Polls Closed in Pivotal GA, SC Senate Races

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1:04We're about to get our first look at the political landscape across America in less than 10 minutes. The very first major wave of poll closings will begin. Polls are about to close at 7 p.m. But right now, let us look at the House of Representatives. A reminder for all those watching, 218 votes are needed to control the House of Representatives. Democrats need to pick up three congressional seats. How are Democrats doing that, doing in that task right now? Democrats are currently leading in three Republican districts. What about Republicans and Democratic districts? Republicans are currently leading in zero Democratic districts.

1:44So polls are about to close at 7 p.m. Easter, just in a few minutes, in Georgia and Indiana and Kentucky and South Carolina and Vermont and Virginia. So, Caitlin and Dana, just one race each from you. What are you looking for in this first batch? I mean, Georgia, of course, every election night we watch it really closely. But tonight, John Ossoff is going up against Mike Collins. Their debates have been quite heated. Republicans, though, are not feeling good about Mike Collins. We'll see, of course, what the voters decide there. But they've also got that big governor's race, Jake, that is also happening in Georgia.

2:21Between the former mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, and Rick Jackson, He's the billionaire healthcare executive. And, of course, if she wins, it's actually going to be a historic victory for her tonight because she'll be the nation's first black female governor. In South Carolina, I'm looking at that. That's what you're looking at, yeah. I mean, the fact that we're even talking about South Carolina, exactly. But it's Lindsey Graham passed away. His sister was appointed to fill out his term. And then the president convinced her to run. She had a tough primary. She won that. And it's going to be tough to keep her seat red.

2:54However, I will tell you, I just got a text from somebody working with her in South Carolina saying our base consolidated to some extent. We'll see if it was enough to get her over the line. All right. Anderson Cooper, I know everybody in the nation is keeping an eye on Georgia. That's two big races. That's right. And Victor Blackwell is there for us. I want to go to Victor. He is at Ossoff headquarters. How are they feeling there? Well, they're feeling optimistic, Anderson. The Ossoff campaign has felt good leading into today, but I've learned from a Georgia Democratic source that they are still watching the final hours, now the final minutes of polls in some key counties, Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Gwinnett, Cobb, Henry, Douglas, Rockdale, Newton, and Fayette.

3:40Now, these are the counties in and around Atlanta, the Atlanta metro area, where a Democrat in this state has to overperform to win an election. We know from early voting that about 38 percent of the vote came in. In early vote, 2.8 million people voted in many of those counties. Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett. Those early vote numbers overperformed the state average. So running up those numbers among Democrats. We won't get the turnout for Election Day until Thursday, according to the Secretary of State. But again, that Democratic source says that they are feeling really good about their position.

4:21Just watching those last few minutes of polls, the doors open for the event here at Ossoff and Georgia Democratic voters. The minute the polls close here in Georgia, just a few minutes away at 7 p.m. Eastern. All right, Victor Blackwell, we'll come back to you shortly, no doubt. Diane Gallagher is live at Dr. Annie Andrews campaign headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina. What is the what's the scene there? You know, Anderson, with just a few minutes left before the polls close here in South Carolina, a source within the Andrews campaign tells me that they are watching the record-breaking turnout here in the Palmetto State, noting that only one candidate has the enthusiasm behind them in this race.

5:06Now, at 4.30 this afternoon, the state of South Carolina, the state elections commission, announced that they had already broken a record for a midterm election in terms of voter turnout. More than 1 ,797 ,000 South Carolinians had voted. And again, that was at 4.30 this afternoon. 52 percent of the registered voters had already cast ballots. Now, I did speak with a source in Darlene Graham's campaign, and they told me that they're cautiously optimistic. Echoing what Dana just said. They said that the past few days finishing this campaign, that she has been appearing with other popular candidates and they've been working to consolidate that Republican base.

5:46They think it could get her over the line. Diane Gallagher, really appreciate it. We'll come back to you shortly. I want to check in with our Pamela Brown at the voting desk. What do we know about how votes are counted in Georgia? Well, Anderson, I've been on the phone with top officials and experts in Georgia, and they're telling me that basically they're setting records for the midterms in Georgia. If you take a look here, 2.8 million pre-election votes were cast in Georgia before today. The first votes they will tabulate that will be released shortly after polls close at seven are those early in-person votes and mail-in ballots.

6:20So we're going to start to be getting those pre-election day results shortly after those polls close. And then those early returns are likely to lean Democratic just for context based on what we've seen in past elections. Now, I just texted with a top state official who says they're expecting 1.3 million votes cast today. So again, those will come after we get those early votes shortly after the polls close. One important note here that by midnight, counties must report the total number of ballots cast, including absentee and provisional ballots. But way before that, 8 p.m., an official tells me that we should have about 65 percent of the overall vote in.

7:00If it is a tight race, officials caution we may not know the winner until Friday because, Anderson, that is the deadline for the overseas ballots as well as the cured ballots. So we'll be keeping a close eye. All right, Pamela Brown, team, thanks very much. Let's go over to David Chelyan. What information are you getting from the voters out of Georgia? Yeah, so now this is our first look inside a state in this voter poll. And look here about the Georgia electorate. Donald Trump's approval rating, 40 % of those voting in Georgia today approve of the job he's doing, 60 % disapprove. I just want to give context to this.

7:31In 2020, when Donald Trump just barely lost Georgia to Joe Biden, his approval rating in that state was 51%. It's 11 points lower today than it was then, and he lost the state then. Let's look at the two candidates. So are the views of Mike Collins too extreme? Look at this. Georgia splits evenly, 50 % say yes, 50 % say no. What about John Ossoff on the same question, the Democrat? Are his views too extreme? Well, overwhelmingly, two-thirds, 64%, say no, they're not. Only roughly a third, 35%, say Ossoff's views are extreme. And what about the importance of Senate control to your vote? Among those voting in this race in Georgia today, 46 % call overall Senate control crucial as a factor.

8:1640 % say a major factor. 86 % of Georgia voters say that which party controls the Senate, Senate control, is just a major or crucial factor in their vote today. Interesting. All right, let's go over to Casey and David Axelrod. What do you think of the numbers from Georgia? Well, I think they're very positive and encouraging for Democrats. You know, this governor's race there got lost in the mix. Keisha Lance Bottoms, the first African-American woman in the history of our country, maybe governor. What else is getting lost in the mix is every one of those battleground states may have a Democratic governor.

8:56The ones that decided the presidential election in 2024 may have a Democratic governor after tonight. And Georgia is just such an example. It really could be the epicenter of our politics going forward into 2028. In John Ossoff and Senator Raphael Warnock, you have two potentially extremely strong presidential candidates. And you also have an example of a changing electorate. It's changing in the ways that America is changing. And that is underscored by this potential historic win. You were saying before that if I mean, let's go back to Jay Quick for some numbers, Jake. All right, Anderson, thanks so much.

9:29So we're looking at Kentucky and Indiana right now with the actual votes we have. John, get us up to speed. This is somewhat, I'm sure, for you at home. I know it is for me in the studio. You get a little frustrating early in the night. You see the first votes coming, you think, here we go, and we're going to be able to answer our questions pretty soon. And sometimes you get votes like we did in this battleground district, Kentucky 6th, and you say, we're beginning to get the answers to the big questions. Can the Democrats be competitive or even win a district, Donald Trump, carried by 15 points?

9:56But last time you were here, we were at 1 % from the small rural county, Anderson County, on the far west part of the district. That's still where we are. So they're counting votes. They've closed the polls. The small county obviously can, you know, fewer votes to count. They can get them in quicker. but it's just one county as we go through it. These other districts that you see in Kentucky, we'll watch them to keep an eye on them, but they are viewed as very safe Republican districts. I'll just show you this is Hal Rogers, longtime Republican incumbent. It's early again, 11%, but he's getting, you know, most of these other districts we don't view as competitive.

10:24But we'll watch them, again, just to see if the margins are closer. That's also one way to say Democrats are running better or it's a tougher year for Republicans. If Republican incumbents who are winning are winning by smaller margins, that's tough. Because one of the other reasons is because Our friend Scott Jennings at the other table over there, who's from Kentucky, says Anderson County is very rural. Yeah. And that means that there are a lot of people in this county who have potentially been hurt by the tariffs that President Trump has enacted, the trade war, and also by the high diesel prices.

10:53And so some of them might not be motivated to vote. Exactly right. Or they're struggling. And again, I have not been here. I've not been here, but I've been to counties like this, small rural farming counties in Ohio, in North Carolina, in Iowa and elsewhere. And yes, yes, the price of diesel is strapping people. Even people who even Trump voters who say I support the president or I'm still with the president. But there's a but. And they connect the dots to him. They say he better fix the Iran thing soon or he better get it done. Some are more pulling back saying why he told me he wouldn't start wars.

11:24But even some Trump supporters acknowledge, even as they say they're going to vote Republican today, some Trump supporters acknowledge they are paying a price for this and they understand why that he made a decision. Some of them don't like that decision because they thought they were voting against it. Others say, well, I thought he wasn't going to do it, but he's my president and I'll support him through it. But so we wait for more votes here. But this is a Democrat, a giant test for the Democrats tonight is can you tap into the discontent in rural America, the disaffection or just being strapped financially in rural America?

11:51Can you convince those people? Give us a chance because they've been for Trump. Rural America has been Republican for a while, but Trump put it on steroids in a way that has been enormous to his political success, his success in rural America. So let's come up and look at Indiana. Again, we're still at 29 percent. It's the same thing. We got early results. This is a district Donald Trump won by 17 points. Victoria Sparks is the Republican incumbent. You know, again, that's a good number for Democrats out of the box. But it's 29 percent and we need to wait. And again, it's all from one county in the district.

12:20So we're sort of on hold as we wait. But but you do see Democrats running competitive in the middle of the country there. So you say, what's next? Georgia's up next, right? So we're going to get a glimpse here of a couple of big things. Number one, at the beginning of the cycle, Republicans thought Georgia would be a good target for them in the Senate. Let's switch over to the Senate map here. You also have a competitive governance race here. But Collins has turned out to be a candidate who has just simply underperformed. Some of his associations, his son and some others have caused a lot of controversy.

12:51Son-in-law. Son-in-law, excuse me. And Ossoff has just run what even Republicans can see is a very high tech, highly efficient campaign where a lot of Democrats are talking. If Ossoff can win this race, is he part of the 2028 conversation? He says no. But a lot of politicians say that. And then they have a successful campaign. So we'll watch to go. The other big interesting thing here is, as always, it's a big state. But six in 10 Georgians live inside that circle. And there is a governor's race. Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia trying to become the first woman governor of Georgia, the first African-American governor of Georgia, and the first former Atlanta mayor, the little Boston came out there, mayor to be elected governor of Georgia.

13:29So she's trying to, she is trying to topple. How do you spell that? M-A-Y-A-H. Okay. Mayor. She's trying to topple three barriers in one election. And it's a fascinating race because if she loses, for example, ticket splitting has become so rare in the age of Trump. And yet, will Ossoff win and Jackson win? You know, there are a lot of states like this. In Iowa, a lot of people think the Democrat will win for governor, but maybe the Republican. Stand by for just a moment, John. I'm so, so sorry. We're about to get our first big wave of results of the night, including in the key battleground state of Georgia.

14:01It's now 7 p.m. bang on the East Coast and polls are closed in six states. And we can now make a projection in the Commonwealth of Virginia. CNN can project that incumbent Democratic Senator Mark Warner will be reelected in three other states. It is too early to call the races, and those races are in Georgia, we were just talking about, in South Carolina, and in Kentucky. Too early to call, the polls just closed. A reminder of what Democrats need to do. The balance of power in the U.S. Senate is right now there are 35 Democratic senators. Right now there are 31 Republican senators. We are waiting to hear about 34 seats.

14:45in order to recapture the Senate, Democrats have to pick up. They have to flip four Republican seats. Let's go now to Boris, who is covering governor's races. Boris, what do you got for me? Jake, votes are starting to trickle in from the Pete state of Georgia. They're a very, very close swing state. Remember, Trump won it in 2016. Biden flipped it in 2020. Trump flipped it again in 2024, running to replace term limited Republican governor. Brian Kemp is Rick Jackson, the Republican in this race. He's touting his rags to riches story. He went from foster care to being the billionaire health care of a CEO of a health care company.

15:23He's largely self-funded his campaign. He beat a Trump endorsed candidate in the primary. He's running largely on tax reform. He's taking on the former mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms. She's running on expanding Medicaid in the Pete state. She could make history, as you just heard from John, being the first black governor in the history of the United States. Let's get an update now from South Carolina, where we are starting to see numbers. Still too early to call, though. Allen Wilson, the attorney general in that state, the longest-serving attorney general in the nation. He's going up against Jermaine Johnson, a state representative.

15:54Notably, they are running to replace term-limited Republican Governor Henry McMaster. Wilson there, the favorite, obviously, given the history in South Carolina, but the political climate. Tonight, we may see an upset. Let's take a look at the next state that we are watching very closely. It is in Vermont. A unique situation here in Vermont. Not too early to call, but this is a state that Kamala Harris won where you have an incumbent Republican governor seeking reelection. Phil Scott looking for his sixth two-year term. He's an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, a champion stock car driver. He's going up against Amanda Janue, a progressive economist.

16:25Again, a state Kamala Harris won where a Republican incumbent is seeking reelection in a difficult political climate for Republicans. All right, fascinating stuff. And some votes are coming in in the Senate race. And Dana, in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, some interesting numbers. It's early, but pretty interesting. Very early. It's interesting because it is Kentucky and the Democrat right now is ahead. Charles Booker, the Democrat, is ahead by 7 ,610 votes, 51.9 percent. Andy Barr, who's in the House and wants to be in the Senate. This is for Mitch McConnell's seat, by the way. This is 46.7 percent.

17:01It is early, Anderson. But the fact that we are at any point of the night in Kentucky with a Democrat ahead is worth noting. Yeah, 9 % of the vote there. Let's go over to voter polls. David, let's look at Georgia. What are the numbers? Yeah, now that the polls are closed, we can look at sort of how voters are splitting themselves between the candidates. And this is so interesting among independent voters in Georgia. 30 % of voters in that electorate today. Overwhelmingly, independents are breaking for Ossoff, 63 % to 35%. That's a 28-point advantage among independent voters. We also looked at how voters are splitting between the candidates for those voters that call the economy the most important issue.

17:4341 % of the electorate, top issue by far in Georgia, say the economy is the top issue. 57 % for Ossoff, 42 % for Collins, a 15-point advantage on issue number one for Georgia voters for Ossoff. We also are taking a look at some of this category. It's only 9 % of voters in Georgia, but somewhat disapprovers of Trump. So this is a place where you can imagine some independents are hanging out or some moderate Republicans. And look at this. The candidates are splitting them roughly evenly. Collins is winning 51 % of the somewhat disapprovers of Trump. And Ossoff is winning 47 % of them. That's 9 % of the electorate.

18:21And then we looked at the Republican Party that identifies not as MAGA. So 13 percent of the electorate in Georgia today are Republicans who aren't MAGA. Think of it as sort of mainstream Republicans. They are Republicans, though. Collins is winning them overwhelmingly, 79 percent. But Anderson, John Ossoff is getting 20 percent of the votes of non-MAGA Republicans in Georgia. Yeah, could be very, very significant. David Axelrod, do you? Well, let me tell you something. There's always someone who comes out of these midterm elections who becomes the it person was Ron DeSantis in 2022. He was going to be the nominee of the party.

18:58There's going to be a parade down to Atlanta after this to talk to John Ossoff, who said he's not he during the campaign, he said he wasn't going to run for president. There's going to be a lot of interest in him because of the numbers that he's putting up here in a state that wasn't easy. He was considered vulnerable at the beginning of this cycle. This was going to be one of the seats that Republicans were going to take. And he may win this by double digits just looking at these. Well, you know, who else, you know, who else said they weren't going to run for president when they were running for Senate was Barack Obama.

19:28I know that I heard that. It took until February of 2007 for him to go back and meet the press and say, actually, no, he was running. And look, I mean, David's absolutely right. I mean, the Ossoff for president campaign starts tonight, basically. And his win is going to be even more overwhelming than anyone unexpected at the beginning. He drew a great hand in Mike Collins, who's the Republican opponent, deeply flawed candidate with a problematic history of inflammatory comments and associations. But at the same time, he ran an incredibly disciplined campaign. He gave the right answer on whether he was going to run for president or not.

19:59And he crafted an image in a media era where it is incredibly difficult to grab attention. And he managed to pull all of that off. Yeah, more numbers starting to come in. Let's go back to Jake. Thanks, Anderson. I want to take a look at where we are in the night when it comes to the House of Representatives. Just a reminder for you all at home. Democrats, in order to regain control of the House of Representatives, need to pick up three Republican seats. They need to flip three Republican seats. So how are Democrats doing at that task right now? Right now, Democrats are leading in four Republican House districts.

20:34What about Republicans in Democratic districts? Republicans are leading in zero Democratic districts. So were this to hold, it's very early, but were this to hold, it would seem as though Democrats are on their way to recapturing the House. But again, John, it's super early to be making any sort of prognostication based on votes. It's early, but if you're the Democrats, you know one thing that you were hoping is true is true, which is that you are running stronger than you did in prior elections. If you're comparing where you were at this time of day versus time of day, there's some risk in that.

21:07But there's also some validity in doing it just to get a sense. You know, no two elections are exactly alike. But in terms of how votes are reported, where they're coming from. So let's look at this one we're looking at most closely. We have a little bit more vote now. We're at 29 percent of the estimated vote in. Last time you hear, we're up to 33 percent right now. Again, that's a healthy lead if you're the Democrat, because that's a Republican incumbent in this district, a district that Donald Trump won by 17 points two years ago. The interesting thing to me is this is where the votes came in earlier.

21:34This is Hamilton County. This is the largest county in the district. Right. And so in terms of in terms of where are the most votes. Right. If you're the losing candidate, you're trying to figure out where can I get votes? Where are the most votes? They're in Hamilton County. And with a little more than half of the vote in J.D. Ford is well ahead. So if you're in Democratic headquarters, that's good math. The question is, does it hold up as we move from. Sparks needs to win Hamilton County, correct, or or or come much closer than she is right now. Now, you know, this is likely early vote. Democrats tend to be more in early vote.

22:06So let's see if she can make it up an Election Day vote or at least narrow that gap. But if you're in the Democratic headquarters, you're thinking, check, largest county. We're running strong. Then you're moving up here again. This is a county that Donald Trump won by 35 points two years ago. And with half of the vote in, just shy of that, the Democrats holding his own. Call that a tie, if you will. We're still waiting for more votes, a slight advantage. And so the early results tell us that Democrats are running more. They're just running stronger than they did two years ago in these districts that Trump won handily.

22:40Got more to go. We're going to get more rate in this next hour. We're just going to get a blizzard of new information. So there you go. So let's move down to the southern one of Kentucky we're talking about, because we do have a little bit more vote here, too. We're up to five percent right now. And you see that's a 10 point race. Now it was bigger before when it was just this county. It was a little bigger. That's how we started in this race. And now we're over here and we're starting to get south of Lexington and Jessamine County. You see here, competitive, competitive. This, again, is a county.

23:07This is two candidates, you know, essentially tied in a county that Donald Trump won by. About a quarter of the vote in. Right. Donald Trump won by 36 points. Right. Two years ago. So, again, broken record. Democrats are running at the moment anyway as the early votes come in. And we need to be careful about that. We could be here in an hour saying, wow, what's different? You know, it changed a lot. But out of the box, the Democrats are running more competitive. So, well, it's just the poll's closed in Florida. Bring us down there because there's some House races there we're keeping an eye on.

23:36Because remember, the Republicans redistricted so as to give themselves a net of four or five seats. Well, let's take a look. This is one of those districts here. Florida's 25th. I have the county lines on, so I'm going to turn the county lines off. There we go. And you see the entire district right here along the coast. This was redistricted by Republicans with the idea that they would get the Democratic incumbent, Jared Moskovitz, at 26 percent of the vote. That's a healthy lead right now. We'll see if it holds up. But again, another key question tonight. We've talked about several. Democrats, are they running stronger in rural America, in Trump country?

24:10Indiana, Kentucky seem to be giving us at least the early clues of yes. Here, did Republicans make a mistake or will their redistricting plans backfire? Did they draw districts months ago thinking these are going to be strong Republican districts? And as the national climate deteriorated, did they not only draw a district where you can't beat a Democratic incumbent, but did they possibly dilute a district next door by moving votes? Did they hurt Republicans as well? So there's what you're looking at. Sorry to interrupt. I just want to take a look big picture at the House right now and what's going on.

24:45Remember, the Democrats have to pick up three Republican seats in order to take control of the House of Representatives. How are Democrats doing right now in that task? Democrats are currently leading in 14 Republican seats. This is because more votes have come in. How are Republicans doing? Republicans are leading in one Democratic seat. So it's early. It's very early. But that would be a net of 13 when Democrats only need to flip three. Right. So if you're the Democrats, you're thinking we're starting the night where we want to be. Again, we need to be careful. Right. They're leading. If you're a Democrat watching at home, you should be, you know, gee, be happy at the early vote.

25:24Stay with us. Stay with us. Reload your stacks. It's going to take a while before we can say we're done. I just quickly want to show you a new tool we have this year is this board here. As we go through this very question you're asking about, you see the key races here in the leaderboards. Right. So, Tom Perrello, this would be a huge deal if Tom Perrello can hold on to this district in central Virginia. that has a Republican incumbent who has signs in the district. I was there just recently. Trump endorsed throughout the district. But if Tom Perillo can hold on to this, but it's only one percent of it.

25:51But the white lines around it tells you it's a flip, right, that this was a Democratic district. Right. And so I can do it this way right now. And you bring up these races that are flipping. Right. So right now you have these races that are flipping in our key race leaderboard. As you noted, there are other races that we don't have identified as key races that right now the Democrats is leading. That could become a story if it holds up later on that they're winning even in places we weren't eyeing at the beginning of the day. So that's the House. Dana Bash has more from the Senate. Dana, votes are coming in in Georgia.

26:17What do you got? That's right. We have Georgia, the incumbent Democrat, John Ossoff. He's up. Look how early it is. I mean, it's only 331 votes ahead, 58.9 percent. Mike Collins, the Republican challenger at 41.4 percent. It's so early that we don't even have a percentage yet. But this is a very important race for Democrats to hold. Florida. This is a Republican seat. The incumbent Ashley Moody, she's filling out Marco Rubio's term. Right now, the Democrat Angie Nixon is ahead by a little more than 130 ,000 votes. It's 51.5 percent. Ashley Moody, the Republican, is 47.5 percent, a lot more of the vote in here, 47 percent of the vote in here.

27:01I want to go back to Kentucky because Democrat Charles Booker is still ahead. Again, it is early. He's at 49.3 percent. Andy Barr, the Republican who's trying to keep this Mitch McConnell seat in GOP hands, is at 49.2 percent. It looks very close there. Only 10 percent of the vote. And I just want to caution that this is not a seat that has been on anybody's battleground. But we're going to continue to watch it. Look at New Hampshire. This is an open Democratic seat. The Democrats are desperate to hold on to. And the Democratic candidate, Chris Pappas, is ahead early on. We're just starting to get the votes in here.

27:40He's ahead by 388 votes at 67.6 percent. John Sununu, who is hoping to go back to the Senate after he was defeated back in 2008, he's at 30.4 percent. So, Jake, the New Hampshire seat, the Georgia seat, those are two examples of the blue seats that Democrats are hoping to hold on to in order to take back the Senate because the other terrain is very GOP. Yeah, that's the Senate. Let's take another look at the House, because remember, Democrats need to flip three Republican congressional seats in order to take control of the House of Representatives. right now i don't want you to look at this number i want you to look at this number right now democrats are leading in 18 republican districts and republicans are leading in two democratic districts again it's early but that's a net of 16 and it's very early right now again i you know last you as we've all been cautioning we are we're all familiar with the blue mirage and the red mirage and all that like these are early votes it's not determinative of how the vote's going to be when it's 100 percent in.

28:46But still, looking at these numbers, you'd rather be on Team Blue than Team Red. You absolutely would be. We're going to use them all up tonight. It's a marathon, not a sprint, and we'll have a whole bunch as we go through them. I have them all written down here. As we go through them. And we need to be cautious. So we'll get there. But the votes are starting to come in in a way. We'll have a good, we will have by 9, 9.30, a very good glimpse of the battle in the House. But as you know, the Democrats, you see that blue in Indiana, right? There's three or four districts there Democrats are leading in.

29:13That doesn't mean they're going to win them. Doesn't mean they're going to win them, but there's at least one there where Democrats think they're very competitive. I just mentioned a minute ago when you come into the Commonwealth of Virginia and you come out here, this is a district here that this is a Republican plus 24 district. It's very early 1 % of the vote. I was out here recently and you could see some Democratic enthusiasm. This is a more, this is a one, you know, it's only a Republican plus 12, right? Again, so then he's a former Congressman. Tom Pirello has experience as a campaigner.

29:40This would be a big deal. The last thing I want to do is just come back down to Florida. Just put an exclamation point of what we were talking about earlier. You see all that blue filling in. I just want to show you something here. The districts that are highlighted now are the four districts that Republicans redistricted with the idea that we're going to make these Republican seats. This is the Democratic incumbent here, Kathy Castor, running in a much more difficult district. Seventy percent of the vote is in and she is ahead. Not at the finish line yet. We have not projected this race, but they redrew that district to beat her.

30:08and she's leading right now. This is another district that was redrawn to defeat the Democratic incumbent, Darren Soto. He is running ahead right now with almost 60 % of the vote in. Again, we have a ways to go, but they redrew this thinking this would be easy. They wanted to make these cakewalks. That's why they redrew the districts. They are not cakewalks. Here's another one here. Again, the Democratic incumbent with a lead there and the last one I showed you moments ago, it runs right along the Southeast Coast. Jared Moskowitz with a healthy lead there at 43%. We're not at the finish line yet, but if those four or three or four of those districts stay blue, Republicans backfire.

30:47If their redistricting plan backfires, Democrats go up. So speaking of Florida, let us talk now with with Boris to talk about the Florida governor's race. What's going on here? A surprisingly competitive race, Jake. And we're starting to get results right now. Surprising because Democrats haven't won the governorship in Florida since 1994. Right now, David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who left the party largely in objection to Donald Trump. He has a lead over the Trump-endorsed Byron Donalds congressman from the Naples area, trying to take over for Ron DeSantis, the term limited Republican, trying to run as an extension of DeSantis' conservative agenda.

31:25Jolly running on affordability, restrictions on data centers as well. Right now, he has more than a quarter million vote lead on Donald. 260 ,000 votes ahead of the congressman. Only 50 % of the vote in still early. That panhandle is yet to come in, reliably conservative. But this is the kind of lead you want to see if you want to make history and buck political trends. All right, that's a race we're going to be keeping a close eye on. The first votes of the night are in, and we're standing by for even more. Polls close in three more states in just minutes. Plus, voters are still lined up in Detroit, Michigan, for those final 90 minutes of voting in that state's high-stakes Senate race.

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33:12So just to reset here, a reminder, in order to recapture the House of Representatives, Democrats have to pick up three Republican seats. So how are Democrats doing right now in that task as these votes come in? Well, Democrats are leading in 18 Republican districts as the vote comes in. What about Republicans? They're leading in two Democratic districts. Now Democrats are leading in 17 Republican districts. So in any case, the point is that were this to hold, and it's so early, but were this to hold, that's a good night for Democrats in the House of Representatives. Let's look at the U.S. Senate.

33:49In the U.S. Senate, it's a tougher task. Democrats have to flip or pick up four Republican seats. How are Democrats doing right now with the votes coming in? Democrats are leading in one Republican seat. How about Republicans' Democratic seats? Republicans are leading in zero Democratic seats. So this would not do the job were this to hold. But again, it's so early, Dana Bash, but let's dive into some of the numbers. It is so early. Georgia is the one that is most fascinating right now because it is the seat that a Democrat holds, the only one where Donald Trump won two years ago. And John Ossoff is ahead by a really big margin, 389 ,000 in change, 71.7 percent.

34:32Mike Collins, the Republican challenger, 28.3 percent. It is still early, 20 percent of the vote in. Now let's look at New Hampshire, another seat Democrats are hoping to hold. It's an open Democratic seat. Gene Shaheen is retiring. Chris Pappas, the Democratic candidate, is ahead by a little less than 5000 votes at 61.9 percent. John Sununu, the Republican with the very famous name in the state of New Hampshire, was trying to get back to the Senate. We'll see what happens. He's at 36.4 percent. It is extremely early. Only three percent of the vote in. And let's look at Florida. The Democrat is still ahead.

35:09She's ahead by a little bit more than the last time we checked in, 88 ,000 votes. She's at 50.5 percent. She's trying to unseat Republican Ashley Moody. She was appointed to the seat to fill out Marco Rubio's terms. She wants to have a whole new special election to continue his term. Rather, she's at 48.5 percent, 53 percent of the vote in. That would be an upset based on what Republicans and Democrats were expecting coming into this. Still 47 % of the vote to come in. Exactly. A lot of interesting numbers coming our way. We were just talking about Florida Senate. What do you got from me on Florida governor?

35:48So last check, we saw David Jolly, 260 ,000 votes ahead of Congressman Byron Donald's. That lead has shrunk. It's now only at 185 ,000. Still a sizable lead for a Democrat running in a state that hasn't won the governorship for a Democrat since 1994. Jolly, 185 ,000 votes ahead of Byron Donald's. 53 % of the vote in. And keep in mind, the panhandle's on a different time zone than the eastern part of Florida. So some of that vote still hasn't come in yet. We are watching to get an update. 53 % of the vote in right now in the Sunshine State. Let's get an update. We're starting to see numbers coming in from the Pete State of Georgia.

36:22There, Keisha Lance Bottoms, former mayor of Atlanta, former Biden administration official, 307 ,000 votes ahead of billionaire Rick Jackson. It just updated. She's almost 300 ,000 votes ahead of Rick Jackson right now. Still very early on in the night. but positive signs for Keisha Lance Bottoms with 21 % of the vote in. Let's get you an update now from the Northeast. A state that Kamala Harris won where an incumbent Republican governor is running for re-election. Kelly Ayotte, former senator, seeking a second two-year term. Right now she's behind Cindy Warmington, a health care attorney, former lobbyist.

36:56She's almost 2 ,000 votes ahead, 1 ,810 votes ahead. Still very early in the night, but again, and it just updated again, She's now 1 ,700 votes ahead of a yacht, notably a yacht as governor endorsed Donald Trump in 2024. She's tried to distance herself from them. Obviously, again, the political climate, not a great one for Republicans. Four percent of the vote in it right now. She is behind in this race, Jake. All right. Very interesting stuff. And we are counting down to our next batch of actual results in key races with the second round of poll closing set to begin in less than 10 minutes. It's 730 Eastern.

37:29polls are going to close in most of North Carolina. A few sites are staying open later than expected after some equipment problems caused delays. Polls are also closed statewide in Ohio and West Virginia. And Caitlin and Dana, we're about to see some voting results pouring in from three more states. What are you keeping an eye on? I think I have an idea, but let me start with you. Well, Jake, you mentioned Ohio. That has been one of the most expensive Senate races, also one of the most bizarre because it is focused a lot on the physical attributes of the Republican candidate here, John Husted, mainly because of the president's comments there.

38:04Of course, he's running against Jared Brown, who lost his Senate seat two years ago to Bernie Moreno. He's trying to reclaim it. But it has been expensive. It has been crazy. It has been one that everyone is watching and could be a really good indicator of where tonight is headed. I'll say it. A Republican said to me, it's the ads and the ass in Ohio, North Carolina, I'm looking at because this is an open seat. The Republican Tom Tillis is retiring and And the Democrats feel very good. Republicans are admitting that's likely that they're right, that the retired Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, will win this Senate seat.

38:39And this is a recruit that Chuck Schumer tried very hard to get. And he was successful. And if he actually does win, it will be a really important pickup for Democrats. Very important pickup. Popular two-term governor. And let me go right now to the magic wall where John King is. Let's talk about Florida, John, because there are so many House races there and Republicans were really counting on running the map in the House races. But also, this is very surprising. Again, only 53 percent of the vote in. But David Jolly, former Republican congressman turned Democrat, leading as of right now. Leading Democrat, leading in the race for governor, Democrat leading in the race for Senate.

39:22Democrats doing much better than Republicans thought they would do. if you look at the House. Let's just come back and use the governor's race as a template for a moment. It's partly joke, partly not a joke, Jake, but you're drawn on the map like it's 1999. I mean, this Florida has not been competitive in a very, very, very long time. Let's just take a look here. We're looking at the governor's race right here. Let's just come over. Another tool we have on our map here is we can look at the state's political history here. And David Jolly, the Democrat, again, you're right, a converted Republican leading, leading.

39:52We have a ways to go here. But look, just look at the history. Look at the recent history of Florida. It is Republican. Pick a county, right? I want to come down here to Miami. Oh, I got to turn this off first. Sorry. I think I know how to do this. Let's just come down here, pull out the county, Miami-Dade County, right? If you could go back to the before, if you go back in time, you got to go back six, seven years. Joe Biden was competitive down there. Senator Nelson. But look at the recent history in Florida. In the DeSantis years, it has changed. So where are we now? You come over to this race and what are you looking for?

40:21Back in the old days when Florida was a battleground, Jake, you went across the I-4 corridor and the Democrats needed to win down here. The Democrats needed to run it up on the coast and across here. And one of the interesting things as you look at these races, and again, they're tracking pretty closely right now. So let me just come in here and look. You come over here to Hillsborough County. This is a Republican plus three for Donald Trump. So it's a much more competitive county, right? And so you have the Democrat right now. That's not competitive. Again, we're only 69 percent. We'll see what happens where the late precincts are to come in.

40:50But it's not competitive at the moment. Right. So then you come over here to Pinellas County. This is a Republican plus five in the last presidential election. And the Democrat is winning that. And that's with 91 percent, 91 percent. And so the map looks now much more like it looked like back in the day when Florida was more of a Republican leaning, but a competitive state. Remember, Barack Obama won Florida twice. Twice. Yeah, twice. But it's been that it's been that long. 14 years ago. Yes, but it has been that long. That's the issue. And so you're looking. And again, I want to show you some House races.

41:21Come back here because this is not the House map. I'm sorry to interrupt, John. Okay, but I'm being told that I have to bring you our next round of results as polls are closing in three more states. Two of them, Ohio and North Carolina, have high-stakes Senate races. So as of right now, we are saying that these three Senate races are too early to call. in North Carolina, in Ohio, and in West Virginia. Too early to call. As of right now, the polls just closed in those states. Let us remind you, the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. Democrats currently have 35 seats. Republicans currently have 31 seats.

41:59There are 34 seats remaining that we are going to be watching the election results for tonight. Democrats have to pick up four Republican seats. They have to flip four Republican seats. Dana Bash, you have some voting information. Votes are coming in from these states. They are. And I'm going to show you four states where Democrats are ahead, including two that could be Democratic pickups if it remains the case. Starting with South Carolina, we're getting votes in. Right now, the Democratic candidate, who's a pediatrician, Annie Andrews, is ahead 55.5 percent. The incumbent Republican, Darlene Graham, who is finishing out her brother's term and is running for election, is at 43.1 percent.

42:43It is extremely early, only one percent of the vote in. Let's look at another red seat. Florida, Angie Nixon continues to be ahead around the same amount as she was before, a little more than 81 ,000 votes. She's at 50.2 percent. The Republican incumbent, Ashley Moody, is at 48.7 percent. We're going to continue to monitor this. Absolutely. And now let's look at some of the blue seats Democrats are hoping to hold. Starting with Georgia, John Ossoff's lead keeps getting bigger and bigger. 67.3 percent. Mike Collins, 32.7 percent. 23 percent of the vote. And I'm interested to see where the rest of the vote is that we're waiting for.

43:24New Hampshire, again, an open blue seat. Chris Pappas is maintaining his lead, 62.8 percent. John Sununu, the Republican, at 35.6%. It is very early. It just switched, but it didn't change the margins very much, Jake. John Sununu is somebody who people in New Hampshire and elsewhere are saying would have had a chance had it not been for the headwinds that Donald Trump is providing. A lot of headwinds. A lot of headwinds in this midterm election year. Let us remind folks about where we are when it comes to the race for the House. Democrats, as you may remember, have to switch. They have to flip.

44:02They have to pick up three Republican congressional districts. Okay, how are Democrats doing at this hour as the votes come in? Democrats are currently leading in 13 Republican districts. What about Republicans? They're leading in one Democratic district. So it's early yet, but were these numbers to hold, that would indicate the Democrats are going to have a good night. Boris, tell us what's the latest on the governor's races. Yeah, Jake, just minutes ago, polls closing in one of the most contentious and controversial governor's races in the nation. Running to replace term limited Republican Governor Mike DeWine in Ohio is Vivek Ramaswamy, former presidential candidate, former co-head of Doge, though that was short-lived.

44:43The biotech billionaire running on tax reform in the Buckeye State, also running a very controversial ad about his opponent, Amy Acton, featuring her estranged mom who lost custody of her when she was 12 amid child sexual assault allegations. Acton, the former state health director in Ohio, led the Buckeye State through the COVID pandemic. She's running on a more moderate platform. She supports a voter ID measure, local collaboration with an immigration crackdown. She's, at this point, potentially going to become the first female governor in Ohio's history. Gramer Swamy could make history as well, being the first Hindu governor in the history of the United States.

45:16But right now, it is too early to call in the Buckeye State. Let's get you an update from the sunshine state of Florida, my home state there. Right now, David Jolly, we showed you the advantage that he had just moments ago over Congressman Byron Donald. Right now, it shrunk, but it just ticked up seconds ago. 114 ,000 votes ahead of Donald, 58 % of the vote in. How close is this going to get as we get closer and closer to polls closing in the panhandle? Again, reliably red. So Donald is expecting a boost there. Will it come? We'll find out. Let's take a look at Georgia now. in the peace state.

45:49Keisha Lance Bottoms, 268 ,273 ,000 votes ahead of as more votes come in ahead of Rick Jackson. Again, Bottoms looking to become the first black female governor in the history of the United States, the first female governor in Georgia, first black governor of Georgia as well. She is sitting with a comfortable lead right now ahead of Jackson, 25 % of the vote in still early tonight. But if you're in Keisha Lance Bottoms camp, this is what you'd like to All right, Boris, fascinating stuff. And just a reminder in terms of the balance of power, what we're looking for tonight in terms of the big picture when it comes to the national races.

46:23Democrats have to pick up three Republican seats in order to win the House. Democrats have to pick up four Republican seats in the Senate in order to take over the Senate. So let's talk about the Senate with John King. John, we have some of these numbers coming in, some of these votes coming in. And right now, it says that Democrats are leading in two Republican Senate seats as these votes come in. And Republicans are leading in zero Democratic seats. So let's just go through them. At the top of the show, we talked about how the first goal for Democrats is hold your own. If you want to pick up a net four, you got to hold your own.

46:57It's only 7 percent of the vote. But Chris Pappas off at least to a healthy lead so far in New Hampshire. That's challenge number one. Michigan and Georgia are the others, right? The Democrats need to hold. And then you target four. So let's look at Georgia. I know people are seeing that other blue on the map right there. Again, 25 percent of the vote in here. Ossoff off to a healthy lead as you go through. Where's that lead coming from? This is the Democratic base right up here. You know, I say this a lot tonight, but the math matters. Six in 10 Georgians live inside that circle. There's a big other state out here, but 60 percent of the vote in the state comes inside that circle.

47:28And it is a Democratic leaning circle. And so you go to the largest county in the state is Fulton County. John Ossoff getting 81 percent of the vote in Fulton County so far. That's Atlanta and the suburbs to the north and south. Then you move over. I just want to check on Gwinnett County. Still keeping it up here. If you go back 20 years or so, this is a lot more competitive. It's become a Democratic suburban area. That's the number of Democratic needs to win statewide because you do expect, you see these rural counties, you do expect them to fill in red. As more of them fill in, we'll check to see if Mike Collins is running anywhere close to Brian Kemp, the governor who's leaving, or to Donald Trump in the past.

48:01We'll see that a little bit later. Democrats at home are probably saying, why aren't you touching that one? And South Carolina is blue in a Senate race. I got to it late just because I want to have you be patient. It's 2 percent of the vote in. But Annie Edwards, the Democrat, 56 percent to Darlene Graham, who was the appointed senator after her brother, Lindsey Graham, passed away. But this is 2 percent of the vote. So this is just a reminder. We'll be watching this race. It is unusually competitive. South Carolina has not been competitive in a very long time. We will see how that one goes. And then back down now to Florida.

48:31Let's check on Kentucky. We're looking at some battleground House races there. But the Republican Senate candidate, only 16 percent, but he's opened up a lead there. And then we come down here again. This one, I want to show you this one. I'll flip to the governor's race. This is the Florida that we were used to 10, 15 years ago, where you're up to 70 percent of the vote. And you're saying we're going to be here a while. Right. The panhandle still hasn't. Panhandle. You still have a lot of votes to come in in the panhandle up here, which is, as they say in Florida politics, the further south you go, the farther north you get.

49:05In the sense that a lot of transplants from New York and everything down here. This is a much more votes more like the south, like Alabama, like Georgia, like Mississippi. Votes much more like the south. I'll show you just for an example. You go to these counties, they're 65 percent. But again, are the Democrats running more competitive in rural areas? Just interesting, though. This is a Senate race. Governor's race almost tracking it. Right. Almost roughly tracking it. Very close there. Can I ask you just because I guess you and I both have Florida year 2000 scars, flashbacks. Ben Ginsberg. I saw Ben Ginsberg in the building the other day.

49:38I'll just leave it there. Everyone goes to that therapist. But in terms of the Democratic leading districts, how much of the vote has come in? Because that could be over suggesting a Democratic turnout if, you know, if the votes from the Democratic districts have been counted 100 percent of it. It's a great point. Number one, is Miami-Dade back for the Democrats? It's part of the issue here. Donald Trump won Miami-Dade by 11 points, almost 12 points last time. That used to be a reliably Democrat. That used to be. It used to just be. You knew that was blue. And the conversation I would be having 10 or 15 years ago was the Democrats need to run it up here.

50:11Right. You know, here the Democrats are winning, which is important. But it's still a key question. Back when we were talking about Democrats trying to win Florida, they had to run it up here. is being competitive, you know, being ahead, but by a normal margin. And this Broward. Yeah, you move up to Broward and you see that here. And we're still waiting for votes from Palm Beach County where we don't have any yet. You make a key point there. And again, you come over to the this used to be where the I-4, the conversation 10, 15, 20 years ago. That's where the independents are. I-4 corridor over to the beach.

50:41Hillsborough County, which is Tampa, Republican plus three. So a competitive county. The Democrats ahead by 18 at the moment. And we're up to 70 percent of the vote. That would be a big deal. That would be a big deal. So it's the fourth largest county by population in the state. If that holds up, then you come over here to Pinellas County, which is St. Pete along the beach. Again, Donald Trump won here by five. And the Democrat is winning at the moment by four. Round that up. It's five. So but I mean, just to remind folks about how competitive Florida used to be, because I know some of our first voters today were born in the year 2008 in the very last year of the George W.

51:16Bush administration. But when George W. Bush won Florida 26 years ago, he won it by 537 votes. Yes. I mean, it can be that narrow. And a Supreme Court case. Well, we don't have to get it. We don't have to get that. But yeah, you're right. So that's the difference between the then when Florida was midnight, 1 a.m., you know, a thousand, a few thousand votes waiting for everything to come in. It's just the recent history. This just tells you this. But this is the recent history. But for Florida at the statewide level. And so that the Democrats are competitive. There are no participation trophies.

51:49Right. Right. You know, in the end of the night, you need to win the race. Now, there will be some Democrats in races. They lose narrowly in states they haven't won in a long time who say, great, we're starting to rebuild. But when it comes to winning power, there are no participation trophies. But just the eighty four thousand votes with 60 percent in. Welcome back, Florida. So, look, some numbers are coming in. Some votes are coming in from key states where there are Senate races. we're watching. Dana? Ohio. We're finally getting votes in from Ohio. And right now, the Democrat, the challenger, Sherrod Brown, is ahead by a little more than 100 ,000 votes, 66.8 percent.

52:23The incumbent Republican John Husted, who is filling out J.D. Vance's term, he is trailing at 30.3 percent. Only 6 percent of the vote in. This is one that we are watching very closely, Jake and John, because we know that Sherrod Brown was an important recruit for Chuck Schumer. And if he had any chance of getting this red seat back in blue territory. All right, Dana, thanks so much. Let's you have votes coming in from Ohio. So we see coming Jared Sherrod Brown, former Democratic senator. He lost a few years ago, two years ago, I think. And he's giving it another go running against the incumbent appointed Senator John Husted, who was appointed to that position by the governor because J.D.

53:07Vance became vice president. It was his Senate seat. So this would be a big upset if it were to happen. It's only 6 percent of the vote coming in. Where's it coming in from? So that's the key point. Number one, this is the part that Ohio Democrats are going to watch the most closely, about a third of the vote in. This is Mahoning County. This is where, if you remember back to Trump's first term, this is where he went and told General Motors workers, don't sell your house. I'll save that plant. He didn't save that plant. But he did flip this county. He did flip this county back again. Donald. This is another state.

53:37We were just talking about Florida. I just want to come back to that. Donald Trump took this state off the map for 10 years. This was the state political reporters went to every two years. Middle America, bellwether, 50 50. Trump took it off the map. He took it off the map by running up in these rural areas. That's why John Husted's not panicking yet. We have no votes in these rural areas. But he also won it by turning blue collar union workers into Trump Republicans. A lot of them live right here. If Sherrod Brown can hold up that lead, it's only at 34 percent, this would be a sign that blue-collar union workers, blue-collar workers who are stressed are coming back.

54:12I've spent a lot of time here, and I was just texting a few minutes ago with Chris Anderson, who's the Mahoning County Democratic chairman. He is pumped. He says yards that used to have Trump signs now have Sherrod signs on them. And he thinks they're going to flip this, and it's going to be part of flipping the state. But it's early. But I just want to come back through this again. So here's another place. Sherrod Brown has to win here. So, yes, we have a lot to fill in. If it's early on, you're happy. But this is Franklin County. This is the capital of Columbus. It's a Democratic area. He has to win.

54:40But again, that's a huge lead. This is a county Kamala Harris won by 28 points and he's winning it there, obviously, by more than 50 points with 31 percent. And the question is, when you see when you see a vote total that's around 25, 30 percent, it's early votes that have been reported. Democrats vote disproportionately early. So it's what you want. And if you're a Democrat, it's what you need. But we need to count more votes before we get this positive. But I will say, Jake, as we go through these states tonight, is Florida a battleground again? That would be a big question. Just once. Here, you have the Senate race and you have the governor's race.

55:13So let's just see. 68.4 to 29, 9 percent. This is not going to end like this. OK, this is not going. Ohio is not going to end like this. So let's be careful about this. This is early votes coming in from Democratic areas. Right. But 66 in the governor's race, 60s, they're tracking. Right. That's one of the things you're looking for. Are people are they voting together or are you moving away? So another thing that's interesting here is this state is fascinating to me. Number one, it has not been a battleground in forever, in 10 years. Number two, you say, what are the stakes tonight? What's on the ballot tonight?

55:44This is a place Donald Trump traveling, saying vote like I'm on the ballot. But remember Vivek Ramaswamy, he wanted to be the next generation of MAGA, right? He's running for governor out here. I was just out there. I can tell you, even Republicans say that ad invoking the childhood trauma of Amy Acton not only hurt him, but hurt them. They're worried about some House districts in Ohio tonight as well. And they think that ad was a disaster and a bad decision. Number two, the Sherrod Brown seat, as you noted a bit earlier, was J.D. Vance's seat. The vice president is from Ohio. So Trumpism is on the ballot in Ohio tonight in a big way.

56:22And Vance is on the ballot in a way, as well as the president in Ohio tonight. It's early. We'll see what happens right here. Where Democrats out of the gate are right where they want to be. So let's just reset when it comes to the U.S. House of Representatives. A reminder, the Democrats have to pick up only three Republican districts. And as of right now, Democrats are leading in 18 Republican districts. and Republicans are leading in two Democratic districts. If that's going to hold, and of course, it's early. We've been saying this 100 times, but it is early. But were that to hold, Democrats would be well on track to retake the House of Representatives.

56:57And again, to the point we've been making repeatedly, and sorry if you find it redundant at home, but it's important because we're in the early hours here. You know, you were a while ago, you were over here and it was 18. Then it was down to 13 where Democrats were leading. Now it's back to 19. Now it's back up to 19. So more states are starting to report votes. So the numbers are going to bounce around. Plus, in some of the places where Democrats were leading out of the box, they are no longer leading. That includes at least one district in Indiana. They were they were leading here out of the box.

57:23They are no longer. That's what happens. Early votes come in first. The Democrats take a lead. They call it a blue mirage in some states. Michigan's one of them. When Michigan results start to come in, they tend to report a lot of Election Day votes first. Sometimes there's a red mirage. So we will show you the early votes because every vote counts. But let's let's wait and we go through. So let's check on the one we were looking at. We're up to 54 percent here now. And you see more counties filling in the fifth district. And it's the Democrat is holding the lead here. That would be a huge flip in middle America in a district that Trump won by 17 points.

57:53That would be huge. We're not done there yet, but we'll see where we go. Let's come back out and look at some other ones. You were talking to me about Ohio a second ago. This is a district that's red at the moment. This would be huge for Republicans. But it's only two percent of the vote. Republicans in the last three, four or five cycles have said they're going to get Marcy Kepler, the longtime incumbent right there in the Toledo area and out to the west. It's only 2 percent of the vote. I was talking to some people involved in this race earlier today. They're confident she can pull this one out.

58:19But this would be a huge pickup for Republicans if if they can get it. But it's 2 percent of the vote. Let's say same same thing we said about the governor's race in the Senate race. Let's hold on and go. I just want to come down here and look. This is a race down here. This is the Democrat. This is a Democratic incumbent here where the Republican is slightly ahead. And I want to come up with Mike Turner is the Republican incumbent and he's trailing at the moment. The Rama Swami ad had Ohio Republicans worried about Mike Turner and Mike Carey to mainstream Republicans who have their own brand in Ohio, who have seats around the in Columbus and around there.

58:54And if you look at them at the moment, they're both losing now. But it's early. John, can I flip you to another former battleground state? Yes, you can. Florida. You put me to Florida. Because right now, it appears that in Florida, let's go to the governor's race in Florida. So the Republican has taken the lead. And what about the Senate race in Florida? Angie Nixon is ahead. Still ahead, but it's down to 8 ,000 votes. Right. Yeah, I'm not saying it's determinative, but that's 78%. So there are people voting for Angie Nixon and then also voting for Byron Donald, presumably. Let's look at the difference there.

59:318 ,300 votes there, 36 ,000 votes there, or skipping the race. It's possible some people are skipping the race. It's also fewer. Yeah, it sounds to be that. That's odd that sometimes that balances itself out. I do want to check on one thing since you brought me back to Florida. There's one congressional district down here. Remember, there was a Republican incumbent who did a straight-to-camera like this ad saying, President Trump, you're wrong on immigration. And that was Maria Elvira Salazar with 81 percent in. This is a very close race. This is a race right here that Democrats were hoping to flip, hoping it proof of them that the Latino vote in Florida, which is more complicated than anywhere else in the country, was coming home.

1:00:10It's another nail biter, another nail biter in Florida, which means we have a battleground night. All right, John King, we've arrived at possibly one of the most pivotal moments of the entire night. We're less than 10 minutes away from our biggest round of poll closings at 8 p.m. Eastern. All voting is going to end in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maine. Big race we're watching up there. Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire. Big races we're watching there. New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania. A lot of house races there. Rhode Island and Tennessee.

1:00:51Dana and Caitlin, we're about to get a flood of results. What are you looking for? Maine. I mean, you said it. Maine is going to be the state that I'm going to be watching because Susan Collins has been there six terms. She 30 years and she wants another term there. And she is in a neck and neck race with the Democrat Troy Jackson. She has been able to overcome polls. She's been able to overcome headwinds that were against her in the past. It is unclear if this time around she can do it. Troy Jackson, of course, has only been on the ballot for a few months since the summer because Grant Plattner imploded and he was picked.

1:01:30Yeah. And another race that might determine the balance of power in the Senate is, of course, New Hampshire, where Chris Pappas, the Democrat, is running against John Sununu, who put out that ad famously in the last few weeks, Jake, where he sounded a little like Mariah Carey saying, I don't even know Trump. I've never even met the guy. It sounded a little like I don't know her. I mean, the question is, is that a strategy that works for him here? And it really shows you what the Republican candidate, obviously a very famous name in that state, how he thought the voters were feeling about the Trump presidency.

1:01:57That's right. Former senator himself, John Sununu. Anderson, lots of numbers coming in, lots of votes coming in. That's right. I hope that is not the only Mariah Carey reference of the night. We have a bunch ready for you. I hope so. So let's check in with Orlette Saenz, who is at Troy Jackson headquarters in Portland, Maine. What are you hearing from them?

1:02:21Well, Anderson, Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson spent the majority of the final days here in southern Maine, in York and Cumberland County, where we are. And he told me that's because these were areas he didn't perform as well in when he tried to run for governor earlier in the year. and where Collins has also picked up support in the past. Now, Troy Jackson is also hoping to narrow the margins in the second congressional district. That is a more rural, conservative-leaning area where both he and Collins are from. He told me, quote, I don't expect to win the second congressional district, but if we can stay close and do well down here, I think that's the ballgame right there.

1:03:03All right, Marlette Saenz, thanks. I want to check in with Jason Carroll. He's live at a polling place in Bangor, Maine. Jason, what are you seeing? Bangor, which is also the 2nd Congressional District. I just want to show you polls again, just minutes now from closing. A few voters who are just down here casting their final votes. I have to tell you, after listening to Arlette and talking to voters out here all day today, this is very much a race about Susan Collins, even more so than it is about Troy Jackson. And those that we've spoken to, the voters say they are voting for. We'll come back to you.

1:03:37Let's go back to Jake. That's right, Anderson. We have a big development in one of our key races tonight. CNN can now make a major projection in the battleground state of Georgia. CNN projects that Democrat John Ossoff will win the Senate race. He will be reelected. He will defeat Republican Congressman Mike Collins, who was backed by President Trump. It is a major win for Democrats. It's a major win for Senator Ossoff, who will serve a second term and who already is generating buzz amid Democratic activists and donors about a potential 2028 race for president. And it is also a major defeat for President Trump in the Republican Party.

1:04:16Victor Blackwell is at Ossoff HQ in Atlanta, Georgia. Victor.

1:04:24Jake, they don't have the big monitors of CNN on right now because the mayor and Andre Dickens is speaking, mayor of Atlanta is speaking. But yes, the campaign has felt good about their position for some time. Republicans early in this day have been concerned. A GOP official said that even beyond the Ossoff-Collins race, they were concerned that the election day turnout was not going to get Republicans across the finish line. Not just the Senate race, but all the way down the ballot. And you can hear now that they are seeing on CNN that Senator John Ossoff has been reelected. And consider one year ago, Senator Ossoff was the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in a state that Trump won.

1:05:11And here tonight, even before eight o 'clock, less than an hour after the polls closed, CNN is able to project that Senator Ossoff has been reelected. Back to you. Victor Blackwell and Ossoff campaign headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Hi, Atlanta. We see you. Thank you so much for watching CNN. So just to tell you where we are, just a reminder, the balance of power. Democrats have 36 Senate seats. Republicans have 31 Senate seats. There are 33 seats remaining to be called this evening. Remember, at the beginning of the night, I told you the Democrats have to pick up four Republican seats. They still have to pick up four Republican seats.

1:05:53Ossoff was a hold, not a pickup. Where are Democrats right now in their task of picking up four seats? Democrats are leading in three Republican seats as of right now as the votes come in. Republicans are leading in zero Democrat seats as of right now. So, Dana Bash, again, it's early. But first of all, I mean, speaking of it's early, we just called John Ossoff early. It's not even eight o 'clock, my bedtime. It is very early for us to be calling it. But that shows you of how handily he won this race. And just a reminder, this race, the Georgia Senate race, up until maybe this time last year, even more recently, was going to be the marquee battleground race.

1:06:39Because he's the only Democrat who's running in a state that Donald Trump won two years ago, an incumbent. And he was thought to be very, very vulnerable. He ran a race that, by all accounts, Democrats and Republicans, was stellar. and he also had an opponent who was incredibly flawed. And those two factors combined with the underlying Trump factor, which maybe is not just underlying, it's overarching everything, it turned out not to be at all. And a lot of Republicans in the state, allies of Brian Kemp, who was a very popular governor, survived attempts to take him down by President Trump, were kind of bewildered by this, by Mike Collins as the candidate, never thought he was a strong candidate.

1:07:26Six weeks ago, we're telling me he's going to lose and he's going to lose badly. So they were not surprised by this. But I'll tell you, Jake, the fact that we are calling it for John Ossoff so early in the night and just looking ahead to where this goes. And we don't know right now. So far, the president has been watching all the returns coming in at the White House. He is not liking what he is seeing coming in. He's been complaining about polls, the way questions are phrased, the answers. He's using some expletives to describe that. And so he's not pleased with what he's seeing so far. And John Ossoff has been actually a senator that has urged the White House the most.

1:07:57Because remember when he got famously in that back and forth with Jay Clayton about whether or not Trump won the 2020 election? And he asked, isn't it embarrassing? You can't just say he didn't win it. He's one of those senators that the White House knows has been effective and would be should the Senate and Democrats retake control. And one of the interesting things, it was a storyline as Ossoff was running for reelection, was that there were a bunch of Republican mayors that endorsed him. Because the constituent service was so good because he did answer their questions and answered their phone calls.

1:08:30So that's a that's the that's a big race, not completely unexpected, but a big race. John, tell us what's going on here. So I've moved. You're talking about Georgia, right? So Georgia looks like it's going to be a convincing win. We've projected it already. We've got to count the final votes. But explain, you know what, explain to our viewers. Why are we calling this so early? Because we have a, I think it's fair to say, a cautious desk, decision desk. We do. I mean that as a compliment. That is a compliment. Sometimes, if you're paying attention on your phone, there might be another organization that calls a race, and we're not criticizing them by any means.

1:09:07We just have a process that, why not? Let's be safe. Let's be cautious. Especially in an age when some people, I won't name them, but you can figure it out, I sometimes question the integrity of elections or think things are happening. Let's be cautious so we can make the case. You want me to make the case? Why did we do this? Number one, that's a big lead out of the gate. Number two, you're looking at where does a Democrat have to perform in Georgia to be successful statewide? Well, this is your first stop right here. The largest of the 159 counties in the state of Georgia is Fulton County. Democrat needs to get above 70.

1:09:35You'd want to be above 75 percent. The Democrat right there is getting above 80 percent. Same things with the counties around. You go down to Clayton County. This is where the airport is in Atlanta. overwhelmingly African-American, strong Democratic county. Democrat needs to run it up. That's what John Ossoff did. And then you go out to these rural counties. I want to show you something here. So see the counties that are lit up on the map right now. OK, so now we're going to see where in Georgia is Mike Collins underperforming Donald Trump. Look at that. See all those see those lit up. A lot of them stay lit up, right?

1:10:07In every county you just saw there that stays on the map. Mike Collins, the Republican candidate, is underperforming the president who won Georgia two years ago. And so the Democrat is doing what he needs to do in places and the Republican is underperforming Donald Trump's numbers in 2024. So that's the one. So let's just move down to the south in Florida, where, again, it's been a long time since we're talking about Florida in a competitive race. In the Senate race, Angie Nixon was ahead early on. This would be enormous. It was not on the map until the final weeks of the campaign. But Ashley Moody, the Republican, has pulled ahead now by 30 ,000, almost 31 ,000 votes with 84 percent of the vote in.

1:10:45So when you panhandle, yes, the panhandle, panhandle still to come in. So that's exactly the point I was going to get to. So at this point, you're saying 84 percent is in. So what's out? You know, what's left to get? The size of the circle tells you there's a sizable amount of votes. A tiny circle, there's a small amount of votes left. The big circle tells you a sizable amount of votes left. So you see, we still have a lot of votes to come in these blue areas. But you're absolutely right, Jake. We have no votes up here. So we're waiting up there, which means we're going to stay and we're going to count them.

1:11:13And Florida, at least for tonight, is a battleground again. At least as of right now, we're going to come back to you in a second, John. It's now time for the biggest round of poll closings of the entire night because it is 8 p.m. Eastern and polls are closing in six seconds in 16 more states, plus the District of Columbia. and we can now make some projections.

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