VIRGINIA DEBATE: Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) will have potentially her last best moment to turn the commonwealth's gubernatorial race around when she faces off against former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) tonight on the debate stage.
The debate will be the only time throughout the race in which the two candidates appear on the same stage at the same time. It will be hosted by Nexstar Media Group, which owns The Hill, and air on its local NBC affiliate WAVY-TV. The event will take place at Norfolk State University, a historically Black university in Virginia.
Spanberger has maintained a comfortable lead over Earle-Sears throughout the general election period. She leads by 7 points in the Decision Desk HQ polling average and has led in almost every poll.
Earle-Sears has also dealt with internal turmoil in her campaign, replacing her campaign manager in mid-July as she struggled to keep up with Spanberger. That raised alarm bells among some Virginia Republicans who said a big shake-up was needed for Earle-Sears to stay competitive.
She may have gotten that opportunity over the past week as controversy erupted surrounding Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for state attorney general. Jones, who is running against incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares (R), sent texts in 2022 in which he said he hoped for violence against then-state House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R).
"Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot," Jones wrote in one text first reported by National Review. "Gilbert gets two bullets to the head."
Jones has apologized for the messages and said he wishes he could take them back, but pressure has been building on him to drop out of the race. So far, Jones hasn't given indication that he might exit.
The controversy could have implications for the other major statewide races next month, including for governor and lieutenant governor.
Earle-Sears quickly released an ad highlighting ties between Spanberger and Jones. Spanberger has said she reached out to Jones to express her "disgust" with the messages and called on him to take responsibility for them but didn't explicitly call for him to drop out, as Republicans have been urging her to do.
This has placed Spanberger in a difficult spot after a relatively smooth campaign without major challenges. The Hill's Julia Manchester reports how the controversy will cast a shadow over tonight's debate.
Spanberger will likely be asked by the moderator or Earle-Sears (or both) about whether Jones should drop out and will have to navigate her answer to avoid giving her opponent potentially more reason to go after her.
The challenge for Earle-Sears will be to have a breakout moment by going on offense.
Earle-Sears has leaned into cultural issues as outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) did four years ago, but she hasn't found a central topic to give her campaign the jolt it needs. She may need to come out swinging to get that boost.
The candidates are likely to discuss other issues like the government shutdown and the cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which plays an outsized role in Virginia given the large number of federal workers who live and work there.
Spanberger will likely press Earle-Sears on her ties to Trump. Earle-Sears seemed to criticize Trump a few years ago when she said he had become a liability to the GOP, but during the campaign she has said she would be honored to receive his endorsement.
▪ VPM: Spanberger making play for rural voters.
▪ Politico: Republican group invests additional $1.5 million in Virginia race.
NJ TAKEAWAYS: Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) and Republican Jack Ciattarelli faced off in a tense final debate Wednesday in New Jersey's gubernatorial race, the only other one taking place in the country this year.
Both candidates aggressively went after the other, with Sherrill tying Ciattarelli to Trump and Ciattarelli slamming Sherrill over the cheating scandal that took place while she was at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Affordability was the key topic in the debate, as polls have shown the economy is the top issue for New Jersey voters. Sherrill reiterated her pledge to declare a state of emergency on utility costs on the first day of her administration and go after landlords responsible for high rent prices.
Ciattarelli said he would pull New Jersey from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state compact to try to lower greenhouse gas emissions, that he said is costing the state $1 billion per year. He also outlined his plan to lower the cost of childcare and improve housing affordability.
The most intense moment came when the candidates were asked about how they would bring more jobs to the state. Sherrill attacked Ciattarelli's past working for a firm that she alleged contributed to the opioid crisis, while Ciattarelli went after Sherrill over her not being allowed to walk at her Naval Academy graduation ceremony.
"First of all, shame on you," Ciattarelli said.
"Shame on you," Sherrill shot back.
Still, whether the debate will move the needle in the race meaningfully remains to be seen.
Polling increasingly suggests the race could be close. Sherrill leads by 5 points in the Decision Desk HQ average.
The Hill's Caroline Vakil and Julia Manchester have the takeaways from the second and final debate.
PORTER INTERVIEW CONTROVERSY: Former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) is facing backlash from several of her opponents in the California gubernatorial race after a tense interview with a reporter.
Porter, who has narrowly led the crowded field in a few polls, tried to end the interview with CBS News correspondent Julie Watts after she asked the former House member what she would say to the 40 percent of California voters who supported Trump to win their votes.
"How would I need them in order to win, ma'am?" Porter responded.
As Watts continued to press her on whose votes she may need to win to emerge victorious, particularly if she faces another Democrat in the general election, Porter signaled that she wanted to cut the interview early.
"I don't want to keep doing this. I'm going to call it. Thank you," she said, later adding she didn't want to continue doing the interview if Watts would ask "seven follow-ups" to every question.
"I don't want to have an unhappy experience with you, and I don't want this all on camera," Porter said.
A few of Porter's opponents jumped on the opportunity to go after her over the exchange.
Former California State Controller Betty Yee (D) said in a post on social platform X that Porter "doesn't have the temperament" to be governor.
"As a candidate, I welcome the hard questions—the next governor must be accessible and transparent," Yee said. "No place for temper tantrums. No place for dodging the public's right to know."
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said he's "not interested in excluding any vote," while former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) said the state needs a leader who will "solve hard problems and answer simple questions."
Despite Porter's slight lead in recent polling, the race seems to be a jump ball, particularly since former Vice President Kamala Harris chose not to run for the office. Candidates are generally receiving support in the high teens at most, suggesting much room for each of them to grow their support. Whichever two candidates receive the most votes in next year's primary will advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
TRUMP EXPANDS ARREST CALLS: Trump's battle with Illinois and Chicago officials reached a new level Wednesday when he called for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) to be arrested as they oppose his crackdown on the city.
"Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] Officers!" Trump posted on Truth Social. "Governor Pritzker also!"
Trump has been clashing with both leaders for months as he's floated sending in the National Guard to Chicago to address what he argues is out-of-control crime and danger for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. The president federalized hundreds of members of the Illinois National Guard over the weekend and directed members of the Texas National Guard into the city as well.
Illinois and Chicago quickly sued over the deployments, arguing that they violate the state's sovereignty. A federal judge is set to hold a hearing on the lawsuit on Thursday.
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday to uphold a pause on Trump sending the Oregon National Guard into Portland, though it restored his power to call them into federal service.
Pritzker and Johnson made clear that they won't be deterred by Trump's call for their arrests.
"I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?" Pritzker posted on X.
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay firm as the mayor of this amazing city, which was voted nine years in a row the best big city in America, and we're going to defend all of Chicago," Johnson told CNN in an interview.
Trump's post is a further escalation in both his monthslong battle with Chicago and his calls for some of his political opponents to face legal action. It came on the same day that former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty to two charges in a case that has stoked broader fears of the president going after his political foes.
Days before Comey was indicted, Trump posted on Truth Social calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue charges against Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
While Trump has said he doesn't have a "list" of people he wants to see face charges, he expects other indictments to come.
Johnson said he's hopeful that the legal system will fix the "illegal" push from Trump to militarize Chicago.
▪ WGN9: "Pritzker to Trump: 'Come and get me.'"
▪ NBC News: 500 National Guard troops arrive in Chicago.
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