The Week: The Final Stretch

In an editorial roundup published on 30 October 2026, National Review’s editors surveyed the final days before the US midterm elections. They argued that Republicans faced a serious risk of losing the House and a close contest for the Senate, while urging readers to vote for them. The piece also criticised a Justice Department lawsuit concerning Alaska’s Senate ballot, where incumbent Dan S. Sullivan and another candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan, had similar names. The editors called the second candidacy suspect but argued that the federal attempt to restrict certification of the result was premature. The question of whether the ballot could confuse voters was contested; the motive attributed to the second candidate was an allegation, not an established fact.

The roundup ranged beyond the US elections. It described Israel’s election as a parliamentary deadlock: Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc won more seats than its main rival, led by Gadi Eisenkot, but neither had a clear majority. The editors also offered views on an anticipated Anthropic share offering, Elon Musk’s influence over satellite internet access in Ukraine, a proposed California wealth tax and other political and cultural disputes. These sections are editorial judgements rather than a single developing news event. Independent reporting supports the central election context and the lack of a clear Israeli majority, while the roundup’s predictions and characterisations should be read as opinion.