Meet the Press NOW — October 20th

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1:10Welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Gabe Gutierrez. And with two weeks until Election Day, President Trump is set to hit the campaign trail for Battleground North Carolina this evening as part of his intensifying midterm travel blitz. Speaking alongside the vice president ahead of the trip, President Trump telling reporters he believes the rallies are helping. I've done a lot of rallies in the last week, and I guess we're up to 10 or 11. And it's not easy to stand up there for two hours ranting, raving. You have the crowds, but there's a lot of love in those rooms. And I think it's made a big difference.

1:50And to me, the Republican Party has got tremendous spirit, tremendous spirit, tremendous love. If I can get my voters, MAGA, Republicans, whatever you want to call, if they get out to vote, we'll win in a landslide. But they have to want to get out to vote. And if you're not on the ballot, it's a little harder. So I'm asking them to pretend I'm on the ballot. He's already hit 13 states in the past 19 days. And over the next week, the president is barnstorming five additional states, including South Carolina, which he carried by nearly 20 points in 2024. And in a major development, our friends at the Cook Political Report just moved the state's Senate race into battleground territory from likely Republican to lean Republican.

2:36They also moved Minnesota to a competitive category as Democrats find themselves on defense there. Well, more on those moves in a moment. Still, with two weeks to go, Democrats are increasingly optimistic about their chances to potentially flip both chambers of Congress. A new NBC News Decision Desk poll has the party with a nine-point advantage over Republicans when Americans are asked which party should control Congress. Democrats are also significantly outraising Republicans in key Senate battlegrounds, including Texas, where James Tallarico raised$50 million more than Republican Ken Paxton last quarter.

3:14Speaking yesterday in Fort Worth, Tallarico focusing his closing message on the issue of affordability. Everywhere I go, I hear from Texans who are drowning. Texans voted to lower prices. They voted to lower prices at the grocery store. But corrupt tariffs are raising prices at the checkout line. Texans voted to end the wars, but now we have a new corrupt war in the Middle East that is driving up gas and diesel prices. This isn't a partisan thing. Republicans just as well as Democrats know that there is no place in Texas for guys like Ken Paxton. meanwhile paxton is painting his opponent as extreme a strategy echoed by other republicans in the closing weeks of their campaigns i'm asking you to look at my record and compare that to a guy named james talarico

4:12the most radical democrat to ever run statewide in texas i'm not exaggerating when i say if we lose Texas, we lose America. That's what we're fighting for. Let me tell you a little bit more about Adam Hamilton, the most radical liberal Democrat to ever get through a Senate primary in the history of Kansas. First of all, he says he was inspired to become a Democrat by who? Barack Hussein Obama. He is the most extreme candidate. He has called for defunding the police. He has called for letting criminals out of prison. He has called for the Green New Deal, which for Michigan is a killer. And joining me now from North Carolina, head of the president's rally tonight is NBC News White House correspondent Monica Alba, chief data analyst Steve Kornacki, and also senior national political reporter Sahil Kapoor are each at their own big boards with a look at some of November's most closely watched races.

5:08And excuse me, with me here on set is NBC National Politics reporter Bridget Bowman and the Cook Political Report's Senate and Governor Editor, Jessica Taylor. Thank you all so much for joining me. Monica, I want to start with you over here in North Carolina, where the president will speak later tonight. This will be his 15th rally this month. Are we expecting him to break any new ground here? I don't think so, Gabe. And I think that the last dozen or so rallies is a pretty good indication of where the president has focused his energy and his message at times here on the campaign trail, which is to really implore those who have supported him time and time again in a place here like North Carolina that he won several times to get out and vote for the Republican down-ballot candidates.

5:57And he even just acknowledged in the Oval Office that that is what this is going to come down to and that if that does not happen, kind of lowering expectations and setting the scene for a possible Republican loss. And so he's trying to come here and convince his most ardent supporters to basically tell a couple of friends to ensure that they actually show up and vote either in person or on Election Day. But while he's doing that, the president has been pretty consistently railing against the Democratic candidates. I think we can expect to see the same here against the former Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, of this state, who the president has been critical of for years.

6:36So you expect to see that in addition to, Gabe, something that he's been doing a ton, which is promising benefits, potentially even cash, but only if Republicans win the House and the Senate. Otherwise, as he said, in Kansas, if they lose, quote, to voters, you get nothing. Gabe. And, you know, Monica, you're listening to the Trump rally playlist right there. I've been to a couple of rallies of the last week. I have it burned in my brain as well. Monica, you know, both parties have pulled some of their money from North Carolina in recent weeks. Is there a sense that the president could be coming in too late there for Republicans?

7:12Well, if you do look at just the cash advantage and kind of what those moves tell you, it is significant that a major Republican super PAC pulled millions from this state and actually redirected it to Kansas, specifically when you're talking about the Senate race. It does seem, if you look at the polling, that the Democratic candidate, Roy Cooper, is edging out the Republican, Michael Watley, who we should point out is a former RNC chair, somebody who has worked closely with the president and who is an ally, of course, of the president, but who seems to be in a race that could potentially be slipping away.

7:48But there are, as always, other races here in the state, certainly one in the House of Representatives that could be critical for that. And then, of course, you also have, Gabe, this question of how much money Elon Musk is injecting overall to some of these Republican groups that have been moving a lot, millions of dollars around. And Republicans do have that as an advantage. But you're seeing a majority of that money go to states like Texas, like Iowa, not as much here in North Carolina. Monica Alva, live for us in North Carolina. Monica, thank you. I want to turn now to Steve. And, Steve, you have a deep dive on one of those battlegrounds.

8:26Republicans that are defending Maine and Senator Susan Collins has held that seat for 30 years. What are you looking at? She's been an elusive target for Democrats, obviously, as they try to get back a Senate majority this year, try to get that net gain of four seats they need. They've keyed in on this one. Why? Because Collins is the only Republican incumbent. And this is the only Republican seat Democrats are targeting in a state that Trump lost in 2024. In fact, lost in all three of his presidential campaigns. And of course, the backdrop here is that Susan Collins, this is what happened the last time she ran back in 2020.

8:58This was a massive upset here. All the polls in the fall of 2020 had Collins losing this race. As we said, Trump in 2020 against Joe Biden lost Maine. And yet on election night, not only did Collins win, she won going away a nine point victory over Sarah Gideon. Not an understatement to say that this was a shocking result to Democrats and Republicans alike to see Collins do this. How did she pull this off in 2020? And can she pull off something similar here in 2026? So take a look. The big reason why Collins won in 2020, she did something that no other Republican Senate candidate was doing that year.

9:35Check this out here. Sorry, I know it's a little tough to read here, but what you're seeing here is these were Republican Senate candidates in 2020. OK, in what were the battleground states in the Senate side in 2020. And this is the percent of the support they won from voters who said they disapproved of how Trump was doing as president. And look at this. Susan Collins, a quarter, nearly a quarter of the voters in Maine in 2020 who said they disapproved of Trump as president, still voted for Collins. Every other Republican Senate candidate got single digit support from folks who didn't like Trump, who didn't approve of the job he did as president.

10:12So that's how Collins survived in Maine in 2020. So can she do something like that in 2026? Go back and call up that race right here. The places where she really got the most anti-Trump support in Maine, they were sort of along the southern. I know this is a big blob of gray. I'm sorry. But the southern coast of Maine, it's a lot of population there. They are sort of higher income areas. You see voters with sort of high concentrations of college degrees, a little bit of an extension of the Boston suburbs down there in southern Maine. And what you're talking about there are voters who are core Democratic voters.

10:45A lot of them were willing to go over and vote for Collins. Those are the voters in some ways who are going to be key to this Senate race. You can expect Collins isn't going to do nearly as well with them this time around. Can she get enough of them to still vote for her, even though there's no Trump on the ballot for them to vote against? Because what helped what helped her in 2020 was the voters in Maine who didn't like Trump in that area there in southern Maine. Those voters could simultaneously vote against Trump for president and on the same ballot vote for Collins for the Senate. No Trump on the ballot this time.

11:15Are they still are some of them are enough of them for Collins still willing to vote for her for the Senate? Or how many of them will look at it and say, look, if I want to vote against Trump, I got to vote against Collins now. That's the key to that race. Steve Kornacki with quite the deep dive there. Steve, thank you. I want to turn now to Sahil, though. Sahil, let's go bigger picture here. Walk us through where things stand two weeks out in the battle for Senate control. Yeah, Gabe, let me pick up right where Steve left off with that excellent analysis and point out why Maine is so critical to the Democrats' path to a Senate majority.

11:44So imagine for a moment, hypothetical scenario, it's election night, Democrats are hitting their targets so far, they flip North Carolina where they're heavily favored, and they hold ground in states that they currently control, including Michigan, including Georgia, including Minnesota, and including New Hampshire. Hypothetical scenario. They still need three out of these six states in order to get to 51, the magic number. And Maine is on paper by far their best shot mathematically at doing that. Again, assume for a moment, 30 years of trying, Democrats finally defeat Susan Collins and turn Maine blue.

12:18They still need at least two of these five red states. And let me show you why that's such a tall order. These are the states. Donald Trump won all of them three times. He won them all by double digits in 2024. These are the margins. Trump won by 13. Trump won by 13. Trump won by 16. Won by 11. Won by 14. Even winning one of these would be an extraordinary accomplishment for Democrats. What they don't want to do is put themselves in a position where they have to win more and more and more of these in order to get simply to a majority. So we get back to that scenario. And now imagine we're in a scenario where Susan Collins once again defies gravity and wins Maine, keeps it in the Republican column.

12:55Now suddenly Democrats have to win three out of those deep red states that Donald Trump won thrice and won by double digits in 2024. So you see how the path gets steeper if they can't win Maine. You know, Sahil, could this path get even trickier for Democrats? Yeah, it absolutely can. Let me show you why, because there are several blue states where Democrats are fighting that they can't take for granted. We've talked about Maine. These are the margins. In Maine, Democrats won by seven points in 2024. Yes, it's a blue state, but it's a light shade of blue. New Hampshire as well, only three points Democrats won by in 2024.

13:31Minnesota, Democrats have had a winning streak at the presidential level. But look at this, only four points. We've talked a lot about Maine. New Hampshire and Minnesota are both open seats. Chris Pappas, who has never won statewide, is running against the Republican John Sununu, who has won statewide, and he happens to have a famous name, the Sununu political dynasty. It's popular there. His brother, Chris Sununu, is a popular former governor up until a few years ago. Sununu is trying to pull off an upset in New Hampshire. Chris Pappas has sounded the alarm that he doesn't think Democrats are taking this race seriously enough at times.

14:01Then there's Minnesota, where the Republican, Michelle Tafoya, the former NFL sideline reporter, is challenging Peggy Flanagan, the lieutenant governor, who's tied to the Tim Walz administration. The governor there, his popularity has fallen as the fraud scandal in Minnesota permeates over the news. Michelle Tafoya has tried to tie Peggy Flanagan to Tim Walz to try to pull off an upset there. So these are states that Democrats can't exactly take for granted. And let me show you what happens if, for instance, Republicans pull off an upset and win Minnesota. Suddenly Democrats have to win four of these five states.

14:34Now look in New Hampshire. Again, hypothetical scenario. I'm just painting you the picture here. Suddenly here, if this happens, Democrats have to win all five of these. Again, winning one of these would be an extraordinary accomplishment. Sweeping all five of these would be a generational coup, the likes of which we have simply not seen in modern times. Gabe. Sahil Kapoor with not one but two big boards on Meet the Press now. Quite the one-two punch there with Steve Kornacki. Sahil, thank you. And Bridget, I want to turn now to you. You just spent some time in Maine. What were some takeaways from that reporting trip?

15:06Yeah, I was specifically in Lewiston, which is one of those places that Steve was talking about that split between Biden and Collins in 2020. And some of the Biden-Collins voters I talked to were still pretty divided. Some folks are sticking with Collins. They like her experience in the Senate. They like that she's brought a lot of federal dollars to Maine. It's a small state, kind of punches above its weight in that extent because of her role on the Appropriations Committee. But I did talk to several voters as well who are just fed up with Senator Collins, who view her as too aligned with President Trump.

15:36They don't think that she's pushing back enough against him. But it was interesting, as I talked to Jackson voters, one of the big takeaways is a lot of them, when you ask them why they're voting for Jackson, they'll say, first tell you why they're voting against Susan Collins, that they're still learning about Jackson. He's only had a few months as the nominee because of the kind of chaotic process that they had. there. So it'll be interesting to see in the last few weeks if Jackson can kind of get more of his message out there to these folks. You bring up an interesting point, the race being so much about Susan Collins.

16:04But did you get the sense there on the ground that the national headwinds that are facing Republicans right now, are they going to factor into this race or is it really just about Senator Collins as an individual here? That is really the key question of this race is where is this going to come down to? And I think that's why it's so close right now is that folks are really split on this question. And the jury's kind of still out and to which factor is going to win out here. But I did talk to a number of voters who had, it was interesting, almost a vast majority of Jackson folks that I talked to had at some point in their lives voted for Susan Collins.

16:36She's a real institution in this state. So it takes a while. One operative I talked to who had been knocking on doors says it's kind of like negotiating a breakup after a long relationship that you have to convince people that now is the time to move on. So we'll see. But the president is really looming large. I heard a lot of talk about President Trump. One voter who told me, you know, I'm only voting against Collins because I'm unhappy with the president. So that's going to loom large for sure. How many debates have there been in Maine right now? Four. There were four in two weeks. It was a lot.

17:02It was a lot. Do you get the sense, either of you, that they change anything? I don't think so. I think Jackson had some zingers. It was certainly just, to me, underscored the animosity between these two. Yeah, there was a key moment where Jackson told Senator Collins to shut up. And that did, a couple of voters brought that up to me in Maine, saying, especially women saying they didn't like it. And women are going to be decisive in this race. Collins won women, even as they supported Biden in 2020. Jessica, we noted that South Carolina is moving from likely Republican to lean Republican. You also move Mississippi in the Democrats favor just a little bit from solid Republican to likely Republican.

17:41Democrats, you know, or excuse me, Republicans got that favorable more in Minnesota to lean Democrat. So walk us through the thought behind these moves. Why are they shifting now? A lot of it has to do with candidate quality. And I think in Senate races, candidates matter. It's why a strong candidate like Susan Collins can be running in a Harris plus seven state and have a chance. And in South Carolina, you have Darlene Graham, who just took over for the Senate seat after her brother, Lindsey Graham, passed away, of course. And she sort of doesn't have his same political skills. She's new to this.

18:12And I think that sort of newness is showing on the campaign trail. She's facing a more cash flush Democrat in Annie Andrews. I mean, the president is unpopular in this state that he carried by 18 points. He's unpopular almost everywhere. He's dragging down candidates across the board. But I think, you know, Graham had his detractors as well, sort of on the conservative side. And there is a libertarian candidate. I'm watching third party candidates in a lot of these places. If there are Republican voters that don't want to vote for the Republican, could that protest vote help Democrats? by lowering the threshold of the vote that they need.

18:45You're talking about South Carolina. It's interesting. Senator Warnock over in Georgia, he told our colleague Kristen Welker that he sees the road to the Democratic majority going through the South. Do you agree? I think that if we are talking about Democrats picking up these seats in the Deep South, they've already won the Senate. We're talking about how much larger can their majority get. And obviously, for trying to get legislation through, for trying to get judges through, for trying to build a more lasting majority that lasts beyond 2028 and into 2030, possibly, when they also have some difficult seats up.

19:18You want to get it as much as you can. You want to grow it as much as you can and take advantage of when the political wins are at your back right now. We mentioned Minnesota as well. Of those competitive races in South Carolina and Minnesota, which do you think might be a bigger surprise on election night? I still think Minnesota, you have Peggy Flanagan favored there. This is really a state where the issues that are germane there with that fraud scandal that is hurting sort of walls. The outgoing governor sort of hurt Democrats across the board with that scandal. I think South Carolina, I still think, again, lean Republican means we still have the Republican favored.

19:53But I think that race is going to be the closest it's been in decades in South Carolina. You talked about fraud. I mean, President Trump today, you know, speaking alongside J.D. Vance, trying to make fraud a big issue in this election. Many Republicans are as well. Do you get the sense that that issue is really landing with voters at this point? I see corruption as an issue, but it's landing against Republicans, because I think a lot of voters see President Trump having enriched himself. They see the politicians that are having enriched themselves. I see this. Republicans are being punished because they're in power, but Democrats are not popular either.

20:26So this is sort of a pox on both their houses. It's sort of the, you hear ads about the Epstein class and that's sort of shorthand for all these other politicians are getting rich and are sort of fat cats while we're struggling to make ends meet. It ties in with affordability. And for both of you, Jessica, I'll start with you and then we'll end on Bridget. But what are you looking for most in the next two weeks? What's on your radar? I'm following where the money for these last few spends go, you know, when some of these close House races and some of these close Senate races. I mean, the fact that Republicans are having to spend in Kansas, in South Carolina right now instead of in North Carolina.

21:02And in Georgia just tells you how bad the map has gotten. That's right. Yeah, I totally agree. I think where parties are spending their money is a clue of where they think they're in trouble, where they need to shore things up. And I'm watching in a lot of these Republican-leaning states that Sahel was laying out, are these Republican voters going to come home? Is all this money going to make a difference at the end of the day? Or are voters just so upset and so angry right now that it's not going to matter? Yeah, money, of course, is something to watch, but also time and where the president will be spending his time.

21:27Next week, he just announced two rallies in Texas. So stay tuned for that. Jessica and Bridget, thank you so much. And up next, the race for Ohio governor takes a very nasty turn with an attack leaked online, featuring a woman claiming to be the Democratic candidate's estranged mother, sparking reactions from both campaigns. Plus, new reporting from inside House Democratic leadership as Congressman Hakeem Jeffries hits the campaign trail in his pursuit to be the next Speaker of the House. You're watching Meet the Press now. Stay with us.

22:06This message comes from Wise Business, the only account your business needs to scale globally. You're building a business with global ambitions, but hidden fees are eating into your margins. With Wise Business, you can pay overseas suppliers without exchange rate markups. Have customers worldwide get payment details in 22 currencies so you get more of each hard-earned payment without hidden conversion fees. Be smart. Get wise business. Download the app. T's and C's apply. Who's ready for a bike ride? Peppa Pig is learning to ride her bike. First, pop on her helmet. Safety first. Then attach the push stick and give her bike a push.

22:51and watch Peppa pedal. Her legs go round and round as the wheels turn. With more than 75 sounds and phrases, every ride is a big adventure. Peppa Pig Ready Paddle Go, available at all major retailers now. This holiday, all plans, even unlimited, are just$15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song, like All I Want. Right. Okay, we can't afford that. You know what? Forget the music budget. We're going to stick with whatever's in the public domain. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for a 12-month plan required.

23:29$15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms.

23:39And welcome back. Turning now to Ohio, where the governor's race has taken a nasty turn. Democratic candidate Amy Acton's campaign is condemning a new ad circulating online featuring her estranged mother calling Acton a liar and urging Ohioans not to vote for her. My name is Donna Arthur, and I'm Amy Acton's mother. Don't let her become your governor. In a 2019 interview, Acton recalled being sexually abused by her mother's husband when she was a child. Her then-stepfather pleaded not guilty to a charge in 1978 that he raped Acton. Acton has said she has not seen her mother since those court proceedings.

24:18And in an interview earlier today, Acton responded to the ad and pinned it on the campaign of her opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy. I won't normalize somebody who has said that my childhood is something I'm just complaining about, who today just released an ad using my birth mother, who I was removed from, at the age of 12 for severe abuse and neglect and sexual abuse. My brother and I were removed. It was a pattern in the presidential debates. You know, I remember Chris Christie going at it with him. I remember Nikki Haley because he was such a liar and he was attacking Nikki Haley's 14-year-old daughter on air during presidential debates.

24:59You know, this is a lifelong pattern with my opponent. When NBC News reached out, Ramaswamy's campaign did not confirm or deny it produced the video. And a PAC supporting Ramaswamy said they were not responsible for the ad. We should note, it is not clear who produced or paid for this ad, and NBC News has not independently verified the video. And joining me now is NBC News senior national politics reporter Henry Gomez, who covers Ohio politics. And Henry, what more do we know about where this ad came from? Well, Gabe, that's certainly the mystery at this point, because no one is stepping up and taking credit for it.

25:39You mentioned that the Super PAC, the pro-Ramaswani Super PAC. I spoke with an official there. They denied involvement. And the campaign, the Brahma Swami campaign itself released a very lengthy statement criticizing Acton, repeating a lot of the talking points. It's leveled against her throughout this campaign, but notably not confirming or denying that it was responsible. So you can make of that what you will. I will point out that in addition to the interview that Dr. Acton gave today, her brother released a statement through the campaign backing up pretty much everything that she had said.

26:14He actually cut a video last week for the campaign that it posted on social media where he talked about their rough childhood. He talked about how they were victims of abuse growing up and how he felt his sister actually received the worst of it because she protected him from being even more harmed. So it really has taken an ugly turn now that family has gotten involved, that we're seeing ads or at least videos perhaps intended to be ads featuring the estranged mother of the candidate. Yeah, you know, and Henry, I know this is difficult, difficult subject. And you mentioned some of what the brother has said, but what else do we know about the relationship between Acton and her mother and the aftermath of those court proceedings?

26:55So the brother and Acton herself have said that she was removed from custody of their mother and her then husband. once these accusations in 1978 surfaced, once he was arrested and charged with rape, which he pleaded not guilty to. One thing that we've not been able to track down is what happened, how that case was resolved. We just know that from Dr. Atkins' point of view, she said she has not spoken with her mother since 1978. They have not talked. They have not seen each other. So it is definitely a relationship that has been estranged for more than 40 years. And it really, you know, the fact that it's coming all out here in the heat of a political campaign is something that, you know, she and her advisers aren't happy about.

27:41Yeah, you know, Henry, how is this playing publicly and on the campaign trail? And what do you make of just how ugly this race has become? What says how close this race has become in Ohio, Gabe, a Democrat has not been elected governor of Ohio in 20 years, since 2006. But polls show that Acton and Ramaswamy are really duking it out. You know, it's within the margin of error in just about every poll we've seen. Republicans who I've talked to over the last few weeks are concerned that Ramaswamy is vulnerable of losing. He's a billionaire who's flying around the state on his private jet. And Acton, you know, with her story of growing up poor in Youngstown, Ohio, is resonating with some of those voters who are concerned about affordability and how much things cost right now.

28:24So I think seeing how nasty things have gotten, it's a sign that people are worried that this race could get away from Republicans, that they could be shut out of the governor's mansion for the first time since 2006. And that's why you're seeing this take such an ugly turn in the last few days. Henry Gomez, who covers politics in Ohio for us. Henry, thank you. And up next, we'll turn to another Buckeye State fight, the battle for Ohio's first district. I'll be joined by the Republican challenger trying to flip a key house seat. You're watching Meet the Press Now.

29:01This message comes from Wise Business, the only account your business needs to scale globally. You're building a business with global ambitions, but hidden fees are eating into your margins. With Wise Business, you can pay overseas suppliers without exchange rate markups. Have customers worldwide get payment details in 22 currencies so you get more of each hard-earned payment without hidden conversion fees. Be smart. Get wise business. Download the app. T's and C's apply. Who's ready for a bike ride? Peppa Pig is learning to ride her bike. First, pop on her helmet. Safety first. Then attach the push stick and give her bike a push.

29:45And watch Peppa pedal. Her legs go round and round as the wheels turn. With more than 75 sounds and phrases, every ride is a big adventure. Peppa Pig Ready Paddle Go. Available at all major retailers now. This holiday, all plans, even unlimited, are just$15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song. Like, all I want... Right. Okay, we can afford that. You know what? Forget the music budget. We're going to stick with whatever's in the public domain. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for a 12-month plan required,$15 per month equivalent.

30:25Taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms.

30:33Welcome back. We turn now to the other side of a key Ohio race we featured on the show yesterday, where Republican Eric Conroy, an Air Force veteran, is looking to unseat Democratic Congressman Greg Lansman in Ohio's first congressional district. It's one of the Ohio districts that was redrawn last year to benefit Republicans and make the seat more of a toss up. But last week, the Cook Political Report moved the race from lean to likely Democrat. Joining me now is the Republican candidate running in that race, Eric Conroy. Thank you so much for joining us here on Meet the Press Now. Gabe, hey, thanks so much for having me.

31:11And as you mentioned in your intro, Ohio District 1 was redrawn this year into a 53 percent Republican district, which makes it one of the few flippable seats around the country and one that could determine control of the House. So I'm very excited to have the endorsement of the president and Republican leadership to flip this seat. And I'm also happy to report today that we are neck and neck in the polls. We're within the margin of error, and we think we can pull this off. We have the resources to do it. And we're also seeing a higher turnout over the last two weeks with the governor's race and the Senate race on the ballot.

31:40So we're very excited for the next two weeks. Well, the Maine House GOP Super PAC recently pulled more than a million dollars in ad spending from your district. Has the National Party given up on the race? No, not at all. And of course, the National Party has to make hard decisions to defend incumbents around the country this cycle. And we still have the resources to run this race here internally with our campaign. And also we have the new lines as well. And I think there's a real upswell here in southwest Ohio for a change. My opponent, Greg Lansman, is simply far too left for this district. And a lot of people are craving a return to the basics and some common sense conservatism.

32:18Greg Lansman is an opponent who supports open borders, men and women's sports, and voted for the largest tax increase in American history. It's simply not the moderate he claims, and the voters here are looking for a change. Um, Mr. Conroy, you have been endorsed by the president, uh, but his job approval rating in Ohio, uh, is a 43 % in one recent poll, 36 % in another. Do you think president Trump's low approval could actually hurt your chances with voters? No, I don't. And as I talk to voters around this district, I actually hear very positive comments about the president. Uh, no taxes on tips, no taxes on overtime.

32:55These are great common sense solutions that Republican voters love. These policies put money back into the pockets of working class families. And secondly, I'm a big believer that all politics are local. And this is a choice for local voters between myself and Greg Landsman. It's a choice between one candidate who served this country and another one who used service to enrich himself through insider trading. And Greg Landsman, unfortunately, got caught insider trading and broke the Stock Act back in 2025, covering up dozens of trades worth over a million dollars. He's literally tripled his net worth in less than four years in office.

33:29It's time to get people there for the right reasons who actually reflect the values of this region. Well, Mr. Conroy, our NBC News poll found nearly three quarters of Americans disapprove of the president's handling of inflation and the cost of living. Does the president and his policies bear some blame for those rising costs? Well, I think what's important to note is inflation was actually higher under the Biden administration. And now we're seeing it actually come down. And I think we're seeing these pro-growth policies of this administration really take effect. And I always talk about the three main Republican tenants of the economy, which is less regulation, less taxes and cheap energy.

34:04And I think this administration is doing a good job at pushing those both in the short and long term. And I always take a long term view of the economy. And also we can have some short term relief, like we talked about with reduction in taxes, but also looking for the long term as well. And I think this administration is doing a great job looking for the long term, too. Well, Mr. Conroy, I should point out that Congressman Lansman, he rejected the previous accusations on this program yesterday, saying no member of Congress should be trading individual stocks. And he has pushed legislation to ban that.

34:36But, you know, moving on to another question, you know, Republican Senator John Husted, who's running for reelection in Ohio, has said that the war with Iran needs to come to an end as quickly as possible to help lower the rising gas prices. Do you agree with Houston? Well, firstly, back to your original point, he has said that, but the facts say otherwise. Anyone can Google Congressman Lansman's history with stock trading. And on to the word with Iran, right? I served 14 years in the Air Force and the CIA, and I really believe Iran needed to be taken on. If you want$9 a gallon gas, have Iran armed with a nuclear missile.

35:16And this is a country that's killed Americans all over the world and destabilized the Middle East. I think we were right to take on that issue. And what I see it now is most of the kinetic operations have ended. And now we're using some economic pressure to bring this to an end. And as someone who served during the global war on terrorism days, no one wants a 2003, again, large scale ground troops or nation building endeavors. And I think we have to ask ourselves the question on how we reach our foreign policy goals if we're not going to do that. And I think what we've done in Iran with air power, special operations and intelligence is a great way to try to approach our foreign policy objectives without doing large scale on the ground operations.

35:56What do you tell people in your district, in your area who are struggling with these rising costs? And if there is no timetable on when this war might end, they're worried about what will happen to their pocketbooks economically in the coming weeks heading into this midterm election. Well, look, I feel it, too. I'm shoestringing a congressional campaign for almost a year now, and I see the gas prices when I fill up every week. So I feel the pain as well. But I really do think we're going to see these gas prices come down. And on average, they are still lower than they were under the Biden administration.

36:32And I think that's a great credit to some of the energy friendly policies the administration is pushing. And as we see this conflict come to a close, and I would also argue we've already kind of seen this start to wind down from a kinetic point of view, we're going to see those gas prices decrease as a result. So I'm very optimistic here in the near and midterm that these will start to subside. And I want to play something that your opponent said yesterday. He said the voters that he's been speaking to are fed up with what he calls corruption within the Trump administration. This has come up as a top issue.

37:04An NBC News poll released several days ago. Let's play some of that. Everyone hates what's happening. They hate the economy and they hate how politics has become so divisive. But also the fact that you have all of these people, including the president, who've made so much money, billions and billions of dollars, while most of the people I represent are struggling. They hate it. If you're elected, would you support oversight investigations into whether certain officials, including perhaps the president, violated any rules in how they've made money while in office? Well, look, I think all these are taken on a case by case basis and most of these claims are overblown.

37:44I did serve 14 years in the Air Force and the CIA, and there is fraud, waste and abuse in those systems. And I'm certainly about holding the bureaucracy accountable to making sure we cut costs for taxpayers. That being said, I think my opponent, Greg Lansman, needs to actually focus on the issues of the people in this district. And he has voted on issues far too left for this district. And he's representing a district that's now more conservative. And there's a lot of concerns that he's actually a California congressman masquerading as an Ohioan. So I would encourage my opponent to actually look at the needs of this district more often.

38:17And finally, I want to ask you about this leaked ad we were talking about on the show. So it's targeting Amy Acton, the Democrat running for governor in Ohio. Again, we just mentioned in the last segment. And it features her estranged mother. Acton and her brother say the ad exploits her childhood abuse and past sexual assault for political gain. What are your thoughts on it? Is this ad appropriate? Well, firstly, I haven't seen it yet. I've been running around all day today. I know that the ad was released and I've heard about it, but I haven't watched it yet. I would say, though, as someone who has dedicated their life to service, both in my past careers in the Air Force and the CIA, I want to get back to talking about the issues and the issues that matter to people on a day-to-day basis.

38:58And coming from that veteran perspective of really focusing on the service aspect of what we do for this country, I want to talk about the needs of everyday people and what they need on the campaign trail and not some of those other peripheral topics, if you will. Do you not consider whether politics have gotten too ugly? Is that not an important topic? No, I think that's an important topic to discuss. And I think we need to get back to civility on our campaign trails and what we talk about. And I think there is a growing desire, I would argue, on both sides of the aisle, especially as I talk to moderate Democrats, that we need to focus on what's important.

39:34And what's important is what people need. And we need to talk about those issues more on the campaign trail instead of other attacks. Eric Conroy, thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it. Thanks, Gabe. And you can dive deeper into the 2026 midterms with access to polling, early vote data, expert analysis and more exclusive content, all with an NBC News subscription. Just scan the QR code on your screen now or visit NBCNews.com slash subscribe. And we'll be right back with more Meet the Press now. Stay with us.

40:14Welcome back. President Trump is not the only one hitting the campaign trail. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries was in Florida last week stumping for the Democratic candidate looking to unseat Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar in a district President Trump won by nearly 15 points. Jeffries spoke exclusively with NBC News while in Miami-Dade County, appearing optimistic about Democrats' pickup opportunities this November. Donald Trump and Republican policies have failed this community and is a real opportunity to flip this seat. There are opportunities that are presenting themselves now all over the country.

40:53And so we have an abundance of options. And as House Democrats, we'll be spread out throughout America as we race to the finish line. NBC News senior congressional reporter Scott Wong was with Leader Jeffries in Florida, and he joins me now. Scott, you were with Jeffries in Miami-Dade County, my hometown. What was your, you know, what'd you think of the race and what were you hearing from voters? Yeah, I mean, what's interesting and a little bit surprising is that Jeffries is spending time in the closing stretch of the campaign here in this particular district. As you mentioned, this is Trump's backyard, close to Doral, his golf resort, his home state, a district that he beat Kamala Harris by 15 percentage points.

41:43At the same time, Democrats are feeling enormous amount of energy and political wind at their back. Voters in this Miami-Dade County district say that Trump has not lived up to the promises in trying to fix the economy in lowering prices. And specifically, they're talking about his tough immigration policies and how that is scaring members of the community. I spoke to several voters in that district who are very upset with Trump. They say they're either going to support Democrats this time around rather than President Trump or just stay home altogether. I think we have some of your interviews with some of those voters.

42:25Let's listen. There is a big disappointment in the Hispanic community with all the Trump policies. You know, they were promised that only criminals will be deported, and then it's been everybody. So there's a big disappointment, and there's a big fear. I mean, for the first time ever in my time in this country, I've seen fear in people's life. The economy was supposed to be—there was a promise to us, Americans, that it was going to be good, but I don't see it good. But right now I'm not feeling good because I see everybody that's scared about spending because the gas price has gone up. It was not supposed to be.

43:01No war was supposed to be. And there's war. Big Papa voter right there. Look, you know, it's an interesting race. You got, you know, Salazar, you got Elio Rodriguez, two former TV news reporters in South Florida. What are some of the things that stuck out to you? And also, there was some backlash at that bakery that Jeffries visited, right? Tell me about that. Yeah, I mean, this controversy over the bakery is almost overshadowing Hakeem Jeffries' visit. You had some critics online lashing out at the bakery for hosting the Democratic leader. They're saying that he's associated himself with socialists.

43:43Now, we should be clear that Hakeem Jeffries and Rodriguez have completely rejected the DSA agenda. So we need to say that. But this bakery incident has sort of overshadowed the whole visit by Jeffries. Right. And why did Jeffries think it was, you know, a smart idea politically to head down to Miami? There's many other races he could have focused on. is the national establishment brand, the national democratic establishment brand, is that going to play well in South Florida? I think we know that there are going to be a lot of surprises on election night. There always are. And so they are trying, they're playing a game of chess.

44:23They feel like the environment is very good for them. They're spending money and they're campaigning in what we call reach districts. These are places like Mike Turner in Dayton, Ohio, Nancy Mace's old district in Charleston, South Carolina. This one here in Florida, 27 in Miami-Dade County. Hakeem Jeffries wants as big a majority as he possibly can get. And so, you know, they are playing in as many places as they can. Scott Wong, thank you so much. We appreciate your time. Thank you. And after the break, Vice President J.D. Vance declines to endorse a key Trump ally. The panel's next. You're watching Meet the Press Now.

45:14Join me now is the panel. Shelby Talcott, White House correspondent for Semaphore. Mo Alethi, executive director for Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and Public Service. And Republican strategist, Malik Abdul. Thank you all so much for joining me here on the panel. Shelby, I want to start with you. And I want to start in the control of Congress, race for the control of Congress. We just spoke with Scott Wong. who was down with Hakeem Jeffries down in Florida last week. What do you make of Hakeem Jeffries' involvement in that race? I mean, I think it's really interesting because it clearly indicates to me that Democrats think that they, A, are doing pretty well when it comes to potential control of the House, but also have a chance to expand that lead.

45:56And even when I talk to Republicans inside the administration, close to the administration, people who are involved in these campaigns, there is a little bit of an understanding that most likely the House is not going to go well for Republicans. And the focus when it comes to the Republican Party has really shifted towards keeping control of the Senate. And I've talked to several people who say that if Republicans can keep control of the Senate, the president will be sort of satisfied with that kind of a result. Well, specifically with that seat in South Florida, Malik, Congresswoman Salazar, you know, she recently made headlines by distancing herself from the president on immigration.

46:31She recorded that campaign video in front of the White House, basically putting a lot of distance between herself and the president. How concerned should Republicans be about that seat? I actually think that they should be concerned not just about that seat, but with the Hispanic vote overall in a place like Texas. Texas, I'm sorry, Florida. Florida will be the first state where we'll see the impact of Donald Trump's immigration policies. The first test of how people actually feel about it. And I think even though there is, of course, a large Cuban conservative population in a place like Florida, there's other Hispanic population in Florida that I think we're going to have to look out for.

47:09And Donald Trump, I'm not sure if going after Salazar, she was, I think, one of the only ones that he actually went after when she distanced herself from him. I'm not sure that's going to serve him well, but we're going to get a good indicator about how Hispanics feel about Donald Trump's policies with the Florida vote. Mo, if Jeffries and if Democrats are successful in November, do you have any doubts that he's going to become Speaker of the House? I haven't heard any reason to believe he won't be. I mean, I think he's got most of the caucus locked up. Doesn't mean that there may not be some noise, but I think he'll be fine, which is one of the reasons why I think, to your point, that it makes sense for him to go down to Florida if Democrats do feel good about their chances to retake the House.

47:53We've now seen three straight speakers who have been speakers with the narrowest of majorities. And it ain't fun. It ain't a fun job when you only have a few seat majority. So trying to grow that just a little bit makes all the sense in the world. And Malik, you know, as was referenced here, you know, Speaker Johnson, he's had a lot of governing challenges with that slim majority. Do you expect Jeffries to be any different if Democrats win? No, because he's dealing with a similar caucus. This, you know, you have, I would say, the MAGA base of the Republican Party, but you also have this more progressive and in some cases DSA wing of the Republican Party who didn't want Hakeem Jeffries meeting with Jared Kushner, even though Jared Kushner was really responsible for a lot of the economic domestic policies during the first Trump administration.

48:41So I think that same pull that Johnson had trying to navigate the more conservative caucus, I think Johnson is getting the name all wrong. I think Hakeem Jeffries is going to experience the same thing. You know, we've been talking so much about 2026. Shelby, I do want to talk about 2028 and something that Vice President J.D. Vance, who, for all intents and purposes, is the likely frontrunner for the Republicans right now. He was asked about the upcoming Israeli election during an interview yesterday. Let's listen. Do you endorse Benjamin Netanyahu? The president has the most effective endorsement in American or international political history.

49:22I endorse American candidates, and that's what I'm focused on is the midterm. So I'm not getting involved in Israeli legs. So those comments come a day after President Trump said he gave Benjamin Netanyahu his complete and total endorsement. And something else, roll the tape, you know, Vice President J.D. Vance has, in fact, endorsed candidates abroad, Viktor Orban in Hungary. And that's just to start with. But what do you make of the daylight between J.D. Vance and the president on this one? I'm not entirely surprised just knowing sort of the vice president in his orbit for a really long time and the president in his orbit and covering these people for a really long time.

50:05I think that this is the first real glimpse that we've seen of the vice president's view of what America first means. means. And I think that there's a real split within the Republican Party about what America first means, right? There's the sort of traditional view of America first. And then there's the little bit more of a Vice President J.D. Vance view, which is more literally America first and allies sort of second. And so that answer to me was really interesting because I think that that's going to be a really big part of any presidential campaign because the president has made foreign policy such a key part of his second term.

50:42And Malik, you know, I referenced the vice president endorsing Orban before. He's also expressed support for the far right party in Germany. Isn't there some hypocrisy there? What Vance should have said, building upon his comments about Donald Trump, is that, hey, you know, I got a loss before endorsing Orban. I'm not going to get into international politics. The president has spoken for the United States and the Republican. And that's what he should have said. I'm not going to be as charitable. I think this is J.D. Vance, you know, kind of giving his wink and nod to the Tucker wing of his supporters.

51:16I think that's what all of this is about, because he could have he could have demurred in some way on this answer. But he purposely chose to be on record saying that he was not going to endorse. And Vance is too smart to not know that that question was going to come. 50 % of Republicans between the ages of 18 to 49 no longer approve of Bibi Netanyahu and his leadership of Israel. The guy's about to step onto a playing field of a Republican primary when half of a pretty significant chunk of your primary electorate says, we don't like this guy. Why weigh in? And speaking of that question, how delicate of a balance is that for prospective 2028 candidates, not just on the Republican side, but also on the Democratic side?

52:00this relationship with Israel. Lord knows Democrats struggled with it in the last cycle. I think if Democrats are out there saying, we support Israel, but do not support Bibi Netanyahu because Bibi Netanyahu has led us into this war, that's a safe place to be, right? We're not anti Israel. We think Bibi Netanyahu has made the region and the country and the United States less safe. That's a safe place to be. We'll see if Republicans stumble with it the way Democrats did in the last cycle. As we run low on time, I want to go a quick lightning round on all three of you to expect. What are you looking for in these next two weeks before the midterms?

52:40Shall we go? I'm curious to see where the president travels to. He's gone to a lot of pretty reliably red areas. And I know that the White House's argument is that these areas also hit other media outlets. But it also, I think, is a tell for where Republicans might be concerned about. I'm looking at governor's races, frankly, for the first time in a very, very long time. Democrats are poised to take a majority of the nation's governor's races. Texas seems to be one of the biggest battlegrounds. Everyone's focused on the Senate. There's a hot governor's race there. Ohio, as you guys talked about earlier, hot governor's race.

53:18Keep an eye on state houses. And Malik? Looking for the gerrymandered seats in Texas to see how well Republicans do. We assumed that we would win those going in, and it's not necessarily looking that way now. A lot of things to look at in these final two weeks. Malik, Mo, and Shelby, thank you so much for your time, and thank you for watching. We're back tomorrow with more Meet the Press Now. There's more ahead on NBC News Now.

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