Campaign Report — Debates turn fiery in battleground states

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Candidates square off in key races

It’s that time of year again….debate season.

And Monday night marked the biggest debate marathon this campaign season.

Georgia: Incumbent Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams went head-to-head in their first debate since their campaign for the governor’s mansion in 2018. This year’s forum took place on the first day of early voting in the state, giving the candidates the opportunity to present their cases to undecided voters. The Hill’s Max Greenwood has your 5 takeaways from last night’s Georgia gubernatorial debate.

Ohio: At the Senate level, sparks flew between Ohio candidates Tim Ryan and J.D. Vance in their final televised debate. The final minutes of the debate that saw the most action, with Ryan accusing Vance of holding anti-immigrant and racist beliefs and Vance hitting back by citing his own family and calling the claim “slander.” The Hill’s Julia Manchester has your 5 takeaways from that debate.

Utah: Meanwhile in Utah, incumbent Republican Sen. Mike Lee and his Indepdent opponent Evan McMullin took the stage in what has become one of the more unexpectedly competitive Senate contests. The forum saw a number of contentious moments, including a back-and-forth over Congress’ certification of the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021. The Hill’s Caroline Vakil has your 5 takeaways from the Utah debate.

But this week’s debate marathon isn’t over yet

On Tuesday evening, incumbent Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio will face off against his Democratic challenger Rep. Val Demings in their first and only televised debate this cycle.

The stakes: The forum in Palm Beach could provide Demings, former chief of the Orlando Police Department, with an opportunity to bump up her support. While the race has been relatively close, Rubio has maintained a lead in the polls throughout the cycle. The latest Real Clear Politics and FiveThrityEight polling averages shows Rubio with a 4.7 lead.

Democrats worry they may have peaked too soon

President Biden and Democrats saw some real momentum in August, sparking hope that the party could perform well or at least minimize their losses in November. Gas prices came down dramatically from the $5 per gallon they were averaging earlier in the summer, while Democrats passed bipartisan legislation to spur investment in semiconductor computer chips and the Inflation Reduction Act.

However, as The Hill’s Alex Gangitano and Brett Samuels report, recent polling has Democrats worrying they may have peaked too soon.

A New York Times-Siena College poll released Monday showed Republicans leading 49-45 over Democrats on the generic ballot roughly one month before November’s elections. That marks a shift from September, when the same poll found Democrats leading Republicans by 1 percentage point.

“The inflation outlook improved a little bit as gas prices fell but then got worse again, and momentum this cycle has tracked with these sort of baseline economic indicators,” Ethan Winter, an analyst at the progressive group Data for Progress, told The Hill.

4 sleeper races to watch

We’ve reported a lot on the Senate races happening in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Nevada, but The Hill’s Alexander Bolton has you covered on the four sleeper races that could decide the Senate majority: North Carolina, Florida, Colorado, and Washington State.

Democrats facing headwinds with women

While Democrats hope the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the debate over abortion access will play a pivotal role in galvanizing women voters to their side in November, recent polling paints a potentially worrying picture for Democratic support among the crucial voting bloc.

The same New York Times-Siena College poll released on Monday showed female Independents favoring the GOP by 18 points, a sizable increase since September at a critical juncture before the midterm elections. The Hill’s Hanna Trudo and Julia Manchester report that the latest polling is raising questions about Democrats’ strategy to put so much of their focus on abortion to begin with as Republicans seem to have found their sweet spot focusing on inflation and crime.

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Campaign page for the latest news and coverage. See you tomorrow.