Democrats Get New Hope in South Carolina

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0:47A new poll gives Democrats hope in South Carolina, but in Alaska there's new explosive New York Times reporting alleging Democratic dirty tricks. I'm Dana Bash. Let's go behind the headlines and inside politics.

1:08There are just six days until the election and we're tracking the races, candidates and stories that could shift the balance of power here in Washington and around the country. Here's what's on our midterm radar. We start with that breaking news on the Alaska Senate race. The New York Times is reporting evidence that they say come from text messages and source interviews that it was, in fact, Democrats who recruited the other Dan Sullivan into that Senate race to run against the incumbent GOP senator with the same name, Dan Sullivan. According to the Times, a Paltola staffer, Paltola is the Democrat running, Mary Paltola, said, quote, received unusual instructions from top campaign aides.

1:53Find as many people named Dan Sullivan in Alaska as you can. The staffer compiled the plan worked, complied rather the plan worked when a retired teacher named Dan J. Sullivan jumped into the race. Goes on to say from Washington to Anchorage advisors participated in regular conversations about the effort. Now the Peltola campaign told the Times it has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign and did not recruit any candidates into the race. More on that in a minute. And in South Carolina, a dead heat in this Senate race. A new poll out today shows Republican Senator Darlene Graham and Democrat Annie Andrews tied at 48 percent.

2:36President Trump backed Graham after she was appointed to fill out the remainder of her late brother Lindsey Graham's seat back in July. Now, before the president's endorsement, it was hard to imagine a state the president won by 18 percentage points could become a toss-up. Voters say in this poll they're concerned about Graham's qualifications. Just 45 percent say she has the right experience to be senator, compared to 54 percent for Andrews. Now to Texas, where President Trump held not one but two rallies yesterday for another hand-picked Senate candidate in a deep red state in a race that really could go either way.

3:13The president campaigned with Ken Paxton in Lubbock when Democrat James Tallarico held a competing rally in the same city at the exact same time. Instead of just talking up Paxton, the president returned to his favorite subject of late, Ohio Senator John Huston, and his backside. But this time, Paxton became the butt of the joke. But I made the mistake of studying his anatomy and explaining it to the audience, and the audience loved it. By the way, he went up 12 points that day. He went from being down to being up.

3:57Maybe I should do that with Ken Paxton, but I'm not sure your body is going to qualify. Tonight President Trump heads to Ohio for his 24th rally in just 28 days. And a new photo scandal is rocking a Tennessee House race in a district redrawn to favor Republicans. The Nashville scene spoke to multiple sources who say they saw or received nude photos from Brent Taylor, a Republican state senator running to represent Tennessee's 9th District. One source said she received a photo as recently as 2021. Taylor acknowledges one incident that he describes as consensual. The news of the day is about an indiscretion I had several years ago.

4:47my wife and I have worked through that together and we have moved on. And the frustrating part is that now she has to relive all this again. Brent Taylor is running against Democratic State Rep. Justin Pearson in a district that stretches from Memphis across southern Tennessee all the way towards Nashville. I'm joined here by a terrific group of reporters. Mark Preston, And let's start with this New York Times story, because if you read through it, they have some pretty detailed information based on, as I said, interviews that they've done and some text messages that they have received. That shows that the people who are at least in and around the Peltola campaign and Democratic strategists here in Washington were hunting for somebody who also has the name Dan Sullivan to appear on the ballot and also others who could be spoilers.

5:42Alaska is a state that votes by rank choice. So this is not illegal. It is not new. But given the fact that there is so much focus on this particular issue right now, the two Dan Sullivans, and that the DOJ filed a lawsuit to try to pause any kind of, you know, formalizing the vote until things are worked out if the incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan doesn't win. This is something that is sending Democrats scrambling, no doubt. Yeah, listen, two things you said are very important. It's not illegal and it's not new. But what is new is that nowadays that you really can't get away with doing these things.

6:25There's always going to be some kind of trail. And in this case, these are text messages. And then, of course, probably led to live interviews by The New York Times. A couple of things. One is I want to find out who in Washington actually was involved, because I think at that level you can discern how involved the National Party was in making this happen. The second thing is it really hurts Democrats on the credibility issue. And I just mean, a week before the election, it doesn't help the Democratic candidate right now in Alaska to be answering questions about whether or not she is a trustworthy person, given what we've seen from polling and what people think about Donald Trump and many people in his administration where the level of trust is really taking down Republican candidates across the country.

7:11Yeah. And I use the term dirty tricks intentionally because it's not illegal. This is something that is untoward. It is something that Democrats have tried to do in races where they think it could be to their advantage to run candidates that could siphon votes away from Republicans. And Republicans do the same. I mean, just in Alaska alone, Mary Peltola, who's now on the ballot for the Senate, she lost her House race two years ago. On that ballot, there was a candidate who was literally in prison, who was reportedly recruited and kept on the ballot at the behest of Republicans. There's a socialist running in Ohio with the hopes of taking votes away from the Democrat Sherrod Brown.

8:01These are dirty tricks. They are legal dirty tricks. But again, at a time when you have a president and his supporters, particularly those with very big platforms, trying to undermine the election, and Alaska is a potentially key and even pivotal Senate seat that could determine the outcome of the control of Senate, it's a big deal. It's absolutely a big deal. And I think there's no question, despite, as you all have pointed out, and I think it is worth us saying again, this was not illegal, something that they are going to blow up. I mean, I've already been trying to chat with some of my sources at the White House about what the president's reaction is to this.

8:42I am sure we will hear a lot from him on this subject, especially because of, as you mentioned, I think the important thing is that preemptive lawsuit from the Justice Department saying we're going to challenge the certification of this. And I just want to add, before we move on to other things, that this went through the Alaska Supreme Court. It was challenged. The ballot that Alaskans are going to see is going to say that the incumbent senator, you see there is the incumbent senator. It's going to say Republican Dan Sullivan. And because you mentioned, I just want to quickly play what Todd Blanche, the attorney general, said to me on Sunday about the reason they're pushing for a lawsuit in Alaska.

9:25The only reason this man is on the ballot is to confuse voters. I mean, if everybody would start with that premise, then I think the awe and the frustration people are having towards the department adjusted would dissipate because we're doing the right thing. So I don't, the law is the law and it's unclear whether or not the federal government has a role here, but we will see. I do want to talk about South Carolina. Okay. Because the fact that we're talking about South Carolina is an OMG moment, frankly, and we all know that. And the fact that we have this poll out this morning that shows Darlene Graham and her Democratic challenger, Annie Andrews, tied is really, really remarkable.

10:06Let's look at some of the specifics, Tamara, of where the electorate is in South Carolina, because we think of it as a red state, and it is a red state. But if you look at this pie chart that we're putting up here, 38 % of those at least asked in this poll say they're Republican. 30 % are independent. So if she has any chance of winning, I mean, this doesn't, this math doesn't math without getting some of the Republican votes. Right. And I think that this race is fascinating because South Carolina Republicans didn't universally love Lindsey Graham, her late brother. In fact, many South Carolina Republicans were suspicious of Lindsey Graham, didn't love all of his policy.

10:57Some of them didn't love his foreign policy. And then they are essentially told, here is your new senator, support her. President Trump says you have to support her. There was a runoff. It was actually a pretty contested primary, more contested than I think the president wanted. And so on the Republican side, that's where the drama is in this race. On the Democratic side, Democrats have consolidated. The Democratic candidate has been fundraising forever and has a very solid campaign. In the end, South Carolina is still South Carolina. And so we will just have to see what kind of night it is but the fact that the president keeps going there is an indication that they are worried and i think you know he had to pull darlene graham over the finish line he has a lot on the line with it yes but let me just just just to back up what you're saying here the each party seems to be for the most part coming up more democrats if you see here 96 of democrats say they're going for annie andrews 92 of republicans seven percent look small but if it's razor thin that's not so small But it is this number, 57 percent of independents.

12:13Remember, it's a third of the electorate, according to this poll, that are independents. That's the warning sign for Darlene Graham. Absolutely. I think there's also, though, what is a huge focus, I know, for the president's political operation is the people sitting home. If not, Republicans are not showing up. Perhaps you do see the overflow of enthusiasm from Democrats also being able to bring Annie Andrews over the line. And the tough thing about South Carolina, why we're going to see the president back there tomorrow, he's going to be in Rock Hill, is because she, Darlene Grimm is truly a Trump, a Trump candidate.

12:50She wouldn't be in this place without his endorsement. She's not a great candidate. And so he has a lot on the line for her as well. He has done so much to make sure that she is the person who was on the ballot. And if she fails, I know that more than some of these other races, the president feels like he will look like a failure there. Yeah. I mean, she was supposed to just fill out his term and then they were going to move on to the race. And the president got involved and said, no, I want you to run. All right. Coming up from the Peach State to the Buckeye State, CNN is on the ground in Georgia and Ohio on key governor's races in both.

13:23And House Speaker Mike Johnson just spoke to CNN about President Trump campaigning in traditionally red states. You see there Manu Raju talked to him. We'll get the readout after the break.

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14:25Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. In America's 250 years, there have only been three black governors. But this midterm election could change that with eight candidates on state ballots. Tonight in Georgia, former President Barack Obama is slated to campaign with Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, who faces Republican Rick Jackson. It's one of the many no-clear-leader races across the country.

15:05And where we find our friend Jeff Zeleny, who is there in Atlanta. Hey, Jeff, so I know you spoke with the former Atlanta mayor, who now wants to be Governor Keisha Lance Bottoms. What did she say? Well, Dana, this is one of the most interesting races. these governor's races across the country here in Georgia, Florida as well. But there could be a bit of history made. There's no doubt about it. Florida has never elected a black governor. Byron Donalds could fit that bill. We shall see, of course, Georgia as well. But we caught up with Keisha Lance Bottoms as she's campaigning here. And she does not put this history front and center at all.

15:44But she does talk about the change that's needed here in Georgia. How do you think is different about this year or this moment in Georgia? Oh, so many things are different. Everything is different with this Trump 2.0. He came in with a Project 2025 agenda that he stuck to his plan. And it has gutted so much in our state, from the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been cut to our education department, our veterans affairs department, our housing department, and the CDC.

16:20So all of these policies and the fallout from the policies are really hanging over the race here in Georgia, as they are all over the economy as well. But some particular examples here in Georgia. Again, she does not talk about the history that might be made next week, but everyone around her certainly does and clearly is aware of it. But we're getting some interesting looks also at the early voting data here, Dana, that could show signs of Democratic enthusiasm, particularly voters. If you look at these numbers here, there's a higher share of black voters in the early vote than there was even in the presidential campaign a couple years ago.

16:55And Republicans are taking note of this. We're out with Rick Jackson, the Republican businessman who's running against her, just about an hour and a half north of here. And he urged voters to pay attention to this enthusiasm. That if we lose, it will be because of a lot.

17:15All right, Jeff, we're having some problems. Every campaign teaches us something about the country. Yeah. Jeff, we're having some problems with your signal. I'm going to jump in there. That was a great report. I'm glad we got most of it. I do want to now turn to Ohio, where Republican Vivek Ramaswamy is in a tight race against Democrat Amy Acton for governor. Ramaswamy continues to run his controversial ad featuring Acton's mother alleging that her daughter is a liar. CNN's Lauren Fox sat down with Acton in her hometown of Youngsville, Ohio. Lauren. Dana, as you can imagine, this has been a whirlwind week for Amy Acton and her campaign, and she has not shied away from her story of her childhood.

17:58She's talked about it before, but obviously it is now at the forefront of this campaign in a way that it certainly wasn't until Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign decided to put out that ad featuring her estranged mother calling her a liar. Amy Acton actually says though that this has been an opportunity for her to connect with voters. I just think that the new thing for me is that so many people are coming up to me in rope lines and out as I'm on the trail sharing their own stories and that has led me to realize that in one way or another I am being asked to do even more in this area and I will be addressing the issue of child abuse and these sorts.

18:38I've worked on these issues in my career, but people can count on me doing something with this when I'm governor. And Dana, we were at Liberty High School for this interview. The school's been rebuilt and renovated in the time since Amy Acton was a student there, but this was a homecoming rally. This was an opportunity for her to connect with voters in her hometown. And she did make the case that she's going to have to unpack what has happened over the last week in the future when she's not in the midst of the final stretch of this gubernatorial race. But she says it was really interesting to be back in her hometown because the last time she ran for office, she was actually running for student body president.

19:20She often jokes on the campaign trail she's hoping to be two for two because that was an election that she won back in high school. I think as someone now 60 years old, you know I've done the work I've learned a lot of none of us go through life unscathed no one no one gets out of this without the trials we go through I think I'll unpack it more someday because in the world we're in now everything's moving so quickly and obviously we're in the fight of our lives I feel in some ways full circle and whole in a way that I can't explain And I hope someday it'll all make sense to me because it is hard to have someone say what you said was a lie when you've never lied in your life.

20:05You know, it's hard to have people be cruel intentionally. But I'm very determined and I'm a scrappy kid from Youngstown who's not afraid of a fight. And my opponent has said awful, unthinkable things the entire campaign. And Youngstown's not just Amy Acton's hometown, Dana. This is also a place the Democrats are going to have to perform if they want to win this governor's race, if they want Sherrod Brown to make it back to the United States Senate. This is a place that used to be a Democratic stronghold. But over the last two presidential elections, Donald Trump has won here. And the question is, can people like Amy Acton, can the story that she has, can that deliver votes for Democrats in Youngstown?

20:50Lauren, thank you from Youngstown. I said Youngsville for some reason. Could Republicans actually lose five Texas districts that they redrew in their favor? Well, a Democrat fighting for re-election in the Rio Grande Valley will be here next.

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21:28Among the Republican leaders on the trail for critical races today is House Speaker Mike Johnson. He's in Iowa. CNN's Manu Raju caught up with the Speaker while the Speaker was campaigning for vulnerable Republican Congressman Zach Nunn. That was in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Why don't we talk to Mike Johnson about the president's travels and whether or not the president is really helping Republican candidates, as he argues? There's no drag at all. The president's out. No drag. No, no drag at all. The president is out doing these events and he's having huge turnout, as you've seen. It's just like 2024.

22:06That's what it feels like to me. I have been in all the swing districts. I'm going everywhere. I've traveled more campaign more than anybody this whole cycle, of course. and I've seen the voters on the ground. I'm telling you, the polls are wrong. They are inaccurate. They're underrepresenting Republicans, and many of the pollsters have admitted that. I mean, and CNN's run a story this week that acknowledges that 15 out of the last 16 elections, Republicans were underrepresented, underestimated in the October generic ballot by an average of four points. So the polling is inaccurate. Republicans aren't responding anymore.

22:34They're not participating. But then why are you guys battling in these deep red Trump districts? I mean, this is where the battle for the House is. You're spending millions in these very Republican districts. These are difficult districts every cycle. Zach and Marionette Miller-Meeks in Iowa, for example, here. There's some Trump plus 10, Trump plus 14 districts where you guys are fighting right now. Well, you've seen very consistent outcomes in Iowa. We always win, but it's close. I noted to the group here this morning, Marionette Miller-Meeks won her first race a few terms ago by six votes in Iowa.

22:59So Iowa's a battleground for us. We have battlegrounds around the country. Some are in deep blue states. Some are in red states. But that's the way it shakes out. There was redistricting done in a lot of states. And so we have to win in the districts that are presented. and we're leaving everything on the field to get it done. How much does that have to do with concerns about affordability, gas prices, and should your party have done more on issues of gas prices, in particular given the voter blowback here? No, listen, every election is about the economy. It's always about kitchen table issues, as we say.

23:28We have done what we said we're going to do. We gave the largest tax cut in history. What gas prices have done? In Iowa right now, the average Iowan has$3 ,100 in their pocket that they didn't have to send to Washington because of our bill. The average household in Iowa is$6 ,000 plus in real wage increases. We cut taxes on tips, overtime, Social Security. This is real money for hardworking families. Gas prices are too high. But it's a very important distinction. They're too high right now because of the yet unresolved conflict in Iran. We think that turns a corner right after the election. Well, you heard the speaker there, very rosy, saying that they are going to keep the House of Representatives.

24:05But Manu asked the speaker, what happens if they don't? What happens if Democrats do win? And he asked the speaker to address concerns about whether the president and Republicans will accept those results. Will you vow to seat every Democrat who wins on January 3rd? Of course, this is nonsense narrative. We are going to fall the law. What if Trump says it's a rigged election? Look, I'm a constitutional law attorney. I have always been steady and consistent about this. This is going to be a no drama swearing-in ceremony. but we're going to hold the majority and I'm going to be the Speaker of the House.

24:39And when I administer the oath, everyone on January 3rd, we'll administer the oath to everybody. Trump says don't seat them. You'll resist that. I'll do my job as Speaker of the House. The president has vowed, of course, he wants to follow the law as well. That's what's going to happen. Our smart reporters are here now. Tamara, it's so interesting to hear this. He has to say what he's saying, of course. And it is true that a lot of the seats, particularly in Iowa, but around the country, have been close. But it's also true what Manu said, that they are competing in very red territory. They're back on their heels in so many more districts than Republicans had assumed, including districts that were redrawn, intended to benefit them just last year, in the last year.

25:27Yeah, I have reporting out this week that of the 15 districts that were drawn to be more Republican, only about a third of them are thought to be a sure thing for Republicans. The others are much more competitive. They are some of the most competitive and most expensive congressional races in the country, places like Florida 25, the districts in Texas, North Carolina's first congressional district. Millions, like$40 million is being spent on air, according to Add Impact, in some of those races. That is money that they wouldn't have expected to have to spend in districts that are Trump plus 10, Trump plus more.

26:08Talk Trump plus more. The vice president, Elena, is campaigning in New York's 21st congressional district. That is a Trump 21, 21 district. The vice president was there on Monday. And then as we have this discussion, let's just look at the kind of big picture of where we are right now from the Cook Political Report since October of 2025, so since a year ago, that was 206 seats that were likely to solid red, so comfortably red. Now, 181 seats. So you see the drop in enthusiasm according to polls and most importantly here, according to the Cook political ratings. Yeah, no, it's a terrible environment.

26:57And that is what I've been hearing even before we saw the president blitzing, you know, going, I mean, we have 24 rallies was our account, I believe, that he's hit already. Way more to come. He might start doing two days. Actually, he did two yesterday in Texas. Even before that, when I would speak with members of his own political operation, the president's team, both inside and outside the White House, working on this, constantly they would say the national environment is going to screw us. And I'm using a term that they used there, that it's the Iran war, it's gas prices, obviously. And you You heard Mike Johnson trying to defend that.

27:29Manu really trying to get in there and remind him of the question. But that is what is hurting them, and that's why they're being forced to play defense. And one thing I want to hit on as well, because I hear this all the time in my conversations, and Mike Johnson just said it in that clip, is that the polls, they're trying to dismiss the polls, argue, don't pay attention to them. They've been wrong in the past. That may be true. A lot of them believe that. But if you look at the money, if you look at where they're going, that is really, I think, the clearest sign of how concerned they are. And this is not a game that they believed they would have been playing, I think, six months or so ago.

28:00Before the Iran war and the economic retaliation that Iran is doing. You know, I think when we look back on this election, because let's fast forward 10 days from where we are now. Let's assume that most of the contests are cleared and we say, what happened? Look, I think very clearly we can say immediately the Republican Party put up bad candidates this election. It's not that people are looking and thirsting for this whole Democratic ideal. ideal. The Democratic Party has fractured along so many lines with a big part of it now, the Democratic Socialists of America, which scares the heck out of a lot of centrist Democrats.

28:36But then I also think you look at Donald Trump, too, somebody who had raised an incredible amount of money, who sat on that money until just recently in the past month, decided to really start spending. He could have been out on the campaign trail earlier, shoring up some of these Republican districts so he doesn't have to be there now. They could have spent money a little bit earlier. And most importantly, he could have listened to his political advisors. And I think that's the problem with Trump. Trump will always be what he wants to be. But when it comes to listening to people about doing the right thing, not doubling down on stupid things.

29:08Texas. The John Huston thing is now kind of just a joke about how he checks out men's physique, what have you. I mean, the Vivek Ramaswamy, like the backing of that ad, which with anybody with any morals knows that is absolutely ridiculous. Anyway, Donald Trump has refused to help his own party because he has made it about himself. But that's really why Republicans have gotten to where they've gotten, because Donald Trump brought him to the dance and now they have to dance. It's true. Having said all that, I have talked to Democrats who are very worried that late, yes it is, but all of the money that Republicans, Elon Musk, the president, and others are putting in late in the game could lure Republicans either back home or to the ballot box when they were going to stay home.

29:51OK, stand by. Coming up, John King brings his battleground state tour to the all-important state of Ohio. What are voters thinking less than a week away from the election? We'll find out next.

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31:12John King is taking his series all over the map to new places. He's doing a tour of five key battleground states in five days. And it continues today in the all-important state of Ohio, where a key race could determine which party controls the Senate and a governor's race that's been broiled in controversy stemming from an ad that we talked about earlier in the show by Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign. John King is joining me now from Portsmouth, Ohio. What are you finding there, John? Dana, just the fact that you introduced the segment by saying the all-important state of Ohio. It has been a decade in American politics since we have spoken that sentence.

31:53Ohio used to be a bellwether every two years. Donald Trump took it off the map. So why is it a bellwether this year? We can show you, I think, on the side of the screen. There is a critical governor's race here. The Democrats are increasingly confident they can win. Ohio has not elected a Democratic governor in 20 years, not since 2006. There is a competitive Senate race here. The Democrats are increasingly confident they can win. There are four battleground House districts here, only one of them. Ohio 7, that's Marcy Kaptur. You know that district well. She's always targeted by Republicans. She always survives.

32:22At the beginning of the cycle, people thought she would be in trouble. She is increasingly confident. She can hold on. And there are three Republican-held House seats here. Were those Republicans at the beginning of the cycle? They thought those would be easy races. They are competitive to the end. I mentioned, just look at Ohio. Ohio? Trump won this state. Look at the margin, 51 to 55, excuse me, to 44 just two years ago. I'm standing down here in southern Ohio along the Kentucky border in Scioto County. Donald Trump got 74 % of the vote here. Now, Sherrod Brown, the Democratic Senate candidate, he's not going to win in this county.

32:54Amy Acton, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, she's not going to win in this county. But one of the big challenges for Democrats in this midterm year, can they have a modest rebound in rural America? If they do in a state like this, close those margins, it will make a big difference. Listen here. This is Dale King. He's an Iraq War veteran. He's a conservative. He has voted in the past for George Voinovich, a Republican governor and senator here, for John Kasich, a Republican House member and governor here, for Mike DeWine, the current Republican governor. He's even voted in the past for Donald Trump.

33:23He's going to vote blue this year for governor and for Senate. Listen. Let me ask you, lastly, if we wake up Wednesday morning, and a state Donald Trump won pretty easily three times, elects a Democratic governor and a Democratic senator. What's the message to him? It's over. I mean, the big orange balloon that's kind of been hovering over America, the air's finally popped out of it. And he's, you know, it's just... He can only fake it so long. and he's had a good run you know what I mean and I hope that's a message I don't I hope it doesn't embolden the more radical side of the Democratic Party either like it should be a message to both sides like America wants common sense middle ground non-divis like united leadership and I hope that's kind of the main message and that people will you know these career politicians who hung their hitch to Trump will start to realize, like, I need to start voting in the best interests of my people instead of the president.

34:40Wow, John, Dale really just so beautifully summed up not only how he feels, obviously, but how so many others feel that they're sick of Trump, they're mad at Republicans for sticking with him, but don't take the wrong lesson to Democrats. How are you seeing that play out elsewhere in Ohio on your map? Not just in Ohio, Dana, everywhere we go, right? So you talk about up here, you know, this is Ohio, let's just go. I've been in touch with the Democratic Party chairman in Mahoning County. That's Youngstown, Ohio, right? Look at, you know, Trump turned that. He flipped it. It's a blue-collar union.

35:13He flipped it, blue-to-white. He thinks the Democrats are going to carry there. He thinks Sherrod Brown's the right candidate there. But even as you talk to the voters when you travel this state on our last trip here, this state here, we're just getting started, but in the gym here. Look, this is not, if the Democrats win the House and maybe even the Senate, if the Democrats pick up a number of these gubernatorial races in Iowa, for example, here in Ohio, for example, maybe in Texas, for example, that they haven't won in a decade or more, sometimes two decades or more, they should not wake up Wednesday morning and say America loves us.

35:41America is mad at what it's got. It is mad at high diesel prices. Dale, particularly as a veteran, is furious at the commander in chief for starting a war that he sees no plan for and he sees no exit strategy for. There's not a love for the Democrats. There is disenchantment, sometimes disillusionment, sometimes downright anger at what they have. And so they're voting against where we are. It's not an embrace. You'll find some people, by the way, don't get me wrong, who are happy to vote for Democratic candidates, but just in Iowa yesterday, a young progressive who says all the Democrats and I are running to the middle right now.

36:10That's disappointing. I'm going to vote for them. I want to flip blue, but we've got a long way to go. You don't find too many people doing cartwheels about this election, even the Democrats who might be about to win. Absolutely fascinating. Thank you so much for coming up again today. We'll see you tomorrow. Thanks, John. Don't go anywhere. A lot more on Inside Politics when we come back.

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36:53When Texas Republicans pushed through a new congressional map in their state, they hoped it would win five extra House seats before the votes even began. It's not clear that's really going to turn out the way they planned. One of those districts was Texas 34, a majority Latino district in the Rio Grande Valley. President Trump won this district by about 10 points under the new lines. And a new poll shows Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez leading his Republican opponent, Eric Flores. Congressman Gonzalez joins me now. Thank you so much for being here. So as I mentioned, your district is heavily Latino, three-quarters Latino to be specific.

37:33And a lot of those voters swung towards Donald Trump two years ago. There are signs in the polls that they're turning away from him. And if you look at the early voting data, Latino voters make up a bigger share of voters than they did two or even four years ago, meaning that turnout is higher. What's your argument to those voters who voted for Trump and you want to vote for you? Well, obviously they've been misled and they were lied to and there were a lot of unfulfilled promises that the president said. He said we were going to get out of a war that we didn't. We weren't going to go into any new wars, which we did.

38:10He said he was going to lower prices of food and gas and just living expenses. And that has not happened. And people are disillusioned. And on top of that, the hyper-aggressive ICE raids that we've experienced in South Texas and across the country have been very offensive to Latino Americans living in this country. And I think that they're going to pay a heavy price for it at the ballot box. They're paying for it already. Turnout is incredibly high throughout the congressional district, especially in the most Latino portions of my district. So I think that punishment is on its way. The president was there, as I mentioned, campaigning for your opponent just yesterday.

38:50In a recent Fox poll, Trump's approval was nine percentage points underwater. Having said that, are you worried that the rally he did in Texas and other moves that Republican allies are making to try to boost his vote, maybe people who weren't going to go to the polls but now might because they heard from the president, could work? yeah so uh rallies don't lower food prices and gasoline prices and don't provide health care for the american people and in fact i believe that when he comes to my district it excites democrats even more to go out to the polls we were we we welcome him to come down here because it wakes up more latinos to realize that hey he's in trouble he knows he's in trouble he knows what he did was wrong and painful to the american people he's trying to make up for it in a couple of weeks.

39:40I don't believe it's going to work. Now, having said that, we never take anything for granted. We've knocked on almost 170 ,000 doors. We're working hard from sunup to sundown every single day to the last minute of the last day in Election Day. I want to ask you about the border. You mentioned immigration. There will be a lot of Democrats in the next Congress who want to abolish ICE. You've criticized the administration's immigration enforcement, as you did just now, but you haven't gone as far as saying abolish ICE. What should your party do about immigration and ICE specifically if you win majority?

40:16Well, abolish is kind of like a pretty strong word, but I think we need to reform ICE. I think we need to get rid of a bunch of rogue agents. But there are a lot of good agents that work in ICE, that handle our trade, that handle border security, that do a lot of good work in my community, in my district. And I give them a lot of credit for the hard work they do. It's disheartening for me and for many of them that I have a very good relationship with when they see these new policies that have come out of this administration with a lot of new agents that haven't been properly trained and have been directed to really just bring abuse to the streets of the American people, and especially in Latino communities.

40:51And people are very upset. Many of the agents will tell me privately that they don't agree with the policies that have come out. Some of our local law enforcement has to assist ICE because of the governor and some of the agreements that have been made with the administration. But they're very upset that they're having to do this. Just the fact that you have these unmarked vehicles with masked agents popping up out of nowhere and tackling people with a weed eater in their hand or a lawnmower, pushing a lawnmower and beating them to the pulp is shocking to most Americans. Not only Latino Americans, just good, red blooded Americans.

41:28This is not what we've seen. the images we've seen on social media and on the news is not the America the world knows and loves, and it's not who we really are. And we know when we see these images and when we see these policies coming out of the administration that we need to change course. And I think that is exactly what is happening at the ballot box. And these overwhelming numbers in districts that Democrats should have lost or should be losing are actually reflecting the policies this administration has spit forth. All right. Thank you so much for being here, Texas Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez.

42:02We should note that we've asked your opponent, Eric Flores, for an interview and hopes we hope that he can join us. Thanks again. Thank you for joining Inside Politics today. CNN News Central starts after a quick break.

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