Delaware Gov. John Carney Warns Against 'Team' Politics as Midterm Races Tighten Nationwide
*By Jacqueline Corba*
Political spectators are readying themselves for a midterm fight to the finish, but Gov. John Carney of Delaware thinks they would do well to focus on the issues ー not just winning the race.
"It seems like we get bogged down in the politics of our own teams," Carney said of the divisive state of politics during an interview with Cheddar Monday. "It gets in the way of improving things that are important."
With midterm elections roughly two weeks away, President Trump's approval rating has jumped to 47 percent, according to a recent poll by [NBC and the Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/articles/interest-in-midterms-surges-boosting-trump-approval-rating-1540126920).
Carney said Democrats have a real opportunity across the nation to take back either the House or Senate and secure governorships that are currently red. Carney served three terms in House from 2011 to 2017.
But it's still unclear whether the midterm "wave" will appear blue or red.
According to a recent report by [FiveThirtyEight](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/senate-and-governor-races-are-diverging-sharply-in-some-states/), there could be an increasing number of split-ticket votes next month.
"I think Democrats are well-positioned in several states," Carney said.
He then shifted the responsibility back to his fellow governors.
"Governors have to focus on what is happening in their state," he said.
President Trump recently [floated](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/21/business/trump-tax-cut-republicans.html) a new round of tax cuts for the middle-class ー perhaps in a last-ditch effort to lure undecideds.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/delaware-gov-john-carney-on-midterms-trade-wars-and-lotto).
Real estate software company RealPage has agreed to stop sharing nonpublic information between landlords as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice.
A legislative package to end the government shutdown appears on track. A handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to advance the bill after what's become a deepening disruption of federal programs and services. But hurdles remain. Senators are hopeful they can pass the package as soon as Monday and send it to the House. What’s in and out of the bipartisan deal has drawn criticism and leaves few senators fully satisfied. The legislation includes funding for SNAP food aid and other programs while ensuring backpay for furloughed federal workers. But it fails to fund expiring health care subsidies Democrats have been fighting for, pushing that debate off for a vote next month.
Sabrina Siddiqui, National Politics Reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins to break down the SNAP funding delays and the human cost of the ongoing shutdown.
Arguments at the Supreme Court have concluded for the day as the justices consider President Donald Trump's sweeping unilateral tariffs in a trillion-dollar test of executive power.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
