Today’s notice: Messaging check-in. Democrats court the young men electorate. And: Parents of young children in Congress say they need help.
THE LATEST
The Epstein longtail: Last year, when Democrats were first laser-focused on the Jeffrey Epstein story, many party strategists behind the scenes said it was a brief moment in time — it’s not like we’re gonna be running ads about this, they’d say. But the issue has had longer legs than anyone expected. And now Epstein is a big part of the final messaging push in several Democratic races — the Senate Majority PAC is running one in Alaska, the Democratic nominee is on air with one in Kansas and House Democrats’ campaign arm has Epstein’s face in an ad in Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District.
The Epstein spots are about painting Republicans as way out of touch with the electorate. “This really has been the central message of ours since day one,” a Democratic strategist familiar with House races told The Washington Sun’s Manuela Silva recently. “You saw that start to gain ground early on in this cycle with Democrats talking about how Republicans have broken their promise to voters.”
Trending
Welcome back to Sprint Week, where we’re examining the big questions in the final month before the midterms. Today, let’s talk about closing arguments. Last night in Nebraska, Donald Trump took to the stage to deliver an 81-minute version of his party’s final message. He announced a new plan on diesel fuel, but the overall talking points haven’t changed much since the Republican midterm convention around Labor Day: Trump asked the farm-state crowd to vote like he was on the ballot and again promised to put cold, hard cash in Americans’ pockets if Republicans win. The Sun’s Kadia Goba traveled with the president to Grand Island, Nebraska, and found some skepticism toward his second term even in that audience.
“I don’t care either way if they take illegal people or not,” Yvonne Mora, 66, told Kadia. “They should come here legally, just like we would have to if we went to their country. But one thing’s for sure, I think ICE should definitely not beat them or Taser them and treat them like animals if they are not resisting.” Voters like Mora are why Republican candidates are increasingly trying to change the subject to a Democrats are dangerous and crazy closing message instead.
But the circumstances of this election make that tough. Ad spending tracked by environmental advocacy group Climate Power shows how increasing utility costs have fueled a recent boom in spending around the topic. In the first quarter of the year,
$18.4 million in ads across the country focused on utility bills. The spending hit $138.5 million in the last quarter. Only around 5% of total ad spending is centered on utility costs, the group estimates, but that surge comes by and large from Democratic-affiliated groups. While Republicans are trying to talk about anything other than the economy of the moment, Democrats still have plenty to say.
More: Supreme Court Rejects a Last-Ditch Effort to Block the Paramount-Warner Merger • Trump Says He’ll Pay for Promotional Ads Instead of Taxpayers • NYT: Potential Iranian Drone Attack Led to Exit of U.S. Aircraft from British Air Base
FROM A POTENTIAL FUTURE
Democrats try to understand young men: Is there a world where young, disaffected men trust Democrats to solve their problems? The Sun’s Sam Fortier reports from the second annual Symposium on Young American Men in D.C. (top sponsors: fraternities). Trump made huge gains among young men in 2024, and Sam found a couple of Democrats trying to win them back — Rep. Ro Khanna of California and Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona — among the speakers at the conference. Sam spoke to them, and writes about the various efforts others Democrats have made to connect with the young guys in recent years.
It’s not a simple task, event organizer Ellen Carmichael told Sam. “The right should not take them for granted, and the left should not condescend or cosplay,” she said. “Who’s actually going to meaningfully care about these people as human beings?”
NEW ON THE WASHINGTON SUN
Members of Congress with young children believe more of them should be on the Hill but the way the job is structured makes that incredibly difficult, The Sun’s Oriana González reports. “This workplace doesn’t support me having a baby,” said Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-New Jersey), who gave birth last week. Data shows fathers to children under 18 are overrepresented in Congress: 15% of U.S. adults are fathers to young children, compared to 23% of members. Just 7% are mothers to minor children, compared to 18% of the overall U.S. adult population.
More: Trump Approves Firing Squad Execution for Fort Hood Shooter • Supreme Court Rejects Appeal Over School’s Ban on ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ Sweatshirts • MAHA Activists Feel Betrayed by the Farm Bill — And Their GOP Allies
NOT US
- The Mighty American Consumer Is Crashing Through Inflation and Driving Growth, by Jeanne Whalen and Matt Grossman for The Wall Street Journal
- Mayors Are Filming Videos, Mamdani-Style, With Varying Degrees of Cringe, by Julie Bosman for The New York Times
- Pentagon officials’ heated debates foreshadowed problems in Iran, by Dan Lamothe, Rachel Chason and Suzan Haidamous for The Washington Post
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The newsletter was produced by Thomas Burr and Andrew Burton.
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