In a development that surprises absolutely no one, Donald Trump has once again called for the criminal prosecution of Mary Peltola, the Democratic candidate in Alaska's Senate race. Speaking to a campaign audience in South Carolina, Trump doubled down on his claim that Peltola's campaign engaged in "voter fraud at the highest level" by allegedly recruiting a man named Dan Sullivan - the same name as her Republican opponent - to run and siphon off votes. "She should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted, and so should the fake Dan Sullivan," Trump declared, adding, "I think it's a criminal act, what they did." Because nothing says respect for the electoral process like demanding your opponent be jailed.
Republicans have escalated calls for an investigation into the alleged ballot-stacking scheme. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered a state investigation, posting on X: "Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections. Anyone or any organization found to have broken the law must be held accountable." The Peltola campaign has denied encouraging or soliciting a man named Dan J Sullivan to run, but a recent New York Times report indicated the campaign did, in fact, recruit him. While ballot stacking isn't illegal per se, the Trump administration and Justice Department have pre-emptively filed a lawsuit to block certification of the Senate election results if the incumbent senator loses. Democracy, it seems, is best served with a side of litigation.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is apparently trying its hand at international diplomacy - or at least a pen-pal program. Hopes of averting a major conflagration between Iran and the US after Tuesday's midterm elections may rest on Iran's response to a personal letter from Vice President JD Vance, sent on Sunday to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's supreme national security council. The letter, written after predominantly Qatari mediation, requires Tehran to agree to commitments on its nuclear program at the start of a process that would lead to the opening of the Strait of Hormuz within seven days in return for US sanctions relief. Iran is reportedly reluctant to give upfront and irreversible commitments - like exporting its stockpile of highly enriched uranium - if the US steps, such as lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports, are reversible. A reply is imminent, which in diplomatic terms means "we'll get back to you after we've consulted our lawyers and possibly a magic 8-ball."
Back on the campaign trail, Trump canceled a planned rally in Salina, Kansas, where Republicans are trying to fend off a surprise challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton. Polls show Hamilton could flip the normally deep-red seat currently held by incumbent Roger Marshall. Instead of appearing in person, Trump opted for a remote tele-rally for Marshall. His other slated appearances in Florida and Iowa are still expected to go ahead - because nothing says "I'm totally not avoiding Kansas" like a last-minute schedule change.
A new CNN poll found Democrats leading Senate races in Texas and Michigan, with James Talarico and Abdul El-Sayed ahead by significant margins. But the poll turned up no clear leader in Maine or Kansas, where the races have become unexpectedly competitive. Meanwhile, Trump spent part of his South Carolina rally musing about his habit of unilaterally renaming bodies of water. During his second term, he's attempted to rebrand the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and Lake Ontario as Lake America. Now he's vowing to rename the Strait of Hormuz the "Trump Strait" and considering the Hudson River and the Mississippi. "I guarantee you, I will never be changing the name of the Mississippi," he said, presumably because it's already named after a river, not a person. He also noted that his wife, Melania, "hates when I dance," calling it "not presidential." He then proceeded to pantomime his usual dance move as the crowd applauded. Because nothing says "presidential" like a dad dance at a campaign rally.
In other news, new reporting indicates Trump aided Flávio Bolsonaro's flight from Brazil to the US. According to the New York Times, Trump ordered that Bolsonaro - the defeated right-wing candidate for Brazil's presidential election - be allowed into the US on temporary status, and a White House official arranged the private jet that brought him to Miami. Bolsonaro fled Brazil after losing to left-wing incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who had also unseated Bolsonaro's father, Jair Bolsonaro, in 2022. Jair is now serving a 27-year sentence for allegedly trying to unseat Lula in a coup. Flávio, who picked up his father's torch, was ordered to surrender his passports in connection with a criminal money laundering investigation - so he absconded across the border with Argentina, then to Ecuador, and ultimately to Florida. From his new home, he has declared himself the true winner and vowed to contest the results. Trump did not outright endorse him but has said the Brazilian election results appeared rigged. Because if there's one thing Trump knows, it's how to spot a rigged election - especially when he loses.
With a comfortable lead in the polls, Deb Haaland, former congresswoman and interior secretary under Joe Biden, is set to become the first Native American woman to serve as governor in US history. Her campaign has energized New Mexico's Indigenous communities, but Haaland says the hectic final stretch has pushed the historic nature of her potential victory to the back of her mind. "Sometimes I forget about the fact that I would be the first Native woman," she said. "We're in the throes of this statewide campaign and it's so busy and we're trying to be everywhere all at once." A rare moment of humility in a campaign season otherwise defined by name-calling and water-renaming.
In South Carolina, Trump is campaigning on behalf of Senator Darline Graham, the sister of late Senator Lindsey Graham who was appointed to finish his term. She finds herself in a surprisingly close race with Democratic nominee Annie Andrews. A New York Times/Siena poll this week has the two candidates neck and neck at 48% each - remarkable given that South Carolina hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1998 and Trump won the state by nearly 18 points in 2024. Graham's inexperience has become a defining issue; in an August debate, she admitted she was "not that informed on national security" when asked about US policy on Taiwan. In the poll, 51% of voters said she lacked the right experience to be an effective senator. Andrews, a pediatrician from Charleston, has built her campaign around her medical career, advocating for a public option and cheaper prescription drugs. Because nothing says "fresh perspective" like a doctor running against a political dynastic appointee.
Finally, an Obama-era federal investigation of Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar found some evidence suggesting she entered into a sham marriage in 2009 to help a man suspected of being her brother obtain a green card, according to the New York Times. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security investigated the marriage in summer 2016, but the case stalled because prosecutors concluded the suspected crime fell outside a five-year statute of limitations. Omar has denied the allegations, with spokesperson Jackie Rogers calling it a "baseless, disgusting conspiracy theory" and a "desperate political smear." Because in American politics, if you can't beat them, investigate them - and if that doesn't work, just rename a body of water after yourself.