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Midterm elections live updates: Judge orders DOJ to halt threats to election workers

The judge granted a temporary restraining order through Nov. 16

The high-stakes midterm elections are just days away, and candidates are making their final pitches to voters.

There are several key House and Senate races that could determine the balance of power in Congress as well as significant races for governor around the country. The elections could ultimately determine how effective President Donald Trump's agenda is in the back half of his second term.

Oct 30, 2026, 10:58 AM EDT

Pope Leo becomes 1st pope to vote in US midterms

Pope Leo, the first American pope, cast his ballot for this year's elections, the Holy See Press Office announced Friday.

Leo, a Chicago native, voted through a mail-in ballot, according to the Holy See.

"The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes," the Holy See said in a statement.

Pope Leo XIV meets with Costa Rica's President Laura Fernandez Delgado during their private audience in the Vatican, Oct. 30, 2026.
Vatican Media/AFP via Getty Images

-ABC News' Ivan Pereira

Oct 30, 2026, 10:26 AM EDT

Trump's weekend rallies in Kansas, Iowa are back on: Source

President Donald Trump's rallies in Kansas and Iowa are back on for this weekend after they were canceled on Thursday, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The news come less than 24 hours after they were canceled, with an RNC spokesperson saying that Friday's Florida rally would be his final in-person midterm rally.

Trump was originally scheduled to participate in a Kansas rally on Saturday and an Iowa rally on Sunday. The source says the rallies in both states will now be held on Sunday.

President Donald Trump gestures as he arrives to deliver remarks during a campaign rally, October 29, 2026 in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The source familiar also said the rallies were "rearranged for scheduling purposes" to accommodate the flurry of tele-rallies that the president is now slated to participate in on Saturday.

However, Trump clearly said on Thursday that the tele-rally for Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall was to be held "instead" of the in-person rally, and that he was no longer planning to travel "because [Marshall's] doing very well."

"We're going to do a tele-rally for him instead. He's doing -- he's doing very well, actually,” Trump said at the time. "You know the reason is, I don't feel I have to go to Kansas."

-ABC News' Emily Chang

Oct 30, 2026, 9:02 AM EDT

DeSantis warns about GOP 'underperforming' in GOP-friendly Florida county

As President Donald Trump prepares to have his last in-person midterm rally in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said on X on Friday that Republicans are “underperforming” in the early vote in a key GOP county between Orlando and Tampa.

"Republicans are underperforming in Polk County," DeSantis said. "We have a voter registration advantage of 60,000 in the county and it went R+30 four years ago."

After Friday’s rally in Daytona Beach, the president will have made 35 stops since Labor Day, including 27 campaign events in total -- 26 in-person rallies and the two-day RNC Midterm Convention.

-ABC News' Ben Siegel

Oct 30, 2026, 5:07 AM EDT

Report finds over $7.1 billion in ad spending on House, Senate, and gubernatorial races

According to a new report from Wesleyan Media Project, a project run by academic professionals that monitors political advertising, political ad spending has exceeded $7.1 billion across House, Senate, and gubernatorial races in the 2026 midterm election cycle.

Spending on ads made with the help of artificial intelligence accounts for over $187 million this cycle with over 90% of AI ad spending coming from Republican candidates or organizations, according to Wesleyan Media Project.

Roughly $1.4 billion of the $7.1 billion in ad spending -- approximately 20% -- has been spent in the past two weeks, from Oct. 12 to 25, the report said.

The spending is driven in part by outside groups, which have spent around $3 billion on ads for House and Senate races. Outside spending groups have spent three times as much on ads as Senate candidates, according to the report.

-ABC News' Will Lennon

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