Good morning. Here is what matters today, in five.
1. Polls are open. Congress is on the ballot. Voters in Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Virginia were first in at 6 a.m. Kentucky and Indiana report first, at 6 p.m. Eastern, and Senate control runs through Maine, Ohio and North Carolina. via The Center Square.
2. Supreme Court lets California count 20,000 flagged ballots. Justice Elena Kagan on Monday denied the Justice Department’s emergency bid to set aside roughly 20,000 California mail-in ballots it says are “highly likely” from noncitizens. DOJ says 28 people on that list already face federal charges, including lying about citizenship to vote. via The Center Square.
3. Factories just had their best production month since 2021. The Institute for Supply Management’s October index hit 55.5, a tenth straight month of factory growth, and its production gauge reached 59, the highest since November 2021. Prices paid are still rising, though, at 75.2. via the Institute for Supply Management.
4. AOC tried to stop the Stevens defection. Nope. Politico reports Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spent 25 minutes on the phone with Haley Stevens last week trying to keep her on side. By Sunday Stevens had endorsed Republican Mike Rogers, and former Democratic Rep. Hansen Clarke followed within hours. via The Daily Wire.
Stevens texted AOC “it means the world.” Then she endorsed the Republican.
5. Cardi B would never put her kids in NYC schools. After a 15-year-old Bronx student was shot dead on his way to school, the Harris- and Crockett-endorsing rapper told a livestream that city kids are “mean,” said she would “never, never, never” use the public schools, and urged parents to move to Pennsylvania. via The Daily Wire.
Blue-city schools: fine for your kids, not for the celebrities who campaign for them.
See, that was better than doom scrolling. Now share this with a friend.