PolitiFact is reporting that President Donald Trump is campaigning for Republican candidates in toss-up races that will determine which party controls Congress for the final two years of his presidency. It said PolitiFact listens to Trump's public remarks daily and that he tends to repeat boasts about his achievements and attacks on Democrats. The outlet said it compiled a list of more than two dozen recurring Trump statements and assessed their accuracy, drawing on his Republican National Convention midterm speech, later speeches and interviews, and his Sept. 16 rally in North Carolina.
PolitiFact is reporting that an ad accuses Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, of opposing the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased sex offender at the center of multiple midterm attacks. It said the Sept. 24 ad, from WinSenate, a super political action committee linked to the Democrat-affiliated Senate Majority PAC, claims Collins voted to cover up the Epstein files and that Epstein's business partner gave $3 million to her super PAC. PolitiFact said the ad misleads about both Collins' position on releasing the files and the donor. It said Collins voted against a September 2025 amendment to release the files, saying it did not belong in the defense spending bill it was attached to, and that the Senate appropriations committee she chairs voted to direct the Justice Department to preserve Epstein files. It said the Senate unanimously passed a bill to release the files in November 2025 and Collins praised that action. PolitiFact said the donation dates cited match donations by Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman to a pro-Collins group, and that it found no evidence Schwarzman and Epstein were business partners. It rated the statement False. Collins faces Democratic candidate Troy Jackson on Nov. 3.
PolitiFact is reporting that Republican Mike Rogers accused his Democratic opponent in the Michigan U.S. Senate race, Abdul El-Sayed, of supporting policies that could compromise public safety. It said a Sept. 23 post by Rogers claimed El-Sayed "supports defunding the police and emptying prisons," and included an ad running on TV and digital platforms in the Detroit market. PolitiFact said El-Sayed supported defunding the police in the past and spoke broadly about reducing incarceration rates and prison sentences, but that during his Senate campaign he has not supported defunding the police and has said he wants to increase funds for certain aspects of policing. It said he has not called for emptying prisons. PolitiFact rated the ad Mostly False.