It’s Monday, October 26. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Jed Rubenfeld on Trump’s legal foray into the Alaska Senate race. Tyler Cowen on the AI-enabled hacks that could spell financial disaster. A young woman’s maddening quest through the American healthcare system to find treatment for her mom’s rare disease. And much more.
But first: Party loyalty, at what price?
We’re eight days away from the midterms and American voters are, once again, being told that the stakes could not be higher.
“This is the most important midterm in the history of our country,” President Donald Trump said at a rally in Kentucky earlier this month.
Senator Bernie Sanders declared the vote “the most important midterms in modern history.”
Every cycle, the rhetoric, it seems, gets more intense; the supposed stakes, more existential. On both sides of the aisle, politicians and their media allies present politics as a fight to the death between good and evil. And they argue that anything other than full-fledged support for your camp risks defeat.
Given that The Free Press was founded to combat groupthink, it’s no surprise that we’re not exactly fans of this mindset—or the bad behavior, cowardice, and double standards it encourages. So today, we offer some counterprogramming to the team-sports hot takes that prevail elsewhere, with two columns making the case for refusing to comply with the instructions of the political elite.
Up first, Erick Erickson, the conservative radio host and—usually—a reliably Republican voter. He explains why he will not be voting for Mike Collins, the GOP’s Senate candidate in his home state of Georgia. And—using some justifiably colorful language—he makes a broader point about partisanship, the rotten quality of candidates for office, and how to do something about both. Read Erick on why you should “refuse to eat the shit sandwich.”
Next, Peter Savodnik tackles the Democrats who have fallen in line and endorsed Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed—including Barack Obama, who rallied for El-Sayed in Michigan over the weekend. El-Sayed has a long track record of comments and views that once would have been viewed as disqualifying, but that hasn’t stopped his party from backing him. The Democratic establishment is putting party over country, Peter argues. Will the voters?
—Oliver Wiseman
Tune In for LIVE Midterms coverage with The Free Press and 2WAY!
The Free Press and 2WAY are teaming up for a real-time interactive election night special. You can tune in right here.
Will Rahn will co-host with Mark Halperin and the 2WAY team, joined throughout by Free Press writers, editors, and contributors, including Douglas Murray, Mene Ukueberuwa, Audrey Fahlberg, and Suzy Weiss.
Watch the election night special live from 8 p.m. to midnight ET on Tuesday, November 3, right here. Viewers can also visit this page to join the conversation and participate through 2WAY’s interactive community.
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THE NEWS
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Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has returned to Venezuela after nearly a year in exile, according to a spokesperson. Machado left her home country to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025, and had been unable to return since the Trump administration backed Delcy Rodríguez, an ally of the country’s former dictatorial ruler Nicolás Maduro, as interim president.
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Elon Musk admitted on Saturday that SpaceX slowed down internet service for Ukraine via its satellite network Starlink, with Musk claiming he did so because the service was used to launch fatal drone strikes. “Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be,” Musk wrote. “Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week.” Ukraine disputed Musk’s claim that it violated the program’s terms of service, and Starlink service to Ukraine has now been restored.
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Voters in Brazil on Sunday reelected incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as president in a tight runoff election against right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro. Several right-wing leaders have been elected to lead neighboring countries in South America in recent years amid rising concerns with crime and affordability, but Lula, of the left-wing workers party, managed to hold onto power and will soon begin his fourth nonconsecutive term in office.
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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked President Trump to show more public support for his reelection campaign, Axios reported on Sunday. A U.S. source said the White House views the request as a “sign of desperation,” indicative of a supposed lack of confidence Netanyahu has in his odds, while a spokesperson for the prime minister’s Likud party denied the recent pleading.
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Saudi Arabia partially reopened its main airport on Sunday as the Houthi terrorist group promised to continue strikes on the facility, which they say is a “military target.” The airport shut down on October 10 following a Houthi attack that killed 13.
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Barack Obama hit the campaign trail with several Democratic candidates over the weekend for the first time this election cycle, criticizing President Trump for “two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption,” and the war in Iran. He made stops in Ohio to join Democratic candidate for governor Amy Acton and Senate candidate Sherrod Brown as well as Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan.
