Funny Instant Karma Fails

J. Ann Selzer has earned several nicknames throughout her 37-year-long stint leading the Des Moines Register’s Iowa Poll. She’s called the “Outlier Queen” when she breaks from what appears to be the consensus of political polls. And when her final pre-election polls paint a complicated picture for otherwise favored candidates, political insiders refer to her as the “Harbinger of Doom.” Now, as the Election Day countdown timer inches toward zero, Selzer’s latest polling may be the specter that has worried some Republicans—the rageful spirit of Iowa women who lost abortion access this summer.

Voters in swing states who received notice of a $1 million check from Elon Musk should know two things: Simple luck is not how this happened—and you are now on the hook to be an official spokesperson for Musk’s America super PAC. That’s according to a lawyer for the tech billionaire, who acknowledged in court on Monday amid a lawsuit alleging that the contest is an illegal lottery, that recipients are not randomly selected.

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters. This story was published first by ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for ProPublica’s Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published. In public remarks, former President Donald Trump has repeatedly made unfounded claims about the threat of widespread voting by “illegal aliens” and noncitizens in the 2024 election. Away from the spotlight, though, at least one Republican National Committee official is telling volunteer poll watchers a completely different story: that such voting is close to impossible. In a private Oct.

Across the country, you can find small town diners and watering holes proudly displaying photos of a president stopping by on the campaign trail. It’s not only a memento of how the person who got the nuclear codes may have ordered a burger or a slice of rhubarb pie—it’s a reminder of how voters have looked to national candidates’ food and beverage choices as one way to understand if inherently elite politicians are salt of the earth. In forming her public image, Harris has showcased prowess in the kitchen. This year, campaign season served up a buffet of food-related happenings and candidate signals, that sometimes, explains University of Buffalo political scientist Jacob Neiheisel, reveal politically salient “boundary markers between groups” and “status anxieties.” One food gaffe that stands out in history came during incumbent Gerald Ford’s 1976 campaign, when he bit into a tamale in Texas, husk and all, and nearly choked.

When Tim Stringham arrived at a “Veterans for Harris” canvassing launch on Sunday in a Phoenix shopping center alongside Sen. Mark Kelly and Rep. Ted Lieu of California, the 35-year-old first-time candidate took a moment to acknowledge the obvious. “You know that times are strange when the candidate for recorder gets to come up here and speak with a US Senator and a United States congressman,” he told the 30 or so volunteers who had packed into the narrow room for the start of a critical afternoon of knocking on doors. Stringham, a former JAG attorney, is the Democratic candidate for Maricopa County recorder, an office that’s responsible for maintaining voter rolls and mailing out ballots in a county of more than 4 million people.

Rebecca Cooke has spent many nights this year waiting tables during her race for Congress in a Wisconsin swing district. She is a 36-year-old service industry worker and nonprofit leader with a chance to secure an upset in a tight House race. It’s not the typical profile for a future member of Congress.