Midterm polls show Democratic gains in key races

A number of polls showed Democrats gaining ground in several races ahead of next week's midterm elections. Republicans are largely playing defense, but hoping for some pickups of their own. Doug Luzader has more from Washington this morning. Good morning, Doug. Good morning. We'll see President Trump departing for Ohio today. That's one of a number of campaign stops still to happen through Election Day, and that follows another visit to Texas yesterday. In Texas, it was the story of lines for dueling Senate candidates. Democrat James Talarico, a big draw for those looking for change. For 32 years, Republicans have been running this state, and I personally feel they've just been running it into the ground. President Trump, with a line of his own, had a pair of rallies, something of a Texas two-step, as he sought to boost Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton. One supporter who waited in line was overcome. I love my freedoms. I love my country. and we fought for it. As he returned to Washington early this morning, the president sounded upbeat. But for the Senate specifically, our new Fox News power rankings show an improving battlefield for Democrats. And today, the president heads to Ohio, one of three states where we're seeing Republican chances falling. Ohio was a toss-up. Now, in the race between Senator John Husted and former Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrats appear to have a slight edge. But all of these predictions depend on polling in a tough environment. I'm hearing from pollsters that it is polling hell. It is incredibly difficult to get Republicans to respond to a text or a phone call. Now pollsters try to compensate for that, but when fewer and fewer people have landlines predicting election outcomes has become very difficult. Back to you guys. Yeah, well, and I know, Doug, you as well as us here in Minnesota get a lot of those texts. And you go, I don't know if this is real. I don't know if I should respond. So interesting, interesting. They're having a tough time polling. Thank you for the update, Doug. At 534 now is your time in world news this morning. The votes are still being tallied in Israel after exit polls show no clear winner in the country's elections. Neither major political bloc has secured a parliamentary majority. majority. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's alliance was projected to win about 50 seats, which is short of the 61 needed to govern. The results could trigger weeks of negotiations and leave Arab-led parties playing a key role in determining who forms the next government. President Trump has urged Israelis several times to re-elect Netanyahu. New data from the Pentagon shows the cost is ballooning for the war in Iran. Reuters obtained a State Department estimate this week, which finds the military has spent $47 billion on the conflict so far, including more than $29 billion to replace extended munitions and more than $6 billion to replace military equipment and aircrafts. The previous cost estimate from the Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, was about $37 billion. He made that remark back in July.