56+ Million Early Votes Cast, Candidates Make Final Midterm Pitch

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1:15Just a few hours from now, millions of Americans will go to the polls on what could be the most dramatic and consequential midterm elections in a generation. And even now, there is new polling and new projections of how it all could go. More than 56 million Americans have already cast early ballots over the last several weeks. But if history is any guy, just as many or more could do the same in a single day tomorrow. Which is why all day today, candidates were out knocking on doors, attending rallies, bombarding the airwaves, doing whatever they can to get their closing arguments in front of voters one last time.

1:46Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, fresh from his endorsement by Democrat Haley Stevens, is wrapping up his campaign tonight with a rally in Rochester Hills, Michigan, a birthplace, as it happens, of his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, who is at a Get Out the Vote event in Detroit alongside the rapper Common, and with new polling from The New York Times showing him out in front of Rogers by 11 percentage points, well outside the margin of error. In Texas, Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton is holding his final event, sharing the stage with Senator Ted Cruz, who defeated the last serious Democratic challenger, Beto O 'Rourke, back in 2018.

2:22This time around, James Tallarico, who will be speaking in Austin during the hour, is ahead in most polls, but up by seven points in the New York Times final poll, which also shows Democrats ahead in Maine, Ohio, and Deep Red, Kansas, which has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1932. The nonpartisan Larry Sabato's crystal ball is now predicting that Democrats will capture the House, Senate, and a majority of governors' races tomorrow. And the Cook Political Report, also nonpartisan, just moved five more House races tonight in favor of Democrats. They now expect Democrats to flip 15 to 25 House seats far beyond the four needed to take control.

3:00Of course, all the caveats apply, and it's up to voters who actually come to vote tomorrow and all those who've mailed in ballots. As for the president of the United States, well, he made a closing argument of sorts today at an event that one White House official told us would draw a, quote, clear contrast between Republicans' common-sense America First agenda and the Democrats' radical America Last agenda. Instead, in front of the shoddily renovated reflecting pool, he spent about 25 minutes rambling about his renovation projects. This is the largest reflecting pool in the world. It's almost as tall as two Empire State buildings laid on its side.

3:37They're brand new pipes put in, and the pipes being very important in terms of the algae and other things. We resurfaced the bottom in a beautiful dark blue, very dark blue. Like, I personally love the lighter color blue. And by the way, we resurfaced the granite. This is the strongest zone. Tremendous algae problems. We're replacing all of the grass on all of the parks. Because like the human being, grass has a life also. And the brand new helipad, which has been getting, by the way, rave reviews. It'll be the most beautiful arc in the world. It's more beautiful than the Arc to try out. And we're doing a renovation of the golf course.

4:17So we have a lot of great things planned for Washington. And I could get into the nation, but for that, you don't have enough time.

4:35Not awkward at all. Not enough time to get into the nation, but a lot of great things planned for Washington. Quite a slogan. Not far from where the president was standing, the Supreme Court quickly said no to his emergency request to set aside potentially thousands of ballots in California and that the Justice Department claims may have been cast by non-citizens. The court did not explain its reasoning in its one-sentence decision. There were no noted dissents. A lot of time for what's happening around the nation tonight. CNN's Assemblyman Cervati is in Detroit at the El Zayed event in Austin, Texas.

5:04CNN's Jeff Zeleny with Tallarico campaign. CNN's Kim Laz in Alaska where Democratic Senate candidate Mary Paul Tolis hoping to come out ahead of both Dan Sullivan's on the ballot tomorrow. And CNN's Lauren Fox is in Ohio. I want to start with Sondland Sirfati. So what impact, if any, does the El-Sayed campaign think the Stevens endorsement of Rogers has had or may have tomorrow? Well, Anderson, there certainly is a sense within the campaign that this has potential, this defection of Haley Stevens has the potential to galvanize Democrats in advance of Election Day. And certainly those stunning fundraising numbers reported just yesterday by the LCA campaign,$2.4 million in one single day, it really is reflective of that feeling.

5:49One voter telling me just a few minutes ago at this campaign rally here that nothing drives people like this sense of betrayal. This question, though, the open question tonight is, will that impact actually how people vote tomorrow? the campaign is hoping that that anger that sense of betrayal will drive Democrats to the polls tomorrow. But again, it is still very much an open question. Will it if it will actually have impact on the electoral votes, Anderson, and what is the candidate's closing message tonight? Well, it's interesting because in this race, El Sayed has been very devoted to these three prongs of messaging and one that just a few seconds ago from inside this rally, he repeated again like a broken record those three pinnacles of money out of politics money back in people's pockets and medicare for all that's something that we heard him just repeat a moment ago and it's been significant that the drama over the campaign over the last 24 hours he's in large part wanted to stay away from not wanting the elephant in the room really to suck the oxygen up not to be the closing message of his campaign all about Haley Stevens.

7:01He was asked today, Anderson, on the campaign trail if he had any message for Stevens, and he said nope, and he went on to say he doesn't think about his opponent. That stands in contrast to Mike Rogers, his Republican opponent here, who has really made Haley Stevens' endorsement a key part of his closing message. Senator Cervati, thanks very much. Joining us now is former special advisor to President Obama, Van Jones, former senior advisor to President Obama, David Axelrod, former Trump White House Communications Director Elizabeth R. Griffin, and former Special Assistant to President George W.

7:31Bush, Scott Jennings. David, do you think the fundamentals of the race have shifted in 24 hours? Not against him. I think that what they're saying has some validity. You know, he is not— Validity that it galvanized people. That it could actually galvanize Democrats. You don't think he gives some permission to some people who may have doubts about Syed? First of all, I think most people have made their decisions already in this race. And, you know, I think the Times poll may be a little over optimistic for him, but it does show and other polls have shown, you know, 93, 94, 95 percent support among Democrats.

8:09But in terms of turnout, I think it's good. It'll excite people. It's been interesting to watch sort of the regular Democrats, you know, active Democrats kind of rally around him as a result of this. Because he wasn't their favorite. He wasn't the candidate they supported in the primary. She was. And now there's this rallying going on. So at the end of the day, I don't think this is going to make that much of a difference. But I certainly don't think it's going to hurt him. Ben? Her decision to do this has consolidated the Democratic Party behind and around Abdul in a way that was inconceivable 48 hours ago.

8:49And it comes down to a couple of things. One is, if you're, she was playing this moral role of challenging Abdul to do better against some of the hate that was showing up in this campaign. But if you go from challenging hate in our party, but then you hug and French kiss MAGA, and you don't say anything about the hate coming from their campaign, all the anti-Muslim hate, then you kind of fall between two chairs. So I think she's lost a lot of moral authority. The other thing is, which we haven't talked about enough, she chose to do this in front of a black church. That was an error because a lot of black people thought, what is this woman doing using our church as a prop for this stunt?

9:28and it sent a real wave of anger through the black community. You really, I mean, the black church, as you know, is very precious to us and the idea that somebody would show up and pull this thing off. And so you had some black people holding back. You have black people now who had been quiet because they maybe didn't like a bill that much, going on Facebook, endorsing. You had a huge wave of unexpected volunteers in the Detroit offices, which you have not seen. You saw this massive spike in fundraising. Will it change the outcome? I don't think it does, but it allows him to close strong. And I think that was kind of an unforced error on her part.

10:02I think she had been playing a moral leadership role, a useful role. But once you join the other team, you galvanize the other side. I can't get this French kissing. Listen, it's hard to say if this is going to materially impact the race. I mean, how much attention your interview got in the discussions around it, in the denunciations by Democrats, honestly surprised me. This is a House member who's not running for reelection. But one thing is critical. There's about 100 ,000 Jewish voters in Michigan. Many Jewish voters have felt very alienated by Abdul El-Sayed's campaign. Making a play for those voters and creating a permission structure to say, you can be with Mike Rogers and you can still vote down ballot for the rest of candidates as Democrats, that makes a difference.

10:40I'd remind you Alyssa Slotkin only won by about 20 ,000 votes in Michigan a cycle ago. So that's where you could maybe see some swaying. Scott, I know you interviewed her today on your show. I did. She came on the radio and I'd never met her before. I've never spoken to her. And, you know, I think she was a little bit out of shape about some of the, frankly, vile commentary that's been lobbed her way. If you look at some of the things that, like, James Carville and George Conway and other prominent Democrats have said about her, allegations that somehow because she's a woman, she doesn't have her own agency or because, you know, she made this choice to endorse a Republican.

11:14She's a lunatic who needs to be locked up in a mental hospital. And other people have even alleged that her fiancé, you know, made her do it. And she came on and she pushed back pretty forcefully against all of that. She also talked about the fact that she's been hearing from a lot of Democrats today. She said people who said, thank you so much. This is what's on my mind. You had the courage to go out and do it. And this is what happens to people on the left when they get out of line in the middle of an election. They come for you. But she had the courage to do that. So she said she's been getting a lot of support from her network.

11:45And, you know, we'll see how the chips fall on. Thomas Massey's chuckling a little hearing you say that. But on the. I read the transcript of her comments. You enunciated her position much better than she actually did during your interview. Anderson, I'm a communications professor, as we all know here. Just one thing on the Jewish vote. There's no doubt that there will be some who vote against him because of his position on Israel. It's also true that the Jewish vote is half the size of the Arab Muslim vote in that state, which is a larger population. That vote may be elevated in the primary. So we'll see how it all nets out.

12:25Yeah, I think David makes a point that we should talk about more. If you look at what happened in the election in Israel, Bibi Netanyahu was very tough on the Arab population, and they came out in record numbers. They went from 10 seats in the Knesset to 19, doubled. I think you've got a very large Arab community that's been watching all this. what has Mike Rogers offered the people of Michigan? What is his job proposal? What is his health care proposal? It's just been a steady diet of anti-Muslim rhetoric, rhetoric that lands as anti, not anti-Islamist, but anti-Muslim. The GOP piling on, calling him a jihadist.

13:06Trump making, you think that all those voters are just gonna sit there and say, well, that's fine with us. You see in the South, you see black voters mobilizing, feeling insulted by Donald Trump. I think you're gonna see an Arab turnout. I think if Mike Rogers had offered something other than just a bunch of anti-Muslim hysteria, he would be doing better. I don't think Abdul's up by 11, but he's up by a lot because his hate campaign has fallen flat in Michigan. Just finally, on the president's remarks today, Scott, is that what you expected? As a communications professional. No, not really. I mean, look, obviously he cares about these projects that he's got going on in Washington, and he doesn't like it that the reflecting pool thing kind of got drug out and was a little bit of a mess.

13:54It's just a far cry from drain the swamp. I mean, literally standing in the swamp, talking about renovating the swamp. Well, we did drain it, and then we refilled it. If your majorities are about to go down the drain, maybe it's an appropriate factor. I did also on the show today talk to Mike Johnson. He was out driving around North Carolina. He made a very, very tight targeted appeal for what it would look like with Republicans in charge and what they have done. You know, I think he told me he's done 90 something events out there. So you do have Republican leaders out there making the case out on the road, you know, regardless of what the president did today.

14:27I do think Republican campaigns have focused in on a few things, and I thought the speaker did a good job of that today. All right. We've got to take a quick break. Coming up next as we count down to Election Day, we take you to Texas to James Tallarico's last rally of the day. Republican Senator Ted Cruz has warned Democrats could sweep every statewide race in Texas tomorrow. We shall see. And later Kara Swisher and Hillary Clinton together join me to talk about their expectations tomorrow and what Clinton thinks of Tallarica. He really gets the pulse of what's going on in the state and how people are worried that they can't afford just the basic necessities of life.

15:03And frankly, they're sick of corruption. And Paxton is like the poster child of corruption.

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16:09You are looking at a live shot of Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Tallarico's last rally before tomorrow's election. He's yet to take the stage in Austin, the state capitol. His Republican opponent, Ken Paxton, is in Allen, Texas tonight for his own last rally of the campaign. Earlier today, he was campaigning with Texas Senator Ted Cruz. The latest New York Times Siena poll has Tallarico in the lead. If he were to win, it would be the first Democrat, as you may know, elected to the Senate from Texas since Lloyd Benson in 1988. Jeff Zeleny joins us now from Austin. So what do you expect to hear from Tallarico tonight?

16:44Hi, Anderson. The message James Tallarico has been delivering has been quite consistent all year long. But tonight he is talking about corruption. And it's one of those elections where the electorate kind of has rallied behind his message even more as we get closer to Election Day. Talking about corruption, like many Democrats across the country, but in a very different way here, largely because of Ken Paxton. He, of course, has been indicted. He was impeached by the Texas House. In fact, James Tallarico voted on that impeachment. So that is the backdrop for this campaign. But the corruption message and the fact that he will say Texas is not for sale.

17:23Of course, Paxton counters with that, saying Tallarico is just far too liberal for Texas. So this Elon Musk giving$168 million, Texas is now the most expensive non-presidential campaign in the nation's history, Anderson. And obviously the polls have been encouraging for the Tallarico campaign. Are they putting a lot of stock in them? They're not putting a lot of stock in them tonight. Of course, it makes them optimistic and hopeful. You can see this very large crowd behind me here in Austin. There's country music, there's barbecue, there's hope, but there's also history. Talking to so many longtime Democrats here, they have felt that they have been close to this moment so many times before, and it has not happened.

18:10And the difference this time, they believe younger Latino voters are one of the not secret weapons of the campaign, but one of their top supporters. And they believe that the early vote, 7.8 million Texans have already voted. The key, of course, is tomorrow. Democrats are wondering and worried if Republicans will suddenly rally and come out to the polls on Election Day, as they often do. One thing they can't change, of course, is the economy and the view of the affordability crisis, the Iran war. but Democrats are not as optimistic as they would be in another state where the history of this just hangs over this race.

18:47We don't forget James Tallarico was not born the last time Texas elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate. Thanks very much. Back now with the panel. I always hate it when they say things like that. I know. I know. Rubbing it in. Yes, exactly. I remember. I remember. Are you optimistic on the Paxton campaign? I think that the early vote was very encouraging for them. And Republicans are going to have to have a very big day tomorrow. And this is in some ways a microcosm of the challenge across the country. Early vote has gone well for Democrats around the country, particularly well in Texas. And the question is, can Republicans motivate their voters who are, frankly, a little bit disillusioned by some of the things that the war, the prices and so on?

19:41And, you know, there's a big sort of dog whistle to come back to tribe and come back to party. Whether that will be effective, I don't know. But I'll tell you one thing. He mentioned the money that's being spent. If Ken Paxton loses, remember what the Cornyn supporters said. They said, if you have Paxton, you're going to have to spend an untold fortune to pull him across the finish line. And that's money you won't be able to spend in other states. If they lose some other states, state races and lose Paxton, there's going to be a lot of question about whether this was the right way to go. I mean, do you think a Cornyn would have been obviously significantly better?

20:18So if the midterms go the way that some of these experts are predicting a good night for Democrats, perhaps a blue wave, it's going to be the president's fault squarely. in two ways. On policy, the tariffs and the gas prices due to Iran, that is what is driving. If you're in Texas, you cannot be paying what you're paying for diesel any longer. But on the political side, the president decided to meddle. Ken Paxson has never been as popular as John Cornyn. This would be way less competitive if it was John Cornyn. But then even South Carolina with Darlene Graham over Ralph Norman, and then North Carolina basically pushing Tom Tillis out.

20:49And now that race is kind of considered a foregone conclusion for the Democrats. You could even go down to Georgia where Mike Collins is dragging behind John Ossoff. He could have gone with Dooley, who Brian Kemp was supporting. Trump likes to meddle in these races, and often who does well in the primary for him does not do nearly as well in a general election. In the Texas situation, just to add a little color to Axis commentary, turnout of Republicans is one thing, but then it's do they actually fill out all the whole ballot? I've talked to several Republicans in Texas who are expecting that Republicans are going to turn out and vote for the governor, or Greg Abbott there, but there is an expectation of a massive undervote in the Senate race.

21:26And so that's been a message that Republicans have been saying late. Like, listen, if you're going to show up and vote, don't leave it blank. But they're obviously feeling like that's a real danger to the Paxton. Ben, I just want to remind some of the viewers what President Trump has said about Ken Paxton on the campaign trail with friends like this. Ken Paxton, you might not like the way he dresses. And I say this, it's so insulting to him, but I might as well say it. You might not like the way he looks. You might not love his look. He may not dress right. He may not talk exactly perfectly. And he may not be the best looking guy I've ever seen.

22:02I don't like the way Ken dresses. I don't really like the way Ken talks. I don't really like the way he looks. I don't like it. Ken Paxton was at my side more than anybody. and I have to always remember that because he could be a pain in the ass sometimes, I'll be honest. Is he here, by the way? We got to get this guy elected. I mean, to be fair, he's repeatedly told people to vote for Pax. Do you think... Look, I mean, with friends like that, I mean, who needs enemies? I mean, it's... Look, I think that this is probably the worst candidate on the ballot in the country. I tried to watch his speeches.

22:45I look at everything. He's unwatchable. He's unlistenable, too. But what's really happening is these young Latin voters are on fire. Trump put together this terrifying coalition from a Democratic point of view. He had young people. He had brown folks. He had black folks. He had black men more than we ever expected him to get. And he just rolled over us, rolled over us, flattened us. It was like a cartoon. two years ago. Now all those people are jumping off the Trump bandwagon and coming back to roll over him. And the early vote, the thing about the early vote in Texas, it's coming from brown folks and a lot of first-time voters.

23:25You're seeing a lot. They're not first-time voters jumping up here wanting to vote for Donald Trump, I'm telling you that, or Ken Paxton. And so I think that you're seeing an epic collapse of what could have been a durable governing coalition for the Republicans if he had just not started this war, not done the crazy trade stuff, not been so, and the ICE stuff. We haven't talked enough about ICE. The effect, close the border, everybody claps. You start throwing nannies on the ground. You start throwing roofers on the ground. You start busting into people's houses. You start taking nursing babies away from mamas.

23:59You lose the entire Latin narrative that this is a moral movement you just joined. This movement is now throwing your grandma on the ground. I also wonder whether some of that, the explosion of Hispanic voters voting early has to do with some fear about what might happen at polling places. Very good point. That's a good point. Thanks, everyone. Up next, we're going to take you to Michigan, where Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdel El-Sayed are closing out their Senate race with dueling rallies after that stunning endorsement left a rift among some in the party. And later, the closing pitches in the Ohio governor's race, which was shaken by an ad that drew bipartisan condemnation.

24:36I'll be right back.

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25:11Here's the closing events for the Michigan Senate race. Republican Mike Rogers on the left with a rally in Rochester Hills. Democrat Abdul El-Sayed on the right with a rally in Detroit. Not on either stage tonight is Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens, who surprised her party yesterday by changing her endorsement from El-Sayed to his Republican challenger Mike Rogers. I spoke to Congresswoman about her decision last night. She had reportedly told fellow Michigan Democrat Debbie Dingell that she would not endorse Mike Rogers and did here. My question, though, is what changed from the phone conversation you had with Congresswoman Debbie Dingell and waking up refreshed in the morning?

25:49Did you talk to anybody? Did you have a long night of the soul? Were you up all night? What do you have a dream? What happened? no look i i would just say that you know i had some uh time to you know think i wasn't on the phone i think that late but i know debbie's always working around the clock it might not uh have been uh midnight when when i spoke with her but i i was there and just you know alone with my thoughts i was writing things out and look this level of anger and the things that we are seeing what we all want Democrats to win I'm a really proud Democrat and by the way Abdul's got every other Democrat with him one of those other Democrats is Michigan's secretary of state Jocelyn Benson she's also the Democratic candidate running from governor there and she joins me now secretary Benson do you think Congresswoman Stevens endorsement of Mike Rogers could matter on the margins especially the election is closer than the polls suggest?

26:52Well, first, thanks for having me. And what I've seen on the ground here in Michigan is that there's actually the impact it's had is to actually increase the enthusiasm for Dr. El-Sayed. And look, I'm proud to be leading a ticket full of Democratic leaders, including Dr. El-Sayed, who are all focused on the same thing, lowering costs, raising wages, and ending corruption. And as I traveled through churches yesterday, as all of this, the ripples of this played out, what I heard people actually talking about and reacting to on the ground was, one, the Lions, because we're all happy that the Lions beat the Vikings.

27:28But secondly, the cost of everything, the cost of gas, the cost of groceries, I mean, that is real. And that is on the front of minds of Michigan voters in this moment. And then beyond that, enthusiasm actually sort of grew for, and unity really started to build as people recognize, and I think voters are smart, we recognize the sharp contrast between the slate of Democratic candidates who have a plan for driving down costs and defending democracy, and the Republican candidates on the other side, whether it's Mike Rogers or John James, who have supported tariffs that are driving up costs in Michigan more than any other state, and who together are parroting lies about our elections to try to undermine faith in our democracy.

28:09So we know in Michigan, one thing is clear, Mike Rogers and John James will work for Trump, not for Michigan. And Michigan voters deserve better. And that is what I see our party uniting around. I just want to play one more thing that the Congresswoman Stevens said last night. You said in a press conference today, we can't stand with hate. Do you believe that Abil al-Sayed is hateful or an anti-Semite? I think some of the actions have certainly been anti-Semitic. Anderson, but I'm just sick of who he stands with. He's picking Hassan Piker and the uncle, you know, over a whole heck of a lot of people.

28:51There are people who want to vote for him. They wanted to hear from him. They're not trying to beat him up. You know, I wanted to build him up, and he just kept coming back, and this is about a U.S. Senate seat. She could not articulate why she had this change of heart. You've been campaigning with El-Sayed. you were with him yesterday morning. I'm wondering what your response is to what she said in the clip there. Well, again, I mean, what we're actually talking about on the campaign trail are plans to make sure health care is more affordable for all, because I've yet for in two years in my own campaign for governor stopped at a campaign event where someone hasn't come up to me with a heartbreaking story about the rising cost of health care and knowing that we as Democrats have a plan to drive down those costs while our opponents are responsible for voting in some cases, like my opponent, to raise those costs.

29:42That's the contrast in this race. That's the reason to support candidates who have a plan to make life easier for folks. And so my reaction is what we're actually talking about on the campaign trail, which frankly folks know is driving down costs and making life better for people because that is what is actually needed of leaders in this moment, and that is what we as Democrats are unified around trying to address. Let me ask you, the sitting secretary of the state in Michigan, how concerned are you about some of the comments the president made about this election, about him and his allies questioning the integrity, perhaps, of election results?

30:20I'm deeply concerned. I mean, look, we've heard this song before. In 2020, we defeated Trump and my opponent, John James's efforts to try to undermine a fair and free election in this state. And in every election sense, we have worked to continue with evidence and the law on our side, protect the vote and protect our elections against an overreach and abuse of power from the federal government. And frankly, that's why we need state leaders in this moment, not just in 26, but beyond, who know how to stand up to the president and protect our vote and protect our democracy. Now, here in Michigan, our elections are secure.

30:52We've gone from being ranked 31st in the nation to number two nationwide for safe and secure elections. We've had back-to-back-to-back high turnout elections, the highest in our state's history in these last few years, and we're on track to have another high turnout midterm election tomorrow. So our success speaks for itself. Trump and Republicans' attempts to try to undermine democracy have not worked, but it requires state leaders, and those who are running on the Democratic ticket are those leaders who will stand up for our voters, for election security, and for our democracy against anyone, even the president, who would try to undermine that.

31:24Secretary Benson, I appreciate your time. Thank you. I should point out we invited the secretary's opponent, Congressman John James, on the program as well. But we have not heard back. Coming up next, 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on the stakes this time. She joins me with her podcasting co-host, Kara Swisher. Also, the Ohio governor's race. And the question, has Republican Vivek Ramaswamy recovered from the bipartisan blowback to his campaign ad featuring his opponent, Amy Acton's estranged mom? We'll be right back.

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32:39Ask yours at Claude.ai slash Spotify and keep thinking. That's Claude.ai slash Spotify.

32:51If anyone knows what it's like the night before a potentially historical election with destiny and site, but not yet within reach, it is former Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. She's teamed up with Kara Swisher for a podcast series called High Stakes with HRC, available now on YouTube and other podcast sources. I spoke to her and Kara shortly before airtime. Madam Secretary, I just want to start with Michigan. Is it clear to you why Congressman Haley Stevens chose to endorse Mike Rogers, which is two days left in the campaign? and what do you think the impact of that might be?

33:22I have no idea what her thinking was, Anderson, but I don't think it's going to have much impact. In fact, if it has any impact, I think it will end up helping Abdul. I think that it's going to be seen as, unfortunately, a personal moment of either pique or, you know, anger. and that's not about the issues that the people of Michigan actually want their candidates to talk about. Everybody who runs for office, who doesn't make it, is going to feel disappointed, maybe hurt, even a little angry. But you've got to put that behind you and get together in order to beat what is a huge danger to our future.

34:07And that's what should have happened here. If Democrats win in Texas tomorrow, do you think it's going to be because James Tolerico is a great candidate or between or because Ken Paxton is not? I think it's going to be mostly because James Tallarico has broken through to the people in Texas in a way that a Democrat hasn't for a really long time. And also because he was blessed with an opponent who has been such a symbol of corruption in the state. But I think James deserves a lot of credit because I've been around him. I've talked with him. He really gets the pulse of what's going on in the state and how people are worried that they can't afford just the basic necessities of life.

34:55And frankly, they're sick of corruption. And Paxton is like the poster child of corruption. So it's a lot of factors at work, but in the end, he's run a really good race and he deserves to win and I hope he does. Kara, do you think if the president had picked Cornyn that it would be different right now? Oh yeah, I think John Cornyn would have won. I think Texas is a very red state, as you have pointed out many times. It's just the candidate is so bad and Tallarico is a very gifted communicator, including online, a little different than what Mamdani is doing in New York, but it's a very online thing and at the same time very genuine and he has messages especially around Elon Musk and tech billionaires and being bought and sold and I think that's a really effective message and he's you know and he even took talafrico and made it into a meme for himself which is really smart rather than be hurt by it or anything else.

35:46Madam Secretary I've always wanted to ask you and I never have I co-moderated the second presidential debate with you and Trump and it was the one where It was right after the Access Hollywood tape, and it was one where he's wandering around behind you. Yeah. I found the first 30 minutes of that to be—I felt like the molecules of the air in that auditorium were charged, and I found it to be the most just intense first, like, 30 minutes of any debate I've ever moderated or seen. I'm wondering, A, what your perspective of it was, and the wandering around in particular, But also, how do you think he has as a candidate when you see the guy you debated then and you see the person now and with the press conference he gave today outside the reflecting pool and the plans and the redecorations and the crafting projects?

36:42What how do you see how how different is he? Yeah, he was stalking me. Yeah, it was charged, Anderson. That's absolutely true. and I knew what he was doing, which was to try to intimidate me, but also sending a message that he was the alpha male in the room. So I was well aware of it as it was going on, and I was in my head kind of racing through, what do I do? How do I respond to this? And I was trying out all kinds of things while I was trying to answer your questions and the town hall questions all at the same time. But it turned out to be, from my perspective, a kind of pyrrhic victory because, you know, CNN and everybody else has, quote, I won that debate along with the other two that we had.

37:33But he was able to convey this image of, you know, hyper-masculinity and looking like he was dominating the stage, therefore dominating me, which did speak to a lot of the voters that he he was trying to communicate to. So where is he now? Look, I think that he's lost the plot. You know, back in 2016, 10 years ago, think about that, he had a theory of the case. He knew how he wanted to present himself. He had people around him who at least had some ability to rein him in or to say no to him. He's totally unfettered and unhinged now. And for him to go to the reflecting pool, one of the great failures of his efforts to redo Washington and stand there as though it was a huge success, and go on and on about all of his, you know, projects ripping up Washington, destroying the East Wing, building an arch that will interfere with, you know, air traffic control navigation in and out of Washington.

38:36I mean, you can't make this up. He is so focused on himself. You know, that old poem, Ozymandias, I mean, he wants to build tributes to himself in the image of himself. I mean, he's truly lost the plot of being president for the American people, of winning a midterm election that would be better than what I think is going to happen to him tomorrow. And I do worry about how much more out of control he might get. and therefore having a Congress and having the courts and having state attorneys generals and others all working to try to control the damage that he could do is going to be really important.

39:23Now, what did we talk about? We did talk about this on the podcast. What would you do today? You know, one thing I thought about was just to like, you know, turn on him really fast and say, back up, you creep. You're not going to intimidate me. And I also thought that that would be perceived by people as, you know, me being angry. And Lord knows we don't want an angry woman. No, not that under any circumstances, no matter for what cause. And so I thought that, you know, that would end up hurting me. A joke might or might not work. So I decided, look, I want to be president. I think I'd be a good president.

39:57And I need to maintain my composure. Because if I can't handle Donald Trump on a stage, how am I going to handle Vladimir Putin in high-stakes negotiations? So I just, you know, kept to my way of responding, ignoring him and going on, which, you know, people appreciated. But as I said, I think he wanted to convey a different message, which, you know, did come across. Madam Secretary, you discussed in the podcast that, well, yeah, well, first of all, what is it like doing a podcast with Kara Swisher? I mean, what do you ever anticipate doing a podcast like this? No, no, I never did. Look, I've been an admirer of Kara's for a long time.

40:43She has, you know, interviewed me in her many incarnations as a journalist over the years. And I've loved her podcast, both her own and the one she does with Scott Galloway. So when she approached me about this idea, I thought, well, it'd be fun. And as she says, we're going to close the fund deficit because, you know, there's a big fund deficit in America right now. And we've been having a terrific time. You were at this dinner party and someone would say Iran and she went blah, blah, blah and had a great answer. It was fresh. You know, the election meddling, whatever it was. And I thought, why don't we have a great professor, your coolest professor, your best professor, give you the best civics lesson of your life?

41:22And let me give one example. When Pete Heggs was trying to was trying to put the execution on a video. right, which is heinous. Instead of going just it's heinous, which it was, she said, well, during the Osama bin Laden thing, this is what we did. And this is how we handled this and whether to show him with the bullets in his body, this and that. And then we decided this with experts. And it was like such a lesson of governance that I thought it was really important. And people have to be reminded it's not partisan, it's policy and how we want to conduct. And we can debate the issues, but let's talk about the facts.

41:53And so I think she delivers like the brilliant person she's always been in a way that's more interesting and fun for people. And people are desperate for that. Secretary Clinton, Kara Swisher, thanks so much. You can check out the High Stakes podcast Wednesdays through mid-November by going to On with Kara Swisher on the feed, on YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Back on the campaign trail, we are keeping an eye on Ohio tonight where Democrats are hoping to pick up a Senate win with former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown in a close race against the incumbent John Husted. Brown is campaigning tonight with Democratic candidate for governor Amy Acton.

42:27The governor's race in Ohio, as you may remember, became incredibly personal when Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate, put out that controversial ad featuring Acton's estranged mother. Ramaswamy and Senator John Husted are also on the campaign trail tonight, wrapping up their statewide bus tour. CNN's Lauren Fox joins us now from Columbus at the Democrats' campaign rally. You've been speaking with voters all day. What are they telling you about their choices? Yeah, I mean, Democrats are really all over the map right now, Anderson when it comes to how they are thinking about this election but a couple of things ring true you are seeing a lot of independent voters starting to say that they may vote for a democrat in this race i also talked to one republican today who said he is going to be voting for a democrat candidate take a listen i'm still looking at the options there um charred brown I never really liked him, but John Husted has issues too.

43:28So I'm still, that might be a game time decision. I mean, we're an ultra red state right now with kind of a super majority in the local government. So I think Amy Acton can balance that out. That's one of the reasons I'm going to vote for her.

43:44And we just finished up at this rally where Sherrod Brown talked to a excited group of voters here. Obviously, he also was joined by Amy Acton. This was really the last big rally in the state of Ohio for Democrats here at a moment where they hope to turn the clock back. This used to be a consummate swing state. The question, of course, whether or not Democrats can make it that once again. Donald Trump won here three times, Anderson. Yeah, on Fox, thanks very much. coming next, closing messages in the Alaska Senate race and the ballot controversy surrounding that. We'll be right back.

44:22Election Eve in America, Democratic Senate candidate Mary Paltola will soon be hosting her last midterm rally in Fairbanks, Alaska. Her Republican opponent, Senator Dan S. Sullivan, has been busy today holding various events with voters in the state as he seeks re-election. Over the weekend, Sullivan said Peltola is, quote, not fit for office after The New York Times report alleging Democrats recruited a spoiler candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan, who is on the ballot to try to confuse voters. Peltola has repeatedly denied any involvement with the second Dan Sullivan. Meanwhile, yesterday, a federal judge in Alaska tossed a Department of Justice lawsuit seeking to segregate ballots and delay Alaska's certification in the Senate race.

45:00Following the ruling, the DOJ filed a notice of appeal. CNN's Kim La joins us now from Moose Pass, Alaska. What could unfold legally if Senator Sullivan loses tomorrow? Well, essentially, it's all about what you just laid out there, because what the Department of Justice does want to do, if Senator Dan S. Sullivan, the Republican incumbent, if he does lose and lose by a close margin, the Department of Justice wants those ballots to be set aside, that the election would not be certified. But because they lost that first round, there is an appeal expected, but we don't know when the Ninth Circuit will rule.

45:39So here's what you need to brace yourself for, Anderson, is that if there is no winner on election night, if there's no 50 plus one, then it becomes a grind on ranked choice voting. It is a ranked choice ballot. There are rounds and we could be looking at weeks before there is a declared winner. The certification, the aim for this, Anderson, is November 25th. You were at Senator Sullivan's rally earlier today. What did he have to say as his final pitch? Yeah, he spent about a third of his closing pitch talking about this exact issue, calling Peltola a cheater. He is making it certainly central to the reason why people need to get out there and vote.

46:23And I also noticed that he is handing out these bracelets to everybody. It says Sullivan, Dan S, registered Republican incumbent. So he is in this final stretch, making this a big portion of his last message to his base. Anderson. All right, Kyung-Hua in Moose Pass. Thanks very much. A reminder, election item in America coverage starts tomorrow at 5 p.m. Eastern. Here on CNN, we're streaming live with an all-access subscription. News continues. I'll see you tomorrow. The Source with Caitlin Collins starts now. Are you ever shopping online and suddenly a discount that helps you save pops up? It makes your day, sometimes even your week.

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