Why Republicans are gaining in midterm polls

The GOP gains on Democrats in midterm polling; hundreds die in Nigeria floods worsened by climate change.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

GOP gains in midterm polls as voters worry about the economy

J. Scott Applewhite-Pool/Getty Images

• Republicans are gaining momentum on Democrats in recent polling as the economy and inflation worry voters weeks ahead of midterm elections. [CNN / Jennifer Agiesta]
• Forty-nine percent of likely voters said they would vote for a Republican versus 45 percent who would support a Democratic candidate, according to a NYT/ Siena College poll released Monday. [New York Times / Shane Goldmacher]
• Sixty-five percent of registered voters think the economy is heading in the wrong direction amid persistent inflation and rising gas prices, according to a CBS News/YouGov survey. [CBS News]
• Democrat gains after the Supreme Court overturned the right to abortion have diminished. The Times poll found Republicans have gained a 10-point advantage among independent voters since September. [Wall Street Journal / Tim Hanrahan]
• Senate Democrats hope to pick up seats in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, but polls in both states aren’t as strong for Democrats as they were; Congress could see another evenly divided Senate. [Politico / Mariannne Levine and Holly Otterbein]

📍 If you read just one story

Vox’s Rachel Cohen explains what Republicans plan to do if they gain control of Congress in this year’s midterms. [Vox / Rachel Cohen]

Nigeria floods kill hundreds, displace over a million

• Over 600 people have died in Nigerian floods fueled by extreme rainfall and climate change. [BBC / Ishaq Khalid and Elsa Maishman]
• The floods began in early summer, have washed away 82,000 homes, and displaced more than 1.3 million people. [Al Jazeera]
• The waters have also affected hundreds of thousands of hectares of land, adding to food insecurity concerns in the West African country. [CBS News]
• Climate change is making unusually heavy rainfall more common, which increases the risk of floods. Officials said the release of excess water from a dam in neighboring Cameroon also contributed to the crisis. [Yahoo / Ben Adler]

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The Chinese Communist Party is holding its Party Congress meeting this week, where leader Xi Jinping is expected to hold onto power for a historic third term. [Vox / Muizz Akhtar]

• The Justice Department wants Steve Bannon to spend six months in prison and pay $200,00 in fines for his contempt of Congress conviction. [ABC News / Alexander Mallin]
• Monday, Russian forces struck targets in Kyiv using Iran-made kamikaze drones. At least four people were killed, according to Ukrainian officials. [Atlantic / Alan Taylor]
• Alaska canceled its snow crab season for the first time, as billions of crabs have disappeared from the Bering Sea. [CNN / Rachel Ramirez]

“This 50/50 Senate was one of the most productive the Senate has ever seen, so if that’s the case again next Congress we’ll aspire for the same.”

[Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) / Politico]

How we got to January 6

Sean Illing talks with war reporter and New Yorker contributing writer Luke Mogelson about his new book The Storm Is Here. They discuss what happened on January 6th, 2021, how it happened, and how Luke's experience at the Capitol shaped his view of what's coming next.

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