The Morning Roundup – November 1, 2026

Two days out from the midterms, the conversation is all about the closing stretch. President Trump is back on the rally trail, the fallout from the Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act decision is shaping the fight over Black turnout, the Epstein files are hanging over the ballot, and Michigan’s Senate race remains one of the most watched contests in the country. The left is framing the final days as a referendum on Trump’s fading pull and on voting rights, the center is tracking the rallies, the polls and the historical patterns, and the right is pushing back on the culture-war direction of big-city Democrats. Here’s how all three sides are covering it.

LEFT

Matthew Bartlett (MS NOW) – “Trump is entering the washed-up rock star phase of his presidency”

Bartlett argues that President Trump is still playing his old hits on the midterm rally circuit, but the crowds are no longer showing up the way they once did. He contends that when Trump is down, he lashes out, and frames the final stretch of the campaign as a sign of fading political pull.

Stacey Abrams (MS NOW) – “Gutting the Voting Rights Act was wrong. Black voter turnout, however high, won’t change that.”

Abrams writes that the Louisiana v. Callais ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act was wrong regardless of how Black voters turn out in the midterms. Her core argument is that the measure of a democracy cannot be how many obstacles its people manage to overcome, and that strong turnout should not be read as proof the protections were unnecessary.

Dani Bensky (MS NOW) – “I’m an Epstein survivor. Here’s what I hope Americans consider as they head to the polls.”

Writing as a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein, Bensky argues that the sexual abuse and trafficking of women and girls is not a political issue. She urges voters to use the midterms to support a political system that protects the next generation, tying the ongoing fight over the Epstein files to the ballot box.

Sarah Longwell (The Bulwark) – “Is the Islamophobic Campaign Against El-Sayed Working?”

Longwell examines Michigan's Senate race, one of the few contests where Democrats appear competitive, and the attacks on Democrat Abdul El-Sayed that she characterizes as Islamophobic. The piece asks whether that campaign is actually moving voters in the race against Republican Mike Rogers in the campaign's final days.

CENTER

Bart Jansen (USA TODAY) – “Live election news: Trump rallies are back on as midterms near”

USA TODAY's live blog tracks the final days before the midterm elections, led by President Trump's return to the rally trail, including planned stops in Kansas. The page collects running updates on polls and campaign developments as Election Day approaches.

USA TODAY – “Why US midterms may end like other elections since 2016”

This USA TODAY video explainer looks at how the 2026 midterm elections are shaping up and why the results may follow a pattern seen in other elections since 2016. It frames the coming vote against the recent history of national elections.

Monolith News Room (The Monolith Media) – “How a champion of the ‘Utah Way’ became a casualty of America’s AI debate”

Our own report traces how longtime Utah lawmaker Stuart Adams, known for infrastructure investment, tax cuts and a cross-party approach he calls the "Utah Way," lost his seat after championing the proposed Stratos data center project. Limited public input and environmental concerns turned the project into a liability, and analysts called his ouster over data centers unprecedented, a sign of how AI infrastructure is becoming a local political flashpoint.

LEX 18 News – “2 hospitalized after car crashed into ambulance near Main and Mill streets in Lexington”

Lexington police say a car struck a Lexington Fire Department ambulance that was transporting a patient with its sirens on near Main and Mill streets late Saturday night. The car then hit a traffic control box and another vehicle; the two people hurt were in the car that hit the ambulance and are expected to survive.

RIGHT

David Bittinger (John Kass News) – “Kindergarten Lessons, Updated”

Bittinger riffs on Robert Fulghum's 1988 bestseller All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, arguing that its simple standards of behavior now seem quaint. He offers his own updated lessons for 2026, taking aim at big-city mayors including New York's, gender identity, and transgender athletes in girls' sports.