Administration's handling of Ebola casts shadow on Democrats' House and Senate hopes

A Politico poll underscores that Ebola is causing real political danger for some Democrats. It's playing big, for instance, in North Carolina's Senate race. 

Politico: Politico Poll: Democrats In Danger Over Ebola
Voters who intend to support Republicans in the most consequential Senate and House elections this November had significantly less confidence in the federal government's response to the occurrence of Ebola, according to a new POLITICO poll. The survey underscores the dangers for Democrats in the midterms if the Obama administration is perceived as mishandling the government's reaction to the virus (Shepard, 10/20).

NPR: Will Ebola Impact Midterm Elections?
Weekend Edition Sunday's new segment, "For the Record," kicks off with politics and Ebola. NPR's Rachel Martin asks NPR's Mara Liasson and Dallas columnist J. Floyd about the politics of the disease (10/19).

The Washington Post: Ebola, Islamic State Shift Dynamics For Hagan, Tillis In North Carolina's Senate Race
For much of the year, the incumbent, Sen. Kay Hagan (D), and her allies had successfully framed the campaign as a referendum on the sharp conservative turn taken by the state legislature under the leadership of [Thom] Tillis, the House speaker. But in the past few weeks, the conversation has pivoted amid alarming headlines about terrorism and a virulent epidemic, further tightening what is expected to be the most expensive Senate race in U.S. history. … For his part, he spent most of his day-long swing through the state pressing the argument that Hagan operates as an extension of Obama. He ticked off a series of issues, such as Obamacare and veterans' care, in which he said the administration -; and the senator -; had failed. At every stop, he added two new items on the list: the Islamic State and Ebola (Gold, 10/19).

Meanwhile, health policy, budget issues and Medicare are also resonating in a variety of congressional contests.

Los Angeles Times: Costly, Nasty Battle Rages In San Diego Race For Congress
In its third editorial endorsing Republican congressional candidate Carl DeMaio over Democratic incumbent Scott Peters, the U-T San Diego newspaper had one description of DeMaio that not even his many critics could dispute: "One of a kind." DeMaio's hard-charging style, combined with his anti-Washington pledge to "Fix Congress First," has turned the 52nd Congressional District race into one of the tightest and costliest in the country. ... Local television is filled with attack ads. Peters warns that DeMaio plans to cut student loans. DeMaio says he is a big supporter of student loans and Medicare and that Peters represents everything that is wrong with politics: officeholders who are too comfortable with the status quo (Perry, 10/18).

Chicago Tribune: Foster, Senger Debate Health Care, Budget
Candidates to represent the 11th Congressional District clashed Saturday ... Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster and Republican state Rep. Darlene Senger, Naperville residents who are vying for a seat representing parts of the west and southwest suburbs, sparred during a debate ... When they had a chance to ask each other one question, Senger queried Foster on his vote in support of the Affordable Care Act and the unfunded liability she said it left on the state's shoulders. Foster stood by the law, saying millions more are now insured (Jenco, 10/19).

Chicago Tribune: Chicago Suburb Congressional Candidates Trade Jabs On Medicare
A debate Saturday between the rivals in the north suburban 10th Congressional District – Rep. Brad Schneider, the first-term Democrat, and GOP challenger Bob Dold – grew tense on the topic of Medicare. Dold assailed Schneider as a partisan leader who's done little good for 10th District voters. "You said you wouldn't cut a single penny from Medicare. You have gutted the program by over $700 billion," Dold said to Schneider. "After you've misled the voters this many times, how can they expect to trust anything that you say?" What followed was chippy back-and-forth over the intersection of the Affordable Care Act , Medicare and past budgets proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., that Dold supported when he was in Congress. In the exchange, both politicians slung partisan Medicare talking points that have been largely debunked by fact-checking organizations in recent years (Trotter, 10/18).

In other news, real history could be made in gubernatorial elections -

The Washington Post: Gubernatorial Races Poised To Make History In Two Weeks
You wouldn't know it by following the Senate-control-centric coverage of the midterm elections emanating from Washington, but we could well be headed toward a historic gubernatorial election in 15 days. Not since 1984 have more than six sitting governors lost in any one election. But, 30 years after that gubernatorial carnage, a look at this year's races puts 11 incumbents in various levels of peril -; suggesting that history may be in the making (Cillizza, Blake and Sullivan, 10/19).