Democratic Senate candidates raised far more than their Republican rivals in the July–September period, with James Talarico bringing in $60.2 million in Texas, and Democrats also outraised Republicans in 13 of 21 House Toss Up races. Republicans are relying on outside spending, with the Senate Leadership Fund raising a record $272.9 million, about $122 million more than its Democratic counterpart. Elon Musk gave more than $276 million to federal political groups in the third quarter, including $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund and $89 million to his America PAC, most of it aimed at Texas. The Cook Political Report projected Democrats could gain two to six Senate seats and nine to 19 House seats, though polls have shown little movement despite the GOP's advertising advantage.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Related news
- Elon Musk gives $276 million to Republican groups, becomes biggest known 2026 midterm donor
Elon Musk has spent more than $276 million on Republican groups since July, making him the biggest known donor to the 2026 midterm elections. Of this, $158 million went to the Senate Leadership Fund and more than $76 million to America PAC. He also gave $10 million to Lone Star Liberty PAC, which supports Ken Paxton in Texas, $20 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, $10 million to the Republican Governors Association and $2 million to the Republican Attorneys General Association. His known federal political giving for the 2025-26 cycle totals roughly $366 million, already surpassing the approximately $290 million he spent in the 2024 presidential election. The spending is a sharp reversal from his May 2025 statement that he would do a lot less political spending in the future.
- US midterms 2026 : What is at stake for Trump , Republicans and Democrats
- Democrats and Republicans fight over beef and how much it costs . – NBC Connecticut
- Trump approval hits record low , handing Democrats a clear midterm edge
A new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll shows President Donald Trump's approval among U.S. adults has fallen to 33 percent, with 66 percent disapproving, the lowest of his first term. Among likely voters, approval stands at 38 percent. Democrats now hold a clear lead in the fight for control of the House and, for the first time in more than a decade, are seen as more trusted to handle the economy. Voters prefer a Democratic-led Congress as a check on Trump over a Republican one supporting his agenda by 58 percent to 39 percent, while 72 percent say the country is heading in the wrong direction. Inflation, gasoline prices and the Iran war are major threats to Republicans, whose campaign money advantage is now shifting to protect candidates in redder areas.
- Reid says Nixon, Democrats gaining ground for midterm elections
Joy Reid says Democrats' chances of flipping seats in the November 3 midterms are improving, citing President Donald Trump's low approval over the Iran war, high gas, oil and food prices, a struggling economy and immigration. She argues Angie Nixon, challenging incumbent Ashley Moody in Florida's Senate race, could pull off an upset as she did in the Democratic primary, despite being outspent 16-1; Nixon raised US$975,000 versus US$16.3 million for Alex Vindman. Reid accuses Moody, then Florida's attorney general, of helping steer US$10 million from a Medicaid settlement into Hope for Florida, which funded political campaigns in 2024. Some Democrats worry Nixon's socialist label could hurt Hispanic voters, but Reid compares her to Barack Obama's rise in the Senate and says deportation policies are alienating Hispanics who backed Trump in 2024.
- Democrats have made corruption a key midterm issue . Polls show voters agree .
Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico and Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia are both framing corruption as the root cause of affordability problems. A Gallup poll released last month found 89% of Americans believe government corruption is widespread, up 10 points from a year ago and 30 points from 2006. A Fox News poll ranked corruption above inflation and gas prices as voters' top concern, with six in 10 respondents extremely concerned. AP, Economist/YouGov and Reuters polls found majorities believe Trump profits unethically from the presidency or that his private business interests influence his decisions. The article argues that corruption and affordability are directly linked, and that voters want accountability and reform.
Related markets
Latest news
- Saudi Arabia postpones big investor conference to 2027 as Iran-backed Houthis escalate attacks on kingdom
Saudi Arabia has postponed its major annual investor conference until 2027 as Iran-backed Houthi militants escalate missile and drone attacks on the kingdom. The Future Investment Initiative had been scheduled for Riyadh from October 26 to 29. The decision follows a Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10, which left at least 12 people dead and more than 300 injured. Organizers said in an email that new dates will be announced soon.
- Russia fires mysterious weapon at Kyiv, shockwaves spread; President Putin appears in rare image, drawing global attention
On the night of 18 Oct, Russia launched a coordinated strike on multiple Ukrainian targets using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and Geran UAVs, focused on Kyiv. According to TST, around 10 ballistic missiles of the Iskander-M, S-400 or KN-23 types may have been used in the first wave; an above-ground metro station on Kyiv's left bank was reported damaged, disrupting rail and metro services, and videos of blue flashes led observers to suspect a new weapon. In western Ukraine, a 330 kV transformer station near Kovel may have been targeted. Meanwhile, Putin, who rarely appears in military uniform, visited a command post and stressed establishing a “security zone” along the border; blogger Yuri Podolyaka argued Moscow no longer treats these areas as bargaining chips. Front-line correspondent Alexander Kots said the part of Donetsk still controlled by Ukraine is just over 2,700 km².
- Semiconductor Sell-Off: 5 Stocks to Buy on the Dip
The article attributes the semiconductor selloff to investor doubts about the durability of AI infrastructure spending, even as cloud companies report strong demand for AI chips. It highlights five stocks: Nvidia (forward P/E just above 13.5 on fiscal 2028 estimates), Broadcom (custom AI chips, with that revenue expected to quadruple to $230 billion over two years; forward P/E of 11), AMD (riding inference and agentic AI demand), Cerebras Systems (high risk-reward; the company claims 30 times the inference speed of GPUs) and TSMC (forward P/E of 18 on 2027 estimates).
- Tom Lee’s Bitmine Adds $30 Million in Ethereum as Buying Nears Its Finish Line
Bitmine bought another 12,535 ETH (about $30 million), lifting its holdings to 6,041,481 ETH, or 4.9% of supply and 99% of its 5% target. Chairman Tom Lee blamed the crypto selloff on a broad risk-off shift, including AI funding and safety worries, U.S.-Iran tensions, midterm jitters and rising bond yields, and called the dip a historically attractive risk-reward entry. Total holdings reached $15.1 billion as of Oct. 18, including 215 Bitcoin, $582 million in cash and marketable securities, and other investments. About 84% of its ETH (5,067,309 tokens) is staked via its MAVAN platform, with projected annualized revenue of roughly $309 million. The position is currently underwater on paper because much of it was bought at higher prices.
- Opinion: The Most Important Number in Taiwan Semiconductor's Earnings Report Was 68%
The author argues the most important figure in TSMC's Q3 report is 68%, the share of revenue from high-performance computing (HPC), which grew 22% from the prior quarter. Revenue reached $46.72 billion, up 41.2% year over year, net income rose 68.7%, and gross margin hit 66.4%. Processes at 7nm and below made up 79% of wafer revenue, with 3nm at 33% and 2nm at 8%. TSMC guided Q4 revenue to $52.3–54.3 billion and expects roughly 44% full-year growth in U.S. dollars. The author remains bullish, saying ongoing demand for advanced AI chips should keep profits rising.
- Why Meta's Q3 earnings could be a little hard to interpret
Meta is reporting its third-quarter earnings after the market closes Wednesday, and Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi says the report will be hard to interpret. Recent good news on Meta's AI products, including new models and an AI agent, may not appear directly in the results but will likely be discussed on the earnings call. The key uncertainty is how investors will react if Meta raises its capex outlook again: it could be seen as fueling those products, or as overspending on offerings not yet reflected in financials. Sozzi expects the market to give Meta the benefit of the doubt on higher capex, as long as the increase does not shock investors.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.