Friday, October 2, 2026

Whole Hog Politics: Audience capture and the GOP’s #content trap

By Chris Stirewalt | Friday, October 2

Associated Press

Audience capture and the GOP’s #content trap

You did not, I hope, have to take any notice of an empty online furor over Arkansas’s Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s campaign ad that cast a young, white male as a welfare freeloader redeemed from sloth by work requirements.

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Programming alert: Watch “The Hill Sunday” with Chris Stirewalt — Watch "The Hill Sunday" with Chris Stirewalt — Get the latest from decision makers from around the country and Washington insiders, and, as always, our Best-in-the-Business Panel of Journalists, including Aaron Zitner of The Wall Street Journal, Abe Greenwald of Commentary magazine and Elana Schor of Semafor. We will also be joined by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.). Be sure to catch us on NewsNation at 10 a.m. EDT / 9 a.m. CDT or your local CW station.

SHORT ORDER

Huge spending on Cotton’s reelection bid in Arkansas raises eyebrows — Punchbowl News

Troll or trouble? Dems make a show of spending in Mississippi Senate race — The Wall Street Journal

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) becomes a moneymaker for Republican fundraisers — The Atlantic

Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) joins fellow GOPers in questioning ICE tactics, then walks back — The Hill

‘Puras migajas’: Texas Democrat roasts GOP over brisket prices in new ad — The Washington Post

Charting the river of AI spending that flooded 2026 primaries — The New York Times

As Trump moves to restrict the media, Republicans express higher levels of trust in news — Gallup

Chris Stirewalt is political editor for The Hill and NewsNation, the host of "The Hill Sunday" on NewsNation and The CW, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of books on politics and the media.