Meet the Press NOW — October 28

0:00If you're the type of person who wants data, not assumptions, PreNuvo's Whole Body Scan gives you a deep understanding of your health. Screen for over 500 conditions, including many cancers, autoimmune disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and more. Add blood panels to test over 80 biomarkers, and you've got information about your body you may never have had before. Book your scan at PreNuvo.com. That's P-R-E-N-U-V-O dot com. Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angie. When you use Angie for your home projects, you know all your jobs will be done well. Roof repair? Done well. Kitchen sink install?

0:41Done well. Deck upgrades? Done well. Electrical upgrade? Done well. Angie's been connecting homeowners with skilled pros for nearly 30 years, so we know the difference between done and done well. Angie, the one you trust to find the ones you trust. Find a pro for your project at Angie.com.

1:11Welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Kristen Welker. With less than a week to go until Election Day, President Trump and Republicans are facing renewed concerns in the Midwest and the South, two vitally important regions when it comes to Senate control. Let's start in the Midwest. President Trump is about to head to Battleground, Ohio, for the third time this month as he looks to boost incumbent Senator John Husted, who's facing a challenge from former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. Campaigning with Husted yesterday, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the race, quote, a knife fight, while Brown is projecting confidence in the closing days.

1:48This is ground zero. It seems like it is a lot of election years. who come to Ohio, but this literally is ground zero. This is the firewall in the United States Senate. This is a knife fight, folks. This is a bare knuckles brawl. And all you have to do is turn on your television and see that. But the stakes couldn't be higher. Consequences couldn't be greater. I'm feeling good. I talked to a couple of state legislators, candidates today. They're going to win. We're going to win at least a couple of congressional seats. I'm going to win. Amy Acton's going to win. Democrats, all of us understand that this system is rigged and John Husted's a big part of it.

2:27And we fight back and voters respond. Now, campaign dollars are surging to Ohio right now. According to Ad Impact, Ohio has the highest amount of planned ad spending ahead of Election Day, more than$31 million worth, with two other Midwest states, Michigan and Iowa filling the second and third spots. And turning to the South, Democrats also now have their eyes on deep red South Carolina, where a new New York Times-Siena poll has the race between Senator Darlene Graham and Dr. Annie Andrews in a dead heat at 48 percent each. President Trump will be making his second campaign stop in that state tomorrow.

3:09And then, of course, there's Texas, where state Representative James Tallarico hopes to be the first Democrat to win statewide and more than 30 years as he faces Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the president in Tallarico, holding dueling rallies in the Lone Star State yesterday. In seven days from now, the people of Texas are going to defeat Democrat communist James Tallarico. I know that we're not the only show in town tonight, and I appreciate all 4 ,000 of you that showed up here this evening.

3:46that's that's a lot of talafricos in one room. So. And joining me now to start us off, our team of NBC News reporters, chief White House correspondent Garrett Haake is in Ohio. Chief data analyst Steve Kornacki is at the big board. Alan Smith is in Michigan and Aaron Gilchrist is in Atlanta, where former President Obama will speak tonight. Garrett, I have to start with you. The president set to speak in Ohio tonight, a critical gubernatorial race, a critical Senate race. What are you going to be watching for tonight, Garrett? Whether the president can say more about John Husted than simply praising his posterior, Kristen, I mean, this is a race where the president could still actually be helpful to John Husted.

4:30Everyone I talk to on the Republican sort of campaign operative world believes that this Senate race is still close and it is still winnable for Republicans, despite Sherrod Brown's prognostications, if the president is disciplined and if Ohio behaves like it has over the last decade or so as a reliable Republican state. But the president's got to give sort of unlikely Republican voters, not the people who come out every cycle, a reason to come out and support a candidate who is largely viewed as kind of a generic Republican in this state. Whether he can throw more of a lifeline to Vivek Ramaswamy, I think is a much more challenging question to answer.

5:10Again, the pollsters and operatives I talk to say Ramaswamy's campaign may be in significant trouble here beyond what the president can save. Well, that is significant for sure. And of course, it does come, Garrett, after Vivek Ramaswamy ran that incredibly controversial ad featuring Amy Acton's mother, estranged mother. She hasn't spoken to her, she says, in more than 50 years, actually, after she was sexually abused by her stepfather. Let me ask you, Garrett, in your conversations with Republicans there in Ohio, how much concern do they have that that could impact down ballot races? Yeah, look, on the one hand, that ad certainly broke through.

5:53Something that ad makers always want is to have their ads be talked about. But that one appears to be being talked about quite negatively. I spoke to one Republican operative who works in this state who says that that ad is probably responsible for a high single digit point fall off essentially for Ramaswamy in the last couple of weeks as people thought that ad was out of bounds and essentially pushed back against it. But to your second question, though, this is kind of the open the open one here, which is does Ramaswamy's unpopularity, his penchant for frustrating and turning people off and offending, which frankly goes back to his brief presidential campaign in 2023 and 2024.

6:32Does that kind of extend to other Republicans on the ballot or is it contained to him individually? We won't know until all the votes are counted, but about one point two million of them have already been cast here. So Republicans are running out of time to change minds about this. Well, there is a surge of cash in these final days. Garrett, could that make a difference? Absolutely, it could. I mean, it's a gobsmacking amount of money here in Ohio. And I do think it's one of the places where that money can be useful. The airwaves are not as saturated as they are in Texas, believe it or not, or in a place like Alaska, which is also impossible to pull and impossible to get good data from.

7:11If you want to try to move votes and hit a couple of races all at once, there are worse places you could spend your money than in Ohio. But again, in the advent of the early voting age, so many ballots have already been cast. There's just vanishingly little time left to actually change anyone's mind, which, by the way, is why it is still somewhat valuable to have the president here, because this is now a turnout game. And making sure people who sort of support you actually bother to get off the couch and cast their ballots is what a lot of these closing days will be about. Yeah. Garrett, Republicans still say President Trump, the most effective person to get out the MAGA base.

7:47Garrett Hake, starting us off. Thank you, as always. Steve Kornacki, let's head to you at the big board. What are you going to be watching for in the Buckeyes? Diving into Ohio, the Senate race there. It's a Republican incumbent, an appointed incumbent, John Husted against a Democrat who was an incumbent for three terms. Sherrod Brown lost his seat in 2024. Now he's running, trying to get back to the Senate in the significance of this nationally. Democrats are trying to get a net gain of four seats. This would be a pickup for them if Brown could beat Husted. And they're trying to do it in a state not only that Trump won, but that Trump won in a landslide here.

8:18Double digits. Now, keep in mind, though, when Trump beat Kamala Harris here by just over 11 points in 2024, Brown lost the Senate race, but he could see it here. It was closer. It was only a little bit more than four points, about four and a half points there. Brown fell short by. So he outperformed Kamala Harris in 2024. Now, in a midterm climate, can he actually beat Husted in this race? So what are we going to be looking at here in Ohio as the results come in? One way to understand Ohio here is we say this is a Trump landslide state. Do you remember? Are you old like me? And you can remember when Ohio was like the swing state of swing states.

8:53Democrats used to be able to win Ohio. Certainly were always competitive in Ohio. It changed with Trump. So what's changed in Ohio? Well, basically, this kind of swath of the state, you know, sort of southern Ohio here, getting up into the Mahoning Valley here, this used to be used to actually have blue counties in here. A lot of these counties were Democratic counties. Democrats were certainly competitive in them. What these are, this is like Appalachia. These are rural counties. These are very blue collar, working class counties, older white populations, voters who don't have college degrees as a demographic.

9:24That's the group in Ohio and nationally that when Donald Trump came on the scene in 2016, those voters flooded to him all of a sudden and completely transformed the geography, politically speaking, of states like Ohio. So this has been the area, the Trump surge area in Ohio. OK, so one of the questions is going to be for Sherrod Brown. He's not going to win back pre-Trump levels here, but can he be competitive enough here in a way that Democrats against Trump haven't been? So a couple of places we might look for that Mahoning County here would be a good example. This is a big one. This is where Youngstown is.

9:59Right. So here's what Mahoning looked like. OK, Brown, you know, in his Senate race fought Marino to a tie here, basically in Mahoning in the presidential race. Trump won this by 10. Now, just take a look at the trajectory here. Trump won it by two in 2020. And in 2016, Clinton actually won this by three. If you went back four years earlier, right, Barack Obama in 2012, he won Mahoning by nearly 30. That's what Democrats used to get out of Mahoning Valley. Core Democratic blue collar county. They used to win this thing by 30 points plus. Trump came along. He made it competitive. He flipped it in 2020.

10:34He got up to a 10 point margin in 2024. And as I showed you in 2024, in that in that Senate race in 2024, Brown basically got it to a tie. Can Brown win this thing? Can Brown win this by double digits? A 10 plus point Brown win. Yeah, I said he was elected to the Senate before. when Sherrod Brown first won his Senate seat back in 2006. OK, 2006, Brown won Mahoning County by 50 points. Right. And then he look at this in 2024 when he loses statewide. It's a tie here. That's how much Mahoning changed. That's how much this part of the state changed. Can Brown win it? I think can you win it by about 10 points or so?

11:16That's the question there. And then the other thing is we say this has been the Republican growth area in Ohio. It's why Trump's been able to win big. There are some growth quarters for Democrats down here in the sort of the metro Cincinnati area. Again, what do we say nationally? It's true in Ohio, too. Areas where you got more college degrees, white collar professionals, more upscale areas economically. Some of the Cincinnati metro area are growing down there. Democrats have been doing a little bit better. There's growth there for them. But this is the one I'm paying close attention to the big bedroom community county just north of Columbus.

11:47This is Delaware County. Again, historically, this is a very Republican county. voters who voted on pocketbook issues, fiscally conservative, but more culturally moderate. And this is an area where actually Republicans and Trump have been losing momentum in the Trump area. You can see, let me show you the presidential results here. Trump did win this by six, right, in these two elections. In 2016, he won this by 16. And again, if you wound this back further, Republicans were winning this by 25, 30 points. This used to be a vote bank for Republicans. Trump comes onto the scene. It goes from 16 down to seven.

12:21And look at this down to about, you know, six points, six and a half points in 2024. So even as Trump and Republicans have gotten much stronger statewide, they've been losing momentum in Delaware County. And as I just put up on the screen there a minute ago in 24, look at this. Brown almost won Delaware County. So that's a question for me on election night. It's sort of a bellwether. The momentum is on Democrats side here in places like Delaware County. is Brown actually posting that breakthrough and for Democrats elusive victory in Delaware? Is he actually winning it? Is he winning it? I think solidly.

12:53That's one of those questions. So if Brown can become competitive again, competitive, you know, is a relative term here, but competitive in the swath of state I just showed you, this is the Trump growth corridor. And if he can actually flip Delaware County and win it by a solid margin, that's what it would take for him. I mean, historically, it's kind of a crazy thing, if you know Ohio politics, to be talking about Delaware County. It used to be like the capital of suburban Republicanism in Ohio. To be talking about that is the big kind of must win place for Democrats. But that's what it's become.

13:24And we'll see what happens on election night. We sure will, Steve. Just extraordinary to look back at all of those swings that you just detailed. Steve Kornacki, thank you, Alan. Let me turn to you. I know you're tracking the Senate race in Michigan and it's getting a lot of attention in these final few days, particularly around some of the rhetoric that we've been hearing. I want to play some of those comments. I'm going to get your reaction on the other side. Take a look. With the guy up in Michigan, we're going to have to do the, you know, the test, the metal detector test before he's allowed to sit every day.

13:55He's going to have to go through a metal detector in the United States Congress. We have people that should not be running for politics in this country, and we're never going to allow Sharia law in this country. There's 500 million Arabs in the world, and yet they don't produce science. They don't win the Nobel Prize. They don't win the field prize. They don't win the Wolf Prize. They don't produce literature. Well, the al-Sayed campaign, Alan, had a few things to say about that. Let me just read you what they had to say. Then I'm going to come to you. The campaign says, quote, Maybe Bobby Jr.

14:33should spend more of his time figuring out why we have all of these food recalls under his leadership rather than race baiting Michiganders. Alan, what is the Rogers campaign saying? So, Kristen, just within the last 24 hours, I've been up here on the trail in Michigan. And so much of the campaign messaging here at Mike Rogers events has been focused on ties that Republicans are trying to spotlight between Abdul El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood. But Rogers is trying to take pains to say that his message is not about Abdul's religion. It is about these ties. But as you're seeing, we've got surrogates, including RFK Jr.

15:14and Donald Trump and others who have been here with Rogers in recent days who are taking this a step further. and i think we might have actually some recent sound from mike rogers let's listen and i'll get your reaction on the other side as a former fbi guy i can tell you you're not getting a security clearance just based on his untruthfulness on his resume and looking at the camera and saying i don't have any relation or my family any relation with the muslim brotherhood when there is a mound of evidence that proves contrary to that that alone those those series of events would prevent you from getting a security clearance.

15:48So I just think it's important that people understand what is that idea. It is not how he prays. Actually, both of us served in the uniform of the United States, so people could pray any way that they wanted. It is not about how you pray. It's what you think. And that's what we think is at risk in this. And Alan, this was in a conversation with you. How is that messaging playing for voters? So it's interesting, Chris, And I was asking him that that answer is actually in response to me asking him about RFK Jr.'s comments, which he said that he had not seen in conversations I've had with voters here, as well as other NBC News colleagues.

16:26You know, it's very apparent that it is Abdul's faith that has come up a lot as a reason to vote against him. Voters are not necessarily referencing any connection to the Muslim Brotherhood. They are referencing his Muslim faith, and they're actually very quick to do it, whether in focus groups or whether just speaking with them and kind of pull the sides along the trail. So clearly this is having a big effect on how people are thinking about the race here. But again, Rogers is trying to make the case that it is not about his religion, that he's actually just trying to spotlight these ties that he finds to be deeply concerning.

16:56And I know you're heading to Al-Sayed's rally a little bit later on today. Alan, what are you going to be watching for there? Well, Chris, I'm really curious how much time, you know, Abdul spends during during his event later today trying to counter countering some of this messaging as opposed to staying on his core bit of Medicare for all returning money to voters and so on. It's going to be interesting. I know he's tried to take a pretty sharp angle on some of these Muslim Brotherhood questions in the past, but this has just become so much of a focus, particularly of the Republican events here in the last couple of weeks.

17:28I mean, it's just been so dominant in their campaign messaging. So I'm curious how much attention Abdul is going to pay to it later today. Yeah, we'll be watching for that, too. Alan Smith, thank you so much. Aaron Gilchrist, let me head to you in Atlanta, where former President Obama is set to rally for Keisha Lance Bottoms. She's locked in a tight race for governor. He's also going to be rallying for John Ossoff. Polls show he's opened up a lead. What's the mood like there? And what are you watching for tonight? Well, Kristen, I can tell you the doors opened here just about five minutes ago at this arena where we have seen people filling this parking lot for the last hour, standing in line here waiting to get inside to hear former President Obama speak, to hear all the people who are on the ballot here, Democrats who are on the ballot here in the Atlanta area across Georgia running for office right now.

18:19And I can tell you the mood. Obviously, people are hot and kind of wanting to get inside. But this is really an event that is geared toward energizing Democrats who are already very supportive of Senator John Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta who's running for governor here. These are the Democratic faithful who really are trying to encourage folks to get out and vote. That's really what we understand to be the core message that President Obama will bring here tonight. We know that already more than two million people have voted early here in Georgia, but the Democrats want to make sure that they are driving their supporters to not just be supporters, but to be voters, to get out to vote before early voting ends here on Friday and certainly on Election Day on Tuesday of next week.

19:02We've been talking to some voters here in the greater Atlanta area about what are the things on their minds right now? What's top of mind for them, things that they're concerned about, things that they want, whoever wins any of the offices that are on the ballot this election cycle, things that they want them to be working on. I want you to hear some of what we heard from some voters today. Of course, you know, we all want lower prices of everything. I mean, you know, things, you know, the economy and all of those kind of things. You know, of course, the war, that needs to, you know, that needs to end.

19:32I have all those kinds of concerns. You know, where are we headed? But I also still have some traditional values. I think inflation is really high in that we need to gas prices are astronomical right now. And I think that we need to work together to lower it just to make it more comfortable and easier for people.

19:59And so, Kristen, you talk about what the polling has shown so far about those two top races, the Senate race, the governor's race here, that's a reality that is not lost on the campaigns here. And they know that this is going to be a turnout election for them. They need to drive people to the polls to make sure that they vote so that the lead that Senator Ossoff has in the polls is one that actually comes to fruition when the votes are counted. And to widen that lead in hopes for Keisha Lance Bottom, the Democratic campaigns will tell you, in hopes that she can win the governor's race here in Georgia.

20:30Kristen? All right, Aaron Gilchrist. Thank you. Great interviews. Really appreciate it. Coming up, crossing the aisle in Alaska, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski makes a surprise move endorsing the Democrat in the governor's race. What it could mean for the state's critical Senate race. Plus, decision day for the Fed, the latest signals from the central bank about the health of the economy as we sprint toward the midterms. And an election day programming note after a special edition of Meet the Press Now. Our special coverage on NBC and NBC News Now kicks off at 5 p.m. Join us for coverage all night long as results come in.

21:08Stay with us. You're watching Meet the Press Now. Here's something you may not know. Only 14 percent of cancers in the U.S. are caught through routine screenings. Prenuvo's whole body MRI may help close that gap, screening for over 500 conditions, including most solid tumors, all in under an hour. PreNuvo's body panels also test over 80 biomarkers for a deeper understanding of your health. No radiation, no contrast. Book your scan at PreNuvo.com. That's P-R-E-N-U-V-O dot com. Hi, it's me, your gutters. I want to start by saying I'm fine. Everything is totally fine. There's just, there's a lot of debris up here, and I've been managing it mostly on my own for about eight months now, and I just thought maybe you could find someone on Angie to clean me up.

21:59You don't have to make it a whole thing. It doesn't need to be a whole thing. I just, I could really use your help. Your gutters have waited long enough. Find a pro at Angie.com. Traditional home security only alerts you after a break-in, and that's too late. SimpliSafe is changing that. Stop. This is SimpliSafe. Police are on the way. We don't just alert. We help stop crime before it starts. Plans starting around a dollar a day. Right now, get 70 % off your new system with professional monitoring at simplisafe.com slash sxm. SimpliSafe, ahead of crime in real time. Outdoor deterrence plans start at$49.99 a month.

22:38Visit simplisafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information.

22:44Welcome back. We are following breaking news. The Federal Reserve keeping interest rates steady today. In its final meeting before the midterms, the central bank voted to keep its benchmark rate in a range between 3.75 and 4 percent. The decision coming as inflation remains stubbornly high and well above the Fed's target of 2 percent. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh also announcing today that the central bank would have fewer rate setting meetings in the coming years. NBC News Business and Data correspondent Brian Chung joins me now. Brian, great to have you here in person. So you were there when this was announced.

23:21This was expected, though, right, that they would not raise rates this close to the midterms. Right. And it sounds like the Federal Reserve is saying they can afford to not raise interest rates right now because they want to get more information. They said they want a more accumulation of information before they decide what to do next. You have to remember they raised interest rates in September. That was the first time they did so in over three years to get their arms around the higher inflation that you were just highlighting. But the statement by saying we want more information does leave the door open for one more interest rate hike in December.

23:50That's the next scheduled meeting on December 9th. So that's what we'll be watching for. Did Kevin Worsh indicate that that might be coming? Should people brace for that? Yeah, well, as we've heard from Kevin Worsh many times, he doesn't like to offer what they call forward guidance. Essentially, any tea leaves into what the Fed is going to do next. But I think what's interesting is that there were two dissents to the decision today. Yes, the Fed did not move on rates, but you had Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammock voting against that, preferring to raise interest rates and also preferring to raise interest rates is Governor Lisa Cook, who, as we know, has been under fire from the president on allegations of mortgage fraud.

24:23This is the first time she has dissented against against this Fed chair. Wow. OK, well, that's certainly notable, given all of the attention that she has gotten. Tell me a little bit about this change to its meeting schedule starting next year that Kevin Warsh announced. Yeah, this is a big surprise. I've been covering the Fed for a while, and the structure has been you have eight meetings that are generally spaced around six to seven weeks away from each other where the Fed can move on interest rates. And the Fed chair said beginning next year, he wants to take one of those eight meetings and take it off the table in terms of policy setting for the rate.

24:55He wants to make it a more of a strategy meeting where you kind of talk about with the other Fed members, high level approaches to how the Fed does their policy. But it would not be a rate setting meeting. And in twenty twenty eight, he said he wants to make that two meetings by which they will not set interest rates. So that could extend the period of time between which we hear from the Fed on what they're going to do on interest rates. Could that introduce volatility into financial markets and into the political realm, too? Because as we know, this city loves watching what the Fed does on interest rates.

25:22It certainly does. Brian Chung, thank you for being here to cover all of it. We really appreciate it. Coming up next, bracing for a battle. The Trump administration ramps up its legal fight in multiple states as the president sows doubts about the midterms if Democrats win. Former Trump White House attorney Ty Cobb joins me next. Stay with us. You're watching New Press Now.

25:45Here's something you may not know. Only 14 % of cancers in the U.S. are caught through routine screenings. PreNuvo's whole-body MRI may help close that gap, screening for over 500 conditions, including most solid tumors, all in under an hour. PreNuvo's body panels also test over 80 biomarkers for a deeper understanding of your health. No radiation, no contrast. Book your scan at prenuvo.com. That's P-R-E-N-U-V-O dot com.

26:39That can be pretty stressful. And some say Odo's programs for manufacturers and accounting and more are like building blocks. And they're all connected on one platform. Doesn't Odo sound amazing? Let Odo harmonize your business with simple, efficient software that can handle everything for a fraction of the price. Sign up today at Odo.com. That's O-D-O-O dot com.

27:04Welcome back. We are awaiting a decision from a federal judge on the Trump administration's effort to segregate thousands of mail-in ballots in California. The judge has said he would rule by today on the Justice Department's emergency request to set aside roughly 20 ,000 mail-in ballots from people the federal government believes may not be U.S. citizens. The state argues the DOJ is making that allegation based on data and methods known to be unreliable. It's also worth noting that non-citizen voting is extremely rare in the U.S. But the effort is part of an unprecedented flurry of activity by the Justice Department in the weeks leading up to Election Day, including a lawsuit seeking to block Alaska Senate certification if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan loses.

27:52Plus, an attempt to set aside ballots, it says, may be from non-citizens in Washington state. and the search of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's home by federal agents as part of a criminal investigation. Joining me now to discuss all of this, Ty Cobb, a Justice Department veteran who served as a White House attorney during the first Trump administration. Ty, thanks so much for being here. Great to be with you, Kristen. Well, it's always great to have you, Ty. Here we are less than a week until Election Day, and I just want to get your broad reaction to this flurry of activity that we've seen coming from the Justice Department.

28:27So Trump came out of the gate back on his first day in office with an attempt to short circuit the voting process when he attempted to cancel mail in balloting. The Supreme Court ultimately withstood that challenge and rebuked him. But, yes, they are doing everything they can to interfere with the elections, and they will continue that effort, sadly, probably likely beyond the elections. The case in California is largely meritless. It's not clear how they how they have jurisdiction over this, what their statutory basis, if any, is. And the claims that they make on the 20 ,000 ballots, of course, this is something that California asked them when they first raised this long ago to try to explain to them where they got these names, how this process worked.

29:20They refused to do it. And then they hit them with a you have 48 hours to respond or we're going to sue you. And they sued. You know, the Court of Appeals earlier this week said that, you know, it was premature for them to try to go over the head of the district court judge who had a hearing today and is likely to rule today. And I suspect what we will see is that the court denies the government's request and that the voting proceeds as it should without federal interference since the Constitution grants the authority to manage elections to the states themselves. Same is true in Alaska. There, the allegations are or the effort by the government is to try to freeze the vote after the fact to look into the intention of the people that voted for the second Dan Sullivan on the ballot.

30:16Now, the Alaska Supreme Court has already authorized that voting to proceed. The two candidates named Dan Sullivan are distinguished on the ballot. One of them is identified as the incumbent senator. Each has their separate middle initial. The Dan Sullivan, who is not the incumbent, is not listed with any party affiliation. So it's pretty cut and dried, frankly, and their effort is really just one to try to sow chaos, confusion and ideally maybe keep some enthusiastic Democrats away from the away from the polls. So we'll see how all this plays out. But there will be additional legal challenges.

30:58And I'm sure that the government will invade other states with subpoenas and demands as we go forward. Well, let me follow up with you on the Alaska case, if I could. And if we could put the ballot back up, because it's a fascinating case here. You have two Dan Sullivans. It says very clearly Dan S. Sullivan, incumbent. It does mark who the incumbent is. Daniel Junior Sullivan, Daniel J. Junior Sullivan. The question, Ty, do you think this is going to go all the way to the Supreme Court? Because as you say, DOJ is trying to effectively say, hey, if Dan Sullivan doesn't win, this race should not be certified.

31:41There is some reporting that perhaps the second Dan Sullivan was put on the ballot as a coordinated effort. Do you think this goes to the Supreme Court? I don't believe the Supreme Court will take this up because the law on this is actually pretty clear that the federal government really has no role here. Now, that that doesn't preclude the state or the losing Dan Sullivan. If the incumbent loses, if he wants to take this case up, he can take it as far as he intends to. And I'm sure that the White House will encourage him to contest the election, just as they'll encourage other Republicans and Luz to contest their elections.

32:25I think we're in for a long series of contested elections and contested certifications following the election. But ideally, you know, this fundamental aspect of democracy, being able to select the people that we want to represent us, will not be corrupted the way that the president has corrupted virtually every other aspect of the rule of law. Well, let me ask you, because we learned yesterday the Justice Department charged former FBI Director James Comey for a third time, accusing him of transmission of national defense information and conspiracy to transmit national defense information. He denies the allegations.

33:07What do you make of these charges? Do you think that DOJ will secure an indictment? They may secure an indictment, but the indictment is barred. I mean, the reality is what the device they chose, they made up a theory on which they thought they could get around the statute of limitations. The law, however, is really clear that they failed. The information that they filed in an attempt to do this applies in connection with the five-year statute of limitations that governs most federal crimes. But with regard to the tenure statute of limitations, that statute clearly requires that it cannot be told in the absence of an indictment.

33:49So what the government did here was they they they consistent with what they do throughout the country. And as they've done in the California ballot case and in the last case, they invent jurisdiction and they invent theories as to why what they're doing is appropriate. just just just as they failed to get an indictment of Cassidy Hutchinson's. I don't think that this case is going to go anywhere. Certainly, Comey will never be convicted of any of these crimes. OK, well, Ty Cobb, as always, we appreciate your perspective. Thank you for joining us less than a week to go to Election Day. Really appreciate it.

34:24Wonderful to be with you. Thank you. Thanks, Ty. Coming up after the break, I'll speak with the Democratic candidate in a battleground Kentucky district that Republicans won big in 2024 and could be a crucial bellwether race on election night. Keep it right here on Meet the Press Now.

34:47Welcome back. As Democrats look to take back the House, one of the first signs of a Democratic blue wave on election night could emerge from a reliably red district in Kentucky. That state's sixth congressional district is is among the first in the country where polls close at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, making it a bellwether for Democrats being able to flip deep red districts. Democrat Zach Dembo, a Navy veteran and former prosecutor, and Republican Ralph Alvarado, a doctor, are locked in a tighter-than-expected race to fill longtime Republican Congressman Andy Barr's open seat. Republicans have easily carried the district in recent elections, but just last week, the Cook Political Report moved the race from lean Republican to toss up.

35:31Joining me now is Zach Dembo, the Democratic candidate for Kentucky's sixth congressional district. Thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate it in this home stretch. Thanks for having me, Kristen. I appreciate it. Well, we appreciate your being here. This is a district that Republicans won by more than 25 points in 2024. What makes you think you can flip this seat now and what's your strategy to do it? Look, this is a unique district that I am lucky to call home. Yeah, the Republicans did win it by a lot in 2024. But my old boss, Governor Andy Beshear, won it by 20 points in 2023.

36:12Folks here are independent minded. They are not focused on the party. They're focused on the person that they think is going to fight for them. And we need an independent fighter here more than ever, because these tariffs, the war in Iran and the corruption coming out of D.C. is really hurting people in central Kentucky. That's why I think our message has taken off and why we've had not just Democrats, but Republicans and independents finding a home in our campaign to make a difference. Let me ask you about one of the biggest criticisms we've heard from your opponent, Ralph Alvarado. He's called you a liberal lawyer.

36:46He's also called you an environmental extremist. He suggests you're too progressive for a district like Kentucky six. How do you answer that? I'm a ninth generation Kentuckian up until my mom. We all made our living the same way. Farming. I'm the only veteran in the race. I'm the only former federal prosecutor in the race. He's obviously grasped me at straws because he knows that the ground is shifting under his feet to the due to the very costly, unpopular policies he's in favor of. and the fact that he's been a career politician who's lined his own pockets. But I'm for common sense here in Kentucky.

37:24That's what I signed up for when I signed up for the Navy or when I put criminals behind bars. I'm the candidate that reflects this state, my home state. And what is the one issue that you can identify where you would break with the Democratic Party? What would you tell voters there in Kentucky? Well, the first thing would be as a law and order guy and a veteran, And the way that the southern border was neglected under the Biden administration, I think, was terrible. I don't think that that was sustainable at all. I'm very much against that. The other way that I'd break with some members of my party would be that there are still Democrats who oppose very obvious anti-corruption measures, such as banning stock trading for members of Congress or having a ban on lobbying.

38:09There are plenty of Democrats who've been against that. I would stand up to them and work with anyone, Democrat or Republican, who wants to get this money out of politics. Let me delve a little deeper with you on the immigration issue, because as you know, some Democratic candidates who are likely to be elected in November are calling for ICE to be abolished. Is that something that you would support abolishing ICE? No, definitely not. Look, we have to have an effective immigration enforcement regime. And we've seen ICE through other administrations doing that responsibly in the way that it should be, which is focusing on dangerous criminals who are here illegally, like the kind of people that I prosecuted when I was a federal prosecutor.

38:55What worries me is when we see them going beyond that mission, terrorizing communities, going into homes without warrants, hanging out around churches and schools. That is not consistent with the immigration enforcement I knew when I was a federal prosecutor. I won't be supporting that. But I think the idea of abolishing ICE is not a good one. I think what we need to do is just make sure they are focused on people committing dangerous crimes here. Given your critique of the Biden administration on this issue, do you give President Trump credit for reducing illegal border crossings at the southern border?

39:33I do. I agree with the president in that he has gotten the southern border under control, and I'm glad that's the case. There are a lot of things that his administration has done with regard to immigration enforcement that seems like a massive overstep, such as when we see American citizens shot in the face in the street. But when it comes to the southern border, I agree with them and I'm glad that they got it under control. You have made affordability a central part of your campaign. Let me ask you, would you consider supporting suspending the federal gas tax if you were to be elected? I know you've said that you that's something that you would support in the past.

40:12Are you concerned it's just a bandaid? And do you need to go even further? Well, it's funny you use those words because those are the exact words I used in my debate a couple of nights ago. I do support waiving the federal gas tax to give some people relief. But I agree with you completely, Kristen. It is a bandaid. The huge issue we're facing is this war in Iran that has achieved none of its strategic goals have left 21 service members dead, including two Kentuckians. And it's led to all of us paying a higher price. I talked to farmers all over the district who say there's just no way when it's $6.40 for a gallon of diesel that they can operate their farm equipment, their trucks, and everything is more expensive because it's shipped on diesel.

40:58Any of these, as you say, are band-aids until Congress stands up and does its dang job and stands up against this senseless war of choice. But would you support suspending the federal gas tax if you were to be elected, should that legislation come before you? Yes, I would. And all I'm saying is that can only be the starting point. We need to go farther than that. I want to talk about another one of what you've called your priorities. You were just talking about it. You argue that it's time to tackle corruption. You're one of 49 House candidates who signed on to an effort that promises to go after corruption in both parties.

41:35I just want to be very clear. Does that include investigations into both Republicans and Democrats? Absolutely. When I was a federal prosecutor, my political affiliation, the affiliation of the law enforcement I was working side by side with, and the political affiliation of the folks we were investigating and prosecuting never entered into the picture, and it shouldn't ever. So absolutely, if there's corruption or malfeasance on the Democratic side or the Republican side. All that matters is we are being worthy of the trust placed in us by our constituents and the American people. As you know, there's a big debate right now in the Democratic Party.

42:14If Democrats are to be elected and win back the House, should they move to impeach President Trump for a third time? Would you support impeaching President Trump if you were to be elected? When I'm out over the 16 districts, no matter what people think of President Trump, and he is underwater in terms of his favorability in this district, even though they voted for him, not a single person thinks it's going to help put an extra dollar in their pocket or help them with the huge issues we're struggling with when it comes to health care or other things. If I'm lucky enough to represent this district in Congress, my job is to take on affordability, as you say, and make sure we are not paying the cost of corruption.

42:56I don't see how impeaching Trump a third time is going to put a dollar in the pocket of the struggling mom trying to hold down two jobs or the farmer wondering if he's going to make it through another harvest season. So just to be very clear, you are opposed to impeaching President Trump, it sounds like. I do not consider that a priority at all. That is not what we're being sent to Congress to do. Obviously, I'm not going to speculate as a prosecutor on what the facts might be. But what I'll tell you is that that's not what I'm being sent to D.C. to do. My top priority is to drive costs down and to take on the corruption we're seeing in D.C.

43:34All right. Zach Dembo, less than a week to go. We will watch your race and all the races all across this country as they unfold. Thanks so much for joining us in this homestretch. Remember, you can dive deeper into the election with access to polling, early vote data, expert analysis and much more exclusive content, all with an NBC News subscription. Just scan the QR code on your screen now or visit NBC News dot com slash subscribe. We'll be right back with more. Meet the press now.

44:11Welcome back. We want to turn now to Alaska and a surprise endorsement from Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, who is now backing the Democratic candidate for governor in the state over the three Republicans on November's ballot. In the Senate race, Murkowski is backing her Republican colleague, Senator Sullivan, who's locked in a competitive race with former Congresswoman Mary Peltola. Now, that race, as we noted, drawing a lawsuit from the Trump administration over a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot. The DOJ argues the second Dan Sullivan's candidacy is intended to mislead voters. And today, The New York Times reports there was a concerted effort by Democratic operatives to recruit another Dan Sullivan.

44:51The report cites Mary Peltola's former campaign manager, who was fired from the campaign in August and later contacted The Times to retract her on the record statements in the story. In a separate statement, both the Peltola campaign and the Democrat Senate campaign arm deny any involvement with the second Dan Sullivan, Dan J. Sullivan. Joining me now is the panel White House correspondent for Bloomberg, Jeff Mason, former special assistant to President Biden, Megan Hayes, and Republican strategist Malik Abdul. Thanks to all of you for being here. These revelations and reporting by The New York Times drawing the attention, not surprisingly, of President Trump, who tweeted this today, Jeff Mason, Mary Peltola should suffer the legal and political consequences for what she has done, a fraud on the American public.

45:40How do you see this playing out with less than a week to go? We've covered President Trump a long time, Kristen. And you know, as I do, that the president has long held conspiracy theories about election fraud, most of which have not turned out to be true. In this case, if that reporting is accurate, it tees up his ability to say everything that I've been saying, not just about this race, but about Democrats in general, is true. and that it hands him an electoral gift, at least a rhetorical one, depending on what happens with that race. Megan Hayes, how do you see this? How are Democrats viewing this?

46:17And could this cost Democrats the seat, do you think, these revelations coming in the homestead? Yeah, I think it absolutely could cost people the seat. I also think that this is an anti-incumbency election and people want a change and they think that Dan Sullivan's been a rubber stamp to Donald Trump's economic policies that are hurting them every single day. So whether or not people are actually going to pull the trigger and not vote for Mary Portola because of this is yet to be seen. And also, you have a staffer who's been fired who tried to retract her statement. So it's how much can you believe?

46:45And we don't know. I mean, it says it's corroborated. But I just think that people should focus here on who is going to help them with their economic policies, who's going to put more money back in their pocket and lower their gas prices and lower their cost of food and health care. And that is not Dan Sullivan. Malik, do you think a revelation coming less than a week before Election Day has an impact on the actual outcome? How do you see this playing out? I don't know if it will be a huge impact, but the idea, the potential that fraud in some case has been proven, I think it's something that will galvanize at least Republican or MAGA voters, because that's where we're lacking momentum.

47:20And so you need a story to actually push people to the polls. I don't know if it's really going to be determinate, but the fact that I believe we had some denials from some Democrats on this notion that they were involved. But the New York Times story says that it was much more knowledge, not just with the staffer itself, but with the DS double C. That's a bigger story. But I do think that Donald Trump will definitely use this as a get out to vote operation. Oh, absolutely. He's already had two posts. Just in case you were wondering from a newspaper that he doesn't always believe. Now it is the paper of record.

47:56Jeff, let's talk about Ohio. Republicans focused on the Midwest and the South. He's going to be in Ohio tonight. You have a gubernatorial race there and a critical Senate race there. Obviously, Vivek Ramaswamy is locked in this controversy that seems to be dragging down his campaign. Based on your conversations with sources, how much concern is there that this is impacting down ballot races for Republicans? A lot. I spoke to a GOP source just a few days ago who said she thought that this would not only tank the race for Vivek Ramaswamy, but also for the Senate. Because this person said that she knows Ohio, she knows the people in Ohio.

48:37They don't like what it looks like. And he was already struggling. I mean, it's a very, very tight race and it's backfiring. Malik, for it to hurt Houston's chances, Houston came out and called for Vivek Ramaswamy to take it down. But Jeff's reporting is that there is real concern that it could have a ripple effect. And here you have, by the way, Republicans in other states who are being asked about this controversy as well. How much of an impact do you think it has on Republicans' fight to try to hold on to both chambers? Well, it will be a challenge for sure. But, you know, you noted Husted came out and said that it needed to be taken down.

49:15But the person that really matters, Donald Trump, did not. In fact, he doubled down on it. So this, too, whereas you probably could have gotten away with a little bit with Vivek Ramaswamy, you know, just people going after him. Donald Trump decided to interject himself into it. And I was saying at the time that it's not it's impossible that it would just impact Ramaswamy and not who's dead as well. I think that if one goes, the other goes. Sherrod Brown is expressing an immense amount of confidence, Megan, in recent comments, basically saying, I've got this race sewn up and I think we're going to win the governor's race as well as the congressional races in the state.

49:54Is there a risk of being overly confident in this home stretch? We know that Ohio has increasingly been red. I think there's always a risk of being overconfident. I'm always a Debbie Downer doomsday person here. Also, you don't want your base not to turn out and projecting confidence. Sometimes it's like, oh, they've got this in the bag. They don't need me. So they are. They need to keep running through the tape. They need every last vote out there. They need to keep hammering this home with independents and Republicans alike. And anything Donald Trump is going to say tonight at his rally, they are going to use and it's going to be helpful to them.

50:24So I think, you know, where he's going to portray confidence because he's been a senator, he's been there. I do think that they are continuing to get out every last vote for them because they are going to literally need every vote. So let's talk about what happens if Democrats do, in fact, win back the House. President Trump was asked, what does it mean for him? Let's take a look at that. I'll get your reaction on the other side. How do you intend to work with Democrats if they have control of the House? We'll figure a way. Look, I have a strong veto. I hope that that won't be the case. But if it is, that's happened before with many presidents.

50:56You have strong veto and you end up working out deals. Jeff Mason, that was you asking that question. That was me. Well done. What do you make of what President Trump said, how he responded? He said, we'll make out some deals, which is a notable statement. A couple of things. Number one, I think it shows that the president is realistic about the fact that despite how hard he has worked and he has worked hard to get the vote out on the Republican side, that it may not go his way. So it's on his radar. Number two, I think his emphasis of the veto pen is also a sign of what the strategy will be. So the Democrats may have both houses.

51:34They may only have one house, but they're not going to get legislation passed, even if they're trying to tee up their own presidential hopefuls. He's got a way to block them as well. Yeah. Megan, you know, in my interview with Zach Dembo, I asked him about this great debate that Democrats are having. If they are to win back the House, what should they do with impeachment? And he was very firm. In fact, of all the Democrats I've asked this question to, and I've asked a number of Democrats, He did not seem to want any part of impeachment. He indicated he thought it would be an absolute waste of time.

52:06Do you think if Democrats do, in fact, win back the House that they'll table that, at least in the early days? If they were smart, they absolutely should. He is corrected. It will be a waste of time. It is a dumb, it's a fool's errand. You can still do oversight hearings. You can still go tackle corruption and show your base that you're fighting back against Trump without doing impeachment, which is a waste of time and just gives Donald Trump more to fight on. in 28 and the Republicans can more. Look what they did. They went to impeach rather than lowering your costs. It's just a waste of time for them.

52:32Malik, what do you make of how President Trump answered Jeff there? I think that he was honest about it. And the only way that Donald Trump will get anything done is that he will actually have to strike a deal. Whether or not that will happen, that's a different story. But I think that he has some good momentum because he's been everywhere. And Donald Trump is our biggest campaigner, the most popular Republican out there. But we'll see what happens. Sorry, he also can do a lot by executive order. And that's what he's going to end up doing here in the last two years. Yeah. All right, guys. Great conversation.

53:03Jeff, Megan, Malik, really appreciate it. And before we go, a quick reminder to join me every Sunday for Meet the Press on your local NBC station. And you can also watch us right here on NBC News Now every Sunday at noon, 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. Eastern. We'll be back tomorrow with more Meet the Press Now. There's more ahead right now.

53:31When you fill up with 76, you're ready to go. To that music festival you see posted about each year but have never been to. And you're ready to go to a sunrise yoga class before work. And go. Dog sitting. And try to get the zoomies under control. Now who wants to go? Go here, go there, go anywhere with 76.