• Town hall: Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico made his case to skeptical Republicans and independents last night in a town hall hosted by CNN and Jubilee, framing the election in populist terms and insisting he is willing to break with his own party if doing so benefits the state.

• All eyes on Michigan today: Michigan’s Senate seat remains a prime pickup opportunity for the GOP, with Republican Mike Rogers facing Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joins El-Sayed for a bus tour in areas that strongly favored President Donald Trump two years ago. Vice President JD Vance is also headlining a rally in the state.

• Other Senate races: Maine’s incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson are set to meet for their final televised debate before Election Day. Alaska’s Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democratic challenger Mary Peltola are also scheduled to debate today.

Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is continuing his “It Shouldn’t Be This Hard” tour through Michigan, heading into the state’s Upper Peninsula on Thursday.

We ran into El-Sayed at the airport in Detroit as he was boarding a flight to Marquette.

“I’m going to the U-P!” he told CNN. He said town halls would be fun. “Can’t wait — a whole bus tour; we’re looking forward to it.”A handful of passengers seemed to recognize him, with one woman saying, “He’s running for the Senate, he’s great.”As the crowd realized who was boarding, a few held up their phones to take pictures.

El-Sayed is starting the day with a town hall in Escanaba, where he’ll be joined by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who will follow El-Sayed to events in Iron Mountain and Marquette.

The race in Michigan is crucial to both parties in their hopes to secure a Senate majority.

El-Sayed and Ocasio-Cortez are headed deep into Trump country. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has been a reliable Republican stronghold, with Trump winning the area by 19 percentage points in 2024.

As he tries to appeal to disaffected Democrats and even diehard Trump supporters, El-Sayed’s campaign told CNN he will focus on access to healthcare and his Medicare for All proposal. Parts of rural Michigan have been severely impacted by hospital closures and consolidation.

Talarico faces Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in one of the most important Senate races of November’s midterm elections. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to claim the Senate majority, and flipping a GOP-held seat in Texas would be a significant boost to that effort.

Talarico, a former seminary student, peppered his remarks with references to his “spiritual heroes” and made references to the last three popes. He said he felt he could find common ground with conservatives — in part by looking to solutions to the problems that fuel cultural divides, rather than treating those divides as a political hammer with which to “beat each other over the head.”And as he campaigns for the votes of independents and moderate Republicans in Texas — where Democrats haven’t won statewide in three decades — he attempted to frame the election in populist terms: regular Americans against wealthy individuals and corporations.

REALLY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S TAKING PLACE? WE KNOW THAT TEXAS IS NUMBER SEVEN AND NOW BEATING FRANCE. AND AS FAR AS OUR REGION AND WHAT WE HAVE TO OFFER. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO AFFORDABILITY FOR US THAT ARE HOME GROWN HERE, EIGHT GENERATIONS HERE, WE CANNOT AFFORD A HOUSE. AND SO I NEED YOU TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. BUT I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT. >> WELL, AND I'M I'M. >> BIPARTISAN APPLAUSE. >> YEAH. I'M HEARING THIS, ESPECIALLY FROM YOUNG PEOPLE LIKE YOU ALL OVER THE STATE WHO WERE PROMISED THAT IF THEY WORKED HARD, IF THEY PLAYED BY THE RULES, IF THEY WENT TO SCHOOL, IF THEY STUDIED, THEY COULD LIVE THE AMERICAN DREAM. AND THAT WAS A LIE. >> IT'S A NIGHTMARE. >> IT'S A IT'S A IT'S A NIGHTMARE NOW. AND SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE CAN'T AFFORD TO BUY A HOME. I'VE ACTUALLY WORKED ON THIS IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE. I PASSED A BIPARTISAN BILL TO ALLOW FOR A A NEW KIND OF HOUSING TO BE BUILT HERE IN TEXAS. OUR OUTDATED BUILDING CODES DON'T ALLOW FOR SOMETHING CALLED SINGLE STAIR HOUSING, WHICH IS SMALLER APARTMENT COMPLEXES, SMALLER CONDOS. IT'S A GREAT ENTRY POINT FOR HOME OWNERSHIP. AND BECAUSE OUR REGULATIONS WOULDN'T ALLOW IT, REN'T BUILDING IT HERE. AND SO I WORKED WITH REPUBLICANS ACROSS THE AISLE. WE REPEALED THAT OUTDATED REGULATION. NOW WE'RE BUILDING THAT KIND OF HOUSING HERE IN TEXAS. >> BUT DO YOU KNOW THAT WHEN IT COMES TO PURCHASING IN TEXAS, THE AVERAGE HOME IS 360,000? IF I WOULD LIKE TO WALK OUTSIDE AND NOT FEEL SAFE. RIGHT. YOU KNOW, WHEN I'M GOING SOMEWHERE, IT'S A NICE HOUSE WHERE I CAN WALK AROUND. AND I'M NOT SAYING I'M A ROCKEFELLER OR ANYTHING BECAUSE I'M NOT, BUT I'M SAYING, WHY DO I HAVE TO SPEND $605,000? AND THEN YOUR INCENTIVES FOR TEXAS. OH, WE CAN HELP YOU WITH CLOSING COSTS. DO YOU KNOW WHAT $20,000 DOES FOR SOMETHING THAT'S $605,000? NOTHING. SO I NEED YOU TO REALLY CHANGE THAT. THAT FIRST TIME HOME BUYER INCENTIVE SHOULD NOT BE 20 TO 30 GRAND. IT NEEDS TO BE LIKE 60 BECAUSE THE TIMES ARE DIFFERENT AND WE REALLY NEED HELP WITH THAT. >> YEAH, WE NEED SUBSTANTIAL ASSISTANCE FOR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS. AND YOU MENTIONED THE CALIFORNIANS PUTTING DOWN MONEY. ACTUALLY, THE FOLKS WHO ARE BUYING UP MOST OF THE PROPERTIES HERE IN TEXAS, IT'S WALL STREET. AND SO WE NEED TO BAN