A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News. Delivered to your inbox on Fridays.
Leading the week
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s respective running mates, Tim Walz and JD Vance, meet on Tuesday (October 1) for their sole debate ahead of November’s election. The CBS head-to-head comes as the campaign enters its final stretch, with polls suggesting the outcome remains too close to call. In the run-up to Tuesday’s debate, Walz has reportedly tapped Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to play the role of Vance in rehearsals, while Vance is said to be using Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer to prepare for the Minnesota governor’s ‘folksy’ Midwestern style.
The debate may be the last time the campaigns go up against each other directly before November 5; while Harris said on Saturday she had accepted an offer for a CNN debate on October 23, Trump has rejected the idea, citing the fact that early voting has already begun.
On Saturday (October 5), Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of the first assassination attempt on him back in July. Expect him to look to rekindle some of the enthusiasm the incident prompted, which was prematurely cut short by President Joe Biden’s dramatic withdrawal from the race a week later.
On top of the vice presidential matchup, October traditionally sees debates in down-ballot races and this year is no exception, with plenty to watch for those more interested in the Senate and House elections. On Tuesday (October 1), there’s a debate in New York’s competitive 22nd Congressional District race, followed by three debates on Wednesday (October 2) in Virginia’s Senate race between Tim Kaine and Hung Cao, the state’s open 7th Congressional District race, and Washington’s toss-up 3rd district race.
Thursday (October 3) will see the first debate in Pennsylvania’s closely-watched Senate race between Bob Casey and his Republican challenger Dave McCormick, while in Maine Rep. Jared Golden faces off against Republican Austin Theriault in their 2nd Congressional District race. On Friday (October 4), Nebraskans can take in a debate in the close race for the state’s 2nd Congressional District between Rep. Don Bacon and his Democratic challenger Tony Vargas. Finally, Sunday (October 6) sees Rep. Andy Kim debate Republican Curits Bradshaw in the New Jersey race to fill the Senate seat once held by Bob Menendez.
Looking abroad
Following his dramatic release from British custody and return to his native Australia after pleading guilty to one count of violating the Espionage Act in a Saipan courtroom, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is set to appear on Tuesday (October 1) before a Council of Europe panel in Strasbourg. Assange’s testimony at the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs will mark his first public appearance since his release in June, when his wife Stella told reporters that he would need time to recuperate with his family before discussing his years-long ordeal.
His evidence on ‘his detention and conviction and their chilling effect on human rights’ comes ahead of a vote on Wednesday (October 2) by CoE parliamentarians on a draft resolution from the committee which calls on the US, a CoE observer state, to investigate the alleged war crimes and human rights violations disclosed by WikiLeaks and ‘urgently’ reform 1917 Espionage Act to exclude its application to publishers, journalists and whistleblowers aiming to raise public awareness about serious crimes. Assange is expected to observe the session from the gallery.
Claudia Sheinbaum becomes Mexico’s first-ever female president when she takes office on Tuesday (October 1) after storming to victory in June’s elections. A protégé of outgoing president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheinbaum has promised political continuity but inherits significant challenges, including high levels of violence as well as opposition to the controversial judicial reforms passed earlier this month. A number of leaders from the region will attend Sheinbaum’s swearing-in, including Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da and Cuba’s Miguel Díaz-Canel, though big names from elsewhere around the world are conspicuously absent. First Lady Jill Biden is leading the US delegation.
Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will formally succeed Jens Stoltenberg as NATO Secretary General at a ceremony in Brussels on Tuesday (October 1). Rutte’s years of experience holding together coalition governments will stand him in good stead in his new job, with tensions over the war in Ukraine likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Stoltenberg, for his part, is reportedly set to become chair of the Munich Security Conference, the annual security conference that is sometimes described as ‘Davos for defense’.