2020 Day 1384: More than 100 million Americans voted early; Biden is favored to win the election; Trump has about a 10% chance of winning a second term; Democrats have a 3-in-4 chance at taking control of the Senate; the House will most likely remain under Democratic control; Trump needs a bigger-than-normal polling error in his favor; Biden will likely win even if polls were off by as much as they were in 2016; in most states, the unprecedented number of mail-in ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic means results will be heavily skewed at various points of the night; in some states the count might take days; and there’s a decent chance that it will take days or weeks before we have an actual the winner of the presidential election. In other words: Hold on to your butts. Nov 3, 2020
2021 Day 288: The Biden administration announced plans to heavily regulate methane emissions from oil and gas drilling; the CDC recommended the low-dose Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11; House and Senate Democrats reached an agreement on lowering prescription drug prices; House Democrats added four weeks of paid family and medical leave back to the $1.75 trillion social spending bill; Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia's gubernatorial election; Senate Republicans blocked the John Lewis Voting Rights Act from advancing; and 41% of Republicans say they are confident their vote will be counted accurately. Nov 3, 2021
2022 Day 653: Biden called the midterms "a defining moment" for democracy; Obama warned that “democracy as we know it may not survive" if Republicans win in Arizona; some House Republicans have embraced plans to reduce federal spending on Social Security and Medicare if they take control of the House and Senate; America’s billionaires have spent a record $880 million on the 2022 midterm elections so far; the Justice Department granted immunity to a Trump aide in exchange for his grand jury testimony in the Mar-a-Lago case; 84% of the Republican voters report a great deal of interest in the midterm elections; 53% of Republicans said they would "very likely" vote for a candidate who thought the 2020 election was stolen; and 56% of Americans believe the Republican and Democratic parties do such a poor job that a third major party is needed. Nov 3, 2022
2025 Day 1749: The Trump administration will restart SNAP payments but only at half the usual amount; the government shutdown entered its 34th day and is on track to become the longest in U.S. history as Trump refused to negotiate with Democrats over extending Affordable Care Act subsidies; CBS News heavily edited Trump’s “60 Minutes” interview – the same standard editorial practice that led him to sue the network last year over its editing of a Kamala Harris segment; a federal judge permanently blocked Trump’s order requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration; for the third time a federal judge blocked Trump from deploying the National Guard to Portland, saying there was “no credible evidence” protests had grown out of control before his order; the Justice Department told lawmakers the Trump administration doesn’t need congressional approval to keep striking alleged drug-smuggling boats because the War Powers Resolution doesn’t apply; 52% of voters blamed Trump and congressional Republicans for the ongoing government shutdown; 67% of Democrats said they’re frustrated with their party; Trump’s approval rating fell to 37%, his lowest of his second term; two-thirds of voters said Trump has not lived up to their expectations on the economy and cost of living; 49% of Americans say the nation’s best times are behind it; and 55% of Americans say political violence will increase. Nov 3, 2025