The Democratic National Committee has projected several messages onto Trump Tower in New York City ahead of the vice presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance.

The projections, which criticized former President Donald Trump, went up shortly after 9 p.m. ET Monday night.

The messages displayed included: “Trump is a chicken!” “Go Coach Walz!” and “Project 2025 HQ”

Trump has made efforts to distance himself from the controversial policy blueprint.

Another phrase shown on the building said: Vance on Trump: “What an idiot”

Referring to some of Vance’s past comments on the former president in since-deleted tweets.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, says that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz just needs to be himself during tonight’s vice presidential debate and show the American people the distinct contrasts between him and Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

“Well, the first thing Tim needs to do, is just be Tim. This is a great friend, he has been an outstanding governor and he’s going to be a great vice president of the United States of America. He cares about everyone. Both his and Vice President (Kamala) Harris’ plans are about lifting everyone up,” Beshear told CNN.

Beshear cited the Harris campaign’s affordable housing plan and middle-class tax cut as examples of how the Democratic ticket is working to uplift all people.

The Kentucky governor also said that viewers would see a “major contrast on policy” between Walz and Vance. He noted that he expects Walz to talk about leading “Minnesota to the lowest unemployment rate ever” and expanding health care, in comparison to Vance, who will have to defend Donald Trump’s record, including the former president’s efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

“This is an opportunity, both to show which ticket is truly there for the American people and which ticket are-are out for themselves,” Beshear said.

Newly unearthed reports contradict previous claims made by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz about his travel to China.

This includes a claim that Walz made about traveling to China for a teaching position in 1989 during the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests that ended in hundreds of protesters killed by the Chinese government.

The discrepancy on Walz’s relationship to China comes ahead of Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, where Republican allies of Ohio Sen. JD Vance have signaled he may use Walz’s history in China to attack the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Walz regularly organized and chaperoned trips to China during his time as a teacher prior to entering politics.

Walz had previously said he visited Hong Kong in “May of ’89,” weeks before the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing. During a 2014 hearing of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China honoring the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests, Walz, then a congressman, appeared to recall specific details of his trip to China at that time.

Walz’s 2014 claim that he visited China during the Tiananmen Square protests has been repeated in media reports. But contemporaneous newspaper reports first resurfaced by the Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news outlet, place Walz in Nebraska around that time. An issue of the Alliance Times-Herald dated May 16,1989 features a photo of Walz touring a Nebraska National Guard storeroom. In the photo’s caption, the paper notes Walz “will take over the job” of staffing the storeroom from a retiring guardsman and “will be moving to Alliance,” Nebraska. A separate newspaper article about Walz’s planned trip to China published by a Nebraska-based outlet in April 1989 reported Walz planned to travel to China in early August of that year.

When asked by CNN if Walz was in China during the Tiananmen Square protests, the Harris campaign was unable to provide evidence to substantiate Walz’s claim.

The contradiction was first reported by Minnesota Public Radio News and APM Reports.

Read more here for reports that contradict previous claims about Walz’s travel to China.

Ahead of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s appearance at Tuesday’s vice-presidential debate, Walz gathered with campaign aides for a series of debate preparation sessions in northern Michigan, where they strategized on how best to communicate the campaign’s key messages to voters.

One message was subtly on display during the sessions: “MYODB”

The acronym, which stands for “mind your own damn business” according to Harris campaign aides, was stitched on the sleeves of custom sweaters given to staffers who joined Walz in Harbor Springs, Michigan for “Camp North Star,” the name given to the Walz team’s preparation sessions. Several staffers were seen sporting the sweaters in the days leading up to Tuesday’s debate.

The expression is a regular feature of Walz’s stump speeches and offers the vice-presidential nominee the opportunity to put a folksy twist on Vice President Kamala Harris’ call to protect rights and freedoms as the campaign seeks to portray former president Donald Trump and his Republican allies as a threat to those freedoms.

During a rally in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, his last campaign rally before Tuesday’s debate, Walz used the phrase to attack Trump and his Republican counterpart Ohio Sen. JD Vance for socially conservative policies Walz characterized as them “trying to legislate what type of family you should have.”

While there are still five weeks until Election Day, voting is already underway across the country — and a CNN review suggests pre-election voting this year will drop from the pandemic-era highs of 2020.

More than 430,000 votes have already been cast as of Monday in 25 states for which data was available, according to election officials, Edison Research, and Catalist, a company that provides data, analytics and other services to Democrats, academics and nonprofit advocacy groups, including insights into who is voting before November.

That’s a tiny fraction of the roughly 158 million votes cast for president in the 2020 election.

In the 34 states and the District of Columbia where data is available, more than 53 million pre-election ballots have been requested by voters so far, including in states where all voters receive a ballot in the mail. But across the board, ballot requests are down from where they were at this point four years ago, according to Catalist’s data.

While early voting data is not predictive of ultimate outcomes, it can give a good picture of “general trends” across voters of different ages, genders and races in the lead-up to the election, Catalist CEO Michael Frias told CNN.

The downtick in interest in early voting so far shouldn’t be surprising.

The 2020 election featured historic levels of pre-election voting during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some voters were wary to vote in person with guidelines from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention recommending social distancing. Four years later, with the country out of the pandemic, more voters could be heading back to the ballot box for in-person voting either before or on Election Day.

Read the full story.

Recent polling ahead of tonight’s vice presidential debate shows that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is viewed more favorably by voters than Ohio Sen. JD Vance, though roughly 30% of voters still have no opinion on either candidate.

In CNN’s most recent national poll, views of Walz were narrowly above water, with 36% of voters viewing him favorably, 32% unfavorably, and 33% saying they hadn’t heard of him or had no opinion of him. By contrast, views of Vance tilted negative, with 30% of registered voters rating him favorably, 42% unfavorably, and 27% offering no opinion. The share of voters rating Vance negatively is up 8 percentage points from July, while the share rating him positively has remained roughly stable over that time.

Other recent polls from AP-NORC and NBC News paint a similar portrait of Walz’s and Vance’s respective images among voters.

A CBS News/YouGov poll released Monday finds that both Walz (57%) and Vance (55%) are described as “competent” by a majority of registered voters. But while voters are roughly split on whether Walz is qualified to be president if needed (49% say yes, 51% no), most call Vance unqualified for the presidency (44% say he is qualified, 56% that he’s not). Both Democratic and Republican voters are largely at least satisfied with their party’s vice-presidential nominee, but 65% of Democratic voters say they’re enthusiastic about Walz being selected, outpacing the 49% of GOP voters who call themselves enthusiastic about the selection of Vance.

Voters on tonight’s debate: Most registered voters plan to catch at least some of the vice presidential debate, CBS finds. But while most potential viewers say they hope to learn something about the candidates (87%), root for their party’s candidate (71%) and watch for slip-ups on the opposing side (61%), only a quarter say they’re planning to watch because it might help them to decide their vote — and young voters and independents, two groups that are perhaps more persuadable than the rest of the electorate, are among the least likely to say they’ll tune in.

Asked in the CBS poll to choose which issues they would like to hear Walz and Vance discuss, registered voters are most broadly likely to say Walz and Vance should discuss their economic views (86%), followed by their views on immigration (76%), what America stands for (68%) and abortion and reproductive health (56%), with fewer saying they’re interested in the candidates’ military records, personal lives or criticisms of one another.

The Harris campaign launched a new ad Tuesday slamming Donald Trump’s approach to health care, seizing on Trump’s debate answer that he has the “concepts of a plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act.

The ad opens with the debate exchange, as Trump is questioned by the debate moderators.

“President Trump, you have long vowed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act,” ABC debate moderator Linsey Davis says. Trump responds, “If we come up with something, we’re gonna do it and we’re gonna replace it.

“You still do not have a plan,” Davis says in the next clip, and Trump delivers the vague answer that critics have seized, replying, “I have concepts of a plan. There are concepts and options. We, we have to do that.”

The ad then features Harris’ response on the debate stage. “You have no plan. When Donald Trump was president, he tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act,” Harris says, ticking through reforms initiated by the legislation. “Understanding that access to health care should be a right and not just a privilege of those who can afford it.”

The ad’s focus on health care and the Affordable Care Act, in particular, reflects a still evolving messaging approach for the Harris campaign, entering the final full month of campaigning. Democratic presidential campaign ads up to this point have primarily been focused on the economy, or abortion, and ads about health care have most often focused on Medicare.

And it’s one of several campaign ads that have deployed clips from the lone presidential debate between Harris and Trump, underscoring the political currency of those high-profile campaign moments. The Harris campaign has run multiple ads featuring Trump’s answers during the debate about abortion, and highlighting her own appeals to voters from the stage.

The ad first began airing in Michigan this morning, ahead of tonight’s vice presidential debate — another high-profile campaign moment that could provide additional fodder for campaign ads.

A new CNN Poll of Polls of recent presidential election surveys in North Carolina finds no clear leader in the state, with former President Donald Trump averaging 49% support among likely voters compared with 47% for Vice President Kamala Harris.

The average comprises five polls of the state released in late September. That includes CNN’s latest survey of the state as well as a Washington Post poll released Tuesday, phone interviews for which were conducted largely before the impact of Hurricane Helene.

Each of the polls included in the average finds no clear leader in the race, with Trump and Harris separated by a margin of 2 percentage points or less. When multiple versions of the ballot test are available on a survey, the average includes the version more closely matching the list of candidates slated to appear on the state’s ballot.

North Carolina’s gubernatorial race: Both CNN’s poll and the new Washington Post poll find Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein with a significant lead over Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson in the state’s gubernatorial race, with the Post showing Stein at 54% to Robinson’s 38% among likely voters.

Most North Carolina voters call protecting American democracy (65%), the economy (59%) and crime and safety (50%) extremely important to their presidential vote, with smaller percentages saying the same of health care (45%), immigration (43%) or abortion (37%), the Washington Post poll finds.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ aides are betting on what they describe as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s “everyman” appeal to draw a stark contrast with Ohio Sen. JD Vance on Tuesday night, believing that Walz is likely not as good at debating compared to his Republican rival.

One Harris aide described that approach as “part of his thing,” referring to Walz, and an opportunity to lean instead on his likability while casting Vance as extreme and “not in line with the American people.”

Aides hope that Walz will ultimately cast Vance as just as much of a risk as former President Donald Trump, keeping the focus on the Republican nominee. In that respect, it’s not unlike what Harris was preparing to do before she assumed the lead of the Democratic party’s ticket over the summer.

Harris, who remains behind closed doors in Washington, DC, Tuesday, said over the weekend that she’d be cheering on her vice presidential nominee.

“I know we will cheer on Coach Walz when he debates JD Vance,” Harris said at a rally in Las Vegas Sunday, before continuing to needle Trump to do a second presidential debate.

“But listen, also, their debate should not be the last word. I’m trying to debate Donald Trump again and I think he should debate again. The American people have a right to hear us discuss the issues,” she added.

Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance are set to meet Tuesday night in the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 election — and in what might be the last time the two campaigns square off onstage.

The matchup between Walz, the 60-year-old Minnesota governor, and Vance, the 40-year-old Ohio senator, is being hosted by CBS News and taking place in New York, without a live audience.

The debate coincides with huge news stories unfolding at home and abroad — including Hurricane Helene recovery efforts across the southeastern United States, and the Middle East on the brink as Israel escalates its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The debate is being moderated by CBS’ Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan. It starts at 9 p.m. ET and will be simulcast on CNN.

Here’s what to watch for at the vice presidential debate:

The coach vs. the ex-pundit: The Middle America roots at the heart of both Walz’s and Vance’s well-cultivated political identities will be on display Tuesday night as the two men vying to be a heartbeat away from the presidency introduce their biographies to the largest audience of voters they’ve likely had to date.

Walz, a two-term governor and former congressman, was first elected to the US House in 2006. But expect him to lean into the roles he held before entering politics: high school teacher and assistant football coach.

Vance, meanwhile, is a Marine veteran and the author of a best-selling memoir about the his Appalachian family values and the socioeconomic problems of his hometown. He’s likely to highlight how he came around on the former president in recent years, without making much mention of his past as a political commentator who was a strident Trump critic.

Both candidates’ biographical pitches are born of an effort to showcase their authenticity — a precious political commodity, particularly in a race in which undecided voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin could determine the outcome.

Voters’ decisions are overwhelmingly influenced by the tops of the party tickets, and Walz and Vance are likely to devote much of their time attacking Trump and Harris respectively. But they could also spend time emphasizing parts of their own biographies and attempting to undercut their rivals’ — all in an effort to establish their credibility with voters.

Keep reading here for more of the five things to watch for ahead of tonight’s debate.

Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller predicted that “the advantage definitely goes to” Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz in his debate versus Republican presidential running mate JD Vance because of Walz’s experience in public service, as the Trump campaign continues its efforts to set expectations ahead of tonight’s debate.

“JD Vance has been in official office for two years, but Tim Walz has been in office for two decades,” Miller told CNN. “He’s good. He was in Congress. He’s in his second term as governor of the state of Minnesota. When he shows up and hits that stage, he’s disciplined, he’s on point, and he lies through his teeth.”

Pressed on former President Donald Trump’s comments that Walz is a “total moron” to Fox News on Monday — in contrast with Miller’s own assessment — Miller said that “two things can be true here.”

Four years after certification of the presidential election led to rioting at the US Capitol, fights over the once pro forma process are becoming more frequent and widespread as Republicans in battleground states that could be decided by only thousands of votes try to challenge the process.

Disputes across the country are brewing over the role of local election boards and how much power they have to question — or even throw out — election results. Given the thin margins in battleground states like Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, the election between former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris could be in the balance.

While Republicans say they are worried about voter fraud, Democrats fear local officials who buy into conspiracy theories and false claims of fraud will refuse to certify results, leading to a potential legal morass and possible delays that inject uncertainty into the November election.

In Georgia, for instance, Trump-backed members of the state election board recently passed controversial rules that could allow local election boards responsible for certifying results to conduct investigations that threaten to delay certification.

On Tuesday, the Democratic National Committee, the Georgia Democratic Party and Democratic members of several county election boards will try to convince a Georgia state judge the rules could throw the upcoming presidential election into “chaos.”

“Even unsuccessful attempts to block certification can cause delays, and even small delays in the very tight post-election timeline can have us cascading effect,” Berwick said.

Read the full story.

The only scheduled debate between the vice presidential nominees on Tuesday night – five weeks before Election Day – may also serve as the final word for the campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump before a large audience on national television.

It’s an unusual twist of fate for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance, whose selections over the summer thrust them into an intense political spotlight. A few months ago, Walz was a little-known Democratic governor and former six-term congressman who emerged as an unexpected contender as Harris’ running mate. When Trump announced Vance as his pick at the Republican National Convention in July, the first-term senator had yet to turn 40, and he has served less than two years in elected office.

A review of several past general election and primary debates for Vance and Walz yields a picture of two candidates with specific approaches to their previous performances, which could be instructive for this high-stakes moment.

The Walz-Vance matchup may be the last debate of the 2024 election, unprecedented in modern presidential campaigns, with Trump rejecting calls from Harris to agree to a second meeting, including one proposed by CNN for October 23 in Atlanta. With an exceedingly tight race entering the closing stretch and early voting underway in a handful of states, the running mates’ showdown Tuesday in New York presents one of the last major opportunities to make the case for their respective tickets.

Keep reading here about what Walz’s and Vance’s past debates may reveal.

Employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs improperly accessed the medical files of Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and an investigation is under way, sources said.

Two sources familiar with the situation confirmed that VA employees improperly accessed Vance’s medical records, and roughly two months ago, an employee in VA Inspector General Michael Missal’s office reached out to someone in the Ohio Republican’s operation to alert them of the breach, one of the sources said.

A Harris campaign spokesperson said it was informed about the breach of Walz’s records.

The Washington Post, which first reported the incident, said at least a dozen employees accessed the records.

Terrence Hayes, a spokesperson for the VA, confirmed to CNN that the department reported to law enforcement “allegations that VA personnel may have improperly accessed veteran records” but did not elaborate and referred additional questions to the Justice Department, which declined to comment.

Vance enlisted in the military after high school, spending four years in the Marines and serving a tour in Iraq in 2005 as a combat correspondent. Walz enlisted at 17 and served 24 years in the National Guard before retiring in 2005 to run for Congress.

The moment Kannan Udayarajan decided to become politically active is seared into his memory.

It was four years ago when Republican Sen. David Perdue struck a mocking tone at a Donald Trump rally as he repeatedly mispronounced Kamala Harris’ name. The Middle Georgia crowd laughed right along as he stretched out his words: “Ka-MAL-a or what, Kamala or Ka-MAL-a, Ka-MAL-a, -mala, -mala, I don’t know, whatever.”

That remark became a call to action for Udayarajan, 42, who now leads the Forsyth County Democratic Party and is part of the changing face of Georgia.

That mobilization is on full display here in Forsyth County, about 30 miles northeast of Atlanta, where the Asian American population has more than doubled in the past two decades, as it has in neighboring counties. Those voters are a critical piece of Harris’ game plan in her race against Trump.

“In 2020, when Joe Biden won Georgia by 11,780 votes, Forsyth County delivered 16,000 brand new Democratic votes,” Udayarajan said. “Now, four years have passed since then, and the demographics of the county have shifted considerably.”

Those shifts could hold critical clues for the outcome of November’s election.

Keep reading here about this key demographic.