Meet the Press NOW — October 13

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1:11Welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Kelly O'Donnell, with just three weeks to go until the midterm elections. The president and vice president are going the distance to reach key battleground voters today in Alaska and Texas, as they hope to boost their party despite considerable political headwinds. with Democrats increasingly feeling optimistic that a big night is possible on the way to November 3rd. Right now, the president is on his way to Alaska to stump for Republican Senator Dan Sullivan. He faces a significant challenge from Democratic former Congresswoman Mary Patola. Alaska is just one of five stops for the president over the next four days.

1:53And as he left the White House, the president striking a confident and defiant tone about his influence on the road. I'm doing rallies. The level of enthusiasm for the Republican Party is way up, not just where I'm doing them. For instance, John Huston, I heard he went up nine points yesterday. I'm right now going to Alaska to try and help Dan Sullivan. That's a long way away. And I would only do it if I thought he was good. And he's very good. And so I'm going to Alaska to help Dan Sullivan. And then I'm stopping at numerous places. But I'm doing on average a rally a day. Do you think that's easy?

2:34It's not. And that's the new press secretary over his shoulder. It is unclear what polls the president was referring to there regarding Ohio Senator John Husted. Recent polling has Husted trailing in his race. The president's trip to Alaska today is the latest in an October blitz as he tries to boost Republican turnout in the face of deep-rooted voter frustrations over the president's handling of economic issues like the cost of living, which remains the top midterm issue when we're talking to voters across the country. Those headwinds leaving the president and leaders in his party walking a tightrope between projecting confidence and managing expectations.

3:16Three weeks from the midterm election, harder for Republicans to keep the House or the Senate. I would say equal. Nobody's done what I've done. Nobody, not even close. But no matter how good they seem to be at their big disadvantage, tremendous disadvantage. But I'm doing a tour right now and I'm doing rallies. The level of enthusiasm for the Republican Party is way up. I think the nature of a midterm election is sometimes these races have more of an individual rather than a national character. I feel good about where we are. We know that we're swimming upstream. I'm telling you, I'm on the ground in the swing districts.

3:55I am seeing huge energy in crowds. It feels like 2024 to me. That's not registering in the polls and we're fired up. Meanwhile, Democrats are claiming momentum as we speed toward Election Day. Their path to victory in the Senate could be widening. NBC is adding reliably red Kansas to our Senate battleground watch list. And our own NBC News polling average shows Democrats with a nine point advantage on which party voters want to see control Congress. The president's average approval rating is 22 points underwater. But as we've noted before, midterms can be unpredictable for the party in power. In 2018, President Trump's job approval rating was just six points underwater, but his party was walloped in those midterms, losing 40 House seats.

4:44In 2022, President Biden's net approval was worse, and he was also battling the worst inflation in decades, but his party lost just nine House seats. It's an important caution that there are so many variables at play. The outcome relies on you. Polls don't vote. Voters do. So joining me now is our NBC News team. Gabe Gutierrez is at the White House. Steve Patterson is in Alaska, head of the president's visit there. Maggie Vespa from the battleground of Iowa and Sahil Kapoor is at the big board. So let me start off, Gabe, with you. Tonight will be the president's 10th campaign stop this month. You've been at some of those rallies, working the crowd, talking to people.

5:26What are you getting in sort of the vibe of meeting those voters who've come out to see this? And is his attempt to fire up the base working based on what you're seeing? Well, Kelly, look, I preface this by saying that President Trump can draw a crowd like no one else in the Republican Party. And his team will also point out that he still draws much larger crowds than his predecessor, President Biden, did at any point. However, I do point this out, Kelly. Yesterday I was in a young stand in Ohio. The president of the last couple of days has been going to smaller, some smaller venues than he typically has before.

6:04Yesterday in Ohio, he says that the crowd was overflowing. I can tell you from being there, it was not. There was a good number of empty seats there. Now, the question is, does that really play, will that play out on election day? And is that indicative or is that reflect what we're seeing in the polling right now? The president and his team say that there is an intense amount of enthusiasm. But we have seen from speaking with voters on the ground, once you do talk to them, yes, they are diehard supporters. But when you press them on specific issues, for example, the Iran war, while they do support the president, they do then come back in the next breath and say, well, we hope the war does end soon.

6:43When you ask them about data centers, they say they support the president, but they actually do not support his message that AI data centers should be in the U.S. They oppose that, at least some of the voters we spoke with yesterday in Ohio. So certainly the Trump administration, the Republicans are banking on President Trump, you know, getting people, getting Republicans off the couch on election day and trying to boost turnout among his base. But they also run the risk of energizing Democrats in a couple of these swing districts. And so we're going to have to see how this plays out in the coming weeks, Kelly.

7:21Something notable happened in the building behind you, not directly related to the campaign. And that is a new person behind the lectern at the podium, a new press secretary. And Caroline Levitt's successor is in the job now. What do you make of Katie Zachariah and her first day? Well, look, Kelly, Katie Zachariah had a very short initial briefing today. It was less than 15 minutes. By contrast, Caroline Levitt's first briefing was about 45 minutes. Now, Katie Zachariah came to this job after being a conservative commentator, not well known by the White House press corps. However, she did take a few questions only from specific outlets this morning.

8:05And she was asked about, well, the main piece of news that came from that briefing was Kimberly Guilfoyle, saying that the administration had asked Guilfoyle to resign. Of course, this comes after days of those allegations of Guilfoyle asking a Trump donor for$100 ,000 to pay off her American Express bill in exchange for access to senior administration officials, allegations that Guilfoyle denies. But we heard from the president earlier today saying that he didn't like the headlines he was reading and so that she would be out of that job. That was the main piece of news from the briefing, Kelly.

8:43Now, Zachariah was also asked a specific policy regarding the war in Ukraine and whether the U.S. had stopped intelligence sharing with Ukraine. She didn't have an answer for that, said she'd get back to us. But then she abruptly ended the briefing. She's now traveling with the president on his swing to Alaska and other rallies in other states in the western parts of the country. Kelly, it's sort of baptism by fire. It's a very high stress, high profile job and nerves on the first day are to be expected. We'll be watching to see how she grows in the role. Perhaps Steve, may I turn to you now in Alaska?

9:19That's a good assignment. You've been traveling around talking to voters there. We know the president is in route. What are you hearing about the concerns that Alaskans are feeling, especially when it comes to the high profile marquee Senate race of Dan Sullivan, the Republican incumbent versus Mary Patola, who had been in Congress as a Democrat in Congress and now running for the Senate seat? Kelly, it's a state more than twice the size of Texas with an electorate pool as small as about 600 ,000 people. You can't do anything in this state without flying or driving or boating to get somewhere.

9:57And that's exactly what we did. 12 hours on the road, about 200 miles, trying to speak to voters to find out what are those key issues that are going to sway this election. I have to tell you, we didn't have to look far. Affordability is the top of everyone's mind. It's what everyone is talking about, the price of gas, the price of diesel, the price of fuel, the price of groceries on the table. But I want you to hear from voters directly. Here's what they told me during our adventure yesterday. Listen to this. I'm leaning towards a Democrat, although just for Mary. Because the other ones, I can't handle them.

10:35She sounds like a truthful person to me. And what do you think about Dan? He's not from here. He's not Alaskan. You mentioned fuel prices are high. How high are we talking? Have you had to change your habits and behavior? Is it affecting the way you live? I'm burning wood. Because it's cheaper. Fuel products are right off at the end of the year. If you don't have the money to start out, it's tough. Diesel is almost$6 -$7 a gallon. when heating fuel is outrageous, people in the remote villages and stuff like that, their utilities are out of this world. You just kind of watch your living expenses double, for some people triple, and I think that's going to be the big proponent.

11:25I guess if I'm being selfish, I want some management change. That's how I'd be voting. A lot of people, I think, because of that, aren't happy with the current administration and then as a byproduct aren't happy with Dan Sullivan because he supports them. How do you feel about that? I think, sure, I pay the same prices that everybody else does. I'm not happy about that. I do think it's in part unavoidable. A lot of discontent, and that's the reason why this race is so now razor thin. The margins here show razor thin. We should say, you know, Alaska normally reliably red. Trump has won the last three elections that he's been on the ballot by double digits.

12:08So we are, of course, hearing from supporters that support the president, support Senator Sullivan. No matter what, a lot of them, of course, will be here. Kelly? Well, Steve, you're our L.A. man, so I know you took some of those woolies out of storage for this assignment. And when you were on the road with, yes, with voters beyond the economic issues, really the, you know, the monthly budget issues, Did anything else stand out to you about how they're approaching this election day? Yeah. Yeah, a big one. I mean, all of this, of course, is because a lot of Alaskans feel like their way of life is on the ballot.

12:46Part of that is some of the rounds of federal cuts that we saw, those doge cuts from not too long ago, cutting federal workers in national parks, cutting public radio. It sounds silly maybe to people outside of Alaska, but for folks here, a lot of it is life or death. This is the way they live. It's how they communicate, not to mention the essential functions on several military bases that run a network that make up this state. We spoke to a union rep who represents some of those federal workers. Here's what they're telling me. Listen to this. They're mad. They're afraid. They're very frustrated.

13:19Because let me tell you, Alaska is a conservative state in a lot of ways. People up here are basically conservative, but we're more independent. Are they pissed at the president? Oh, yeah. They're pissed at what's happening to them. And a lot of these people did support Trump. That is the number one thing we heard, Kelly. Nobody, almost nobody we spoke to said they were affiliated with the party. They vote for their heart. They vote the issues. Kelly? I guess that's part of the frontier spirit in Alaska. Thank you, Steve. Glad you got the short straw for this cool assignment. Always great to be in Alaska.

13:53Maggie, I'm going to turn to you. Another place we all love, Iowa. If you love politics, you love Iowa. And it's another state where Democrats are hoping Democrats have a crush on Iowa right now, for sure. They're hoping that they can advance here, especially with the governor's mansion. And what is top of mind with the voters you are meeting and how are they addressing this with the candidates? For sure, Kelly. So I'll just start by saying when you called Alaska the cool assignment, our team did look at each other knowingly and start to laugh. OK, we think Iowa is pretty much an adventure, too.

14:26But but to each I know so far to each their own. We love where Steve is. Love that for him. I mean, this answer will shock no one. It's cost of living, cost of living, cost of living. Right. Especially here, compounded by the fact that, for instance, a lot of farmers feel really personally impacted by the president's tariffs, corn and soybean farmers in particular. Also, you have people here frustrated that the cost of diesel, huge for farmers, has gone up and feeling like it's driven being driven up by foreign wars. especially the Iran war. A recent CNN poll actually pointed out that Iowa specifically, more than 40 percent, 41 percent of likely voters think that their finances have gotten worse just in the last two years.

15:07Now, we know and candidates here are very well aware that the White House has tried to mitigate this, in particular the president's executive order earlier this month, loosening restrictions around red dye diesel fuel, which is tax exempt and hoping the hope there is obviously that that'll bring prices down at least a little bit. Earlier today, we met up with the Democratic candidate for governor here in this state, Rob Sand, currently the state's auditor. And so I asked him about that specific move in particular and if he's willing to give any credit to the Trump administration for it. And this was his answer.

15:41Look, I'm all ears for anything that we think is really going to bring down prices. If it brings down prices by two cents, I guess that's a two cent success. And any success that can help ease the pain for people is good. But a two cent success is also only a two cent success. I think that most people want to see the prices go down and they understand that it will take doing a lot of different things to make the prices go down. And I think they probably give a two cent improvement two cents worth of credit.

16:16You heard two cents repeated over and over. I should point out his Republican opponent, Zach Lane, is basically showing up here at this Irish pub behind me here in the next hour for a meet and greet. We're planning to speak with him as well. He himself is a farmer and a businessman. He has also praised that move by the Trump administration to try and bring diesel prices down, Kelly, while also acknowledging that Iowans are really feeling the squeeze with just weeks out until the midterms. Sometimes the issues talked about by candidates or the president do speak to places like Iowa when he talks about specific policies.

16:50You mentioned the diesel issue. Are there things that go beyond the economy that you're hearing that are really top of mind for voters there? Yeah, we were just talking about this prior to this live shot. I think one boils down to health care and kind of a niche sector of health care, but still sends ripple effects across the state. There's across the state. There's a real cancer crisis here in Iowa. It's one of three states nationwide where cancer rates are rising. And then that touches on access to health care, access to hospitals in rural areas, cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and the struggle for people to get, again, access to anyone that's in their network.

17:30It also touches on environmental factors that might be fueling that rise in cancer. And that in particular, a lot of people are calling on restrictions around the agriculture industry, which gets into big business. So that is kind of like a hyper local issue. That is a big issue in these elections here in Iowa, but it bleeds into a lot of other sectors. And we've heard voters saying they want to hear these candidates talk about that specifically and what tangible things they plan or kind of expect to be able to do if elected. That's a big one. Such a personal issue, too. I can see why that would matter.

18:03Maggie, thanks so much. Give our regards to everybody in Iowa. And I'm going to turn now to Sahil. And the Democrats are optimistic here. And you've got some new information about how the battleground could move in their direction. Again, still has to rely on the voters. But what we're seeing right now, fill us in. That's right, Kelly. I've got my eyes on six House Republicans who sit on the front lines in the battle to keep control of the House. These six Republicans won for the first time in 2022, captured seats away from Democrats and gave their party the majority they held on in 2024. And now they're fighting to hold on again in 2026.

18:40Can they pull it off? Well, let's look at their path. We'll start over here in the New York City suburbs. Mike Lawler, 17th congressional district, the only one of these six who sits in a district that Kamala Harris carried in 2024. He overperforms in part because of this county, Rockland County. It's his home base. He ran up the score in 2024. That's how he won this district. Look at this margin in Rockland County for Mike Lawler. It's essential for him because he's got to withstand the onslaught from across the Hudson River in Westchester County, which he's lost before. He will lose again. The question is, does he lose it by enough to make up the margin elsewhere in the red counties?

19:16From there, we'll go to New Jersey's 7th district. Tom Kane Jr. facing the former helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett in what's shaping up to be a tough battle for Republicans. This is the formula for Tom Kane in 2024 against a Democratic opponent. Union County, outside Newark, New York City suburbs. He held the margin of defeat down in this Democratic-leaning county to the low teens that helped him make up the margin in these red areas. He's got to replicate that again. It's going to be very difficult for him to pull it off as he faces Rebecca Bennett. From there, let's go over to Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads.

19:50This is a rematch from 2022 against two women, two Navy veterans. This is symbolically important, too, because back in 2022, it was Jen Kiggins, the Republican challenger, who defeated then incumbent Elaine Luria narrowly to flip this district and win it in Republican hands. On this one, I would keep Virginia Beach circled. This is going to be the most important county. It's the most vote-rich, populist county. Jen Kiggins has managed to win this district by either fighting this one to a draw or narrowly winning Virginia Beach. As this goes, probably so goes the rest of the district. From there, let's go over to Wisconsin's third district.

20:27Derek Van Orden faces Rebecca Cook in a rematch from 2024. He's a colorful character on Capitol Hill, drives around in a Harley. This is what happened in 2024. Derek Van Orden won by a few points. The three counties that Rebecca Cook won here, here, and here. What do they all have in common? They all have a college town. They all have a UW campus. That's going to be a source of strength for them. Young voters have moved away from the GOP. In addition, Derek Van Orden's got to try to hold serve in all these red areas where there are a lot of voters who are unhappy with the Iran war, unhappy with the terrorists for raising the cost of living.

21:02Can Derek Van Orden withstand that, or is it going to be too much for him as he faces Rebecca Cook from there? Iowa's third congressional district, and the math here is pretty simple. Zach Nunn facing the Democrat, Sarah Trone Garriott, Polk County. This is the source of Democratic strength, and I'll show you why. Everything else is red. The path here for Zach Nunn, if he's going to be able to hold on, is limit the damage, limit the loss here, as he did in 2020, for about 11 points and try to make up the margin elsewhere here. But look, a lot of this is farm country. A lot of unhappy Republican-leaning voters, are they going to show up?

21:35Are they going to maybe stay home? Or are they going to move and vote for the Democrat? A tough, tough fight for Republicans to hold on. Finally, we'll head to Arizona's sixth district. Juan Siskamani, who has won his last two elections narrowly by just thousands of votes, fighting to hold on. This is suburbs of Tucson, this district. This was his formula in 2024. Once again, you'll notice a pattern here with the other districts. He held down the margin in Pima County, which is the vast bulk of this district, about three quarters of the vote. And he was able to make it up in these red counties.

22:07One big talent for him here, Kelly, Hispanic voters. There are a lot of them in this district. They moved toward Trump and the GOP in 2024. They've moved away ever since then. Is that going to be too much for Juan Siskamani to withstand? So these are the six. These are the six Republicans. As they go, so goes, very likely, the House majority. It's a great snapshot, Sahil. We appreciate your drilling down on those numbers. And thank you so much. We're going to put a pause on politics here for a moment and turn to some breaking news out of the Vatican. The Holy See is announcing just moments ago that Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with lung cancer after he had surgery today to remove the lower lobe of his right lung.

22:50We will be joined now by NBC International correspondent Claudio Lavagna, who's also spent a lot of time traveling with the Holy Father, has gotten to know him, has asked questions of him on a number of occasions. This is distressing news, Claudia. What are you learning from the Vatican about the diagnosis? Yeah, absolutely, Kelly. We just got this information a few minutes ago. We received this statement by the Vatican. We were all waiting. Obviously, we knew that the Pope was in that operating room this afternoon. Then about a couple of hours ago, the Vatican said that the surgery was successful.

23:27It was a very small statement. But then, just a few minutes ago, they gave more info. Now, they say that they removed the lower lobe of the right lung of the Pope, and then the histological examination of the nodule that we knew they found during those pre-examination was cancerous. So, essentially, the Pope has lung cancer. Now, the doctors say that they removed that lobe and they hopefully removed all the cancerous cells. They don't know yet. Obviously, they will have to do further examinations. This is what happens usually when they do find cancerous nodules. They say that he spent about three hours in the operating room.

24:09The surgery lasted about 90 minutes. We know that he's going to spend about a week in hospital. they told us that the surgery was successful, that there were no complications, that the Pope woke up and he's now back in his hospital room. The director of the Holy See Press Office, who was just speaking to us, journalist here just a few minutes ago, even said that he was there when he was asking for his dinner. But of course, this is still concerning news. So in the coming days, we will hopefully learn more about whether he will have to go through any more therapy. Claudia, let's step back for our viewers a little bit.

24:50You've had a lot of time to get to know this pope. It's been an extraordinary journey for him, the first American pope, relatively younger, which often happens at the beginning of a papacy. And part of what we and you and I have covered popes over the years, part of what is a part of the journey is that as a pope ages and illness becomes a part of it, it so affects their ability to travel and affects their papacy. And here we have a relatively young pope. I believe the Holy Father is 71 and had big plans for travel. Can you give us a sense of how this news might affect the way he approaches the coming schedule?

25:28I know it's early moments here, but you've got a lot of experience with him. What stands out to you?

25:36Well, we know that the Vatican has already canceled all of his engagements and audiences all the way through October the 20th. That's next Tuesday. But he has also a big demanding trip to South America coming up starting from November the 60th. He's expected to travel to Uruguay, Argentina, Peru. That is an 11-day journey that he's expected to take. 14 flights during those 11 days. Two helicopter rides. He's expected to deliver almost 40 speeches at 10, 50 events. That is a hugely demanding trip for anyone, let alone a 71-year-old man who's just found out he has lung cancer. Now, we did ask the Vatican press office whether this is going to affect, of course, this trip.

26:24They say that for now the trip stands. The director of the Vatican press office said that the Pope himself on Sunday, when he announced in St. Peter's Square behind me that he had this nodule and that he was going to undergo this surgery. He even said, well, thank you. He was thanking some Peruvian pilgrims who were in St. Peter's Square on Sunday for the trip to Peru that he will make. So it's certainly, to him at least, this hasn't changed. But, you know, the histological examinations have just come out today. The doctors have found that it is cancerous. And so this could really change things here, Kelly.

27:05Certainly. And Peru is so important because he did missionary work there. That's part of where he developed his beautiful Spanish and he speaks many languages. And of course, he comes from Illinois and is, as you've talked with him about, a Chicago White Sox fan. And at least there'll be some baseball to watch for the Holy Father as he is recovering. Clearly, this is a jolt for those around the Holy Father. and this news is always upsetting when anyone gets a diagnosis like this. Have they given you any timeline for when there might be information about what stage it is or what the next steps might be?

27:45Well, they haven't yet. We literally got this information now and we were speaking to the director of the Vatican Press Office. We were pressing him to give us more information, but he also said, you know, I'm not a doctor. I'm just passing on the information the doctors have given me. So all we know so far is what the doctor told us. And in the coming days, we will hope that we will get daily updates on, of course, just not the histological examinations that have already come out that prove that he has lung cancer. But also what we'll hope that we'll get is what happens next. What kind of therapy will it need to undergo?

28:23So if any, of course, you know, the doctors will hope that by removing the lower lobe of his right lung, that will have solved the problem. But as we know, in this kind of instances, the cancerous cells might have spread. So maybe, and only maybe, because we'll have to get confirmation from the doctors, he will have to undergo some sort of therapy. but certainly he will have to be checked regularly from now on, Kelly. Early days, of course. Thank you for bringing us this urgent information about the health of the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. Claudio, thank you. I know we'll come back to you in the days ahead as other developments take place.

29:07We are following the news, breaking on the Pope's health closely, and of course we will bring you more if we learn of other developments. You're watching Meet the Press Now. At Fanatic Sportsbook, we're talking real fan cash on every bet. Spend it on jerseys, tickets, collectibles, and more. Rewards hit different here. New customers can bet and get up to$1 ,000 in fan cash over 10 days. Fanatics, the only sportsbook to reward every bet. Must be 21 plus. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET. CT, call 888-789-7777. MA, call 800-327-5050. NY, call 877-8-HOPE-NY. MD, visit mdgamblinghelp.org.

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30:17At Jared Jewelers, we know it's about more than fine jewelry. It's the moment they open the box. That smile they can't hide. Knowing you chose exactly right. Because the right gift can bring a lifetime of meaning. A promise. A milestone. A memory in the making. Make every moment unforgettable. Find great gifts starting at$250. Jared, make the holiday last forever. Shop Jared Jewelers. Democrats' path to flipping the House in November could come down to their ability to win back Latino voters. Many of them have shifted heavily toward Republicans back in 2024. And now, Broadway icon and Hollywood heavyweight Lin-Manuel Miranda and his father are trying to bring those voters back to Democrats in this midterm election and hope, they say, to win control of Congress.

31:17Lin-Manuel Miranda has spent much of his career telling stories about people who have shaped American history. My name is Alexander Hamilton. And there's a million things I haven't done. Just you wait. Just you wait. But now the Hamilton star and creator isn't waiting for his chance to help write the next chapter in history. Hitting the campaign trail alongside his 72-year-old father, political activist Luis Miranda, is part of his family's effort to help Democrats take back the House in November. Midterms are important in my family. We've really just focused on raising money for really incredible candidates who are going to flip red states blue and change the makeup of our representation in 2026.

32:05The father and son joined Democratic House candidate Denise Powell in Omaha, Nebraska, where Powell, a daughter of Cuban and Chilean immigrants, is running in the state's second congressional district, a so-called blue dot in this red state. Let's get out there and let's frickin' flip this seat. Powell is part of a new initiative by the Latino Victory Project, the Miranda Family Rising Stars Fund, aimed at increasing Latino representation, both in Congress and at all levels of government. We believe that a diverse table, it's a better table. Different ideas get discussed, different points of view.

32:43Ahead of the November midterms, the Miranda family is helping five Democratic congressional candidates in competitive swing districts. Much success to you on the campaign trail. Including Denise Powell here in Omaha, who would be the first Latino in Nebraska history to hold federal office if elected. Do you think you can flip this district? Oh yeah, we can flip this district. I mean, the road to taking back the House literally goes through Omaha, Nebraska. I'm excited because I think we got a really good shot at it. Powell's campaign is leaning on Lin-Manuel's star power and his father's background as an influential organizer and strategist for Democrats like Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton to help raise money and energize voters.

33:20My wife and I have always been civically and politically involved. and what Lin-Manuel brought to our lives was a much bigger microphone. So the message doesn't change, but now it gets to more people. Here at Omaha's only Puerto Rican restaurant, Lin-Manuel was approached by a voter, Jeanette Lazra-Galup, who coincidentally is working on a local production of Lin-Manuel's hit musical, In the Heights. I can't believe I'm here. I can't believe you're here. But she tells him behind the scenes she's battling colon cancer. She says she can't afford health insurance and has already racked up nearly$80 ,000 in medical debt.

34:08I'm dealing with it in the best way that I can, being like that family that's right in the line. It's so scary, that safety net that other countries enjoy. Correct. We do not have in the United States of America. It's these kinds of stories that have motivated the Miranda family for decades. Did you ever think you'd be following in his footsteps in this way? I still don't think I'm following in his footsteps. But I think I want him to do way. But I do think that we were raised to work hard for the change we want to see in the world. You know, instead of a paper route, I was registering people to vote.

34:43That was those were my chores when I was a kid. Much like the famous lyrics he wrote about a founding father, Lin-Manuel Miranda is urging people not to throw away their shot at shaping history. In 1800, and now the differences turn out. And joining me now is NBC News correspondent Liz Kreutz, who had the really interesting assignment of getting to be on the trail with the Mirandas to get a sense of what moves them. And they have more stops for campaigning between now and November. Did you get a sense of where they're headed? Yeah, Kelly. Well, first, their big event or one of the big events they're having is actually tomorrow night.

35:22It's a virtual get out the vote phone banking event that they're hosting. These are the types of events that their Rising Stars program is putting on leading up to November. This is called Rising Stars Rise Up, a nod to the Rise Up lyric in Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda will be on that, leading that along with those five candidates that they are supporting, including Denise Powell in Omaha and then also Randy Villegas, who's one of the Democratic candidates for House here in California, running in District 22, one of the most competitive house races in the country. Lin-Manuel's father, Luis, was recently out here campaigning with him.

35:59They were going to Latino-owned businesses around the Central Valley. And Luis says he's also going to be in Texas for fundraisers there. They've been flying some of the candidates to New York for fundraisers. Luis, I have to say, has a lot of energy. You can see he's trying to get his son more involved. He describes himself as kind of like a mom who is constantly checking in on you, making sure you're OK. He sort of treats these five candidates like his children, texting them, calling them nonstop to see what they need to help them raise money. And he says they're going to be doing that every day leading up to November, Kelly.

36:34And sometimes when people who have celebrity come from entertainment, then step into a political space, not every voter feels that's an ideal situation. Sometimes that draws criticism as much as it brings sometimes favorable attention or the fans that came out. Did you get any sense of that in your encounters? You know what? In this sense, people were so excited about Lin Manuel Miranda. They genuinely were, especially in the community that we were in. We're at this Puerto Rican restaurant in Omaha. This is the only Puerto Rican restaurant in the entire state of Nebraska. They were very excited.

37:08But Lin Manuel and his father, Luis, have talked about this. And they say that art is inherently political. And so they see those two things is intertwined and it is their duty to speak out about these issues, Kelly. Thank you for bringing us their story, Liz. Good to see you. And up next, meet the candidate. My next guest is a Democrat running in Texas 35th congressional district, a race reshaped by Republican led redistricting efforts and a place becoming more competitive in this final campaign stretch. Johnny Garcia is standing by. That interview is coming up next. You're watching Meet the Press Now.

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39:25We're glad you're here. So in less than a week, early voting begins in Texas. House Democrats are talking up their chances, despite efforts by Republicans to tip the scales in their favor through redistricting. Out of the five Democratic seats the GOP redrew, the Cook political report rates only one of them as solidly Republican. Cook shifted two of those races, Texas 9 and Texas 35, in the direction of Democrats. Just last month, as Republican candidates continue to face significant economic and political headwinds. So joining me now is the Democrat running in Texas 35, congressional district, of course.

40:06And that's Johnny Garcia, a sheriff's deputy who is facing a Republican, Carlos de la Cruz, who is an Air Force veteran. So welcome to the program. Glad you could be with us. Thank you so much, Kelly, for having me on. As we mentioned, the Cook Political Report, we rely on that heavily to understand where races are falling in a given moment. They moved the race slightly in your favor from likely Republican to the lesser status of lean Republican. So this is a district that was redrawn. And when we look inside the new boundary, President Trump had a 10 point margin in the last election. So given that, what makes you think you can pull this off?

40:46Look, you talked about it in the segment before how we're seeing the Latino shift come into this race now more than ever, as we're literally 21 days away from this election. This was also one of the five seats, as you also mentioned, that was specifically targeted by Donald Trump and Greg Abbott to silence Latino and minority voters, the same voters that they were thinking were just going to come out in this election and vote for them again. But these are the folks that we're seeing come back to our party with a 16 point swing shift coming back to this party. Look, I was the lone sheriff's deputy that stood up in this race that say I ain't going to let this gerrymander happen on my watch.

41:23And as we're getting closer and closer, although the Cook Political Report calls it lean, I feel very strongly that we're going to see a monumental shift come November 3rd. That's ultimately going to elect myself, a sheriff's deputy to Congress so we could root out the corruption that we continue to see being played out each and every day. We've talked about these five redrawn seats. Is it your sense being on the ground in the communities there? Do you think not only your district where you're running Texas 35, but the others may also have a chance for Democrats? Look, people are just completely agitated with the everyday prices that we're having to pay here in this district when it comes to groceries, health care and gas prices.

42:07We're also seeing House representatives that didn't check this reckless administration before they decided to send our troops off into another forever war. This is Military City, USA, and folks here in this district are restless, knowing that their kids are overseas in a reckless war that ultimately decides the fate of our nation. Look, we're seeing gas prices skyrocket through the roof. We're seeing fertilizer prices skyrocket through the roof. And now folks aren't able to make it to Sunday to buy their barbaco in Big Red. And here in this district, that means a lot to Latinos, folks that weren't anticipating having to pay over six dollars for a gallon of diesel.

42:48Many folks in this district, working class families have large trucks to go to construction sites to pull horses and cattle. And these are the folks that they're completely pissing off here in District 35 that is going to elect myself a sheriff's deputy. Whereas my puppet MAGA opponent, Carlos De La Cruz, is just running to be another yes man for this administration. We've seen the president and the vice president put Texas on their calendar and to go there and to try to boost in at least one case your opponent. Do you see a difference after they have been in Texas with how voters who have been supportive of MAGA have voted for the president?

43:28Do you see any difference once the president or vice president has been in town? I'll let the voters ultimately make that decision. Look, as I mentioned, I'm running against a MAGA puppet opponent who has clearly demonstrated he's running to be Donald Trump's wingman. We don't need another rubber stamp in Congress. We've gotten to see what a Congress looks like that are rubber stamps for this administration. It's gotten us higher costs at the grocery store. It's gotten us higher costs at the gas pump. And it's made health care less affordable in this district. And look, in my profession in law enforcement, we have a saying that suspects always return to the scene of the crime.

44:08And this was ground zero for the mid-decade redistricting battles here in Texas. Again, we're going to see a very telling situation play out in the next couple of days. And it's why we need everybody to help us across the finish line. My race has now become the most spent against house race in Texas because they're clearly threatened by the momentum that we're building here on the ground. but I can't do it alone. I'm going to need some help. And please, we need everybody now to chip in more as we're facing against Donald Trump's super PAC and Elon Musk spending against us, the billionaire boys club of America.

44:43And you can help us by chipping in by visiting vote johnnygarcia.com. Okay, you got your plug in there. Let me ask you this. You're trying to pitch yourself to independents, to Republicans who'd be willing to vote for a Democrat. You've talked about your law enforcement career and how that informs your approach to this. And you've mentioned rubber stamp as something that you don't like in your opponent. What would you be willing to do to stand up to the Democratic Party if elected? What issue would you let them know that you would like to see it go in a different direction? Absolutely. Look, when I'm talking to business owners and I'm talking to owners in our building community, they're telling me that tariffs are ripping their businesses apart.

45:29I'm bringing a very unique skill set with me to Congress. Look, when I served my community as a sheriff's deputy, which I now have for nearly two decades, it was never asking dispatch whether that home I was headed to was Democratic or Republican. I responded every single time like lives were on the line. And I'm meeting folks in the district that once they hear my message, they're telling me I'm voting for you because I clearly see a different Democrat that is willing to fight for me and my families rather than some political agenda. And I'll work with anybody to make sure that we are tackling corruption by ending congressional stock trading, that we are fighting for a safe and secure border.

46:08And ultimately, we're working to tear down these terrors that are hurting 97 percent of small businesses and working class families. I'm not hearing a challenge to what the Democratic issues might be. Where would you break with the Democratic Party? I mean, look, we've gotten to see from the Democratic Party that they want to defund law enforcement. And here in Texas, having safe communities in our streets is essential to our community here in District 35. And as a career law enforcement officer, I won't subscribe to that notion of defunding our law enforcement. We need to make sure that we're standing up for accountability and transparency.

46:46And currently where I sit, there's a major reform that needs to be called for. And these are just some of the things that I'm absolutely set on bringing with me to Congress on day one. In the limited time we have left, we've talked about the importance of the Latino vote. We've done some polling here at NBC News recently that shows Latinos are moving away from the president, but not necessarily having a strong feeling about the Democratic Party and what it offers. How can you deal with that issue? I tell folks from my community this, a saying that my mom taught me that I still live by to this day.

47:21No me den nada en las manos, solo denme la oportunidad de luchar por ello. Look, I'm not asking for a handout. I'm just asking for an opportunity to fight for you and your family so that we can make life more affordable here in District 35. Thank you, Johnny Garcia. Appreciate you being with us. Best wishes in the campaign down to the last wire. We're back tomorrow with more of Meet the Press Now, and there is more news ahead here on NBC News Now.

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