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Less than a week before the throng of Republican presidential hopefuls square off for the first time in two Fox News debates, Donald Trump is holding firm to his primary lead while a slew of other lower-polling candidates battle to make the cut for the prime-time stage.

Control of the Senate next year depends heavily on the efforts of volunteers such as Karen Bonnewell, a 64-year-old retired nonprofit director who spends a few nights a week calling voters on behalf of Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan.

Using a red marker to color a hand-drawn thermometer, Ms. Bonnewell one recent night tracked the number of calls placed by dozens of volunteers in a cramped

Almost every morning, half a dozen men meet for coffee at Max’s Deli, a diner that shares a wall with an auto supply shop, to talk politics. Some live “up the line” or “down the line” – a reference to the historic Scranton railway – but all have lived in the area their entire lives. And come Nov. 3, all are planning to vote for President Donald Trump.

“I’ve never really been political

There is talk among Republicans, and some trepidation among Democrats, that Donald J. Trump could benefit from a silent vote. Although these voters aren’t captured by polls, the privacy of a voting booth or a mail-in ballot will allow them to vent their anger and resentments.

The theory holds that in some circles it’s not respectable to publicly support the inflammatory candidate, but