01Race developments
DR In Maine, former Sen. Joe Manchin crossed party lines to endorse Sen. Susan Collins (R) over challenger Troy Jackson, calling her "the soul of the Senate" in a CNBC interview.
Portland Press Herald & The Hill, Sept 14 — pressherald.com
R Also in Maine: the National Federation of Independent Business endorsed Collins at a Naples campaign stop, citing her PPP-loan and constituent-service record. Collins confirmed she skipped Trump's Dallas midterm convention to keep local campaign events instead.
Maine Morning Star, Sept 14 — mainemorningstar.com
R In Georgia's Senate race, Gov. Brian Kemp formally endorsed Rep. Mike Collins over Sen. Jon Ossoff (D), and noted national Republicans had unsuccessfully tried to recruit Kemp himself for the race. Both campaigns confirmed for an Oct. 8 televised debate.
WRDW, Sept 14 — wrdw.com
D Ossoff and Collins held dueling events in the Athens area: Ossoff, joined by former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, cast his opponent as a "Trump puppet," while Collins toured a nursing program with Dr. Mehmet Oz.
WRDW, Sept 14 — wrdw.com
R Trump publicly reaffirmed his endorsement of Republican Darren Bailey against Gov. JB Pritzker (D) in Illinois — even as Bailey has been quietly distancing himself from Trump to court moderate suburban voters.
Chicago Sun-Times, Sept 14 — suntimes.com
D Trump traveled to Gastonia, NC on Sept 16 to rally for Senate nominee Michael Whatley, whom local coverage notes trails Roy Cooper (D) in both fundraising and polling.
WRAL, Sept 11 — wral.com
Arizona's two most competitive House seats sharpen: AZ-01 (Adam Feeley, R, vs. Amish Shah, D) and AZ-06 (Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R, vs. Kirsten Engel-successor Cesar Mendoza, D), both DCCC/NRCC top targets, following a Sept. 10 debate.
KOLD, Sept 14 — kold.com
02Polling & forecasts
R Cook Political Report moved New Hampshire's Senate race from Lean Democrat to Toss Up — the first ratings movement there since the race was set — citing recent general-election polling showing Republican John Sununu gaining on Rep. Chris Pappas (D). A GOP-aligned co/efficient poll (Sept 9–11, n=958) had them tied 46–46; a nonpartisan UNH poll in late August also showed the race tied.
Cook Political Report / Washington Examiner, Sept 15 — washingtonexaminer.com
03Election administration & security
The Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's request to lift lower-court injunctions blocking new USPS rules that would have required states to submit voter lists and use new tracking barcodes on mail-ballot envelopes. The majority left the injunctions in place; Justices Alito and Thomas dissented and would have granted the stay; Justice Kavanaugh concurred separately, saying there wasn't enough time to implement the change before the midterms regardless of the merits. Effect: mail-ballot handling proceeds unchanged for 2026.
NPR, Sept 14 — npr.org
Separately, the fight over DHS's "SAVE" voter-citizenship database (DHS v. League of Women Voters, No. 26A308) remains unresolved: the League of Women Voters coalition's opposition brief was due to Chief Justice Roberts by 4pm ET on Sept 15. As of this writing, no ruling, stay, or order has been reported by SCOTUS — still pending, worth checking again tomorrow.
SCOTUSblog / Law & Crime, Sept 8–9 (docket) — scotusblog.com