| | | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine | Presented by Kidney Care Access Coalition | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | |  Tonight, former President Barack Obama and Eminem will campaign for Harris in Detroit. | Pool photo by Evelyn Hockstein | THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS — Two weeks out from the end of the election, VP KAMALA HARRIS and former President DONALD TRUMP continue their final campaign blitzes across the country. The latest national poll: A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds Harris leading Trump, 46 percent to 43 percent.
- Good news for Harris: Among likely voters, Harris held a three-point lead, 48 percent to 45 percent.
- Good news for Trump: “Asked which candidate had the better approach on the issues, Trump led on the economy — 46% to 38% — and on immigration by 48% to 35%.”
How is the Harris camp feeling right now? CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere writes of a “jittery self-confidence” among Harris’ aides — even as in texts, they “kept using phrases such as ‘jump ball’ and ‘down to the wire’ and the occasional emoji with nauseous green cheeks.” HAPPENING TODAY — Tonight, former President BARACK OBAMA will campaign for Harris in Detroit. Introducing him at the rally will be MARSHALL MATHERS , the rapper better known as EMINEM, CNN reports. It’s an intriguing choice that can be read as a play for headlines, a play for Detroit-area men, a play for elder millennials, a play for middle-class white suburbanites (like Macomb native Mathers himself), a play for the affections of young-ish voters, or all of the above. NOT HAPPENING TODAY — “Donald Trump was scheduled to appear at a virtual town hall with ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. and former Rep. TULSI GABBARD (D-Hawaii) today at 2 p.m. — but it was canceled, with the organizers citing ‘changes in Trump’s schedule,’” per Brittany Gibson. ALREADY HAPPENED TODAY — In an event with Latino leaders in Miami this morning, Trump targeted his rhetoric on Harris, opening the event by claiming the VP is “sleeping right now” and “not doing anything today.” Trump also claimed that an “enemy from within” the U.S. government was behind the recent leak of classified documents regarding Israel on the Telegram messaging app. More per WaPo HAPPENING THIS WEEK — Harris will head to the Lone Star State to speak to voters at “ground zero of state-level abortion bans in the post-Roe era,” Myah Ward writes. Why Texas, a state she’s unlikely to win? “[T]hink less about the location and more about the national message,” Myah writes. “The campaign stop is the latest effort to elevate an issue that fueled Democrats to a better-than-expected showing in the 2022 midterms. And it underscores the Harris campaign’s belief that Trump’s position on abortion can once again persuade women — especially white women without a college degree — to vote for her.” Joining Harris in Houston on Friday will be Democratic Senate hopeful Rep. COLIN ALLRED, who narrowly trails Republican Sen. TED CRUZ in recent polls. While still a reach for Democrats, “an Allred win would be critical to Harris’ hopes of working with a Democratic Senate majority should she win in November,” The Texas Tribune’s Jasper Scherer reports. While in Texas, Harris will sit for an interview with the popular podcaster BRENÉ BROWN. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — LCV Victory Fund launched a new $1 million ad in North Carolina and Georgia today spotlighting the damage that will be caused by increasingly strong hurricanes, while taking a swipe at Trump’s “climate denialism.” The 30-second spot features clips of hurricane and disaster damage and images of newborns, emphasizing the impact of climate change on future generations. The ad, which will run up until election day, comes as Trump heads to Greensboro, North Carolina this week for a rally in the battleground state. Watch the ad Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@politico.com.
| | | | A message from Kidney Care Access Coalition: Today, dialysis patients can be forced off the health coverage that works best for them – even impacting coverage for their spouse and kids.
The Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act (S. 5018 and H.R. 6860) is a bipartisan and bicameral bill that will restore protections for dialysis patients and ensure that these patients and their families have a choice in their coverage.
The time for Congress to act is now.
https://www.kidneycareaccess.org/ | | | | MORE CAMPAIGN READS …
- In Florida, Gov. RON DeSANTIS is going all in on fighting against an abortion-rights referendum. Yesterday, his official office held “a campaign-like rally at state expense” to advocate against the amendment, AP’s Brendan Farrington reports from Tallahassee. And a former state lawyer accused DeSantis’ office of forcing him to threaten TV stations if they aired a pro-amendment ad.
- In Alabama, Democrats are seeing an opening in the race for the newly redrawn 2nd District, Madison Fernandez reports. Democrat SHOMARI FIGURES has pulled in some major funding in recent weeks, while a new poll has him “leading [opponent CAROLEENE] DOBSON 48 percent to 36 percent.”
| | 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  Republicans lawmakers are bracing for a possible intra-party battle next year over a rule designating the amount of members required to oust a Speaker from office. | Luis Magana/AP | 1. PAGING MR. SPEAKER: The looming election has congressional Republicans on edge, as they brace for possible intra-party battle next year over a rule designating the amount of members required to oust a Speaker from office, Olivia Beavers and Jordain Carney report . Current procedure allows for a single member to call for a motion to vacate the office, and while Speaker MIKE JOHNSON is pushing to raise the number, his conservative flank — many of members of which “haven’t committed to supporting his bid for the gavel” — are fighting to keep the rule. The big picture: “Republicans in and out of leadership are calling for a hard reset on the power dynamics that have plagued their conference since January 2023 … The vast majority of House Republicans see another extended speakership brawl, like the three-week episode triggered by [former Speaker KEVIN] McCARTHY’s ouster, as a nightmare scenario.” The nitty gritty: “Johnson has a basic math problem — he only has a three-vote margin, so he doesn’t currently have the votes within his own conference to raise the ouster threshold. His best chance is growing his majority significantly in November, which could be a tall order.” 2. SOBERING READ: “How elderly dementia patients are unwittingly fueling political campaigns,” by CNN’s Blake Ellis, Melanie Hicken, Yahya Abou-Ghazala, Audrey Ash, Kyung Lah, Anna-Maja Rappard, Casey Tolan, Lou Robinson and Byron Manley: “More than 1,000 reports filed with government agencies and consumer advocacy groups reviewed by CNN, along with an analysis of campaign finance data and interviews with dozens of contributors and their family members, show how deceptive political fundraisers have victimized hundreds of elderly Americans and misled those battling dementia or other cognitive impairments into giving away millions of dollars — far more than they ever intended. Some unintentionally joined the ranks of the top grassroots political donors in the country as they tapped into retirement savings and went into debt, contributing six-figure sums through thousands of transactions.” While both sides have been criticized for misleading fundraising tactics, “[t]he Republican fundraising machine has been subject to more than 800 complaints to the Federal Trade Commission since 2022 — nearly seven times more than the number of complaints lodged against the other side,” they report. One sad example: “One 82-year-old woman, who wore pajamas with holes in them because she didn’t want to spend money on new ones, didn’t realize she had given Republicans more than $350,000 while living in a 1,000 square-foot Baltimore condo since 2020.” 3. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Hezbollah militants launched another barrage of rockets targeting Tel Aviv, just hours before Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN landed in the Middle East in an effort to push again for a cease-fire agreement, WSJ’s Anat Peled and Alexander Ward report . “Five projectiles were fired at the Israeli business capital just before 8 a.m. local time … The Israeli military said it intercepted most of the projectiles, with one falling in an open area, and said no injuries were reported. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted an intelligence base in Glilot, near Tel Aviv, belonging to the elite Unit 8200.” Latest on the ground: “Over a dozen killed in Israeli strikes near one of Beirut’s main hospitals,” per the AP 4. NO ESCAPE: If you thought you could escape the election by moving overseas, think again. The DNC “estimates that 1.6 million U.S. voters abroad are eligible to vote in one of the seven battleground states … that will likely determine the outcome of the election,” Reuters’ Makini Brice reports from Paris. “So for the first time in a presidential election the DNC has given Democrats Abroad funding — around $300,000 — to help register Americans overseas to vote and ramp up its mail-in voting operations and other efforts. It has taken out ads on social media urging Americans abroad to send in their ballots.” But but but … “The Republican National Committee, which is largely integrated with the Trump campaign, has targeted overseas voting in legal challenges, notably North Carolina and Pennsylvania. If the lawsuits are successful, they would decrease the number of Americans abroad who could vote.” Related read: “Meet the World’s Double Haters,” by Matthew Kaminski: “Our allies in Asia are underwhelmed by the choice between Trump and Harris.” 5. TROUBLE IN BIG SKY COUNTRY: “Senate candidate Tim Sheehy's firm promised jobs and more to a Montana county. It's still waiting,” by NBC News’ Gretchen Morgenson: “Bridger Aerospace Group, a Montana-based aerial firefighting company helmed by TIM SHEEHY … was losing money in 2020 when its top executives made a business pitch to elected officials … Four years later, Bridger is still losing money, its securities filings show, and the $160 million bond deal that sprang from that 2020 meeting is under scrutiny as Sheehy vies for a seat in the U.S. Senate.”
| | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | | Bernie Sanders will join streamers Pokimane and Valkyrae tonight for a Harris event. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at the University of Southern California Capital Campus’ “Trojan Family Reception” on Friday: Carol Folt, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Croix Bethune, Suzanne Nora Johnson, Fred Ryan, Jane Harman, Charlie Bolden, Shelly Nemirovsky, Jeff Smulyan, Jennifer Cohen and Elyse Levine. — MSNBC Films and The New Yorker screened their documentary short film “It’s Okay,” which examines hate against drag artists, last night at the Stonewall Center in NYC. David Teague moderated a Q&A afterward with producer Jesse Tyler Ferguson, director David France and drag artist Shelita Bonet Hoyle. Also SPOTTED: Justin Mikita and Lea DeLaria. TRANSITION — Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) will be SVP of the Rockefeller Foundation’s U.S. Program & Policy team following the end of his term in January. … Sarah Kapnick is now global head of climate advisory for is now JPMorgan. She previously was chief scientist at NOAA. More from Corbin Hiar WEDDING — Nahiomy Alvarez, senior adviser for debt strategy and policy at the Treasury Department, and Bret Watson, portfolio manager at Edward Jones Trust Company, got married Saturday at the Casasur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires. They met at a Chicago coffee shop in January 2020. Pic … Another pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Elya Taichman, a senior adviser at the State Department and a Lori Trahan and Michelle Lujan Grisham alum, and Jennifer Eisenberg Taichman, VP at dna Communications, welcomed Henry Emanuel Taichman on Oct. 8. Pic … Another pic Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
| | | | A message from Kidney Care Access Coalition:   The Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act will right a wrong and ensure dialysis patients and their families aren’t forced off their health insurance. https://www.kidneycareaccess.org/ | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
