A new set of polls from The New York Times finds that Democratic candidates are doing remarkably well in the Republican-leaning states that they need to win to gain control of the U.S. Senate in next month’s midterm elections.

They are doing less well in the blue states that, in theory, should be easier to win.

Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The Times, offers his idea of what is behind the numbers.

Guest: Nate Cohn, The New York Times’s chief political analyst.

Background reading:

• Polls suggested that Hispanic voters, whose support helped propel President Trump to the White House in 2024, would largely support the Democratic Party this time.
• Senator Susan Collins of Maine led polls for the first time since Graham Platner dropped out of the race in July.

Photo: Ash Adams for The New York Times

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If you dine out regularly, you might have noticed some changes in restaurants over the past few years. Perhaps you’ve found yourself ordering at a counter, scanning a QR code to see the menu, or eating … a lot more soft serve.

These changes aren’t just trends. Brett Anderson, a New York Times food reporter, says they are restaurant owners’ desperate attempts to stay afloat in an industry in crisis. According to a report from the National Restaurant Association, 42 percent of restaurant owners said they weren’t profitable in 2025. Many of them were at serious risk of closing.

In this episode of “The Sunday Daily,” Brett talks with our host Michael Barbaro about the economic realities that are forcing businesses to rethink the entire concept of a restaurant, including a radical experiment at one Minneapolis diner that stopped charging for food entirely.

On Today’s Episode:

• Brett Anderson, a reporter for the Food section of The New York Times.

Background Reading:

• This Restaurant Stopped Charging for Food. And Profits Are Up.

• The Restaurant List 2026

  Photo credit: Caroline Yang for The New York Times.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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The comedian and filmmaker on what real friendship looks like, what keeps him up at night and his new movie, "Misty Green."

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For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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