Trump whines about the rules, moderator, and topics in advance of the final presidential debate. Democrats inch closer to a Senate majority. Dan and Jon discuss what you can do about tightening polls, and answer some of your questions. Then disinformation expert Jiore Craig talks to Dan about how to handle right-wing smears in the final weeks of this election.

Show Notes

The Debate

• AP: In debate countdown, Trump holds rally, Biden does prep
• NY Mag – What We Know About the Final Trump-Biden Debate: Time & How to Watch
• CNN: Debate commission announces topics for final debate between Trump and Biden 
• WaPo: What Kristen Welker can learn from Savannah Guthrie about dealing with Trump
• Bloomberg – Trump Campaign Urges Change in Debate Topics But Not Rules
• Fox News – McEnany claims debate moderator Kristen Welker gave Biden ‘some cover’ by eschewing foreign policy
• Fox News – Gidley accuses debate commission of ‘failure’ by omitting foreign policy from topics list
• NYT: Trump and Biden Will Be Muted for Parts of Their Next Debate
• WaPo: Debate commission to mute Trump, Biden microphones during parts of Thursday debate
• NBC – Mute point: Debate co-chair Fahrenkopf defends microphone-cutting decision in Trump-Biden debate
• CNN: Donald Trump just lost his go-to debate move
• Vanity Fair – TRUMP: NOT LETTING ME SCREAM OVER JOE BIDEN THE WHOLE DEBATE IS “CRAZY”
• Axios: What Trump’s debate coaches are telling him
• The Hill – Biden takes cautious approach ahead of second Trump debate 
• Philadelphia Inquirer: Barack Obama to hold ‘drive-in’ election event for Joe Biden in Philadelphia on Wednesday
• NYT: Trump Records Shed New Light on Chinese Business Pursuits

Worry List

• IBD: Trump Vs. Biden Race Tightens, Suddenly Looks Like 2016 In Latest IBD/TIPP Presidential Poll
• WaPo: Post-ABC poll: Trump and Biden are in a dead heat in North Carolina
• UNF: New UNF Poll Puts Biden Barely Ahead in Florida
• Sarasota Herald Tribune: Joe Biden has narrow lead over President Trump in new Florida poll
• USA Today: New in the polls Tuesday: Race narrows in North Carolina, Florida; voters nationally favor Biden over Trump
• NYT: Voters Prefer Biden Over Trump on Almost All Major Issues, Poll Shows
• CNN: CNN Poll of Polls averages show Biden advantage in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin two weeks from Election Day
• CNN: Why Trump’s road to 270 is narrow
• WaPo: Trump needs the race to tighten in the next two weeks. Here’s where it is — and isn’t
• Politico: The hidden factors that could produce a surprise Trump victory
• Guardian – Trump asks Barr to investigate dubious claims against Joe and Hunter Biden
• WSJ: Trump Urges Barr to Initiate Investigation into Joe Biden and Son
• Daily Beast – FBI Examining Hunter’s Laptop As Foreign Op, Contradicting Trump’s Intel Czar
• Esquire: The President Is a Wounded Animal
• WaPo: Trump begs William Barr to save him, revealing weakness and panic
• Vox: Democrats are cheering a Supreme Court ruling on mail-in ballots. Here’s why it’s worse than it looks.
• NYT: Behind in Polls, Republicans See a Silver Lining in Voter Registrations 
• Politico: Florida Republicans cut Democrats’ registration edge to historic low
• WaPo: In last-minute push, DeSantis administration urges Florida election officials to remove felons who owe fines from voting rolls
• WaPo: As Biden and Trump battle for White voters, district-level polls are revealing
• CNN: This is Joe Biden’s best electoral path
• Vox: It’s the most important election in our lifetime, and it always will be

The Senate Map

• Cook Political Report: 2020 Senate Race Ratings
• FiveThirtyEight: Democrats are favored to win the Senate
• Reuters: Republicans running short on time and money to defend Senate majority
• CNN: Latest House and Senate ratings show Democrats increasingly competitive in Republican areas
• Axios: The green tsunami
• FiveThirtyEight: CO Senate Polling
• WaPo Op-Ed: It looks like antipathy to Trump has flipped the Colorado Senate race
• Coloradoan: Cory Gardner, tied to Trump’s ‘vindictive’ base, faces conundrum in Colorado
• Yahoo News: Major Democratic group pulls out of Colorado Senate race
• Denver Post: With Gardner trailing Hickenlooper, national GOP groups scale back spending in Colorado
• Vox: Republicans are losing the Colorado Senate race. Trump is a big reason why
• FiveThirtyEight: AZ Senate Polling
• AZ Central: Democrat Mark Kelly widens lead over Republican Martha McSally in post-debate Senate poll
• CNN: Arizona Senate debate turns on Trump
• NYT: Why Arizona Is Tilting Blue: ‘The State’s Clearly in Motion’
• FiveThirtyEight: ME Senate Polling
• Bangor Daily News: Where Maine’s biggest races stand 2 weeks from Election Day
• Bangor Daily News: Maine’s US Senate race has attracted so much money that it’s hard to spend it
• CNBC: Susan Collins struggles to change the subject from Brett Kavanaugh in Maine Senate race
• FiveThirtyEight: NC Senate Polls
• NBC News: Late revelations about Democratic candidate haven’t shaken up N.C. Senate race
• WaPo: U.S. Senate race in N.C. is tight, with partisan views and Trump outweighing Cunningham scandal, Post-ABC poll finds
• FiveThirtyEight: Despite A Sexting Scandal, Democrat Cal Cunningham Is Favored In North Carolina’s Senate Race
• WaPo Op-Ed: Cal Cunningham was caught in a sex scandal. He’ll probably become a senator anyway.
• Reuters: Democratic challenger narrowly leads in North Carolina Senate race: Reuters/Ipsos poll
• Open Secrets: North Carolina Senate race blows away spending records
• FiveThirtyEight: Iowa Senate Polls
• CNN: Soybean question at debate spotlights Senate challenge facing Ernst in Iowa
• WaPo: Endangered Senate Republicans can’t win without Trump. Can they win with him?
• Des Moines Register: Record-smashing Iowa Senate race fuels deluge of final-stretch campaign spending
• NYT: Ernst Struggles in Iowa as Republicans Battle to Hold Senate Amid Trump’s Woes
• Vox: How Joni Ernst went from future Republican star to an incumbent on the ropes in 2020
• FiveThirtyEight: Democrats Don’t Need To Win Georgia, Iowa, Ohio Or Texas — But They Could
• FiveThirtyEight: Georgia Senate Polls
• NYT: Democrats Gain in Georgia Senate Races as Presidential Race Remains Tied
• CNN: Georgia’s race to the right prompts GOP fears over holding Senate majority
• FiveThirtyEight: Democrats Don’t Need To Win Georgia, Iowa, Ohio Or Texas — But They Could
• Open Secrets: Warnock’s Q3 cash challenges Loeffler’s wealth in Georgia Senate special
• FiveThirtyEight: Will Georgia Turn Blue?
• Politico: Georgia poll: Democrats lead in presidential, Senate races
• AJC: WSB poll: Warnock soars ahead in wild Georgia U.S. Senate race