It’s Tuesday, November 3.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
Today: Joe Klein and Eli Lake on Haley Stevens and the Democrats’ civil war she provoked.
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she → provoke → Stevens
Arthur Brooks on why it’s okay to read to your teenagers.
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it → ’ → teenagers
If Republican candidates braced for midterm defeat were hoping for some eleventh-hour message discipline from Donald Trump, let’s hope they didn’t turn on their televisions on Monday afternoon.
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they → brace → afternoon
Had they done so, they would have found the president standing not in a swing state but in front of the reflecting pool.
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president → do → pool
The president eventually made his closing pitch to voters.
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president → make → voters
But not before a 20-minute riff extolling the renovations to the Washington landmark he ordered earlier this year, including pictures of pipes and a detailed rundown of the “high-quality materials” used by the contractors.
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he → extoll → contractors
When the president finally got to the election, he didn’t exactly sound optimistic.
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he → get → election
“For some reason, the sitting president doesn’t win the midterms.
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president → sit → midterms
But we gave this a very strong shot,” he said.
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he → give → shot
While Trump is setting expectations low, Democrats are trying not to get ahead of themselves.
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Democrats → set → themselves
We may have learned by now not to trust the polls, but everything suggests a blue wave.
uncertain
everything → learn → wave
To find out whether or not that blue wave materializes, tune in to our election livestream tonight (scroll down for more details and mark your calendars here).
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wave → find → calendars
Before that, though, Americans have to vote and their ballots have to be counted.
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ballots → have → that
And that—in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade—has become a more contentious process than one would like.
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one → live → decade
Today, Olivia Reingold meets the ranks of progressive activists fashioning themselves as “Election Defenders” at polls across the country.
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Reingold → meet → country
Read Olivia’s piece for an Election Day look at the messy, combustible picture on the ground as Americans head to the polls.
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Americans → read → polls
—Oliver Wiseman
Will Democrats Regret Spurning Haley Stevens?
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Democrats → regret → Stevens
Haley Stevens just might be the most hated woman in Democratic politics right now.
uncertain
Stevens → hat → politics
On Sunday, the Michigan congresswoman, who lost to Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic primary for Senate, un-endorsed her former opponent and instead backed Republican Mike Rogers.
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who → lose → Rogers
The subsequent vitriol from her erstwhile colleagues has been astonishing, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling her switch a “despicable betrayal.”
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Schumer → call → switch
Today, we have two pieces about l’affair Stevens from different perspectives.
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we → have → perspectives
Joe Klein considers Trump “a clear and present danger to our country” and dearly hopes that both houses of Congress will elect Democratic majorities after today’s election results are in.
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results → consider → majorities
But, he argues, Democrats need to be clear-eyed about the danger El-Sayed poses to the party.
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Sayed → argue → party
If they don’t, he writes, the party “will pay the price in a loss of decency and humanity.”
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party → do → decency
For his part, Eli Lake wonders when all the Democratic pooh-bahs who are now furiously condemning Stevens will realize what a mistake they’ve made by getting behind El-Sayed as a means to gain back the Senate.
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they → wonder → Senate
“They all have chosen to purge Stevens instead of thinking through what happens when the man they have endorsed wins his election and becomes a kingmaker,” Eli writes.
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Eli → choose → election
“Perhaps then the Democrats making a show of their solidarity with El-Sayed will learn they have invited a wolf into their henhouse.
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they → make → henhouse
The Free Press and 2WAY are teaming up for a real-time interactive election night special.
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Press → team → special
You can tune in right here.
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You → tune → ?
Will Rahn will co-host with Mark Halperin and the 2WAY team, joined throughout by Free Press writers, editors, and contributors, including Douglas Murray, Mene Ukueberuwa, Audrey Fahlberg, and Suzy Weiss.
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Rahn → co → Murray
Viewers can also visit this page to join the conversation and participate through 2WAY’s interactive community.
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Viewers → visit → community
The Free Press is participating in Substack’s Midterms Experience, a new hub featuring election coverage from across the platform.
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Press → participate → platform
Join us as we cover the 2026 midterm elections with reporting, analysis, and commentary throughout the night.
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we → join → night
Follow along here to make sure you don’t miss a thing.
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you → follow → thing
Ultra-wealthy GOP donors are watching four states—Alaska, Iowa, Maine, and Ohio—that could form a “red wall” and keep the Senate in Republican hands, according to a memo obtained by The New York Times.
uncertain
that → watch → Times
The note circulated among a group of top GOP donors called the American Opportunity Alliance, whose members include hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer and financial services billionaire Charles Schwab.
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members → circulate → Singer
The U.S. attacked Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday in a strike one official said President Trump kept quiet to downplay the resuming of combat operations, The Wall Street Journal reported.
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Journal → attack → operations
Trump told Axios earlier in the day that he was “in no rush” to make a call on whether to resume strikes.
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he → tell → strikes
The judge presiding over Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial is leaning toward a March retrial after he declared a mistrial in September, CBS News reported yesterday.
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News → preside → September
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
