Democrats are showing fresh momentum in a series of pivotal Senate races that could decide who controls Congress after November, with several contests in reliably Republican territory now appearing far more competitive than expected.

The latest polling averages from RealClearPolitics place Republican candidates behind Democrats in eight key Senate battlegrounds, fueling concerns inside the GOP that President Donald Trump’s party could be headed for a punishing election night.

Republicans were already preparing for a tough battle to defend their House majority, confronting the familiar midterm headwinds that often hit the party controlling the White House during a president’s first term.

Even so, Trump’s grip on the Republican Party remains powerful. Of the 270 candidates he has endorsed so far, 261 have won their primaries, giving him a 96.7 percent success rate, according to Ballotpedia.

His recent wins include Darline Graham in South Carolina and Mike Mazzei in Oklahoma, further strengthening Trump’s endorsement record as Republicans move toward the November midterms.

But there’s also been a series of bruising problems this primary season, with a growing list of his hand-picked candidates crashing out despite receiving his coveted endorsement.

Among those defeated are embattled Florida Congressman Cory Mills, former Commerce Department adviser Catalina Lauf and Wyoming gubernatorial hopeful Megan Degenfelder, who all lost on the same night in August.

But holding onto the Senate is now emerging as an even bigger headache.

Republican candidates are behind in states including Texas and Ohio, while wider Democratic leads in Georgia and North Carolina have raised concerns within the party.

The latest RCP figures have Republicans trailing by 8 points in North Carolina, 7.5 points in Georgia, 2.6 points in Ohio, 2.3 points in Maine, 2 points in Alaska and in New Hampshire, 1.9 points in Texas and 1.8 points in Michigan.

Patrick Ruffini analyzed 3,312 Senate polls from the past four election cycles and found a striking pattern: 73 per cent overstated the eventual Democratic margin, by an average of 3.7 points. The historical overstatement was even larger in late July, when it peaked at 5.9 points. 

A glimmer of hope for Republicans comes from Iowa, where GOP representative Ashley Hinson is narrowly ahead of Democrat Josh Turek by 1.4 points.

Democrats currently occupy three of the battleground seats being contested, while Republicans hold six. And aside from Georgia and North Carolina, the margins fall within what would generally be regarded as the margin of error.

Republicans insist the public polling could be understating their support.

‘National Republicans have been sounding the alarm that midterms are hard since last year, and we’ve been firm that not a single race should be taken for granted,’ a GOP operative involved in Senate races told the New York Post.

But there is a major difference between this election and Trump’s previous campaigns: the president himself won’t be on the ballot.

That could make it considerably harder for Republicans to bring the MAGA base to the polls, while Democrats are showing signs of strong enthusiasm.

Politico columnist Jonathan Martin, who has been traveling through the country ahead of the election, has identified the Midwest as a particularly worrying region for Republicans.

Farmers who once formed an important part of Trump’s coalition are increasingly frustrated by economic pressures.

‘He’s in serious trouble in farm country,’ Republican Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told Martin.

‘He being Trump – and Trump is us. I’m not very optimistic.’

In Ohio and Iowa, Trump’s trade policies, the war with Iran and its effect on diesel and fertilizer prices, along with his decision to import foreign beef in an attempt to reduce grocery prices, have all become potential political liabilities.

And the unease is spreading beyond the Midwest.

The rising cost of living, Trump’s difficulty winning over centrists and stronger Democratic voter engagement could put Republican prospects at risk in Maine, Texas, North Carolina and Alaska.  

Emergency crews in Texas rescued a person from the cab of a high-rise crane on Saturday, the Fort Worth Fire Department said.

In a Facebook post shared later that day, the department said the person was positioned roughly 220 feet above the ground when responders reached the scene.

“The Fort Worth Fire Department Alarm Office received a call for a medical emergency at 11:50am today,” the post said. The department explained that the call came from “the construction site at JPS Health Hospital,” where firefighters discovered the patient was “approximately 220 feet up in the air, inside of a crane cab.”

Firefighters climbed the crane, administered medical assistance and then carefully lowered the person back to the ground, according to the department.

“When technical rescue teams arrived on scene, they gathered gear and began their ascent up the crane’s ladder. They carried with them all of the equipment they would need for the entire rescue on their backs,” the department said.

“Upon arrival at the top of the crane (over 22 stories in the air), they went to work. Immediate emergency medical care was started while technical rescue teams began devising a plan for the patient’s safe descent,” the department continued.

“Once the patient was safely hooked up to the ropes and rigging system, the crews had him lowered and on the ground. This all happened within less than an hour of their making it to him initially,” the post read.

The department shared multiple photos of the heroic rescue effort.

“The crane operator was then transported to the hospital in stable condition,” the department added.

A Kansas City bride-to-be has captured the internet’s attention after a jury duty summons arrived with an almost unbelievable conflict: it required her to report on the very day she was set to get married in Rome.

Katrina Badowski, 35, said she received the notice last month informing her that she was expected to serve for one week beginning Monday — the same day she was scheduled to marry her fiancé, 42-year-old Billie Rodriguez, more than 5,000 miles away.

“My jaw physically dropped like a cartoon,” Badowski told KSHB outside the Wyandotte County District Court, where she appeared in a white dress as she recounted getting the summons on Aug. 14.

“I was so shocked to see that date,” she said.

Later that week, Badowski posted the notice on TikTok, joking in the caption: “The odds of you getting summoned for jury duty on your wedding day are low, but never zero.”

“The government wants to be involved in my marriage SO BAD,” she captioned the video, which has amassed 1.4 million views.

Badowski was warned of the potential penalties if she skipped jury duty without informing the court. 

Those who skip jury duty in Kansas could be slapped with a fine of $100 for each day they miss and it can lead to a contempt of court charge.

Badowski was caught between a rock and a hard place. She wanted to serve but it clashed with her nuptials.

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“I find it deeply ironic that I haven’t been summoned for jury duty in over a decade, as I would genuinely welcome the opportunity,” she told People. 

“I’ve always thought it would be fascinating to experience that civic responsibility, particularly for a complex or high-profile case.

“[But] Because of the nature of our destination wedding, with all flights, venues, and vendors booked and paid for, it is entirely impossible for me to attend.”

Badowski emailed court officials and the situation was resolved. She also received a heartwarming message from the court.

“Received and excused you from jury duty,” the message said. “Thank you and congratulations.”

Social media users claimed they had a similar experience where jury duty clashed with a major milestone. 

“Got called for jury duty on my 18th birthday,” one TikTokker said. “Told em [sic] I had a snowboarding trip and they let me off.”

“I got jury duty for the day I gave birth,” an Instagram user penned.

Others rushed to quip that the notice was “poetic,” while one suggested the jury should be invited to her foreign nuptials.

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson kept a blank expression when pressed over the now-collapsed campaign to remove her from office.

The 44-year-old Democrat secured a legal win this week after organizers behind a recall push pulled their petition from King County Elections in Washington. The filing had accused Wilson of “malfeasance” and claimed she violated her oath of office.

Wilson was later questioned about the failed Seattle mayor recall effort on Saturday by Jonathan Choe, a senior journalism fellow at the Discovery Institute.

The tense exchange began politely, with Choe asking the mayor how she was doing. Wilson responded warmly: “I’m doing great, Jonathan.”

But the tone shifted once Choe brought up the recall petition. At that point, Wilson stopped answering his questions.

‘Mayor, I was just going to say congrats on surviving the recall attempt,’ Choe began. ‘What have you learned from this process and what are you going to do differently as mayor?’

When Wilson then continued walking silently with her head down, Choe decided to reframe his question.

‘Are there any lessons you learned from this recall process?’ he asked.

Still, Wilson continued walking away silently as she playfully swung her child around. 

In the now-defunct recall petition, Melinda Jacobson and her husband, Dale Osterud, cited the mayor’s inadequate handling of the Bite of Seattle shooting last month that saw three gunned down at a food festival. 

They also addressed the persistent crime rate in the downtown area of Aurora Avenue and Chinatown International District and questioned Wilson’s decision to turn off CCTV cameras after the World Cup.

But the couple missed a filing deadline last Wednesday, only to show up in court the next day saying they were out of town due to family matters. 

Judge Patrick Oishi, who was assigned to the case, then said their behavior was ‘absolutely inappropriate,’ according to the Seattle Times. 

He said he had been in the dark about their arrival as he struggled to figure out what was going on as Wilson’s attorneys, Dmitri Iglitzin and Abby Lawlor, blasted the charges as ‘frivolous.’

Yet Jacobson doubled down – claiming she had found new information related to the charges and wanted to investigate further. 

She did not describe what the new details were. Instead, she explained that she retained a lawyer to help restart the process and did not reveal their identity.

Jacobson said she had contacted multiple lawyers to take her case but that ‘too many attorneys in this city don’t want to handle a political situation.’ 

When the couple then requested to rescind their petition, Judge Oishi signed the order without prejudice.

If the couple now seeks to restart the recall petition, they would need nearly 70,000 verified signatures from other supporters.

But Wilson’s lawyers have also warned that the mayor could seek sanctions against Jacobson if the recall petition is restarted.

Outside of the courthouse on Thursday, Jacobson defended her actions.

‘She’s had nothing but a series of rash decisions and people are angry,’ she said of the mayor, according to KIRO.

‘I may appear angry right now but I represent a lot of citizens of Seattle, and this is not going to go unsaid. It’s not over.’

Wilson has become increasingly unpopular in liberal Seattle after she mocked wealthy entrepreneurs who announced plans to move out of the city over a new wealth tax and called for a boycott of Starbucks, which was founded there in 1971 and remains headquartered there.

Wilson has since sought to backtrack after multiple CEOs blasted her policies and said they were leaving, with Starbucks gradually shifting staff to its Nashville offices, amid growing rumors it will ultimately quit its home city altogether.