Midterm campaign updates: GOP's Cheney endorses Ohio Democrat Tim Ryan for Senate

PHOENIX -- Arizona Republican secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem revealed during Thursday's debate that he has been interviewed by both the Justice Department and Jan. 6 committee about his alleged involvement in the Capitol attack.

This was the first time Finchem has publicly confirmed speaking on the matter with federal officials.

"They asked me, why was I there? I said, 'Well, I think you already know. I was there to deliver an evidence package to Representative Paul Gosar,'" Finchem, who was subpoenaed by the committee earlier this year, told reporters after the debate.

The four-term, far-right Arizona lawmaker, who continues to espouse the "Big Lie" and is running to be the state's chief election officer, revealed the Jan. 6 interview and Justice Department involvement in a back-and-forth on the debate stage with his opponent, Democrat Adrian Fontes.

"I was interviewed by the DOJ and the J-6 commission as a witness," Finchem said. "So for him to assert that I was part of a criminal uprising is absurd. And frankly, it is a lie."

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–ABC News' Libby Cathey

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday declined to directly answer a question about whether President Joe Biden should run for office again in 2024.

At her weekly press conference, the Democratic leader said she was not "going into politics" of whether Biden should run again -- as speculation swirls over whether the party's current standard bearer will do so.

"President Biden is the president of the United States. He did a great service to our country. He defeated Donald Trump. Let's not forget that. If you care about the air we breathe, the water we drink, the education of our children, jobs for their families, pensions for their seniors, any subject you can name," she said.

"I'm not going into politics about whether the president should run or not," she added.

Pelosi's remarks come after Biden's recent comments saying a future bid may depend on "fate."

"Look, my intention, as I said to begin with, is that I would run again. But it's just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen," Biden told Scott Pelley on the CBS News program "60 Minutes."
On Thursday on ABC's "The View," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeated the standard line from the Biden administration, saying that the president "intends" to seek another term.

"I think he followed up and said that he intends to run," said Jean-Pierre.

"I have said that, he has said that, the vice president has said that he intends to run."

–ABC News' Mariam Khan

During an August campaign event in Durham, North Carolina, former state Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, the Democratic candidate for Senate, proudly proclaimed that she does not support defunding the police.

"It's important that they have the resources to make sure that law enforcement officers stay safe," she said.

As Republicans have hammered President Joe Biden and Democrats, claiming they soft on crime and not supportive enough of law enforcement, Beasley and other Democrats in swing-state races have been pushing back, running advertisements touting their support for police and appearing with local law enforcement officials on the campaign trail.

For Beasley and Florida's Democratic Senate hopeful Val Demings, a state lawmaker and former Orlando police chief running against GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, that also means touting their credentials.

"I've been a judge for over two decades," Beasley said at that Durham event. "I served as a judge and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. And as a judge, I have always worked hard to uphold the rule of law as well as upholding the Constitution."

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–ABC News’ Hannah Demissie

In a year where candidates are seldom agreeing on even how and when to disagree with each other, Thursday brings a rarity: a debate between a Democrat and a Republican, both vying to become secretary of state of Arizona.

As has been well-documented, typically low-profile down-ballot races may now carry weightier implications than ever in light of the staggering number of GOP candidates who deny the legitimacy of the last presidential election -- and who might, like in the case of the Arizona office, be charged with overseeing the next one.

The right's resistance to congressional efforts to reform the Electoral Count Act serves as a reminder of the perils facing the electoral system going into the midterms and 2024. The only House Republicans voting for a reform bill Wednesday aren't returning to Congress, and prospects of passing the Senate are dim owing to GOP opposition.

Even given that context, statewide races in Arizona stand out. The state where Biden's victory withstood counts, lawsuits and even the Cyber Ninjas' "audit" has Republican nominees for secretary of state and governor who refuse to commit to accepting the results in their own races -- and who are already indicating they may hesitate to stand behind results in 2024.

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–ABC News’ Rick Klein