The former president's eldest son and the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Michigan each joked about the 2020 kidnapping plot against Democratic incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

"The sad thing is that Gretchen will tie your hands, put a gun to your head and ask if you're ready to talk," Dixon said at a rally Friday in Troy. Trump Jr., stumping for Dixon and the rest of the state's Republican ticket, called the plot a "PR stunt."

When asked by ABC News at a gaggle after the rally wrapped whether the jokes were a step too far, Dixon said that "we have to have a little levity still in life." Trump Jr.'s response: "Oh, I think we also have to hold those accountable" as he accused the FBI of staging the plot.

Two men were convicted in August for conspiring to kidnap Whitmer and attempting to use weapons of mass destruction. The governor was not harmed.

The Democratic Governors Association called Dixon's comments "dangerous" and an "insult to law enforcement."

-ABC News' Paulina Tam

Taking the stage ahead of Donald Trump at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ted Budd went after President Joe Biden on several policy issues.

Budd specifically hit at the administration over high inflation being felt in North Carolina and across the country, telling the crowd he'll work to "make your life better."

The GOP candidate also touched on border issues amid an influx of apprehensions, calling it a "humanitarian crisis." Budd, however, did not mention Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis flying migrants to Martha's Vineyard as he blamed Biden for the immigration challenges.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie

Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, speaking Friday on ABC's "GMA 3," acknowledged polls showed she was running behind incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.

With only about a month and a half left before the midterm elections, Abrams said the polls were not "paying attention" to growing momentum among young voters.

A Monmouth University poll published Thursday found that Abrams' path to victory is narrower than Kemp's as more Georgia voters have ruled out voting for Abrams (46%) than Kemp (37%).

"We are behind, but only by a couple of points. And we know that these are polls that are not paying attention necessarily to the growing energy among women and young people," she said.

Abrams noted that victory may hinge on the issue of abortion, which has been moving party bases in even red states over the past primary season, along with issues like gun control, following mass shootings earlier this summer.

"Georgia is, unfortunately, one of the states with a six-week abortion ban, and that ban is animating voters. We have seen record number of women asking for absentee ballots early in the process, and we know that we're seeing the same energy on the ground," she said.

"We also know that we're a state that is number nine in gun violence and that guns are the number one killer of our children."

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President Joe Biden on Friday criticized House Republicans over their newly released agenda should they regain control of Congress this midterm cycle.

Speaking at a Democratic National Committee event in Washington, Biden hit the "Commitment to America" plan rolled out by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy as a "thin series of policy goals with little to no detail."

McCarthy and 30 other House Republicans were in Pennsylvania earlier Friday to release the four-part agenda, which focuses heavily on the economy, immigration and crime.

"In the course of nearly an hour, here's a few of the things we didn't hear: We didn't hear him mention the right to choose, we didn't hear him mention Medicare, we didn't hear him mention Social Security," Biden countered.

Biden then mocked McCarthy for saying Republicans want to "preserve constitutional freedom" while they've celebrated the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade and GOP leaders around the country pass laws to restrict abortion. If Republicans were to win back Congress and passed a national abortion ban, Biden said Friday he would veto it -- which prompted applause from the crowd gathered at the National Education Association.

Biden again framed the November elections, which are now just 46 days away, as an inflection point for the nation between Democrats, independents and mainstream Republicans versus extreme "MAGA Republicans."

"This November you have to choose to be a nation of hope, unity and optimism or a nation of fear, division and darkness. I believe America will move forward to the future," he said.

Amid post-stroke challenges that were on full display in a debate Tuesday night, John Fetterman is still running for the U.S. Senate out of “love of my state” and “love of my nation,” the Pennsylvania Democrat said on Thursday in his first interview since the debate.

“I think the direction that we could go in if we don’t have -- step up and fight for that, as well too,” Fetterman told Javier Palomarez, president of the United States Hispanic Business Council, which hosted a pre-planned virtual town hall with the candidate.

“If anyone has any question, you know, I always show up, I always lean in, and I always make sure to,” Fetterman told Palomarez, alluding to the scrutiny over his health both before and after the debate, when his auditory and language issues caused him to repeatedly struggle to answer questions on stage.

Over the course of Thursday’s roughly 35-minute interview, which took place on Zoom with closed captioning, Fetterman was asked about policy issues that might affect Hispanic business owners rather than about his debate performance.

Fetterman was asked to clarify his stance on hydraulic fracking, an issue about which he has made contradicting statements.

“I absolutely would support fracking, and I have,” he told Palomarez when asked about previously calling the industry “a stain on Pennsylvania.”

Fetterman said his previous opposition to fracking was borne from environmental concerns but that the war in Ukraine makes it an essential part of the state’s economy.

The United States Hispanic Business Council will host a similar town hall with Fetterman’s opponent, Republican Mehmet Oz, on Friday afternoon.

-- ABC News' Will McDuffie