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| Midterm Campaigns Enter the Final Stretch Before Election Day | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| After all the debates, rallies, ads and barbs, the United States is entering the final stretch of the 2018 midterm elections. On Tuesday, voters will choose the winning candidates for 435 seats in the House of Representatives and nearly three dozen seats in the Senate. Thirty-six states will elect governors this year, including in high-profile contests in Florida and Georgia. | After all the debates, rallies, ads and barbs, the United States is entering the final stretch of the 2018 midterm elections. On Tuesday, voters will choose the winning candidates for 435 seats in the House of Representatives and nearly three dozen seats in the Senate. Thirty-six states will elect governors this year, including in high-profile contests in Florida and Georgia. |
| New York Times journalists are reporting from around the country this weekend as candidates make their final pitches to the voters who will help reshape the United States for the next two years. | New York Times journalists are reporting from around the country this weekend as candidates make their final pitches to the voters who will help reshape the United States for the next two years. |
| Follow along with us here for updates from the campaign trail. | Follow along with us here for updates from the campaign trail. |
| • Just getting started? Here’s everything you need to know about the midterm elections. | • Just getting started? Here’s everything you need to know about the midterm elections. |
| • Make sense of the people, issues and ideas shaping the elections with our new politics newsletter. | • Make sense of the people, issues and ideas shaping the elections with our new politics newsletter. |
| ATLANTA — Hours before Stacey Abrams, the Democrat who is vying to become the first black woman elected governor anywhere in the United States, took the stage with former President Barack Obama on Friday night, phones began to ring in Georgia. | ATLANTA — Hours before Stacey Abrams, the Democrat who is vying to become the first black woman elected governor anywhere in the United States, took the stage with former President Barack Obama on Friday night, phones began to ring in Georgia. |
| If people answered, they heard a minute-long stream of racist vitriol, including that Oprah Winfrey, who campaigned with Ms. Abrams on Thursday, was “the magical Negro” trying to elevate her “fellow Negress.” The call said it was the work of a white supremacist website that also claimed responsibility for an incendiary call about Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate for governor of Florida. | If people answered, they heard a minute-long stream of racist vitriol, including that Oprah Winfrey, who campaigned with Ms. Abrams on Thursday, was “the magical Negro” trying to elevate her “fellow Negress.” The call said it was the work of a white supremacist website that also claimed responsibility for an incendiary call about Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate for governor of Florida. |
| The calls are among the most strident examples of how issues of race have coursed through two of the most high-profile contests this election season. Ms. Abrams and Mr. Gillum are essentially tied in their campaigns to become the first black governors in their respective states. | The calls are among the most strident examples of how issues of race have coursed through two of the most high-profile contests this election season. Ms. Abrams and Mr. Gillum are essentially tied in their campaigns to become the first black governors in their respective states. |
| “I think desperation is one of the hallmarks of some campaigns, and while I’m not saying this has anything to do with my opponent, I think that there’s an atmosphere that has been created that signals that that type of attack is allowed,” Ms. Abrams said after shaking scores of hands near Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. “I don’t think it is, but my response is to do what I’ve always done.” | |
| Brian Kemp, the Republican who is running against Ms. Abrams, denounced the call as “absolutely disgusting.” | Brian Kemp, the Republican who is running against Ms. Abrams, denounced the call as “absolutely disgusting.” |
| “We unequivocally condemn this group and their horrible actions,” he said. | “We unequivocally condemn this group and their horrible actions,” he said. |
| The call targeting Ms. Abrams followed a series of messages intended to malign Mr. Gillum, including one last week in which a man impersonated Mr. Gillum in a minstrel accent, with monkey sounds in the background. | The call targeting Ms. Abrams followed a series of messages intended to malign Mr. Gillum, including one last week in which a man impersonated Mr. Gillum in a minstrel accent, with monkey sounds in the background. |
| The campaign of Ron DeSantis, Mr. Gillum’s Republican rival, has also disavowed the calls and said it had no connection to them. | The campaign of Ron DeSantis, Mr. Gillum’s Republican rival, has also disavowed the calls and said it had no connection to them. |
| — Alan Blinder and Patricia Mazzei | — Alan Blinder and Patricia Mazzei |
| LAS VEGAS — Nevada saw a surge of star power the final weekend before Election Day as a spate of celebrities and well-known political personalities took to the stump here, urging voters to turn out. | LAS VEGAS — Nevada saw a surge of star power the final weekend before Election Day as a spate of celebrities and well-known political personalities took to the stump here, urging voters to turn out. |
| In the Las Vegas Arts District, the late-night host Jimmy Kimmel used his comedy chops to roast Republican Senator Dean Heller while making a case that Representative Jacky Rosen, the Democratic challenger, would take on President Trump if elected. (Read more about Ms. Rosen here.) | |
| “Why should you vote? Well, I’ll tell you why. Because the last time a lot of people didn’t vote, Donald Trump became the president of the United States. Sorry if you’re hearing this for the first time,” said Mr. Kimmel, whose hometown is Las Vegas. “Voting is not enough anymore. You also have to get your stupid friends to vote too; that is the key to this.” | “Why should you vote? Well, I’ll tell you why. Because the last time a lot of people didn’t vote, Donald Trump became the president of the United States. Sorry if you’re hearing this for the first time,” said Mr. Kimmel, whose hometown is Las Vegas. “Voting is not enough anymore. You also have to get your stupid friends to vote too; that is the key to this.” |
| The singer Brandon Flowers, the frontman for The Killers and a Las Vegas native son, performed the state song, “Home Means Nevada,” before introducing Ms. Rosen. | The singer Brandon Flowers, the frontman for The Killers and a Las Vegas native son, performed the state song, “Home Means Nevada,” before introducing Ms. Rosen. |
| Senator Kamala Harris and the singer Andra Day were also at the event. | Senator Kamala Harris and the singer Andra Day were also at the event. |
| At a Heller campaign field office in Reno on Thursday, Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, praised the senator for his help passing the Republican tax reform bill earlier this year, including expanding the child tax credit. “He’s doing a tremendous job in the Senate,” Ms. Trump told those who gathered, according to The Associated Press. “In politics, I’ve learned there are talkers and there are doers. He is definitely a doer.” | At a Heller campaign field office in Reno on Thursday, Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, praised the senator for his help passing the Republican tax reform bill earlier this year, including expanding the child tax credit. “He’s doing a tremendous job in the Senate,” Ms. Trump told those who gathered, according to The Associated Press. “In politics, I’ve learned there are talkers and there are doers. He is definitely a doer.” |
| Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, also made appearances across the state on Friday, attending a get-out-the-vote event in Reno and later delivering remarks at political rally in Las Vegas alongside the Republican congressional candidate Danny Tarkanian. | Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, also made appearances across the state on Friday, attending a get-out-the-vote event in Reno and later delivering remarks at political rally in Las Vegas alongside the Republican congressional candidate Danny Tarkanian. |
| — Jose A. Del Real | — Jose A. Del Real |
| LOS LUNAS, N.M. — A conservative-leaning House seat in rural New Mexico could be a harbinger of the national political tide, hopeful Democrats predicted at a curbside rally here on Saturday morning. | |
| Senator Martin Heinrich, a Democrat who is expected to win re-election Tuesday, said the race between Xochitl Torres Small, a Democratic water-use lawyer, and Yvette Herrell, a Republican state legislator, would signal the direction of the battle for control of Congress. | |
| “As CD2 goes, goes the nation,” Mr. Heinrich declared to a sweater- and windbreaker-clad crowd dotted with cowboy hats, using jargon to refer to New Mexico’s Second Congressional District. | |
| The seat is an unlikely bellwether: a huge, sparsely populated district that sits on the Mexican border, President Trump carried it easily over Hillary Clinton in 2016. | |
| But the race is emblematic of how Democrats have made incursions into conservative areas, and strategists in both parties say the contest is as close as they come. | |
| Ms. Torres Small has run to the right of her national party on issues like guns and border security, while Ms. Herrell has been hobbled less by Mr. Trump’s national unpopularity than by ethics-themed attacks on her time in Santa Fe. | |
| Ms. Torres Small said in an interview that she believed Mr. Trump’s late drive to raise fears about immigration was falling flat as an obvious “political ploy.” | |
| “We’re seeing people use these issues, that are our lives, as a political ploy, rather than talking about a long-term solution,” she said. | |
| — Alex Burns | |
| FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA — The shoving began shortly after “We Are the World.” | FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA — The shoving began shortly after “We Are the World.” |
| It was an outdoor rally earlier this week for Andrew Gillum, the Democrat who, if he defeats Ron DeSantis on Tuesday, would be the state’s first black governor. And — initially, at least — kumbaya spirits were high. People swayed to Michael Jackson and company. Signs bopped in the open-air parking lot: “Caribbean Americans for Gillum” and “Bring It Home” — the candidate’s slogan. | It was an outdoor rally earlier this week for Andrew Gillum, the Democrat who, if he defeats Ron DeSantis on Tuesday, would be the state’s first black governor. And — initially, at least — kumbaya spirits were high. People swayed to Michael Jackson and company. Signs bopped in the open-air parking lot: “Caribbean Americans for Gillum” and “Bring It Home” — the candidate’s slogan. |
| Then a man with an National Rifle Association poster moved in, standing sentinel in the crowd. Mr. Gillum’s fans surrounded the man, attempting to block his message from view. A small scuffle broke out. Officers swarmed. Fingers pointed. | Then a man with an National Rifle Association poster moved in, standing sentinel in the crowd. Mr. Gillum’s fans surrounded the man, attempting to block his message from view. A small scuffle broke out. Officers swarmed. Fingers pointed. |
| In front of them, a roster of speakers on stage spoke of “civility” in politics. Behind them, another heckler with a bullhorn — and ties to the conspiracy-mongering site Infowars — tried to drown them out. | In front of them, a roster of speakers on stage spoke of “civility” in politics. Behind them, another heckler with a bullhorn — and ties to the conspiracy-mongering site Infowars — tried to drown them out. |
| “Bring it home,” Mr. Gillum shouted, leading a chant. | “Bring it home,” Mr. Gillum shouted, leading a chant. |
| “With violence,” the man cried. | “With violence,” the man cried. |
| “Bring it home.” | “Bring it home.” |
| “With violence.” | “With violence.” |
| Florida in election season. Never dull. | Florida in election season. Never dull. |
| Days before another characteristically significant election here — with tight races for governor, Senate and several contested House seats — the state has resumed its status as the consummate, unruly purple corner of the electoral map. | Days before another characteristically significant election here — with tight races for governor, Senate and several contested House seats — the state has resumed its status as the consummate, unruly purple corner of the electoral map. |
| • Read more about Ron DeSantis | • Read more about Andrew Gillum | • Read more about Ron DeSantis | • Read more about Andrew Gillum |
| Canvassers are canvassing. Rally-goers are rally-going. Emissaries are descending. | Canvassers are canvassing. Rally-goers are rally-going. Emissaries are descending. |
| The president wants in. “This is my state also,” President Trump reminded a Republican crowd outside Fort Myers at a recent rally, alluding to his second home at Mar-a-Lago. | The president wants in. “This is my state also,” President Trump reminded a Republican crowd outside Fort Myers at a recent rally, alluding to his second home at Mar-a-Lago. |
| The former president wants in. “The character of our country is on the ballot,” Barack Obama said in Miami on Friday, stumping for Mr. Gillum and Senator Bill Nelson, who is running for re-election. | The former president wants in. “The character of our country is on the ballot,” Barack Obama said in Miami on Friday, stumping for Mr. Gillum and Senator Bill Nelson, who is running for re-election. |
| Democrats have said they find the recent tumult galvanizing — days after the arrest of a Florida man accused of sending mail bombs to Mr. Trump’s opponents — sharpening their resolve to elect the state’s first black governor. | Democrats have said they find the recent tumult galvanizing — days after the arrest of a Florida man accused of sending mail bombs to Mr. Trump’s opponents — sharpening their resolve to elect the state’s first black governor. |
| “It’s time,” said Delores Thompson, 65, from Sunrise, Fla. | “It’s time,” said Delores Thompson, 65, from Sunrise, Fla. |
| It’s time, at least, to find out. | It’s time, at least, to find out. |
| — Matt Flegenheimer | — Matt Flegenheimer |
| Wonder why you’re seeing so many campaign ads on TV? | Wonder why you’re seeing so many campaign ads on TV? |
| Follow the money. | Follow the money. |
| The 2018 midterms are being called the $5 billion election. Not only are this year’s House and Senate elections expected to set a spending record, they’re also expected to surpass previous records by nearly $1 billion, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. | The 2018 midterms are being called the $5 billion election. Not only are this year’s House and Senate elections expected to set a spending record, they’re also expected to surpass previous records by nearly $1 billion, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. |
| The money is coming from both ends of the financial spectrum. | The money is coming from both ends of the financial spectrum. |
| About 100 extremely wealthy donors (think former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg) are spending $1 million or more — and, in at least one case, more than $100 million — to push their preferred candidates. | About 100 extremely wealthy donors (think former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg) are spending $1 million or more — and, in at least one case, more than $100 million — to push their preferred candidates. |
| Then, there are more than six million regular people who are giving tiny amounts — $5 here, $10 there — or an average of about $40 each. | Then, there are more than six million regular people who are giving tiny amounts — $5 here, $10 there — or an average of about $40 each. |
| “I feel like this is a powerful statement from small-dollar donors that they want to have a meaningful voice in democracy,” said Erin Hill, who runs a nonprofit portal called ActBlue that donors use to send money to progressive candidates. | “I feel like this is a powerful statement from small-dollar donors that they want to have a meaningful voice in democracy,” said Erin Hill, who runs a nonprofit portal called ActBlue that donors use to send money to progressive candidates. |
| The portal has already collected a record $1.5 billion this cycle, a figure that also includes money for local and state races, all of it for Democrats. | The portal has already collected a record $1.5 billion this cycle, a figure that also includes money for local and state races, all of it for Democrats. |
| Michael Malbin, executive director of the Campaign Finance Institute in Washington, said the big story is how small donors are sending money across state lines. | Michael Malbin, executive director of the Campaign Finance Institute in Washington, said the big story is how small donors are sending money across state lines. |
| “If you’re in the middle of safe district but you care about control of Congress, it’s relatively easy now,” he said. | “If you’re in the middle of safe district but you care about control of Congress, it’s relatively easy now,” he said. |
| The top beneficiary appears to be Beto O’Rourke, the Texas Democrat who is hoping to unseat Senator Ted Cruz. Mr. O’Rourke’s campaign has raised more than $69 million. The average donation in the last quarter was less than $50. | The top beneficiary appears to be Beto O’Rourke, the Texas Democrat who is hoping to unseat Senator Ted Cruz. Mr. O’Rourke’s campaign has raised more than $69 million. The average donation in the last quarter was less than $50. |
| That Senate race alone is expected to cost more than $100 million, also a record. | That Senate race alone is expected to cost more than $100 million, also a record. |
| — Stephanie Saul and Rachel Shorey | — Stephanie Saul and Rachel Shorey |