By Brian Lyman | Editor
We published our voter guide for the November elections on Thursday. Every federal race; every competitive statewide race and every legislative contest. We hope you find it useful, particularly when you’re at the voting table and pulling out your phone to do research on that unfamiliar pair of names in that obscure race.
The skyline of Huntsville, Alabama. (Jeremy Edwards/Getty Images)
ELECTIONS 2026
By Ralph Chapoco
Metro Huntsville is one of Alabama’s fastest-growing regions, thanks to public and private sector jobs and planning to attract families. But growth has increased housing prices and strained roads in the area. In legislative races in and around Huntsville, which could be some of the most competitive this November, plans to manage the region’s growth are prominent in Democratic and Republican campaigns.
Maya Brooks carries flyers while out canvassing in Windham, Maine, ahead of the 2026 midterms. (Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star)
ELECTIONS 2026
By Emma Davis, Maine Morning Star
Members of Generation Z, aged between 14 and 29, are identifying as political independents more than any previous generation at the same age. Both major parties are trying to reach out to the voting block, which may be independent but not necessarily moderate. While members of the cohort are united in concerns about the cost of living, Gen Z women have moved further left than Gen Z men have moved right, creating a gender gap.
During a Thursday morning press conference, Gov. Bill Lee discussed the failed execution of Christa Pike on Wednesday, Sep. 30, 2026. (John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
By Adam Friedman and Sam Stockard, Tennessee Lookout
Following the botched execution attempt on Christa Pike Wednesday evening, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee put a hold on the state’s other scheduled execution later this year and ordered a third-party review of execution protocols. Pike, convicted of the murder of Colleen Slemmer in 1995, was subjected to two rounds of lethal injection that took two hours. Media witnesses were told to leave the chamber while hearing Pike “snoring.”
ICYMI
US Senate leaves nation’s capital in advance of midterms with much still undone | Jennifer Shutt, DC Bureau
Feds provide guidance on new federal K-12 scholarship tax credit program | Robbie Sequeira, Stateline
Trump launches campaign tour in Alabama, other GOP-friendly states ahead of midterms | Jacob Fischler, DC Bureau
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