The Weekend

November 1, 2026, 9 AM; Polling averages from Fifty-plus-one show Democrats pulling ahead in Iowa and Ohio, states where the party hasn’t won a governor’s race since 2006. And tight races in Nevada and Georgia where Democrats would make history. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear joins The Weekend to discuss how Democrats have been hammering home a unified message on the state of the economy and corruption surrounding the Trump administration.

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November 1, 2026, 8 AM; It the issue that propelled Donald Trump to victory in 2024 was the economy and his promises to end inflation and bring prices down. But since the start of Trump’s 2nd term, his tariffs and the war in Iran have caused inflation to spike to it’s current level of 3.7%. Prices have also spiked across the board, with everything from groceries to electricity becoming less affordable. Trump’s policies also ushered in a wave of economic uncertainty, making companies hesitant to hire new people, and created a low-hire, low-fire job market. But despite all of this, Trump still boasts about the so-called successes of his economy while voters continue to give his performance historically low ratings. Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Michigan and the host of "Platypus Economics", Justin Wolfers joins The Weekend to discuss the economy and how it'll likely be the key issue to decide the midterm elections.

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November 1, 2026, 7 AM; According to the Associated Press early voting is significantly outpacing the last midterm election with sharp increases in states hosting competitive Senate races. South Carolina has seen a massive 83 percent surge. Texas is up 50 percent. Maine is up by 44 percent. As candidates continue their sprint to the finish line, it is now in the voters' hands to decide who they want representing them starting in the new year. Former. Rep. Barbara Comstock and MS NOW Political Analyst Elise Jordan join The Weekend to discuss the latest.

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October 31, 2026, 9 AM; In Alaska, we’ve seen the efforts by the Justice Department to potentially block the certification of the Senate race results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan narrowly loses to Democrat Mary Peltola, over allegations Peltola’s campaign recruited another Dan Sullivan to run as a spoiler. The DOJ has expanded its investigation issuing dozens of new grand jury subpoenas. Meanwhile, in California, the Justice Department is escalating its investigation into alleged noncitizen voting, issuing subpoenas to state and local election officials. The administration has also been trying to force California to set aside more than 20K ballots — an effort rejected by a federal judge and, again, by an appeals court last night. Former Sen. Claire McCaskill and Ned Foley join The Weekend to discuss the intensifying, last-minute battles over vote security and what happens to your ballot after Tuesday's elections.

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October 31, 2026, 7 AM; The White House said Trump is expected to make stops in Iowa and Kansas on Sunday. But just a day earlier, the Republican National Committee announced he was canceling scheduled rallies in those states and would opt instead for a series of tele-rallies. Now, it appears he will be doing both, though he's complaining about how much he's had to campaign. Meanwhile, Democrats have been focused on sharpening their closing message around the economy and calling out corruption in the Trump administration. Jeff Mason and Eugene Robinson join The Weekend to discuss the election.

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October 25, 2026; 9am: The Department of Justice has filed lawsuits in California and Alaska, laying the foundation to challenge the counting of ballots and even contest the certification after Election Day. MS NOW reports, “The Justice Department sent threatening letters to California election officials on Friday demanding local registrars immediately sequester ballots from voters the Trump administration alleges are noncitizens.” Those letters were sent to every county in the state and, in at least one letter obtained by MS NOW, it warned that if the official did not follow DOJ’s demands, she could face prosecution. Eric Holder, the 82nd Attorney General of the United States, joins “The Weekend” to discuss. Then, California Senator Alex Padilla joins to weigh in on the DOJ’s request for his state’s voter data.

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October 25, 2026, 8 AM; In order to achieve that win, both parties will need support from Latino voters. In 2024, Donald Trump made big gains among Latinos, winning 48%, according to a Pew Research analysis. In Texas, he did even better, winning 55% of the Latino vote, a record for a Republican presidential candidate in that state. However, there are signs that Latino voters are turning on Trump and Republicans due to his immigration crackdown and soaring prices on pretty much everything. Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones joins The Weekend to discuss how the Latino vote will effect next week's midterm elections in Texas.

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October 25, 2026; 7am:  Candidates across the country are hitting the trail and bringing in their parties' heavy hitters. Former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump held rallies in battleground states to help candidates deliver their closing message. President Obama called out the “cruelty” and “indecency” from President Trump and the GOP. In Georgia, President Trump took aim at Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Abdul El-Sayed. Trump will take his closing message back on the road again later today with a rally in Michigan. Dana Milbank, columnist for The Washington Sun, and Scott Macfarlane, Chief Washington correspondent for Meidastouch, join “The Weekend” to discuss.

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October 24, 2026; 9am: This week, the Justice Department, at Trump's direction, filed a lawsuit to block the certification of the Alaska Senate race if incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, claiming a loss would be due to “voter confusion” since there is another candidate on the ballot with the same name. Plus, the DOJ has also started to notify states and counties where it plans to deploy federal election monitors for Election Day, including Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona, Washington, and Utah. Representative Joe Morelle joins “The Weekend” to discuss.

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October 24, 2026; 8am:  With 10 days left until the midterms, President Obama is hitting the campaign trail in two key battleground states, Ohio and Michigan. First, he will stump for Democrats in Ohio, where the closely watched Senate race between Sherrod Brown and incumbent senator Jon Husted is taking shape. He will also campaign for Democrats in the governor’s race between Amy Acton and Vivek Ramaswamy, a race at the center of controversy this week. Then, Obama will head to Michigan to energize voters for Jocelyn Benson in the governor’s race and Abdul El-Sayed in the Senate contest. MS NOW Chief Political Reporter, Chris Jansing, joins “The Weekend” from Detroit, and MS NOW Reporter Nnamdi Egwuonwu joins from Cleveland.

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