Election Brief: What role will crime play in November’s midterm elections?

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TOP STORIES

CRIME ON THE BALLOT: Crime is on the rise in major cities across the country and many Republicans seeking election to the Senate have put the issue at the forefront of their campaigns. Will the GOP’s closing message on crime halt Senate Democrats’ momentum? Read more from Fox News’ Kyle Morris and Andrew Murray: Strategists and political experts weigh effect of GOP’s focus on crime ahead of midterms

WHAT IS A WOMAN? Several Democrats running in this year’s midterm elections refuse to define the word “woman,” while selling merchandise specifically designed for their women supporters. Read more from Fox News’ Aubrie Spady: Top Democratic candidates seek to cash in with women-themed campaign merchandise, but won’t define the term

‘NOEM’ MORE TAXES: Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, who is seeking re-election in the midterms this November, announced that she will eliminate the sales tax on all grocery purchases in South Dakota. Read more from Fox News’ Aubrie Spady: EXCLUSIVE: GOP Gov. Kristi Noem announces ‘largest tax cut in South Dakota history’

DEM FLIP-FLOP ON CRIME: Several Democrats who are engaged in competitive House races have altered their stances on criminal justice provisions they previously championed as the midterm elections approach. Crime has become an important concern for voters ahead of the November elections, with a poll last week indicating that they believe Republicans are more equipped to handle the issue that is now of more importance to them than abortion. Read more from Fox News’ Kyle Morris: Democrats in competitive House races flip-flop on criminal justice provisions they once championed

CAMPAIGN TRAIL UPDATES

OCTOBER SURPRISE: A bombshell report claims Georgia GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker paid for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion 13 years ago — an accusation Walker has flatly denied. Read more from Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser: Georgia GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker denies bombshell report that he paid for a girlfriend’s abortion

WHERE’S BIDEN? “We’ve got to win. We have got to win,”President Biden said Wednesday, with November’s midterm elections less than six weeks away. However, Biden has been mostly absent from the campaign trail as Democrats seek to hold razor-thin majorities. Read more from Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser: Biden midterm campaign schedule nearly nonexistent as Trump rallies for Republicans across the country

KEYSTONE CRIME WAVE: Republican Pennsylvania Senate nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz says his “diagnosis” to that rising crime plaguing his state places blame squarely on his “radical” Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, for creating the conditions for criminal activity to prosper. In an interview this week with Fox News Digital, Oz asserted that instances of violent crime, as well as events like the ransacking of a Wawa gas station by a mob of people over the weekend, were now “normalized,” and described such occurrences as a “cancer” to society. Read more from Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie and Andrew Murray: Dr. Oz’s crime ‘diagnosis’ places blame on ‘radical’ John Fetterman: ‘We have got to take our cities back’

POLLS & PREDICTIONS

POLLING PA: With six weeks to go until November’s elections, a new public opinion poll in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania indicates that Fetterman is slightly ahead of GOP nominee Oz in the race for Senate, with Democratic state Attorney General Josh Shapiro leading Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano by double digits in the gubernatorial showdown. Read more from Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser: Pennsylvania showdowns: Fetterman topping Oz, Shapiro leading Mastriano, in new poll

NEW DEM PRIORITIES: After Democratic candidates spent the past several months campaigning with laser-focus on abortion, recent polls found Democratic voters in multiple key midterm states say their top concern going into November is “threats to the democracy.” A Marist Poll survey among Pennsylvanians discovered that “preserving democracy” is the top issue to 40% of likely Democrat voters, trumping abortion and inflation. Read more from Fox News’ Aubrie Spady: In key midterm states, Dem voters move on from abortion, now say protecting democracy top election issue

NON-CITIZENS ON THE BALLOT: A new poll released Wednesday showed a majority of Democrats in Ohio overwhelmingly oppose banning individuals who aren’t U.S. citizens from voting in local elections, just weeks before voters will decide whether to approve a ballot initiative seeking such a ban. Read more from Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie: Majority of Democrats in key midterm state oppose banning noncitizens from voting in local elections: new poll

IT’S STILL THE ECONOMY: A new CBS/YouGov poll shows Republicans with a slight lead over Democrats and the economy far ahead of abortion as the top issue on voters’ minds just weeks ahead of the November midterm elections. Of the voters who said they were likely to vote in November, 82% said the economy was very important to them as they cast their vote, while 76% said inflation was very important. Read more from Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie: Republicans slightly favored over Democrats as abortion falls to seventh in importance to voters: poll

FIVE WEEKS TO GO…

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