Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

* In Kansas, the U.S. Senate race is generating a lot of national attention, and for good reason, but the state’s open gubernatorial race is competitive too. And over the weekend, it took an unexpected turn.

While speaking at the Praise Chapel in Wichita, Republican nominee Ty Masterson said, in reference to Democrat Cindy Holscher, “My opponent, she didn’t even hide it. She talked — they had witch — I mean, they’re doing, like, witchcraft spells on TikTok so she can win the governorship. I mean, they’re like … it’s like demonic stuff that they’re doing, right?”

The GOP candidate added that he believes the election is part of “a spiritual battle that I’ve never seen before.”

As The New Republic noted, “The state senator had seemingly drawn his conclusions from a series of playful TikTok videos posted by Holscher’s 20-year-old daughter, Maddie, who had shared clips of her and her mom brushing their teeth set to a song from the ‘Wicked’ soundtrack.”

For the record, Holscher, a state senator, is not Wiccan, and there’s no evidence of her ever engaging in “demonic stuff.”

* In Iowa’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, the latest Marist Poll found Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek ahead of Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson, 48% to 45%.

The same survey found Democratic state auditor Rob Sand with a larger advantage over Republican Zach Lahn in Iowa’s gubernatorial race, 52% to 45%.

* While Donald Trump headlined a rally in Arizona on Wednesday afternoon, it was notable who wasn’t on hand for the event: Rep. Juan Ciscomani and congressional candidate Jay Feely — both running Republican campaigns in competitive districts — decided to skip the president’s visit to their home state.

* In Ohio’s closely watched gubernatorial race, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy launched a new ad on property taxes, which accidentally featured a registered sex offender.

* In North Carolina’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, Michael Whatley’s Republican campaign does not currently have any television ads on the air, which is highly unusual in light of the fact that Election Day is less than three weeks away. That said, the GOP campaign continues to say this is a “temporary pause.”

* In Texas’ gubernatorial race, the bad news for Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa is that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is investing in new attack ads that target her by name. The good news for Hinojosa is that the ads help prove that she’s running a campaign that’s so competitive that she’s worth attacking.

* Speaking of Texas, JD Vance started suggesting publicly this week that Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico is gay. He’s not, though the vice president apparently doesn’t care.

* And in Florida’s gubernatorial race, former Rep. David Jolly still hopes to pull off an upset. To that end, former President Bill Clinton will make his first public campaign appearance of the 2026 midterms next week, hoping to give the Democratic nominee a boost.

The post Thursday’s Campaign Round-Up, 10.15.26: Gubernatorial race features odd ‘witchcraft’ claims appeared first on MS NOW.

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