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Fights over abortion are popping up in virtually every competitive race in the nation. And it was one of the more contentious moments on Tuesday at the mostly tame Pennsylvania Senate debate between Sen. Bob Casey (D) and businessman Dave McCormick (R). Republicans have been on defense since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, and McCormick, who has praised the Supreme Court decision, worked to toggle both sides of the sensitive issue. (Perano, 10/15)

Sen. Ted Cruz repeatedly would not say whether he supports allowing abortion in the cases of incest or rape during what is likely to be the only debate between the Texas Republican and his Democratic opponent, Rep. Colin Allred. “Why do you keep asking me that?” Cruz asked the moderators after the third time they asked the question. “Hold on a second. I've asked Congressman Allred twice about his voting record, and the fact that he voted to strike down Texas's parental notification law and parental consent law.” (Diaz, 10/15)

The fight over the right to an abortion has expanded into yet another corner of American political life: the races to fill seats on state supreme courts. In 22 states, voters elect their supreme court justices. All but eight of them elect justices in contests that are officially nonpartisan, though the judges’ political leanings are often quite apparent. (Wines, 10/15)

Tennessee doesn’t have an abortion referendum on the ballot this year, but the state House race in District 75, which encompasses the city of Clarksville, may yield the clearest indication yet of how much the issue sways Tennessee voters. Incumbent Republican Rep. Jeff Burkhart, a former city councilmember and small business owner first elected to state office in 2022, faces political newcomer Allie Phillips, a former day care operator.  (Wadhwani, 10/16)

The competing measures have drawn intense attention and are likely to drive voter turnout in a way that could even affect the outcome of the presidential race. (Gowen, 10/16)

A campaign to restore abortion access in Missouri so far has raised close to $22 million, finance reports filed Tuesday show. The campaign reported bringing in more than $14 million between July and the end of September alone. Missourians for Constitutional Freedom seeks to undo the state’s near-total abortion ban and is one of nine statewide campaigns to enshrine abortion rights into state constitutions. (Ballentine, 10/15)

Abortion rights advocates trying to drum up support for Maryland’s reproductive freedom ballot question have vastly outraised and outspent their opponents — pulling in more than five times the funds and unleashing a new $500,000 ad campaign three weeks before Election Day. (Janesch, 10/15)

Vice President Kamala Harris is struggling to win support from men. Former President Donald Trump has the same problem with women. The gender gap has come to define a deadlocked presidential race, with a galvanized group of women voting for Harris because of her support for abortion rights and Trump wooing men with uber-masculine rhetoric. The split has affected the candidates’ media strategies and how they frame the issues most important to voters in the final weeks of the campaign. (Lucey, Zitner and Martinez, 10/15)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Harris Backs Slashing Medical Debt. Trump’s ‘Concepts’ Worry Advocates

Patient and consumer advocates are looking to Kamala Harris to accelerate federal efforts to help people struggling with medical debt if she prevails in next month’s presidential election. And they see the vice president and Democratic nominee as the best hope for preserving Americans’ access to health insurance. Comprehensive coverage that limits patients’ out-of-pocket costs offers the best defense against going into debt, experts say. (Levey, 10/16)

In a 4-3 ruling, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld a recent directive from Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) that effectively prohibits authorized individuals from returning an absentee ballot to a drop box on behalf of a family member or voter with disabilities. (Selzer, 10/15)