What we covered here
• Tomorrow’s elections: Candidates were making closing arguments tonight ahead of a set of elections that are seen as a test for President Donald Trump and Democrats looking to oppose him. Here are the races we’ll be tracking.
• CNN poll: The elections come as a new poll shows the Democratic Party holds a sizable enthusiasm advantage as views of Trump dip further. Roughly 31% consider the federal government shutdown a crisis and 61% disapprove of Trump’s handling of it.
• Day 34 of the shutdown: Meanwhile, the administration said it will provide partial food stamp benefits for November by tapping into the program’s contingency fund. Recipients will not see the payments immediately.
Our live coverage has ended. Get the latest here.
Earle-Sears makes closing arguments for VA Gov. after Trump does not endorse
Republican Virginia gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears made her closing arguments late Monday night in Manassas as the president and the party seemingly turned stronger support to Jason Miyares, who is running for reelection as attorney general.
Earle-Sears hammered issues such as the car tax, energy, immigration, crime and job creation while attacking her Democratic opponent, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger.
The rally came hours after President Donald Trump called in to an election eve tele-rally in support of the Virginia Republican statewide ticket. Despite reiterating that there were “great Republican candidates, up and down the line,” Trump did not formally endorse Earle-Sears.
“I will stand up for you … Please vote for us,” the Virginia lieutenant governor said to an enthusiastic crowd.
A good portion of Earle-Sears’ final address focused on affordability and characterizing Spanberger as insincere with “a backbone of pasta.”
“If you want to keep more money in your own pocket that you worked so hard for, vote for me,” Earle-Sears said.
Cuomo dismisses Trump’s endorsement: “He's not endorsing me. He's opposing Mamdani”
Andrew Cuomo tonight dismissed President Donald Trump’s election eve endorsement in the New York City’s mayoral race, insisting that the president was simply interested in opposing Zohran Mamdani.
When pressed by a reporter whether Trump’s support will hurt him in the election, Cuomo said, “He’s not endorsing me. He’s opposing Mamdani.”
Trump earlier on Monday urged New Yorkers to vote for the former Democratic governor, who is running as an independent, saying he has a “Record of Success.”
“Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job,” the president wrote on Truth Social, adding that Cuomo “is capable of it” and that Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani “is not!”
"In about 26 hours, we’re declaring victory," Ciattarelli says at election eve rally in his N.J. hometown
Republican Jack Ciattarelli closed out his third bid for governor of New Jersey tonight in his hometown of Raritan, telling supporters his opponent’s campaign is “built on a stack of lies, disdain for the president, and she can fly a helicopter.”
Ciattarelli said people are tired of leadership in Trenton, the New Jersey state capital,. where a Democrat has held the governorship for the past eight years. “People want change, we need change,” he said.
“I grew up in a home about 200 yards from here,” Ciattarelli said. “I want to get back to that day. My parents never had to worry about me walking to the bus stop. My parents never had to worry about what I was learning school that day.”
Toward the end of his remarks, Ciattarelli called out a woman named Flo, who he said prays for him regularly.
“But you have to vote too, Flo, prayers and no votes is no good,” he joked. “Prayers and votes is real good. By the way, I heard recently that God is non partisan. A priest told me that, and I told the priest, he may be non partisan, but this year he’s voting Republican.”
Mikie Sherrill's closing argument at election eve rally: “We’re fighting for opportunity”
Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic nominee for New Jersey governor, made her closing arguments at an election eve rally tonight.
Some background: She is facing Republican Jack Ciattarelli who has leaned on his support from President Donald Trump in the traditionally Democratic-leaning state. Sherrill hasn’t been able to pull away after several public polls found her with a single-digit edge over Ciattarelli.
Stephen Colbert endorses Mikie Sherrill for New Jersey governor
Late night host Stephen Colbert issued a plea today to his fellow New Jerseyans to vote for his congresswoman, Mikie Sherrill.
Colbert lives in Montclair, N.J., the same town as Sherrill and calls her “a friend and neighbor.”
“I know that she’s going to make New Jersey proud as our next governor,” he said.
Mamdani says Trump and Musk endorsed Cuomo "because they know that he will be the puppet that they want"
Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani said tonight that President Donald Trump’s endorsement of independent candidate Andrew Cuomo shows that the former governor waited until the last day before the election “to fully embrace the MAGA movement that we have long said he is tied to.”
New Yorkers don’t want to see “a mimic” of Trump’s agenda come to the city hall, Mamdani told CNN’s Erin Burnett.
Posting on Truth Social, Trump also threatened to curtail federal funding to New York City beyond “the very minimum as required” if Mamdani becomes mayor.
In response, Mamdani told CNN that the president is threatened by his campaign.
“Like his [campaign,] we’ve diagnosed the crisis in working class New Yorkers’ lives, the cost of living. But unlike him, we’re actually going to deliver on that. And that is a contrast that he can’t bear to see,” Mamdani said.
“Because while he is spending $300 million remodeling a White House ballroom — the same amount of money that could provide SNAP benefits for 100,000 New Yorkers — he’s trying to make it harder for Americans across the country to actually afford groceries.”
Mamdani also said that New York City is owed the money that Trump is threatening to cut off.
“It’s not Donald Trump’s to decide which city or state will get what money,” he said. “And this is the money that we’re going to fight for.”
Sherrill supporters say women’s rights and Trump's policies are some of their top issues
Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s supporters gathered at an outdoor election eve rally tonight in her New Jersey hometown, braving the rain as they waited to hear the Democratic gubernatorial candidate make her closing arguments.
Mary Friedman, 70, told CNN she’s “never lived in the country feeling this kind of apprehension and sense of like doom.”
That’s why democracy, particularly reproductive rights, is her top issue.
Sheila Byron-Lagattuta, a retired police officer, echoed Friedman’s concerns.
“My mantra in life is the women’s suffrage movement and rights for women, and we don’t need Jack coming after our uteruses,” Byron-Lagattuta said, referring to Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican gubernatorial nominee.
Meanwhile, Zane Keyes, the owner of a barbershop in Montclair who identifies as a democratic socialist, said he’s supporting Sherrill because he believes she’ll stand up to President Donald Trump.
He said he wants “somebody who will submit litigation, legislation and fight the presidency in court,” on policies such as immigration.
Mamdani says his only commonality with Trump is “diagnosing” the affordability crisis
Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani wrapped up tonight on the campaign trail by riding the subway from Manhattan to Queens where he met a dozens of campaign volunteers gathered in his home district of Astoria.
Mamdani, his entourage and a small group of reporters boarded the Queens-bound W train as rush hour was underway at 34th Street Herald Square – one of the busiest stations in the city.
Speaking to CNN, Mamdani acknowledged that he and President Donald Trump shared similarities in the way they campaigned and attracted their supporters – using social media as a megaphone and running on one consistent issue. But he said the similarities stopped there.
Mamdani, who used social media to power his campaign and focused relentlessly on affordability, said Trump, like him had “diagnosed” the problem facing voters accurately, but failed to do anything about it.
Trump skips endorsement of Virginia's GOP gubernatorial nominee during election eve tele-rally
President Donald Trump called in to an election eve tele-rally in support of the Virginia Republican statewide ticket, but notably stopped short of endorsing the GOP gubernatorial nominee, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.
The president praised Attorney General Jason Miyares, calling him “a fantastic man,” and saying “he has my complete and total endorsement,” while avoiding a similar statement about Earle-Sears.
Trump blasted the state’s Democratic nominees, saying, “The entire Democrat ticket in Virginia is totally unfit to hold office. Frankly. I mean, they are the worst.”
Despite reiterating that there were “great Republican candidates, up and down the line,” Trump did not formally endorse Earle-Sears.
In early October, Trump endorsed Miyares for reelection in a social media post that referenced Earle-Sears’ Democratic opponent, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, but did not extend his backing to Earle-Sears.
Trump visited Virginia recently to mark the US Navy’s 250th anniversary at Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval base. During that event, he again notably avoided mentioning Earle-Sears, a retired Marine.
Trump and Earle-Sears have a complicated relationship. Earle-Sears served in 2020 as national chairwoman of Black Americans to Reelect Trump and campaigned on his behalf throughout the country. But in a 2022 interview, she said Trump shouldn’t run again.
New Jersey race: Shortly after the Virginia phone rally, the president joined a separate tele-rally, urging New Jersey voters to vote for GOP gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli.
In both tele-rallies, the president returned to a familiar talking point, railing against high energy costs — a top issue on the campaign trail.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren defends Mamdani's focus on affordability
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said she thinks the people of New York City are with Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani even as top New York Democrats in Congress avoid labeling the self-described Democratic socialist as the future of the party.
Asked by CNN about Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s refusal to say who he voted for in the race, Warren responded, “That’s Chuck Schumer. I’m there, and I think the people of New York City are also with Zohran Mamdani.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who endorsed Mamdani less than 2 weeks before Election Day after dancing around the issue for months, told CNN on Sunday that he did not think the Democratic mayoral nominee was the future of the party.
Pressed on the same question, Warren touted the tenants of Mamdani’s campaign, saying he “talks about making the city affordable for the people who want to live there.”
“He’s talking about putting government on the side of the people. Look, Donald Trump knows who he wants to help make government work for, and that is billionaires,” she said.
“Democrats are in this fight to lower costs for American families, and right now that fight centers on healthcare, because people are getting their notices that their premiums are doubling and tripling, and they literally cannot afford it,” she added.
Sen. Kennedy warns of "pox" on both parties if shutdown drags on
GOP Sen. John Kennedy said he doesn’t expect his colleagues to warm up to eliminating the filibuster to reopen the government without winning over the support of any more Democrats, despite the president’s plea to throw out the chamber’s 60-vote threshold.
“I understand President Trump’s frustration,” Kennedy said on Monday evening, telling reporters he spoke to Trump recently and explained the necessity of the long-standing Senate rule.
“I said, ‘Mr. President, the job of the senator is not just to advance good ideas. The job of a senator is also to kill bad ideas,’” he added.
Asked by CNN how Trump responded, Kennedy said, “Like you would expect, he wasn’t happy.”
“Sometimes reasonable people disagree, but my personal opinion, I could be wrong, but I doubt we’re not going to change the filibuster or the blue slip while we’re in charge during your or my natural lifetime,” he continued.
Kennedy also predicted political backlash for both parties if the shutdown, which is due to tie the longest in US history on Tuesday, continues to drag on.
“The longer this goes, the more likely result is that the American people just say a pox on both of our houses,” he told CNN.
It's Election Day tomorrow. What are the polls saying about the key races?
We’re a day away from 2025’s off-year elections. Beyond how the races themselves turn out, the contests will be a valuable source of data to analyze – and perhaps overanalyze – ahead of next year’s midterms.
Here’s an overview of what the polls suggest about the big races we’re watching.
Virginia statewide races: A Washington Post-Schar School poll asked voters to describe the most important issue in the race. The share who responded with negative comments about President Donald Trump or Republicans came second only to concerns about economic issues and the cost of living. The Post-Schar poll, which found Democrat Abigail Spanberger with a 12-point lead over Republican Winsome Earle-Sears among likely voters, joins other recent surveys in the state that show Spanberger with a stable advantage in the race.
New Jersey governor: Many recent surveys of the race, including polls from Quinnipiac University, Fox News, Fairleigh Dickinson University and the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, have found Democrat Mikie Sherrill with an edge among likely voters, hovering around the 50% mark, while her opponent, Republican Jack Ciattarelli, stands closer to 45%.
New York City mayor: New York City’s multi-candidate mayoral race poses a unique challenge for pollsters. Surveys of likely voters, however, have been largely consistent in showing Democrat Zohran Mamdani with a double-digit lead over his nearest rival, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, with Republican Curtis Sliwa in third. They differ on the precise scope of Mamdani’s advantage, although most have found him shy of clearing a majority of support in the race.
California redistricting: A mid-October poll from CBS/YouGov found 62% of likely voters in support of Proposition 50, while an October Public Policy Institute of California poll put that support at 56%. It’s worth noting that past research has found that polling sometimes overshoots support for initiatives that implement new changes – whether liberal or conservative – because some voters default to preferring the status quo.
Read more about polling on the key races here.
Breaking down Zohran Mamdani's viral success
Zohran Mamdani’s upset victory in the New York City mayoral Democratic primary set a blueprint for other campaigns hoping to win over an online electorate.
CNN’s David Wright spoke to Mamdani’s communications director about the campaign’s strategy:
Zohran Mamdani's upset victory in the New York City Mayoral Democratic primary set a blueprint for other campaigns hoping to win over an online electorate. CNN’s David Wright spoke to Mamdani’s communications director about the campaign’s strategy.
Trump urges New Yorkers to vote for Cuomo for mayor
President Donald Trump urged New Yorkers to vote for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the city’s mayoral race on the eve of the election.
Trump has previously offered tepid support for the former Democratic governor who’s running as an independent, casting the election as a choice between the better of two bad options, while discounting the Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa.
“I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or another, but if it’s going to be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’m going to pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you,” Trump told CBS’ “60 Minutes” in an interview airing Sunday.
Bipartisan group of 4 House lawmakers share framework for a potential deal on health care subsidies
A small bipartisan group of House lawmakers announced an outline for a potential agreement on how to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are at the heart of the ongoing government shutdown.
It is unclear if party leadership has signed off on this proposal, but the framework indicates that rank and file lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are working to find an end to the shutdown stalemate.
The “statement of principles” from the four House lawmakers would include a two-year extension of the subsidies, an income cap between $200,000 and $400,000 for eligibility, and guardrails to prevent improper payments.
The group is comprised of GOP Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Jeff Hurd of Colorado, and Democratic Reps. Tom Suozzi of New York and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey.
The ongoing government shutdown has largely centered around what to do with these expiring enhanced premium subsidies. Democrats have said they need a deal on the expiring subsidies before they would deliver the votes to reopen the government, while Republicans have maintained that they will not engage in negotiations until Democrats vote to reopen the government.
Sliwa rips Musk and declares, “Everybody loves Curtis” on eve of NY mayoral election
Curtis Sliwa, the GOP nominee for mayor of New York City, mocked doubters of his longshot campaign, saying that “everybody loves Curtis, like the show ‘Everybody Loves Raymond,’ and now I have to translate it into votes tomorrow.”
Speaking today to CNN’s Kasie Hunt, Sliwa ripped tech billionaire Elon Musk for backing independent Andrew Cuomo. He accused Cuomo, who is running as an independent, of making a “corrupt” deal with Musk when he was governor and saying that “we got like 25 solar panels out of Buffalo.”
Sliwa also castigated opponents of Zohran Mamdani who have suggested they might leave New York City if the self-professed democratic socialist is elected.
Watch some of Sliwa’s interview with Kasie Hunt below.
Some VCU students back Spanberger for Virginia governor in hopes to see change for the Latino community
Some students at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) who are headed to the polls say they are concerned about the targeting of the Latino community by the Trump administration.
Elizabeth Zepeda-Cantarero: “We’ve been targeted a lot by this administration,” the college junior told CNN. “So I believe that it’s important to come out and support (Democratic candidate) Abigail Spanberger so that I can see a change in in my community for the better.”
Cynthia Mora: Also a junior at VCU, Mora plans to vote for Spanberger as she is worried over the rising cost of living and seeing attacks on the Latino community. “I think that there’s so many things that I see on the news and so many things about this administration that I see that it’s terrifying,” she said. “I love my community to death, and I want to make sure that people feel safe.”
“It’s scary, but I’m really hoping that in Virginia, we fight back against it,” she said.
Anna Garcia: Spanberger is “bringing hope back to politics,” the sophomore said, arguing that the Republican nominee Winsome Earle-Sears is “out of touch.”
The latest Washington Post-Schar School poll found that Spanberger leads Earle-Sears by a wide margin — 64% to 30% — among likely voters under 30.
Pelosi says Trump is "the worst thing on the face of the Earth"
California Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi on Monday castigated President Donald Trump as a “vile creature” who is “the worst thing on the face of the Earth.”
In an interview with CNN’s Elex Michaelson, Pelosi was discussing Thomas Jefferson’s vision of the United States and the separation of powers that formed three branches of government, in contrast with Trump’s expansive view of executive power.
“Our founders did not want to have again — how can I say this? It’ll sound like I’m awful about Trump, because he’s just a vile creature, the worst thing on the face of the Earth,” she said.
Asked whether she really believes that, Pelosi responded: “Yeah, I do. Because he’s the president of the United States, and he does not honor the Constitution of the United States.”
“In fact, he’s turned the Supreme Court into a rogue court,” the former House speaker said. “He’s abolished the House of Representatives. He’s chilled the press.”
Musk urges New Yorkers to vote for Cuomo in mayor's race
Tech billionaire Elon Musk weighed in on New York’s high-drama mayoral race with one day to go, posting “VOTE CUOMO!”
The misspelling or mispronounciation of Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani’s name is common among his opponents, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent.
Musk has largely pulled back from his conservative politicking after he contributed more than a quarter of a billion dollars backing Donald Trump and other Republicans in the 2024 elections, serving a short stint in the new Department of Government Efficiency, and pouring more than $20 million into a high-stakes state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin earlier this year.
But his post reflects heightened anxiety among opponents of Mamdani who is leading in polls heading into election day. Other ultra-wealthy supporters of Cuomo have also sought to marshal their large social media followings to the polls.
“Vote like your city depends on it!,” the billionaire investor Bill Ackman wrote on X today, sharing a public poll showing Mamdani leading.