Sunday shows preview: Midterm campaigns approach final week

The upcoming midterm elections are expected to dominate this week’s Sunday show circuit as campaigns enter their final stretch before Election Day on Nov. 8.

Polling has shown Senate races becoming increasingly tight as that day approaches, including in swing states such as Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin where key races could determine which party wins control of the upper chamber.

Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz (Pa.) appears to be catching up with Democratic opponent Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, while a new poll from CNN earlier this week found incumbent Senator Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) lead over Democrat Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes had shrunk to just one point.

Meanwhile, Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters (Ariz.) appears to be making gains on incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly.

New Hampshire polls has also found that the Republican Senate candidate Don Bolduc is making strides in his campaign against incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan (D), for whom First Lady Jill Biden is campaigning this weekend.

Sunday’s shows will host a range of candidates for office, both incumbents and newcomers.

Bolduc will join Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” alongside fellow Republican Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka (Alaska), who debated against incumbent Alaskan Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) on Thursday.

Tshibaka, a conservative Trump-endorsee, argued that her opponent is “extreme” based on her positions on abortion access, which Murkowski supports, and other issues.

Murkowski, meanwhile, claimed that her opponent is out of touch with Alaskans because of the length of time Tshibaka has spent outside of her home state.

Incumbent New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R), who is facing a challenge from state Sen. Tom Sherman (D), will also make an appearance on Sunday, on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Sununu debated against Sherman on Tuesday.

Oregon candidate for governor Christine Drazan (R) will appear on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” along with big-name Republican figures like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Recent polls have shown Drazan with a narrow lead over Democrat Tina Kotek. Amid signs that the seat, which has not been held by a Republican since 1987, could be at risk, President Joe Biden visited the state and campaigned on Totek’s behalf earlier this month.

Incumbent New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D), the chair of House Democrats’ campaign arm, is also facing a close race, with the nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report shifting his seat from “lean Democrat” to “toss up” earlier this week. Maloney is set to appear on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, along with the chair of House Republicans’ campaign arm, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.).

Other leading figures in the GOP’s campaign efforts are also set to make appearances: Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott (Fla.) will be on both ABC’s “This Week” and CNN’s “State of the Union,” and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is set to appear on “Fox News Sunday.”

Below is the full list of guests scheduled to appear on this week’s Sunday talk shows:

ABC’s “This Week” — Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.)

NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Gov. Chris Sununu (R-N.H.)

CBS’s “Face the Nation” — Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly.

CNN’s “State of the Union” — Scott, Democratic North Carolina Senate nominee Cheri Beasley

“Fox News Sunday” — Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel

Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Republican Alaska Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka, Republican New Hampshire Senate candidate Don Bolduc, Republican Oregon gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan