JAMES CARVILLE

Democrats predicted abortion would be Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s saving grace.

A dramatic family fight has clouded the GOP’s hopes in Georgia’s high-stakes Senate contest.

A new round of primary elections across the U.S. this week is exposing heightened tensions within the Democratic Party.

President Joe Biden is losing support among critical groups in his political base as a Democratic-controlled Washington struggles to deliver on core campaign promises.

Uncertainty lingers over LSU athletics as the Tigers football program concludes spring practice.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Democrats once dominated Koochiching County in the blue-collar Iron Range of northern Minnesota. But in this month's presidential election, President Donald Trump won it with 60% of the vote. Though Democrats’ rural woes aren’t new, they now heap pressure on Biden to begin reversing the trend. In clinging to their majority, House Democrats lost rural seats, notably the one held for 30 years by Rep. Collin Peterson in western Minnesota. For now, Democrats' future in rural America rests largely on how Biden is viewed there, Heitkamp said.

"It's the Trump factor," Nearmyer said about how Democrats lost House seats. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)MONROE, Iowa – This swath of southeast Iowa isn't supposed to be a nailbiter for Democrats. Instead, it appears Democrats made a serious miscalculation in assuming their antipathy toward Trump would fuel victories across the country. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which supports the party's House candidates, is beginning a “deep dive” examination into what happened. Voters for months watched Republican ads featuring unrest with narrators ominously attacking Democrats as anti-police, often with little response.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was also in the room, but not pictured, according to the White House. (Tia Dufour/The White House via AP)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s long-hidden tax returns leaked out. And even the first lady was captured on tape expressing disdain for having to decorate the White House for Christmas. Pence attended a Sept. 26 White House event where Trump announced his Supreme Court pick. Still, Zelizer said it would be premature to count Trump out, with a full month to go until Election Day.

Trump's reelection team, battered on all sides, now enters the final month of the campaign grappling with deficits in the polls, a shortage of cash and a candidate who is at least temporarily sidelined. Both heads of Trump’s political apparatus — campaign manager Bill Stepien and Republican National Committee head Ronna McDaniel — tested positive for COVID-19 this week. We have a month to go,” senior campaign adviser Jason Miller said Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press." “He’s losing, and the debate was a disaster, and the campaign is imploding,” said Republican strategist Steve Schmidt, a vocal Trump critic. Still, Zelizer said it would be premature to count Trump out, with a full month to go until Election Day.

FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, file photo President Donald Trump walks from Marine One to the White House in Washington as he returns from Minnesota. The Republican president has trailed Democratic challenger Joe Biden in polls for most of the year. Trumps approval ratings barely budge, consistently ranking him as among the weakest first-term presidents in living history. And for five consecutive months, no more than roughly 3 in 10 voters have believed the nation is moving in the right direction. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

The Republican president has trailed Democratic challenger Joe Biden in polls for most of the year. The Republican president has trailed Democratic challenger Joe Biden in polls for most of the year. Schmidt, co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, is no stranger to final-weeks political drama, having led John McCain’s presidential campaign in 2008. “You have an American president threatening political instability ... and at the same time making wild accusations and spreading conspiracy theories about the legitimacy of an American election,” Schmidt said. Amid legal and health concerns, it's difficult for pollsters and campaigns to predict how many voters will ultimately cast ballots.

Biden said Trump "might also want to open the U.S. Constitution. She countered that Biden and other critics had no basis to second-guess what was in the president's heart and his intentions. Biden spoke as upheaval in the wake of George Floyds death has spread around the country. While Biden spoke, the National Guard maintained a visible presence to defend public buildings as Philadelphia continues to face sustained violent protests. But Biden's speech was perhaps most notable for its ferocity, even though his criticism of Trump is common.

WASHINGTON Joe Biden vowed to address institutional racism in his first 100 days in office as he sought to elevate his voice Monday in the exploding national debate over racism and police brutality. The former vice president also said he'd be releasing an economic plan focused on education, housing and access to capital" and investments, especially for minority Americans, later this month. I think this tidal wave is moving, Biden told the mayors of Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and St. Paul, Minnesota. The vice president came to hear from us. I dont expect anything from the black community," Biden said Monday, insisting he has never taken its support for granted.

It is an approach that carries the risk of being drowned out by the much louder, more persistent voice of Trump. On Sunday, his campaign released a photo of him visiting the site of protests in Wilmington. Demings said she has also offered to have discussions with the Biden campaign on criminal justice reforms. In early May, he released his Plan for Black America, an economic- and education-focused agenda that included marijuana decriminalization. Much of Biden's campaign strategy centers on trying to draw a contrast with Trump on temperament and values.