In some states, voting has already begun.
asserted
voting → begin → states
Betting site Kalshi shows odds of 61% that Democrats will win control of the senate.
asserted
Democrats → show → senate
Recent developments in the Texas and Michigan races suggest keeping your money in your pocket.
asserted
developments → suggest → pocket
As voters find out more about front-runner Democrats James Talarico in Texas and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, the polls are tightening.
asserted
polls → find → Michigan
They say intimacy breeds contempt; nowhere is this truer than in politics.
asserted
this → say → politics
Talarico is the 2026 version of 2018 senate wannabe Beto O’Rourke, who memorably live-streamed his teeth-cleaning as a campaign stunt, but ultimately lost to Republican Ted Cruz despite his laudable dental hygiene.
asserted
who → stream → hygiene
Talarico, a photogenic 37-year-old state representative, recently vanished from public view for nearly two weeks, an extraordinary absence so close to Election Day.
asserted
Talarico → vanish → Day
He says he had the flu; does he not know about Theraflu?
asserted
he → say → Theraflu
Has he heard of Zoom?
asserted
he → hear → Zoom
His disappearance gave rise to a whirlwind of apparently erroneous rumors.
asserted
disappearance → give → rumors
Because Talarico has voiced some wacky ideas in the past, like believing there are six genders or that God is non-binary — which he has been forced to walk back — some voters are primed to believe such rumors.
asserted
voters → voice → rumors
Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general, is an unpopular candidate and carries considerable baggage, but his well-funded campaign is running ads showing Talarico making incendiary comments like, "I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity."
asserted
who → carry → Christianity
Talarico has also been outed as having previously voted as a state representative against bans on biological men playing in women’s sports.
asserted
Talarico → out → sports
Beto O’Rourke lost in part because he embraced aggressive gun control in a state where most people have a gun.
asserted
people → lose → gun
In 2022, Talarico appeared with the Texas Humane Legislation Network, warning of the "existential" need to "reduce our meat consumption", in a state that prides itself on its cattle.
asserted
that → appear → cattle
Undoubtedly, Talarico’s progressive young base will not be deterred by his peculiar walk-about, but his lengthy absence from the campaign trail casts a cloud over his run.
asserted
absence → deter → run
Some polls show him barely leading Ken Paxton; a recent UMass Lowell/YouGov poll shows the candidates tied, with 7% undecided.
asserted
% → show → Paxton
As Trump rallies to energize his still-faithful base, it’s hard to imagine Talarico pulling out the win.
asserted
Talarico → rally → win
Abdul El-Sayed, who calls himself doctor, but is not legally authorized to practice medicine, has been changing positions as frequently as people change their underwear.
asserted
people → call → underwear
In a podcast from 2020, he says Medicare-for-All "does away with the private insurance market."
asserted
Medicare → say → market
Nowadays, his campaign website says: "Medicare for All does not have to ban additional private insurance through unions or employers, although Medicare for All should make those choices redundant and unnecessary."
asserted
choices → say → All
Moreover, during his primary race in January, El-Sayed explained, "If you like your insurance from your employer or from your union, that can still be there for you."
asserted
that → explain → you
That sounds a lot like President Obama telling gullible voters: "If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period."
asserted
you → sound → plan
After millions of Americans saw their plans cancelled, Politifact dubbed that whopper the 2013 Lie of the Year.
asserted
Politifact → see → Year
Organized labor has done a bang-up job of demanding expensive healthcare benefits for workers — benefits that are undoubtedly more generous than any that would be provided by Uncle Sam.
asserted
that → do → Sam
There are half a million union members in the Wolverine State; he needs their vote, ideals be damned.
asserted
ideals → be → vote
El-Sayed has had to explain how he intends to pay for government-run healthcare.
asserted
he → have → healthcare
A writer at The Bridge, a nonpartisan news organization in Michigan, notes that, "In 2020, the nonpartisan Urban Institute estimated that US Sen. Bernie Sanders’ version of Medicare for All would cost the federal government $34 trillion over a 10-year period."
asserted
version → note → period
Experts say that money to fund such a program would rope in not just the wealthy, but middle-class families as well.
asserted
money → say → wealthy
In short, Medicare-for-all would mean higher taxes for all.
asserted
Medicare → mean → all
El-Sayed has admitted as much in the past.
asserted
Sayed → admit → past
El-Sayed positions himself as a healthcare expert, given his role in local county offices, but those stints were arguably brief and inconsequential.
asserted
stints → position → offices
Also troubling is El-Sayed’s association with anti-American Muslim organizations and personalities whom he has refused to denounce, like supporter Hasan Piker.
asserted
he → refuse → Piker
On Meet the Press recently, El-Sayed claimed that neither he nor any family members have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, a group deemed a terror outfit by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and by Egypt.
asserted
he → claim → Egypt
But, the candidate’s half-sister, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, stated the opposite, claiming on social media years ago that her family "has long been" members of the Muslim Brotherhood and that some relatives had been "jailed" because of their association with the group.
asserted
relatives → state → group
El-Sayed is also facing scrutiny for claiming dual citizenship with Egypt and the U.S. in the past, an assertion he now denies.
asserted
he → face → assertion
El-Sayed told a Detroit GlobeMed conference in 2016, "I carry dual citizenship, and I grew up spending most of my summers in another country…."
asserted
I → tell → country
He made the same claim on his academic resume.
uncertain
He → make → resume
Was he lying then, or is he lying now?
asserted
he → lie → ?
Also, recently, asked during a debate whether El-Sayed considers Iran, the world’s biggest sponsor of terror, or Israel a bigger threat to the United States, the progressive anti-Israel candidate refused to answer.
asserted
candidate → ask → States
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
