I think if I run, the president will endorse me."

"Right away?" Halperin asked.

"I would think so, but I don’t know, man," Vance said. "I haven’t talked to him about it."

Halperin suggested it might be "weird" if Vance were to share with Trump his 2028 ambitions and for Trump to sit on an endorsement, a characterization that Vance pushed back on.

"No, I don’t think it’d be weird," Vance said. "Again, I think I would get his endorsement, but I also think there’s something to be said for people actually running their own race, and because the president’s endorsement is so dispositive, you could absolutely see a scenario where the president says, ‘You know what? We need to let, like, this race play out and not, like, preemptively prejudge the results.'"

This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News Digital's Elaine Mallon.

Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown outlined his priorities if Democrats regain control of the Senate in November, calling for an end to the Iran war and changes to President Donald Trump's tariff policies.

"What we should do first thing, I win this fall, we win the Senate. First thing we should do is work to end the war," Brown told supporters Tuesday in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Brown also called for ending Trump's broad tariffs, arguing they have driven up costs for farmers and consumers while disrupting agricultural exports.

During a subsequent exchange with reporters, Brown clarified that he still supports targeted tariffs on specific industries and countries but opposes the administration's broader approach.

He also identified combating government corruption as a priority for January.

Brown, who previously held Ohio's other Senate seat from 2007 until 2025, is challenging Republican Sen. Jon Husted in a closely-watched Senate race as Democrats seek to regain control of the chamber on Nov. 3.

Violent riots sweeping France have exposed a far-left network of communist groups, labor unions and political activists mobilizing around student grievances, raising questions about whether similar political and immigration tensions could ignite unrest on American streets.

A Fox News Digital investigation identified 50 organizations involved in France's student protest movement and its broader network of supporters and international amplifiers, including communist and socialist groups, labor unions and political parties.

The American parallels extend beyond political rhetoric. Fox News Digital previously reported that agitators at Delaney Hall in Newark used encrypted Signal chats to coordinate transportation, supplies and demonstrations before clashes with federal agents.

Santiago Vidal Calvo, a researcher at the Manhattan Institute, singled out New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, arguing that their approaches to immigration enforcement could move the United States closer to conditions he associates with France's crisis.

"I have absolutely no doubts that if we had Mamdanis or El-Sayeds or AOCs in charge of immigration policy, our immigration landscape would be very different today than what it currently is," Calvo told Fox News Digital.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has made a similar argument, explicitly tying France's violence to the stakes of the 2026 midterms.

"France is descending into chaos because they wanted OPEN BORDERS — just like the socialist Democrats in America," Johnson wrote on X. "What we are witnessing is a chilling warning for all Americans of what happens if the radical Marxist insurgent left gets their way."

This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News Digital's Charles Creitz.

Republican Sen. Ashley Moody warned Florida voters to pay attention to the Democrats campaigning for her opponent, Angie Nixon, singling out Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's expected visit next week.

"I hope that Floridians pay attention to the folks that are coming down. They are outspoken socialists," Moody told Fox News Digital during a campaign stop in Palm Coast on Tuesday.

Moody accused Nixon of embracing a socialist agenda and argued that the candidates represent sharply different visions for Florida.

"My opponent wants to make Florida and the rest of this nation for that matter, Cuba," Moody said.

Ocasio-Cortez is expected to campaign for Nixon on Oct. 27, according to a question posed during the interview.

The remarks come as Moody seeks to hold her Senate seat in the Nov. 3 midterm elections

The Republican National Committee is crediting President Donald Trump’s campaign appearances in Georgia for energizing GOP voters as the state’s early voting turnout surpasses 1 million ballots.

“As a result of the president campaigning in the Peach State, we’re seeing that Republicans are energized to get to the polls,” RNC spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement Tuesday.

"Since the start of early in-person voting, Republicans have cut into Democrats' mail-ballot advantage day over day. The enthusiasm remains at an all-time high, and the president's midterm rally blitz is a large part of that."

Georgia recorded 1,007,015 in-person early votes as of before noon Tuesday — a 12% increase from the 894,412 ballots cast at the same point in 2022, according to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Including 48,916 accepted absentee ballots, overall turnout has reached 1,055,931.

Early voting continues through Oct. 30.

Senate Democrats are making a late $1.2 million push into deep-red Mississippi, hoping to unseat Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith with just two weeks until Election Day.

The Senate Majority PAC, aligned with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is launching its first television ad in the state Wednesday to boost Democratic challenger Scott Colom, according to The Associated Press.

The investment comes in a state President Donald Trump won by nearly 23 points in 2024 and where Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate race since 1982.

Hyde-Smith's campaign dismissed the effort.

“Team Cindy is confident that voters will reject this radical agenda at the ballot box on November 3rd,” campaign manager Jake Monssen said.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to campaign with Colom on Thursday as Democrats look to expand their Senate battleground map.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Fox News contributor Hugh Hewitt accused Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., of promoting McCarthyism after she said she wants to deter young Americans from working for President Donald Trump's administration.

"No, this is about McCarthyism coming back and being made great again by the left," Hewitt said Tuesday on "America Reports."

Slotkin drew criticism after telling a University of Chicago panel that she wants young people to consider the potential legal consequences of working for Trump.

"I want that deterrence message," Slotkin said.

Hewitt, who joined the Reagan administration at age 23, argued that Slotkin should encourage young Americans to enter public service rather than discourage them.

He also warned that politically motivated investigations could fuel an escalating cycle of retaliation between the parties.

"So when that's over, turn to governing and leave the weaponization behind," Hewitt said.

Trump criticized Slotkin on Monday, while the Michigan Democrat defended her remarks, arguing that officials who commit illegal acts are not protected by presidential immunity.

Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers is drawing a sharp contrast with Democratic rival Abdul El-Sayed, warning that El-Sayed’s proposals would expand government control and add costs for Michigan families.

Speaking at the Detroit Economic Club, Rogers criticized El-Sayed’s calls for Medicare for All, higher taxes on billionaires, new regulations on major industries and government ownership of roughly half the value of AI companies.

“I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Detroit become a Democratic socialist city,” Rogers said. “They’re talking about big government, government control, more rules, more regulation, another Green New Deal.”

Rogers argued that Michigan should focus on lowering utility and auto insurance costs, expanding manufacturing and rebuilding the state’s defense industrial base.

“We need to open up a sign and say, Michigan is open for business again,” Rogers said. “Let’s be the work belt of the Midwest again.”

El-Sayed has said his proposals are intended to address high health care and housing costs, protect workers from AI-driven job losses and direct more wealth toward schools, child care and other public services.

He has also argued that Michigan needs stronger regulation of monopolies and more investment in small businesses.

"I do not believe we live in actual capitalism,” El-Sayed said during his portion of the event.

“Capitalism is the process by which we allocate our capital based on supply and demand. Capitalism, according to Adam Smith, requires free entry and exit from markets.”

“The problem right now, however, is that we have a few very, very large corporations who dominate a ton of our economy,” he continued. “Because of their size, they really can’t be competed against.”

El-Sayed proposed sweeping government control over the super intelligence industry, including public ownership of roughly half its value.

“And I think the government should hold about 50% of the value,” El-Sayed said, arguing that AI companies should be rebuilt as public-interest corporations.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., traveled to Iowa to campaign with Republican Senate nominee Ashley Hinson, who is making a final push to win over voters less than two weeks before Election Day.

Britt praised Hinson as a “doer” who would bring a new voice to the Senate and said Hinson’s election would expand the ranks of younger Republican women in Congress.

“I cannot wait to have her there,” Britt said, arguing that Hinson would make sure Iowa’s needs and values are represented in Washington.

Hinson said she is visiting all 99 Iowa counties and plans to “earn every single vote” before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

“I’m out there making my pitch, and I think I’m going to go out there and earn every single vote in the next two weeks, and I think we’re going to win,” Hinson said.

During the fireside chat-style event, Hinson focused on issues including affordable child care, rural health care, cancer detection and women’s health.

She also backed efforts to lower diesel costs for farmers, including a proposed pause on the diesel gas tax and a diesel rebate program.

Hinson said she would welcome President Donald Trump to Iowa later this week and hopes to discuss ways to reduce costs for working families.

Georgia has surpassed 1 million in-person early votes, with 1,007,015 ballots cast as of before noon Tuesday, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced.

The total is up 12% from the 894,412 in-person early votes recorded at the same point in 2022. Including 48,916 accepted absentee ballots, overall turnout has reached 1,055,931.

“We continue to break records each day of early voting,” Raffensperger said, crediting county election officials for administering “free, fair, and fast” elections.

Early voting continues through Oct. 30.

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg is donating approximately $80 million to Democratic groups ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, according to The New York Times.

The contribution gives Democrats a major financial boost as they target Republican-held seats and seek to regain control of Congress.

Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and founder of Bloomberg LP, has previously spent heavily to support Democratic candidates and causes.

The donation comes with Election Day less than two weeks away, as both parties ramp up spending on advertising, voter turnout and get-out-the-vote efforts.