DOJ sending monitors to 64 locations

With one day before the Nov. 8 election, both Democratic and Republican leaders portrayed confidence and optimism heading into the home stretch.

President Joe Biden will stick close to home on Monday, campaigning in Maryland for gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore. Former President Donald Trump returns to Ohio to rally support around Republican Senate candidate JD Vance.

Both were out over the weekend, along with former President Bill Clinton, spending time on on both coasts to rally their party faithful and try to persuade any remaining undecided voters to come to their side of the aisle.

Here’s the latest:

The Justice Department will deploy election monitors to 64 locations on Election Day to ensure compliance with voter access laws and to prevent intimidation and interference.
President Joe Biden stumped for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in her reelection bid Sunday, part of a final tour of stump speeches supporting Democratic candidates.
Former President Donald Trump held a rally with Republican Sen. Marco Rubio on Sunday.

What are the midterm elections?:Here’s what to know about them and why they’re important

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Top Putin ally appears to admit Russian interference in U.S. elections

Yevgeny Prigozhin, a wealthy Russian businessman and top confidante of Vladimir Putin, allegedly claimed in a social media post Monday that the Kremlin intentionally has meddled in U.S. elections in an attempt to subvert American democracy.

Prigozhin, commonly referred to as “Putin’s chef,” made his remarks on Telegram, suggesting that the Kremlin will continue to interfere in the U.S. democratic process.

His comments were reported by Reuters, CNN and other media outlets, and it was not immediately clear if Prigozhin was being serious or sarcastic. But his claims appear to be the first such admission by a senior Russian figure about Moscow’s interference in American elections – an allegation that Washington has been making for years

In response to a journalist’s question about whether Russia is meddling in the midterm elections on Tuesday, Prigozhin said: “I will answer you very subtly, and delicately and I apologize, I will allow a certain ambiguity. Gentlemen, we interfered, we interfere and we will interfere.”

– Josh Meyer

Pastor of Philly’s largest Black church worried about turnout

PHILADELPHIA – Rev. Alyn Waller said he preaches like he has a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other.

In his Sunday sermon at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church – the largest Black church in Philadelphia with about 14,000 members – he talked about how the truth is on trial in America.

“As Christians, we strive to be good citizens, and voting is part of that,” Waller said.

But he’s concerned the faithful may not heed his words.

Black voters don’t fit in with the far right or far left and have been left behind by both Republicans and Democrats to some degree, he said. Democrats didn’t understand that the Black voters in his church cared about public safety and didn’t want to defund the police, and Republicans push an economic message without fully understanding their kitchen-table issues, Waller said.

“When you feel like neither party really cares about what’s going on in your life, you’re not as motivated to vote,” he said. “But it’s important to be heard because American democracy is on the line.”

– Candy Woodall

Youngkin, McCarthy in Virginia tonight for a Get Out the Vote rally

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin will join Republican nominee Jen Kiggans in Virginia Beach for a rally on the evening before Election Day.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich will also be on stage, along with Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares.

Kiggans faces Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria, who served on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. Luria has consistently outraised her opponent this election cycle, though their remains competitive with Luria having just a slight edge, according to Cook Political Report.

– Savannah Kuchar

Georgia Democrat calls the polls a ‘lie’

Speaking at a rally for Sen. Raphael Warnock rally on Monday, Georgia state Rep. James Beverly, the House Democratic leader, told the audience not to believe the polls showing his party behind.

“I don’t care what the polls say because they do one thing and one thing only – they lie,” he said.

Multiple polls have shown the race between Warnock and Republican opponent Herschel Walker to be a dead heat with the former NFL star holding a slight edge.

But Democrats and their allies in the Peach State point to record-breaking early voting as a sign that their optimism that they can resist a supposed GOP wave isn’t unfounded.

The secretary of state’s office reports Georgia voters exceeded expectations, and have shattered the 2.5 million mark for ballots cast prior to Election Day. That far exceeds the 1.8 million early voting ballots cast in 2018.

– Phillip M. Bailey

Sisters carrying on mom’s legacy

PHILADELPHIA — When Danese Saunders and Deborah Garrett carry campaign signs and clipboards, they feel like they’re carrying on their mother’s legacy.

Florence Garrett was a Philadelphia city council candidate and community organizer who helped to elect numerous Democrats through the years. She died a day after Election Day in 2011, and since then her daughters have carried on her mantle of working phones and front porches to turn out the vote in Philadelphia.

On Monday, they were volunteering in Northwest Philadelphia to rally voters ahead of Election Day.

“She’s not here anymore, but her work lives on,” said Debra Garrett, 72, of Cheltenham Township in Montgomery County.

Saunders, 70, of the Mount Airy neighborhood in Philadelphia, was confident their work would produce good results on Tuesday.

Based on the enthusiasm they’re seeing, Saunders and Garrett are skeptical of a “red wave,” but acknowledge turnout will need to be high for Democrats to win. Their prediction? “Women are going to be a difference-maker in this election,” Saunders said.

And that would make their mom proud, they said.

– Candy Woodall

Here’s why security officials are concerned about claims of a hacked (or stolen) election

Despite an unprecedented U.S. focus on preventing hackers from targeting the midterm elections Tuesday, there are still concerns that malicious cyber operatives could disrupt or influence the vote by penetrating polling stations, voter registration rolls, ballot-counting efforts and even the news reports that tell Americans who’s winning state, local and federal elections.

Public and private sector security analysts say they’re especially concerned about malicious cyber actors making false claims that the election was rigged, hacked or stolen even when nothing of the sort occurred.

Such false claims, building on years of bogus election fraud narratives that began well before the 2020 presidential election, they say, could plunge the country into an unprecedented environment of political chaos and violence worse than that which spawned the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol.

– Josh Meyer

Suffolk poll: In NH, Hassan has edge. In Arizona, Senate is anyone’s race

A new bellwether poll from Suffolk University showed a slight edge for Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire and also revealed that Arizona’s Senate seat is anyone’s game, with Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly and Republican challenger Blake Masters almost tied.

Bellwether polls are polls conducted in specific communities to predict a winner – the communities tend to reflect the state’s overall vote. In the town of Barrington, New Hampshire, Hassan leads Republican Don Bolduc by 4 percentage points, at 49%-45%.

“As far as Barrington goes, it has been spot-on in New Hampshire midterms mirroring the statewide vote,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in a statement.

In Maricopa County, Arizona, Kelly leads with only 1 percentage point, nearly tied with Masters at 48%-47%.

Both polls were conducted Nov. 3-6 and have a margin of error of +/- 5.7%.

– Ken Tran

Nevada unions plan final push for Democratic votes

LAS VEGAS — In Nevada, Las Vegas-area union workers are preparing a massive final push to get people to the polls, having already knocked on 930,000 doors by Monday morning, the UNITE HERE Culinary Union said.

The union, which represents thousands of Strip and casino workers, has focused its attention on turning out Black, Latino and Asian American/Pacific Islander voters, in part to help protect incumbent U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto from a tough Republican challenger who could flip control of the Senate.

After attending a union rally for Democrats on Sunday just outside Las Vegas, Maria Guadalupe Arreola, 58, said she was more dedicated than ever to her volunteer efforts to contact potential Democratic voters.

Arreola, who works as a cook, said she’s been making the case that keeping Democrats in charge will help protect immigrants and public education. She said many are unhappy about inflation and high gas prices, and she’s been urging them to look beyond their immediate needs.