John Brennan endorses Beto O'Rourke in Texas Senate race Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and...
Breaking News Emails
Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.SUBSCRIBEBy Adam Edelman and Dartunorro ClarkFormer CIA Director John Brennan on Friday endorsed Democratic Texas Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke.
"As a former resident of Texas and a proud UT-Austin alumnus, I believe Beto O'Rourke is the type of individual Texans need in the U.S. Senate to represent their best interests," Brennan tweeted. "He has the integrity, intellect, and character that is in short supply in Congress. Vote!"
Brennan, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, had not previously made any endorsements in any midterm races.
But he had tweeted earlier this week that he would "vote for candidates who beli eve in America living up to its values & remaining the world’s melting pot" and "for individuals who are honest, have integrity, reject inflammatory rhetoric & want to bring us together."
O'Rourke trailed the Republican incumbent, Sen. Ted Cruz, by 3 percentage points in an Emerson College poll released Thursday, 50 percent to 47 percent. The Cook Political Report has rated the race as a toss-up.
ON THE TRAIL IN OTHER STATES
FLORIDA
President Barack Obama will hit the campaign trail in Florida Friday afternoon to stump for Democratic Senate candidate Bill Nelson and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum.
Both Nelson and Gillum are in tight races but have slight leads over their rivals. Nelson is running against Republican Rick Scott, who is the former governor of Florida. Gillum is running against Republican opponent Ron DeSantis, a former House representative.
A recent CNN/SSRS poll has Nelson leading Scott 49 percent to 47 percent, and Gillum leading DeSantis 49 percent to 48 percent.
Republicans, however, have thus far cast more pre-Election Day ballots, according to Political Florida. The news outlet reported that 42 percent of the ballots cast so far are by Republicans and 40 percent by Democrats, out of the 3.7 million early-voting ballots cast as of Thursday morning.
Obama is one of several high-profile Democrats lending their star power to animate their base to turn out in high numbers on Nov. 6. Obama will also hit the campaign trail in Georgia later Friday at a rally with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who is in a close race with her Republican challenger Brian Kemp.
IOWA
Ivanka Trump made a rare appearance on the campaign trail in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday for Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican.
The president's eldest daughter, who is also a senior administration official, has seldom stumped for candidates during the midterms, but Reynolds is in a close race against Democrat Fred Hubbell. The Cook Political Report rated the race as a toss-up. Trump won 51 percent of the vote in Iowa in the 2016 presidential election.
Reynolds, who previously served as lieutenant governor, became governor after former Iowa governor Terry Branstad was appointed by Trump to be the U.S. ambassador to China. She is running to be elected to a full term on Nov. 6.
At a campaign event in Iowa on Friday, Ivanka Trump called the current political environment "very toxic" and stressed the importance of having elected officials who can "lift barriers" for everyday Americans.
"I can not overemphasize how important it is that we have governors who are aligned with us and are working to advance our common goals," she said, referring to the Trump administration. "And in the governor, you have somebody who& #039;s been just a tremendous champion for Iowa. And, and that is why I'm here. There is a lot at stake and a lot to lose because Iowa is really booming and we want to keep that going."
Source: Google News | Netizen 24 United States
