Texas: O’Rourke closing in on Cruz? A new poll from Rasmussen has Democrat Rep. Beto O’Rourke down just 3 points to incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz in the most high profile race of 2018. Cruz is fighting for his political life against the popular U.S. congressman, who has rallied his party’s base and has a real shot to pull the upset in the reliably red Longhorn State. Florida: DeSantis resigns from Congress to focus on campaign. (Now former) U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has resigned from his seat in order to turn his full focus to his campaign for governor, where he faces a stiff challenge from former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum. The two are in a near-dead heat in the polls as the race reaches a fever pitch ahead of November. Carolinas: Locals flee as Florence approaches. Thousands of North and South Carolina residents have evacuated their homes as Hurricane Florence bears down on the east coast, threatening to be the ‘storm of the century’ for the two states. The storm is slated to make landfall sometime late Thursday, and already disaster relief crews are on standby as many coastal communities are expected to be devastated.
