4 key moments from debates in Michigan, Kansas, Wisconsin, Minnesota

Supreme Court blocks transgender prison policy

Witkoff’s ‘humanitarian’ comment faces backlash

Candidates in some of the most critical Senate and governor’s races took to the stage for a final time Wednesday as voters have already started casting their ballots, with less than two weeks to go before Election Day.

While President Trump is not on the ballot, he was at the center of the conversation Wednesday night, with Democrats seeking to tie their opponents to his most unpopular policies. Republicans sought to create some distance from the president, while casting their foes as extreme liberals aligned with the party’s far left.

Here’s four key moments as candidates made their final pitch to the voters.

As many Republicans are finding ways to distance themselves from the president as his approval rating has been plummeting, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) took the opposite approach during Wednesday night’s debate against Democrat Adam Hamilton .

“If you want the Trump agenda to continue, if you want secure borders, if you want a strong military, if you want lower taxes, you voted for President Trump, you need to come out because we delivered on those things,” Marshall said, adding a vote for him is a vote for the president.

The debate was hosted by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.

When pressed, Marshall noted he had criticized federal immigration operations in the state and Trump’s beef import plan.

“Just like with my wife, I can disagree with her,” Marshall said, adding that, while “my wife is always right, President Trump is not always right.”

Kansas voted for Trump by double digits in each of his elections. Hamilton also seemed to acknowledge that reality with his approach.

He emphasized that he’s not running against the president, only Marshall. He largely focused on attacking the incumbent and noted that some of his own supporters also back the president. Those are voters Hamilton will need if he is to pull off a win.

During the final Michigan Senate debate, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) plowed forward with his attack on Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed with efforts to tie him to the Muslim Brotherhood.

“Being bought off by the Muslim Brotherhood, having donors to his campaign from Hamas that support Hezbollah. It’s not a problem? If you are going to go to the United States Senate, we need to know: Are you for America or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?” Rogers said.

El-Sayed hit back at Rogers for questioning his “loyalty.” Rogers has pointed to political contributions to El-Sayed from individuals with ties to the group, which Trump designated a terrorist organization last year.

“I am proud of America. I’m proud to be an American,” El-Sayed said Wednesday. “I’m proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray. And the question that you would ask that, I think, is actually really quite shameful.”

With Rogers trailing El Sayed in polls, Republicans are pouring money into the Muslim Brotherhood line of attack, The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports .

In the lone Wisconsin governor’s debate, both candidates had to walk a careful tightrope addressing touchy issues.

Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) faced questions about why he voted against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. He initially avoided the question to shift the focus to his opponent, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley (D), but eventually pointed to “Zuckerbucks” upon being pressed.

“We should not allow private money to go into what is a public process, our elections,” Tiffany said.

The term “Zuckerbucks” was coined by conservatives to refer to funds that the Center for Tech and Civic Life issued as grants for localities to facilitate the 2020 election during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the funding came from Mark Zuckerburg . Some alleged the funds were improperly used and benefitted Democrats.

Tiffany has stood by his vote against certifying the election in Pennsylvania and Arizona over the years, but the vote could come back to haunt him running statewide in a battleground state.

Crowley, meanwhile, kept his distance from his primary opponent, Francesca Hong , and other democratic socialists. He had said over the summer, as Hong was rising in the polls, that he didn’t differ with her on many issues. But took a different approach on the debate stage.

“I’m not familiar with the DSA platform to be answering that question,” he said about whether he supports the group’s priorities.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who is running for governor, called the widespread fraud in the state’s social services programs in recent years “simply unacceptable” in her debate against state House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R).

Klobuchar said Gov. Tim Walz (D), who was also former Vice President Harris ’s running mate in 2024, “should have done more” about fraud in the state, which has become a defining issue in the election.

Pressed on specifics by Demuth, Klobuchar said she would have caught the fraud sooner, used a $17.5 billion budget surplus more effectively, and would not have pardoned a Hmong man accused of sexually assaulting a child two decades ago. The man was deported by the Trump administration in July.

“You have not come up with one way you differ from Donald Trump,” Klobuchar said to Demuth.

Demuth later said she had broken with Trump on the Iran war and also criticized his trade war with Canada and a plan to import foreign beef.

“That’s the best you can come up with? I literally can’t believe it,” Klobuchar responded, saying Demuth waited too long to oppose the Iran war and bringing up deadly ICE sweeps earlier this year.

“You literally said Kristi Noem showed steady leadership when 3,000 ICE agents descended onto the streets of our state,” Klobuchar said.

▪ The Hill : Takeaways as Marshall, Hamilton clash in battleground Kansas.

▪ The Hill : El-Sayed, Rogers face off in final debate.

▪ The Hill : Tiffany, Crowley tangle in only governor’s debate.

CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE : With the recent disclosure of more fake polls that fooled much of the political world, the polling industry is facing the seemingly Sisyphean challenge of restoring trust in its work with the midterms almost here. Jared explores how this incident and a previous one are undermining the industry at a critical time.

Insiders can read more here about what happened with Wedgewood Polling and its implications.

Russia will send its first shipment of diesel to the U.S. today following the president’s deal to import the fuel to address high energy costs. Russian media reported it will carry 40,000 metric tons of fuel . The deal has stirred bipartisan backlash from critics who say it’s giving a boost to the Kremlin in its war against Ukraine.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said she will have to move out of her apartment in Washington, D.C., because of threats she’s received following federal agents’ execution of a search warrant at her residence last week. Omar is apparently under investigation as part of an immigration fraud probe, which she has denounced as baseless.

The White House Correspondents’ Association condemned the White House’s decision to restrict a journalist’s access to cover the president after Trump lashed out at him in the Oval Office. Andrew Feinberg, a correspondent for The Independent, had been scheduled to serve as the print pool reporter today, but he said the White House pulled him from this duty.

SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT : The president has added a stop in Mississippi to his end-of-midterm-cycle blitz, planning a visit just over a week before Election Day.

The Republican National Committee announced the visit on Wednesday. Trump will rally for Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), who is seeking to fend off a serious challenge from Democrat Scott Colom .

The race is still considered a longshot to flip even in the event of a blue wave, but the decision to add Mississippi to Trump’s tour is notable given the state’s solid red status. A few election handicappers have moved their ratings of the race from “solid” or “safe” Republican to “likely Republican” recently.

The announcement came as Trump held a rally in another deep red state with a surprisingly competitive Senate race: South Carolina.

Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.), the sister of Trump’s longtime ally the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), is favored to win reelection, but forecasters are increasingly uncertain as Election Day approaches.

Decision Desk HQ rates Graham’s race against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews as “lean” Republican.

▪ The Hill : Ralph Norman: ‘My family is not going to vote for Darline Graham.’

▪ The Hill : Where prices stand as midterms approach.

RARE LOSS: The Supreme Court temporarily barred the Trump administration from enforcing a policy that would deny gender transition care to federal prisoners, leaving in place a lower-court block over the dissents of conservative justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

The brief order did not detail the legal reasoning to temporarily leave in place the block on the policy, which would halt surgeries, taper off hormones for inmates currently receiving them and stop providing social accommodations like makeup, wigs and hair-removal devices.

The decision marks a rare blow for the Trump administration, which has won more than two dozen times when asking the high court to provide emergency relief when a lower court blocked part of Trump’s agenda.

The Supreme Court has allowed other policies for transgender people to remain in place for now, including the administration’s ban on openly transgender troops serving in the military.

▪ The Hill : Olympian asks DOJ watchdog to reconsider probe of Reflecting Pool case.

▪ The Hill : Elena Kagan says court rulings have heightened polarization.

VANCE DEFENDS RAMASWAMY: Vice President Vance criticized some fellow Republicans for their response to Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy ’s (R) controversial attack ad that featured the estranged mother of his Democrat opponent, Amy Acton , discouraging voters from supporting her daughter’s candidacy.

“I have to admit that I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America,” the vice president said at a fraud task force press conference.

Vance, a former Ohio senator, defended the Republican candidate at a rally later in the day, saying, “Ramaswamy had the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar.”

Acton’s campaign responded to the ad Tuesday evening, noting the candidate has not seen her mother since she was 12 years old, when her mother lost custody of her children after siding with their stepfather, her husband, when he was indicted for raping Acton as a child.

▪ The Hill : Trump to make third visit to Ohio this month for rally.

▪ The Hill : Ohio Sen. Jon Husted (R): ‘I would not have run’ Ramaswamy ad.

CANDIDATE DETAINED: New York congressional candidate Brad Lander (D) was detained by Israeli forces after joining Palestinian farmers at the annual olive harvest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Wednesday. He was released hours later “after it became known that he was a congressional candidate,” according to Israeli police.

Lander was reportedly one of 90 volunteers who were detained.

The Israeli military said farmers and volunteers did not seek approval for the harvest and were detained because of “the security risk posed by conducting an uncoordinated harvest near an Israeli community,” adding, “ The arrival of dozens of activists as an act intended solely to provoke, which undermines the harvesting process.”

Lander — one of three left-leaning candidates to win primaries in New York City this year with support from Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) — condemned the Israeli occupation as “a crime under international law,” following his detainment, adding, “Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know.”

▪ Reuters : Israeli elections may change its leader, not Iran war policy.

BRINGING THE HAMMER DOWN : A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found it liable for misleading users about its privacy and content policies.

New Mexico was one of just two states that didn’t join the 48-state settlement with the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. Jurors in the state found Meta liable for more than 43 million violations of its consumer protection laws when the British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica harvested data from Facebook users for political ads during the 2016 election.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez (D) called the ruling “one of the single largest — if not the largest — single state verdict against the company in American history.” Torrez said following an expected appeals process, the money will be put toward public education in the state.

▪ The Hill : New Mexico sues Jeffrey Epstein attorney, accountant.

The president will receive an intelligence briefing at 11 a.m. He will participate in signing time at 3 p.m. He will travel to Sioux City, Iowa, to deliver remarks at 7:30 p.m. EDT and then return to the White House.

The Senate will meet at 9 a.m. for a pro forma session.

The House will convene at 3 p.m. for a pro forma session.

‘HUMANITARIAN’ BACKLASH: U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is facing backlash from lawmakers for calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “humanitarian” for agreeing to release Stephen Hubbard , an American teacher accused of being a Ukrainian mercenary, after more than four years in Russian custody.

“You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian,” Witkoff said to Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia. “You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that, I commend you, and I thank you again.”

The remarks were immediately met with disdain from members of Congress, including from members of the president’s own party, who pointed out Putin’s record of worsening or creating humanitarian crises.

“WTF, Steve? Look up the definition of ‘humanitarian,’” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) wrote on social platform X, responding to Witkoff’s comments.

“What an embarrassing and outrageous thing to say,” he continued. “You should go back to Ukraine and ask the families of the children Putin has kidnapped and murdered whether they agree your friend Putin is a ‘humanitarian.’”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) responded, “No. Putin is stone cold killer,” while Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) called it “ another embarrassment.”

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who served more than two decades in the military, responded: “Vladimir Putin is not our friend, and he is certainly no humanitarian. His relentless attacks on innocent civilians in Ukraine show his total disregard for human life.”

“Appeasement won’t end this war. Pressure will,” she added.

▪ The Hill : Trump links Russia sanctions waiver to release of jailed American.

GET OUT : The State Department on Wednesday ordered nonemergency U.S. government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, warning of the possibility of escalated attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis in the country.

“As the Department has repeatedly emphasized, the hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly, including beyond that immediate area,” a State Department spokesperson told The Hill in a statement.

“The safety and security of Department personnel and their families remain our highest priority, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to protect and support them as they return to the U.S.,” the spokesperson added.

An earlier Reuters report indicated the U.S. government was preparing to order the departure of some personnel and family members from U.S. embassies across the Gulf, but a State Department spokesperson said the report was “inaccurate.”

NBC News reported the U.S. was scaling back its troop presence at military bases in the Middle East and had ordered staff reductions at “multiple diplomatic posts in the region.”

“I don’t know that they are. You are telling me something — I wouldn’t know that,” Trump said when asked about the reports.

The Houthis have been engaged in a war against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and have been attacking infrastructure inside Saudi Arabia as well, including civilian airports and other sites that have led to civilian casualties.

Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said two people were killed and two were injured by falling debris after the country’s air defense intercepted a drone that was targeting Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield yesterday.

▪ The Hill : One killed, eight wounded in Saudi Arabia airport attack.

▪ The Hill : Marco Rubio says NFL game in Paris will be ‘fine’ despite riots.

Abortion wins elections. Why won’t Democrats say the word? Julie F. Kay writes in The Hill.

Want AI agents to stop going rogue? Make executives personally liable , Hans Taparia and Bruce Buchanan write in The Hill.

And finally … It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for the weekly news quiz!

Trump signed H.R. 6380 this week, redesignating Chiricahua National Monument as the Chiricahua National Park. This week’s quiz will cover national parks, in honor of the country’s newest addition.

Be sure to email your responses to jgans@thehill.com — please add “Quiz” to your subject line.

America’s newest national park, Chiricahua, is in which state?

What was the first national park that Congress established in 1872?

The National Park Service was created under which president?

Which state is home to the greatest number of official national parks?

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