VOL. CLXVIII . . . No. 58,137 © 2018 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2018

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Some performers in ballet have longpainted or dyed point shoes to matchtheir skin. But this small constraint oninclusion may be disappearing. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-8

Dancers, and Shoes, of Color

Democrats appear poised towin the House popular vote onTuesday by a wide margin, withnational polls showing sustaineddisapproval of President Trump— and yet the fate of the cham-ber is not a foregone conclusion.

On the day before the midtermelections, two vastly differentoutcomes remain easy to imag-ine. There could be a Democraticblowout that decisively endsRepublicans’ control of theHouse and even endangers theirSenate majority. Or there couldbe a district-by-district battle forHouse control that lasts late onelection night and perhaps forweeks after.

The first would be interpretedas a repudiation of Donald J.Trump, the second as anotherexample of his political resil-ience. But the difference turns onjust a few percentage pointsacross dozens of House districtsthat remain exceptionally close,according to New York TimesUpshot/Siena College surveysconducted over the last fewweeks.

After more than 10,000 inter-views, the result, in the aggre-gate, is that Democrats andRepublicans are essentially tiedin the 30 districts rated as toss-ups by the Cook Political Report,with Democrats leading byaround half a percentage point.

Democrats need to win only ahandful of these tossup districts— perhaps as few as six — togain the net 23 seats needed totake control, which is whythey’re considered favorites. ButDemocrats haven’t put themaway. Instead, those races re-

Edge in PollsMight Not TipHouse ScalesOutcome Hinges ona Handful of Tossups

NEWS ANALYSIS

By NATE COHN

Continued on Page A22

On Wednesday, minutes afterPresident Trump posted an incen-diary campaign ad falsely accus-ing Democrats of flooding thecountry with murderous illegalimmigrants, virulent racists on anonline message board erupted incelebration.

“I love it. We should be makingvideos like this,” one said. Anotherapprovingly compared the ad to“With Open Gates,” a viral 2015video about the dangers of Euro-pean immigration that drewpraise from prominent neo-Nazisand white nationalists, and wasbroadly condemned by anti-hategroups.

These posts, which appeared onthe politics forum of 4chan, an on-line message board known forhosting extreme speech andgraphic imagery, were not a one-off. In recent weeks, as Mr. Trumpand his allies have waged a fear-based campaign to drive Republi-can voters to the polls for themidterm elections on Tuesday,far-right internet communitieshave been buoyed as their once-fringe views have been given oxy-gen by prominent Republicans.

These activists cheered whenMr. Trump suggested that theJewish billionaire George Soroscould be secretly funding a cara-van of Latin American migrants— a dog-whistle reference to ananti-Semitic conspiracy theorythat has been advanced by neo-Nazis and white nationalists foryears. They roared their approvalwhen Mr. Trump began stirring upfears of angry, violent left-wingmobs, another far-right boogey-man. And they have found tracesof their ideas in Mr. Trump’s rheto-ric, including his concern for anobscure land rights conflict in-

Web’s Far Right Can Hear Itself As Trump Talks

Cheering the Spread ofOnce-Fringe Views

By KEVIN ROOSEand ALI WINSTON

Continued on Page A17

HILARY SWIFT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The 50,000 runners in this year’s New York City Marathon enjoyed blue skies, near-ideal conditions and a fast course. Pages F1-22.It’s Not Heaven. It’s Brooklyn.

This spring, a British lord withdeep ties to the governing Conser-vative Party and a reputation as ado-gooder environmentalist ar-rived in Washington on an un-likely mission: to save the busi-ness empire of Oleg Deripaska,one of Russia’s most infamous oli-garchs.

Mr. Deripaska was in deep trou-ble. In April, the Trump adminis-tration had announced sanctionson oligarchs close to PresidentVladimir V. Putin, and on their

companies, as punishment forRussian interference in the 2016presidential election and for otherhostile acts. A billionaire who con-trols the world’s second-largestaluminum company, Mr. Deri-paska faced possible ruin.

Portrayed as little more than athug by his critics and suspected

by United States officials of hav-ing ties to Russian organizedcrime, Mr. Deripaska, 50, hasspent two decades trying to buyrespect in the West. London wel-comed him; Washington stillmostly has not. Successive admin-istrations have limited his abilityto travel to the United States.

Even Mr. Putin was unable toresolve the situation when he in-terceded personally with Presi-dents George W. Bush and BarackObama on Mr. Deripaska’s behalf.

But with so much on the line thistime, Mr. Deripaska’s allies are

Spending Millions in a Bid to Avoid SanctionsBy ANDREW HIGGINS

and KENNETH P. VOGEL

Continued on Page A8

Oligarch Deploys SmallArmy of Lobbyists to

Sway Washington

NORTH OGDEN, Utah — Thecall had come again. Brent Taylor,the mayor of North Ogden and amajor in the Utah National Guard,would be going to Afghanistan forhis fourth deployment.

He told his constituents about iton Facebook in January, leaninginto the camera to explain that hehad been called to serve his coun-try “whenever and however I can”and that he would be gone for ayear, as part of a team helping totrain an Afghan Army commandobattalion. “Service is really whatleadership is all about,” he toldthem.

He said goodbye to his wife,Jennie, and their seven children,and turned over his municipal du-ties to his friend Brent Chugg.“You need to keep safe,” Mr.Chugg told him. “I will,” MajorTaylor replied.

He did not make it home. MajorTaylor, 39, was killed on Saturdayin an insider attack, apparently byone of the people he was there tohelp.

The Pentagon did not say rightaway who had been killed. But thenews that it was Brent Taylor wassoon all over Utah, relayed in ex-pressions of remorse by poli-ticians and civic leaders.

In a nation already riven with

anxiety over a heated midtermelection, a mass shooting at a syn-agogue and high-profile bombscares, Major Taylor’s death andthe wounding of another servicemember in the same attack sentup a fresh wave of grief. It was a

brutal reminder of a 17-year-oldwar that has carved gaping holesin communities across the coun-try, with no end in sight.

His death hit particularly hardin Utah, where a widely shared

Called to Serve, Utah Mayor Always AnsweredBy JULIE TURKEWITZ

Maj. Brent Taylor shared his picture on Facebook in April.

Continued on Page A22

WASHINGTON — Wilbur L.Ross Jr. had been Commerce sec-retary for less than three months,and he was growing impatient.

The billionaire investor enteredoffice promising to renegotiatetrade deals. But he had another,less visible priority: adding aquestion about citizenship statusto the 2020 census, which theCommerce Department super-vises.

“I am mystified that nothinghas been done in response to mymonths-old request that we in-clude the citizenship question,” hegroused in a May 2017 email to anaide tapped out on his iPhone.“Why not?”

Mr. Ross’s tenacity paid off. InMarch he announced that the nextcensus would in fact ask respond-ents whether they are Americancitizens. The backlash was imme-diate, with experts saying thequestion would deter immigrantsand minorities from responding,leaving them badly under-counted. Lawsuits by state attor-neys general, advocacy groupsand a host of cities quickly fol-lowed.

Pressed on whether partisanpolitics colored consideration ofthe question, Mr. Ross said insworn testimony to Congress inMarch that he was responding“solely” to a Justice Departmentrequest for data to enforce the1965 Voting Rights Act. He alsosaid he knew of no talks with theWhite House about the matter.

But that story has since unrav-eled.

Internal government docu-ments produced in the principallawsuit on the issue, in New York,show Mr. Ross pressured the Jus-tice Department to request the cit-izenship question, not the otherway around. They also show theinvolvement of President Trump’schief strategist at the time,

Partisan RootsOf New QueryOn the Census

By MICHAEL WINES

Continued on Page A13

ATLANTA — For weeks, BrianKemp, the Georgia secretary ofstate and Republican candidatefor governor, has faced accusa-tions that he is trying to suppressthe minority vote in his raceagainst Stacey Abrams. And justdays ago, a federal judge ruledthat the state needed to adjust ele-ments of its so-called “exactmatch” voting requirement, call-ing them needlessly burdensome.

Now, in what Democrats saidwas a desperate attempt to deflectattention just two days before acrucial midterm election, Mr.Kemp used his official positionSunday to announce, with scantevidence, that the Democratswere under investigation for al-legedly trying to hack the state’svoter registration files.

Democrats immediately de-

nounced the claim as bogus andcalled it an abuse of power.

The controversy over votingrights, and the basic mechanics ofGeorgia’s electoral process, hasroiled one of the nation’s marqueeraces. Mr. Kemp is locked in a tightcontest with Ms. Abrams, theDemocratic nominee, who wouldbecome the first African-Ameri-

Offering Little Proof, RepublicanAccuses Georgia Rival of ‘Hack’

By RICHARD FAUSSETand ALAN BLINDER

As a state official, Brian Kempis also overseeing the election.

AUDRA MELTON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A21

RUNNING ON F’S Democrats are campaigning on gun control where abad grade from the N.R.A. would once have sunk them. PAGE A16

RESOLVE Nancy Pelosi stands firm in the face of Republican attack adsand wavering support for her to reclaim the speaker’s gavel. PAGE A14

The bare-knuckled fighting style knownas moraingy reflects a tradition ofharmony and self-control in a culturethat values indirect confrontation.Madagascar Dispatch. PAGE A4

INTERNATIONAL A4-10

Punches With a Purpose

The country’s authorities said its forceshad chased down and killed 19 peoplelinked to an attack on three busloads ofChristian pilgrims visiting a monasterysouth of Cairo last week. PAGE A4

Egypt Kills Militants in Raid

A police investigation revealed that twosisters who washed up along the Hud-son River said they preferred suicide toa return to Saudi Arabia. PAGE A23

NEW YORK A23-25

New Clues in Sisters’ Deaths

More than 250 dealers say they’ll re-move more than a million books froman Amazon-owned site for one week toprotest its decision to drop sellers fromseveral countries. PAGE B1

BUSINESS DAY B1-8

Strike by Rare-Book Sellers

Since 1990, changing attitudes have ledmany other states to ease bans onpolitical participation by those withfelony records, but Kentucky is anoutlier. PAGE A11

NATIONAL A11-22

A Struggle for Voting Rights

Aurora, a 22-year-old gyrfalcon and amascot for the Air Force Academyfootball team, was hurt in an abductionattempt by Army cadets. PAGE A22

Prank Injures Air Force MascotN.F.L. officials and players have anintricate relationship, and game daysbring chatter as collegial as the kindsheld in any other workplace. PAGE D1

SPORTSMONDAY D1-6

Gabfest on the Gridiron

David Leonhardt PAGE A27

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A26-27

NO SHAME A 2002 measure that forces politicians to publicly approveof their ads now seems quaint, Jim Rutenberg writes. PAGE B1

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