Tim Wildmon: Hey, good morning, everybody. Welcome to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Today is Thursday, October 22, 2026, and joining me in the studio is Ed Vitagliano. Good morning, brother Ed.

Ed Vitagliano: Good morning, Tim.

Tim Wildmon: Jim and Fred Jackson are there, and Chris Woodward. Hello. There you go. That's what I've come to expect from Chris: high energy and ready to bring it.

Tim Wildmon: I want to apologize to our listeners from yesterday. The last 10 or 15 minutes of the show got a little bogged down in a story about what the most popular baby names are in America today, which I know people come to expect, that kind of hard news, from this show. We did drag it on a little bit, didn't we?

Ed Vitagliano: We did drag it on. But on the other hand, babies are cute.

Tim Wildmon: Babies are cute. Their names are almost as cute. I guess we could have stopped that story because it did drag on. You rightly tried to move us on.

Ed Vitagliano: Usually Wesley is the one who tries to move us on when we get stuck like an old record.

Tim Wildmon: Right. We're skipping. It's rare. But just so people know, the top two baby names in 2026 are Olivia for girls and Noah for boys.

Ed Vitagliano: Noah.

Tim Wildmon: I was not surprised about Noah.

Ed Vitagliano: I always recommend Christopher because it is so rarely used.

Tim Wildmon: You will never encounter Christopher. That's the last name to stand the test of time.

Ed Vitagliano: I did say Edward is a classic now.

Tim Wildmon: Oh, yes. That is true.

Ed Vitagliano: My grandpa and I agree.

Tim Wildmon: Timothy will stand. A thousand years from now, there will be Timothys around.

Fred: Who's going to be talking about Fred?

Chris Woodward: Fred is gone.

Fred: I'm the last of the Freds.

Tim Wildmon: Fred is lost to the baby boomers. Generations from now will have to make a documentary: The Last Fred. There are no babies born today named Frederick.

Ed Vitagliano: Frederick would be right up there with Alphonse.

Tim Wildmon: Who's that?

Ed Vitagliano: Alphonse.

Tim Wildmon: Like Alphonse?

Ed Vitagliano: Yes. Or Alfonso.

Tim Wildmon: That's right. I thought that was a Spanish name.

Ed Vitagliano: It might be. I know an Alphonse. He was a generation before me.

Tim Wildmon: That could probably be Spanish as well. We spent five minutes saying we drift. We don't want to drift. There's too much depressing news to talk about. We have to get right to it.

Ed Vitagliano: There is some good news going on in the world.

Tim Wildmon: We will talk with Dr. Alex McFarland. He always brings encouragement, doesn't he, even when he's talking about negative news?

Ed Vitagliano: Yes, he does it in an encouraging way.

Tim Wildmon: You could announce that the Earth was headed straight toward destruction, and Alex would say, "Brother, brother, brother. Yes, it's predicted in Revelation."

Tim Wildmon: Alex will be with us at the bottom of the hour. What is the first story you bring forth to us?

Fred: It is some breaking news that I posted on AFN.net. I will share the link on the Today's Issues Facebook page. Ever since Tide Blanch became attorney general, hardly a day has gone by without him and the people who work for him holding a press conference announcing that somebody has been arrested for something. This morning was no exception.

Fred: Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas, one of Virginia's most powerful Democrats, has been charged in connection with what federal authorities allege was a role leading a criminal enterprise that acquired and distributed large quantities of marijuana and laundered the proceeds.

Fred: The 82-year-old lawmaker has spent decades ascending the ranks of Virginia politics. She has served in the state Senate since 1992, where she is the president pro tempore. Now she is facing a long time in jail.

Tim Wildmon: That's inappropriate. She's 82 years old, and she has been accused of selling marijuana.

Fred: Yes, and laundering the money.

Tim Wildmon: I heard she loaned somebody the money for this.

Fred: It is Senator Louise Lucas, an 82-year-old and very powerful Democrat in Virginia. The federal authorities have come in, and it is her and several others, including a couple of her children.

Ed Vitagliano: She's been in the legislature since the 1990s.

Fred: She's very powerful. She advocated for more liberal laws on marijuana while she was running this. She has her own cannabis shop and has been running that for a while. She also recently led the charge for redistricting seats in favor of Democrats in Virginia.

Fred: I listened to the news conference with the attorney general. It is a 40-page indictment, and the investigation goes back several years. This did not just happen.

Fred: She is not up for reelection. The first question from reporters was, "Wait a minute. What about the rule that you're not supposed to indict somebody 90 days before an election?" Well, she is not up for election. This has been going on for a long time.

Tim Wildmon: Senator Louise Lucas apparently issued a statement a short time ago in response to this. She said she is not going to be intimidated. She said she has lived through Jim Crow laws.

Fred: Somebody pointed out that she did not deny the charges.

Tim Wildmon: She's insinuating that this is a race card.

Fred: Yes.

Tim Wildmon: She owns a cannabis shop?

Fred: She has for years, apparently.

Tim Wildmon: But she is in trouble, allegedly, for selling marijuana. How did that work?

Fred: Let me read from our story. As we mentioned, this is on AFN.net, right at the top, because this is a breaking news story. The Associated Press story says that Lucas, a forceful advocate of legalizing marijuana, partnered in opening the cannabis outlet in 2021, selling hemp and CBD products. While marijuana is legal to possess in Virginia, recreational retail sales of the drug are not yet underway at shops across the state. They do sell other cannabis-derived products.

Fred: She was apparently, at least allegedly, selling marijuana well before it was legalized. Recreational retail sales are still not legal, but I guess the charge is that, in order to escape investigation, the money was laundered through other companies. She runs a network of companies that provide residential, transportation, and other services. The money was routed through those companies so she could explain why it was in her bank account.

Tim Wildmon: What's her name again?

Fred: Louise Lucas.

Ed Vitagliano: Louise is a name that is not really popular anymore.

Tim Wildmon: It's way down the list.

Ed Vitagliano: Way down the list.

Tim Wildmon: I will tell you this: I posted the AFN story on the Today's Issues Facebook page. I am also going to post the link to the press conference for people to watch at their convenience.

Ed Vitagliano: After the show ends.

Tim Wildmon: Yes, don't watch it now. Next story.

Fred: Let's keep it with fraud and busts for a moment. Yesterday there was another big news conference from federal prosecutors. Prosecutors in Massachusetts have charged six people in a marriage fraud ring. I have some audio here from a video on our website. This is a combination of a couple of federal prosecutors talking to reporters.

Federal Prosecutor: We are here today to announce charges against six individuals, five of whom were arrested this morning, for their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to arrange sham marriages between United States citizens and illegal aliens for the purpose of illegally obtaining immigration benefits, including green cards and U.S. citizenship.

Federal Prosecutor: The individuals arrested today are accused of enriching themselves to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, not only through sham marriages but through other fraudulent schemes, including SNAP fraud, housing fraud, and unemployment fraud.

Federal Prosecutor: The alleged ringleader of this fraud, Jennifer Gonzalez, is charged for her blatant and egregious frauds, coaching participants on how to scam the government. Gonzalez allegedly charged between $38,000 and $40,000 per marriage and arranged 18 to 20 sham marriages per year for more than 10 years.

Fred: This is actually one of several marriage fraud busts that have occurred in different places around the country. Back in August, there were 11 people charged.

Tim Wildmon: Explain to me and our listeners how this happens. What is the legality of this process? What's going on here?

Ed Vitagliano: Basically, the key words here are sham marriages.

Tim Wildmon: Okay.

Ed Vitagliano: In order to get a green card and enter this country, you can marry somebody who is an American citizen. These people would pay $30,000 or $40,000 to set up a wedding.

Fred: There have been a couple of these scams. This woman, Gonzalez, sets it up. They take pictures and sign documents, the whole thing. A year down the road, they get divorced, but by that time they have their citizenship or green card, or whatever the case may be. It is a way to bypass the normal immigration process.

Tim Wildmon: Right. Exactly. They are intentionally doing this to get around the law. They are not genuinely getting married.

Ed Vitagliano: They did not have a romance.

Tim Wildmon: These are federal charges, right? A tip of the hat to the Trump administration, because this was going on in Massachusetts. I find it hard to believe that the government in Massachusetts did not know this kind of thing was going on, or that they did not care to look.

Tim Wildmon: When we heard the sound bite, one of the people speaking was talking about illegal aliens. I thought, "That can't be somebody from Massachusetts saying that." People there would never use those words.

Fred: These are federal authorities going after fraud. The voices we heard were people who work for the Department of Justice in Massachusetts.

Tim Wildmon: Good for them for busting this sham operation. McDonald is his name, right? He is part of the program under J.D. Vance. The Trump administration has gone after various programs where there is large-scale fraud.

Tim Wildmon: There was another big bust in California this morning involving medical fraud. Some man who called himself a chiropractor was referring people for operations that never occurred. This was taking money from Medicare.

Tim Wildmon: Yesterday there were also two news conferences on fraud in the SNAP program. It is amazing to me. We are talking about millions and millions and millions of dollars stolen from American taxpayers by these people.

Ed Vitagliano: People often think of Minnesota, California, or Massachusetts, but hardly a year goes by without a couple of SNAP fraud busts here in Mississippi. Do not think this does not happen where you live. I guarantee you it does.

Fred: Sometimes it is the state government conducting the criminal investigation, but when you are talking about Medicare, Social Security fraud, and fraud involving federal money distributed all over the country, the amount is enormous.

Ed Vitagliano: When we talk about the SNAP program, it can literally take food out of children's mouths. SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It provides food and other necessities. If you continue to drain these programs of their funds, you do not know whether they can remain solvent.

Tim Wildmon: We will have to print some more money.

Ed Vitagliano: Yes, that is true.

Tim Wildmon: I think we will probably hear more of these kinds of cases based on the announcement from President Trump, J.D. Vance, and others earlier this week. The president announced the launch of Fraud.gov, a new website where people can get up-to-date information on fraud involving SNAP, Social Security, welfare, and similar programs.

Tim Wildmon: I have several sound bites of the president telling Americans that they can make some money if they report fraud occurring where they live.

President Donald Trump: If you turn somebody in, and let's say you report and find a billion dollars, we are giving a commission to that person of 1 percent. That's a lot of money.

Tim Wildmon: One person who has already gotten a lot of money is Nick Shirley, the investigative journalist who uncovered the questionable learning centers in Minnesota. Nick Shirley was at the Oval Office for this event. He is going to get some money for what he saved American taxpayers. Here is what Nick had to say.

Nick Shirley: First off, it is such an honor to be here, and I want people to think about what is happening right now. As a 24-year-old, I went out and exposed the fraud. I was concerned about the well-being of our tax dollars, and right now I am standing next to the president of the United States as someone who exposed fraud.

Nick Shirley: There has never been an incentive for anyone to expose fraud. In fact, after I exposed the fraud, instead of the mainstream media investigating the fraud, they investigated me. People actually wanted to kill me after I exposed the fraud.

Nick Shirley: The media went after me and sent lawyers. They asked the lawyers whether they were involved in fraud. That was the extent of the reporting. But now, finally, people have an incentive to go out and expose fraud. When you expose fraud, you help save America.

Tim Wildmon: Again, a tip of the hat to the Trump administration. One percent is nothing to sneeze at.

Ed Vitagliano: Frankly, this is the capitalist spirit at work. If you are going to expose fraud, you might as well get a little money. One percent is not a bad price to pay for catching people who are spending billions.

Tim Wildmon: I might try that.

Fred: Reporters are eligible.

Tim Wildmon: Yes, because that is what Nick Shirley was doing.

Ed Vitagliano: Nick Shirley is 24 years old. He is basically an influencer, or an investigative reporter. He has a cell phone and he talks.

Tim Wildmon: That's an investigative reporter.

Ed Vitagliano: He did blow open that whole Minnesota fraud case because he had a camera. He videotaped what they had going on there.

Tim Wildmon: As we take a look at some candidates for the Fraud Hall of Fame in Minnesota, that was hard to beat. They had Somali Americans who had received grants to open what were supposed to be learning centers.

Ed Vitagliano: I do not know if they would have agreed to come over here had they known what the weather was like in Minnesota.

Tim Wildmon: Nonetheless, they were applying for federal money to open kindergarten or learning centers, places for autistic children to go and things like that. What Nick Shirley discovered was that many of these places had nobody going into them and hardly anybody working in them.

Fred: There was one funny example: the learning center had left the "n" out of its sign on the front of the building. It was the "learing center." You cannot make this stuff up.

Tim Wildmon: Several of these places were busted for billing the federal government for facilities that were not even operational.

Fred: The federal money, as I understand it, was administered by the state. Federal tax dollars from around the country went to Minnesota, and the state distributed that grant money to these learning centers.

Tim Wildmon: It was not Minnesota's money. It was federal grant money. These people were busted for substantial fraud.

Fred: There were accusations that the governor and others in Minnesota turned a blind eye to this because the Somali Americans who received these grants were Democrat supporters and voters.

Fred: There was one example I will never forget. Two Somali women each had three or four children. One set up a daycare to babysit her friend's children, and then the friend babysat her children.

Ed Vitagliano: We are not talking about pocket change.

Fred: No, but it was clever. You take care of my kids, and I will get $3,000 a month. Then I take care of your kids.

Tim Wildmon: I want to give a tip of the hat to our own Chris Woodward, who came up with the expression "Snitches get riches" to describe what was going on, even before the New York Post used it on its cover.

Chris Woodward: Yes, I did.

Tim Wildmon: That should have been the headline everywhere. It should be on a T-shirt for Fraud.gov.

Tim Wildmon: You're listening to Today's Issues on American Family Radio. I'm Tim with Chris, Ed, and Fred.

Fred: One thing to wrap up this fraud situation: Stephen Miller, a White House adviser, was at the tail end of the press conference with Nick Shirley, the president, and others. Stephen Miller said that all the fraud occurred under Democrats, who not only allowed it to happen but would allow it to happen again if they returned to power.

Stephen Miller: That's what the Democrat Party did to you. Their plan is to bring in another 10, 20, or 30 million more people to loot you, rob you, and take everything you have. President Trump is the one leader in American history who stood up and said, "This isn't going to happen anymore. We're going to protect our taxpayers. We're going to protect our citizens. The looting will stop, the pillaging will stop, and the robbing will stop." It is actually happening.

Stephen Miller: As a citizen, not just as a staffer, I am endlessly grateful to this president for having the courage to do what no American president has ever done before.

Tim Wildmon: That was about a 10-minute example, and I had to cut it down. He just railed.

Ed Vitagliano: Stephen Miller can go.

Tim Wildmon: He can.

Ed Vitagliano: The reference to "take the money and run" was a perfect song choice.

Chris Woodward: Steve Miller Band.

Tim Wildmon: Steve Miller Band. That was a perfect reference.

Ed Vitagliano: It was a good one.

Tim Wildmon: I want to correct Stephen Miller for just a moment. President Trump is not the first president to say that fraud is egregious and that we have to stop it. He is the first president to do something about it. I have never seen another president go after fraud like he has. He has turned the Justice Department loose.

Tim Wildmon: He is not just talking about it. He is sending out the war dogs to sniff this out and punish it.

Ed Vitagliano: That is a fantastic point. People need to realize that Democrats benefit from Trump's crackdown and actual prosecution of fraud. Democrats go to work and pay taxes for these big-government programs that they have dreamed of and voted for. People who should be on those programs are being hurt because people who should not be on them are draining the system and keeping them from receiving the benefits they should get.

Tim Wildmon: All right, we're going to take a break right here.

Tim Wildmon: When we come back, Alex McFarland will be with us. I do not think Alex defrauded anybody.

Ed Vitagliano: No, he is a man of integrity.

Tim Wildmon: He can talk, and he can bring the heat.

Ed Vitagliano: He can bring it.

Tim Wildmon: Alex McFarland will be with us when we get back from the break. What are your favorite Steve Miller Band songs?

Ed Vitagliano: "Take the Money and Run."

Tim Wildmon: That's a pretty good song.

Chris Woodward: "The Joker."

Ed Vitagliano: "Fly Like an Eagle."

Tim Wildmon: That's probably my favorite. All right, we'll be back momentarily. Stay with us.

Tim Wildmon: Welcome back, everybody, to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. I'm Tim with Ed and Fred and Chris. Joining us now is our friend and colleague, Dr. Alex McFarland. He is heard each afternoon here on American Family Radio with Bert Harper on Exploring the Word, an on-air live Bible study that you will thoroughly enjoy if you give it a chance.

Tim Wildmon: Many of you are already listeners and fans of that show. It is on weekdays at 3:05 Central Time. How are you doing, brother Alex?

Alex McFarland: I am blessed. Good morning, everybody.

Tim Wildmon: Where are you today?

Alex McFarland: I am teaching in Colorado, and I am getting ready to get to the airport to fly back to North Carolina.

Tim Wildmon: Where are you teaching, and what are you teaching on?

Alex McFarland: I am teaching at Charis Bible College, which is a rapidly growing school. I have taught out here for about 12 years. They have about 5,000 students, and I am teaching biblical worldview. Today, David Barton and I are teaching on the Constitution and its moral foundation.

Alex McFarland: This is not the gospel. The gospel is believing in Jesus, who paid for our sins on the cross. But basic morality is essential. Our Constitution is not operable or enforceable in a moral vacuum.

Alex McFarland: I have been talking about how the breakdown of the family, the lack of legal protection for the unborn, and the denial that male and female even exist, including gender fluidity, all conspire to make our culture ignorant of objective morality. This jeopardizes our Constitution.

Tim Wildmon: Is that the school associated with Andrew Wommack?

Alex McFarland: Yes.

Tim Wildmon: I have been there for a meeting. I flew into Colorado Springs with my son, Walker, and we drove into the mountains for about half an hour.

Alex McFarland: Woodland Park.

Tim Wildmon: Is Andrew Wommack still alive?

Alex McFarland: He is alive. I actually had lunch with him a few days ago.

Tim Wildmon: My wife used to watch his program a lot. He was a fantastic Bible teacher.

Alex McFarland: He is still a good teacher.

Alex McFarland: I have spoken up here many times, along with E.W. Jackson, David Barton, and people like Charlie Kirk, who used to come up here regularly. John Maxwell and Frank Turek have also been here. In Christian academia, sometimes they call this the Liberty University of the West. They plan to start a law school within 10 years.

Tim Wildmon: Abe came up there with me to speak about five years ago.

Alex McFarland: It is not convenient and it is time-consuming, but part of the reason I come here is to teach biblical worldview to 5,000 young people.

Tim Wildmon: Do you mean they have 5,000 students there?

Alex McFarland: They do now, although they are not all here at one time. On any given day, there might be 2,000 or 2,500 here. They have full-time and part-time students, full-time equivalent students, and online students. I am doing a residency.

Alex McFarland: They also have a school of practical government, which is really political science. Many of its graduates have run for office across America. It is an exciting place, and that is why I give a lot of time to teach here.

Tim Wildmon: What did you want to talk about today? What's our topic?

Alex McFarland: Pray and go vote.

Alex McFarland: Tim, I am so disappointed in the Bush family. I have to tell you. Now they are supporting Talarico.

Tim Wildmon: Tell people who do not know what happened. I saw that in the news.

Alex McFarland: It was Barbara Bush, not Barbara the grandmother who passed away, but the daughter of George W. Bush. Two members of the Bush family are now very vocally supporting the hyper-liberal, apostate James Talarico.

Alex McFarland: Barbara Bush, the daughter of former President George W. Bush, and her brother Neil have both early voted for Talarico. They said they were enormously impressed. But they hate Paxton, and they hate Trump too.

Tim Wildmon: Trump has no love for the Bush family either.

Alex McFarland: That is true.

Tim Wildmon: Trump started fighting with the Bush family years ago, and they fought back a little bit. There is a history between the Bush family and the Trump family.

Alex McFarland: That is true. But in this critical moment, with a Senate race and the United States Senate hanging in the balance, with so much at stake, for the Bush family to come out and support a basically far-left Democrat is stunning.

Tim Wildmon: George W. Bush was an excellent president in many ways. He helped us get through the period after 9/11. However, the American Family Association fought with the Bush administration in 2003 and 2004 to get it to support the Federal Marriage Amendment.

Tim Wildmon: I do not think the Bushes have ever been all that thrilled about evangelical Christians, the Moral Majority, or those kinds of things in the Republican Party. They would not support the Federal Marriage Amendment in the way we asked them to.

Tim Wildmon: John McCain said there was no need to vote for it because the states already had the authority to determine the matter. Brother Don could see down the road that all you needed was a bad Supreme Court ruling, and it would not matter what the states had said. That is exactly what happened in 2015.

Alex McFarland: I will go to my grave saying that George W. Bush, while he did many excellent things, and his administration were not very supportive of us. It is no surprise to me that some of them are now supporting Talarico.

Alex McFarland: In 2008, shortly before Bush left office, he intervened to bail out some banks. I was watching a news conference, and he said, "We can't always trust a free-market economy to correct itself. Sometimes the government just has to intervene."

Alex McFarland: That is not true conservatism. True fiscal conservatism understands that the free-market economy, which I believe is really by God's design, grows itself. Government imposition into the economy over the long haul is always detrimental. Adam Smith talked about the invisible hand, and people have heard the saying, "A rising tide lifts all boats."

Tim Wildmon: What about your home state of North Carolina? There is a Senate race there. Is there a gubernatorial race as well?

Alex McFarland: No, not this year. But there is a Senate race.

Tim Wildmon: Michael Whatley versus Roy Cooper, who is the governor, right?

Alex McFarland: Yes. Roy Cooper is the Democrat.

Tim Wildmon: The Democrats have spent a lot of money to get Roy Cooper elected. Michael Whatley is not that popular a candidate even among Republicans, but he would be a universe better than Roy Cooper.

Alex McFarland: Roy Cooper is as bad as any Democrat out there. He has supported LGBTQ and transgender rights. He has been a tax-and-spend liberal, opposed to business, and has given concessions to Islamic groups coming in.

Tim Wildmon: Come on, Bible Belt North Carolinians. Elect Michael Whatley. This is to replace Tom Tillis, the Republican who is retiring and who does not like Trump.

Tim Wildmon: You said, "Pray and go vote."

Alex McFarland: Yes.

Tim Wildmon: Our hope is not in politics or government. These things are temporal. We need to focus more on the gospel and not talk about politics so much. Why isn't that your approach?

Alex McFarland: We are to be salt and light in the world. In the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20, the Lord said, "Make disciples of all nations," and He also said, "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."

Alex McFarland: All things in God's revelation would include the nature of marriage, the nature of morality, and even the nature of good civil government.

Alex McFarland: Harry Truman, a Democrat, gave a speech in 1950 in which he said that all our government is about in America is Moses, Isaiah, the Sermon on the Mount, and Paul. What he meant was that it was a Christian enough culture that people knew Exodus 20:1-17, the Ten Commandments; Isaiah 33:22, the three branches of government; the Sermon on the Mount, our national character of benevolence; and Romans 13:1-7, good civil government.

Alex McFarland: I am just a Christian and just a believer, but I love America. Let me put it this way. Suppose you are driving your car and the dashboard light comes on: "Check engine" or "Out of oil." Do you say, "I am just going to trust God," and refuse to stop and put in a quart of oil? That would be foolish.

Alex McFarland: For our country, the dashboard lights are blinking. Folks, this is code red. Here is one example. In Colorado, probably the best high school volleyball player in the state, a female, was thrown off the team and replaced by a below-average boy who identified as a girl. That girl lost her volleyball scholarship to a college. She was an all-state player.

Alex McFarland: This is going on in dozens and dozens of communities. Title IX is being thrown out the window to impose transgenderism, boys in girls' changing rooms, showers, and teams. That is just one issue.

Alex McFarland: I would argue that conservative Christian constitutionalists, every one of us, should pray and vote straight Republican, if for no other reason than to protect our underage children from the sexualization and the immoral things school administrators are trying to do by introducing transgenderism at every level.

Tim Wildmon: There is a proposition in Colorado that people need to be aware of: Proposition 134, which addresses what you are talking about. Coloradans, you need to vote for Proposition 134.

Alex McFarland: This is not about the gospel or Christianity. I can hear the left saying, "First Amendment. We are not establishing religion." The idea that boys do not need to be in girls' bathrooms is not religion. It is common sense. It is time we make some big, grown-up, mature adult decisions and have moral courage.

Tim Wildmon: It is funny that I do not hear these same people who tell us to shut up about religion and politics when James Talarico, the Democrat, quotes the Bible.

Alex McFarland: Exactly. There is silence when that happens.

Tim Wildmon: We are going to be covering election night across the country. We will be here on the radio with our own show, carrying you through the results.

Fred: That is at exactly 6:00 Central Time on election night, November 3.

Tim Wildmon: November 3, which is a week from this coming Tuesday. We are closing in on it. You want to be here on American Family Radio at 6:00 Central on election night. We will have the results and analysis from a Christian perspective.

Fred: Tim will be here. Chris will be doing newscasts for us. Wesley and Walker will have all kinds of guests. It is going to be a big night and a very important midterm election.

Tim Wildmon: Some of the blue states will probably take a few more days to figure out which way they want to pull their votes.

Fred: I am just kidding.

Tim Wildmon: Of course. It never happened.

Tim Wildmon: Alex, safe travels. Are you going to be on with Bert this afternoon?

Alex McFarland: I will be live. Bert is at the Fishbowl retreat, so it will be Dylan Burrows and me today on Exploring the Word, wrapping up Matthew 28.

Tim Wildmon: Take care, safe travels, and we will talk to you soon.

Alex McFarland: Godspeed. God bless you.

Tim Wildmon: Dr. Alex McFarland there. Election Day is November 3, which is a Tuesday, a week from this coming Tuesday.

Ed Vitagliano: Correct.

Tim Wildmon: We are going to be here. What are the big races? As far as the national scope and the federal government, Fred, we are looking at the big Senate races.

Fred: The House of Representatives is likely to flip to the Democrats. The Republicans only have a slight margin, perhaps three or four votes. From a historical perspective, whatever party controls the White House usually loses ground in the midterms. In this case, the Democrats would make gains.

Fred: If Democrats take the House of Representatives, it matters because they take over the chairmanships of all the committees in Congress. If Republicans can keep the Senate, that would be a huge victory because they would retain the ability to confirm federal judges.

Tim Wildmon: I sound like a broken record for those who know what a record is.

Ed Vitagliano: I have heard of them.

Tim Wildmon: What about a 45 or a 78?

Fred: I used to spin them in Canada back in the day.

Tim Wildmon: It may bear repeating. To confirm federal judges, Republicans will have to maintain control of the Senate. The president appoints federal judges, and the Senate confirms or rejects them. It is vitally important, at least for the next two years, that if President Trump is able to appoint conservative federal judges, they are able to get through the Senate.

Ed Vitagliano: That makes sense.

Tim Wildmon: We will be following what happens with the House of Representatives. Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House from Louisiana, who is frequently on with Tony Perkins, is the eternal optimist. He has been saying that Republicans are going to keep the House, hasn't he?

Fred: Yes.

Tim Wildmon: Why are you laughing, Ed?

Ed Vitagliano: Anything is possible. Let me put it that way.

Tim Wildmon: I do not think Mississippi State playing Ohio State in football would be possible, but you are saying anything is possible in the world of politics.

Ed Vitagliano: That is true.

Tim Wildmon: The odds are 67 or 70 percent in favor of Democrats flipping the House. It is possible that the polls are wrong and that there are people who do not answer honestly because they do not want to be berated for being in favor of President Trump. That worked to President Trump's advantage in 2016 and 2024.

Tim Wildmon: Anything is possible, but I do think it is Mike Johnson's job to rally the troops. We have been telling people not to pay attention to the polls. Your civic duty is to go vote. Go cast your ballot.

Fred: You would not want the leader of the team, Mike Johnson, saying, "We are going down in flames. We do not have a shot, guys."

Tim Wildmon: You cannot do that. That is always true in coaching, politics, and everything else.

Ed Vitagliano: It is funny to me that when coaches leave schools or pastors leave churches, they have to handle the situation in a way that seems honorable.

Tim Wildmon: I would not say manipulate.

Ed Vitagliano: You have to put the best possible spin on something.

Tim Wildmon: Your example of coaches is perfect. We have all seen a coach come off the field at halftime while somebody is there to interview him. His team is behind by three touchdowns, and the reporter asks what he is going to change. The coach says, "We are going to get better on defense, we are going to move the ball, and we still have a chance."

Ed Vitagliano: Even though you are looking at it and thinking, "This is a tall order."

Tim Wildmon: Coaches have to do that.

Ed Vitagliano: They have to put the best possible spin on it.

Tim Wildmon: The New England Patriots were down 24 to 3 in the Super Bowl.

Ed Vitagliano: We just lost to Atlanta, but yes.

Tim Wildmon: The Patriots came back and won. Sometimes the speech you need to give is that impossible things sometimes happen.

Fred: One time, somebody asked the late coach Mike Leach what he needed to do differently in the second half. He said, "Score more points."

Tim Wildmon: The best line I ever heard came from Brian Kelly, who was fired at LSU and was formerly at Notre Dame. Notre Dame was playing Alabama in the championship game. Alabama ran over them in the first half. The score was something like 21 to nothing.

Tim Wildmon: A reporter asked Brian Kelly what he hoped would happen in the second half and how his team could get back on track. He said, "I think the best thing would be if Alabama doesn't come back out."

Ed Vitagliano: That is a real lesson, but it also shows no confidence in your team.

Tim Wildmon: It was funny. Coach speak is like when your team is getting drilled and there is no chance to win. You say, "We just have to play better defense," and then you look at the people on camera and wink, as if to say, "We all know what's going to happen here."