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

President Joe Biden was focused on his midterm messaging In Hagerstown, Maryland on Friday, while criticizing GOP lawmakers for requesting Democratic-led infrastructure funding that they publicly opposed.

Biden highlighted a CNN report that detailed some GOP members of Congress who voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and called it “socialism,” but are now asking for funds to help their districts. The president even name-checked several of them and what they’ve requested, like Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

“Socialism. I didn’t know there were that many socialist Republicans. I was surprised to see so many socialists in the Republican caucus," he said.

The president spent much of his speech touting his legislative wins and benefits that stem from the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. He warned what could happen if Congress flips after the midterms.

“If Republicans take control of the Congress, the $2,000 cap on prescription drug costs we just passed goes away. Gone. If they take back control of the Congress the $35 month cap on insulin for folks on Medicare we just passed goes away,” he said, again calling out specific GOP members and what their involvement might be in challenging the landmark policies.

“And folks, it's not just the Inflation Reduction Act, they’re coming after your Social Security and Medicare as well,” Biden said.

“There's a senator from Wisconsin, Ron Johnson... As he says, Social Security and Medicare should be on the chopping block every single year.”

–ABC News’ Justin Gomez

Candidate debates proved hard to come by this midterm cycle, with resistance mostly from Republican candidates who said they wished to debate on their own terms.

Some Democrats in key swing states have refused to face opponents who espouse the false election claims. Voters in Arizona, North Carolina and Wisconsin, the pivotal battleground races, are able to see their Senate candidates face off for the first and probably only time this week.

Arizona’s matchup between incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly and Republican challenger Blake Masters kicked off the string of debates last night with some memorable moments.

Kelly voiced that he could stand up to President Joe Biden and his own party, particularly on border security. "I’ve spent a lot of time on our southern border, and let me just say it’s a mess. It’s a chaos. It’s crisis after crisis," Kelly said.

Next up is North Carolina and Wisconsin. Former state chief justice and Democratic candidate Cheri Beasley will meet GOP candidate Rep. Ted Budd on stage in Raleigh at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, while incumbent Republican Ron Johnson is facing off against the state's Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes in Milwaukee at 8 p.m. ET.

–ABC News’ Libby Cathey, Paulina Tam and Hannah Demissie

The drama has been back East: a colorful matchup in Pennsylvania between two outsized personalities, an ambitious Florida governor who hosted the president this week and a political storm in Georgia is testing trust and loyalties surrounding the GOP Senate candidates.

But those states might not matter nearly as much depending on what happens out West. Senate and gubernatorial races in Arizona and Nevada -- and perhaps a Senate campaign in Colorado as well -- are no longer being overlooked and could be where majorities are won or lost, with the stakes even higher going into 2024.

Issues surrounding the southern border and inflation are particularly resonant and intense in those states, and conspiracy theories around the last election have flourished inside the state GOPs. New polling from CNN confirms concerns that have been growing among Democrats -- and optimism that's been growing among Republicans.

Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is in a virtual tie with her Republican opponent, Adam Laxalt, trailing 46%-48%, while Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly is leading Republican Blake Masters 51%-46%, according to the CNN survey. Kelly and Masters faced off for their first and most likely only debate of the election cycle on Thursday night.

See more here.

–ABC News’ Rick Klein

But that choice is not without criticism as some outside experts note it has strategic value, too.

"Candidates who are ahead in the polls and believe that they will be able to win without debates are advantaged by not debating. They will find a reason to justify their decision -- and in this case, what you're seeing is a reason to justify a decision among candidates who believe they're going to be able to win without debating," Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, told ABC News.

Some major Republicans, like Nevada Senate hopeful Adam Laxalt, have so far also opted against debates.

Read more here.

–ABC News’ Libby Cathey, Paulina Tam and Will McDuffie