cnbc--2020-10-26--Former Goldman Sachs president Harvey Schwartz makes late big donation to Joe Biden

Harvey Schwartz , president and co-chief operating officer of the Goldman Sachs Group Inc. A former president of Goldman Sachs made a late contribution to one of Joe Biden 's joint fundraising committees just three weeks ago .
Harvey Schwartz gave $ 100,000 to the Biden Action Fund .
Schwartz 's name appears on a Federal Election Commission filing , and a person with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed it was him .
The committee raises funds for Biden 's campaign , the Democratic National Committee and state parties .
The filing lists Schwartz and a New York address @ @ @ @ @ @ @ self employed . ''
The contribution was processed on Oct. 5 , records show .
Schwartz retired from the bank in 2018 after being its president for just over a year .
Prior to that role he was Goldman 's chief financial officer .
He was involved in a reported succession battle with David Solomon while the two served as co-presidents and co-chief operating officers .
The two were both being considered to replace veteran CEO Lloyd Blankfein , but it was Solomon who eventually was given the top post .
Schwartz , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threatened to resign if he was n't given the CEO gig .
He ended up retiring in 2018 .
Schwartz 's contribution to Biden this month was the biggest political donation he has ever made , according to data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics .
It is also one of the largest donations the Biden Action Fund saw throughout the first two weeks of October .
He has given to Republicans and Democrats in recent years .
Schwartz declined to comment when asked about the six-figure investment .
The donation is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Wall Street to support Biden .
People from the securities and investment industry have spent over $ 50 million supporting Biden 's run for president .
That includes millions being put toward outside groups backing the Democratic nominee .
Meanwhile , President Donald Trump 's supporters on Wall Street have backed off in supporting his bid for reelection .
Going into the final two weeks of the election , Biden , the DNC and their joint fundraising committees had over $ 330 million on hand .
Trump , the Republican National Committee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 220 million over that same time period .

A former president of Goldman Sachs made a late contribution to one of Joe Biden's joint fundraising committees just three weeks ago.
Harvey Schwartz gave $100,000 to the Biden Action Fund. Schwartz's name appears on a Federal Election Commission filing, and a person with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed it was him.
The committee raises funds for Biden's campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state parties.
The filing lists Schwartz and a New York address and describes his work profession as "self employed." The contribution was processed on Oct. 5, records show.
Schwartz retired from the bank in 2018 after being its president for just over a year. Prior to that role he was Goldman's chief financial officer.
He was involved in a reported succession battle with David Solomon while the two served as co-presidents and co-chief operating officers. They were both being considered to replace veteran CEO Lloyd Blankfein, but it was Solomon who eventually was given the top post. Schwartz, according to The New York Times, threatened to resign if he wasn't given the CEO gig. He ended up retiring in 2018.


cnbc--2020-10-26--U.S. slams Iran with another round of sanctions over support for 'terrorist entities'

The Atlantas tanker , carrying 2 million barrels of Iranian crude oil for Polish Lotos reffinery is seen at the Naftoport oil terminal in Gdansk .
The first transport of Iranian oil to Gdansk is the result of an agreement between the Lotus Group and the National Iranian Oil Company ( NIOC ) .
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Monday announced a slew of fresh sanctions and additional measures targeting Iran 's petroleum sector as Washington continues to up the ante in its maximum pressure campaign against Tehran .
The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Iran 's Ministry of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the National Iranian Tanker Company for providing financial support to Iran 's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Assad regime in Syria , according to a release Monday .
Treasury also designated multiple entities and individuals associated with the petroleum ministry , the oil company and the tanker company , including front companies , subsidiaries and senior executives .
In addition , Treasury designated four persons involved in the recent sale of Iranian gasoline to the Maduro regime in Venezuela .
According to Treasury , the cooperation and coordination of these entities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of tens of millions of dollars in proceeds that benefited Iran 's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps .
`` The regime in Iran uses the petroleum sector to fund the destabilizing activities of the IRGC-QF , '' said Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement .
`` The Iranian regime continues to prioritize its support for terrorist entities and its nuclear program over the needs of the Iranian people , '' Mnuchin added .
The latest revelation comes a little over a week until Election Day and one month after the United States unilaterally reimposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ process , which other U.N. Security Council members have previously said Washington does not have the authority to execute because it withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 .
The same week that the U.S. reimposed the U.N. sanctions the Trump administration upped the ante even more .
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo , flanked by Defense Secretary Mark Esper , Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross , said the administration would sanction Iran 's entire Ministry of Defense .

The Atlantas tanker, carrying 2 million barrels of Iranian crude oil for Polish Lotos reffinery is seen at the Naftoport oil terminal in Gdansk. The first transport of Iranian oil to Gdansk is the result of an agreement between the Lotus Group and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Monday announced a slew of fresh sanctions and additional measures targeting Iran's petroleum sector as Washington continues to up the ante in its maximum pressure campaign against Tehran.
The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Iran's Ministry of Petroleum, the National Iranian Oil Company and the National Iranian Tanker Company for providing financial support to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Assad regime in Syria, according to a release Monday.
Treasury also designated multiple entities and individuals associated with the petroleum ministry, the oil company and the tanker company, including front companies, subsidiaries and senior executives. In addition, Treasury designated four persons involved in the recent sale of Iranian gasoline to the Maduro regime in Venezuela.
According to Treasury, the cooperation and coordination of these entities to sell oil resulted in the collection of tens of millions of dollars in proceeds that benefited Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
"The regime in Iran uses the petroleum sector to fund the destabilizing activities of the IRGC-QF," said Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement. "The Iranian regime continues to prioritize its support for terrorist entities and its nuclear program over the needs of the Iranian people," Mnuchin added.
The latest revelation comes a little over a week until Election Day and one month after the United States unilaterally reimposed U.N. sanctions on Tehran through a snapback process, which other U.N. Security Council members have previously said Washington does not have the authority to execute because it withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018.
The same week that the U.S. reimposed the U.N. sanctions the Trump administration upped the ante even more. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, flanked by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, said the administration would sanction Iran's entire Ministry of Defense.


cnbc--2020-10-26--'Fire them all' — GOP governor rips Congress for inability to reach coronavirus stimulus deal

The Republican governor of New Hampshire on Monday blasted Congress for failing to reach another coronavirus stimulus package to help Americans deal with the fallout from the pandemic .
`` Fire them all .
I really mean that sincerely , '' Gov .
Chris Sununu said on CNBC 's `` Squawk Box . ''
`` No one in the Senate or Congress can say that they 've shown leadership on the Covid crisis .
What have they done since March ?
Like literally nothing . ''
Sununu — who is running for a third , two-year term against Democrat Dan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of promises '' to respond to the coronavirus pandemic but failed to overcome partisanship to match them with real actions .
`` Put it this way : Would the country be better or worse off if you replaced all 535 today ? ''
Sununu said , referring to turning over all 435 House seats and the 100 Senate seats .
`` I think the odds say we 'd probably be a little better because you get the political nonsense out of the picture , all of the things that have just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Democratic leaders and White House officials have been locked in a stalemate on the latest round of coronavirus negotiations for months , unable to bridge the divide on a number of issues , such as state and local government aid and liability protections for businesses .
More generally , House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and other Democrats have favored a larger relief package than Republicans , contending the scale of the pandemic requires an equally expansive government response .
Republicans have favored a smaller package and criticized Democratic proposals as containing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ May , the House approved a $ 3 trillion aid bill that went nowhere in the GOP-controlled Senate .
On Oct. 1 , the Democratic-controlled House passed a $ 2.2 trillion stimulus package , but it also was not taken up by the Senate .

The Republican governor of New Hampshire on Monday blasted Congress for failing to reach another coronavirus stimulus package to help Americans deal with the fallout from the pandemic.
"Fire them all. I really mean that sincerely," Gov. Chris Sununu said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "No one in the Senate or Congress can say that they've shown leadership on the Covid crisis. What have they done since March? Like literally nothing."
Sununu — who is running for a third, two-year term against Democrat Dan Feltes — said Congress has "made a lot of promises" to respond to the coronavirus pandemic but failed to overcome partisanship to match them with real actions.
"Put it this way: Would the country be better or worse off if you replaced all 535 today?" Sununu said, referring to turning over all 435 House seats and the 100 Senate seats. "I think the odds say we'd probably be a little better because you get the political nonsense out of the picture, all of the things that have just clogged the system up so badly."
Democratic leaders and White House officials have been locked in a stalemate on the latest round of coronavirus negotiations for months, unable to bridge the divide on a number of issues, such as state and local government aid and liability protections for businesses.
More generally, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and other Democrats have favored a larger relief package than Republicans, contending the scale of the pandemic requires an equally expansive government response. Republicans have favored a smaller package and criticized Democratic proposals as containing provisions unrelated to the pandemic.
In May, the House approved a $3 trillion aid bill that went nowhere in the GOP-controlled Senate. On Oct. 1, the Democratic-controlled House passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus package, but it also was not taken up by the Senate.


cnbc--2020-10-27--Amy Coney Barrett is sworn in, swinging Supreme Court further to the right

Judge Amy Coney Barrett holds her hand on the Bible as she is sworn in as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington , U.S. , October 26 , 2020 .
Amy Coney Barrett took her constitution oath as a Supreme Court justice in a nighttime ceremony outside the White House , swinging the nation 's highest court to a conservative 6-3 majority .
President Donald Trump , who has now selected three of the court 's nine justices , called the elevation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the late liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg a `` momentous day for America . ''
The oath was administered by Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday night on the South Lawn .
Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the second oath on Tuesday in a private ceremony , formally elevating Barrett to the court .
At Monday night 's ceremony , Barrett pledged to follow the law .
`` A judge declares independence not only from Congress and the president , but also from the private beliefs that might otherwise move her , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ divided Senate voted to confirm the 48-year-old judge to a lifetime term on the court , capping a bitter fight over the partisan makeup of the judicial body , which has taken place in the middle of an unusually explosive presidential election .
The vote was 52-48 along largely partisan lines , with only Sen. Susan Collins of Maine breaking with Republicans to vote against the confirmation .
Barrett 's elevation came just eight days before the final votes are cast in the contest between Trump and Joe Biden .
Ahead of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's views fell within the legal mainstream .
`` She 's as mainstream as it gets , from our side of the aisle , '' Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham , R-S.C. , said on the Senate floor .
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y. , said in his own speech that Barrett held `` far right views , well outside of the American mainstream , and those views matter . ''
Barrett 's confirmation , which was virtually assured given the GOP hold on the Senate , is expected to shift @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the right on issues such as gun rights , abortion , business and the environment .
In the coming months , the justices will also decide the fate of the Affordable Care Act , known as Obamacare , through which tens of millions of Americans have access to health insurance .
The case over the law will be argued on Nov. 10 , one week after the election .
Raising the stakes , both Democrats and Republicans have suggested the court may be called to decide the election itself , as it did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bush and Democrat Al Gore .
Experts have said the possibility of the election being decided in court is elevated this year because of a flood of litigation related to voting rule changes that came about as a result of the spreading Covid-19 pandemic .
As the Senate voted on Barrett 's confirmation , the Supreme Court released an order rejecting an effort by Democrats to extend the deadline for counting absentee ballots in the battleground state Wisconsin , dividing 5-3 along partisan lines , with the Democratic appointees in dissent .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Barrett 's confirmation process .
Trump repeatedly pressed for Barrett to be confirmed in time to vote on any such cases , prompting Democrats to demand her recusal .
During two days of questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month , Barrett agreed to carefully weigh whether her participation in an election case would be inappropriate , but declined to commit to abstaining .
The battle over Barrett 's nomination was sparked last month after the death of Ginsburg , who served on the Supreme Court for 27 years .
Replacing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ideological shift on the court since the liberal Justice Thurgood Marshall was replaced by conservative Thomas in 1991 .
Trump and his allies in Congress , including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky. , immediately moved to replace Ginsburg before Election Day .
Biden and Democrats in Congress argued the process was a sham , and pressed for Ginsburg 's replacement to be named by the winner of next week 's election .
Schumer and others pointed to McConnell 's 2016 refusal to even hold hearings for President Barack Obama 's nominee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Barrett 's confirmation is the first to come so close to a presidential election .
The vote took place after a historic number of early votes have already been cast .
More than 58 million Americans have already voted , as people around the country flock to early voting as a result of coronavirus .
Ginsburg herself weighed in .
In a death-bed statement , the 87-year-old said her `` most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed . ''
Republicans praised Ginsburg 's career @ @ @ @ @ @ @ process .
`` A lot of what we 've done over the last four years will be undone sooner or later by the next election , '' McConnell said on Sunday night from the Senate floor .
`` They wo n't be able to do much about this for a long time to come . ''
Barrett has been a professor at Notre Dame Law School since 2002 and sat on the 7th U.S .
Circuit Court of Appeals for three years .
She clerked early in her career for Justice Antonin Scalia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said that she shares his judicial philosophy .
Throughout her marathon hearings earlier this month , Barrett provided few direct answers , but reaffirmed her conservative mode of judicial interpretation .
She declared her independence from both the White House and Congress and said she would approach cases , including the dispute over Obamacare , with an open mind , if confirmed .
Democrats used the hearings to focus the attention of voters on health care , arguing that Barrett 's confirmation will doom the Affordable Care Act .
Republicans , on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ credentials and her personal background as a Catholic mother of seven .
`` This is the first time in American history that we 've nominated a woman who is unashamedly pro-life and embraces her faith without apology , '' Graham said at the time Progressives criticized Democrats on the committee for their handling of the hearings , with some calling for Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California , the ranking member , to leave her post .
Democrats cut down their participation in the nomination process after that , boycotting the committee 's vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ committee .
Barrett passed a key procedural vote from the full Senate on Sunday in a 51-48 vote in which no Democrat voted in her favor .
Two Republicans , Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska , sided with Democrats on Sunday .
Murkowski and Collins had said they opposed the seating of a new justice before Election Day .
On Monday , however , Murkowski voted to confirm Barrett , after her largely symbolic vote the day before .
`` I believe that the only way to put us back on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nominees is to evaluate Judge Barrett as we would want to be judged .
On the merits of her qualifications , '' Murkowski said Saturday .
`` And we do that when that final question comes before us .
And when it does , I will be a yes , '' she said .
Collins , who is facing a tough reelection battle that remains focused on her 2018 support of Justice Brett Kavanaugh , Trump 's second nominee , voted against Barrett 's confirmation .
Vice President Mike Pence , who was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hearings , backed out earlier in the day after a Covid-19 outbreak among a number of his key advisors .
On Sunday , Pence had said that he would not change his schedule despite at least five of his aides testing positive , including his chief of staff Marc Short , with whom he had been in close contact .

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Amy Coney Barrett took her constitutional oath as a Supreme Court justice in a nighttime ceremony outside the White House on Monday, swinging the nation's highest court to a conservative 6-3 majority. President Donald Trump, who has now selected three of the court's nine justices, called the elevation of Barrett to fill the seat of the late liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg a "momentous day for America." The oath was administered by Justice Clarence Thomas on the South Lawn. Chief Justice John Roberts will administered a second oath, known as the judicial oath, on Tuesday in a private ceremony, At Monday night's ceremony, Barrett pledged to follow the law. "A judge declares independence not only from Congress and the president, but also from the private beliefs that might otherwise move her," she said. Earlier in the day, a divided Senate voted to confirm the 48-year-old judge to a lifetime term on the court, capping a bitter fight over the partisan makeup of the judicial body, which has taken place in the middle of an unusually explosive presidential election.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks before the U.S. Senate votes on the confirmation of President Donald Trump?s nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court as they meet in the Senate Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S, October 26, 2020. Senate TV | Reuters
The vote was 52-48 along largely partisan lines, with only Sen. Susan Collins of Maine breaking with Republicans to vote against the confirmation. Barrett's elevation came just eight days before the final votes are cast in the contest between Trump and Joe Biden. Ahead of the vote, lawmakers sparred over whether Barrett's views fell within the legal mainstream. "She's as mainstream as it gets, from our side of the aisle," Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on the Senate floor. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in his own speech that Barrett held "far right views, well outside of the American mainstream, and those views matter." Barrett's confirmation, which was virtually assured given the GOP hold on the Senate, is expected to shift the ideological balance of the court to the right on issues such as gun rights, abortion, business and the environment. In the coming months, the justices will also decide the fate of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, through which tens of millions of Americans have access to health insurance. The case over the law will be argued on Nov. 10, one week after the election. Raising the stakes, both Democrats and Republicans have suggested the court may be called to decide the election itself, as it did in the 2000 race between President George Bush and Democrat Al Gore. Experts have said the possibility of the election being decided in court is elevated this year because of a flood of litigation related to voting rule changes that came about as a result of the spreading Covid-19 pandemic. As the Senate voted on Barrett's confirmation, the Supreme Court released an order rejecting an effort by Democrats to extend the deadline for counting absentee ballots in the battleground state Wisconsin, dividing 5-3 along partisan lines, with the Democratic appointees in dissent. The possibility of a contested election has overshadowed Barrett's confirmation process. Trump repeatedly pressed for Barrett to be confirmed in time to vote on any such cases, prompting Democrats to demand her recusal.
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he poses with U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett on a White House balcony after she was sworn in to serve as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 26, 2020. Tom Brenner | Reuters
During two days of questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month, Barrett agreed to carefully weigh whether her participation in an election case would be inappropriate, but declined to commit to abstaining. The battle over Barrett's nomination was sparked last month after the death of Ginsburg, who served on the Supreme Court for 27 years. Replacing Ginsburg with Barrett represents the most stark ideological shift on the court since the liberal Justice Thurgood Marshall was replaced by conservative Thomas in 1991. Trump and his allies in Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., immediately moved to replace Ginsburg before Election Day. Biden and Democrats in Congress argued the process was a sham, and pressed for Ginsburg's replacement to be named by the winner of next week's election. Schumer and others pointed to McConnell's 2016 refusal to even hold hearings for President Barack Obama's nominee Merrick Garland during an election year. In remarks before Barrett's confirmation vote, McConnell defended his actions, saying that Republicans had only exercised "the power that was given to us by the American people, in a manner that is entirely within the rules of the Senate and the Constitution of the United States." Barrett's confirmation is the first to come so close to a presidential election. The vote took place after a historic number of early votes have already been cast. More than 58 million Americans have already voted, as people around the country flock to early voting as a result of coronavirus.
U.S. President Donald Trump applauds U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett after she took her oath of office and was sworn in to serve on the court on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 26, 2020. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Ginsburg herself weighed in. In a death-bed statement, the 87-year-old said her "most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed." Republicans praised Ginsburg's career but pressed on with Barrett's confirmation process. "A lot of what we've done over the last four years will be undone sooner or later by the next election," McConnell said on Sunday night from the Senate floor. "They won't be able to do much about this for a long time to come." Barrett has been a professor at Notre Dame Law School since 2002 and sat on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for three years. She clerked early in her career for Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative hero, and has said that she shares his judicial philosophy. Throughout her marathon hearings earlier this month, Barrett provided few direct answers, but reaffirmed her conservative mode of judicial interpretation. She declared her independence from both the White House and Congress and said she would approach cases, including the dispute over Obamacare, with an open mind, if confirmed. Democrats used the hearings to focus the attention of voters on health care, arguing that Barrett's confirmation will doom the Affordable Care Act. Republicans, on the other hand, touted Barrett's legal credentials and her personal background as a Catholic mother of seven. "This is the first time in American history that we've nominated a woman who is unashamedly pro-life and embraces her faith without apology," Graham said at the time Progressives criticized Democrats on the committee for their handling of the hearings, with some calling for Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the ranking member, to leave her post. Democrats cut down their participation in the nomination process after that, boycotting the committee's vote on Thursday to approve Barrett out of committee. Barrett passed a key procedural vote from the full Senate on Sunday in a 51-48 vote in which no Democrat voted in her favor. Two Republicans, Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, sided with Democrats on Sunday. Murkowski and Collins had said they opposed the seating of a new justice before Election Day. On Monday, however, Murkowski voted to confirm Barrett, after her largely symbolic vote the day before. "I believe that the only way to put us back on the path of appropriate consideration of judicial nominees is to evaluate Judge Barrett as we would want to be judged. On the merits of her qualifications," Murkowski said Saturday. "And we do that when that final question comes before us. And when it does, I will be a yes," she said. Collins, who is facing a tough reelection battle that remains focused on her 2018 support of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's second nominee, voted against Barrett's confirmation. Vice President Mike Pence, who was slated to preside over Monday's Senate hearings, backed out earlier in the day after a Covid-19 outbreak among a number of his key advisors. On Sunday, Pence had said that he would not change his schedule despite at least five of his aides testing positive, including his chief of staff Marc Short, with whom he had been in close contact.


cnbc--2020-10-27--House race in Iowa will test whether the suburbs have turned from Trump

In a year when Democrats have high hopes of expanding their House majority , the task starts with defending the ground they gained in flipping the chamber in 2018 .
A rematch in swing-state Iowa will offer clues about whether forces that drove the party 's success two years ago will hold up on Nov. 3 .
Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne , 55 , aims to win a second term in Iowa 's 3rd District in the southwestern portion of the state .
She faces Republican David Young , the former two-term congressman whom she narrowly beat in 2018 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the country , highly educated suburban voters — and White women in particular — showed signs of moving away from President Donald Trump and the GOP and toward Democrats who pledged to forge an independent path in Washington .
With Trump at the top of the ticket again , 2020 will start to test whether the midterm results point to a longer-term trend .
`` Much of the story of 2018 ( and 2020 ) is a story of suburbanites , particularly white suburban women with a college education who cite community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important policy concerns , '' Rachel Paine Caufield , a professor of political science at Drake University in Des Moines , wrote in an email to CNBC .
Des Moines , the Iowa capital , sits in the northeast corner of the 3rd District .
She added that suburban voters are generally more likely to disapprove of the president 's immigration policies and handling of the coronavirus pandemic , along with Trump 's overall `` tone and tenor . ''
Republicans such as Young have tried to regain seats they lost in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strong pre-pandemic economy and bolster small businesses .
The geographically diverse 3rd District includes young city dwellers and rural farming communities to whom Axne and Young have tried to appeal , forcing them to walk an at times tricky political line .
But for political observers looking in Iowa for signs of how the rest of the country could vote , the suburbs to the north and west of Des Moines may hold the most clues .
The electoral intrigue in Iowa this year goes well beyond the southwest corner of the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to defend a northeast Iowa seat she flipped in 2018 .
The state 's other two House elections — contests to replace retiring Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack and succeed racist Republican pariah Rep. Steve King — also appear competitive based on recent polling .
Statewide , Iowa could play a major role in shaping the U.S. policy path for the next two years .
Incumbent Republican Sen. Joni Ernst is locked in a tight race with Democrat Theresa Greenfield as the GOP tries to hold its 53-47 majority in the chamber .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a neck-and-neck contest between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden for the Hawkeye State 's six electoral votes .
While the 3rd District has drawn national interest , the money coming into the race suggests the contest may not be as competitive as some other House elections Republicans have targeted as they try to cut into Democrats ' 2018 gains .
Axne has easily outraised and outspent Young , though she entered the final stretch of the campaign with about $ 810,000 in the bank , versus roughly $ 660,000 for her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 4.1 million in the race , significantly less than they have shelled out in 2020 's most expensive House races .
Iowa 's 3rd District underwent a demographic shift over the last decade similar to that of many of the U.S. House seats that flipped to Democratic control in 2018 .
The area 's median household income topped $ 67,000 in 2019 , a spike from about $ 52,000 in 2009 , according to U.S. Census data .
Last year , 24.6 % of the district 's residents older than 25 had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % a decade earlier .
In the same time period , the share of people over 25 in the 3rd District with a master 's degree climbed to 7.6 % from 5.8 % .
Paine Caufield said that as suburbs near Des Moines `` have grown and developed , they have attracted more highly educated residents with higher median incomes . ''
One example is Ankeny , a community north of the capital city that also sits close to Iowa State University in Ames .
At the same time , the area has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as some suburban districts that shifted toward Democrats in 2018 did .
About 88 % of the district 's residents were White in 2019 , down from about 90 % in 2009 .
Polls show that Axne fares better among more highly educated voters .
In a Monmouth survey released last week , she held a 52 % to 43 % lead over Young among registered voters .
The disparity in voter preference by education was stark : She had a 20-percentage-point advantage among White voters with a college degree versus a 5-percentage-point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poll also showed a bigger lead for Axne among women , 12 percentage points , than among men , 8 percentage points .
The GOP 's recent struggles to win over suburban women have led Trump to make explicit pleas to the voting bloc , including a series of thinly veiled attempts to stoke White fears of people of color moving into their communities .
`` Suburban women , will you please like me ? ''
Trump asked at a rally in Pennsylvania earlier this month .
As Paine Caufield explained , Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contributed to those voters turning away from him .
It 's no coincidence that health policy is once again a major focus in the race between Axne and Young .
The issue shaped the 3rd District race and many others Democrats won in 2018 .
`` Health care is a big issue , with the ACA front and center , '' said Barbara Trish , a professor of political science at Grinnell College in Iowa .
Locally , the vulnerability of rural hospitals to closure has also played a role , she added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Axne has targeted Young for his 2017 vote to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act .
In a debate earlier this month , the congresswoman said her opponent `` voted to take away coverage for people with preexisting conditions '' — an attack Democrats have used across the country as they play to the popular Obamacare provision .
In a statement to CNBC , Young pointed to an amendment to the GOP-passed bill that he supported in an effort to stop states from letting protections for people with medical conditions lapse .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iowans want to ensure those with pre-existing conditions are protected and not discriminated against . ''
Young also argued a public health-care option — which Axne and many national Democrats support — would start a `` slow drip to a complete government takeover of health care . ''
Democrats who back the policy — which is popular in public opinion polls — say it will give people not covered by private insurance more options , especially in states that chose not to expand Medicaid under the ACA .
Iowa , which did expand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , had one of the lowest uninsured rates in the country last year , at 4.7 % .
Meanwhile , Iowa continues to struggle to contain its Covid-19 outbreak as the country reaches record levels of infections .
Iowa most recently reported 1,143 new daily cases , a 7.5 % increase from a week before , according to the Covid Tracking Project .
The lack of new federal coronavirus relief money has played a role in Iowa congressional races .
Though the state 's September unemployment rate of 4.7 % was the fifth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like the rest of the country , has seen businesses struggling to survive and residents scrambling to cover bills during the pandemic .
In the latest candidate debate , Young said `` Iowa needs help . ''
He also argued Democrats are `` not serious about getting a deal '' and have sought `` outrageous numbers '' for relief money .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has backed a $ 2.2 trillion proposal .
Axne , who has portrayed herself as an independent voice , has highlighted her efforts to push Democratic leaders to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also earn support from the GOP-held Senate .
She opposed Democrats ' latest bill earlier this month .
She said in a statement after her vote that `` the only thing that will deliver the help my constituents need is a bill that will actually become law . ''
In a statement to CNBC , Axne identified curbing the pandemic and its accompanying economic damage as her top priority .
`` We can not hope to return to any sense of normalcy until we defeat this virus — and that means a national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and protective steps like masks , '' she said .
`` This pandemic has also been an important reminder that we need to continue to work on expanding access to affordable , quality health care , ensuring Iowa families and communities have more opportunities to succeed , and holding our government accountable to its citizens . ''
In his statement to CNBC , Young also cited `` rebuilding the economy in a safe manner '' and developing therapeutics and vaccines for Covid-19 as two of his priorities .
He pointed to `` keeping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' and `` opening new markets for our farmers and manufacturers '' as other priorities .
Agriculture , of course , always plays a role in Iowa .
During her time in Congress , Axne has opposed the Trump administration 's trade war with China , which damaged many Iowa farmers .
She also pushed for swift ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement — the Trump administration 's revisions to the North American Free Trade Agreement — which helped to stabilize key markets for the state 's agriculture industry .
In a district @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the electorate , both candidates have tied their opponent to national political leaders .
Young 's ability in particular to push a message of economic recovery , while creating distance from the most unpopular pieces of Trump 's first term , could determine whether he wins back his seat in Washington .

Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa. Bill Clark | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
In a year when Democrats have high hopes of expanding their House majority, the task starts with defending the ground they gained in flipping the chamber in 2018. A rematch in swing-state Iowa will offer clues about whether forces that drove the party's success two years ago will hold up on Nov. 3. Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne, 55, aims to win a second term in Iowa's 3rd District in the southwestern portion of the state. She faces Republican David Young, the former two-term congressman whom she narrowly beat in 2018. In the district and in many others around the country, highly educated suburban voters — and White women in particular — showed signs of moving away from President Donald Trump and the GOP and toward Democrats who pledged to forge an independent path in Washington. With Trump at the top of the ticket again, 2020 will start to test whether the midterm results point to a longer-term trend. "Much of the story of 2018 (and 2020) is a story of suburbanites, particularly white suburban women with a college education who cite community security, health care and education as important policy concerns," Rachel Paine Caufield, a professor of political science at Drake University in Des Moines, wrote in an email to CNBC. Des Moines, the Iowa capital, sits in the northeast corner of the 3rd District. She added that suburban voters are generally more likely to disapprove of the president's immigration policies and handling of the coronavirus pandemic, along with Trump's overall "tone and tenor." Republicans such as Young have tried to regain seats they lost in the Trump era by pledging to recapture the strong pre-pandemic economy and bolster small businesses. The geographically diverse 3rd District includes young city dwellers and rural farming communities to whom Axne and Young have tried to appeal, forcing them to walk an at times tricky political line. But for political observers looking in Iowa for signs of how the rest of the country could vote, the suburbs to the north and west of Des Moines may hold the most clues.
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A changing district
Iowa Congressman David Young votes in his home precinct on November 6, 2018 in Van Meter, Iowa. Steve Pope | Getty Images
Iowa's 3rd District underwent a demographic shift over the last decade similar to that of many of the U.S. House seats that flipped to Democratic control in 2018. The area's median household income topped $67,000 in 2019, a spike from about $52,000 in 2009, according to U.S. Census data. Last year, 24.6% of the district's residents older than 25 had bachelor's degrees, up from 20.6% a decade earlier. In the same time period, the share of people over 25 in the 3rd District with a master's degree climbed to 7.6% from 5.8%. Paine Caufield said that as suburbs near Des Moines "have grown and developed, they have attracted more highly educated residents with higher median incomes." One example is Ankeny, a community north of the capital city that also sits close to Iowa State University in Ames. At the same time, the area has not become much more racially diverse, as some suburban districts that shifted toward Democrats in 2018 did. About 88% of the district's residents were White in 2019, down from about 90% in 2009. Polls show that Axne fares better among more highly educated voters. In a Monmouth survey released last week, she held a 52% to 43% lead over Young among registered voters. The disparity in voter preference by education was stark: She had a 20-percentage-point advantage among White voters with a college degree versus a 5-percentage-point lead among voters without one. The poll also showed a bigger lead for Axne among women, 12 percentage points, than among men, 8 percentage points. The GOP's recent struggles to win over suburban women have led Trump to make explicit pleas to the voting bloc, including a series of thinly veiled attempts to stoke White fears of people of color moving into their communities. "Suburban women, will you please like me?" Trump asked at a rally in Pennsylvania earlier this month.
The policy debate


cnbc--2020-10-27--Stimulus deal before Election Day looks less likely as Pelosi pushes Mnuchin over virus testing

`` We must come to agreement as soon as possible , '' the speaker wrote .
`` The Republicans ' continued surrender to the virus — particularly amid the recent wave of cases — is official malfeasance , '' Pelosi wrote .
She said she expects a response from the White House `` on several concerns '' during the conversation Monday .
Pelosi targeted White House chief of staff Mark Meadows for saying Sunday that `` we 're not going to control the pandemic . ''
She also said the Trump administration has not accepted House Democrats ' proposal for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said he would during a CNBC interview earlier this month .
The California Democrat 's biting letter to House Democrats came only minutes before a nearly hour-long conversation with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that appeared to yield little progress toward a stimulus agreement .
The chances of Congress approving a relief bill before Election Day , Nov. 3 , have all but evaporated .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi eviscerated the Trump administration on Monday as Washington fails to send more relief to Americans during a record spike in coronavirus cases .
U.S. House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conference on Capitol Hill in Washington , D.C. , the United States , on Oct. 9 , 2020 .
After Pelosi 's call with Mnuchin , her spokesman Drew Hammill tweeted that `` we continue to eagerly await the Administration 's acceptance of our health language . ''
He added that it is `` clear that our progress depends on [ Senate Majority ] Leader [ Mitch ] McConnell agreeing to bipartisan , comprehensive legislation . ''
`` The Speaker remains optimistic that an agreement can be reached before the election , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appeared to shed some more doubt on the proceedings .
After MSNBC 's Chris Hayes said , `` There 's no deal happening , '' the speaker responded : `` That 's exactly right , you 're exactly right . ''
Hayes then remarked that it seems like the core differences in how both sides view the crisis ca n't be papered over .
`` Well it could .
And public sentiment is everything , the public weighing in , '' Pelosi said .
Spokesmen for the White House and McConnell did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comment on Pelosi 's letter .
The sides have failed to approve new aid money for months despite a climbing infection count and signs of a slowing economic recovery .
Democrats have accused the White House of failing to grasp the gravity of the crisis , while Republicans have argued that Pelosi refuses to compromise .
Democrats and the White House have most recently proposed $ 2.2 trillion and $ 1.9 trillion relief packages , respectively .
Despite the similar target price tags for legislation , the sides still have not resolved disputes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state and local government relief and liability protections for businesses , among other issues .
The GOP-held Senate , meanwhile , adjourned until after the election following Monday 's vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett .
In an attempt to show they could balance both issues , Republicans tried to advance their roughly $ 500 billion aid proposal last week .
Democrats blocked it , calling the plan inadequate .
Congressional committee chairs have recently worked to start writing potential legislation .
But lawmakers have not been particularly optimistic about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Richard Shelby , R-Ala. , has told reporters in recent days that chances of a relief deal before the election are slim .
Crafting legislation that can pass both the Democratic-held House and GOP-controlled Senate in the lame-duck session before winners take office in January could prove challenging .
Republicans have opposed spending trillions more on the virus response , while Democrats want a sweeping package to root out the pandemic and the accompanying economic damage .
Meanwhile , President Donald Trump continues to downplay the severity of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 80,000 new cases on Friday .
In a tweet Monday , he called the staggering number of infections a `` Fake News Media Conspiracy . ''

"We must come to agreement as soon as possible," the speaker wrote.
"The Republicans' continued surrender to the virus — particularly amid the recent wave of cases — is official malfeasance," Pelosi wrote. She said she expects a response from the White House "on several concerns" during the conversation Monday.
Pelosi targeted White House chief of staff Mark Meadows for saying Sunday that "we're not going to control the pandemic." She also said the Trump administration has not accepted House Democrats' proposal for a national testing strategy even though Mnuchin said he would during a CNBC interview earlier this month.
The California Democrat's biting letter to House Democrats came only minutes before a nearly hour-long conversation with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that appeared to yield little progress toward a stimulus agreement. The chances of Congress approving a relief bill before Election Day, Nov. 3, have all but evaporated.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi eviscerated the Trump administration on Monday as Washington fails to send more relief to Americans during a record spike in coronavirus cases.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Oct. 9, 2020.
After Pelosi's call with Mnuchin, her spokesman Drew Hammill tweeted that "we continue to eagerly await the Administration's acceptance of our health language." He added that it is "clear that our progress depends on [Senate Majority] Leader [Mitch] McConnell agreeing to bipartisan, comprehensive legislation."
"The Speaker remains optimistic that an agreement can be reached before the election," he continued.
Later Thursday, Pelosi appeared to shed some more doubt on the proceedings. After MSNBC's Chris Hayes said, "There's no deal happening," the speaker responded: "That's exactly right, you're exactly right." Hayes then remarked that it seems like the core differences in how both sides view the crisis can't be papered over. "Well it could. And public sentiment is everything, the public weighing in," Pelosi said.
Spokesmen for the White House and McConnell did not immediately respond to CNBC's request to comment on Pelosi's letter.
The sides have failed to approve new aid money for months despite a climbing infection count and signs of a slowing economic recovery. Democrats have accused the White House of failing to grasp the gravity of the crisis, while Republicans have argued that Pelosi refuses to compromise.
Democrats and the White House have most recently proposed $2.2 trillion and $1.9 trillion relief packages, respectively. Despite the similar target price tags for legislation, the sides still have not resolved disputes over testing, extra unemployment insurance, state and local government relief and liability protections for businesses, among other issues.
The GOP-held Senate, meanwhile, adjourned until after the election following Monday's vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. In an attempt to show they could balance both issues, Republicans tried to advance their roughly $500 billion aid proposal last week. Democrats blocked it, calling the plan inadequate.
Congressional committee chairs have recently worked to start writing potential legislation. But lawmakers have not been particularly optimistic about the prospects of an agreement soon.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Richard Shelby, R-Ala., has told reporters in recent days that chances of a relief deal before the election are slim.
Crafting legislation that can pass both the Democratic-held House and GOP-controlled Senate in the lame-duck session before winners take office in January could prove challenging. Republicans have opposed spending trillions more on the virus response, while Democrats want a sweeping package to root out the pandemic and the accompanying economic damage.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump continues to downplay the severity of the pandemic despite a single-day record of more than 80,000 new cases on Friday. In a tweet Monday, he called the staggering number of infections a "Fake News Media Conspiracy."
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cnbc--2020-10-27--Alabama Senate race offers GOP its best chance to gain a seat as Democrat Doug Jones battles Tommy T

Alabama Senate race offers GOP its best chance to gain a seat as Democrat Doug Jones battles Tommy Tuberville

Sen. Doug Jones caught the political equivalent of lightning in a jar when he managed to win a special election as a Democrat in Alabama in 2017 despite years of Republican dominance in statewide elected offices and despite President Donald Trump 's popularity there .
But Jones now might have to snag a second bolt of lightning if the former federal prosecutor has a hope of retaining the seat that he has held for less than three years out of one of the nation 's reddest red states .
Jones , 66 , is facing a tough reelection battle against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Republican nominee .
Tuberville 's challenge is so strong that out of the 12 Senate seats held by incumbent Democrats that are at stake in this year 's election , only Jones ' seat is considered likely to flip to the GOP by political analysts .
The GOP , which holds a 53-47 edge in the chamber , is defending 23 seats , with a number of them considered at risk .
Tuberville lacks elected government experience and is making his first foray into electoral politics .
But instead of aggressively engaging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ low-key campaign more typically suited to an incumbent who expects to win .
He has refused to debate Jones , just as he would not debate his GOP primary runoff opponent , Jeff Sessions .
`` It 's like a prize fight where the other guy is swinging wildly to get back in it , but the other guy just keeps backing away , '' said David Mowery , an Alabama political consultant and head of Mowery Consulting Group .
Mowery said that Tuberville 's campaign leaders `` do n't want him to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stuff he does n't need to talk about . ''
Tuberville might more than make up for his lack of political experience in widespread name recognition in Alabama , having previously served as head coach of Auburn University 's football team from 1999 through 2008 .
In the football-mad state the designations of `` Republican '' and `` Democrat '' might matter less than that of being a fan of Auburn or of the University of Alabama 's Crimson Tide .
Auburn beat Alabama a whopping six consecutive times during Tuberville 's tenure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as head coach of the University of Mississippi and then at Texas Tech and the University of Cincinnati .
`` That 's Celebrity 101 , being a football coach '' in Alabama , said Angie Maxwell , director of the Diane Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society and an associate professor of political science at the University of Arkansas .
Tuberville , 66 , also has aligned himself in lockstep with Trump on policy issues — the would-be senator 's campaign did not point to one difference he has with the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` His entire candidacy is prefaced on just supporting what the president does , '' Mowery said .
And in Alabama , Trump holds a whopping average 15-percentage-point lead over former Vice President Joe Biden , the Democratic presidential nominee , according to a recent Real Clear Politics review of polls .
In the 2016 presidential race Trump beat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by more than 62 % to 34 % in the state .
Given that , and given Jones ' vote for Trump 's conviction during a Senate trial after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it might be no surprise if Tuberville was also up by double digits over Jones .
And polls have mainly suggested that is the case .
An Auburn University survey released in early October showed a 12-point lead for Tuberville .
Tuberville 's campaign believes that the numbers reflect the idea that Alabama voters want someone who is closely aligned with Trump and who would support the president 's judicial appointments , as opposed to Jones , who voted against the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh .
`` What I 've @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jones can run the perfect race and still lose by 5 to 7 [ percentage points ] just because the fundamentals of our electorate are so tilted to the Republicans both by attitude and by ... straight-ticket voting , '' said Mowery .
Mowery noted that Alabama ballots allow a voter to fill in a single bubble to cast votes for all of a single party 's candidates , and the percentage of voters who do so in the heavily Republican state is more than 60 % .
`` That 's the biggest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mowery said , referring to the incumbent 's need to get a significant number of votes from Republicans .
`` He has to convince people who are Republicans to go in and vote for the Republican ticket and then go down the ballot and say , ' I 'm going to vote for Doug . '
'' Mowery said .
`` It 's just very hard to do . ''
`` You have to convince somewhere between 350,000 and 500,000 people to do that . ''
Before Jones , the last Democrat elected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Howell Heflin , who retired in 1997 after serving three terms .
Richard Shelby , the other senator from the state , was elected as a Democrat in 1986 but switched to the GOP in 1994 .
Mowery also said that as of a week away from Election Day , he has not seen any evidence of a major influx of outside money flowing into the state at the last minute to either save Jones or boost Tuberville .
Not that Jones ' polling challenges seem to be for lack of money .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to recent data from the Center for Responsive Politics .
As of eight days out from Election Day , Jones ' campaign has raised $ 26.4 million , compared with just $ 7.4 million by Tuberville , a margin of more than 3-to-1 , the CRP data shows .
And Jones ' campaign has spent $ 24.5 million versus the $ 5.9 million spent by Tuberville , a margin of more than 4-to-1 .
Analysts said that Jones has room to pick up some more ground on Tuberville among Alabama voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ catches some luck at the same time , he has a chance to pull off a second electoral shocker .
The first shocker in 2017 was set in motion by Trump , after the newly elected president appointed then-Sen. Jeff Sessions as his first attorney general .
Then-Alabama Gov .
Robert Bentley appointed state Attorney General Luther Strange to replace Sessions until a special election was held .
Jones , then a lawyer in private practice , announced his intention to contest for the seat .
Jones previously had served as the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He was best known in that role for winning convictions of two Ku Klux Klansmen for the notorious 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church that killed four Black girls , a seminal event in the civil rights era .
Despite being endorsed by Trump , who also campaigned for him , Strange finished second in a Republican primary to the controversial former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore , who beat him in a runoff .
Moore then snagged Trump 's endorsement for the election against Jones .
But the race @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Washington Post report about women who said Moore had pursued relationships with them when they were in their teens and he was in his 30s .
One of those women was 14 years old at the time .
While Moore denied the allegations , his candidacy was damaged , and a number of prominent Republicans nationally abandoned their support of him .
Even with that , Jones just barely won the special election , notching 49.9 % of the votes cast against 48.34 % for Moore .
The razor-thin margin instantly made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republicans , who saw his win as a fluke against a flawed candidate in a state that last had a Democratic senator in 2008 .
In August 2018 , less than a year after Jones ' victory , Tuberville moved to Alabama from Florida as he weighed what became his ultimate decision to run for the Senate .
`` I want to help Donald Trump and you get this mess straightened out , '' Tuberville said during an appearance in 2019 , where he argued that the United States was suffering from a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I 'm going to do that , '' Tuberville said .
`` But we 've got to put Jesus and God before everything else .
And if we do n't do that we 're going to be brought down to our knees again . ''
Moore also entered the Republican primary .
And so did Sessions , who had gone from being U.S. attorney general to being one of Trump 's favorite whipping boys , even before he resigned under pressure from the president less than 24 hours after the midterm elections in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years for recusing himself from the Justice Department 's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election .
Sessions ' recusal ended up triggering the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller , whose investigation has continued to infuriate Trump long after it ended .
In the Republican primary , Tuberville edged out Sessions — with Moore running a very distant fourth place .
But the former coach failed to win a majority of the votes , which forced a runoff with Sessions .
Trump , who had not endorsed anyone in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tuberville .
The president , in a tweet , called Sessions `` a disaster who has let us all down , '' adding , `` We do n't want him back in Washington ! ''
Tuberville demolished Sessions in the July runoff , beating the former senator by more than 20 percentage points .
Since then , Tuberville has continued hammering away at his conservative platform .
`` I 'm for guns , our Second Amendment , '' Tuberville said during a campaign stop in Red Bay , Alabama , in late September @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I 'm for religious freedom .
Do n't tell me where to go and when I ca n't go to church .
We 've got to get God back in our schools , folks . ''
And Tuberville said , `` I 'm for conservative , Christian judges .
We 've got one we 're fixing to put in , '' a reference to Trump 's recent nominee for the Supreme Court , Judge Amy Coney Barrett .
Tuberville also has called for repeal of the Affordable Care Act , the health-care law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ACA , along with other traditional Democratic policies .
But he also has said he would not be a `` rubber stamp '' for Biden if they both are elected in November .
There has been recent speculation that if Biden won and Jones lost , Biden would appoint Jones U.S. attorney general .
Jones last week brushed aside that speculation .
`` I think the people of Alabama would prefer to have a voice like mine in the Senate as well , '' Jones told reporters .
`` If Joe Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely to be , ( Biden ) would rather have me in the United States Senate , '' Jones said .
`` He knows my voice in the U.S. Senate is important in pulling people together .
He knows those areas where we agree and disagree and that I can help pull people from the Republican side and from the left in the Democratic Party to get things done . ''
Maxwell , the University of Arkansas political science professor , said `` my gut '' is that Tuberville holds a lead of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jones .
`` Can [ Jones ] close the gap ?
I do n't know , '' Maxwell said .
But she said there was one way that he could increase his chances of doing so : `` If you have Obama-level turnout of African-Americans . ''
Specifically , Maxwell said , Jones needs to get more Black men supporting him in this election than he did in 2017 .
She noted that Black women turned out extremely strong for Jones in the special election where he beat Moore , so much so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` They were his largest group of voters , period , '' despite the fact that Blacks overall comprise just around 27 % of the state 's population , Maxwell said .
About 98 % of Black women who voted in the special election voted for Jones .
Black men overwhelmingly voted for him as well , but by 6 percentage points fewer than Black women .
Even with more Black voters , Jones would need help on several other fronts , Maxwell said .
One area is with voters who tend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office .
`` Incumbency is usually worth a couple of points , '' she said .
Another area where Jones might be able to pick up some votes is among white women who would normally vote for a Republican .
Maxwell said the Covid-19 pandemic `` is wearing on parents in general '' but particularly among mothers .
Exasperation with the persistence of coronavirus during Trump 's tenure could push some of those women to vote for Jones , she suggested .
The pandemic also could help Jones in another way , by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voters effectively voting early by casting absentee ballots .
Alabama does not technically allow early , in-person voting , as a number of other states do , particularly in light of concerns about the virus .
But Alabama loosened restrictions on the requirements for getting an absentee ballot this year , allowing people that ballot if they are worried about the danger of coronavirus by going to vote in person on Election Day .
Before this year , people had to swear that they would not be physically in their town during Election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or had to work during voting hours .
As of last week , 145,000 absentee votes had already been either mailed in or dropped off in person in Alabama , according to state officials .
That shattered , by more than 45,000 votes , the prior record for absentee ballots for an entire election cycle .
Another 70,000 absentee ballots that were requested by voters have not yet been sent back , Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill told the Associated Press .
Maxwell noted that `` we do n't know the partisan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But , `` nationally , it 's definitely higher among Democrats , '' she said .
Conversely , she said , if coronavirus concerns depress turnout on Election Day among Republican voters , along with the fact that some people might think there is no need to vote for Trump because of his near certainty in winning the state , that could benefit Jones .
'He 's still likely to lose' David Lublin , professor and chair of the Department of Government at American University 's School of Public Affairs , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ... frankly , he 's making it closer than it ought to be '' given the political landscape in Alabama .
`` He can do everything right , he can run a great campaign , and he 's still likely to lose , '' Lublin said .
Lublin said a major problem for Jones is that `` the demographic changes that are benefiting Democrats elsewhere '' in the South `` are happening to a lesser extent in Alabama . ''
He said that Alabama is not growing at the same fast rate as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They 've not had that massive wave of suburbanization , '' Lublin said .
He contrasted Jones with Jaime Harrison , the Democratic nominee for the Senate in South Carolina , who is threatening to unseat the Republican incumbent , Sen. Lindsay Graham .
`` What 's going to happen in South Carolina ... is what happened earlier in North Carolina and Virginia , '' Lublin said .
`` You see the growth of a lot of suburban whites '' who tend to vote Republican at a lower rate than rural whites , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't as much of that change in the electorate in Alabama , '' he said .
`` It is hard to see '' Jones winning `` unless there 's massive Black turnout and white turnout is low , '' Lublin said .
Lublin noted that Jones had `` barely beat '' a tainted Moore and is now facing a challenger who does not have Moore 's baggage .
Maxwell said that even if Jones does lose , he could help Democrats in the long term by making the race close .
`` If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a general election cycle when he is running against a football coach with all the name recognition in the world , that 's still a pretty good story , '' Maxwell said .
Such an outcome `` would show it 's theoretically doable '' for a Democrat to win a general election in Alabama , she said .

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Tommy Tuberville and Doug Jones Getty Images
Sen. Doug Jones caught the political equivalent of lightning in a jar when he managed to win a special election as a Democrat in Alabama in 2017 despite years of Republican dominance in statewide elected offices and despite President Donald Trump's popularity there. But Jones now might have to snag a second bolt of lightning if the former federal prosecutor has a hope of retaining the seat that he has held for less than three years out of one of the nation's reddest red states. Jones, 66, is facing a tough reelection battle against former college football coach Tommy Tuberville, the Republican nominee. Tuberville's challenge is so strong that out of the 12 Senate seats held by incumbent Democrats that are at stake in this year's election, only Jones' seat is considered likely to flip to the GOP by political analysts. The GOP, which holds a 53-47 edge in the chamber, is defending 23 seats, with a number of them considered at risk. Tuberville lacks elected government experience and is making his first foray into electoral politics. But instead of aggressively engaging with Jones, Tuberville has run a low-key campaign more typically suited to an incumbent who expects to win. He has refused to debate Jones, just as he would not debate his GOP primary runoff opponent, Jeff Sessions. "It's like a prize fight where the other guy is swinging wildly to get back in it, but the other guy just keeps backing away," said David Mowery, an Alabama political consultant and head of Mowery Consulting Group. Mowery said that Tuberville's campaign leaders "don't want him to get out over his skis talking about stuff he doesn't need to talk about." Tuberville might more than make up for his lack of political experience in widespread name recognition in Alabama, having previously served as head coach of Auburn University's football team from 1999 through 2008. In the football-mad state the designations of "Republican" and "Democrat" might matter less than that of being a fan of Auburn or of the University of Alabama's Crimson Tide. Auburn beat Alabama a whopping six consecutive times during Tuberville's tenure, which was bookended by his stints as head coach of the University of Mississippi and then at Texas Tech and the University of Cincinnati. "That's Celebrity 101, being a football coach" in Alabama, said Angie Maxwell, director of the Diane Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society and an associate professor of political science at the University of Arkansas.
Sticking with Trump
Tuberville, 66, also has aligned himself in lockstep with Trump on policy issues — the would-be senator's campaign did not point to one difference he has with the president with any issue when asked by CNBC. "His entire candidacy is prefaced on just supporting what the president does," Mowery said. And in Alabama, Trump holds a whopping average 15-percentage-point lead over former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, according to a recent Real Clear Politics review of polls. In the 2016 presidential race Trump beat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by more than 62% to 34% in the state. Given that, and given Jones' vote for Trump's conviction during a Senate trial after he was impeached by the House, it might be no surprise if Tuberville was also up by double digits over Jones. And polls have mainly suggested that is the case. An Auburn University survey released in early October showed a 12-point lead for Tuberville. Tuberville's campaign believes that the numbers reflect the idea that Alabama voters want someone who is closely aligned with Trump and who would support the president's judicial appointments, as opposed to Jones, who voted against the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. "What I've been telling folks down here is that Jones can run the perfect race and still lose by 5 to 7 [percentage points] just because the fundamentals of our electorate are so tilted to the Republicans both by attitude and by ... straight-ticket voting," said Mowery. Mowery noted that Alabama ballots allow a voter to fill in a single bubble to cast votes for all of a single party's candidates, and the percentage of voters who do so in the heavily Republican state is more than 60%. "That's the biggest problem for the Jones people," Mowery said, referring to the incumbent's need to get a significant number of votes from Republicans. "He has to convince people who are Republicans to go in and vote for the Republican ticket and then go down the ballot and say, 'I'm going to vote for Doug.'" Mowery said. "It's just very hard to do." "You have to convince somewhere between 350,000 and 500,000 people to do that." Before Jones, the last Democrat elected to an Alabama U.S. Senate seat was Howell Heflin, who retired in 1997 after serving three terms. Richard Shelby, the other senator from the state, was elected as a Democrat in 1986 but switched to the GOP in 1994. Mowery also said that as of a week away from Election Day, he has not seen any evidence of a major influx of outside money flowing into the state at the last minute to either save Jones or boost Tuberville. Not that Jones' polling challenges seem to be for lack of money. Jones has dramatically outraised and outspent Tuberville, according to recent data from the Center for Responsive Politics. As of eight days out from Election Day, Jones' campaign has raised $26.4 million, compared with just $7.4 million by Tuberville, a margin of more than 3-to-1, the CRP data shows. And Jones' campaign has spent $24.5 million versus the $5.9 million spent by Tuberville, a margin of more than 4-to-1.
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Jones' hopes
A shocking result
Analysts said that Jones has room to pick up some more ground on Tuberville among Alabama voters. If he does so, and catches some luck at the same time, he has a chance to pull off a second electoral shocker. The first shocker in 2017 was set in motion by Trump, after the newly elected president appointed then-Sen. Jeff Sessions as his first attorney general. Then-Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley appointed state Attorney General Luther Strange to replace Sessions until a special election was held. Jones, then a lawyer in private practice, announced his intention to contest for the seat. Jones previously had served as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. He was best known in that role for winning convictions of two Ku Klux Klansmen for the notorious 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church that killed four Black girls, a seminal event in the civil rights era. Despite being endorsed by Trump, who also campaigned for him, Strange finished second in a Republican primary to the controversial former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who beat him in a runoff. Moore then snagged Trump's endorsement for the election against Jones. But the race was rocked weeks before the election by a Washington Post report about women who said Moore had pursued relationships with them when they were in their teens and he was in his 30s. One of those women was 14 years old at the time. While Moore denied the allegations, his candidacy was damaged, and a number of prominent Republicans nationally abandoned their support of him. Even with that, Jones just barely won the special election, notching 49.9% of the votes cast against 48.34% for Moore. The razor-thin margin instantly made Jones a top Senate pick-off target for Republicans, who saw his win as a fluke against a flawed candidate in a state that last had a Democratic senator in 2008.
Tuberville moves in
In August 2018, less than a year after Jones' victory, Tuberville moved to Alabama from Florida as he weighed what became his ultimate decision to run for the Senate. "I want to help Donald Trump and you get this mess straightened out," Tuberville said during an appearance in 2019, where he argued that the United States was suffering from a decline in moral values. "And I'm going to do that," Tuberville said. "But we've got to put Jesus and God before everything else. And if we don't do that we're going to be brought down to our knees again." Moore also entered the Republican primary. And so did Sessions, who had gone from being U.S. attorney general to being one of Trump's favorite whipping boys, even before he resigned under pressure from the president less than 24 hours after the midterm elections in 2018. Trump has blasted Sessions for years for recusing himself from the Justice Department's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Sessions' recusal ended up triggering the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, whose investigation has continued to infuriate Trump long after it ended. In the Republican primary, Tuberville edged out Sessions — with Moore running a very distant fourth place. But the former coach failed to win a majority of the votes, which forced a runoff with Sessions. Trump, who had not endorsed anyone in the primary, then came out hard for Tuberville. The president, in a tweet, called Sessions "a disaster who has let us all down," adding, "We don't want him back in Washington!" Tuberville demolished Sessions in the July runoff, beating the former senator by more than 20 percentage points. Since then, Tuberville has continued hammering away at his conservative platform. "I'm for guns, our Second Amendment," Tuberville said during a campaign stop in Red Bay, Alabama, in late September. "I'm against abortion. I'm for religious freedom. Don't tell me where to go and when I can't go to church. We've got to get God back in our schools, folks." And Tuberville said, "I'm for conservative, Christian judges. We've got one we're fixing to put in," a reference to Trump's recent nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Tuberville also has called for repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the health-care law popularly known as Obamacare.
Jones' campaign
Jones supports the ACA, along with other traditional Democratic policies. But he also has said he would not be a "rubber stamp" for Biden if they both are elected in November. There has been recent speculation that if Biden won and Jones lost, Biden would appoint Jones U.S. attorney general. Jones last week brushed aside that speculation. "I think the people of Alabama would prefer to have a voice like mine in the Senate as well," Jones told reporters. "If Joe Biden is elected president, and he is likely to be, (Biden) would rather have me in the United States Senate," Jones said. "He knows my voice in the U.S. Senate is important in pulling people together. He knows those areas where we agree and disagree and that I can help pull people from the Republican side and from the left in the Democratic Party to get things done."
Race and Alabama
Maxwell, the University of Arkansas political science professor, said "my gut" is that Tuberville holds a lead of around 8 or 9 percentage points over Jones. "Can [Jones] close the gap? I don't know," Maxwell said. But she said there was one way that he could increase his chances of doing so: "If you have Obama-level turnout of African-Americans." Specifically, Maxwell said, Jones needs to get more Black men supporting him in this election than he did in 2017. She noted that Black women turned out extremely strong for Jones in the special election where he beat Moore, so much so that they provided his margin of victory. "They were his largest group of voters, period," despite the fact that Blacks overall comprise just around 27% of the state's population, Maxwell said. About 98% of Black women who voted in the special election voted for Jones. Black men overwhelmingly voted for him as well, but by 6 percentage points fewer than Black women. Even with more Black voters, Jones would need help on several other fronts, Maxwell said. One area is with voters who tend to vote for whoever already is in office. "Incumbency is usually worth a couple of points," she said.
The Covid-19 factor
Another area where Jones might be able to pick up some votes is among white women who would normally vote for a Republican. Maxwell said the Covid-19 pandemic "is wearing on parents in general" but particularly among mothers. Exasperation with the persistence of coronavirus during Trump's tenure could push some of those women to vote for Jones, she suggested. The pandemic also could help Jones in another way, by sparking an explosion in the number of voters effectively voting early by casting absentee ballots. Alabama does not technically allow early, in-person voting, as a number of other states do, particularly in light of concerns about the virus. But Alabama loosened restrictions on the requirements for getting an absentee ballot this year, allowing people that ballot if they are worried about the danger of coronavirus by going to vote in person on Election Day. Before this year, people had to swear that they would not be physically in their town during Election Day, or that they were sick or had to work during voting hours. As of last week, 145,000 absentee votes had already been either mailed in or dropped off in person in Alabama, according to state officials. That shattered, by more than 45,000 votes, the prior record for absentee ballots for an entire election cycle. Another 70,000 absentee ballots that were requested by voters have not yet been sent back, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill told the Associated Press. Maxwell noted that "we don't know the partisan breakdown" of the absentee ballot voters. But, "nationally, it's definitely higher among Democrats," she said. Conversely, she said, if coronavirus concerns depress turnout on Election Day among Republican voters, along with the fact that some people might think there is no need to vote for Trump because of his near certainty in winning the state, that could benefit Jones.
'He's still likely to lose'


cnbc--2020-10-27--Coronavirus cases surge in swing states as early voting kicks into high gear

But the highly contagious coronavirus , a central issue of the 2020 campaign , is also on the rise in some key swing states where in-person voter participation is highest .
President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden have one week left until Election Day , and early voting is in full swing in dozens of states .
Turnout levels are breaking records : More than 69 million Americans have already voted , over half the total of all voters in 2016 .
Roughly one-third of early voters this year did so in person .
Coronavirus cases are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the presidential election , just as voters cast their ballots in droves .
Among the most hotly contested swing states , Wisconsin is facing the largest increase in cases and deaths .
In the past week , the Badger State reported a proportionally higher number of cases than nearly anywhere else in the country , except for in North Dakota and South Dakota , according to the CDC .
The latest wave of cases appears to be crashing hardest over states in the West and the Midwest , according to data from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Johns Hopkins and the Covid Tracking Project .
The United States , which has reported more cases and deaths from Covid-19 than any other country , is now in the midst of its third surge in cases since the pandemic began earlier this year .
More than 8.7 million cases and at least 225,739 deaths from the virus have been tallied in the U.S. , data from Johns Hopkins University show .
`` We 've been preparing for this for months , '' Reid Magney , a spokesman for the Wisconsin Elections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with CNBC .
Wisconsin has applied numerous safety measures to its voting processes .
Poll workers are outfitted with masks and face shields , and they are required to regularly sanitize pens , touch screens and other surfaces .
Voters are offered hand sanitizer at intervals , and painter 's tape is used at polling locations to mark where voters should stand in line .
But Magney noted that voters can not be forced to wear face coverings at the polls , per state laws .
He suggested that people may be contracting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ following the things that are recommended by the CDC . ''
`` Certainly anybody would have concern for the rise in cases , '' Magney said , but `` we do n't believe that it will impact the election itself . ''
Trump , who in 2016 narrowly beat then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin , traveled to the state Tuesday to host a large , in-person campaign rally .
Health experts , including those in his own administration , have warned that the events could greatly increase the spread of the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign trail earlier this month after revealing he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for Covid-19 .
But he has since resumed a busy travel schedule in an effort to catch up to Biden , who has maintained his lead in the national polls .
Biden 's campaign has been careful to comply with the social distancing guidelines recommended by the CDC and other health experts .
The former vice president has traveled less and hosted relatively few in-person events , none of which allowed for large crowds to gather , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump 's campaign , meanwhile , has disregarded some of those guidelines with regard to the rallies .
While masks have been provided to attendees , swaths of the tightly packed crowds at the events have refused to wear them .
At the same time , Trump has mocked Biden for speaking to smaller numbers of people , contrasting the images from their respective campaign events as evidence that the Democratic nominee is failing to drum up enthusiasm .
The president has also complained in recent days that too much attention has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media , and he has suggested that the focus on the pandemic is politically motivated .
Numerous states have expanded mail-in voting access in order to allow people to cast their ballots without fear of contracting the virus while standing in a long line .
The president has repeatedly claimed , without evidence , that such rules will lead to widespread voter fraud .
His campaign is encouraging Americans to vote in person .
Trump has also claimed that the recent rise in Covid-19 cases is merely due to an increase in tests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ true : Cases have risen this month even when testing rates have slightly dipped .
The United States in mid-October recorded the highest number of hospitalizations in nearly two months , according to the Covid Tracking Project .

But the highly contagious coronavirus , a central issue of the 2020 campaign, is also on the rise in some key swing states where in-person voter participation is highest .
President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden have one week left until Election Day, and early voting is in full swing in dozens of states. Turnout levels are breaking records: More than 69 million Americans have already voted , over half the total of all voters in 2016. Roughly one-third of early voters this year did so in person.
Coronavirus cases are spiking in the most fiercely contested battlegrounds of the presidential election, just as voters cast their ballots in droves.
Among the most hotly contested swing states, Wisconsin is facing the largest increase in cases and deaths. In the past week, the Badger State reported a proportionally higher number of cases than nearly anywhere else in the country, except for in North Dakota and South Dakota, according to the CDC.
The latest wave of cases appears to be crashing hardest over states in the West and the Midwest, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Johns Hopkins and the Covid Tracking Project.
The United States, which has reported more cases and deaths from Covid-19 than any other country, is now in the midst of its third surge in cases since the pandemic began earlier this year. More than 8.7 million cases and at least 225,739 deaths from the virus have been tallied in the U.S., data from Johns Hopkins University show.
"We've been preparing for this for months," Reid Magney, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said in a phone call with CNBC.
Wisconsin has applied numerous safety measures to its voting processes. Poll workers are outfitted with masks and face shields, and they are required to regularly sanitize pens, touch screens and other surfaces. Voters are offered hand sanitizer at intervals, and painter's tape is used at polling locations to mark where voters should stand in line.
But Magney noted that voters cannot be forced to wear face coverings at the polls, per state laws. He suggested that people may be contracting the virus "because they're not following the things that are recommended by the CDC."
"Certainly anybody would have concern for the rise in cases," Magney said, but "we don't believe that it will impact the election itself."
Trump, who in 2016 narrowly beat then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin, traveled to the state Tuesday to host a large, in-person campaign rally. Health experts, including those in his own administration, have warned that the events could greatly increase the spread of the virus.
The president was taken off the campaign trail earlier this month after revealing he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for Covid-19. But he has since resumed a busy travel schedule in an effort to catch up to Biden, who has maintained his lead in the national polls.
Biden's campaign has been careful to comply with the social distancing guidelines recommended by the CDC and other health experts. The former vice president has traveled less and hosted relatively few in-person events, none of which allowed for large crowds to gather, in the final days of the campaign.
Trump's campaign, meanwhile, has disregarded some of those guidelines with regard to the rallies. While masks have been provided to attendees, swaths of the tightly packed crowds at the events have refused to wear them.
At the same time, Trump has mocked Biden for speaking to smaller numbers of people, contrasting the images from their respective campaign events as evidence that the Democratic nominee is failing to drum up enthusiasm.
The president has also complained in recent days that too much attention has been paid to the coronavirus by the media, and he has suggested that the focus on the pandemic is politically motivated.
Numerous states have expanded mail-in voting access in order to allow people to cast their ballots without fear of contracting the virus while standing in a long line. The president has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that such rules will lead to widespread voter fraud. His campaign is encouraging Americans to vote in person.
Trump has also claimed that the recent rise in Covid-19 cases is merely due to an increase in tests being performed. But that's not true: Cases have risen this month even when testing rates have slightly dipped. The United States in mid-October recorded the highest number of hospitalizations in nearly two months, according to the Covid Tracking Project.


cnbc--2020-10-27--Early voting hits 50% of total U.S. ballots cast in 2016

Voters in Virginia 's 7th district wait in line to vote at the Henrico County Registrar ’ s office September 18 , 2020 in Henrico , Virginia .
`` There were many concerns about election officials ' ability to conduct an election during a pandemic .
Not only are people voting , but they are voting over a longer period of time , thereby spreading out the workload of election officials , '' McDonald wrote on the project 's website .
That 's good news , according to U.S .
Elections Project director and University of Florida professor Michael McDonald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surpassed the 58 million mail-in or in-person early votes cast in 2016 , based on Associated Press totals , and reached over 50 % of the more than 136 million total ballots cast in the 2016 presidential election .
A record number of voters have already cast their ballots in the race between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden as the coronavirus pandemic has created an unprecedented demand for mail-in and in-person early voting .
More than 69 million Americans have voted in the 2020 presidential election with one week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to U.S .
Elections Project data released Tuesday afternoon .
Democrats still lead Republicans in mail voting for states that report party data , but GOP voters have surpassed Democrats in ballots cast in person .
Of the more than 26 million returned mail ballots tracked by the U.S .
Elections Project , registered Democrats have sent in 51.3 % , compared with 25.5 % from Republicans .
Of over 7.4 million in-person votes with party affiliation reported , Republicans lead with 41.7 % over Democrats ' 36.9 % .
Republicans are hoping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats ' mail voting advantage .
`` There is still some play left in the in-person early vote , but time is starting to run short such that Republicans will need to rely heavily on Election Day vote , which has traditionally been a strong day of voting for Republicans in recent elections , '' McDonald wrote .
As deadlines for absentee ballots draw near , over 30 million requested mail ballots have not been returned , including over 11 million from registered Democrats , the project reports .
Texas continues to lead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million votes as of Tuesday morning — 86.9 % of the state 's total turnout in 2016 .
Since the last presidential election , Texas has gained about 1.9 million more registered voters , according to The Texas Tribune .
The state does not report party affiliation at this stage , but polls are suggesting the Republican stronghold may be a battleground in 2020 .
Real Clear Politics ' polling average gives Trump a lead of 3.2 percentage points over Biden .
In 2016 , Trump won Texas over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida has also seen high levels of voting .
More than 6.4 million residents have cast a ballot in the Sunshine State , which began in-person early voting in some counties Oct. 19 .
Republicans lead in-person votes with 46.4 % to Democrats ' 34.0 % , while Democrats lead mail ballots with 46.8 % to Republicans ' 31.0 % .
The president himself voted in West Palm Beach on Saturday .
In North Carolina , voters are casting far more ballots in person than by mail .
The state uses a `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eligible North Carolinians to register and vote at the same time .
More than 2.6 million residents have voted in person , while 804,812 have voted by mail , according to data from state election officials .
Democrats lead Republicans in both in-person and mail-in voting in the state .
With Election Day approaching , young voters will be another group to watch at the ballot box .
Data suggests young people will turn out in record numbers this year and could potentially swing toss-up races in favor of Democrats .
A national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ released Monday by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School found Biden leads Trump 63 % to 25 % among young voters most likely to vote .
As of last Wednesday , more than 3 million voters ages 18 to 29 have already cast their ballot in the 2020 elections , according to data from Tufts University .
The number of young voters has far outpaced that of 2016 , but experts say young people are more likely to vote in person and later in the election season .
`` We 're @ @ @ @ @ @ @ youth vote yet .
I think you 'll still see that on the Election Day , '' said Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg , director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement , or CIRCLE , at Tufts University .
Many variables remain unknown in the countdown to Nov. 3 .
Coronavirus surges , bad weather and long lines can all impact Election Day turnout .

Voters in Virginia's 7th district wait in line to vote at the Henrico County Registrar’s office September 18, 2020 in Henrico, Virginia.
"There were many concerns about election officials' ability to conduct an election during a pandemic. Not only are people voting, but they are voting over a longer period of time, thereby spreading out the workload of election officials," McDonald wrote on the project's website.
That's good news, according to U.S. Elections Project director and University of Florida professor Michael McDonald.
Early voting in 2020 has now surpassed the 58 million mail-in or in-person early votes cast in 2016, based on Associated Press totals , and reached over 50% of the more than 136 million total ballots cast in the 2016 presidential election.
A record number of voters have already cast their ballots in the race between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden as the coronavirus pandemic has created an unprecedented demand for mail-in and in-person early voting.
More than 69 million Americans have voted in the 2020 presidential election with one week to go until Election Day, according to U.S. Elections Project data released Tuesday afternoon.
Democrats still lead Republicans in mail voting for states that report party data, but GOP voters have surpassed Democrats in ballots cast in person. Of the more than 26 million returned mail ballots tracked by the U.S. Elections Project, registered Democrats have sent in 51.3%, compared with 25.5% from Republicans. Of over 7.4 million in-person votes with party affiliation reported, Republicans lead with 41.7% over Democrats' 36.9%.
Republicans are hoping strong turnout in person can make up Democrats' mail voting advantage.
"There is still some play left in the in-person early vote, but time is starting to run short such that Republicans will need to rely heavily on Election Day vote, which has traditionally been a strong day of voting for Republicans in recent elections," McDonald wrote.
As deadlines for absentee ballots draw near, over 30 million requested mail ballots have not been returned, including over 11 million from registered Democrats, the project reports.
Texas continues to lead all early voting with a whopping 7.8 million votes as of Tuesday morning — 86.9% of the state's total turnout in 2016. Since the last presidential election, Texas has gained about 1.9 million more registered voters, according to The Texas Tribune.
The state does not report party affiliation at this stage, but polls are suggesting the Republican stronghold may be a battleground in 2020. Real Clear Politics' polling average gives Trump a lead of 3.2 percentage points over Biden. In 2016, Trump won Texas over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by 9 points.
Crucial battleground state Florida has also seen high levels of voting. More than 6.4 million residents have cast a ballot in the Sunshine State, which began in-person early voting in some counties Oct. 19. Republicans lead in-person votes with 46.4% to Democrats' 34.0%, while Democrats lead mail ballots with 46.8% to Republicans' 31.0%. The president himself voted in West Palm Beach on Saturday.
In North Carolina, voters are casting far more ballots in person than by mail. The state uses a "one-stop" early voting model that allows eligible North Carolinians to register and vote at the same time. More than 2.6 million residents have voted in person, while 804,812 have voted by mail, according to data from state election officials. Democrats lead Republicans in both in-person and mail-in voting in the state.
With Election Day approaching, young voters will be another group to watch at the ballot box. Data suggests young people will turn out in record numbers this year and could potentially swing toss-up races in favor of Democrats.
A national poll of Americans ages 18 to 29 released Monday by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School found Biden leads Trump 63% to 25% among young voters most likely to vote.
As of last Wednesday, more than 3 million voters ages 18 to 29 have already cast their ballot in the 2020 elections, according to data from Tufts University. The number of young voters has far outpaced that of 2016, but experts say young people are more likely to vote in person and later in the election season.
"We're probably not seeing the greatest impacts of youth vote yet. I think you'll still see that on the Election Day," said Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or CIRCLE, at Tufts University.
Many variables remain unknown in the countdown to Nov. 3. Coronavirus surges, bad weather and long lines can all impact Election Day turnout.