Election Day Showdown for Congress

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1:14It's Election Day in America. I'm Wolf Blitzer. And I'm Erin Burnett, live in Texas. And Wolf, right now millions and millions of Americans are voting in all 50 states. That's absolutely right, Erin. They're casting their ballots to decide who controls Congress for the next two years. as voters in 36 states also deciding who will control the governor's mansion. It's the first nationwide verdict on Trump's second term so far as president. He heads into today with the lowest approval rating of any president in decades. And Wolf, as I mentioned, I'm here in Texas, home to one of the most watched Senate races of this entire election.

1:56That is the race between the Democrat James Tallarico and Ken Paxton, the Republican. Texas is a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate in nearly four decades, but it is one of 35 Senate seats in play today. Now, Democrats need a net gain of four of those to take control of the Senate. And here in Texas, we've seen voters lining up, of course, across the United States as well, lines to cast their ballot, Election Day voters. And by the way, I'm emphasizing Election Day because, Wolf, This is on top of the more than 57 million people who already voted in early voting. And that's a record.

2:33Certainly is. It's very impressive. And Aaron, in the House of Representatives, all 435 seats are up for grabs this time. Republicans on defense, as polls show, Democrats are widely favored to win control. All they need are three seats to take back the gavel. This is also one of the most expensive midterms ever. roughly$12 billion spent, more than half a billion spent on the Texas Senate race alone. We, of course, have our reporters across the country watching all of this, including in Texas, Kansas, and Michigan right now. We're going to start things off in battleground Michigan, home to one of the fiercest battles for the U.S.

3:14Senate between Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed. This race was rocked two days ago when Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens changed her endorsement from El-Sayed to his Republican rival. Our Brian Todd is at a polling station in Detroit. Brian, what are you hearing from folks where you are?

3:37Well, Wolf, a lot of energy today. They're very excited to come out and vote. I've asked everyone about the Haley Stevens thing. I'm going to get to that in just a second. Let's just give you the layout here. Every place is different, you know, on every election day. They have different rules, different layouts. We're at Northwestern High School in Detroit, where you've got to walk up four flights of, short flights, but four flights of stairs. We are not allowed beyond this point, but you can see some people casting their paper ballots over there. There's also an electronic system there where if people who are handicapped need some help, they can cast their ballots that way.

4:06Again, we're not allowed beyond this point, but it's been very busy here. Okay, you mentioned the Haley Stevens situation, the controversy there. I'm with Kimberly Jordan. She's a longtime Detroit voter, and she's going to talk to us here about her viewpoint, about the Haley Stevens thing. You said it didn't really sway your vote, but what did you think of the Haley Stevens move to endorse Mike Rogers, Kimberly? Yes, I'm not sure what our motives were behind that, but I don't think that it'll change anyone's views as far as, you know, how their vote because people are just ready for change. And that's the bottom line.

4:41The most urgent issue for you. Now, there have been a lot of urgent issues for Michiganders that we've talked to people about in the last few days. Prices are a huge issue. What's the most urgent for you? I would say gas prices, food prices, and also the cuts they're making to people's medical insurance. I mean, you have to have medical insurance to live, and I just don't think it's fair. I think it should be a right for everyone. All right. One thing I've been asking people, too, is about the ads. I've noticed that the political ads on both sides are kind of nasty. What do you think of all that?

5:13Yeah, I think it's been kind of underhanded. I'm not sure where politics is going right now in this era, but I think everyone needs to grow up, basically. That's a good finishing point. Thank you very much, Kimberly. Kimberly's daughter, Krishan, is filming us, by the way. While I'm filming this, she's filming us. Again, part of the fun of covering an election day here. And again, we had a rush of voters here. Okay, so the closing time, that is a bit of an issue. Polls close here in the lower part of Michigan at 8 p.m. Eastern time. So people have about eight hours to come in and vote here. In the western upper peninsula of Michigan, polls polls at 9 p.m.

5:50Eastern. That gets a bit confusing, but for most of the state, Wolf, they've got about eight hours to come in here. People here tell us they do expect more of a crush of people around the rush hour time after people get off of work. Wolf? All right, Brian Todd on the scene for us in Michigan, watching all of this very, very closely. I want to go to CNN's Kylie Atwood right now. She's at a polling location just outside of Kansas City, Kansas, speaking to voters about this highly contested Senate race between Democrat Adam Hamilton and Republican Roger Marshall. Update our viewers, Kylie. Yeah, well, fun fact for you, Wolf.

6:25We're actually at Congregation Beth Torah. It is a newly revived polling location. The reason for that is because right down the road, there's a megachurch where the people in this area used to cast their ballots. But that is the church that was co-founded by Adam Hamilton more than 30 years ago because it's considered his former place of business. It couldn't be a polling location. So they've redirected those voters to come here today. I just want to give you a sense. It's moving really smoothly as far as we've seen all day. People come in the door. They check in right here. They go over there and they make their selections up and down the ballot.

7:01and then they walk right over to the other side of the room and actually cast their ballots and walk out of the room. So it's been a really smooth process. Folks that we have talked to have voted for both Adam Hamilton and Senator Marshall. But when we talk to folks about Adam Hamilton, it's really economic issues that is driving them to back him. I talked to one woman who said to me that she is a small business owner and the tariffs they manufacture here in the United States, but they draw parts from all over the world, and President Trump's tariffs have really hit her. She's never voted in the midterms before.

7:35She's a lifelong Democrat, but she's never actually come out and voted in the midterms, but now she is, and it's because of those tariffs. There's another woman that I spoke to, Susan Sturve. She's a 52-year-old teacher. She is actually a lifelong Republican, but recently she shifted. She's now a Democrat. She voted for Adam Hamilton. Listen to part of her conversation with me. I voted for Trump. I voted for Marshall. And I'm just kind of tired of the way everything's been going. So I just decided to make a change this year. How does that feel? A little scary. Family members texted me this morning telling me to vote Republican because everybody else in my family is Republican.

8:23So that's the exact type of voter that the Adam Hamilton camp is looking for. Johnson County, where we are, is the most populous county in the entire state. It's one of the few counties that actually voted for Biden and Kamala Harris in the presidential in 2020 and 2024. So if the Hamilton camp is going to pull off a victory here, they need all the voters that they can get in this county. Wolf. All right, Kylie, thank you very, very much. We'll stay in close touch with you as well. Erin, back to you. All right, Wolf, and I want to go now to Ed Lavendera because he's here in Texas. He's in Allen, Texas, where, Ed, you know, we're hearing voters in Michigan there and voters in Kansas, and you've been speaking to voters here in Texas about the Tallarico Paxton race, about the Abbott-Hinohosa race.

9:09That's, of course, between the Democrat Gina Hinojosa and the current sitting governor, Greg Abbott. What are they telling you?

9:18Well, we are here in the northern suburbs of Dallas, and this is going to be key and one of the major keys in this race because this is Ken Paxton's home county. He lives close by here. In fact, he was saying at his event last night, this Allen Public Library is where he'd held one of his first campaign events when he ran, started running for public office. And what is really interesting here is that this county, these suburban counties, I think will give Republicans a good idea of what to expect on this election night. In talking to Republican strategists and consultants over the last few days, they're really worried about the turnout here in these types of places.

9:58Rural Texas, suburban Texas, which has been really kind of like the backbone of the Republican Party for more than 30 decades. Remember, a Democrat has not won a statewide race here in the state in more than 30 years. So I've been told that there's some concerns about the number of Republican voters turning out. So we will continue to monitor that. But these campaigns, the Tallarico campaign, the Paxson campaign, have really been bombarding voters with campaign ads for more than a month now. We talked to one voter about how they take all of that information and what they do with it. He gave us a pretty interesting answer.

10:38Trash. It's basically trash. It's trash talk. In the end, you've got to do your own research. You've got to figure out what the individual really stands for. And I feel like it's important that we all do our best to try to really vet the information that we're hearing. Because most of it is when you're hearing is they're trying to, I guess, trigger. And that's what these ads are about. They're about triggering people and they trigger you in one way or another. And I expect that, you know, if you feel very emotional about something that you heard on TV or on the radio or wherever you may have seen it, it's important that you actually look into the data and try to really understand what's actually happening.

11:18So the trash talking, as that voter said, comes to an end here in a few hours. But there has been more than$400 million of advertising spent on this campaign. The Paxton side spending about 275 of that total. So Texas voters, Aaron, as you've probably seen since you've arrived, have been bombarded for the better part of the last month. Yeah, yeah. I mean, we said the Fort Worth market and now here in Austin, we, you know, and you talking to that voter saying they're sick of the trash talking. We heard that at our town hall that we had with Mr. Tallarico that people were really, really sick of that.

11:55So we'll see if that had an impact on it. It seemed to go both ways. Thank you very much, Ed. Everyone's here with me now. So, Jeff Zeleny, interesting, because you've been to all of the states that we just heard reporters from. But we heard up in Michigan one of the voters that Brian spoke to. Ultimately, she wants change. The voter in Kansas, Republican, voted Trump, voted Marshall, the Republican, now incumbent, said, nope, this time I'm going with the Democrat, Adam Hamilton, and, of course, the race here in Texas that all eyes are on. What kind of connects all these things, if anything? Well, there definitely is a lot of connectors through all of the states that bring us right here to the red state of Texas.

12:30And that is the economy, the hunger for change, the president's disapproval rating, the Iran war. Those are consistent themes as I have traveled around this midterm election year. That comes up everywhere you go. Of course, there are differences. And one of the key differences to keep in mind as we watch the votes being cast here in Kansas and Texas. Adam Hamilton, the Democratic candidate, and James Tallarico, the Democratic candidate here in Texas, are doing more than running against their opponents. They're also running against the idea of a Democratic Senate majority as they try to win over some Republican voters.

13:02For both of them to be successful, they have to have this coalition that is Democrats, yes, but also independents and some Republicans. So just the idea of a Republican casting a vote because they like Adam Hamilton or James Tallarico, it also means we could be voting for a Democratic majority. So that is an extra step. There are many who will do that. But I talked to a Democratic retiree, a voter here last night. She said she was fired by Doge. She is very an eager Democratic voter for James Tallarico. I said, well, how are you feeling? She said, I have butterflies in my stomach because we've almost been here before.

13:35So in Texas here, that is the question. What differs this from 2018 with Beto O 'Rourke and Ted Cruz? The big thing, the economy and how the president is viewed. He was still viewed pretty favorably at that point. So that's the difference. And Beto O 'Rourke only lost by two and a half points. It's interesting, though, Lulu, you know, when you look at this, what a red wave looks or blue wave would look like. To Jeff's point, in Kansas, in Texas, those candidates are trying to run on, it's me, not a Democratic Senate. Right. Remember James Tallarico in our town hall, he literally said, I am not a Democrat.

14:09Yes. I am not a Republican. I'm a Texan. The whole point was identify me differently. Well, I will say that you're hearing Republicans also making that same message in some of these states, saying, I'm not exactly with the president. I'm an independent. Mike Rogers. Mike Rogers. Everyone is trying to run away from the bad labels because why? You hear this from voters. They are tired of everybody. They are sick of the nastiness, the partisanship, and they don't want to see their politics that way. I will say the other differentiator in this particular race, Ken Paxton. He is a very deeply flawed candidate.

14:42And so that has provided an opening for Tallarico in a way that perhaps Gina Hinojosa, who's running for the governor's mansion seat, is going to face a little bit more headwinds. Interesting, Joan. I was talking to someone Republican in the Houston suburbs. Voted Tallarico, voted against Bro French, voted Democrat for the AG, and then Republican down the line. Yeah. That includes Greg Abbott. That's going to be one of the most interesting things to look at in the autopsies of all of this, is how much of the undervote is people leaving things blank, saying, I can't vote for this Republican, but I'm going to vote for everybody down ballot.

15:17I think we're going to see, I think Abbott running for governor is going to overperform Paxton and Beau French by significant numbers. Now, what those numbers actually are, I don't know. But I also think it's worth looking at the fact that, you know, there's definitely something like a blue wave going on. At least it's perfectly reasonable to think that. But there's also an anti-incumbent wave. And that's one of the reasons why Democrats in blue states, Democrats seem to be underperforming in blue states and overperforming in red states. Because in the blue states, it's the anti-incumbent thing is a headwind a little bit more for them.

15:53But in the red states, it's the change election stuff, which is really helping them. And Trump spoke again this morning. I remember yesterday, you know, kind of his closing message was given by the reflecting pool. And, you know, talked about the algae and the grass and the golf courses and the arch. And this is what he said this morning. The reflecting pool is gorgeous. We opened up 83 statues, monuments, things that were abandoned for 50 years. They were loaded up with red graffiti. They look beautiful, better than when they were built. And it's a beautiful place. I don't want to read anything to what Dan Magino is thinking.

16:30I wouldn't pretend to do that. But, you know, to me, he looks a little bit like, oh, no, really? This is what it's going to be? I mean, that's been about the last 24 hours of Republicans watching what the president is doing. I mean, the reality here is the one thing that is really the biggest question for today. Are Republicans here in Texas and a few other places going to put those jerseys on, those Trump jerseys that they wore in 2024, and vote for him despite things? Some are, of course. And that is why Democrats are not hugely optimistic. They are cautiously optimistic. But there is not a sensible Tallarico staffer or supporter here in Texas I've talked to who thinks that this is an easy race tonight.

17:09This is a deep red state. So if the president is able to reach out to people, he's getting a lot of attention for this. The question is, it's not 2024. He's been trying to do that. And, you know, the reflecting pool thing, that's also a through line. Everywhere he goes, the Trump rallies I've been at, the smallest amount of applause, the quietest the room is when he's talking about these Washington projects. People outside of D.C. do not care. And that's at a rally with the jerseys on. Yeah, exactly. And yet he continues this because this is the thing that he's been obsessed over. And if you think about 2024 and the coalition that Trump managed to assemble, Latinos, men, you know, you just saw, you know, even black men, you really saw a shift.

17:53It was this moment when Republicans really felt like, oh, my goodness, not only did Trump storm back to the White House and have this incredible comeback, but he's done it on the back of just a coalition that is very unusual for Republicans. And now you're seeing all of those voters turning the other way. Yeah, I mean, the Trump coalition of 2024, you know, which Marco Rubio hailed as this new, you know, transracial, multiracial working class workers party. That's what the Republican Party was. Yeah, I think the fundamental mistake that the White House has made since 2024 is assuming that every marginal, every swing state, every non-college educated working class guy who was nostalgic for the pre-COVID economy, who voted because they didn't like Biden's inflation, that simply casting a ballot for Trump meant that you were all in on the MAGA agenda.

18:47And that's what's blown up in his face, is that a lot of these Hispanics did not vote for, you know, ICE going into communities and blowing everything up. And they've looked contemptuously on, you know, there's some great data about how Indian Americans were inching close to becoming majority Republican in this state. And all of the stuff from Beau French, who you mentioned, running for railroad commissioner, who's just a bigot when it comes to Indian Americans. The picture that had brown kids in it at, I guess, the Texas game. It's like to get rid of them. It's like Stephen Miller is sitting in some sort of supervillain headquarters saying how can I blow up this coalition.

19:22And one other thing we love to say because I'm listening to it and I'm looking at it right the construction here in Austin the growth here in Austin. Obviously that's brought a lot of people from a lot of different states into Texas. But this is also where Elon Musk has his big Texas presence and he has been the single single biggest individual donor to Paxton right and his pack helping Paxton in the state and And this whole sort of anti the very, very few billionaires message has resonated here and elsewhere. Yeah, I mean, I think definitely for Democrats, Elon Musk has become a supervillain.

19:57They see him as, you know, a spoiler. They see all this money. He is the richest man not in the country, in the world, pouring just billions of dollars into the country. But he is also in this state a huge employer. So they, I mean, I interviewed Gina Hinojosa, who's running for governor. And she really was trying to, you know, talk about his influence, say how he had to pay his fair share, but also be very cognizant that jobs are at stake when you were talking about Elon Musk. He occupies in this particular state where his businesses are headquartered, you know, this dual role. But in terms of his campaign contributions, it's opened the door for Tallarico to really have a fresh view on the corruption message.

20:36Yeah. Talking about how much money is being spent here. That has been one of surprising things. This is the most expensive race for non-presidential campaign that we have ever seen in the U.S. Which is stunning. That's why it's so extraordinary, because of people like Elon Musk. And I'll remind everybody that if John Cornyn were on the ballot, that would not be the case. And we would not be here. All true. All right. But we are here, and we're going to be here all night. And next, we're going to take you live to Ohio, where Democrats are hoping to pick up a crucial Senate seat and win the race for governor.

21:05Those races coming into this were neck and neck. So it's going to come down to Election Day. And we're going to go to the magic wall to break down the top things that we'll be looking for tonight as the results come in. We'll be right back.

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22:14Welcome back to Election Day in America. Democrats tonight hoping to recapture at least some of the ground they've lost to President Trump in recent years. Former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown vying for a comeback after losing his seat two years ago. This time around, he's taking on John Husted in what has become one of the costliest and most hard-fought races in the country. Let's see how things are going so far in Ohio. Lauren Fox is standing by in the capital of Columbus at a polling station. So, Lauren, how is the voting going so far? What are you seeing? What are you hearing?

22:51Yeah, I mean, it was just a short time ago that John Husted actually came to this polling place to cast his own vote, obviously running against Sherrod Brown in that hotly contested and expensive Senate race that could determine the control of the United States Senate. And of course, I was talking to so many voters out here today. There's really a mix of independents, Republicans, Democrats. And I did run into John Husted's neighbors who had walked from their home and had come to this polling place where then they saw their neighbor, John Husted, as well. And while they said they are voting for John Husted, they may be splitting their ticket.

23:26Take a listen to Mark Watson. How did you get to the place of deciding to vote for Amy Acton? How did I get there? Just by observing. I read a lot. I read a lot of Wall Street Journal. I watch some news. It's just my opinion. Republicans are going in the wrong direction.

23:54And I did ask John Husted today whether or not he worries that if that controversial ad from Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign that featured the estranged mother of Amy Acton would have an impact on his race. He said he'd already answered that question a number of times over the course of the last several weeks, but he said he's learned in politics. You can't be worried about things that are outside of your control. Wolf, Aaron. All right. Lauren Fox in Columbus, Ohio for us. Thank you very, very much. And joining us now, an excellent, truly excellent panel. We've got Audie Cornish, CNN political anchor and political analyst, Estet Herndon.

24:29CNN special correspondent Jamie Gangell is with us as well. All three of you are really excellent analysts, and we're going to get your opinions and your analysis right now. The governor's race in Ohio made headlines over a very controversial ad from Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign using his opponent's estranged mother. Here's what Amy Acton had to say this morning. This morning, listen. We've always been up in double digits by independents and Republicans crossing over. It's what we've seen on the ground. It just hasn't known party. I do know and believe that my opponent crossed the line. Five living governors on both sides denounced what he did.

25:13I have felt all along that there's no low he won't go to. I think he is out of touch. He's out for himself. And I've always felt he was a danger to our state. And here's what Ramaswamy had to say. Listen. If I have one suggestion to those who are deciding how to vote today, vote for the person who can actually make your life better. Vote for the person who you believe in your heart of heart is actually going to make your family's life better. That's all that matters. Everything else is noise. Nothing else matters. The politics, the media, the noise, it's all irrelevant. All right, let's start with Jamie.

25:56Jamie, what does this ad say about this race as a whole? Look, we will know at the end of the day or maybe tomorrow morning how the votes come in. But when I speak to sources, both Republican sources and Democrats about Ohio, his biggest attack became his biggest liability. And they feel there is still a backlash going. Strategists and political consultants use negative ads because they work. But this one, you know, by all accounts went too far. One note, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the newspaper there, has a policy of not endorsing. They broke that policy and they endorsed because they felt this ad went too far.

26:46Yeah, I noticed that myself. Ested, do you think he was in a better position before or after this ad? I think Ramaswamy, like a lot of Republicans, are in a tough position, largely because of Donald Trump. I mean, Trump's approval rating today, even in the New Worlders poll, is at 32 percent. That's largely because of a collapse in people's trust on the economy. But I was at a Vivek Ramaswamy event in Ohio a couple months ago. He got booze from his own crowd on issues like data centers or public education. This is someone who's been an uncomfortable fit with that Republican base over a long time.

27:17And I think he also confirmed people's character questions about him and confirmed Amy Acton's charge that he was about himself using this ad. And so I certainly think it has had a blowback. You can see that even among some Republicans. But we should acknowledge Republican voters have made kind of moral steps along the way, even to bring in a figure like Donald Trump. But we're seeing some people, I think, really push back against the tone of negativity that was not just in Ohio. But I would also call out the Islamophobic ads in Michigan, too. We're seeing some voters push back against some of the lowest form of politics.

27:48Because in a way, sometimes a negative ad, like in this case, can elevate the story and not in ways that you expected. Instead, what happened with Acton is she was able to tell a more fulsome account of what happened. And that affected especially women out there, the suburban women who are listening. And I think it's notable that Vance went to Ohio, right? That's where he was giving his closing message, which came down to sort of common sense versus crazy. And I think that is an interesting message. I'm not clear if it's a good fit for Ohio, where that's not exactly what's going on. Good point indeed.

28:19President Trump has flaunted a, quote, strong veto, his words, a strong veto if Democrats win the majority in Congress, but hopes to make deals, he says. Audie, how likely is the president to actually cut these deals across the aisle? And what message does all this send to voters? Well, number one, clearly there are doubts, right? If you're already talking about what is going to happen after. But also Democrats have to come up with a plan. We know they've lawyered up when it comes to oversight and things like that. People are starting to call more lawyers into Washington. And now if you are able to win voters over, are you saying to them, we have a plan to bring down prices?

28:56or are you saying to them, we have a plan to spend the next two years in investigations of one kind or another? Which is the priority and which do you think is more appealing to your independent voter? Yeah, good point. This morning, President Trump made an important announcement about U.S. military aid to Israel. Listen to this. We were giving them$4 billion. We are, but it gets cut off at the end of the year. Why? Why? Because they don't need it, Brian. I mean, I asked them because they don't need it. And because why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El Sayyad when they don't need it?

29:33It's a bad it's a bad talking point because we say, why don't we give everybody four billion dollars? Israel's our number one. We give them more than anybody else. And they no longer need it. The president invoking Abdul El Sayyad in Michigan, who has been outspoken, as all of you know, about suspending aid to Israel instead. Is this enough to make any difference on those still on the fence right now? I think it's a naked political play by Trump, and it's also an acknowledgment of a shifting electoral reality. To answer your question, I don't expect it to shift people in the short term, but this is a true problem on the Republican side of the coin also.

30:10I was at Trump's UFC event in Michigan talking to young men and kind of why they turned on him, and you heard people bring up aid to Israel several times. I mean, and I think on the Democratic side, I think this has been presented as a political liability for El Sayed for far too long, I would say. I mean, if we acknowledge where Democrats are on the issue, 77 percent of Democrats think that Israel committed a genocide in Gaza. The New York Times, the Siena poll says 74 percent of Democrats think any additional economic or military support for Israel. They don't want to see that. And so this has actually brought him closer to some parts of the electorate.

30:44So I think that's why you're seeing Trump shift on it. Also, the electorate has changed on this question. And at the same time, progressives and particularly the left have seized on that. Jamie, what do you think? One group it's going to hurt him with. I spoke to a major Republican Jewish donor who could not believe that this was the message. And if, you know, someone like Mike Rogers was depending on Jewish votes in Michigan, you know, a lot of Jewish voters who are pro-Israel have depended on Republican candidates, on President Trump for support. They're looking at this. And this donor said to me, I don't understand the political calculation.

31:26That is really crazy. Where it matters is they turn out. If you want to please the low propensity young man who is against the war, this is happy. But we don't know if they're going to turn out. So it's who are you making happy? I thought it was interesting today that some of Prime Minister Netanyahu's political opponents in Israel are now saying Netanyahu is to blame for this cutoff of U.S. military aid to Israel. It's going to hurt Israel militarily, strategically, and they're blaming Netanyahu for giving a wink and a nod, if you will, to President Trump on this very, very sensitive issue. Guys, stand by.

31:59We're going to have continuing conversations on all of these important issues. Up next, reports of voting machine issues in a New York district where the Republican incumbent is locked in an incredibly close race. We have details. That's next.

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32:56And welcome back to Election Day in America. I'm Erin Burnett today, live in Texas. And voters across this country now are heading to the polls in what has been a bitter, multi-billion dollar battle for control of Congress. One house race Democrats want to flip as a New York City suburb. This one has gotten a lot of attention. This is where Republican incumbent Mike Lawler is in a tough fight with the Democrat Kate Conley. Now, voting machines in a key part of that district this morning just weren't functioning. They had issues. They were unable to accept paper ballots. Some people who were voting were told there's something we can do about it, come back later in the day, which, of course, raises questions when they plan their day around that.

33:35Will they be able to get back and vote? Gloria Pazmino is in Ossining in Westchester County. That was one of the places where they were having those issues with the voting machines. So, Gloria, what's the latest there?

33:47Yeah, Erin, we just got an update from the State Board of Elections, which has had to step in to help the County Board of Elections deal with this issue. And we're now just learning exactly what happened. Because of an update that had to be made to some of these voting machines, the wrong update was put in. And that led to the issues of the ballots not being properly read this morning. The issue is still ongoing. But what's very important to highlight is that the Board of Elections is telling people here in Westchester County, part of the 17th Congressional District, that they can still vote. They have put contingency plans in place.

34:28You can fill out your ballot. It will be placed into an emergency bag, and those ballots will be counted first tonight. We caught up with Congressman Mike Lawler. He is the Republican incumbent in this district defending his seat from Democrat Kate Conley, who is challenging him, hoping to flip this district back to the Democrats after Lawler flipped it from the Democrats back in 2022. Take a listen. Every ballot will be counted and everybody should be rest assured that their vote will count. They should wait on line. I know the lines may be impacted a little bit with some delays, but do not leave the line.

35:07make sure you vote your vote will be counted

35:14now very important to highlight Kate Conley the Democrat also echoing the same sentiment if you are at a polling station that's having issues do not leave you can still vote it's not ideal you probably have to wait a little longer but your vote will be counted now that we know what the The issue is, the question is, how long is it going to take for them to solve it? We've been talking with county and state officials. The hope is they will be able to fix it by the end of polls closing tonight at 9. But then the question is, will it affect the count going into this evening? Erin? Yeah, absolutely.

35:56And as you point out, that's a really crucial congressional race that everyone's watching. Gloria, thank you very much. And Wolf, I know you're with Omar, who has even more on this. And we're going to bring him in. Omar is joining us right now to discuss what's going on with these voting machine issues in New York's Westchester County. Omar, what more are officials saying about what the hell is going on? Yeah, what the hell is going on is right. And, you know, we heard a little bit from Gloria. This issue resulted from an update to the Election Day voting equipment that was tested. but that happened after this update happened after their initial preparation and testing of the election day voting equipment.

36:32There was a change affecting one race and a race in one municipality that required updated election programming. It was tested in that municipality, but other machines in the county continued to use the original programming so they couldn't recognize and accept the ballots that were coming in today. Bottom line, Westchester County outside New York City is having these issues scanning ballots throughout the county. They're essentially having issues accepting paper ballots. Now, as we go through, the critical portion here is voters can still cast their ballots. So as you heard from some of the officials there, but for now, they're being placed in these orange emergency ballot bags, essentially to be put to the side until these can be counted properly.

37:11And then we look at the county itself. We've got hundreds of thousands, you know, just about 650 ,000 active voters here. And part of these voters are within Republican Congressman Mike Lawler's congressional district in his closely watched race against Kate Conley. The crucial thing here is if this race ends up close, which it's polled to be so to this point, this dynamic could end up delaying when we get a real sense of the vote, but also could end up delaying when we know about the critical House race that Democrats are hoping to flip here, contributing to control of Congress. We've been spending a lot of time watching this specific race out in Westchester County, just outside of New York City.

37:48Omar Jimenez, thank you very, very much. Erin, back to you. All right, Wolf. And I want to bring in now the Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who joins us. So Congressman Khanna, obviously, you know, talking about this issue in Westchester County, Congressman Lawler's district is a crucial one, right, in the House races. He has come out and said he's calm. Every single ballot will be counted in Westchester County. But Katie Miller, the wife of the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller has already been baselessly floating cheating allegations as if this was somehow done on purpose. Are you worried that we're going to see more accusations like that, whether here or elsewhere?

38:31Well, it's unfortunate because it just erodes the basic trust that Americans have in our democracy. Congressman Lawler is taking the reasonable position, which is let's make sure every ballot is counted and let's have a fair election. To cast dispersions of cheating and trying to delegitimize results is not just hurting Republicans or the White House. It's hurting American democracy. But I am convinced that we're going to have an overwhelming win today with the House of Representatives. We just need people to go and vote. People are tired of this president. You know, in some of the states we were hearing reporters speak from earlier, whether it was Kansas or Michigan, one thing that stood out, Congressman, was that they wanted change, right?

39:18It was less a pro the candidate they were voting for in both of those cases. It happens to be the Democrat. And it was more we don't want what we have now. So in your home state of California, you've endorsed three challengers to incumbent Democratic House members, members that you serve with now, right? I guess you could have sat this one out, right? It's not a Democrat versus a Republican. It's D on D. And one of those challengers is a Democratic Socialist. Another is endorsed by the DSA. The third is a populist taking on a 27-year incumbent. Like I said, it's Democrat on Democrat, but you did choose to speak out.

39:55I'm wondering, Congressman, are you now making a statement that you see yourself as firmly in the DSA, ultra-progressive wing of your party?

40:06I'm a progressive capitalist. I represent the district in Silicon Valley that has one third of the nation's wealth. But I'm not for this economy working not just for the few billionaires in my district, but for the people I grew up with in Pennsylvania. The reason I've endorsed challengers at risk to blow back from the establishment in my own party is I just think that voters want to change. They want a new generation. They want folks who are going to fight against all the money in politics. They want people who are going to fight for Medicare for all, for a living wage, for fair taxation on billionaires, for a new industrial strategy.

40:42They want fresh blood. And that's why I've endorsed across the country. Well, there's going to be a lot to talk to you about, because obviously, if you're right and the Democrats win the House, the current person on track to be the speaker is certainly not as progressive and not not in that direction. I'm talking about Hakeem Jeffrey. So there will be a lot of conversations to have in the next few days if it goes that way. But here we are now with people still voting. So let me ask you about where the people are voting at this moment. And let's talk about Michigan. Closely contested Senate race.

41:14Right. So much conversation there. And that's where Abdul El-Sayed is against Mike Rogers. Now, that race got shaken up by House member, your Democratic colleague, Haley Stevens, who lost in the primary to El-Sayed, come out this weekend, endorses Rogers, appears with him. It was a huge surprise to some of your colleagues who had even spoken with her hours before. And she had assured them no such thing was going to happen. And then it did. So what do you think is going to happen now? I mean, some sources are telling us House Democrats are discussing, ejecting her from the Democratic caucus after this.

41:50Here's my problem with what Haley Stevens has done. Look, I've known her since the Obama administration. She did great work with Ron Bloom on the auto task force. We served together in the Obama administration. If she had refrained from endorsing Abdul because of philosophical disagreements, I wouldn't have an issue with that. I was a day one endorser for Abdul, but I would respect that difference. My problem is why she went and endorsed Mike Rogers, who we know has engaged one of the most hateful campaigns that this country has seen in modern history. I mean, he's out there calling Abdul a terrorist.

42:25He's out there calling Abdul a person from the Muslim Brotherhood. Patrick Gaspard said that there is more racism than Mike Rogers has exhibited than faced President Obama. And President Obama called that out. So the problem that people have with Haley Stevens is not that she exercised her conscience. It is that she's endorsing a campaign filled with hate and bigotry. All right. Well, Congressman Kahn, I appreciate your time and thank you very much. And I'll look forward to those conversations with you in the coming days as we see what happens here today. So thank you so much. And we are counting down now until the first polls close.

43:03So people still voting across this country, but we're hours away from the first closures. And we're going to take you to the magic wall to tell you what to be looking for, time, hour by hour, as the results start coming in.

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44:12Welcome back to Election Day in America. After months of mudslinging, rallies, and historic spending, it all comes down to this. Millions, millions right now heading to the polls in one of the most consequential elections in American history. 435 House seats are up for grabs, 35 Senate seats, and Democrats are of course hoping they can flip enough to retake control of the Congress. Let's walk over to Phil Mattingly. He's over at the Magic Wall. So what are you watching right now, Phil? Update our viewers. If the viewers want to know early in the night, as results start to come in, where you should be keyed on when it comes to the Senate races, you're really looking at two in particular.

44:51You're looking at Georgia, which the expectation is a seat Democrats thought they were going to have to fight to hold, seems to have moved very sharply their way towards incumbent John Ossoff. You see it's all gray right now. The vote is coming in. We haven't seen any of it yet. But there's an analog here, if you're John Ossoff, for the type of race that you want to run. And it's with his colleague in the Senate, Raphael Warnock, who won this seat in 2022. Statewide victory, won it by just under a point. The map is the same as Joe Biden's in 2020. Where do you need to run up huge vote? You run it up right here.

45:21Fulton County, obviously the home of Atlanta, a bastion for Democratic votes, but also outside in the suburbs. The reason why Atlanta or Georgia has shifted back towards Democrats in recent years has been Gwinnett County, has been Cobb County. What are the margins there? If Ossoff is going to win, it's not just can he win, it's by how much can he run it up? And can he have coattails for the governor's race in Georgia as well? That's going on with Keisha Lance Bottoms as the Democrat nominee. Then you're looking over here in North Carolina, another early reporter in the night. This again is a race that for Democrats, they expect to win this and win this handily.

45:53The reason why Roy Cooper's won statewide a number of times, attorney general, then two terms as governor. And in that role, he has been able to do what every Democrat who wants to do well statewide does. You roll a huge vote in the research triangle. You do extremely well in Mecklenburg County, home of Charlotte. And in the majority African-American counties up in the northeast of the state, you have a big vote as well. The question there is also coattails. Can he bring along a number of House members with him? There are a number of battleground House seats that are up, starting to trend towards Democrats in recent weeks as we've watched money go in from Republicans trying to defend them.

46:24Perhaps Cooper running up a big margin can drag some of those seats towards Democrats as well, Wolf. And what about Ohio, a key battleground state? This is if you're a Democrat trying to figure out your pathway to the Senate, this is the flip that is in question and is absolutely essential. And for Sherrod Brown, this is a seat and a race that he lost back in 2024. obviously a presidential year, different makeup of the electorate, but losing by Bernie Moreno. And if you are Sherrod Brown, what are you looking at here? What I actually want to do, Wolf, is pull back and put something on here that I think is fascinating, which is the consecutive shift over three cycles towards one party or the other.

47:01The darker the red, the bigger the shift. And if you look at this shift right here, all through here, you see a significant shift towards Republicans, towards President Trump. It has reshaped, transformed the map of Ohio. Now go back to take that off and go back when Sherrod Brown first won back in 2006. That was all Democratic territory, all Democratic territory. It has swung sharply. Can he start to pull back, particularly in Northeast Ohio and the Mahoning Valley, pull back there while also running up big votes in Franklin County, home of Columbus, Cuyahoga County, home of Cleveland, and maybe even into Delaware County just outside of Columbus, Wolf.

47:35You're going to be busy these next several hours, Phil Mattingly. Thank you very, very much. And up next, our coverage of Election Day in America will, of course, continue. We'll take you live to Georgia, North Carolina and Maine, where some of the biggest races are now underway as tens of millions of voters are heading to the polls today.

48:10It's Election Day in America, and we'll see if history is in the making. I'm Erin Burnett, and I am in Texas today. Texas has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1988, but everyone is watching the race here. James Tallarico is running against the sitting Attorney General, Ken Paxson, trying to change that. Of course, others have tried and all have failed. So will this time be any different, Wolf? Let's find out. We'll find out in the next several hours. I'm Wolf Blitzer in New York. Democrats need to flip just four of the 35 seats at stake today to control the U.S. Senate. And surprisingly, this time, the polling says their path to victory could lead through states as red as Texas, Iowa, or even Kansas, which has not had a Democratic senator since 1932.

48:57In the House of Representatives, with all 435 seats up for grabs, Democrats need just three pickups to regain the gavel. Erin. And Wolf, more than 58 million people have already voted this time, and that's a record, 58 million. So you may see more people having voted early than we actually see on Election Day, but we'll see what the final numbers are. We know millions and millions of people are voting today, Wolf. And Erin, we have our correspondents covering all these key races. Ryan Young is in Georgia, which could potentially elect its first black governor. Jessica Dean is in North Carolina, which polling says could see a Senate pickup for Democrats.

49:40Jason Carroll is in Maine, where Republican Susan Collins is running for her sixth term in the U.S. Senate. I want to start with Ryan Young in Dunwoody, Georgia, right now, where voters are turning out for this Senate race between Democrat John Ossoff and Republican Mike Collins, as well as the governor's race between Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson. Ryan, tell our viewers what you're seeing. Yeah, Wolf, it's been steady here so far. People asking questions about this election. Over 2.7 million people have already early voted. But when you look at the parking lot of this location here, you can see just how packed it is.

50:18It's been like this all day long with voters coming in enthusiastic about the idea of casting a vote. And as we've been talking to people, they've really been focused on certain issues in terms of how hard it's been to find a job, how this economy is, gas prices. And over and over again, they've been telling us they also want to see some civility return back to elections. Now, if you look right here, we just observed some election observers have shown up to this location. So they're standing out there and they're watching people as they go in to vote. A lot of people are paying attention to this election, particularly when you talk about how close the governor's race could be here.

50:51Rick Jackson, the billionaire, has spent hundreds of millions of his own dollars to make sure he has campaign ads all across this state. We've also seen Keisha Lance Bottoms really put a strong effort out there to get more voters to go out and put her in cast her name. Because, of course, this could be an historic election if she were able to win. But again, as we talk to voters today, they say they are really feeling the pain here. One guy telling me, look, it is really hard to pay the mortgage, pay gas prices and raise his kids right now. And he's hoping that someone in D.C. understands the pain that common people are feeling on a day to day basis.

51:26Again, a lot of energy, especially here at the polls right now. We'll be watching this as it gets closer and closer to that 7 o 'clock time period. Wolf? We'll stay in close touch with you, Ryan Young. Thank you very, very much. I want to go to Jessica. Dean right now, she's in North Carolina, where the State Board of Elections is meeting this afternoon to determine if they need to extend voting hours in four counties that had some technical issues. What are you hearing, Jessica? So, Wolf, we're currently in Wake County. That is not one of the four counties. I'm going to take you inside in just a second, but let's get to that news first, which is those four counties around North Carolina that did experience some minor technical problems earlier this morning that could have delayed people being able to vote.

52:12So we're talking about things like a jammed printer. What will happen is the state board of elections is going to come together and decide this afternoon if they need to extend voting hours in those areas because of that. Now, if they do that, obviously that's going to impact when we're going to get results. Right now, all of the polling stations are set to close at 7.30 p.m. Eastern time. Again, the state board going to meet this afternoon to determine if they need to extend those hours a little bit in those key counties to figure out if they need to give people more time to vote in those locations.

52:46So that is what we are watching for. And again, we keep our eye later tonight to see if that will impact when we start to get numbers out of North Carolina. But right now, here at this polling location, this is an interesting one. And it's interesting because half of all the voters who are registered to vote here are independent. They're unaffiliated voters. And the other half are pretty evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, which is why we're here. It's an interesting place to kind of get a feel for what people are saying. I'll take you inside. We can't go all the way inside, Wolf, but you can peek in.

53:15We've had a pretty steady stream here at this. It's an elementary school that has been converted into a polling place on this election day. But again, people coming in kind of all day. We had that morning rush. Then we had kind of a lunch rush. We have not experienced any any issues here at this location. And North Carolina, again, important in the broader conversation because that Senate race is pretty key. If Democrats are going to flip the Senate, they really think that if Roy Cooper here wins tonight over Michael Watley, that that could kind of be the foundational building block of what would be the Democrats flipping the Senate, that that would kind of be one of the first seats to flip.

53:55This is Tom Tillis' seat, who is not running for re-election, the Republican who's been in office for some time now. So, Wolf, that's what we're tracking here in North Carolina. Again, the news out of North Carolina. We're watching to see if they will extend those voting hours in those four key counties due to those minor issues. Wolf? We'll watch together with you. Thanks very much, Jessica. Dean in North Carolina for us. Erin, back to you. All right, Wolf, and I want to go to Maine now. Obviously, another crucial Senate seat that we're watching, the Democrat Troy Jackson there, is trying to unseat the, so far, Teflon Republican Senator Susan Collins.

54:31We'll see what happens this time around. She's been serving for nearly 30 years. She's been challenged before. She has prevailed. We'll see what happens tonight. Jason Carroll's in Bangor, Maine. And Jason, so when you're talking to voters and you're seeing people line up, how's turnout, what are they saying? Well, first thing, when we're in the state of Maine, you hear this saying over and over again. and that's people vote for the person, not the party. And that's very much what we've been seeing here in terms of talking to voters this morning out here, Aaron. You know, the folks that we're talking to are saying that this is an election that's really about Susan Collins, what she has done for the state, what she hasn't done for the state, depending upon whose side that you're on.

55:10You know, you talk to those who support her and they say, yes, she is the one who's bringing dollars back to the state of Maine. You talk to those who support Troy Jackson. Many of those voters saying this is a vote against Susan Collins. This is a vote against Donald Trump. Susan Collins. Susan Collins. No doubt about it. She'll do a better job. I voted for Susan Collins in the past. I actually do like her. But yeah, unfortunately, we just really feel that we need to flip the Senate here and try to stop some of the Trump agenda. And so, yeah, so we gave Jackson our vote.

55:51And Aaron, I also wanted to alert you to a side note here, a bit of developing news. is Colin's office in Biddeford, Maine, her federal office there, vandalized for the second time in the row. We've got some pictures of that that her office provided to us. Again, second time this has happened in Biddeford. Biddeford, of course, the site of that deadly ice shooting in July. Her chief of staff saying these tactics are disturbing, but they are not effective. Erin? Yeah, yeah, ugly there. All right, thank you very much, Jason Carroll. And joining me now here in Texas, Texas State Representative Dade Phelan, former Texas State Senator Wendy Davis, who ran against Greg Abbott for governor in 2014 and GOP donor Dan Eberhardt.

56:36So I appreciate all of you, and it's great to be here. We've got a beautiful day in Texas. Yes, we do. People have got no excuse to knock it out if they haven't already voted to vote. Wendy, you know, Beto O 'Rourke lost by, what, 2.5 percent? That's right. Okay, Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate seat in Texas since 1988. So we keep saying this again and again. Democrats have been hopeful. I remember in the Clinton versus Trump, the Clinton team sat down with us and said, tonight we think we're going to turn Texas. They failed. Everyone who said they were going to do it has failed. But you say you're convinced James Tallarico will do it.

57:09I'm absolutely convinced James is going to win tonight. I'm even convinced that Gina Hinojosa is going to win in the gubernatorial race. And it's not a pie in the sky puffery. It is what we're seeing in the early vote, who has shown up, what the polls told us in terms of where voters were, and with an extraordinary increase in Latino voters, in young voters, and in the sporadic voters who have never voted before or they skipped 24 altogether, the lean toward Democrats this time is pretty strong. So I think we're in for a really good night. You know, when you look at Texas and the reporting on early vote, you don't have party affiliation.

57:54So you can't say, well, Democrats versus Republicans, such that that gives you an indication perhaps in some places versus other years. You don't get that here. They give you some racial and ethnic background. So that's what Wendy's referring to, right? You can see Hispanic turnout up in certain crucial counties. But do you have the same confidence? And I know obviously you are against Paxton. You are not voting for Tallarico, though, unless that could have changed today. Go ahead and tell me if it has, Dave. But how do you see it going? Well, my biggest concern is, if you go back two years ago, Republicans had about a 970 ,000 vote advantage in early voting at this point.

58:30If you go back four years ago, we had about a 570 ,000 vote advantage at this point in time. Right now, Democrats have about a 25 ,000 vote advantage going into Election Day. So, Republicans find themselves in a very large hole on Election Day. and I just drove up here this morning through two hours of rain through Houston, Texas. And so, you know, to quote Lee Corso, Senator Davis, not so fast. Because you think that could affect turnout? Well, we still have Election Day and a lot of people vote on Election Day. A lot of Republicans vote on Election Day. So we'll see what turnout is today. But Republicans find themselves in a hole right now and they need to get out of that hole right now.

59:16if the election was held Sunday night, yes, there would be some upsets here in Texas. So I'm curious, Dan, I was talking to a Houston voter who voted today in the rain, Houston suburb Republican, split the ticket for Tallarico, against Beau French, against the AG, everything else Republican, and says pretty much everybody else he knew did the same thing. Now, that's a certain specific area, it's a certain type of person, But how worried are you about that as somebody who wants Paxton to win? Well, I am worried. And I think, you know, ultimately, I think a split decision between the governor's race and the Senate race here is the most likely outcome tonight.

59:56But I think that Paxton looked. Meaning so you think Tallarico wins and Greg Abbott holds the governor's. I think there's definitely potential for that. You know, what I'm looking for for tonight in support of Paxton is how much does Greg Abbott win by? If Abbott wins by six, six and a half, I think Paxton's got a chance. If Abbott wins by two, three, four, I think that Paxton is toast. And then obviously if Abbott loses, then Paxton's going to lose big. But what I think is really important is for Texans to understand that this Senate seat, it's about the person. It's about the man. But it's also about the jersey and what kind of policy we have coming out of D.C.

1:00:28and who the majority leader is. All right. So and I know that's important. That's the argument that's been made to Republicans with especially with Ken Paxton. He said, hold your nose. Think about something outside Texas or him specifically. He just did an interview with Benny Johnson earlier today. This is sort of his last thing on Election Day. I just wanted to play a clip of what Mr. Paxson just said. Here he is.

1:00:52You've witnessed the violent left. You've seen it. You've prosecuted it. It's a very real thing. If they can shoot our president in the head, they can kill Charlie Kirk. What can they do to you and your family? Yeah, there's no doubt about it. If they're going at top level people like that, then you're not safe either. You may be next. If they take those guys out, they're the ones standing in the way of you getting harm to your family. Because these people are shooting our people because they don't agree with them. They cannot stand that there's dissent or that we disagree. They have to control us with violence.

1:01:30Those are the people we're fighting. And they are real and they exist. And if we don't pay attention to it, they are going to control this country. OK, I want to give you a chance to respond to that. Dave, let me just start with you, though. Obviously, the premise of the question came from the questioner. OK, so I think it's important to acknowledge that. But Paxton then said if they're going after top level people like that, referring to Charlie Kirk, then you're not safe either. The regular voter being, I mean, shot and killed by left wing lunatics, I guess is the tenor of this conversation.

1:02:03Does that resonate with anybody in these final hours? I don't think it resonates with the average voter. And let me just say that this goes both ways. I still have not, I still have a trial right now of an individual from the far right who was threatening to kill me back home. That trial is yet to be resolved. It is, we're still, he actually said that it was his First Amendment right to threaten to kill me. He did not deny threatening to kill me, but that was his First Amendment right to threaten to kill me. And he came from the far right from that. And so both sides are guilty of this. So this is not a – the tenor has gone too far, whether you're far right or far left.

1:02:45So everyone's guilty of this. And, you know, unfortunately, getting good men and women to run for office is so difficult these days because of that tenor. And so I take issue with that comment right there that this is somehow one side or the other side is somehow has a monopoly on terrible, terrible ideas and terrible, hateful rhetoric. It comes from both sides. And we both need to stand down and get back to the issues that matter. You're talking about this is Election Day. We should be talking about the budget. We should be talking about pocketbook issues. and we should be talking about what really matters, not issues like this that does not resonate with the average voter.

1:03:29And you know what's interesting, Dan, because you have always sat here for many years. You would agree with him, right? I want to talk about issues. Okay. And yet you have a comment like that, or you have Donald Trump Jr. today just posted an image of Charlie Kirk, along with the caption, vote like the other side will kill you for talking. And then he added, vote like your lives and the lives of your children depend on it. And then he puts in all caps because they do with three exclamation points. That's not the closing message that you want. No, not at all. Look, I think that they're trying to incite people to vote.

1:04:00They're trying to get people excited and people scared and people to the polls. And I understand that. We want Republican turnout today. But I also think, and what happened to Charlie Kirk is a tragedy, but we shouldn't paint everything with the same brush. And I think, look, what voters care about is the cost of insurance, the cost of fuel, the cost of groceries. That's what people want to hear about. And that's what I think, you know, Trump's closing message should have been about yesterday at the reflecting pool. And that's what I think that Ken Pax and Greg Abbott should be focused on here in Texas.

1:04:25So, Wendy, I know you're saying you think it's going to be Tallarico and Hinojosa, that you're going to have Democrat in the two statewide races that everyone nationally is watching. When do you think we're going to know? Texas counts pretty quickly. It does. So we'll have a lot of early vote that's released right at 7 p.m. Central time this evening. Typically, as soon as the polls close, a lot of our counties release their early vote. that's going to give us a good sign in terms of how far ahead in the large urban and suburban areas Democrats are. There will be some boxes that come in later. I expect it's going to be a long night, particularly in a race that's likely to be as close as the gubernatorial race is going to be.

1:05:08But I think we're going to know a lot when we see that early vote, because, as Speaker Phelan said, the enthusiasm and the turnout level that Republicans have evidenced in the early vote is far below what it typically is. And I don't expect they're going to make that up on election day, even though they typically do a bit better than we do on election day. They've got a lot of ground to cover in a single day, and I'm just not seeing it. All right. Well, I appreciate all of you very much. It's great to be with all of you here in person. And next, a closer look at other red states to watch, including, of course, the one where we are today.

1:05:45Phil Mattingly live at the magic wall with that. And later with the DOJ sending election monitors to all 50 states, what kind of power do those officials actually have? Attorney, former Trump Special White House Counsel Ty Cobb is here in Texas with me today. This and so much more as Election Day in America continues.

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1:06:41We're back. It's Election Day in America with some 35 Senate seats at stake and a surprising number of Democratic pickups looking possible in some of the reddest states on the map. CNN's Phil Mattingly is over here at the magic wall watching all of this very, very closely. Some surprises could emerge in the course of the next several hours. The fact that we're even talking about some of these states is a surprise. Democrats wouldn't have believed you 18 months ago. Republicans probably either. This is the reality. You're looking right now. Anything that's lighter gray is a Senate race that's taking place that will be decided.

1:07:14Key races. Now we put those together, put it together. Key races where Trump won by 10 plus points in 2024. These are all states Trump won in 2024 by 10 plus points. And when you go up and down the map, 13, 13, 16, 13, 13, you recognize that the ground the Democrats are playing in right now is Republican ground, Republican DNA. And that's what they're going up against and clearly believe that they have a shot. You start with Texas here. Obviously, a lot of attention has been paid to this race. You go back into 2024. This is the Senate race. Ted Cruz won it by nine, eight and a half points. What happened in the presidential?

1:07:51Donald Trump won it by 13 and a half points. The big question going in is perhaps you use the analog of the Beto O 'Rourke Senate race back in 2018. This is the closest that a Democrat has gotten statewide in recent years. he's still lost. But there are pathways here, particularly if running up the big vote in Dallas County and the suburbs over in Bexar County and Travis County, perhaps in Harris County in Houston, if they run up huge vote there. But the key wolf will be down here in Texas because all of these counties, they've shifted dramatically towards Trump. They are majority Hispanic, some of them 90, 95 percent or higher.

1:08:24And the Hispanic vote, at least based on polling, looks like it may be falling off a cliff for Republicans. Keep a very close eye on that throughout the course of the night and we'll see how it plays out. But that's the path that They're looking at the other issue, I think, is if you talk to Republicans, the one kind of toss up race that has come online for Democrats that they feel most comfortable about, it would be Iowa. Iowa in 2024 and the presidential. You see President Trump won this by 13.2 points here. It is no question a tighter race than Republicans would want, but Democrats will feel like they have a shot here.

1:08:55The big question is the candidates actually decide what's going to happen here. candidate quality in terms of Ashley Henson is the one Republican candidate you constantly hear operators from both parties really say has run the race she needed to run. So we'll end up seeing how that plays out, Wolf. And what about Kansas? I'm curious. I mean, Kansas is one of those where you want to talk about a race that is Republican DNA. Go back into the presidential in 2024. 16.2 points for the president. Now, something to keep in mind here. They've actually won statewide. Democrats have in a governor's race.

1:09:27Laura Kelly is a two-term governor, winning in 2018 and in 2022. So there is a map here and it really starts in kind of these blue counties around Lawrence and Topeka. I think the step back and not only about the kind of degree to which these are red states right now, but it's also the degree to which no Democrat has won a Senate race in Alaska since 2008. No Democrat has won a Senate race since Lloyd Benson in Texas in 1988. No Democrat has won a Senate race in Kansas since 1932. I wasn't there for that. Not totally sure how that race went down, but it underscores even in places like Kansas where they've won statewide, the Senate has been out of reach for them.

1:10:04Right now, they feel like it's in reach, but it is a lot of ground to make up compared to what it was in 2024. We'll see what happens in Kansas and all these other states, and you'll be a busy guy as I keep saying thanks very, very much. Erin, back to you. All right, Wolf. And the Justice Department right now is deploying about 1 ,000 election monitors, and they're doing that to polling stations actually across all 50 states. and in 126 jurisdictions total. So that's sending them to every state for the first time ever. And the DOJ owns this. They're calling it the largest monitoring effort in their history.

1:10:37And just to give you comparison to where we were in 22 in the midterms, there were fewer than 400 monitors at that time, 714 in the 2024 presidential election. So there is precedent for doing it, but not to the scale that they are doing it today and not to the specificity of the location. So I want to get to that. But I'm here with Ty Cobb, former Trump White House lawyer. Obviously, they ended talking about Kansas, your home state. So I was listening to that carefully. I'm bullish about that. Bullish about that in terms of Adam Hamilton, in terms of Adam Hamilton. 1932 would break would break history there.

1:11:09So but when you think about these monitors, OK, as I said, we pointed out there, it's not unprecedented to send them. The scale here is unprecedented as well as where they're going. So you're sending a thousand of them to districts that largely went Democrat in 2024. right? So this is not go everywhere just as a check and balance. This is to Democratic areas. 77 of those counties weren't even on the list for the DOJ in 22 or 24. So do you see a strategy here? I mean, obviously, it's a big country. So 1 ,000 is, in a sense, only 1 ,000. But it means they're sending them very specifically to make a point.

1:11:44Well, 1 ,000 is only 1 ,000, except that the highest number historically was 300. So that this is definitely part of the Trump administration plan to try to intimidate, interfere, and sow chaos with regard to the election. It started with his first day in office when he issued an executive order banning mail and balloting. The Supreme Court, fortunately, was up to that and rebuked him. He's been rebuked in the California and Alaska cases in the last 48 hours. All of these things that he wants to do are prohibited by law and he won't gain any traction, but he keeps doing them anyway because of his desire to enhance his power by confusing people and keeping people away from the polls.

1:12:31So these monitors are prohibited by law from interfering. They're prohibited by law from actually talking to any voter who doesn't want to talk to them. They're not supposed to actually go in. I mean, they can stand right outside, right? So it depends on the jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions allow them inside, but most of them require them to stay outside. So there's another thing that you're watching that I just wanted to share with everybody and that is defining election day itself in the context of what Jessica was just reporting from North Carolina. You know they had had some issues early in the morning so perhaps going to keep some of the polls open later.

1:13:04We're used to that. Right if there's a glitch or a delay they say okay we're gonna we're gonna let you stay open longer. But election day technically ends at 11 59 59 p.m. in whatever jurisdiction you're saying That's a federal rule. Yes. And you think that that actually could be relevant today. So it could be relevant. You know, the Republicans, as we know, they have shut down polls. They have limited the polling sites in many large Democratic precincts. Including here in Texas. Including here in Texas. And it could become an issue at 1159 if there are a lot of people in line. You know, the lawyers and courts are ready for this challenge.

1:13:42and frankly they expect it. They don't know whether there'll be such a challenge, but the expectation is that Republicans will try to stop voting at midnight and may go to court to do that. Whereas, you know, the time-honored tradition in America is if you're in line to vote, you get to vote. Right, right. As long as you get in line before 11-59-59, then you should be allowed to vote. And I will say, actually, in prior cycles, when this has happened in a state like North Carolina or wherever it's happened, that's always been made explicitly clear. We're going to let you in as long as you're in line by, if they've extended it until 9 o 'clock.

1:14:18Yes, because historically in America, the emphasis has been on helping people exercise their right to vote, as opposed to Trumpism, which is trying to deny people the right to vote. So now what about Alaska? If this all comes down to Alaska, and I mean, a lot of ways it comes down to Alaska. Say it's, you know, it's too close, so then they've got to go to their rank choice and it could take weeks. I mean, there's a lot of situations where if Senate control comes down to Alaska, it's going to be really difficult. OK, and one of them, of course, is this DOJ case, which Trump said he personally directed them to file, where if the Republican loses, they shouldn't certify the results.

1:14:53Right. Court threw that out. DOJ, though, filed to appeal within an hour. Of course they did. And, you know, the overriding emphasis under the law in America is that elections are the province of the states and local governments. They are not the province of the federal government. And in Alaska, the Supreme Court in Alaska has twice, you know, tossed these attempts to shut down the Dan Sullivan, Dan Sullivan issue. Trump will definitely pursue that. They will use that case likely to delay the certification, to challenge the certification, and to try to attempt to prevent Mary Patola from taking office should she prevail.

1:15:38But you're right. It will take some time, and I expect that we will see them vigorously contested. Yeah, and it'll see what they do versus Dan Sullivan, the incumbent, who has said he's going to accept the results and that he doesn't think that the confusion is an issue. So that'll be interesting, but important that he said that. Even if he accepts the results, Trump may not. Right. Right. All right. Ty Cobb is going to be with me, of course, as our coverage continues here from Texas. And we're going to take you live to Pennsylvania next, where Democrats are seeking to flip at least four vulnerable Republican House seats.

1:16:06We'll be back.

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1:16:34Election Day in America is certainly pivotal in Pennsylvania. Four incumbent Republican congressmen, you can see the races there, facing very tough challenges this year. And remember, Democrats need to flip just three seats across the entire country to take back the House majority. Our Danny Freeman is in Pennsylvania right now where voters are turning out in big numbers. Voting hours have been extended in a number of precincts there. Danny, update our viewers on what's going on.

1:17:05You bet. Well, happy Election Day to you. I'll start with that news that you just mentioned off the top, that in Chester County, Pennsylvania, it's outside of Philadelphia. Three precincts actually had their voting hours extended till about 830 this evening. and it was because earlier when polls opened, a few machines weren't working, but we're told that things are back up and running. So again, a lively election day here in Pennsylvania, but that situation we've been monitoring and should be under control with that extended hours later tonight. Meanwhile, we are in, where else? Bucks County, Pennsylvania here.

1:17:34We're in Ben Salem Township. You can see the signs are all out. And it seems like, Wolf, every time there's an election in this country, we end up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. We're here because this area is a big part of one of those four super competitive districts that really could determine control of the House. This is Pennsylvania's first congressional district. It's where Congressman, the incumbent, Brian Fitzpatrick is really fighting for his political life. And what people have said has been his hardest challenge yet. Bob Harvey is the Democratic challenger here. And it's really a true toss up.

1:18:05We've been talking to voters all throughout the day. some who have voted for Fitzpatrick before and then are not going to this time. Others who, that was interesting, we spoke to a voter who felt that Fitzpatrick has not been loyal enough to Trump. He really has been positioning himself as an independent and bipartisan representative, but yet he's still voting for Fitzpatrick because he feels that he wants Republicans to keep control of the House. I want you to take a listen to some voters, how they were thinking about their all-important vote in this all-important Swing County today. Take a listen.

1:18:37What was the big issue that was driving you to the ballot today? Trump. Talk to me more about that. Why President Trump? He is corrupt, in my opinion. He doesn't, the economy, he doesn't seem to care. What's the top issue on your mind as you were voting today? The House, how the House race is going to go with Brian Fitzpatrick. Sure. I'm hoping that he gets reelected, because I would be very disappointed to see the House go totally Democrat.

1:19:09And again, a lot of those differing opinions is what we've been hearing since we've been out here pretty much most of the morning, and we're going to be here through poll close. Just one interesting thing about this particular area and this high school, there are three precincts inside. We can't actually show you inside where the actual voting is going on, but because of that, there's a tremendous amount of people who have been coming out here and making their views heard. The other races, Wolf, I'll tell you that we're watching are the 7th, 8th, and 10th congressional district. Those are also seen as swingy seats as well in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, also in Harrisburg, in that area, Wolf.

1:19:42But then I'll also note Governor Josh Shapiro up for re-election as well. He is going to have an election night party later on tonight. We'll see what he says if he is able to come away with a win. Again, he is on the ballot this time around against Republican Stacey Garrity. That one is not seen as much of a toss-up. But again, we'll see. That's the best part about Election Day. Today, voters decide. Wolf? We'll find out. Danny Freeman in Pennsylvania, a state he knows very, very well. Thank you very much. My panel, excellent panel, I should say, is back with me right now. Instead, voting hours have been extended, as you know, by some 30 minutes at three precincts in Chester County, Pennsylvania, which is right outside Philadelphia.

1:20:22How big of a deal you think that is? We'll see. But I think we're certainly seeing kind of fears of voter integrity kind of pop up across the country. We know that these have been amplified by Donald Trump and an administration that, frankly, I think tried to cook this election before it even started with their gerrymandering efforts, with his push of the Save America Act. Now we see these election agents throughout the states. I think that's causing some concern, but I don't think we should overhype some of these. We'll see how they play out in the end. But to Danny's point, I was in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in that seventh congressional district there talking to folks at gas station pumps.

1:20:56And there was a universal kind of distaste for how Donald Trump has mishandled this economy, even coming from Trump voters. And so I think in those kind of House districts, we're still seeing cost of living. And frankly, Donald Trump's loss of credibility be the controlling issue. Good point indeed. Indeed, Audie, let's talk a little bit about Georgia State. You know well, obviously, that's where the former Atlanta mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, is now in a major battle with Republican businessman Rick Jackson for governor of Georgia. Here's what they said about their focus in these final hours of Election Day.

1:21:30Listen to this. We need to focus on the entire state. We can't leave anyone. We can't leave anybody on the field. We've got to make sure that we're bringing everybody with us. is the reason we have teams out across Georgia still knocking on doors. I feel like I've done all I can do. I'm leaving it up to God. And whatever happens, I will be, my purpose in life is for kingdom impact and to help the least of these. And no matter what happens tomorrow, that's what I'll be doing first thing tomorrow. So in a race this tight, Audie, a ground game in the final hours, Do you think that actually can have a major impact?

1:22:13Yes, because there is a huge black electorate in Georgia. We're talking 32 percent. And I think this is one of those situations where Trump was able to draw, for instance, just a few more black men, right, to make the difference in the margins. But that's not the energy we're seeing now. And I think the question is going to be, can Keisha Lance Bottoms take advantage of the coattails of a John Ossoff, somebody who is doing very well, bringing a lot of money, and she's making sure to be standing next to him? And I think that's the thing I'm watching there. How activated are Southern black voters?

1:22:50And is Atlanta going to reflect a broader trend? Good point. Alyssa, this morning, President Trump was asked what he would say to voters who are still on the fence right now. This was his closing message. Listen to this. We got the worst of the worst out. And we're getting others out. We're getting the bad ones out first. And these are the toughest job I was given. The inflation is solved. You know, oil came down$10. A record yesterday dropped$10. And the harm was straight. We have total control of it with the Navy blockade. I mean, everything's going good. Everybody respects us again. I was going to say, is this a good final point that he's making?

1:23:31Listen, the president sounds more fatigued than American voters at this point. And by the way, the fact that he was out on Fox News this morning was clean up for his message yesterday. He stood in front of the reflecting pool and essentially talked about renovations when people are talking about gas prices, ending the war in Iran, inflation, joblessness. He has been remarkably tone deaf in this final stretch when the American people have made very clear what the issues are that they want him to be focusing on. and he seems to be focusing on everything but that. But he did say something noteworthy on Fox News this morning.

1:24:01He basically announced unilaterally that he'd made a deal with Netanyahu to end aid to Israel. That stood out to me. For one, that would require an act of Congress, so we shouldn't make too much of that. But Michigan, a place where the race is very tight, the path to the Senate could run through Michigan, I think that was a Hail Mary attempt to take the issue of Israel off the table for voters there. I don't agree with it, but I thought even something like that, you should have done it weeks ago if you wanted it to have an impact. Yeah, it's a huge, huge statement he made, ending billions of dollars in military aid that the Israelis need.

1:24:34Obviously, saying that Netanyahu had actually agreed to this. We'll see if that happens. We'll get a statement from Netanyahu. What do you think? What do you see happening right now? You know, I think across the board, big picture, we are seeing mad as hell voters. whether it's grocery prices, gas prices, the war in Iran, immigration, ice on the streets. To me, the story of this has been, and we won't know until we know, but the huge, what I would call enthusiasm surge for early voting. I mean, Texas had something like 70 percent up, 40 percent up on early voting. Georgia, right, with Latino voters.

1:25:19Georgia has 13 % up. You know, a place like Ohio, 18 % up. South Carolina was 75 % up, a much closer race. So I think we don't know how these people voted. We have, in some states, we can see party registration. But just the fact that early voting is so high and so many people came out. The term we've been hearing a lot from Democrats is nauseously optimistic because fundamentally all of these states, so many of these states are states that Trump had won. They're states that are already Republican. And so when you look at the prognosticators, they're saying toss up to maybe saying likely Republican to less likely Republican.

1:26:03And I think that is the context for all of this. And we'll see what the actual numbers show in the next few hours. We'll watch it very closely, guys. Thank you very, very much. Good panel. Up next, with the president seemingly pulling the plug on U.S. military aid to Israel and U.S. strikes on Iran just before the polls opened, I'll speak with a key Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee, Don Bacon. He's standing by live.

1:26:40Across the Plains states, a series of tighter than expected races are certainly making Republicans very nervous about their ability to hold the majority in the U.S. Senate. In Kansas, Pastor Adam Hamilton is facing off against incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall. In Texas, as we've said, Democrat James Tallarico is locked in a very close contest with that state's attorney general, Ken Paxton. And in Nebraska, the state that President Trump won by more than 20 percentage points back in 2024, independent Dan Osborne is running what appears to be a much closer race against Republican Senator Pete Ricketts.

1:27:19Joining us now is Congressman Don Bacon, who represents Nebraska's second congressional district, sits on the Armed Services and Agriculture Committees. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us. Let me get your thoughts on what's going on. First of all, what are you what are you bracing for?

1:27:37Well, I do believe Republicans have some headwinds here in the Midwest. You know, the president's favorables are a minus 25. that's a heavy lift, particularly if you're in a purple area like I live in Omaha or say Kansas City and places like that. So you have to overcome that environment. You have to show voters that you are independent, that you're not a rubber stamp. You have to have that record. But it's clearly a headwind when the president's sitting about minus 25 in these purple areas. I also think tariffs have hurt us. I've never supported tariffs. I would say global tariffs. I don't mind some targeted tariffs on countries that deserve it.

1:28:15But the Republicans have not supported tariffs, particularly global tariffs, since World War II. We've always embraced the more Milton Friedman economics of free trade, free markets, economic freedom. That's what Ronald Reagan was all about. And President Trump has liked tariffs since the 1980s, but that's when he was a Democrat, and he's brought it over here. But I do believe that tariffs have hurt the agriculture sector, and I wish that we would have pushed back more. I know I did. I forced a vote on the floor and the House voted against tariffs, but it did not become a, it didn't pass as a bill, unfortunately.

1:28:50But I do think it's the favorable ratings on the president and tariffs are making this election harder for Republicans, but good candidates can overcome it. I want to get some more thoughts from you on the election and the votes that are about to be counted all across the country. But a quick thought from you, You're a key member of the Armed Services Committee on what the president said this morning. He surprised a lot of us by announcing he was going to suspend all U.S. military aid to Israel. What's your reaction? I surely hope this wasn't a ploy to help, like, influence votes in, say, Michigan right now.

1:29:29I guess what I really had heartburn about is the Israelis didn't know about it. It surprised them. They are our allies, and we want a strong Israel in the Middle East. And by the way, that$4 billion in aid, almost all of it goes back into the United States economy because the Israelis use that money to buy weapons from the United States, F-15s, F-35s, you name it. So in a way, we benefit domestically here with this program, and it keeps Israel strong. So I lean against what he did, though I don't know what Netanyahu, how he feels about it. Maybe they think they can be independent more from us.

1:30:09I'd like to hear feedback from them. But I don't like how we just did it without notifying the Israelis first. It surprised them. Yeah, it's an important point indeed. As you know, the U.S. military also, and this is interesting, conducted some strikes on Iran's Keshem Island in what officials are now telling CNN was a defensive operation meant to protect American assets in the region. And that just happened in the past few hours. In that same interview this morning, President Trump seemed to dismiss those strikes. Listen to this.

1:30:46But this isn't really war. We haven't shot anything. We're not, you know, war is like you would see Russia, Ukraine. That's a war. War would be the Second World War, where you just keep fighting and fighting. It is no time to not fight. So when he says this isn't really a war, this is just a minor exercise or whatever, what do you say?

1:31:10It is a war. And I think we're prevailing right now with this blockade. If I was the president, I would stress that. The blockade is the least violent way to conduct this war. But we do have a war. And I happen to know that some of the Americans who died in this fight with Iran, it hurts their families to hear things like that. I think we should acknowledge we are in a war with Iran. And by the way, Iran has been at war with us for 47 years. They've killed about 1 ,000 Americans, and they would be a severe threat if they ever got a nuclear weapon. I think the president should stick to those talking points.

1:31:45But the blockade is working. Iran's economy is on its knees. And I would suggest to the president that he focus on that and his comments and on his tactics right now versus Iran. Important points you're making indeed. Congressman Bacon, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you. Aaron, over to you. All right, Wolf. And obviously we're here in Texas and you can see some of the warm up there. We'll see what sort of a night it is for James Taurico and some of his voters who will be gathering behind us in these next few hours. These are sound checks, as you're seeing, for the bans now. Meantime, prominent allies of President Donald Trump are now seizing on an issue with ballot scanners in Westchester County, New York, today.

1:32:30And there's a contested race there, so it's been important. They've been stoking conspiracy theories, though, about a stolen election. The prominent far-right activist Laura Loomer claiming it's evidence that Democrats are trying to steal the election in New York, which comes amid the Justice Department's self-proclaimed largest election monitoring program in history. Now, the DOJ has deployed roughly 1 ,000 federal election monitors across 50 states. Our Gabe Cohen is here with new information about these monitors. And obviously, Gabe, there's a lot of attention appropriately on who they are, what they're going to be doing, what the restrictions are.

1:33:02What have you learned? Well, Aaron, if you look at a map of where the 126 cities and counties where these monitors are going to be fanned out today, you can see that the majority of them, about three quarters of them, are places that Kamala Harris won in 2024. In fact, most are areas that she dominated. Some of the biggest, busiest areas, bluest areas that we're going to be focusing on tonight because they are in battleground states. It's not a big surprise given the comments we've heard from the Justice Department. They have said they're prioritizing jurisdictions that provide language assistance as well as, as they called it, overlooked areas where there's a shortage of election observation data.

1:33:44But as you know, concerns have been raised for months now, not just from Democratic officials, but Republicans as well about what these monitors can do. In fact, Deep Red Wyoming, that's one of the states that has barred DOJ monitors from entering polling locations because of what happened during the primary there, where Republican leaders in the state said those monitors overstepped, that they were aggressive, that they tried to interview voters and inspect voting machines. And in fact, in the last few minutes, we've heard from officials in Michigan who have said they've had some issues today with the monitors in Dearborn and Flint who have overstepped by trying to speak to election workers about their training.

1:34:23It does sound like local officials got that handled with DOJ, but it speaks to the tensions between these election leaders and an administration that's vowed to prosecute election officials who don't secure the vote. All right. Well, Gabe, thank you very much. Interesting when you talk about Wyoming, right? You just think about it. If there's something that there's bipartisan agreement right in this country is that it's a federalist country and The states run the elections and they want to run them. They don't want the feds in there. All right. Thank you very much. I appreciate that and all those details.

1:34:56And next, we're going to check back in on Michigan, where voters are getting robocalls from President Obama in these last hours in support of Abdul El-Sayed. And we'll speak to Virginia's Democratic Governor, Abigail Spanberger, whose victory last year helped set the stage for any blue wave that we might see tonight.

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