Donald Trump and Barack Obama are both returning to the campaign trail on Wednesday, each heading to battleground territory with less than a week remaining before the 2026 midterm elections, according to EL PAÍS. The sitting president will travel to Chillicothe, Ohio, to campaign on behalf of Republican Jon Husted, who trails Democrat Sherrod Brown by a narrow margin in the polls. The former president, meanwhile, will be in Georgia to boost Senator Jon Ossoff, who currently holds an advantage over Republican challenger Mike Collins, and Keisha Lance Bottoms, the party's candidate for governor.
The dual appearances underscore how tightly contested this cycle has become, with control of the Senate emerging as the central question. EL PAÍS reports that Ohio has drawn national attention in recent days, largely because of advertising tactics used by Republican Vivek Ramaswamy against his Democratic rival, Amy Acton — tactics that have been criticized even by members of his own party.
Why it matters
With a single week left before voters go to the polls, the midterms are being framed by several outlets as a referendum on the sitting president. El Financiero described the contest as "the referendum that Trump instigated," while La Jornada characterized the coming election day as a potentially dire "super Tuesday" for the president, with the fate of American democracy said to be at stake. Yahoo, for its part, reported that Senate control is effectively a coin toss, and that the Democratic path to a majority runs through territory that Trump carried.
The stakes are reflected in the intensity of the campaigning. Obama spent last weekend in Ohio, where he criticized what EL PAÍS described as the "chaos" and "cruelty" of the Trump administration and took aim at the president's ongoing renovations to the White House. His return to Georgia this week signals that Democrats are investing heavily in defending a Senate seat and contesting a governor's race in a state that has become a perennial battleground.
Alaska Senate race draws scrutiny over a second Dan Sullivan
One of the cycle's most unusual stories concerns the closely watched Senate contest in Alaska, where a schoolteacher named Dan Sullivan — who lives in the remote Petersburg area — will appear on the ballot alongside the Republican incumbent of the same name. According to a report in The New York Times cited by EL PAÍS, advisers to Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign set out to find a second person bearing the incumbent's name, and the teacher agreed to run because, in his words, he "hates Trump" and believed the maneuver could "help Mary." The newspaper reported that Peltola was not involved in the discussions but was aware of the effort.
The tactic is legal and commonly used in Alaska, according to the report. The matter reached the state Supreme Court, which ruled in June that a second Dan Sullivan could appear on ballots in the November 3 election. Peltola leads her Republican opponent by roughly two points in the polls, EL PAÍS reports. The story has gained additional attention because the Trump administration has sought to halt certification of results should its candidate lose, arguing that voters could be confused by seeing two identical names on their ballots.
Close races from South Carolina to Kansas
In South Carolina, Republican Darline Graham — sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham and backed by the president — is locked in a tight Senate race against Democrat Annie Andrews, holding a lead of less than two points. By comparison, EL PAÍS notes, the Republican candidate for governor in that state, Alan Wilson, leads by nearly ten points, suggesting Graham's margin is considerably thinner than her party's statewide performance.
Kansas has produced one of the surprise battles of the cycle. Democrat Adam Hamilton, pastor of one of the country's largest congregations, is in a statistical tie with Republican Roger Marshall in a deeply conservative state that has not elected a Democratic senator in 94 years, according to EL PAÍS.
In New Hampshire, Democrat Chris Pappas holds an advantage over Republican John Sununu in the race for the Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Jeanne Shaheen. Republicans are hoping to flip that seat as they work to preserve their slim majority in the upper chamber.
Johnson pledges to seat Democratic winners
House Republican leader Mike Johnson said in a CNN interview on Wednesday that every Democrat who wins a seat in the House will be sworn in, seeking to dispel what he called a "nonsensical narrative" that he would refuse to do so if the president deemed the elections rigged. "I will do my job as House leader," Johnson said, adding that the president has promised to follow the law. He went on to say that Democrats are trying to fool voters with the claim, but that voters are not buying it and that Republicans will win the elections.
California ballot count awaits judge's ruling
A federal judge said he would decide on Wednesday whether to act on a Justice Department request to review and halt the counting of roughly 20,000 ballots in California, which the government suspects were cast by non-citizens. At a hearing on Tuesday, Judge David Carter expressed skepticism about the request, EL PAÍS reports. The administration's attorney argued that the department is seeking to ensure California complies with federal law prohibiting non-citizens from voting, while state officials contended that the unusual demand conflicts with the constitutional principle leaving the organization and management of elections to the states. The request comes amid the president's repeated claims that large numbers of non-citizens have voted.
What to watch
With one week to go, the focus will be on whether the closing visits from Trump and Obama move the needle in Ohio and Georgia, and on how quickly the courts resolve the disputes over ballots and certification that have already begun to shape the run-up to election day.
