Dems, Republicans optimistic in last rallies

With one day before the Nov. 8 election, both Democratic and Republican leaders portrayed confidence and optimism heading into the home stretch. Politicians from President Joe Biden to former Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton visited spots on both coasts to rally their party faithful and try to persuade any remaining undecided voters to come to their side of the aisle.Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, predicted Sunday the campaign arm of House Democrats, said Democrats will keep control of the House despite speculation and projects that Republicans will wrest back control. “We’re going to hold this majority,” Maloney told NBC News’ Chuck Todd. “Because our candidates have real plans, they’re going to do better than people think on Tuesday night.” Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, thought otherwise, telling CNN’s Dana Bash that Republicans will take both the House and Senate.“I think we’ll take back the House and the Senate,” said McDaniel. If GOP wins big:What would a Republican Congress look like? A lot of investigations and maybe impeachment.OnPolitics: Get political news, fast and to the point, delivered to your inbox. McCarthy shares Republicans' plans on immigration, inflationHouse Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who is poised to become House speaker if Republicans win control of the House this week, discussed in an interview with CNN on Sunday Republicans’ plans to secure the border and reduce inflation if in control of the House.On immigration, McCarthy said Republicans will first introduce a bill to control the border and then focus on stopping drug cartels, preventing fentanyl from crossing the border and providing more resources to border agents.The minority leader then blamed inflation partially on the passage of the American Rescue Plan. He said to make the economy stronger there is a need to curtail government spending, incentivize Americans to work and ensure the country is energy independent.McCarthy said after the election, he will introduce provisions to ensure the House is financially in order. – Rachel Looker Biden stumps in New YorkWith enthusiasm brimming for New York Republicans, President Joe Biden came to Yonkers on Sunday evening to stump for Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York Democratic ticket just 36 hours before polls open on Nov. 8.It comes at a time of particular peril for New York's ruling Democrats, who control all statewide offices, have majorities in the state Assembly and Senate, and hold 21 of 29 New York seats in Congress. They find themselves on the defensive, with Republicans making inroads in a state where Democrats outnumber them 2-to-1 in party enrollments.He called on the students to vote, to maintain American democracy."You are the best educated, you are the least prejudiced, you are the most involved generation," he said. "If you show up to vote, democracy is sustained."– David McKay Wilson and Erin Nolan, Rockland/Westchester Journal NewsGubernatorial races:Abortion, voting and COVID-19: Why we're eyeing these 10 governor's races in 2022 midtermsTrump gives DeSantis a nickname:Clinton, Sanders rally voters ahead midterm elections; GOP 'will accept' results: Sunday recap Trump rallies for Rubio in MiamiFormer President Trump lavished praise on Sen. Marco Rubio again and again Sunday at a rally in Miami, saying he’s “tough” and “smart” and “a true conservative warrior who gets the job done.”Trump slammed his opponent, Rep. Val Demings as a "radical Democrat."Rubio told Trump and the crowd how important the election was to Miami, hammering home what he’s said in campaign ads and in campaign speeches: That Democrats and Demings, if elected, would bring socialism to South Florida and the nation.“This is a community of people who lost their (home) country — they saw the destruction of countries, the nation of their birth,” he said. “They saw what socialism and communism and Marxism can do, and they are not going to lose this country.”“Like so many Americans, they love America, but when you know what life is like somewhere else, you will fight to save it,” he said.Trump followed up, saying, “I wish I would have said that. That was very good. He’s a great guy.”– USA TODAY Network-Florida Rubio says he'll win big in FloridaSen. Marco Rubio predicted Sunday he was going to win the U.S. Senate race against Democrat Val Demings with a strong GOP voter turnout, cautioning Republican voters to not pay attention to the latest polls showing him and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis with huge leads against their opponents.“The only thing only thing at this point that I believe can save Democrats here in Florida up and down the ballot is if Republicans decide to stay home because they see polling numbers and think it's no longer competitive,” Rubio told Fox News host Trey Gowdy on his “Sunday night in America” show. “Then we would make it competitive by not showing up.”– Sergio Bustos, USA Today Network-Florida Enterprise/Politics Editor Clinton stumps in Vegas for Cortez MastoSpeaking to a crowd of union workers a few miles east of the Las Vegas strip, former President Bill Clinton ticked off the issues he said are top of mind for many voters: inflation, unemployment and gas prices.But he said fear of short-term pain shouldn’t drive elections, criticizing Republican candidates and voters he called “right now” people unwilling to look beyond their own immediate desires.“This is not rocket science. And I’ve reached the age where the thing I care the most about is the world my grandchildren live in,” Clinton, 76, said. “You don’t have to reward the ‘right now’ people who are going to make it worse.”– Trevor Hughes Georgia isn't a 'lost cause,' civil rights leader saysAs Democrats look to block a predicted “red wave” for Republicans on Tuesday, Georgia will once again be in the spotlight.In the gubernatorial race, Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams is trailing Republican incumbent Brian Kemp, who holds a comfortable lead in most public surveys. Georgia could also be the linchpin once again for who controls the Senate, as Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock is in a dead heat with Republican challenger Herschel Walker.Mawuli Davis, an Atlanta-based civil rights attorney, said despite the polling national observers shouldn’t count out the Peach State yet.“Georgia is not a lost cause,” he said. “In fact, we think there's a real possibility we’re going to really shock those who think that there's going to be this wave.”– Phillip M. Bailey Source link