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Getty Images President Obama on the phone at the White House on Oct. 8.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) Here are five stories you should be reading Monday.

Democrats, diminished: With two weeks to go until Election Day, President Barack Obamas diminished standing with women is quickly becoming one of the biggest liabilities facing Democrats as they struggle to keep their majority in the Senate, Politico writes. The president is underwater with female voters in battleground states across the country, and that is making it harder for his party to take advantage of the gender gap, Politico writes, citing polling and Democratic strategists. Democrats need to win over female voters by a wider margin in battleground states like Colorado, Iowa, Alaska, North Carolina and New Hampshire, the piece says.

Words from Warren: One of those Senate races Iowas contest featuring Democrat Bruce Braley and Republican Joni Ernst is getting a little help from a very visible woman, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. She stumped for Braley over the weekend, and took a jab at Ernsts alleged ties to conservative donors Charles and David Koch. I dont think the billionaires are [going] to decide the next senator from Iowa, Warren said, according to the Hill. I think you are going to decide. Braley and Ernst are neck and neck in polling for the seat, one of a handful that could decide Senate control.

Voters prefer Republicans: One of the latest polls about the midterm elections suggests Warren and her fellow Democrats are fighting an uphill battle. In the newest Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Annenberg survey, likely voters favored a Republican-led Congress over a Democratic one, 49% to 44%. Meanwhile, registered voters, a larger group than likely voters, also said they would prefer the election to produce a GOP-led Congress a first since the poll began asking five weeks ago. As The Wall Street Journal writes, the GOP held a lead of 45% to 43% on the question among registered voters.

Get ready for higher spending: Federal spending will be higher next year, writes budget expert Stan Collender in his latest Forbes column. Why? For these four reasons: the deficit is falling; pressure for more military spending; eagerness to eliminate the threat of automatic spending cuts; and Ebola. The four reasons for more spending next year could easily blend together, writes Collender. The [spending] caps could be raised to deal with ISIS and Ebola or funding for some department and agencies could be made exempt from sequestration. Both alternatives would, of course, increase the deficit.

Avoiding Congress on Iran: President Obama will do everything in his power to avoid letting Congress vote on a deal with Iran to halt its ability to make a nuclear weapon, if such a deal is struck. Thats according to the New York Times, which also writes the Iranians have signaled they would accept, at least temporarily, a suspension of sanctions that have cut their oil revenues and terminated their banking relationships with the West. The Times says the Treasury Department has concluded Obama has the authority to suspend the vast majority of those sanctions without seeking a vote by Congress.

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Capitol Report: Obamas standing with women hurts Senate Democrats