Midterm elections news and updates as Democrats, Republicans vie for control of Congress

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations, speaks in Derry, New Hampshire in April, 2022

FIRST ON FOX: Former South Carolina governor and ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is headed to New Hampshire this week to support the top two Republicans on the ballot this November in the key general election battleground state.

Haley on Tuesday endorsed GOP Gov. Chris Sununu, who’s running for a fourth two-year term steering the Granite State.

And she also supported former Army Gen. Don Bolduc, who a week ago narrowly captured the Republican nomination for Senate. Bolduc will challenge former governor and first-term Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan in the midterm elections in a race that’s among a handful across the country that will likely determine if the GOP wins back the majority in the chamber.

Haley will team up with Sununu on the campaign trail in New Hampshire on Thursday evening, and she’ll join Bolduc for events on Friday. News of the endorsements and Haley’s trip to New Hampshire were shared first with Fox News on Tuesday.

Click here to read more from Fox News' Paul Steinhauser

The top 30 vendors pulled in $5 billion in contracts last year after giving Newsom's campaign $1.5 million in donations. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

According to a new report from TheWrap, Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., is "undeniably" running for president in 2024 if President Joe Biden decides not to seek re-election.

"After this midterm election is over, he absolutely is going to announce that he is running for the presidency once Biden announces that he is not running. No ifs, ands or buts. He will run if Biden does not," a California fundraiser close to the Newsom family told TheWrap.

Newsom has already released ads in several different GOP states in an attempt to persuade people to move to California, sparking rumors that he is gearing up for a 2024 bid for the presidency.

Although the Democrat has not yet made an official announcement, August Berkeley IGS Polls survey found that if President Biden decides not to seek a second term, the majority of Californian voters would like to see Newsom as the Democratic nominee in 2024.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo headlines a Hillsborough County GOP fundraising gala on April 7, 2022 in Manchester, New Hampshire

EXCLUSIVE: Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will take aim at President Biden on Tuesday in a high-profile speech in New Hampshire, the state that for a century’s held the first primary in the race for the White House.

"I’m here because a few weeks ago, the President of the United States gave a speech and smeared half the country as enemies of the state. He essentially said if you’re pro-life or you oppose his policies, you’re a threat,"

Pompeo will charge as he headlines the latest edition of ‘Politics and Eggs’ at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.  The speaking series at St. Anselm College, just outside of Manchester, has been a must-stop for nearly a quarter-century for actual and potential White House hopefuls of both major parties.

"I’m here because I’m not going to let that just slide by. I’m going to stand up for the Americans that the President attacked. Because America deserves better than that," Pompeo will emphasize in his address. Excerpts of his speech were shared with Fox News on Monday.

Pompeo is referring to some heated language the president used recently in targeting "MAGA Republicans," who he argues have embraced "semi-fascism" due to their continued loyalty to former President Donald Trump. Check out our full Fox News story here.

Concerns about economic issues are far outpacing those about societal issues among registered voters ahead of November's midterm elections.

According to polling by the New York Times/Siena College released Friday, nearly half of all registered voters, or 49%, viewed "economic issues such as jobs, taxes or the cost of living" as most important when making their decision as to which party they will ultimately cast their vote on election day.

Just 31% of registered voters viewed "societal issues such as abortion, guns or democracy" as most important, followed by 16% who said both are equally important, 1% who said neither, and 3% who said they don't know or refuse to answer.

Read more from Fox News' Brandon Gillespie here.

With just 50 days until the highly anticipated midterm elections, voters trust the Republican Party over Democrats to best handle the key issues that they say are most likely to determine the outcome, according to a new national poll.

The latest NBC poll of registered voters found that nearly 60% of voters reported that a candidate's position on cost of living is the most important factor when considering who they will vote for this fall, compared to just 37% who said a candidate's stance on abortion is the most important factor.

Those results bode well for Republicans. By a large margin, Republicans are viewed by voters as better equipped than Democrats to handle economic issues, 47% to 28%. 

Read more from Fox News' Aubrie Spady here.

Then-Vice President Joe Biden holds a rally at the Statehouse in New Hampshire after filing to put his name on the primary ballot, on Nov. 8, 2019 in Cocord, N.H.

A President Biden 2024 re-election campaign has never been a sure thing.

But the president this weekend appeared to add an extra spoonful of uncertainly into the 2024 conversation by noting that "it’s much too early" to make any decision on launching a re-election bid.

"Look, my intention, as I said, that began with is that I would run again. But it's just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen," Biden said in an interview with CBS’ "60 Minutes," which aired on Sunday evening.

The 79-year-old Biden has said numerous times that if he remains healthy, he intends to run for re-election.

But in his "60 Minutes" interview, the president noted that "it’s much too early to make that kind of decision.”

A source in Biden’s political orbit was quick to downplay the significance of the president’s latest 2024 comments."I really don’t read into it," the source told Fox News. "His position on 2024 is unchanged."

Read the full story here

A new TV ad by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' re-election campaign spotlights the combustible issue of illegal immigration

FIRST ON FOX: The issue of illegal immigration is front and center in the latest ad by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ re-election campaign.

The spot – which is running statewide in Florida on TV and digital starting on Monday – comes as Florida’s governor has grabbed national headlines over the past week by flying Venezuelan migrants to the progressive bastion of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.

"My child was killed by someone who should not have been here. This is what happens when we have open borders," Jacksonville, Florida resident Kiyan Michael says at the top of the 60-second ad, which was shared first with Fox News. Michael’s middle son, Brandon, died in an auto accident after being hit by a twice-deported illegal immigrant.

Michael praises DeSantis, stressing that "he not only talks a good talk, but he walks it…There’s no greater leader than Governor DeSantis because he didn't just listen. He put action behind it." 

Michael, a Navy veteran, is running for state representative this year and is endorsed by DeSantis.

The DeSantis campaign tells Fox News the spot will run on TV and digital and is backed by a significant ad buy. Click here to read our entire Fox News report

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is running to become the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, speaks during a campaign event at The Wicked Hop in Milwaukee on Aug. 7, 2022. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

New footage from a 2021 Q & A surfaced of Democrat Senate candidate and Lt. Gov. of Wisconsin Mandela Barnes telling a group of potential voters that wealth in America was not "earned justly." The video was first obtained first by 27 News.

Barnes faced backlash earlier this year after the first part of the video was released, showing the Democrat saying that the founding of America was "awful."

"Things were bad. Things were terrible. The founding of this nation? Awful." Barnes said during the Q & A. "But we are here now and we should commit ourselves to doing everything we can to repair the harm, because it still exists today."

Months after the first part of the footage was released, new video made public from Barnes speech revealed he had more controversial things to say about America.

"It would be foolish to assume that all of the wealth in America was earned justly," he stated, after bringing up Critical Race Theory.

This November, Barnes is taking on incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., in the "toss-up" race for Wisconsin's Senate seat.

Georgia GOP Senate nominee Herschel Walker and Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (Republican National Convention/Handout via REUTERS | Tom Williams/Pool via REUTERS)

Georgia Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker is downplaying himself ahead of his highly anticipated debate against incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.

During a press conference in Savannah last week following a tour of the Port of Savannah, Walker said he was prepping for the debate by getting out and talking to voters across the state, as well as the media, but that Warnock would likely outperform him in a debate because of his background.

“I'm a country boy. I'm not that smart. [Warnock's] a preacher. He's a smart man, wears these nice suits. So, he's going to show up and embarrass me at the debate Oct. 14th, and I'm just waiting. You know, I'll show up and I'm going to do my best. I'm going to do my best," Walker said.

It was unclear if Walker was joking, but he appeared to be referencing Warnock as a smooth talker because of his occupation as a preacher.

The debate will air Friday, Oct. 14 on multiple TV stations across the state and in surrounding areas.

Fox News' Power Rankings rates the race as a "tossup."

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks prior to signing the budget at a ceremony at a grocery store Tuesday June 21, 2022, in Richmond, Va. The Virginia General Assembly passed the budget earlier in the week. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

On Thursday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R-Va., will travel to Kansas City, Missouri where he will campaign with Derek Schmidt, the state's GOP Senate nominee at a local BBQ restaurant.

Sources confirmed to Fox News that Youngkin will be in Arizona in October to campaign for GOP Gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. The exact date and location haven't yet been disclosed.

Youngkin recently told Fox News Digital, "Republican governors were so good to us last year. We have seen Republican governors outperform Democrat governors everywhere. So I want to help Republican governors when I think we have a very unique approach – which is these kitchen table, common sense solutions."

Republican Senate nominee Don Bolduc speaks at the New Hampshire GOP unity breakfast, on Sept. 15, 2022 in Concord, N.H. (Fox News)

STRATHAM, N.H. – Former Army Gen. Don Bolduc, the GOP Senate nominee in battleground New Hampshire, on Monday landed the endorsement of former Sen. Scott Brown, a Granite State resident who served as ambassador to New Zealand during former President Trump’s administration. 

"I’ve seen Don’s campaign first-hand and am impressed with his authentic grassroots operation and commitment to town hall meetings,” Brown said in a statement provided to Fox News. "Not only are his military accomplishments unmatched, he connects with voters in a way Washington, D.C. doesn’t understand. He listens to people and hears their pain. He understands what they are going through.” 

Bolduc, who ran as an outsider and populist MAGA-Republican style candidate during his second straight bid for the GOP nomination, narrowly won last Tuesday’s primary and is now challenging former governor and first-term Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan. Republicans view Hassan as vulnerable due to her lackluster poll numbers and the race is one of a handful across the county that may determine if the GOP wins back the Senate majority in November’s midterm elections. 

Brown, who lost his 2012 Senate re-election to now Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, moved full time to New Hampshire the following year and came close to defeating Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in 2014 in a high stakes Senate showdown. The endorsement by Brown, who’s seen as a more moderate and mainstream Republican, may help Bolduc consolidate GOP support in the wake of a combustible primary. 

President Joe Biden (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Biden is still undecided on whether he will run again for the White House in the 2024 presidential election.

In an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" last week, Biden said that while his "intention" is to run again, it wasn't yet a "firm decision."

"Look, if I were to say to you, I'm running again, all of a sudden, a whole range of things come into play that I have-- requirements I have to change and move and do," Biden told anchor Scott Pelley.

"In terms of election laws. and it's much too early to make that kind of decision. I'm a great respecter of fate. And so, what I'm doing is I'm doing my job. I'm gonna do that job. And within the timeframe that makes sense after this next election cycle here, going into next year, make a judgment on what to do," he said.

Pelley pressed Biden, asking if he yet knew in his own head whether he would run again.

"Look, my intention as I said to begin with is that I would run again," Biden answered. "But it's just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen."