October 17, 2026

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The Big Picture: Saturation Point

Finn Gomez/Getty Images

The amount of money being spent in politics is turning into a scene out of 1990s comedy Austin Powers.

After finding out that the fictional breakaway Russian republic Kreplachistan is transferring a nuclear weapon to the United Nations, Dr. Evil plans to steal the nuke and hold the world ransom for, wait for it, $1 million.

That is until Number Two, Dr. Evil’s second-in-command, informs him that, well, that’s just not a lot of money anymore. With his trademark pinky to his lips and the swell of dramatic, nefarious music, Dr. Evil uncomfortably looks into the camera and makes it $100 billion.

This past week, the amount of TV ad money spent in these midterm elections crossed $10 billion, according to AdImpact, which tracks ad spending. It is projected to approach $12 billion in the end, which would be more than for the entire 2024 election cycle when there was, of course, a presidential election.

We also learned this week that Elon Musk donated $158 million that’s being used in just the Texas Senate race, where $500 million has been spent since the primaries. For the world’s richest man, the world’s first trillionaire, spending $158 million is like someone worth $100,000 spending $15.80.

Really.

It’s just unfathomable for most people, especially in an election when the cost of living is the main issue. People are struggling to make ends meet. Inflation is outpacing wages, so paychecks aren’t keeping up with costs. The Iran war has meant soaring prices at the pump, and mortgage interest rates, which have more than doubled in the last five years, are making it that much harder to enter the housing market or to buy a car.

But the fact that this much money is going into these races shows just how intense this cycle has become, and it underlines the stakes of who controls Congress, especially for those with moneyed interests.

— Domenico Montanaro, NPR’s senior political editor/correspondent

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ICYMI: Top Stories

Luke Garrett/NPR

Feds search Rep. Omar’s home: Federal agents searched the Washington, D.C., home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., on Monday morning. The Department of Justice said agents with Homeland Security Investigations "executed a judicially authorized search warrant” as part of an "ongoing federal criminal investigation.” Omar responded on social media, calling the search “an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.”

Lawmakers call on Trump to rescind Russian diesel deal: A bipartisan group of senators is calling on President Trump to rescind his deal to buy diesel fuel from Russia, calling it a “a gift to our adversary” and a "betrayal of the people of Ukraine." This summer, Congress passed legislation directing the president to impose tariffs on the top importers of Russian oil for their role in financing the country’s war in Ukraine.

Is the Kansas Senate seat in play? Both parties are acting like it is — a prospect that was almost unthinkable when President Trump carried the state with 57% of the vote two years ago. Political reporter Stephen Fowler has more.

Trump cancels execution livestream: But some scholars fear that a line has already been crossed. Domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef explains. Amid this talk of a public execution, public opinion on death penalty is split.

These swing voters regret voting for Trump: And it's influencing their midterm choices.

— Lexie Schapitl, NPR Politics producer

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Going Deeper: Trump’s Travels

Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images

Early in September, President Trump gathered Republicans running in competitive races for a dinner in the White House Rose Garden. He pledged to spend the final month before the midterms campaigning for the approximately 30 Republican candidates in attendance.

Since then, Trump has campaigned with fewer than a third of those candidates. Rather than focus on swing states and swing districts as the president said he would, his travel schedule has taken him to a lot of Republican territory.

As NPR’s Tamara Keith reports, his itinerary reflects both where he can help (and where he can’t) but also a shifting landscape where even red-state Republicans need a boost.

— Heidi Glenn, NPR Politics digital editor

The Shot: Documenting the Life a Family Built

Jennifer Teresa Villanueva

For eight years, photographer Jennifer Teresa Villanueva has documented her Mexican-American family's everyday life in Chicago, capturing intimate moments of love, labor and sacrifice.

The project began in 2018, after her grandmother was hospitalized, and grew into a personal exploration of the immigrant experience.

She talks to NPR about the project and how she balanced being both the family archivist and eldest daughter. “There are moments when I am holding the camera and I know there is much more happening outside of the frame than I could ever photograph,” she says. “There are family histories, difficult conversations, illnesses, sacrifices, responsibilities and generational wounds that exist alongside the ordinary moments I am trying to preserve. Sometimes I have to decide whether I am looking at my family as an artist or simply being their daughter.”

— Heidi Glenn, NPR Politics digital editor

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