MONDAY: Who will win those Senate seats?

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2026

There's a chance we might even find out: Who will win the (thirty-five) Senate seats at stake in tomorrow's elections? A new report by the New York Times reports the numbers from a final set of NYT/Siena polls:

Democrats Show Strength in Final Days of Race for the Senate, New Polls Find  

Democrats are ahead of Republicans in almost all of the seven battleground states that will determine which party controls the Senate, according to the final set of polls from The New York Times and Siena University before the midterm elections.

The surveys found that Democrats hold sizable leads in Texas, which has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1988, and Kansas, which has not elected one since 1932.

To win a Senate majority, Democrats need to defend all the seats they currently hold and flip at least four seats that are currently held by Republicans. It has been seen as an uphill battle because many of the seats they need to win are in Republican strongholds.

But the new polls found Democratic candidates ahead in five states that now have Republican senators and effectively tied in a sixth. They hold leads in Kansas, Maine, Ohio and Texas and a narrow edge in Alaska. They are effectively tied in Iowa.   

And so on from there.

Happy Days are here again! But only if the actual voting turns out that way tomorrow!   

We humans! Endless time is being burned today with endless prognostication.  Of course, even the most recent polls are already out of date! 

Meanwhile, who's gonna win those thirty-five seats?  If we can wait for one more day, there's a chance we might even find out!


SELF GOVERNMENT: Or current attempts at same!

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2026

Solon changes her mind: We humans are allowed to change our minds. We're also allowed to change our public positions.   

Yesterday, Haley Stevens may, or may not, have changed her mind, But she definitely changed her public position. 

She had endorsed Candidate El-Sayed—but yesterday, she flipped, endorsing Candidate Rogers! When we humans attempt to engage in self-government, it will sometimes look like this. We'll highlight a few key points:

REP. HALEY STEVENS (11/1/26): Well, thank you. And greetings to the press corps.

My name is Haley Stevens. I'm a proud Democrat. And I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate.

I am one vote in this state. Michigan is a swing state. And I have a divided household, as some of you have heard, up until last night. But even my own mother cast her vote for Mike Rogers as my own father cast his vote for Abdul.

This is a very close election. We all know that. But Abdul made very clear that I was not welcome in his campaign. That he didn't need me there, that he didn't want me there. And at some point, you got to look at who's standing for country.

You know, there's always a lot of elections taking place in America. And this is one. I'm going to cast my ballot. I still haven't done that. And 90 percent of the votes I'm going to cast are going to be for Democrats.

My vote for Senate, I am just one vote, as is every Michigander, my vote for Senate is going to be with Mike Rogers. And I will tell you why:

Because we have to stand with country. We can't stand with hate. We can't stand with Hasan Piker.

A friend of mine was talking about how education is on the ballot, and it's very true. There's a lot of young people looking at this election.

You know, I was a young person once. And we've got to make a choice about who is standing with them.

I think that Chuck Schumer is going to become the majority leader, you know. And I think that there are incredible Democrats and incredible activity taking place across this country.

I stood with my party and I was booed off the stage. And, you know, it was violently shouted down. You know, I was up there with other Democrats. Those people who were on that stage with me, they're going to make their choice.

The ballot box is still very personal and private. And today, in a moment of faith, tied to my faith and to this great city, by the way, I'm standing here with a guy named Mike Rogers.

And there's another guy named Mike who ran the city of Detroit for 12 years. And a lot of Detroiters voted for him. And, you know, he kind of looks like this guy.

And you know what happened with that Mike? You know, he stepped out of his party. He put up his hand for a brief while. He was running for governor.

You know, I don't know everything that's going to happen, you know. And all I can do is lead with love and integrity.

This was a personal and private decision. I woke up this morning and I decided to go to church. And I'm here with the person who I am voting for, for United States Senate.   

Hmm. She decided to go to church, and then she was there with Mike Rogers!

For the record, many people in the state of Michigan are going to vote for Mike Rogers. If we were voting in Michigan, we'd vote for Candidate El-Sayed, but there's no way to prove that the other vote is "wrong."   

That said, it's hard to miss the sense of self-involvement in this first attempt by Stevens to explain her last-minute flip. We refer to such statements as this:  

"I have a divided household, as some of you have heard, up until last night." 

That was an apparent reference to herself and her fiancĂ©, who had already come out for Rogers. Also, the solon now copped to this:  

Abdul made very clear that I was not welcome in his campaign. That he didn't need me there, that he didn't want me there.

Solon, please! Nominees routinely decide who they will, and who they won't, gain votes by campaigning with. That statement made it sound like Rep. Stevens was taking it personally—like she might have changed her vote because her feelings had been hurt. So, of course, did this:   

I stood with my party and I was booed off the stage. And, you know, it was violently shouted down.

Some Democratic Party voters booed her! It's natural to be hurt by some events, but should that have helped decide who she would endorse?   

The whole thing sounded quite self-referential. Moments later, so did this:   

REPORTER: What’s your message to Democrats who are upset that, throughout the primary, you said you would endorse the Democratic nominee, and you’re not doing so today?  

STEVENS: Yeah, and I’m sorry people are upset, and I understand that. I did endorse the Democratic nominee, and he chose to close his campaign by saying I wasn’t welcome.

I’ve never been invited to a campaign event? That’s fine! You know, he’s busy, he’s running all around. I’ve had primaries before myself. It’s not about that. 

This is about leadership and integrity. his is about looking in the mirror, about how real Democrats for Rogers are, constituents of mine that are out there putting themselves out there publicly, and others who aren't.

And that's fine! There’s going to be people who agree with me, people who disagree with me—all the love to them. And all the excitement for what is down the road. 

Amid the piffle, there was a strong hint of self-involvement in that statement too. She's never been invited to a campaign event, she said, even as she assured the world that her flip wasn't about that.  

Personally, we would vote for Candidate El-Sayed; several million Michiganders may vote the other way. Before moving on, we want to record one more set of facts:

To borrow from Stevens' repeated lnguage, it's a set of facts "about country"—about the country shared by these same-age pols: 

Haley Stevens: 
Stevens is 43 years old. She was born and raised in Michigan.  After graduating from high school, she went to American U. in D.C., where she received a Bachelor of Arts in political science and philosophy and a Master of Arts in social policy and philosophy.   

Abdul El-Sayed: 
El-Sayed is 42 years old. He was born and raised in Michigan.  After graduating from high school, "he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with highest distinction" from the University of Michigan, then went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. "In 2014, he completed a Doctor of Medicine degree at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons."

Our translation: Each was born and raised in this country. What was Stevens trying to say? 

We humans are allowed to change our minds. We're even allowed to be wrong! 

Routinely, we're less than perfectly rational. That can make self-government hard.

 Tomorrow: Sunday New York Times, page 1 (print editions only!)


SATURDAY: Small girl smiling inside Barbie box!

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2026

Our Halloween edition: This being the day called Halloween, we bring you a picture of delight. 

Yesterday morning, at 5:59 a.m. Eastern, just before Morning Joe started, Ali Vitali, hosting Way Too Early, described this holiday scene: 

VITALI (10/30/26): And finally, some Halloween news to end our show. 

President Trump kicked off the start of Halloween by welcoming families to the White House yesterday evening. The president and first lady Melania Trump handed out full-size chocolate bars to trick or treaters. 

About six thousand people were on the South Lawn taking part in this annual event.  

[...]  

It was quite the way to kick off this holiday weekend.  

Vitali's a good, decent person. If you watch the videotape of her brief report, you'll see boys and girls sporting some excellent Halloween costumes as they cadge those full-size candy bars. 

For our money, the little girl presenting as the Barbie doll inside the Barbie box will be hard to beat this year for pleasure, joy, excitement and fun. For a still shot of this outstanding effort, go ahead—just click here.

There's a great deal more to be said at this time. But the ghosts and the goblins are all about, and Reds and Blues both enjoy this day, and so we'll just leave it right here.

Next Tuesday, spirits will be using us! The danger facing our struggling nation will motor ahead from there.


EMERGENCE: The Towel-Snapping of the Bros!

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2026

Creepy obstacle to an emergence: The towel-snapping topped the pile at Mediaite this morning. Grown men need to start telling these undergrown boys that it's time for them to shut the frump up.

We offer thanks to David Gilmour. His report starts like this:

‘How Is This Real?’ JD Vance Mocked for ‘Tone Deaf’ Opener to MAGA Voter’s Affordability Question   

Critics ripped Vice President JD Vance as “tone deaf” after he responded to a young supporter’s concerns about housing affordability for families by cracking a joke about Senator Jon Husted’s (R-OH) butt during a Fox News town hall.

The awkward exchange unfolded Thursday night when Texas Christian University student Kate White, vice president of the school’s Turning Point USA chapter, challenged Vance over how Republicans expect young Americans to marry and start families when homeownership remains out of reach for many. 

“How does the right and yourself expect us to start families young when you know the average price of a home in America now costs more than $415,000, which just feels out of reach for us,” she asked.

All in all, Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow! 

It wasn't just a "MAGA Voter," as the headline reported. The question came from a young woman whose values and understandings have led her to Turning Point USA, the movement Charlie Kirk built! 

We aren't fans of the bulk of Kirk's work, but Ow ow ow ow ow! The young woman had asked a serious question. 

Here's what the pair of Bros did: 

(Continuing directly from above) 
Rather than immediately addressing her concerns, Vance began by pointing out that almost nobody in the audience had asked about Husted.

“Well, first of all, again, thank you for the question and thanks for the support,” Vance said. “I want to point out that I think that I’ve been asked four or maybe five questions by my count, I’ve only been asked one question about Jon Husted’s a*s and it was by Jesse Watters.”  

Watters, who was moderator, laughed, insisting it was what people were talking about, before Vance quipped: “Maybe you should run for Senate on the Democratic side here in Texas, Jesse.”

The clip quickly went viral on social media, however, drawing criticism from commentators who questioned why the vice president had opened his response to a serious economic concern with an unrelated political joke.   

And so on from there. For the record, it wasn't just a "political" joke. It was a towel-snapping sexual side-trip of the type these underdeveloped men keep inflicting on this nation's failing culture.  

To see this creepy throwback "mutt culture" at work, click here for Greg Gutfeld's opening monologue on last night's Gutfeld! program. Meanwhile: 

In fairness to Vice President Vance, we've said it here several times in the past. Almost surely, someone who was abused in his childhood the way Vance was is likely to show the effects of that mistreatment later on, as a chronological adult.

Our view? It's time for grown men in this struggling nation to tell these creeps to shut up. That said, we know of no salaried Blue American journalist, male or female, who has ever said a word about the undisguised misogyny which rules the Gutfeld! show most nights.   

Yesterday, down in Texas, a young woman asked a serious question. Before her question was addressed, two classic frat boys had some fun. 

So it goes as candidates like Amy Acton and Annie Andrews try to let a saner day emerge—as a candidate like the Rev. Adam Hamilton threatens to win a Senate seat in Kansas. 

(Candidate Hamilton is "senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, the largest United Methodist congregation in the United States." It's beginning to look like he could snag that Kansas seat for the Dems.)

As you know, Candidate Acton (like Candidate Andrews, she's a doctor) was mugged by a campaign ad last week—by an ad which probably backfired. The ad came from the camp of Vivek Ramaswamy, one of our current collection of billionaire bros.

We thought we'd show you what stands in the way of a fuller emergence at this time for our badly endangered nation. The obstacle takes shape when people like this, from Trump on down, spread their gruesome values all through the culture—as Blue America's salaried "journalists" all run off and hide. 

Here goes:

The analysts loved Candidate Acton's messaging after Ramaswamy's ad appeared. We ran through that messaging in Monday's report, but this is some of the stuff of a badly needed emergence:   

Candidate Acton / Hints of emergence

Eric and I want to thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts for all the support, and all the love, you have shown us this past week, and every day on the trail. 

Thank you. Thank you.

[CHEERS] 

My name is Dr. Amy Acton—

[CHEERS]

I'm an Ohio girl through and through. I grew up in Youngstown.

[CHEERS]

It's the stuff of Bruce Springsteen songs... 

When I grew up, we didn't know what party you were in. We knew what union you were in!

[CHEERS]

We knew what branch of the military you served in, we knew where you worshipped. We knew what civic groups you were in. 

But the biggest thing we knew was that you had one another's back, and if it weren't for the tough, deeply resilient community I had, I wouldn't be here today

They had my back when I needed it most...   

In Ohio, we work hard and we watch out for one another. My opponent just doesn't get it. 

Mr. Ramaswamy, you are not just out of touch, you are out for yourself and you're a danger to my state. Apparently, there is no low to which you won't stoop. But look:

I'm a scrappy kid from Youngstown—

[CHEERS]

—and scrappy kids from Youngstown, we never back down from a fight!  

If you want your nation to stage an emergence, that is helpful rhetoric. 

She's inviting the churches and the military back into the tent, but also, of course, the unions. And with everyone back inside that tent, she's saying we have to look out for each other, that she'll never back down from that fight.  

("Eric and I," she says as she starts. An assurance is lurking there too. If you're inclined to flip out at this point, you may be a helpmate for MAGA.)   

We Blues are going to have to admit that we've been wrong in many of our attitudes and ideas. It will be good for us to admit that because it's a well-known fact that it's true.   

Needless to say, the billionaire nut-balls, the throwback males, rushed out to support that braindead ad. With that, we take you to last Saturday's broadcast of C-Span's Washington Journal.   

Mimi Geerges was moderator that day. To watch the program, you can just click here. 

As C-Span callers frequently note, Geerges has a superb disposition. She was also playing by C-Span rules, according to which moderators almost never offer their opinion about the matters at issue.   

The program started at 7 a.m. Eastern. If you click ahead to 7:36, you'll see Geerges play tape of Vance saying that Acton "is unfit to serve as governor of Ohio." 

If you click ahead to 7:40, you'll see Geerges play tape of the sitting president supporting "the terrible things the mother said" about Candidate Acton. He does so at great length.  

When powerful people behave in such ways, citizens do get misled. If you click to 7:36, you'll hear Sarah from Indiana saying, at considerable length, that Candidate Acton "is not a good person" and that she is "not fit to be in the office."

The next caller will be Roy from Cameron, Texas.  You'll hear him confidently cite the mother's claim that Acton is a liar. 

(Quoting: "Just because somebody had a traumatic experience when they were younger doesn't mean they have a right to be a liar later on in life.") 

As men like Vance and Watters and Gutfeld take their cues from the disordered Trump, our culture is in a dangerous downward spiral.    

These are the Bros who just can't adjust. Tell us when you see any Blue American journalist telling these apostles of an ugly, dimwitted throwback culture that it's time for them to grow up.

That it's time for them to stifle themselves. That it's time to shut the freak up. 

Emergence is struggling to be born. A lot of very helpful vision is coming from ministers and doctors and women.

The Bros—the fellows who can't quite seem to grow the f*ck up—keep fighting to push it on back.