Ms. Lake, who has campaigned on promises of an immigration crackdown, was asked whether she believed the United States had a responsibility to accept asylum seekers fleeing political violence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a great legal immigration system, a very generous legal immigration system. But we can\u2019t afford to take on the world\u2019s problems right now when so many Americans are struggling, so many Arizonans are struggling,\u201d Ms. Lake said. She also said that many asylum applications were fraudulent.<\/p>\n
Evan McMullin said he wouldn\u2019t join either party.<\/h2>\n
Evan McMullin, an independent candidate, is posing an unexpectedly strong challenge to Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, though Mr. Lee is still favored. In an interview on NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press,\u201d Mr. McMullin said unequivocally that he would not caucus with either party, even if his affiliation made the difference between a Democratic or Republican majority.<\/p>\n
Mr. McMullin, who also ran for president as an independent in 2016, said that his campaign was building a \u201ccoalition\u201d of support across party lines and that he had made a commitment to that coalition to \u201cmaintain my independence.\u201d<\/p>\n
The host, Chuck Todd, pressed him multiple times, first asking whether that commitment would extend through all six years of a Senate term and then asking twice whether his thinking would change if party control were on the line. His responses were consistent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will not caucus with Democrats or Republicans,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m going to maintain my independence because I think our country needs that, and certainly our state needs that. I\u2019ve made that commitment, and for party bosses and others in Washington, they\u2019re going to have to figure out what this means for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
He argued that having an independent senator would give Utah more influence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Senator Lee, we get none of that,\u201d he said. \u201cHe sits on his hands until it\u2019s time to vote no, and then he goes and complains about our country on cable news, and I\u2019m just not going to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. McMullin said that he would not have voted for the Democrats\u2019 Inflation Reduction Act \u201cas written\u201d but that he supported parts of it, including allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices. He would not say whether he would support federal legislation on abortion, saying only that he opposed bans without exceptions for rape and incest and supported increasing access to contraception.<\/p>\n
The Colorado Senate candidates made their cases.<\/h2>\n
Senator Michael Bennet and his Republican opponent, Joe O\u2019Dea, were interviewed back-to-back on CNN.<\/p>\n
The main topic was inflation, for which Mr. O\u2019Dea blamed the $1.9 trillion pandemic stimulus package passed in March 2021 and the Biden administration\u2019s energy policies. Mr. Bennet, a Democrat, blamed \u201cbroken global supply chains\u201d and Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. (The causes of inflation \u2014 which is happening all over the world \u2014 are complex, and multiple factors are driving it.)<\/p>\n
Mr. Bennet said he believed the Inflation Reduction Act would live up to its name once its provisions kick in fully next year. He emphasized the billions of dollars it includes for clean energy development, arguing that the funding would allow the country to \u201cincrease our energy independence and our economic strength and reduce emissions\u201d at the same time.<\/p>\n
Mr. O\u2019Dea called for loosening the permitting process for new energy projects, naming natural gas alongside renewable energy but, notably, not mentioning oil or coal. \u201cIt\u2019ll cause the price to come down, inflation will go away \u2014 that\u2019s how you do it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr. O\u2019Dea also said, as he has before, that he did not want Mr. Trump to run for president again and would \u201cactively campaign against\u201d him in a Republican primary; he named Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Tim Scott as candidates he could support instead. He did not say what he would do in the general election if Mr. Trump won the primary.<\/p>\n
In case you missed it \u2026<\/h2>\n
Hundreds of Republican midterm candidates have questioned or spread misinformation about the 2020 election. Together, they represent a growing consensus in the Republican Party and a potential threat to American democracy.<\/p>\n
In Oregon\u2019s wild governor\u2019s race, an independent candidate is siphoning Democratic votes and Phil Knight, the billionaire Nike co-founder, is pouring in money, giving an anti-abortion Republican a path to victory.<\/p>\n
A new breed of veterans are running for the House on the far right, challenging assumptions that adding veterans to Congress would foster bipartisanship and cooperation.<\/p>\n
4 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail<\/h2>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2022\/10\/11\/us\/politics\/author-ken-bensinger\/author-ken-bensinger-thumbStandard.png\")
<\/picture><\/span>Ken Bensinger<\/span>Reporting on politics from Los Angeles<\/span><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/header>\n4 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail<\/h2>\n
<\/picture><\/span>Ken Bensinger<\/span>Reporting on politics from Los Angeles<\/span><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/header>\n![](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2022\/10\/13\/autossell\/13burst-fader-1-43b9-original\/13burst-fader-1-43b9-original-thumbWide.jpg\")