The Morning Roundup – October 24, 2026

Good morning from The Monolith Media. With ten days to go before the midterms, this Saturday’s coverage is dominated by the battleground races, from Brian Fitzpatrick’s fight to hold his Pennsylvania swing seat to Vivek Ramaswamy’s closing ad in Ohio and Abdul El-Sayed’s struggle for Black voters in Detroit, along with growing attention to election security and how closely this vote will be watched. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Rep. Ilhan Omar also draw fire. The left is focused on Hegseth and on threats to the vote, the center is digging into the swing races and voting-machine fears, and the right is zeroing in on Omar’s legal team.

LEFT

Charles P. Pierce (Esquire) – “We Need to Prepare Ourselves for One of the Most Intensely Monitored Elections in American History”

Pierce warns that the 2026 midterms are shaping up to be among the most heavily monitored elections in American history, arguing that "the ratfcking has just begun." His column ties the coming fight over the vote to Pete Hegseth and the Eisenhower globe episode, framing both as signs of an administration pushing against democratic norms.

Heather Digby Parton (Salon) – “How Hegseth smashed the world Ike made”

Parton writes that the defense secretary broke the globe associated with President Dwight Eisenhower, and argues the incident works as an inadvertent metaphor. In her telling, Hegseth's tenure is dismantling the postwar international order that Eisenhower helped build.

Eugene Daniels (MS NOW) – “The signs for El-Sayed in Detroit — and the lack of them — are setting off alarm bells”

Daniels reports that the scarcity of El-Sayed campaign signs in Detroit is worrying Democrats about his standing with Black voters. MS NOW spoke with the candidate and with members of the Black community, who identified three key hurdles to his winning their support.

CENTER

Annie Grayer (CNN) – “The vulnerable House Republican trying to withstand the anger directed at his party”

Grayer follows GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick on the trail in his suburban Philadelphia swing district, where he was confronted at a street festival by a man angry about rising costs. The piece examines how Fitzpatrick is trying to survive voter frustration aimed at his party.

CNN – “House Republican trying to hold onto his seat amidst anger at his party”

This CNN video report notes that Democrats are investing millions to beat Fitzpatrick, betting that anger over rising costs and turmoil in Washington will help challenger Bob Harvie flip the seat. Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, is distancing himself from his own party as he makes his case to voters.

Eric Bradner, Lauren Fox (CNN) – “Ramaswamy and Trump gamble on an incendiary ad, as Ohio shows signs it might turn purple again”

Bradner and Fox report that Vivek Ramaswamy is closing his run for Ohio governor with the same never-back-down bombast that launched him four years ago, now in the form of an incendiary ad. The piece weighs whether that Trump-style bet still works in a state showing signs of becoming competitive again.

Jeremy Herb (CNN) – “Can electronic voting machines change your vote? Here's what experts say”

Herb looks at viral social media videos that appear to show voting machines highlighting a different candidate than the one a voter touched. He walks through what election experts say about those clips and whether machines can actually change a vote.

RIGHT

Gabrielle Fahmy, Geoff Earle (New York Post) – “Biden 'autopen' attorney and anti-Trump lawyer helping 'Squad' Rep. Ilhan Omar battle immigration probe”

The Post reports that Rep. Ilhan Omar has brought on attorney Amy Jeffress, who represented President Biden personally, as she fights an immigration probe. The story highlights Jeffress's ties to the Biden "autopen" matter and her record opposing Trump.