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๐Ÿ—ž๏ธ Story file #1149

Democrats lead in multiple Senate races according to new polls

Oct 29, 6 PM ET to Nov 2, 6 AM ET

๐Ÿ“ฐ read it at: HuffPost AP NPR New York Times PBS NewsHour Vanity Fair Yahoo News Forbes The Hill The Epoch Times Washington Examiner

๐Ÿ‘ฃ How this story traveled: from the front pages that broke it, out through TV, radio and the shows, into what people retold and what fact-checkers examined, and on into the saga it is part of. Everything here is matched to the story by our tools, so a link can be wrong; the trackers' pages say how each is made.

  1. Oct 29, 6 PM ETfirst on TV: CNN
  2. Oct 29, 6 PM ETfirst on a front page: PBS NewsHour
  3. Oct 30, 7 AM ETpeak: on 7 front pages

๐Ÿ“ฐ Spread

the front pages that ran it, hour by hour

Oct 30Oct 31Nov 111 PM47leftcenterright
Front pages carrying it at each hourly run, Oct 29, 6 PM to Nov 2, 6 AM ET (peak 7), by the outlets' lean: left ยท center ยท right
Oct 30Oct 31Nov 111 PMNPRNPRNPR, Oct 29, 6:00 AM ET: These are the House races to watch in the 2026 midterm election on Nov. 3Washington ExaminerWashington ExaminerWashington Examiner, Oct 29, 7:01 AM ET: The 10 most expensive House races of the 2026 midterm electionsVanity FairVanity FairVanity Fair, Oct 29, 12:00 PM ET: The 2026 Midterm Elections Cheat SheetNew York TimesNew York TimesNew York Times, Oct 29, 1:00 PM ET: 2026 Midterm Election Ballot Measures: What Races Weโ€™re WatchingNew York Times, Nov 1, 9:01 PM ET: Democrats Show Strength in Final Days of Race for the Senate, New Polls FindThe HillThe HillThe Hill, Oct 29, 5:01 PM ET: 2026 midterm elections: When polls close, when results are expectedPBS NewsHourPBS NewsHourPBS NewsHour, Oct 29, 6:00 PM ET: 5 expert takeaways on 2026 midterm election securityThe Epoch TimesThe Epoch TimesThe Epoch Times, Oct 30, 7:00 AM ET: State Trifectas to Watch in 2026 MidtermsYahoo NewsYahoo NewsYahoo News, Oct 30, 6:01 PM ET: Democrats open leads in four key Senate battlegrounds, CNN polls findForbesForbesForbes, Nov 1, 6:01 PM ET: Latest Polls In 2026 Midterms: Democrats Lead Nearly All Key Senate RacesHuffPostHuffPostHuffPost, Nov 1, 10:01 PM ET: New Poll Has Democrats Ahead In Multiple Battleground Senate RacesAPAPAP, Nov 2, 1:01 AM ET: 2026 Midterm Election Results: Senate, House and Governor Races๐Ÿ“บ TVCNN, 6:00 PM ET: BATTLEGROUND RACES HEAT UP IN FINAL FIVE DAYS BEFORE ELECTIONCNN, 6:01 PM ET: BATTLEGROUND RACES HEAT UP IN FINAL FIVE DAYS BEFORE ELECTIONCNN, 6:03 PM ET: BATTLEGROUND RACES HEAT UP IN FINAL FIVE DAYS BEFORE ELECTIONCNN, 6:03 PM ET: BATTLEGROUND RACES HEAT UP IN FINAL FIVE DAYS BEFORE ELECTIONCNN, 6:04 PM ET: BATTLEGROUND RACES HEAT UP IN FINAL FIVE DAYS BEFORE ELECTIONCNN, 6:05 PM ET: BATTLEGROUND RACES HEAT UP IN FINAL FIVE DAYS BEFORE ELECTIONFox News, 6:05 PM ET: BALANCE OF POWER. SENATE MAJORITY FACES UNCERTAINTY AS RACES TIGHTENFox News, 6:57 PM ET: RUN FOR THE HILL. POLITICAL LANDSCAPE LEADING TO CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONSFox News, 6:57 PM ET: RUN FOR THE HILL. POLITICAL LANDSCAPE LEADING TO CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONSFox News, 7:02 PM ET: MIDTERM HOME STRETCHFox News, 7:02 PM ET: MIDTERM HOME STRETCHFox News, 7:37 PM ET: WILL PROPOSITION 39 PASS IN CALIFORNIA?Fox News, 9:01 PM ET: LESS THAN ONE WEEK UNTIL CRUCIAL MIDTERM ELECTIONSFox News, 9:02 PM ET: LESS THAN ONE WEEK UNTIL CRUCIAL MIDTERM ELECTIONSBBC News, 9:21 PM ET: Campaigning under way for U.S. midtermsBBC News, 9:21 PM ET: Campaigning under way for U.S. midtermsBBC News, 9:22 PM ET: U.S. midterm Campaigning enters final daysBBC News, 10:10 PM ET: Campaigning under way for U.S. midtermsBBC News, 10:10 PM ET: Campaigning under way for midtermsBBC News, 10:11 PM ET: Campaigning under way for midtermsFox News, 11:07 PM ET: SLOTKIN: MIDTERMS ARE "TEAM FIGHT VS TEAM FLIGHT"BBC News, 11:10 PM ET: Campaigning under way for U.S. midtermsBBC News, 11:11 PM ET: Campaigning under way for U.S. midtermsBBC News, 11:12 PM ET: Campaigning under way for U.S. midtermsBBC News, 11:13 PM ET: Campaigning under way for U.S. midtermsBBC News, 11:13 PM ET: Campaigning under way for upcoming midtermsBBC News, 11:14 PM ET: Campaigning under way for U.S. midtermsMSNOW, 12:07 AM ET: OMINOUS SIGNS FOR GOP CANDIDATES AS MIDTERMS NEARMSNOW, 2:12 AM ET: AMERICANS FIRED UP TO VOTE IN PIVOTAL MIDTERM ELECTIONFox News, 2:49 AM ET: Prop 45, sponsored by labor, health, and environmental organizations; Center for Biological Diversity; Kat TaylorMSNOW, 4:09 AM ET: OMINOUS SIGNS FOR GOP CANDIDATES AS MIDTERMS NEARFox News, 5:32 AM ET: VETERAN CANDIDATES SURGE AHEAD OF MIDTERMSFox News, 5:42 AM ET: COUNTDOWN TO MIDTERMSFox News, 5:42 AM ET: SWING STATE VOTERS SPEAK OUT BEFORE MIDTERMSFox News, 5:42 AM ET: COUNTDOWN TO MIDTERMSFox News, 5:44 AM ET: SWING STATE VOTERS SPEAK OUT BEFORE MIDTERMSFox News, 5:46 AM ET: U.S. ECONOMY IN FOCUS AS MIDTERM COUNTDOWN CONTINUESMSNOW, 5:49 AM ET: 9 DAYS UNTIL MIDTERM ELECTIONMSNOW, 5:50 AM ET: 9 DAYS UNTIL MIDTERM ELECTIONCNN, 7:24 AM ET: VOTING MACHINE SECURITY FACES NEW SCRUTINY AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMSFox News, 9:39 AM ET: TRANSGENDER ISSUES ON THE BALLOT IN SC SEN RACEFox News, 9:43 AM ET: SHOWDOWN FOR SENATE CONTROL IN MIDTERMSFox News, 9:43 AM ET: REDISTRICTING IMPACTFox News, 9:50 AM ET: MIDTERMS PUT REDRAWN DISTRICTS TO THE TESTFox News, 9:54 AM ET: REDISTRICTING'S IMPACT ON MIDTERM ELECTIONSCNN, 11:04 AM ET: ALASKA SENATE VOTE REVEALS ALLEGATIONS. MIDTERMS = U.S. Early Total Pre-Election. 11/03/2026 Voting 47 states and DC reporting 45,156,400CNN, 11:04 AM ET: ALASKA SENATE VOTE REVEALS ALLEGATIONS. MIDTERMS = U.S. Early Total Pre-Election. 11/03/2026 Voting 47 states and DC reporting 45,156,400Fox News, 12:01 PM ET: CONTROVERSIES BUILD JUST DAYS BEFORE MIDTERMSBBC News, 12:30 PM ET: Countdown to US midterm electionsBBC News, 12:33 PM ET: US midterm elections take place on TuesdayBBC News, 12:34 PM ET: US midterm elections take place on TuesdayBBC News, 12:36 PM ET: US midterm elections take place on TuesdayBBC News, 12:38 PM ET: Countdown to US midterm electionsBBC News, 12:38 PM ET: US midterm elections take place on TuesdayBBC News, 12:39 PM ET: US midterm elections take place on TuesdayBBC News, 12:41 PM ET: US midterm elections take place on TuesdayBBC News, 12:42 PM ET: US midterm elections take place on TuesdayBBC News, 12:45 PM ET: Countdown to US midterm electionsBBC News, 12:46 PM ET: Countdown to US midterm electionsBBC News, 12:47 PM ET: Countdown to US midterm electionsBBC News, 12:48 PM ET: Countdown to US midterm electionsBBC News, 12:49 PM ET: US midterm elections take place on TuesdayBBC News, 12:50 PM ET: US midterm elections take place on TuesdayFox News, 1:01 PM ET: FOUR-DAY SPRINT TO MIDTERM ELECTIONSCNN, 1:42 PM ET: U.S. Early VotingCNN, 1:53 PM ET: U.S. Early In-Person Votes 22,668,174CNN, 1:53 PM ET: MIDTERMS - U.S. Early Mail Ballots Cast &2,026 Voting 47 states and DC reporting 23,177,428BBC News, 2:10 AM ET: Democrats aim to take US House and SenateBBC News, 2:12 AM ET: Democrats aim to take US House and SenateBBC News, 2:13 AM ET: Democrats aim to take US House and SenateBBC News, 2:16 AM ET: Democrats aim to take US House and SenateCNN, 2:27 AM ET: EARLY VOTING DATA SIGNALS DEM ENTHUSIASM AMID TALK OF A BLUE WAVECNN, 2:27 AM ET: EARLY VOTING DATA SIGNALS DEM ENTHUSIASM AMID TALK OF A BLUE WAVECNN, 2:29 AM ET: EARLY VOTING DATA SIGNALS DEM ENTHUSIASM AMID TALK OF A BLUE WAVECNN, 2:30 AM ET: EARLY VOTING DATA SIGNALS DEM ENTHUSIASM AMID TALK OF A BLUE WAVE
Who carried it and when: each outlet in the order it picked the story up, a bar for each headline from when we first saw it on the front page to when we last did, in the outlet's lean color (dashed: not rated); a dot marks a new headline, and a headline swapped for a new one between our hourly looks runs on to it. A gap means a look found the story gone from that front page. Beneath, its captions on TV, the radio newscasts that carried it (bigger: the lead) and when people were found retelling it. Hover for details.

๐Ÿ“Œ Linked by aggregators

3 Google News ยท Political Wire ยท Real Clear Politics

aggregators linking to it from their front page (they don't count as outlets covering it)

โœ๏ธ 1 outlet ran more than one headline on it (reworded, or a follow-up)
  • New York Times (2 wordings): โ€œ2026 Midterm Election Ballot Measures: What Races Weโ€™re Watchingโ€ โ†’ โ€œDemocrats Show Strength in Final Days of Race for the Senate, New Polls Findโ€
๐Ÿ“ฐ Every outlet's headline 11left to right by AllSides rating

๐Ÿ“ก Broadcast

TV, radio, and the shows that talked about it

๐Ÿ“บ On TV

minutes its captions were on screen, by channel; the disc is the network's lean

  1. โš–๏ธ BBC News 19 min
  2. ๐Ÿซ CNN 6 min
  3. ๐Ÿ˜ Fox News 6 min
  4. ๐Ÿซ MSNOW 3 min

๐Ÿ“ป On the radio

hourly newscasts that carried it, by show; beside the count, how often it was the lead story, or the highest it came in the running order

๐Ÿ“ป๐Ÿคท No radio newscast matched to it.

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ On the shows

podcasts, newsletters and streams that talked about it, by show; the bar is episodes; the disc is the show's lean by reputation

  1. ๐Ÿ˜ Benny Johnson 1
  2. ๐Ÿ˜ The Megyn Kelly Show 1
  3. โš–๏ธ Up First (NPR) 1
  4. โš–๏ธ Bloomberg News Now 1
  5. ๐Ÿ˜ Fox News Rundown 1
  6. ๐Ÿซ MeidasTouch 1
  7. ๐Ÿ˜ Ruthless 1

๐Ÿ•ต๏ธ Investigated, joked about

๐Ÿ•ต๏ธ investigative reporting on it and ๐Ÿƒ satire joking about it (jokes, never counted as coverage); the bar is pieces

  1. ๐Ÿƒ The Babylon Bee 1
  2. ๐Ÿƒ New Yorker humor 1
  3. ๐Ÿƒ McSweeney's 1

๐Ÿงถ Retelling

what people online made of it

๐Ÿงฉ How it's being told

The stories under this news, from our motif index, and who told each: the shows we follow by their lean, people online, fact-checkers. A story people tell, not a claim that it's true; claims are matched to this story by our tools, so a link can be wrong.

  • ๐Ÿงฉ Polls are inaccurate ๐Ÿซ 2 left shows
    โ€œDemocrats outperformed their polling in every close Senate race during the 2022 midterms.โ€

๐Ÿฆ— Nobody's retelling it online yet, as far as the daily reports of the last week can tell.

๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Names in it

House races2026 midterm electionBallot MeasuresPollsResults

๐Ÿ”Ž Checking

what the fact-checkers looked into

๐Ÿง No fact-checker has taken it on yet.

๐Ÿงต Persistence

the running story it belongs to

๐Ÿงต midterm elections surge

  1. Early voting surges in midterm elections

    Oct 30, 7 PM ET

  2. Democrats lead in multiple Senate races according to new polls (this story)

    Oct 29, 6 PM ET