Wednesday, October 21: Berman presses Steil on healthcare cuts, Van Orden defends the Iran war, manufactured homes get a new look, Trump DOJ files charges against California voters, Dems on track to win House majority
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It’s still not clear exactly how deep into the map Democrats can play. They have fewer resources to invest in some of these reach seats. But regardless of how far they can expand the map, I think they are going to be in a very good position to win the House, and the Senate perhaps as well.”
– Erin Covey, top House analyst for the Cook Political Report
1st Congressional District Democratic candidate Mitchell Berman, left, and Republican incumbent Bryan Steil, center, debate Tuesday at radio station WCLO in Janesville, responding to questions posed by WCLO’s Tim Bremel, right. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)
Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District incumbent U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Janesville) and his Democratic party challenger, Mitchell Berman, parried for an hour Tuesday in their only face-to-face encounter scheduled before the Nov. 3 election. Erik Gunn covers the debate from Janesville radio station WCLO and fact checks the candidates’ claims and counterclaims.
While the 1st CD candidates were duking it out, Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden and his Democratic opponent Rebecca Cooke were also holding their only debate in the 3rd Congressional District, at Chippewa Valley Technical College in Eau Claire. Henry Redman reports from the event, where Van Orden continued his ardent defense of President Donald Trump and Cooke worked to establish her moderate bonafides.
This summer’s sweeping housing bill, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, removed a 1974 mandate that required every manufactured home to be built on a nonremovable steel frame, known as a chassis. Experts and home producers think the change could help unlock thousands more affordable housing options around the country. Robbie Sequeira of Stateline has the story.
The U.S. Department of Justice is intensifying its campaign against voter fraud with a spree of arrests in the final weeks before Election Day, an effort that voting rights advocates warn risks instilling fear among voters. Over the past week, the Justice Department unveiled election-related criminal charges against 28 noncitizens in California and threatened state and local election officials with prosecutions. Jonathan Shorman reports.
PLUS:
ICYMI
Kaul, Toney face off in rematch attorney general election | Henry Redman
GOP focuses on fraud, seeking to redirect voters’ ire over healthcare costs | Stephanie Armour/KFF Health News
Early, in-person voting underway in Wisconsin | Henry Redman
Burkhart Ridge in Howell Township, Mich., is the kind of manufactured home community that some experts say can be expanded with a new federal law that allows such homes to be built without a chassis. Some 30 states may need to update their laws, though, and mobile home park operators say the industry still faces major zoning and financial speed bumps. (Photo by Jon King/Michigan Advance)
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