AOC Hits GOP Turf in Key Michigan Senate Race

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1:00progressive powerhouse hits GOP turf in a crucial Senate battleground. I'm Dana Bash. Let's go behind the headlines and inside politics.

1:14Just 19 days until the election and we're tracking the races, candidates and stories that could shift the balance of power right here in Washington and all across the country. Here's what's on our midterm radar. We start in Michigan where any moment now congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez will appear with democratic senate nominee abdul el-sayed they're kicking off a two-day swing through the state's largely republican upper peninsula president trump carried 14 of the region's 15 counties just two years ago in 2024. but in a race as tight as this one el-sayed needs to cut into the support that republicans have been getting in order to beat the current Republican on the ballot against him, Mike Rogers.

1:59Vice President Vance is also stumping in Michigan today. He'll hold a rally in Monroe. And tonight, President Trump is holding two tele-rallies, including one for his hand-picked South Carolina Senate nominee, Darlene Graham. Tomorrow, he'll campaign in Georgia, where Republicans are likely hoping he steers clear of some of the kinds of things he said yesterday at one of his rallies, This one in Arizona. Our country is making more money than it's ever made because of the fact that oil is so high. Now, they're going to say, isn't it terrible? He talked about the fact that he doesn't care about the little person, they call them.

2:41I care more about the little person than I care about the big person. I care about the little person like crazy. Gas prices have surged to a national average of$4.33. Diesel is at$6.32. That's up more than 70 percent, 70 percent since just one year ago. Now to Iowa, where a new Marist poll shows the Senate race deadlocked. No clear leader between Democrat Josh Turek and Republican Ashley Hinson. Now, Turek is leading among independents, which may be why this new RNC ad portrays Hinson as someone who reaches across the aisle. Washington is one never ending food fight. Both sides throwing out attacks, both sides creating one heck of a mess.

3:30To get stuff done out there, you've got to bring folks together.

3:37And former President Bill Clinton will make his 2026 campaign trail debut next week. He'll appear alongside the Democratic candidate for governor, David Jolly, at an interfaith event. Now, Jolly is trying to pull off an upset against Republican Byron Donalds in a race that the Cook Political Report rates as lean Republican. I'm joined today by a terrific group of reporters. Zolin, you're straight off the red eye. We're going to talk about what you witnessed, that Trump rally in Arizona, in a little bit. But let's start with what we expect to begin in Michigan momentarily. And that is the rally that Abdul El-Sayed is having with AOC.

4:20It's really striking because I mentioned that this area, the so-called UP, the Upper Peninsula, It used to be a Democrat representative, Bart Stupak. I remember covering him for many, many years. Since then, it's been Republican territory. It went for the GOP, this is Michigan's first district, by 22 percentage points in 2024, 23 percentage points in 2022, and 24 in 2020. And yet, Abdul Al-Sayed is campaigning there with one of the most well-known progressives in the whole country. Listen, I mean, it shows some confidence in so many ways that he's there with her. He campaigned with her during the primary, of course, but to do that in the general.

5:07In some ways, I think it is him saying we are normal human beings, right? You can sort of demonize AOC, demonize El Saeed, as has happened on the on the airwaves there. You know, you have the president, for instance, calling him a jihadist. It's him presenting himself as just a person who is talking about the issues. He talks about Medicare for All, for instance. He talks about data centers. He talks about getting the money out of politics. And so I think it's a smart move. It in some ways is a risky move as well, given the ways in which obviously Republicans see AOC, but also independents as well.

5:47But listen, he is feeling confident. I think he told someone he feels like he's gonna win by seven points, which is quite an arrogant, you know, sort of approach to this campaign, but we'll see how it goes. AOC is quite an effective campaigner. She's very good on the stump. She's, you know, she's very good in terms of being sort of warm and personable and also relatable in terms of the way she talks about these issues. So we'll see how it goes. Yeah, so yes, AOC is the big one today. And this part of Michigan that was just in Michigan last week was for the past 10, 15 years, extremely red. And it still is, but there are Chicagoans and others moving to the Lake region, to Traverse City.

6:29Pete Buttigieg moved to Traverse City. So the thinking is that perhaps is getting a little bit less red. But just looking at the big picture about this marquee Senate race, Zola, you have AOC today, Bernie Sanders has been there, Elizabeth Warren, those are sort of the left superstars. And then with regard to the other Democratic part of the electorate that he really needs to get, the black vote, which is huge in Michigan, he's pulling out all the stops. We know Kamala Harris was there. Lisa Blunt Rochester was there a couple of days ago. And the big, big guest that he's going to have next week is Barack Obama.

7:11Right. He is bringing in Democratic figures that can bring people out, that have shown that their presence results in turnout. And what also that signals is an awareness in the Democratic Party that this is still a tight contest, right? And that here you do have a candidate that is bringing baggage, right? Like did have success in the primary, but is now facing added challenges in a general, right? Still, there are moderate voters expressing concern about past statements that El Syed has made, as well as Jewish voters as well. And you mentioned also black voters. We saw that with some of the mail-in ballots that weren't coming in from some more urban areas in Michigan as well.

7:55So here you have Democrats that have shown that they can bring out those constituency groups going to support El Syed here. But I do think it signals that the party realizes this is still a tight contest between El-Sayed and Mike Rogers, and that while there is growing popularity for El-Sayed, there's also concern among some constituency groups of the baggage that he's putting. Yeah, and we see now they just turned on the transmission. We now see AOC beginning the rally there. We're going to continue to monitor it. And as we do, I want to kind of move south in our conversation, very far south to Texas.

8:29and talk about the money there. We talk about kind of every day about how much money is in all of these races, but particularly Texas. It's an expensive state. Tallarico's third quarter fundraising, they just announced$64 million. This is third quarter. This isn't total. This is one quarter. And Paxton has 18 million. And just for our colleague David Wright, this is record-breaking. There's been no candidate for the Senate in history that has raised this kind of money in one quarter. If I knew how to whistle, I would whistle. That number,$64 million, not so long ago, that would have been an amazing haul in a presidential race in a monthly fundraising figure.

9:18I think it shows you the importance of this race, obviously to the Senate, But the fact that Republicans are having to pour so much cash into this race tells you everything about where the Senate campaign is and the complexion of this election. There are so many interests, not just politically, but in terms of business and everything else. There are, I'm sure, a lot of donors to the Republican Party who do not want a Democratic Congress and everything that would entail in terms of oversight, looking into links with this administration. So that's on that side. And I think it does speak to the fact that Democrats, we saw it with Beto O 'Rourke before, who was also a prolific fundraiser.

10:00They believe that there is actually a chance this time, you know, that lightning might strike. Yeah. And they might win Texas, a Senate seat in Texas for the first time since Lloyd Benson. Yeah. And I should just mention that this is just eye-popping, obviously. The Republican money that is coming in mostly is from super PACs, which is unlimited. Can we just talk about this town hall that CNN had with Jubilee last night? It was so good. It was so interesting. It was riveting for lots of reasons. But the most fascinating was watching him one-on-one with voters trying to really get answers. And we're just going to give you one example.

10:38The voter's name is Sarah and pushed him on his Christianity versus hers. Let's watch.

10:49The first comment about God not being defined by gender, when I said that I was being provocative, and I want to admit that and come clean about that. But I think what I was saying is actually not controversial theologically. The idea that we can't define God using human categories. Yes, I was doing it maybe in an annoying way. I can admit that. I think we have to be careful using modern cultural terms when talking about God. Sure. I think that is very fair criticism. So there, just to give a little bit of context, I think people watching the show probably know, the question was about one of the old clips that has been out there where he said God is non-binary.

11:33Right. Which Republicans have been using against him and really questioning the kind of Christian he is. You know, this setup and this sort of setting of the sort of one-on-one debate and conversation was really brilliant and made for such good TV. And Tallarico himself makes for good TV, right? He's incredibly charismatic. He talks about his faith in a way that most Democrats, who some are people of faith, but they don't talk about their faith in the way that he does. So I thought it was a really good moment for him and a necessary moment, given the ways that Republicans are going to come at him about his faith, right?

12:07You see J.D. Vance doing this, sort of calling him, you know, suggesting that he is something other than Texas, the Texas brand of Christianity, the Texas brand of masculinity. So I think him showing up in that way, in a very warm way, in a very, you know, just sort of down to earth way, I thought was very good moment for his campaign. All right. He also separated himself so much from the Biden administration, from the national party. I'm a border security Democrat. Joe Biden failed us on not securing the border. I'm going to stand up to my party on the oil and gas industry, which, needless to say, is pretty big in Texas.

12:45Coming up, I am going to speak with the Democratic congressional candidate staying away from the AOC-El Syed rally, which is happening right now. It's happening in the district she wants to win. And you're going to hear President Trump brag about remembering words at a rally where he was supposed to be telling people to get out and vote for Republicans.

13:14This podcast is supported by Anthropic, the public benefit corporation behind Claude. Everyone's got a hard question about AI. Anthropic was built to surface those questions and share what it finds along the way, because there's hope in hard questions. Ask yours at claude.ai slash Spotify and keep thinking. That's claude.ai slash Spotify.

13:41The secret society of semi-homemade? Listen up. Sam's Club has pre-made dishes for a Thanksgiving feast that's ready in two hours, all while tasting suspiciously homemade. Come join us. Sam's Club. Individual oven times may vary. President Trump hit the trail in two states yesterday, but per usual, a lot of his remarks had very little to do with the candidates he was trying to boost. Here he is in Arizona bragging about passing a cognitive test. They give you five words and you don't know what they're doing. They say, sir, we're going to give you five words. We would like you to repeat those words preferably in order.

14:23And what they don't say is at the end of the test, a half hour later, they do it again. So you don't know that. Five words, sir. Hat, hair, logo, white, black. Sir, would you please repeat those words? hat hair logo white black oh you got it right now you get extra points if you can do them in the same order right now a half hour goes by they've asked you 25 30 other questions sir in the middle of the test we asked you about five words will you please repeat them again ideally in order You will get points if you get them all. You will get points. But if you can put them in order, you get a lot of points.

15:20Go hat, hair, logo, white, black. And they go, holy shit. Nobody, no, nobody can do that. Vote Republican. Because that's what it was supposed to be. You were there. As I mentioned, you took the red eye. I thank you for being here. Of course, yeah. How much of his speeches, and this one in particular, since we're talking about it, was about saying go vote for Andy Biggs, who is the candidate there? There were parts of the speech saying go vote, but it was go vote because Trump is on the ballot, or you should think of Trump. But it wasn't a speech dedicated to why they should vote for Andy Biggs.

16:09So like percentage-wise, Trump being Trump versus the rally? It was majority Trump and his legacy and the usual hits of attacking the press and attacking Somali-Americans and honestly acting as if the political vulnerabilities of the economy and the war in Iran don't exist. And very minimal of it was Andy Biggs. At one point, he even brought Andy Biggs, who he was, the campaign says, therefore, and President Trump claims, therefore. He brought him onto stage. And before he brought him onto stage, he actually told him, let's keep this brief, just about a minute, right? I mean, the entirety of the time that Biggs spoke might have been the duration of that rant on the Congdon test.

16:57That was a minute 20. It was probably less than that. Right, yes. But the focus of these speeches, and it reminds me of a speech that we reported on last week as well in Texas with Ken Paxton, right? So much of it is about defending Trump being Trump and his own legacy. And the candidate that he's there for does appear to sort of be an afterthought of putting the spotlight on them. The spotlight is on Trump at these events. So here's the reality that he's facing and he's up against, despite what he says. Fox has a brand new poll out that shows his approval at 36 percent, his disapproval 64 percent.

17:32Then among Republicans, same poll, Fox. In March, it was 92 percent. Now it's 76 percent. So we're talking about a 16 percentage point drop in really a little more than a year. And nothing the president is saying at these rallies is going to arrest that. I think there's an extent to which he's trying to recreate the magic, the chaos of 2016, which is what bound him to his most loyal voters in the first place. That's what people came out for. There was this guy that was saying things that nobody else would have dared to say. He was voicing what people thought. Perhaps he's trying to do that again to get those voters who he needs to get out, out.

18:20The problem is it's not 2016 anymore. We've been doing this for a decade now. It's sounding a bit old. This doesn't speak to the pain people are feeling in their everyday lives over the economy and prices. And unlike 2016 and 2024, he's not being compared to Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden. He's being judged against his own performance. And he's actually not on the ballot, right? And as I was there yesterday, you see this crowd that is erupting in applause and what have you at each of sort of these familiar things. subjects that he's talked about at these rallies, 2016 and to now. But I was thinking, is this crowd really the one that the Republicans need right now?

19:02The ones in a very red, you know, state and county that are dedicated to President Trump. I'm not sure dedicated to the Republican Party, by the way, dedicated to Trump. Do they need them or do they need people that actually are frustrated, you know, with the economy and the Iran war? The answer is all of the above. Speaking of people who are frustrated with him, Joe Rogan, who has a little bit of an audience, he spoke yesterday about his frustration with Trump. He had Michael Douglas on, who by the way, has a fantastic memoir out, which is probably why he was on Joe Rogan. But Michael Douglas sat there and listened to Rogan say this.

19:40What Trump stood for, some of it turned out to not be real. Like one of them was the no wars. Well, look, we're at a war with Iran. So that wasn't real. You're setting a precedent. If you allow a militarized police force with no identification with masks on to enter into cities, of course, people are going to say this is an overstep. Of course. It seems crazy. Yeah. And this is at the heart of the fracturing of the MAGA movement. Donald Trump promised back in 2016, you remember him running against Bush's legacy of wars in 2024. the two key promises, no new wars and fixing the economy. Not only did he start a war, he started a war that then broke the economy on top of the tariffs, and people understand it.

20:27It is not very difficult for the average Americans to go to the, to get groceries or go get gas and understand that this is Trump's fault, the prices that they're paying. And did he say something like, it's good that oil prices are higher? Is there any more context to that? Context? In one of these rallies? Please, no, I wasn't picking up on that. But that does go to the fact that he takes these things that are very clear problems with the Republican Party and tries to spin them to say, actually, everything is fine and it's a strength. Because he has a history, like his entire adult life, of having examples of success in doing that and trying to change the reality by changing the narrative.

21:03And this is going to be the biggest test of his whole life. Coming up, speaking of mortgage rates hit pause, but homeownership remains out of reach for many Americans. That's next.

21:20This podcast is supported by Anthropic, the public benefit corporation behind Claude. Everyone's got a hard question about AI. Anthropic was built to surface those questions and share what it finds along the way, because there's hope in hard questions. Ask yours at Claude.ai slash Spotify and keep thinking. That's Claude.ai slash Spotify.

21:49This just into CNN. After weeks of spiking, the average mortgage rates remains unchanged at 7.4%. It's a brief pause, but it still leaves the American dream of owning a home out of reach for so many people, including voters still weighing their options a little more than two weeks from Election Day. CNN senior business reporter David Goldman joins us now. Walk us through the data, David. Yeah, 7.4 % is a lot, right? We're still at the highest that we've had since November of 2023. And that's a lot for people who are looking to buy a new home. Not like me. That's my house right there. I have a sub 3 % rate that I think a lot of folks are jealous of.

22:30And we're going to get into why that matters in just a bit. Because in 2020, right, for every$100 ,000 of a mortgage, it costs you$400 a month. But today, that is$690, another$300 almost, in added costs for every$100 ,000 of a mortgage. No one has a$100 ,000 mortgage anymore. We are seeing prices that are significantly higher. Why is this happening? Well, this is my very accurate depiction of what mortgage rates look like. This was COVID, right? Remember that? We don't want to, but mortgage rates were very, very low. That's when I refinanced. They were below 3%, but then we had inflation, and we hit something closer to 8%.

23:21Then inflation kind of eases off. We were down near 6 % very recently, but then the Iran war happens, and that means that we are all the way back to about where we were just a year or so ago, not so far removed from when we were thinking about this is going to be a much better situation, Diana. I finally met somebody whose handwriting is worse than mine. You got it. We have to talk about the house, too. But let's stay focused on what matters, which is the money. What does this mean for people who are actually paying or people who don't have a home who really still want to buy one? Yeah, because, you know, rates are kind of esoteric, but actual dollars matter.

24:11So if you have a$300 ,000 home today per month, and this doesn't include taxes, it doesn't include insurance, you're paying almost$1 ,900 a month. In February, that was$1 ,600 a month. And back in 2020, it was$1 ,100 a month. You can see how much more expensive it is to own and buy a home. But, you know, rates and housing costs are going higher and higher and higher. What about a$500 ,000 home? You can see$3 ,100 a month today compared to under$1 ,900 six years ago. And then those million dollar homes are really, really expensive. $6 ,200 today. Again, not including taxes, not including insurance compared to$5 ,400 in February before the war and$3 ,700 in 2020.

25:10So maybe you can buy a lot of these sweaters. I'm going to get Collinson one after this, but not a ton of houses. It's so weird. Collinson just said, where do I get that sweater? I want one. I already sent one to you, Stephen. But those numbers, particularly from the war until now, the rise in the average mortgage payment, it's just stunning. Thank you for breaking all that down. It's always good to see you, David. You too. Thanks. And coming up, can Abdul Al-Sayed win over voters in one of Michigan's reddest districts? My next guest is a Democrat who hopes to flip that House seat. She's skipping the rally that you're seeing live come in right now.

25:50It's happening with AOC. Stay with us.

25:58This podcast is supported by Anthropic, the public benefit corporation behind Claude. Everyone's got a hard question about AI. Anthropic was built to surface those questions and share what it finds along the way, because there's hope in hard questions. Ask yours at claude.ai slash Spotify and keep thinking. That's claude.ai slash Spotify.

26:25The secret society of semi-homemade? Listen up. Sam's Club has pre-made dishes for a Thanksgiving feast that's ready in two hours, all while tasting suspiciously homemade. Come join us. Sam's Club. Individual oven times may vary. Despite the focus on economic issues on the stump, on the air, a lot of Democrats are talking about the Epstein files in their ads. Many Republicans aren't responding on the air. That's why this new direct-to-camera spot by Iowa Senate candidate Ashley Hinson is so fascinating. First, we're going to show you the ad that started it by her Democratic opponent Josh Turek, and then her answer.

27:07Hinson helped keep the files hidden. And Epstein-linked billionaires gave her nearly$100 ,000. Protecting predators and billionaire donors, Hinson helped herself. This week I had to explain to my boys, no, mom does not protect pedophiles. Men like Epstein who hurt children, they'll have to answer to God. But men who lie about it to win an election, they'll have to answer to you. I mean, wow. That says something. Yeah. Not only what she said, but the fact that she did it. And that is, in a way, a very Iowa way to respond to that. You know, you can imagine that appealing to the evangelical voters maybe in western Iowa.

27:50I think the question is, I mean, what are they trying to do here by invoking Epstein? Are they trying to—obviously, they're targeting those Republicans for whom this is an existential issue. Do they think they can get them to move from Democrats to—from Republicans to Democrats? will just not show up because they're so demoralized by what they see happen in the Trump administration. I think it's very interesting. I gotta say, though, I think traveling the country, Epstein seems to be one of those issues that crosses the party line. And it's still there. Yes, yes, it is. I mean, it comes up when you're talking to people, maybe not the people in the rally on either party, but those who might not show up typically to the midterms, right?

28:33This is still very live and potent. I mean, this is kind of what you were alluding to. It's the disappointment among a lot of Republicans who were promised not by Trump, per se, but the people around him who are now in senior positions in the administration that they were going to do more than they have. OK, so let's keep going with the ads. Mitch Berman is running in Wisconsin's first district and has quite an ad. They use our water and our power, take our land, we get the bill. Oh!

29:09I'm Mitchell Berman, and I approve this message because Wisconsin isn't for sale. Great shot, Dad. Democrat. Play shooting, it's amazing. Yeah, Democrat. I've done this a couple of times, I'm quite good at it. But anyway. That I want to say. So listen, I mean, data centers really is this issue that was sort of a sleeper issue, right? I think it caught Republicans, especially by surprise, and some Democrats too. But it is an issue that moves voters. And it really dovetails into a sort of anti-AI framework that we're seeing, but also this sort of populism that we're seeing. That also is about Epstein too, right?

29:43This idea that these billionaires are getting over on the little people, right? That's sort of at the core of what's going on with Epstein. And also these data centers that these reach people, they're the ones who are going to profit from these data centers. We're going to be stuck with the bills. And he is, I should say, running in Wisconsin against a Republican who is in Paul Ryan's old seat. So this would be very interesting if that turns D. Speaking out about a seat that would be very interesting if it turns D again, Ohio. John Husted is the Republican incumbent. He was appointed to fill J.D.

30:23Vance's term, and he has a challenger in Sherrod Brown who was defeated two years ago. Let's watch Husted's ad. I'm John Husted. The bipartisan bill I helped pass stops big corporations from buying up our homes and makes it easier for you to own one. Sherrod Brown talks about problems. I solve them. It was just also earlier this year that President Trump threatened to not sign that law, housing legislation, unless the party - He called it yawn. He said it was boring. He's criticized it. But we know that this is a major concern for Americans across the country, is rising housing prices and access to housing.

31:04So it makes sense that he would try to tap into that issue. But just to connect sort of the through line here, another issue in Ohio, the data centers too, right? And it does speak to the economic anxiety. And once again, you have President Trump not making it easy for a candidate because he has backed data centers and thrown his support over it, which puts someone like Houston really on the defensive on some of these issues. Okay, we just have to do this because it's an ad. It's a video, really, by Scott Colombe. He's the Democratic candidate running against incumbent Mississippi Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith.

31:40We call the price of beef continuing to go up. You know, you have so many proteins to choose from. Pick another protein? Shit, I'd rather pick another senator instead. Pick another protein? She done lost her damn mind. I'd rather pick another senator. Pick another protein? What the? Pick another senator instead. That's great. Yeah, I know. I mean, it's a funny ad. And listen, don't sleep on the South, right, in terms of Democrats' chances in the South. Mississippi might be a long shot. But Democrats' prospects overall going forward have to at some point run through the South. It's very diverse down there.

32:24You've seen, obviously, what happened in Georgia. North Carolina looks like it might flip as well. So, listen, they need to invest something in these states that have large black populations. South Carolina is another one. Mississippi as well. Don't sleep on the South. I see a Nia column coming. Next week. Okay. Coming up, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she hopes Republicans are listening to her campaigning with Abdul Al-Sayed. Why Democrats think they have a shot in this area, in deep red Michigan. Stay with us.

33:01This podcast is supported by Anthropic, the public benefit corporation behind Claude. Everyone's got a hard question about AI. Anthropic was built to surface those questions and share what it finds along the way, because there's hope in hard questions. Ask yours at claude.ai slash Spotify and keep thinking. That's claude.ai slash Spotify.

33:29Right now, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is in the Upper West Side of Michigan. She's supporting Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in one of the reddest districts of this purple state, the Upper Peninsula. This was his pitch moments ago. Shouldn't be this hard in the richest, most powerful country in the history of the world to afford to take a gas. Shouldn't be this hard to afford a bag of groceries. Shouldn't be this hard to afford your mortgage. Shouldn't be this hard to see a doctor.

34:05shouldn't be this hard to pay your taxes and know that that money is going to be spent on you and your kids instead of dropping bombs on somebody else and their kids

34:15cnn's gloria pasmino is at that rally um looks like it's more of a discussion at this point so what are you hearing so far gloria yeah dana we're now in the q a portion of this town hall and they are listening from the voters. I want to just point out to you that in the last few minutes, people have been asking questions about unions, about the cost of food, about student loan interest. And that is what they're hoping to do throughout these campaign stops during the day today. Both Abdul El-Sayed and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are doing this swing through Michigan's Upper Peninsula. And as you mentioned, this is very much Trump country.

34:52But they're hoping to just break a little bit of support. They are trying to reach out to voters in what has been historically a reliably Republican part of the state. Now, I also talked to some voters earlier this morning, and they've told me the same thing, that they're worried about gas prices. They're very worried about the trade war with Canada, Canada being a major trading partner here. And they're worried about gas prices. Gas prices is a huge issue for voters here. I spoke to at least one El-Sayed voter who told me that he is ready to support him, while I met others who were just not ready to make up their minds just yet.

35:32Now, even though this is a reliably read part of the state, we have heard just in the last few minutes from the congresswoman actually reaching out directly to those Republicans. She said that she hopes that there are Republicans here in this room today. She thanked them for being here. She said, I hope that you can keep an open ear. to what we have to say. So I think that's interesting because I think, you know, speaking to their campaigns, that is very much the point of them being here. They want to campaign in these areas where Trump's populist message has been popular in the past. They're hoping their popular message, populist message, can actually bring in some of those votes.

36:12So we'll see how they do in this Upper Peninsula swing through Michigan, which is going to take us all around the state today. Yeah, the horseshoe theory that the populism on the right can also attract people who are interested in populism on the left. Thank you so much for that, Gloria. And Michigan's first congressional district, where Gloria is at that event, is the state's largest. It covers the entire Upper Peninsula. You see it there on the map. It has been reliably read in the recent past. There was a 20-point win for the incumbent congressman, Republican Jack Bergman. This year, his Democratic opponent, Callie Barr, sees a different race in their rematch, and Callie Barr joins me now.

36:56Thank you so much for being here. So you just heard from our reporter. You heard what El-Sayed is talking about. It's going on as we speak. It's a really high-profile rally to get out the vote among Democrats. You need to win in your district, and you decided not to go. How come? Well, thanks, Dana, for having me on. I really appreciate it. We've been campaigning all over this district, which you're right, is one of the largest in the United States, actually. I'm the only candidate in Michigan running for Congress where I pull out the two-handed Michigan map. And actually, I was just in the UP last week.

37:35And so it's been on our radar to have open public town halls all across the district. And look, when we have folks who come in that talk about bringing down cost, that's the number one issue that I'm seeing around this district. And it's something that we definitely need to be talking about. The incumbent, Jack Bergman, is someone who has supported the war in Iran, this course driving up gas and diesel. He cut Medicaid, right, which funds our rural hospitals, we are actually going to lose four labor and deliveries directly related to those cuts. We cut funding for like our national parks and, you know, for folks that work on maintaining and keeping our Great Lakes clean.

38:22And so we see real hurt, real hurt in this district, which has given a sense of awareness and urgency to a race that we just didn't see in 2024. for. Yeah. And I hear you. And I'm going to ask you in one second more about your opponent. But that's exactly the message that we're hearing right now in that district from Abdul El-Sayed and AOC. So why not join them? Well, we're running a campaign here. We've got a congressional campaign that we've got to run. And so to me, we're focused on doing that. And we're focused on meeting the voters that we need to connect with right now in order to make sure that we continue with the surge that we're seeing in this congressional race.

39:05I mean, our internal polling shows us at three points. Our fundraising, we're smashing records in this district. We raised almost $750 ,000 in the last quarter. You know, Jamie Raskin has picked this race as an impossible to inevitable seat. Pete Buttigieg has been super supportive, and Senator Debbie Stabenow has seen the opportunity we have to take this seat. And I mentioned that this is a rematch. Jack Bergman, the incumbent Republican, he beat you by more than 20 percentage points just two years ago. Why do you think this year could be different? Yeah, what's different? Well, you know, half the White House is gone.

39:45We've got a science experiment in the reflecting pool. Our friends, Canada, don't want to visit us right now. You know, so we've got this national chaos that's happening. And then, of course, the driving costs here. We've been hit harder than most places in the United States. I mean, just the impact of our Canadian friends not coming across in Sault Ste. Marie. There's like$60 million of business that we lost in that area. You know, our hospitals not getting the funding they need, services being cut. You know, I spoke about our national parks. We have an incumbent also that lives in Louisiana.

40:25And while he's telling us to tighten our belts and cutting food assistance for kids, he's the number one spender in Congress on his lodging. Right. He's no problem spending thirty two thousand dollars at a waterfront resort or buying ten thousand dollars worth of cigars. And he's made sure to pad the pockets of his staff. You know, there was just an ethics complaint that was filed by a former Republican Party chair in this district against him for having his staff run a political side hustle where they made over half a million dollars and didn't disclose it. So I hear all over this district, look, enough's enough.

41:00And it's time for a change. Cali Barr, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much for being here. I should say we did invite Jack Bergman on the show and we hope he will join us soon. Thank you so much. Thank you for joining Inside Politics today. CNN News Central starts after a quick break.

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