Good evening, I’m Adam Gabbatt with the latest from Washington and beyond. If you’re not already receiving the Midterms Minute by email, sign up.
Trump train travels to Florida
Happy Halloween! It’s the day when round, orange, fleshy objects are particularly in demand. In unrelated news, Donald Trump will hold a rally in Florida tonight as he seeks to give Ron DeSantis a shot in the arm in his race to become governor.
DeSantis is running against Democrat Andrew Gillum, the first African American nominee for governor in the state’s history. And, as Politico put it this morning, the race has gone “down in the gutter”.
Will Trump have an impact? The race for governor has descended into the sort of hyper-partisan, extremely personal battle that Trump seems to relish. The president has been dipping in and out of the gubernatorial election since endorsing DeSantis in the primaries, and has stuck with his man even as Gillum and his supporters have accused DeSantis of racist dog-whistling.
With Gillum slightly ahead of DeSantis in recent polling, the GOP is hoping the president can successfully encourage Republicans to go to the polls. On the flipside, Trump’s full-throated support for DeSantis might get out the Democratic vote. We’ll have to wait and see.
Iowa congressman Steve King accused of antisemitism
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which monitors and seeks to stop antisemitism, has sent a letter to the House speaker Paul Ryan urging him to formally censure Steve King, the Iowa Republican, over a “disturbing series of involvements and statements … that are antisemitic and offensive not just to the Jewish community, but to all Americans”.
