The most striking thing about the Illinois Senate race is that neither party is particularly thrilled with the quality of its nominee. That may be one of the reasons the race has not had as high a national profile. But it’s still a very competitive race — tight enough that how well the third party candidates in the field perform could have an outsize effect on the outcome.

Voter fraud bamboozlement cross-pollinates with anti-immigrant xenophobia when GOP House candidate warns voters that Democrats are going to bus in Mexicans to steal the election.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights was supposed to vote today on its report “exposing” the purported politicization of the Obama Justice Department but one of the Democrats on the commission walked out to deny the majority Republicans a quorum — so instead the commission griped about TPM publishing a leaked copy of the report yesterday.

After a lot of conflicting reporting, we’re getting a clearer picture on just what happened this morning to ground cargo flights in Philadelphia and Newark. The incident was triggered when suspicious packages bound for the United States from Yemen were found overnight on board two UPS flights, one in Dubai, the other in England, according to a statement from the White House. As a precaution, flights at those two U.S. airports were given closer scrutiny. At this point no devices have been found at either U.S. airport. You can read the entire statement here.

The latest snapshots of all the polls in the key races all right here at your fingertips.

U.S. fighter jets are escorting an airliner from the United Arab Emirates to JFK airport in New York, CNBC is reporting. Not clear yet what the circumstances are there. It’s reportedly Emirates Airlines Flight 201.

Sharron Angle sends flyer telling seniors: You may die early if you vote for Harry Reid.

TPM Reader JB checks in upon arriving in DC:

As we began our descent into DC from Chicago the pilot came on and wished good luck to everyone running in the marathon, “and even better luck to everyone seeking sanity in Washington, D.C.”

As I mentioned the other day, if you’re coming to the rallies in DC this weekend, keep us posted on what you see, hear, and experience. We’re especially looking for photos and video. Thanks in advance.

President Obama just appeared in the White House briefing room and confirmed that the two suspicious packages that originated in Yemen and were intercepted on UPS flights contained explosive material.

Sharron Angle tells Nevada reporter she’ll answer questions about foreign policy and national security after she becomes senator. See the video.

Late Update: D’oh! I guess that reporter’s learned his lesson. Angle’s campaign just banned his TV station from the campaign’s election night event over the foreign policy question.