NEW … ONE MASSIVE AND ONE BIG FUNDRAISING HAUL … -- MASSIVE: CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP FUND, a super PAC that backs House Republicans, raised $77.4 million last quarter -- more than double what it did in the same quarter in 2018 ($33 million), when all CLF did was talk about how much money it raised and how great it was. It's their biggest quarter ever -- the closest they've come is $51 million in the second quarter of 2018. CLF is going to be a big boost for Republicans down the stretch -- and they'll need it. -- BIG: IVANKA TRUMP headlined two fundraisers Tuesday, which raised a combined $10 MILLION for the TRUMP reelection campaign. She's raised $25 MILLION in six events in 2020. PRESIDENT'S NUMBERS DROP … WAPO'S ASHLEY PARKER and JOSH DAWSEY: "A GOP group working to elect Senate Republicans conducted polling over the weekend in four states — Colorado, Georgia, Montana and North Carolina — as Trump was hospitalized. The president's numbers dropped 'significantly' in every state, falling by about five points in all four. 'The president is in real trouble,' said one of the group's operatives, who is also close to the White House." Good Tuesday morning. 21 DAYS until Election Day. NYT, A1: "Trump's Return Leaves White House in Disarray as Infections Jolt West Wing," by Maggie Haberman and Annie Karni: "The White House that President Trump woke up in on Tuesday morning was in full-blown chaos, even by the standards of the havoc of the Trump era. "Aides said the president's voice was stronger after his return from the hospital Monday night, but at times he still sounded as if he was trying to catch air. The West Wing was mostly empty, cleared of advisers who were out sick with the coronavirus themselves or told to work from home rather than in the capital's most famous virus hot spot. Staff members in the White House residence were in full personal protective equipment, including yellow gowns, surgical masks and disposable protective eye covers. … "Mr. Trump, diagnosed with Covid-19 last week, was still livid at his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, whose effort on Saturday to tamp down the rosy portrait of Mr. Trump's condition given to reporters by his chief doctor was caught on camera. Other officials were angry with Mr. Meadows for not even trying to control the president. … "Some White House staff members wondered whether Mr. Trump's behavior was spurred by a cocktail of drugs he has been taking to treat the coronavirus, including dexamethasone, a steroid that can cause mood swings and can give a false level of energy and a sense of euphoria. … On Monday night, some of the staff members still at the White House had gathered to watch Mr. Trump's return. When he defiantly took off his mask on the Truman Balcony for a made-for-television moment, aides said it was of course a statement. But they also wondered if the face covering was making it harder for the president to breathe." GRIM PREDICTION -- "Fauci: There could be 300,000 to 400,000 Covid deaths unless precautions taken," by Matthew Choi FROM 30,000 FEET … JOHN HARRIS column: "Trump's Chickens Come Home To Roost. So Do America's." NEW -- MCCONNELL plans to take a shot at criticism of AMY CONEY BARRETT'S religious views this morning: "The ongoing attacks by Senate Democrats and the media on Judge Barrett's faith are a disgrace. … Only our self-parodying liberal media would call it a scandal that a young person in graduate school found community in shared religious beliefs and met their future spouse. Most Americans would call that a beautiful story. … Every Supreme Court Justice in history has possessed personal views. Judges have a job to do and they swear to do it impartially. It is the definition of discrimination to assert that Justice Barrett's particular faith makes her uniquely unqualified for this promotion." AHEAD OF TONIGHT'S VP DEBATE … CHRIS CADELAGO: "How Kamala Harris has stacked up as Joe Biden's No. 2": "Joe Biden's selection of Harris has excited Democrats. She's helped him raise money at a record clip. She is Biden's highest-profile surrogate to swing-state cities like Milwaukee, Detroit and Philadelphia, with a particular focus on courting voters of color, including African Americans and Latinos. "Harris appears solo and alongside Biden in TV ads, a rarity for a VP contender, and stars in digital videos pumped out by the campaign. She's become the 77-year-old nominee's emissary to pop culture, making appearances with musical icons, sitting for podcasts geared toward non-political audiences and drawing millions of views for brief videos of her stepping off the plane in Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers. The verdict: Harris, with a few exceptions, has hit her marks." NEW … POLITICO/MORNING CONSULT POLL: 43% of voters expect HARRIS to best VP MIKE PENCE tonight. 37% say PENCE will come out on top. -- TRUMP still leads BIDEN when it comes to who is viewed as a better steward of the economy. 46% say TRUMP is more trusted, and 42% say BIDEN. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- The DNC WAR ROOM is sending out a memo this morning laying the groundwork for where they want to hammer PENCE at tonight's debate: all pandemic, all the time. The memo HAPPENING TODAY -- ANNA will moderate a WOMEN RULE virtual conversation at 1 P.M. on the VP debate with MAYA HARRIS, JEN PALMIERI and CHRISTINE PELOSI. Register to watch NEW: POLITICO is joining ProPublica's Electionland, a project that tracks how Americans vote and examines voting problems across the country. Electionland also runs a tip line for voters to identify voting issues. Electionland HQ … The tip line BATTLE FOR THE SENATE -- "Susan Collins goes for the jugular with her career on the line," by Burgess Everett: "Susan Collins generally keeps an even keel. But she's had it with Sara Gideon. 'She will say or do anything to try to win,' Collins said of her opponent in a 30-minute interview in her Capitol quarters last week. 'This race is built on a foundation of falsehoods. And trying to convince the people of Maine that somehow I am no longer the same person.' "Collins wasn't done as she accused Gideon of 'defaming my reputation and attacking my integrity' in their increasingly nasty race. For good measure, the Maine Republican added that Gideon's campaign was being run as an arm of Chuck Schumer's Washington operation, scolded Gideon, the statehouse speaker, for not reconvening the legislature amid the pandemic and challenged Gideon's handling of a sexual misconduct scandal. "Perhaps most pointedly, she suggested that Gideon is from away — a serious charge in a state that can turn its nose up at outsiders. 'I grew up in Caribou, I've lived in Bangor for 26 years. My family's been in Maine for generations. She's been in Maine for about 15 years and lives in Freeport,' Collins said acidly of Gideon, who was born and raised in Rhode Island. 'That's a big difference in our knowledge of the state.'" POLITICO | 
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