CNN Projection: Talarico Will Win Texas Senate Race

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1:01In an historic victory for Democrats, CNN is projecting the Democrat James Tallarico will win the U.S. Senate seat in the high stakes race in Texas. The four term state legislator will defeat controversial Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, who ousted Republican incumbent John Cornyn in the GOP primary battle. This was the most expensive Senate race in the history of the United States, and it marks the first time since 1988, 30 years ago about, that Texas will send a Democrat to the U.S. Senate. We also have another projection that's going to be pretty big. We can project that Democrat Sherrod Brown will win the Senate seat in Ohio.

1:43We were just talking about Ramaswamy dragging down Republicans. Mr. Sherrod Brown is going to defeat Republican Senator John Husted, who was appointed to replace J.D. Vance after Vance became vice president. Let's go to Aaron Burnett, who is at Tallarico campaign headquarters. Aaron Burnett, big night in Texas. Yep. And they are, Jake, they just, everyone cheering here as you made that call, guy next to us just saying, holy expletive. He just won. the celebration here. As you were talking, they were also chanting about Gina Hinojosa, that call not being made yet. But obviously, Tallarico winning the state of Texas.

2:25History is made. And it is an incredible moment for these people here and for Texas in terms of history, right? This is history. Aaron, it's a remarkable moment to put in context here. 1988 was the last time that a Democrat was sent to the U.S. Senate. James Tallarico was born the next year. So that really encapsulates this. Now, James Tallarico is a seminarian, a state lawmaker, and a very different kind of candidate, running against a very flawed Republican in Ken Paxton. Without Donald Trump's endorsement of Paxton earlier this year, he might not be here. However, the Tallarico winning campaign is also about James Tallarico, not simply about Paxton losing this.

3:10The coalition that he worked to build for months and months and months was based on corruption, was based on the economy, was based on just a sense of anger here. So I'm told that he'll be delivering a speech tonight and really outlining himself as a different kind of Democrat. And now, we'll wait for this crowd here because we are going to make a projection in Texas, Governor. Jake, go ahead and make this projection while we've got this crowd here listening. All right, Erin, let's go to Boris Sanchez, who's at our gubernatorial desk. Jake, a huge moment for Democrats in the state of Texas. For how long have they been trying to turn Texas blue?

3:44Tonight, Gina Hinojosa makes history, the daughter of a longtime Democratic state party chair, a state legislator who made her way into politics through the school board after her son's school was almost shut down because of public funding cuts. She ran on affordability, on education, no surprise there. She defeats Greg Abbott who's running for a fourth term. Greg Abbott was extremely popular in Texas. He never won a race by fewer than 10 points and tonight Gina Hinojosa makes history not only flipping the governor's mansion in Austin blue but also becoming the first Latina governor in the history of the Lone Star State.

4:20I'll tell you something I'm gonna throw to Aaron Burnett right now. Aaron I am old enough to know that for decades Democrats have been talking about turning this state blue. And here we are. They have done it. And you can hear this and this history being made. This, if anything, obviously the bigger upset in the state of Texas, Lulu, and this is a moment in history for Texas. This is an incredible moment. I never thought I'd see the day, and I can tell you that I have Texas friends and family who never thought they'd see the day when you would have a Latina governor of the state of Texas, and you would be also sending a Democrat at the same time to the Senate.

5:02This is a historic moment, and it is not even close. This was a complete route. And if you think about where they all started, these campaigns were small. Tallarico had no name recognition outside of the state of Texas. Gina Hinojosa, nobody knew her. No one wanted to give her money. And now they are the new governor-elect and the new senator-elect of this state. And I think and I know people are crying all over this state who wanted to see this day for so very long. I mean, Jonah, it is an incredible moment in history. And you talk about what Lulu is laying out here. But when you just think about this moment, even hours ago, Even if there wasn't a narrative, it was maybe Tallarico can pull it out, but people are going to split the ticket.

5:51Abbott's going to hold on. Gina Hinojosa coming in as the next governor of Texas is an incredible moment. Waiting to make the point that all this talk about turning Texas blue is silly, and it's just going to be one Senate seat, maybe, whatever. But you're talking about, like, the Texas legislature might go blue? You're talking about all of these down-ballot positions, court positions, all that kind of stuff. Like, I'm not saying Texas is now officially permanently blue, but it's a purple state as of tonight with a bluish hue. And do you know who really might take some credit for this, too? Elon Musk.

6:32Elon Musk put an enormous amount of money into this state. And I've got to tell you, it's the Democrats that got a return on that investment. It's almost$200 million, and a lot of it here, where we are sitting right now, obviously headquarters. It was when those votes started coming in here from Austin that these calls were made possible. And this, of course, is Elon Musk's Texas headquarters. It's one more loss for Elon Musk, and it was a big investment, but it really fed into this corruption message. At the end of his campaign, James Tallarico would say, Texas is not for sale. But we saw something happening here that now makes more sense in Texas.

7:08months ago when Greg Abbott, the incumbent governor, that's what's also extraordinary about this. She didn't win an open seat like James Tallarico. She defeated an entrenched incumbent governor. When he changed his position on data centers, he was the first Republican to switch his view. He could tell something in rural Texas was happening. It was too late at that point. I mean, this is significant in every respect, but the idea of Texas turning blue is more than this election. We are looking forward now. Since we've been covering politics for decades, this has always been discussed. It has never happened.

7:44Now this will be a new normal. I'm not saying Texas is going to turn blue in presidential campaigns, but this has changed the national political dynamic. And if you look at the counties as we've been looking at, the whole redistricting effort started right up the street here in Texas. The White House trying to engineer some new maps being drawn. Texas is also going to elect some new members of Congress tonight. So an extraordinary, extraordinary moment. You can see the skyline in Austin behind us. Those buildings are blue. Texas now is blue as well. Yep, yep, as you can see. And some of that redistricting here in Texas, also in Florida, backfiring for Republicans, some of those very areas going to Democrat tonight.

8:27And this is a repudiation of President Trump. At the end of the day, it is not only about all the things that we've discussed here, but it is a repudiation of the policies of the president. Right. And right here in Texas, ground zero, Jake, for all of that. Back to you. Well, four of my favorite people. And if it were up to me, I'd clear you and tell you to go get margaritas, but it's not. So let's go back to what we're doing here because I have another projection for you. In Oregon, CNN can project that Democratic incumbent Senator Jeff Merkley will be reelected. This is a Democratic hold. Jeff Merkley will be reelected.

9:00So let us take a look at where the balance of power is. Here we are. Democrats have 49 seats. That includes four pickups. Four pickups. Democrats have 49 seats. Remember, the pickups are both Carolinas, North and South, Ohio, and we've called Texas. So Democrats have flipped the four seats. Now, the night's not over. We don't know what's going to happen. But in any case, we're still waiting for 14 seats remaining. Where are Democrats in those Republican seats? Democrats have to have to pick up zero Republican seats. But where are they right now in terms of the Republican seats and the races that are outstanding?

9:44Democrats are currently leading in two Republican seats. What about Republicans in Democratic seats? Republicans are leading in one Democratic seat. So were this to hold, Democrats would take control of the Senate. Of course, we also have the one independent in Nebraska in a Republican seat. Boris, you have a projection for us. Another historic projection. This one will bring you from the West Coast. They're running to replace term limited Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom is Javier Becerra, a former attorney general in California, a former congressman, also a former HHS secretary under President Biden.

10:18He survived just a gauntlet of a primary with all kinds of accusations levied at the congressman, Eric Swalwell, who was leading that race. Becerra will win. He defeats Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator and host. Becerra also making history tonight, becoming the first Latino governor elected in California. All right, Boris. Very interesting stuff. We, of course, CNN, of course, moderated the gubernatorial debate there. Anderson, historic night. It's not over. We still don't know what's up in Maine. We still don't know what's up in Michigan, Kansas, Iowa. There's still a lot of ground to cover.

10:53Let's talk Texas, though. I mean, did you ever expect the governor? Don't wake me up. Don't wake me up. I'm dreaming. Don't wake me up. Listen, this is a new country. We're in a new country. There is a Latina governor in Texas. There is a black female governor in Georgia. Listen, what happened? What happened? We saw this happen in California when the Republican Party attacked the Proposition 187, attacked the immigrant community, attacked the Latinos. And it turned California blue to this day. A quarter century later, when the Latino community realized Republicans did not care about the humanity, didn't care about their children, it turned California blue.

11:37These ICE attacks, people voted to close the border. They didn't vote for nannies to be thrown on the ground. They didn't vote for roofers to be thrown out of the country. They didn't vote for babies to be ripped away, nursing babies from their mothers. and the Latino community said no. And then the tactics, the strategy, a huge investment from Democrats in Spanish language media, organizations like Texas for All, Texas Organizing Project, Lupe, were funded. And then Elon Musk put his little hand in the mix and thought he could buy the state, and he pissed everybody off. And so you now have a new coalition of young voters, Latin voters, suburban voters.

12:17This is a new country. I can't get my brain wrapped around what's happening tonight, but this is not a tsunami. This is a volcanic eruption of blue Crayola all over. There's no way to describe what is happening. Did you think Abbott would lose? We just get a straight jacket for a second. This is unbearable. Or at least a coloring book. Let me tell you about Texas. We spent at least a quarter of a billion dollars trying to put a thoroughbred saddle on a mule. And it did not work and it brought everybody else down. Democrats won the House. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is about to speak as we just projected two major flips for Democrats in the Senate.

13:03Stay with us. We'll be right back.

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14:13Welcome back to CNN's Election Night in America, and CNN can now make another major projection in a huge upset. Democrat Adam Hamilton will win the Senate race in Kansas. A Democrat has not won a Senate seat in Kansas since 1932. That's 94 years ago. Hamilton will defeat the Republican incumbent, Senator Roger Marshall. This is a major flip for Democrats in a deep red state that emerged as a key Senate battleground late in the election. And CNN's Kylie Atwood is at Adam Hamilton's campaign headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas, home of Paul Rudd. Kylie, huge victory. huge victory here jake and they are watching cnn but their feed is a few seconds behind what you're calling so you're now seeing the crowd just explode with excitement for adam hamilton the megachurch pastor here in kansas now set to be the first democrat that this state is sending to this represent them in the senate in 94 years he is someone who highlighted the economic woes that people in Kansas have been facing recently, particularly the high diesel prices, the high health care costs that they are facing.

15:32But he largely ran on a message of civility, Jake. When it comes to party affiliation, he said that didn't matter so much as it does to care about people. And while the incumbent here, Senator Roger Marshall, the Republican, tried to cast his opponent as someone who was too woke and too liberal for this state. It's clearly a message that landed here that Adam Hamilton was telling voters that he is someone who is an independent minded Democrat. Now I have been hearing from his campaign all night. They said that they were outperforming what their targets were across the state, not just here in Johnson County, which is home to the mega church where Adam Hamilton is the pastor, but also in some of the places in the western part of the state that are viewed as really strongholds for the Republicans.

16:24So now he is set to be the first person to go to the Senate for Kansas as a Democrat in 94 years. Jake. All right. Adam Joseph Hamilton, they're waiting in the Senate for you. So where are we? Where does this fit into our balance of power? Well, right now, Democrats have 50 Senate seats, including five pickups, North and South Carolina, of course, and then there's Ohio, and then there's Texas, and then there's Kansas. I almost can't even believe the states I'm listing here. Republicans have 37 Republican seats. We are still waiting for 13 seats remaining. And then, of course, let us talk about what Democrats needed to do.

17:05We said at the beginning of the night, Democrats needed to flip four seats. So right now, they don't need to pick up any Republican seats. Where are Democrats in the outstanding Republican seats. Democrats are leading in one Republican seat. How about Republicans in Democratic seats? Republicans are leading in one Democratic seat. I believe that is still in Minnesota, where there are still a lot of votes that have not come in yet. Independents are now leading in two Republican seats, not just Daniel Osborne in Nebraska, but also Achilles in Idaho. So that is where we are right now. Let us go to John King.

17:46Oh, I'm sorry. I'm going to go to Anderson Cooper. Anderson, I mean, this is, I think it's fair to say, not just a blue wave, but a blue NAMI of sorts. And I mean, we just called, I just want you to prepare yourself. I don't know if you were listening to me when I was talking. We just called Kansas. I heard. For the Democrats. Yeah. That hasn't happened in 94 years. Yeah. It's a lot. I mean, since Axelrod was like a little kid. Boo! Boo! Also, we should point out Adam Hamilton. I'm going to be reminding my own business. What the hell? Adam Hamilton is a pastor. James Tolerico is a seminarian. Let's talk about Texas.

18:23No, but listen, that is not a small point. Yeah. The way they ran their campaigns. I mean, we've come through a season of such cynicism and such anger. And they ran against that. And they said, you know, we have this common humanity and we ought to be able to work together and we ought to be able to respect each other. And yes, they connected it to their faith, the idea that we're all connected as human beings, that we're part of the brotherhood of man. And it sounds sort of Pollyannish in the in the. But I think that people are really ready for that. They want a season of decency because it's, you know, hate is very, very debilitating.

19:05It's tiring. It's grinding. And so to see these two guys go counter to that and succeed, I think, is a real auguring of what might come. And I think it will change the nature of the United States Senate a little bit, too, and the tone of the United States Senate. The second thing for all you idealists out there, the second thing that was so heartening was the governor's race in Texas. uh uh Gina Hinojosa uh was outspent 10 to 1. Wow right 10 to 1 uh in that race and uh and managed to defeat a very powerful incumbent governor who had his own political machine there uh and I just think people are making a statement about the kind of politics that they want and if people think of running for president of the United States they ought to pay attention to that because I think people want an antidote to what we have right now.

20:01And Musk obviously gave a lot of money to... Right. I had one Republican write and say that the second biggest loser after President Trump tonight is Elon Musk because of what he poured into his new home state of Texas and what the results are. And I think to your point, David, this was really a repudiation of the incivility of President Trump in what we saw in a lot of these candidates. And I think it's also worth pointing out that this is a real victory for women who ran sort of by and of their states, more than being an embrace necessarily of the national Democratic Party. I mean, you have Gina Hinojosa in Texas, Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, Amy Acton in Ohio, all governors.

20:36You could even include Annie Andrews in South Carolina. All of them ran campaigns that in many ways steered clear of some of the most divisive cultural debates that the Democratic Party got trapped in in some of the recent presidential races. And I think Hinojosa is a really strong example of this. And there was a lot of reporting in the way that she talked to other women in the campaign, whether it was Maha moms or people who had more conservative feelings about public schools. She even ran an ad talking about how she had she carried a baby to term that had a fatal diagnosis. And she talked about she used the language of choosing that many people who support abortion rights use.

21:15But her message was one of acceptance and extending grace to other people. And I think those themes pulled through all of these races in a way that really stands in stark contrast to the politics we've been living with for the last decade. Yeah, I agree with everything you just said, and I especially want to cosign what Axelrod was saying. You know, hate is a hard thing. I think a lot of Americans have just felt worn out. It's everything is so mean. And we've just we've gotten down to the point where, again, someone like Vivek Wamaswamy thinks he can run an ad that makes basically a mockery of a child rape.

21:52And that's supposed to be OK. And I just think there is a core decency in people. I think there's a core decency in this country. And, you know, you can you can get people riled up for a while. But at a certain point, we got kids to raise. We got grandkids to raise. We got to set examples for people. And so then when somebody comes on the scene and they seem like they're a sane person and a kind person, and they actually just want to do the job of serving people, the gasp of air that people take in is very profound. And I think it's what you're saying. This is beyond left and right tonight. This is about right versus wrong tonight.

22:28What is right for this country? What's right for our children? And it's a repudiation. And by the way, the people who went along with all this mean stuff, I think are going to pay a price. I think J.D. Vance jumping in bed with Vivek, we'll get to that, is going to hurt J.D. Vance because he signed up for mean stuff when he shouldn't have. On the Texas governor's race, I just wanted to send a congratulations to our colleague here, Sochi Hinojosa. Sorry, I've got to jump in. Hakeem Jeffries is speaking. Let's listen in.

23:00Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

23:11America is back.

23:22When I grew up in a working class neighborhood in Brooklyn, union household raised in the Cornerstone Baptist Church, I learned very early on that a setback was nothing more than a setup for a comeback. Today begins the great American comeback.

23:54The American people have spoken all across the land. In the north, in the south, in the east, in the west, in the midwest. From sea to shining sea, the American people have spoken and made clear they've had enough of the extremism, enough of the corruption. They want a Congress that's going to deliver for the American people. And that is exactly what House Democrats will do as soon as we get into office in January.

24:43We understand as House Democrats that life is way too expensive in this great country of ours. There are far too many people who are struggling to survive and certainly cannot thrive here in the United States of America. And we believe in this great country that when you work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to live an affordable life, a comfortable life and a good life. that's a good paying job good housing good health care a good education for your children and then when it's all said and done a good retirement that's the American dream and House Democrats will work hard to revive it for every single person in this land applause applause applause applause We're going to fight for small-town America we're going to fight for urban America we're going to fight for rural America we're going to fight for suburban America we're going to fight for the heartland of America we're going to fight for Black and brown communities all across America we're going to fight to make sure that we make this country affordable for every single American.

26:20This is a change election. And we understand as House Democrats that we need to deliver dramatic change. Things are broken. We need a Congress that puts the American people first. The wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected tried to buy this election. The American people have responded in a resounding way and made clear that America is not for sale.

27:03We will deliver a Congress that puts everyday Americans first. working class Americans first, middle class Americans first, and all those who aspire to be part of the middle class. House Democrats are committed to fighting for an affordable America. We will fight hard to lower the high cost of housing and groceries and gas. We're going to fight hard to make sure that we can ensure that every single American can afford to go see a doctor when they need one.

27:51We will fight for your hospitals. We will fight for your nursing homes. We will fight for your community-based health clinics. And we're going to fight to reverse these painful Medicaid cuts.

28:08We also understand that in addition to fighting to make this country affordable, we're going to bring accountability to those who have visited unprecedented corruption on this country. Because if you have people in high office who are so focused on enriching themselves, their family members, their friends or their donors, then they're not focused on making life better for the American people. But House Democrats will put the American people first. We understand that this election, a dramatic change election, means that the American people are crying out for transformational change. We hear you, we see you, we feel you, and House Democrats are committed to making life better for you.

29:06Beginning on day one.

29:13This is not a partisan moment. This is a patriotic one. This is not a blue moment or a red moment. It's a red, white and blue moment because America has won tonight. And so I thank all of you. All right, we're back here as we're back here. As you just heard, probably soon to be speaker of the House, Hakeem Jeffries giving remarks, but we have some other races to call. So we're going to go here to Boris Sanchez. Here's a big one, Boris. A major projection to bring you now from the state of Iowa, a state that Donald Trump won three consecutive times, including by 13 points during the last presidential election.

30:02Their Democrat Rob Sand, CNN, is projecting that he will defeat Republican businessman and former Zach Lane. Sand ran a bit of an unusual campaign. He focused on districts that Barack Obama won twice and that then flipped to Donald Trump. And he didn't really talk about Trump on the campaign trail much at all. He focused on local issues like water quality, education and housing, and it pays off. He becomes the first Democrat elected to the governorship in Iowa in 20 years from state auditor to governor. Jake. Oh, actually, we have one more update to bring you a projection from the state of Wisconsin, because their history is made running to replace a retiring Democratic governor.

30:40Tony Evers is David Crowley. Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, the youngest Milwaukee County executive ever. He's the comeback kid. You'll remember, Jake, he dropped out of the primary in the middle of the summer, jumped in with only about a few weeks left and defeated a far more progressive rival in that primary by less than half of a percentage point. Now he becomes the first black governor in the history of Wisconsin, defeating Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany. We also have some numbers to bring you from the state of Michigan because there, Jocelyn Benson, the Democrat running to replace term limited Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

31:12She's 109 ,000 votes ahead of former Republican Congressman John James. Still plenty of vote to come in, Jake. But just seeing the patterns that we've been seeing all night, Democrats have to feel good about this lead right now, too. Absolutely. And one of the things that we've been seeing tonight, Anderson, is if there is a strong Democrat at the top of the ticket, like Shapiro in Pennsylvania, like Sand in Iowa, that really helps the other candidates. We also saw that, of course, with Tallarico in Texas. Yes, we did. I want to go to Kristen Holmes, who's at the White House with some news. Kristen, what are you hearing?

31:41Yeah, Anderson, we're hearing from Donald Trump for the first time. He gave an interview, a brief phone interview with The New York Times. And while we heard this kind of defiant tone, this spin from the White House, President Trump seems to have struck in more of a conciliatory tone when he talked to the Times. One, he said absolutely he would accept the results of this election. He was not going to challenge it. That, of course, had been a looming question. But two, he said this, we'll work with the Democrats and we'll, you know, look forward to working with them. will probably work something out.

32:11So less of that taking on the radical liberals that we heard from the White House and more of this, maybe we can work something out to actually get something done. We'll see, of course, what happens when this actually goes into effect. All right, Kirsten Holmes, thanks very much. I want to go over to David Chalian. David, how did this happen? Well, that's an excellent question. Please explain. I'll do my best here. One of the things we were looking at all year and that is now coming to fruition in these numbers, Anderson, is whether or not Trump's 2024 coalition really was going to fray. And what we see here is in some key areas and demographics that is happening.

32:50So remember he did well with young men in 2024, 18 to 20. This is nationwide tonight. 18 to 29 year old men. OK, this is a group Donald Trump won by one point against Kamala Harris just two years ago. They are voting for the Democrats by 33 points. 65 % of young men are going for the Democrats in the House battle, 32 % for Republicans. Look at the Latino vote. You'll recall Kamala Harris won the Latino vote nationwide just two years ago by five points. Donald Trump got 46 % of the Latino vote nationwide. Latinos make up 10 % of the electorate this year. Jake, Jake, you take it away. You got a projection.

33:32Thank you so much, David. We hold that thought because we have arrived at perhaps the most pivotal moment of the night. CNN now can make a major projection in the battle for control of the U.S. Senate. Huge consequences here in Washington and across the nation. CNN can now project that Democrats will win control of the U.S. Senate. CNN can project Democrats will win control of the U.S. Senate. We can make this call because CNN is also projecting what you saw a little sneak preview of there a second ago, that Democrat Josh Turek will win the Senate seat in Iowa, defeating Ashley Hinson. Democrats have now picked up enough seats to reclaim the majority they lost two years ago.

34:12CNN has already projected that Democrats will also retake their majority in the House. So Democrats are now going to control both the Senate and the House in the final two years of President Trump's term. And heading into the 2028 election, this is obviously a massive victory for the Democratic Party, a huge defeat for the Republican Party and a huge defeat for President Trump. Let's take a look at the balance of power in the U.S. Senate right now. Right now, Democrats have 51 Senate seats. That includes six pickups, six previously Republican seats that Democrats have flipped and made Democratic.

34:44Republicans have 39 seats. There are 10 seats remaining. And, you know, Dana and Caitlin, a week ago, I talked to some top Democrats and they thought it was only 50-50 that they would recapture the Senate. They thought they were definitely going to win the House. They weren't predicting these numbers, but they were definitely going to win the House. But even Senate Democrats weren't sure that this was going to happen, but it has happened. A week ago, how about just like 24 hours ago, they weren't really sure. This is absolutely monumental, given the fact that this time last year, the way that the map looked was frankly impossible for Democrats because of Kansas, all of us, right.

35:30All of these states that we're calling tonight for Democrats or Trump plus double high double digits. And now you have a situation where Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, has gotten a lot of you know what from a lot of people out there. I don't know what, you know, the thing. Guys, can I read you something? Sure. A lot of flack. A lot of flack is what you meant. We've been talking about Texas going blue, the stunning races with James Tallarico, but also Greg Abbott going down, obviously a huge ally of the president's. President Trump just posted and said if Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, hadn't become a rhino in the last six months of his political life, he wouldn't have lost.

36:13The president continued. He went back to his original formula, and it wasn't pretty. Now, that is someone who on data centers, of course, changed course after it was clear where the electorate was going, how voter sentiment was really turning against them, especially in places like Texas, after vowing to make it the data center stronghold of the country. The president just called Greg Abbott, one of his biggest allies, a very popular Republican governor until what happened tonight, a rhino, a Republican in name only. Loyalty is a one-way street. But you're seeing the one thing coming out of the White House, despite what we've been talking about all night and what their polls have been showing us for months, which is that voters don't like the president's tariffs, they don't like the war in Iran, and they don't like paying more for gas.

36:55Right now, the president's response to this tonight, from what we've been hearing from sources and what he himself is saying on Truth Social, he's blaming the Republican candidates themselves here, even Greg Abbott of Texas. And let's just be really crystal clear on this. It is all of the voter polls tonight showed what you are hearing all across the country is that it is not Greg Abbott necessarily. It is not any of these Republican candidates necessarily, maybe some, but it is the president's, the terrain that they were having to run on, which was so bad because of the president's promises that didn't go fulfilled.

37:33and also his policies that turned the economy so bad. And I just quickly want to go back to the Senate because the fact that Democrats have now taken control of the United States Senate, it does deserve a moment, given the fact that all of these Republican seats were thought of as absolutely unwinnable. And it was because the environment just fell out from under the Republicans, but also they were prepared with the Roy Coopers in North Carolina, with the Sherrod Browns in Ohio, with the Adam Hamilton and James Tallaricos, who were candidates who fit their states as much as any Democrat could fit their states.

38:19And that was kind of set the table to prepare for this possibility, not ever really thinking that it could go as far. What's happening? I'm just showing John King what the president also just wrote. He said, I'm going to become a political pundit, both good and bad, on the reasons these candidates won and lost. Yeah. So let me let me help you, sir, as you start your new career. The president president went here and said, vote like I'm on the ballot. He went here and said, vote like I'm on the ballot. He went here several times and said, vote like I'm on the ballot. He went here, said, vote like I'm on the ballot.

38:56I could go on. He went to states he won by double digits and said, vote like I'm on the ballot. Well, they did. They did. In Trump country, in rural America, in places where he had won convincingly, people said enough. Enough. And they know why. When you travel and talk to them, even people who are still with Trump, but kind of get quiet about it. Because Diesel's$6. That started with a war that he said he wouldn't start. They know it. And somebody made a point. I think it was in the Texas conversation earlier, an issue that hasn't come up that much. I've been focusing on the price of gas and the price of diesel because that was kind of the last straw.

39:33But that was a cumulative building, especially in rural America. The House Republicans voted. Trump asked them to vote. He signed the bill to take away health care subsidies. They never came up with an alternative to replace them. If you don't like something and you take it away, don't you have a responsibility to replace it? The Medicare cuts are kicking in. Rural America has hospitals closing. So his policies and their policies punished their voters. Yeah. That's what happened tonight. A hundred percent. And you had a House and Senate controlled by Republicans that were, I think it's fair to say, in lockstep with President Trump.

40:11This was two years of a very deferential legislative branch. They were not. That's an understatement. That's an understatement. I'm trying to be polite. They just did whatever he wanted them to do. And a lot of times that didn't work out so great for the members. One other policy, because we keep talking about the war in Iran, very unpopular. The tariffs, very unpopular. Gas prices, affordability issues. Also, you know, the public had a perception that President Trump does not have their priorities at heart, especially when he's talking about the reflecting pool and he's talking about this construction project or Senator, soon to be former Senator John Husted's rump and on and on.

40:55But one other thing that you keep talking about this, John, especially as it affects things in southern Texas. And that is a year ago or so, President Trump ordered Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota. And that started in December. And then in January, two American citizens were killed. uh renee good uh and alex preddy the excesses of the trump administration immigration enforcement he didn't just go after bad hombres he didn't just get the danger the worst of the worst off the streets uh that had an impact tonight in minnesota people are taking their i-voted stickers and putting them at the alex preddy memorial and perhaps even more so as you've been talking about all night, John, that impacted Latinos.

41:50Donald Trump won Latinos in Texas two years ago. It will be very interesting to see what the final numbers are out of Texas. To that point, if somebody will make the point, let me walk back over. I want to show you something because the point I was going to make staying over there was that he's a lame duck now. He's a lame duck. And the Republicans that are coming back are most likely going to be less willing to be as compliant as you were saying a minute ago. But you just mentioned Latinos, which is why I wanted to come back over here for a second. I just want to put the House races back up again for a second.

42:18And I want to bring something out here. This is demographics in the United States. OK, so I'm going to move this over. These are House districts where Latinos make up at least 50 percent of the vote. Right. Let me stop it right there. This is tonight. Anyone seen any red just in South Florida, just in South Florida. These are House districts where Latinos make up at least 50 percent of the vote. Let's go back in time. 2024. See all that red? That was Donald Trump. Just Jake just made the point. His support went way up between 2020 and 2024. That helped carry other Texas Republicans to victory.

42:50It was down there in South Florida. That's two years ago, two years ago. Then he came back to the White House. Just like his policies drove people away in Trump country, rural America because of gas prices and tariffs and affordability issues. Again, those are districts with 50 % of the voters are more Latino now. That was then. That's a big switch. You come all the way out and clear it all. Again, it comes back to a house map. This is where we are right now. We still haven't filled it in. Look at all this blue. Let's go back in time. Look in the middle of the country. Just look. Follow the right.

43:27That's 2024.

43:32Get all that blue. That's what's coming in January. A different house, as Hakeem Jeffrey says, a different country. The challenge, though, Jake, is the responsibility now is on the Democrats. And he laid out the agenda. That is what they want. But can they pass anything? Can they pass anything? And will Democrats end up in the same Washington doesn't work funk that voters are in right now, which decided that's what got them to kick the Republicans out? They think Washington is broken. And to your point, they don't think the president is talking. They think he's sitting in the Oval Office surrounded by gold, telling them they live in a golden age when they're paying$6.50 for diesel.

44:02Well, he lives in a golden age, President Trump. One thing he keeps saying tonight is that he's going to be able to work with Democrats. Maybe they can make deals. I watched his press conference from 2018, the day after. He said the exact same thing about Democrats then. And, of course, we all saw how that turned out. He talked about working with them on infrastructure, on climate, on the environment. Obviously, that didn't happen. But one other question that happens tonight with what's going on with the Senate is what happens with the Supreme Court and those justices? And if the president is part of his legacy making, he wants to pick another Supreme Court.

44:35Anderson, here's a little nugget for you. Kristi Noem, the former Department of Homeland Security secretary, posted this evening, quote, Larry Kudlow is correct. We were too successful the first year of the Trump administration. Wow. Over to you.

44:54Scott may be coming on that, but Ben? Look, I think I'm calming down. I appreciate everybody. Thank goodness. Honestly. You can get me rolled up if you want to, though. It's only 1145. We're here till 2. Okay. Let's keep that energy up. But I'm looking at what didn't work from these Republicans. $80 million in Texas on anti-trans ads. They focused in on attacking trans kids. It didn't work. Trump hogging up all the airtime, making it be about me, on the road for 20-plus days. Didn't work. Elon Musk dumping in all this money. Didn't work. Redistricting. Mid-decade redistricting. Yeah, I want to talk about that.

45:41All across the country. Didn't work. Screaming about socialism. We got about 12 socialist candidates out of 3 ,000 Democrats. Didn't work. Screaming about hate against Muslims and jihadism. Didn't work. It turns out that... The midterm convention in Texas. In Texas. Didn't work. It turns out there's not enough anti-Muslim hate or red hysteria and money to cover up from you can't govern this country. Can I can't govern this country? That's all of their tricks altogether. And none of it worked. Can I just comment on the redistricting thing? Because the president took a shot at Governor Abbott and perhaps Governor Abbott should now, looking back, have resisted when the president told him to redistrict Texas because he wanted five more seats out of Texas.

46:30I'm looking at these returns tonight and I'm looking at this map and it may be they'll net one out of that. But I think what they did was stir up a hornet's nest in South Texas on top of all the other issues we talked about. And they're losing these races right now by significant margins. And again, a lot of very interesting new members of the House are going to be elected because of that. But that was the president's idea. And so we saw in Florida tonight that the redistricting failed. We saw in Texas tonight that the redistricting failed. He's the architect of this whole of the whole thing. Yeah.

47:09And, you know, the redistricting thing is also interesting because we see that voters really don't like it. When voters are given a chance to vote on redistricting, often they say something very different. You saw this a little bit in Virginia. Obviously, you know, the outcome was one thing, but voters were not excited about that. There was this sort of instinctive distrust that politicians are trying to rig the system. And I think that idea is what we're seeing more than anything tonight. An absolute wholesale rejection of the system as it is currently operating. Because, again, you don't see love for the Democratic Party in these numbers, right?

47:48You see enormous, overwhelming votes for overwhelming and dramatic change from the status quo. And I think for Democrats who now are going to have to come in and govern, if they don't read this lesson that way, if they don't look at this and say, okay, this is not love for us, right? This is a mandate for change, for something else. I think that will be the key to their success, especially looking forward to 28. Scott, how can the president have gone around the country saying, act like I'm on the ballot, and then tonight post, I wasn't on the ballot? Well, it was a metaphorical. Has anybody gotten Trump about that disguise that he's looking for?

48:30Look, in his defense, He absolutely traveled the country, unloaded the war chest and did everything he could do to get Republicans to turn out. I was just chatting with a data cruncher who said, dude, your people didn't turn out. And you throw that on top of independents revolting and you throw that on top of Democrats, obviously having this massive enthusiasm advantage. And that explains most of the results. Did he do everything, though, because last night his closing argument was all about his renovations at the Reflecting. poll. Well, there were a lot of people who... He was reflecting at the reflecting poll.

49:05I mean, there were a lot of people who were saying he wasn't going to engage, he wasn't going to spend, he didn't really care. I think that's not true. He absolutely can't think. He tried. He tried. He tried. He did. And they did spend a lot of money, to your point. But sometimes, you're spending money packaging up dog food that dogs don't want to eat. And that's what happened in Texas. But he produced the dog food. I mean, 10 Paxton was his idea. Well, and there's a few candidates out there that should be singled out. Paxton was a huge mistake. Vivek Ramaswamy so twice now he seems to have misunderstood the object of politics which is to make people to like you and not be a human repellent and that is what he has done in ohio and i think it hurt everybody else over there i think it hurt john housted there's something to be said for just trying to be basically nice and basically approachable and that ad that they ran is going to go down as one of the dumbest strategic blunders at a time when you could ill afford it because of the environment.

49:59All right, I gotta get a break in. A big night for Democrats winning back the majority in the House, taking back control of the Senate, plus votes are still coming in in some key races this night, including three key Senate races, Maine, Michigan, and Minnesota. Stay with us for that.

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