President Trump says he won't join a virtual debate next week against Joe Biden.

"'I’m not going to waste my time on virtual debate. That’s not what debating is all about,” Trump said in an interview with Maria Bartiromo of Fox Business. 'You sit behind a computer and do a debate. It’s ridiculous, and then they cut you off whenever they want.'" (National Review)

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• What's happening: This morning the Commission on Presidential Debates -- a non-partisan organization that has overseen the presidential debate series since 1987 -- announced next week's scheduled debate would be a virtual townhall.

Their plan: President Trump and Biden on video from separate locations with a live studio audience -- granted, a much smaller audience than normal.

Normally the presidential campaigns are consulted and agree to rule changes. But in this case, the commission announced the change unilaterally without asking either campaign for feedback or agreement.

• What's happening: The 2020 presidential debate series were more highly anticipated than previous years because of the unusual campaigning due to COVID-19 -- in particular, Biden's low-profile, out-of-the-spotlight style since summer.

Whether next week's debate will happen is an open question.

President Trump has indicated that he'd like to host a rally, and Biden has asked for the third scheduled debate on October 22 to become a townhall event instead.

But it may not significantly affect the outcome of the presidential election either way.

More than 5 million Americans have voted already due to a sharp increase in early and absentee voting this year, and Axios reported that "more Americans have made up their minds by this point compared with years past."

• What else to know: Speaking of sharing policy views with the American people, President Trump will guest-host Rush Limbaugh's radio show tomorrow.

VP Mike Pence won the vice presidential debate last night.

"Vice President Pence, moreover, generated his own string of debate highlights last night more or less entirely on his own terms. When asked a question, he used the first portion of his time to reply to whatever Kamala Harris had just said before moving on to address the question at hand." (National Review)

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• What's happening: VP Mike Pence gave an outstanding performance in last night's vice presidential debate, as this National Review analysis explains.

Though the media coverage has tried to find a flaw in VP Pence's performance, they've come up short. Their main criticism -- that he "interrupted" Kamala Harris too frequently -- is sharply undercut by the fact that both candidates spoke for equal time, just three seconds different in the final count.

• What's at stake: VP Pence successfully made the case, we think, that Biden and Harris are hiding the details of their policies from the American people -- likely for fear that their plans are much further left than the average voter.

-- Harris refused to answer a question about whether Biden would "pack" the Supreme Court, i.e. expand the number of justices past the current nine.

-- Although Harris said Biden wouldn't ban fracking, there are past videos in which both call for a ban.

-- And most tellingly, Harris couldn't provide specifics about how a Biden Administration response to COVID-19 would differ from President Trump's -- aside from banal platitudes about science. Which, yes, we all like science.

As this piece from The Federalist summarized: "Biden and Harris have made very few compelling arguments about what they would actually do in the White House. Are they a Trojan horse for the far left as many conservatives argue? Maybe. Are they actually moderates who are willing to throw the nuttier ideas of the progressive base of the party under the bus? Maybe. We just don’t know because they just won’t say."

North Carolina Senate race continues in upheaval as Dem candidate Cal Cunningham uses awards night to apologize again.

"Cunningham on Wednesday apologized to voters during his remarks at the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Green Tie Awards [...] 'Before we get into the issues that most affect this campaign, I want you to hear something directly from me,' Cunningham began. 'I am deeply sorry for the hurt I have caused in my personal life and I also apologize to all of you.'" (The Hill)

Read the full story on The Hill

• What's happening: The scandal surrounding Cal Cunningham, the Democratic candidate for Senate in North Carolina, continues to evolve. After skipping Monday and Tuesday appearances, Cunningham publicly apologized at a Wednesday event.

Cunningham first apologized last week for inappropriate text messages exchanged with a woman who is not his wife. The story has continued to develop, with allegations that the relationship included consensual physical contact.

The husband of the woman in the story has called on Cunningham to drop out, saying in part: "Mr. Cunningham chose to repeatedly engage in activities that would hurt his family and a fellow junior officer and veteran. If elected, I can only imagine how misplaced his judgment would be for the people he’s charged to represent...I firmly believe Mr. Cunningham should drop out of the Senate race and ask that his behavior and actions be reviewed under the Uniform Code of Military Justice."

Yesterday there was a report of an Army Reserve investigation, though the Army Reserve has not provided any details on the investigation or its focus; Cunningham is a member of the Army Reserve.

• What's at stake: The North Carolina Senate race could determine whether Republicans keep control of the Senate in 2021, so any update to the race is critical nationally.

Cunningham has pledged to remain in the race, and he has now made a public campaign appearance, too.

It appears that North Carolina law would require him to remain on the ballot, as Townhall reports: "The state’s law says that the deadline for candidates to exit the race is 'the first day on which military and overseas absentee ballots are transmitted to voters,' which would have been in September."

We'll keep you updated as this story develops.