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Since September, when the federal government partially shut down because Congress couldn’t resolve a spending dispute, most Americans have been insulated from the direct fallout of the impasse.
Thirty days in, that’s changing. Disruptions in food aid for struggling families, missed paychecks for federal workers and cuts to home heating assistance just as cold weather hits much of the country are among the grim consequences that could soon unfold.
The pain the shutdown is poised to inflict on communities across the nation is playing out in local news headlines.
“With SNAP cutoff looming, this Augusta food bank has empty shelves,” proclaims the Athens Banner-Herald in Georgia.
“Mainers brace for hunger crisis as SNAP benefits set to expire amid shutdown,” WGME, the CBS affiliate in Portland, Me., reports.
The Detroit Free Press says that nearly 3,000 Michigan kids are at risk of losing Head Start services.
And in Orlando, Fla., frustration is rising among air traffic controllers, who this week missed their first paycheck. “If there’s not enough controllers, we’ll have to slow down traffic,” air traffic controller and union rep Jeremy Heinbach tells CBS affiliate WKMG.
The barrage of negative press is likely to ratchet up pressure on Congress, especially among vulnerable lawmakers up for reelection in 2026, to resolve the impasse and reopen the government, adding a sense of urgency to their deliberations.
Indeed, as our colleague Jacob Fulton chronicles, bipartisan Senate discussions that could end the shutdown are picking up momentum on Capitol Hill.
“We all feel like it’s getting pretty stale, and adults can just get in the room and figure out how to talk to one another,” Michigan Democrat Elissa Slotkin said.
“This week is different than last week, with members of the Senate working to try to move this place to do its work,” added Kansas Republican Jerry Moran.
But maybe not that different: Despite the negative headlines at home, and the prospect for mounting pain, the Senate is scheduled to leave town Thursday without resolving the funding stalemate.
Starting gate
California voting: Voters in the Golden State will decide next week on a plan to redraw California’s congressional lines. Proposition 50 would amend the state constitution to temporarily allow the use of the new map, which would give Democrats an edge in five GOP-held districts.
Redistricting hits Indiana: Republican Gov. Mike Braun called for a special session in the Hoosier State to consider a new congressional map ahead of the 2026 elections. It’s not clear whether Republicans have enough votes in the state Senate to redraw the lines, and GOP legislative leaders say their chambers won’t immediately convene Monday for the start of the special session.
#NYCMayor: Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House, endorsed Zohran Mamdani, his party’s nominee to lead the nation’s largest city, after months of withholding his support, our colleague Victor Feldman reports. But the top Senate Democrat, fellow New Yorker Charles E. Schumer, has yet to publicly endorse in the mayor’s race.
Staffer turned member: Before Republican Zach Nunn was a House member from a battleground Iowa district, he worked for the state’s longtime senator, Charles E. Grassley, and for a British member of Parliament. He told our colleague Jackie Wang that observing Grassley’s across-the-aisle relationships with Sens. Max Baucus and Tom Harkin underscored the importance of bipartisan relationships.
Life after Congress: As part of our recurring series on former lawmakers, Roll Call’s Mike Magner caught up with former Rep. Tim Roemer to discuss his efforts to strengthen democracy as a member of Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus. The Indiana Democrat, who served in the House from 1991 to 2003, is working in a “cross-partisan way” to address gerrymandering and the influence of big money in politics and devise strategies to “make Congress work better across the board.”
ICYMI
Endorsements (Senate edition): Members of Congress are continuing to weigh in on open Senate races. Alabama Rep. Barry Moore won endorsements from Sens. Ted Budd of North Carolina and Steve Daines of Montana in his bid for the Republican nomination. In Minnesota, Democratic Rep. Angie Craig earned the backing of Delaware Rep. Sarah McBride. And Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who’s locked in a three-way Democratic primary for the state’s open Senate seat, has the support of New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich.
Endorsements (House edition): Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin is backing Democratic businesswoman Rebecca Cooke as she again challenges GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden in the 3rd District. In Nebraska’s battleground 2nd District, EMILY’s List is taking sides in the Democratic primary, endorsing political consultant Denise Powell in the open-seat race. Winning For Women Action Fund, which backs Republican women running for Congress, has endorsed Army veteran Alexandra del Moral Mealer and former Ted Cruz and DOJ staffer Jessica Steinmann in the open contests for Texas’ 9th and 8th districts, respectively. And former DNC Chair Jaime Harrison is supporting Kinney Zalesne, a onetime DNC official, in her Democratic primary challenge to longtime D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes-Norton.
Protest charges: Social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh, a Democrat running for Illinois’ 9th District, was indicted on federal charges related to protests outside a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
House campaign launches: Republican Air Force veteran Jennifer-Ruth Green announced a second bid for Indiana’s battleground 1st District against Democrat Frank J. Mrvan, whom she lost to by 6 points in 2022. In Wisconsin, Republican Michael Alfonso, the son-in-law of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, has joined a growing primary in the open 7th District, which Duffy held from 2011 until 2019. In Massachusetts, the race to succeed Democratic Senate hopeful Seth Moulton in the 6th District grew further crowded this week, with the entry of longtime Moulton aide Rick Jakious.
Generational divide: Older Republican incumbents haven’t faced the reckoning over age that has shaken Democratic Party politics. But in deep-red Louisiana, 37-year-old state Rep. Julie Emerson’s pitch to unseat Sen. Bill Cassidy, 68, in next year’s GOP primary features a call for “a new generation of conservative leaders.”
Ad watch: The conservative nonprofit group American Action Network announced a $5 million ad campaign targeting 15 House Democrats over the topic of political violence. The National Republican Senatorial Committee got into the Halloween spirit with an ad calling Maine Senate hopeful Janet Mills, the two-term incumbent governor, “a new nightmare for Maine.”
In a New York minute: The Empire State could be getting into the redistricting game after a lawsuit was filed this week claiming that the lines of the 11th District, currently represented by Republican Nicole Malliotakis, disenfranchise Black and Latino residents on Staten Island. That could potentially scramble plans from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who has been preparing to primary Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman in the neighboring 10th District.
Redistricting roundup: Punchbowl News reports that Republicans on Ohio’s redistricting commission have struck a deal with Democrats on a compromise congressional map that affects three Democrat-held battleground seats. Under the new lines, Rep. Marcy Kaptur’s northwest Ohio district and Rep. Greg Landsman’s Cincinnati-anchored seat would become slightly redder, while Rep. Emilia Sykes’ district, which includes Akron and Canton, would grow bluer but remain competitive. In Virginia, the Democrat-controlled House took a first step toward amending the commonwealth’s constitution to give lawmakers the power to redraw Virginia’s congressional map mid-decade. Meanwhile, redistricting efforts appear paused in other states. Maryland’s top state Senate Democrat said his chamber would not convene in a special session for mid-cycle redistricting. In Illinois, redistricting is off the agenda in this week’s veto session.
Guv roundup: Iowa Rep. Randy Feenstra made his campaign for the GOP gubernatorial nomination official this week after several months running under an “exploratory committee.” In Oregon, newly appointed Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan said she will run for governor again, after narrowly losing to Democrat Tina Kotek in 2022. And in South Carolina, state Rep. Jermaine Johnson launched his gubernatorial campaign, becoming the second Democrat in the open-seat race.
Dropping out: Maine Democrat Daira Smith-Rodriguez suspended her Senate campaign last week and endorsed Gov. Janet Mills, saying oyster farmer Graham Platner’s candidacy was “too great a risk to those who still need a voice to fight for them.”
Date change: The Republican-led Louisiana Legislature has approved changes to the state’s primary calendar next year in case a favorable, and earlier-than-expected, Supreme Court ruling in a redistricting case allows them to redraw their congressional map.
Nathan’s notes
In Virginia, Republicans have tried to tie Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger to the texting scandal involving her party’s attorney general candidate, Jay Jones. But, as Roll Call elections analyst Nathan L. Gonzales of Inside Elections writes, recent history finds little evidence of a down-ballot race dragging down the top of the ticket.
If anything, the commonwealth could see a record level of ticket-splitting this year, according to Nathan.
What we’re reading
Stu says: Roll Call political analyst Stuart Rothenberg is taking issue with the touting of an internal poll by New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, seen as a likely Republican challenger to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul next year.
Dad jokes and cringe: The Washington Post tuned in to podcasts hosted by six potential 2028 presidential contenders and found a mix of awkward jokes, groveling interviews, uplifting messages and partisan red meat.
Waiting on the justices: With the future of the Voting Rights Act up in the air, some Southern state Republicans are preparing to redraw their congressional maps if the Supreme Court were to rule favorably on a related case in time to affect next year’s midterm elections, Politico reports.
The Zohran playbook: Mamdani appears poised to win election as New York City mayor next week, but some Democrats outside the city are anxious about how views of the self-described democratic socialist could feature in Republican attacks on other Democratic candidates next year, The Washington Post reports.
Could be a big win: Marist came out with a poll Wednesday night showing Mamdani leading his nearest rival, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, by 16 points.
#MESEN: In Maine, Platner’s insurgent Senate campaign has continued to draw large crowds even after revelations about comments he made on the internet and a tattoo of a Nazi symbol that he covered up. As the Midcoast Villager reports, Platner’s supporters seem to be sticking by him.
#MISEN: Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens’ Senate campaign is drawing criticism from some Democrats in Michigan and in Washington, NOTUS reports.
The count: 2 million
That’s approximately how many voters in New Jersey (825,382) and Virginia (1,162,719) have already cast ballots ahead of the Nov. 4 general elections.
The early voting period in New Jersey officially opened on Oct. 25, while it’s been ongoing in Virginia since Sept. 19.
In the Garden State, where a breakdown of votes cast by partisan identification is being tracked by political media organization VoteHub, Democrats have cast about 54 percent of the early votes and Republicans have cast 28 percent.
Topping the New Jersey and Virginia ballots are a pair of familiar faces to congressional observers.
In New Jersey, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill is trying to fend off Republican former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, who lost a closer-than-expected race for governor four years ago.
In Virginia, Democratic former Rep. Abigail Spanberger is vying with Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to become the commonwealth’s first female governor.
Sherrill and Spanberger were both elected to the House during Trump’s first midterm election, in 2018, when Democrats also flipped the House — a feat they’re trying to repeat this cycle.
— By Roll Call’s Ryan Kelly
Coming up
Tuesday is Election Day. Pivotal races include the gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia, the New York City mayor’s race and a House special election in Texas’ 18th District. But the highest stakes for the makeup of the next Congress are playing out in California, where Golden State voters will decide on their redistricting ballot measure.
Photo finish
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The post At the Races: When the pain hits home appeared first on Roll Call.
