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Midterm campaign live updates: GOP's Cheney endorses Ohio Democrat Tim Ryan for Senate
ABC News is reporting on campaign developments in key states across the U.S.
The 2022 campaign is shaping up to be a historic, decisive moment in American politics.
From our reporters across the country, ABC News brings you all the latest on what the candidates are saying and doing -- and what voters want to happen in November's midterm elections.
For more from ABC News' team of reporters embedded in battleground states, watch "Power Trip: Those Seeking Power and Those Who Chase Them" on Hulu , with new episodes on Sunday.
![Power Trip](https://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/PowerTrip_1920x1080_FF_Now_1664207247948_hpEmbed_16x9_608.jpg)
Here is the latest from the campaign trail:
- Republican Rep. Liz Cheney endorses Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Tim Ryan
- Biden to travel San Diego on Thursday for endangered House Democrat Rep. Mike Levin
- Arizona Libertarian Senate candidate drops out of race, throws support to GOP nominee Blake Masters
- Fetterman gives first interview after post-stroke debate
- Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman cuts ad for Sen. Mike Lee
- Obama backs PA Senate candidate John Fetterman in new ads
Some leading Democrats won't debate their election-denying opponents
Democrats in key swing states, including Arizona and Michigan, have refused to face opponents who that the 2020 race was stolen from former President .
These Democratic politicians say they want to avoid combative spectacles with people who are system without evidence -- suggesting their rivals are too far outside the mainstream to be worth engaging.
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
Walker family drama puts Georgia Senate race in spotlight: The Note
What Herschel Walker has survived as a Senate candidate has already been remarkable.
What Walker has to fend off and explain away from here will be another level entirely.
A Daily Beast report alleging that the GOP Senate candidate in Georgia paid the cost of a woman's abortion brought a swift denial from Walker Monday night, as well as a threat of a lawsuit. Then came a tweet thread from his adult son -- a well-known conservative personality in his own right -- bringing new allegations and pronouncing himself "done" with his father's campaign.
"Every family member of Herschel Walker asked him not to run for office, because we all knew (some of) his past," tweeted Christian Walker, who has often used his voice to praise Republican politicians, though seldom his father.
The candidate's Fox News appearance late Monday is unlikely to calm GOP jitters about his campaign. He called the Daily Beast's claim a "flat-out lie," and explained a bank deposit receipt with an image of a $700 check that appeared to be signed by Walker by saying, "I send money to a lot of people."
The latest report came after torrents of other revelations -- about questionable business ventures, fathering other children he didn't previously acknowledge and -- that have concerned his fellow Republicans since before he won his primary.
Read more here.
–ABC News’ Rick Klein
Herschel Walker denies report he paid for girlfriend's abortion
Herschel Walker, a Georgia football icon and U.S. Senate hopeful, has denied a report in the Daily Beast that an ex-girlfriend claimed he paid the cost of her abortion more than 10 years ago, a claim that would seem to contradict his anti-abortion posture on the campaign trail.
Walker, a Republican, immediately denied the claim and promised to file a defamation lawsuit against the Daily Beast, which published the story, on Tuesday morning. Walker later appeared on Fox News Channel's "Hannity," where he issued additional denials.
"I can tell you right now, I never asked anyone to get an abortion," Walker told Sean Hannity. "I never paid for an abortion -- it's a lie."
The Daily Beast reported Monday that an unidentified woman who claimed to be Walker's ex-girlfriend said she sought a medical abortion after the couple conceived in 2009. The woman shared documentation with the news outlet: a receipt from an abortion clinic, a bank deposit receipt with an image of a $700 check that appeared to be signed by Walker sent within a week of the abortion and a "get well" card that appeared to be signed by Walker.
Read more here.
–ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa
October jolts threaten to become midterm surprises: The Note
The story of the midterms has yet to be written. But with barely a month to go before Election Day, a striking array of narratives are competing for attention -- any or all of which could wind up being of outsized consequence.
There could be an October surprise in the form of a foreign-policy crisis – with a cornered Russian President Vladimir Putin challenging the world community and threatening further disruptions as a bad play on Ukraine turns worse.
A jolt could also come domestically -- with another round of inflation data looming and Republicans getting traction with messaging around crime and immigration, both of which could easily begin resonating more.
And the Supreme Court might not be done making headlines. A new term starts Monday with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on the bench, but with an ascendant conservative majority in a stronger place than ever in recent history as cases impacting affirmative action, gay rights, environmental protections and state legislative powers come up for argument.
Read more here.
–ABC News’ Rick Klein
Georgia outpacing presidential election levels in early midterms voting
With less than three weeks until the midterm elections, Georgians are already casting their ballots at a fast pace -- with vote counts on Tuesday surpassing 2020 presidential election records for day two of early voting, surging to nearly twice the early vote totals of 2018 at the same point.
The outcome of Georgia's Senate race could be critical in deciding the balance of power in Washington.
As Georgia entered its third day of early in-person voting on Wednesday, over 291,700 people have voted -- 268,050 in person and 23,690 absentee. In 2020, the early vote numbers after the second day were 266,403, and in 2018 they were 147,289, according to the secretary of state's office.
"We're extremely pleased that so many Georgians are able to cast their votes, in record numbers and without any reports of substantial delays," said Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. "This is a testament to the hard work of Georgia's election workers, the professionals who keep our elections convenient and secure."
Georgia's second day of early voting totals marks a 75.3% increase from that same point in 2018 early midterm voting and an "astounding" 3.3% increase in the second day of early voting in the 2020 presidential election, the state's top elections official said.
Read more here.
-- ABC News' Lalee Ibssa