We’re into the final 48 hours of campaigning for the 2010 midterm. Our team is going to be with you nonstop for the final 72 hours. And there are a couple quick points I wanted to flag for everyone’s attention. First, we’re now in the phase — actually have been for the last 48 hours or so — when campaigns can launch attacks that they don’t think the opposing campaign or the press will have time to investigate, refute or complain about. So even though most of the action is now moving to the ground game, be ready and unsurprised for more than the usual run of nonsense and desperate gambits from all sides.
Next, polls. A bunch of polls came out yesterday. But not that much that really stood out as changing the equation in a big way. With some exceptions, mainly they confirmed the existing trends. (Let’s keep an eye on OH-Gov, I’m not certain that one’s done.) But we should expect an avalanche of polls to come out tonight and tomorrow. Many of those will simply be duplicative. But not all. Remember, there are a large number of House races that have only been polled once or twice or in a few cases not at all. That means that for all the prognostication and guess work we’ll likely get some polls that suddenly make it much more clear how some key races are going to turn out. And there are probably going to be a few real surprises. Our staff will be adding new numbers through the day to the TPMPolltracker database. And we’ll be keeping you posted on the important ones as we go.
We’ll enter them all of course. But the numbers are going to be popping fast and furious, often from pollsters who only very occasional do political polls. So you can be the difference between our finding out a couple hours after a poll has been released and a couple minutes. If you see a poll that’s not in our system yet, definitely let us know. And the same goes for all election news that will be coming out throughout the day. It’s part of our system to rely on your tips and leads every day. So please keep them coming today as much as any other.
The Kentucky stomper has been charged with fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor.
I don’t usually get time to watch these things. But I just watched this video from the Colbert show where Colbert sits down for a candid, emotional meeting with representatives of the five groups that scare him most: gays, Muslims, Mexicans, bears and robots. In the last two cases they’re people who work with bears and robots. Completely bizarre but pretty funny. Watch.
TPM readers go the extra mile to bring us the news, even if that means braving the wilds of Bourbon Street on a Halloween weekend. It’s hard work but someone has to do it. On the prowl — for news — TPM Reader NS came across the Aqua Buddha himself, at Lafitte’s bar: Read More
For all your up-to-the-minute election news through Tuesday night and into Wednesday, the TPM Midterms Wire is the best place to catch up and stay in touch. You can also follow it on Twitter.
White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan is making the rounds of the Sunday shows this morning and emphasizing that it is not yet clear whether the package bomb plot has been successfully foiled or whether there are other packages out there yet to be found. “We’re trying to get a better handle on what else may be out there,” Brennan said.
The Cook Political Report is now predicting a gain of 6-8 Senate seats for Republicans, down from its earlier prediction of 7-9 seats. “This new outlook means that the odds of Republicans winning a majority in the Senate are now non-existent,” Cook says.
If you’re a Russ Feingold fan, you’ll find Ben Smith’s piece on what may be Feingold’s last hurrah to be poignant — and Feingold’s political predicament to be maddening.
A report from WWE’s “Fan Appreciation Day” in Connecticut yesterday, just three days before the election to decide whether former WWE CEO Linda McMahon goes to the U.S. Senate.
This reader account of the Rally4Sanity jumped out from the many we received:
We were about a third of the way back, and part of the pre-rally entertainment was watching people trying to climb the trees near the American History Museum.
One young woman had considerable trouble climbing, despite standing on outstretched hands. It was still too far to reach the lowest branch.