This is the Tangle Sunday Edition, a brief roundup of our independent politics coverage plus some extra features for your Sunday morning reading.
DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!
This Tuesday is Election Day! If you haven’t already, remember to make a plan to vote and make your voice heard. Click here to find your polling place.
Later in the evening, we’ll break down the results of the election as they come in. Isaac and the rest of the team, with some special guests, will go live at 7PM ET — sponsored in part by Incogni. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get the notification.
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This week, Isaac, Ari and Kmele discussed the breaking news out of Alaska, some viral midterm campaign moments, and what ballot initiatives have caught their eyes. Watch the latest episode below!
The latest Suspension of the Rules
Monday, October 26.
The DOJ’s Alaska lawsuit. On Thursday, October 22, the Justice Department sued Alaska and its Division of Elections director, seeking to preemptively block certification of the state’s Senate election if it is impacted by “voter confusion.” The closely contested race features two candidates named Dan Sullivan; Dan S. Sullivan is the incumbent Republican senator, and Daniel J. Sullivan is a challenger with no party affiliation. The lawsuit alleges that Daniel J. Sullivan entered the race “with the intention of misleading supporters of Senator Sullivan.” Attorneys for Democratic candidate Mary Peltola have asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.
Executive Editor Isaac Saul’s take: “All signs suggest that Daniel J. Sullivan launched his campaign to sow confusion in the election. That doesn’t justify the DOJ preemptively challenging the election results. However, it is another chapter in the ongoing election chicanery both parties have been undertaking for decades, and it’s exhausting.”
Senior Editor Will Kaback’s concurrence: “Republicans challenged the unaffiliated Sullivan’s candidacy, and the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that he qualified for the ballot. In that case, what grounds does the Justice Department have to bring a preemptive suit? Even as I share Isaac’s (and Republicans’) frustration with what’s playing out in Alaska’s Senate race, I’m much more alarmed by the power the DOJ seeks to assert in its response.”
Reader Survey:
Tuesday, October 27.
The farm aid package. On Monday, October 19, President Donald Trump announced the Harvest Fuel Relief Program (HFR), an $8 billion program to support farmers during a spike in diesel costs. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) will disburse the funds as one-time payments based on a formula that projects farmers’ needed aid, with the first payments potentially going out by the end of the year.
Contributing Editor Isaac Wood’s take: “The aid package is clearly a short-term solution to much deeper problems. We should support farmers, but this isn’t the way to do it. There’s no easy fix to the underlying issues, but we can do better than band-aid fixes.”
Managing Editor Ari Weitzman’s concurrence: “I agree with Isaac’s overall points about this issue. However, I’d say the issue here is deeper than even we can see: As Americans, we are completely disconnected from our food systems and have no sensitivity to the problems that threaten them. Until we completely rework our agricultural system to help farmers grow food, we’re putting band-aids on a cancer patient.”
Reader Survey:
Wednesday, October 28.
The Maine Senate race. In a Senate race that could determine the majority in the upper chamber, Democrat Troy Jackson holds a narrow polling lead over Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins in Maine. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win a Senate majority, and Collins is the only incumbent Republican senator running for reelection this year in a state that Kamala Harris (D) won in 2024. The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections and Sabato’s Crystal Ball all rate the race a toss-up, but Jackson holds a 1.2-point lead over Collins in the most recent RealClearPolitics polling average. As of Saturday evening, 288,000 Mainers have cast early votes in the election, with registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans roughly 2:1.
Senior Editor Will Kaback’s take: “While Maine’s Senate race is a true toss-up, I’d give Sen. Collins the edge. Collins’s influential position in the Senate could be the deciding factor. Both candidates have their own challenges, but I think Jackson has more to overcome.”
Reader Survey:
Thursday, October 29.
Israel’s elections. On Tuesday, October 27, Israel held its first elections since Hamas’s October 7 attacks in 2023. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party won more seats than any other party in Israel’s Knesset but fell short of the 61 seats needed for a majority. The results set the stage for what is expected to be weeks of negotiations over a new governing coalition and Netanyahu’s future.
Executive Editor Isaac Saul’s take: “This election’s outcome challenges the way many Westerners, including me, see Israeli politics. The electorate has evolved throughout Israel’s conflicts, and many voters clearly want a strongman leader. I expected — even hoped for — a different result, but Netanyahu’s grip on power remains steadfast.”
Reader Survey:
Friday, October 30.
With the stage set for the midterm elections this Tuesday, November 3, Executive Editor Isaac Saul revisits one of his classic Tangle essays, making the case for why everyone should vote. This piece is free for all readers, and you can read it here.
What just happened.
Here’s a rundown of the major stories that have broken since our newsletter on Thursday.
On Thursday, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis published its advance estimate that real gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.4% in the third quarter of 2026. (The numbers)
On Thursday, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) said certification of the state’s Senate election could be stopped or changed, pending the outcome of an investigation into reports that Democratic candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign recruited candidates with the same name as her Republican opponent to create voter confusion. Separately, on Thursday, the Justice Department issued approximately three dozen new subpoenas and document preservation requests related to its probe into the Senate race. (The latest)
On Thursday, food delivery company Doordash announced that it would buy grocery delivery service Instacart for $17 billion. (The acquisition)
On Friday, a district judge announced she would open a formal inquiry investigating the Trump administration’s actions in a lawsuit over East Potomac Park and plans for a golf course in Washington, D.C. (The inquiry)
On Friday, the Trump administration approved a $2.1 billion sale of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine. (The sale)
On Saturday, tens of thousands of Germans gathered in demonstrations in major cities across the country to protest cost-of-living issues, underfunded schools, plans for compulsory military service, and environmental issues. (The protests)
On Saturday, crypto firm Binance said it had replaced 90% of the $6.3 billion worth of assets stolen in a hack on Thursday. Analysts and the Federal Bureau of Investigation say that North Korea was behind the hack. (The hack)
Tangle reader Lucy Malamud-Roam has dedicated her life to studying nature — learning how the different parts of ecosystems make up a whole, and how we as humans might better steward that whole. In this week’s reader essay, Lucy turns her attention to the Middle Rio Grande, the river that fuels the city of Albuquerque as well as the many forests along its banks, and explores how the river’s past might help assure its future.
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