Tennessee: Early voting numbers at record levels. Early voting totals in the Volunteer State topped 1 million this week, historic numbers for a midterm and just below 2016’s presidential turnout. Both sides seem to think the big numbers are good for them, but pundits think that the big increases in left-leaning Nashville could be good news for the Dems next Tuesday. North Carolina: GOP tries to cement policy. As North Carolina turns more and more purple, Republican state lawmakers are trying to cement some of their policy within the state constitution before they lose their supermajority. Six GOP-backed constitutional referendums are on the ballots on Tuesday, including such items as a requirement to bring photo identification to vote in person, a lowering of the state’s income tax ceiling, and weakening the power of the (Democratic) governor to appoint the powerful state elections board. Millions have been spent both for and against the amendments so far. Florida: Ad spending sky high. TV political ad spending ahead of the 2018 midterms has reached nearly $230 million as the biggest two races on the ticket, for U.S. Senate and governor, are locked into extremely tight matchups. Those numbers are easily tops nationwide.
