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title: "\"We have to win this election\""
---

DC turns its attention to the midterms. ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­    ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­  

| View in browser October 1, 2026 Good Thursday evening. In this edition: With the Senate leaving town, all eyes turn to the midterms. Plus, attempted hijacking, bond hearings and Labor secretary. Midterm Elections With the Senate leaving town last night, Washington has turned its attention squarely to the November midterm elections, which have significant implications for the final two years of President Trump's term. Just over a month out from Election Day, Republicans are fighting to hold their narrow congressional majorities amid concerns about voter enthusiasm and an increasingly difficult political environment that has put races in traditionally red states into play. Democrats, meanwhile, are seeking to capitalize on dissatisfaction with President Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress to take control of both chambers. Republicans currently hold a razor-thin House majority, and the Cook Political Report projects Democrats are most likely to pick up five to 15 seats and win control of the chamber. The Senate will be more difficult for Democrats to capture, but Republicans are defending more of the most competitive seats, with the Cook Political Report rating seven races as Toss Ups — five seats currently held by Republicans and two held by Democrats. President Trump said he plans to campaign in 35 of the most competitive battleground races, but is beginning his campaign swing in red states, seeking to turn out the base. He made a stop in Texas this afternoon and is currently holding a rally in Oklahoma. On Friday, he'll hold a rally in Mobile, Alabama. The president's low approval ratings, however, could be a liability for Republicans, and Texas U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton (R) recently said the GOP midterm convention held in Dallas hurt him more than it helped. "To be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers," he said at a fundraiser, according to a leaked audio recording obtained by the New York Times. "Everybody's numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good." Before his departure, President Trump was asked why he was visiting Texas to highlight manufacturing and the economy considering Mr. Paxton's comments. "I'll tell you why: We have to win this election. You were there, that convention was a tremendous success," he told Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy. "First of all, I won Texas all three times, the Hispanic vote all three times. Texas has been great to me." Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), who is retiring at the end of the year, acknowledged that his party is facing an uphill battle, but urged disaffected Republicans to remember that the Supreme Court is also "on the ballot," recalling how a GOP Senate blocked President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to the high court. "The Supreme Court was on the ballot and for some of our Republicans who weren't ready to get on maybe the Trump bandwagon, they were a bit reluctant, when they connected the dots about the Supreme Court, I think it brought many of them home and we won the election, and of course, changed the trajectory of the Supreme Court for virtually a generation," he said at a Nixon Foundation event. The Montana Republican said Republicans should remember that as they head to the polls in November. "Imagine for a moment a Supreme Court nomination opens up and Chuck Schumer is majority leader," he said. "Let's just keep reminding our voters that to get over the fact that you're upset, angry — this is for the sake of the republic." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) projected optimism about Democrats' prospects as he held his final press conference before senators left the Capitol. "We Dems have the wind in our sails heading into October and the final stretch," he said Wednesday. However, he declined to put a number on it when asked how many seats he thought Democrats could pick up in November, acknowledging it's a "close election." "We do not want to be overconfident," he said. "But what we're seeing in state after state after state is that people are sick of Trump. They're sick of the Republican Senate going along with them. And they're seeing the clear division we have drawn between what we stand for and what they stand for. That has put us on the edge of victory, but we still got a ways to go." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who stands to claim the speaker's gavel if Democrats win the lower chamber, said he intends to travel to up to 20 different states throughout October. "The American people have had enough and our message to them is that help is on the way," he said Wednesday. "House Democrats are committed to fighting for an affordable America." Watch the remarks from President Trump, Sen. Schumer and Rep. Jeffries. Also catch C-SPAN's "Road to the Capitol" campaign coverage from noon to 5pm ET on Saturday and throughout the weekend. In other news… President Trump suggested that Iran may have been behind the attempted hijacking of an Israel-bound plane on Wednesday. "I would say the answer, based on what I'm hearing, is yes. But we're working on it right now," he told reporters when asked if he had been briefed on any potential links to Iran. The co-pilot of a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv allegedly stabbed the flight captain and attempted to crash the aircraft, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The captain was able to unlock the cockpit door, allowing passengers to overpower the co-pilot. Two off-duty pilots who were on the flight were then able to stabilize the plane after it dropped more than 17,000 feet and make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. No passengers were seriously injured during the incident. The president said Iran would face retaliation if the country was proven to be behind the attack. "They'll be hit, very hard, don't worry," he said. The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments early next year in a case over whether the Trump administration can detain tens of thousands of noncitizens living in the country without giving them the opportunity for a bond hearing. In the past, immigrants who had lived in the U.S. illegally for many years and were arrested away from the border were generally eligible for bond hearings, where they could try to convince a judge they were not a flight risk or danger to the community and could remain free as their deportation cases proceeded. In July 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) adopted a new policy saying immigrants in the country illegally were subject to mandatory detention and were no longer eligible to be released on bond. Hundreds of district court judges have ruled against the policy. Two federal appeals courts have allowed it to move forward, while nine others have ruled that certain immigrants must be allowed to seek release on bond. The Senate confirmed Keith Sonderling as Labor secretary in a 47–41 party-line vote late Wednesday night before leaving town until after the midterm elections. Mr. Sonderling has served as acting Labor secretary since April, when Lori Chavez-DeRemer left the administration, and was nominated by President Trump in June to permanently take over the department. He previously served as deputy Labor secretary and held positions at the Labor Department and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during the first Trump administration. At his confirmation hearing in July, Mr. Sonderling highlighted his experience in labor law in private practice, government and academia. "These experiences have prepared me to lead this department with a deep understanding of its mission, its people, and most importantly, the Americans we serve," he said. For your radar… White House Budget Director Russell Vought on Friday discusses the Trump administration's efforts to strengthen U.S. Navy shipbuilding at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 10am ET. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here C-SPAN is on YouTube. Subscribe today for live coverage, consequential moments, memorable exchanges and the political events everyone will be talking about. Full Schedule Copyright © 2026 C-SPAN, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in. C-SPAN, 400 North Capitol Street NW, Suite 155, Washington, DC 20001 Unsubscribe Manage preferences |
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