Election Day: Voters Decide Control of Congress

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1:13I'm Anderson Cooper in Washington. This is CNN's coverage of Election Day in America. Happening now, America heads to the polls at stake. Who controls Congress for the remainder of President Trump's second term? And we've already seen a record number of voters cast their ballots, delivering their verdict on key issues like the economy, immigration, and the Iran war. Right now, polls are opening in California, Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon. CNN is on the ground in key states across the nation. I want to begin in Michigan, where Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers are locked in a tight Senate race.

1:45CNN's Sunderland Sirfati is live in White Lake, Michigan. Sunderland, a big question there, obviously, what the impact will be after El-Sayed's former primary rival, Haley Stevens, made that last-minute decision to endorse Rogers. I'm wondering what you're hearing from voters today. Well, Anderson, it certainly is a fascinating race and the dynamics over the last 24 hours have been very dramatic, but voters here are telling me that it does not impact their vote, that they have in essence made up their minds months ago, really showing that all this drama does not potentially play in much to the final count today.

2:22But it is very fascinating to see, And I was really struck by how easy it is to find voters who are crossing party lines here. We have ticket splitters. We have Dems voting for Republicans, Republicans voting for Democrats, really underscoring how fluid the last moments of this race really is. Here's what some voters told me just a few minutes ago. I voted for Mike Rogers. I don't feel like Abdul is ready to be in the Senate. I also am a Jewish member of this community and feel very strongly that he does not support the Jewish community. So you voted for Stevens in the primary, but now you went Republican.

2:59Yes. That's a pretty bold message. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So tell me who you voted for for Senate. Mike Rogers. Okay. And have you voted for Republican in the past? Never. So what is the significance of that vote today? Draw your own conclusions. Why could you not vote for L. Zaid? Because I'm against hate. I'm not a Trump fan. And I think the Republican Party needs a reset. So I'm typically going to center as Republican, but I voted Democrat. How did that feel? Good. Yeah. Why could you not vote for Rogers? He's too much allied with Trump.

3:44And those reflections of that voter, they are really showing very clearly what Mike Rogers has had to run against and the challenges he has had in this state, walking this fine line between President Trump's low approval ratings and him, of course, trying to win the Senate seat. Now, we do expect Anderson and Mike Rogers to come here any minute now and cast his own ballot. Anderson? Sunderland, it's interesting to hear. I'd be curious to know if those voters who switched their votes, who traditionally vote Democrat, who are voting for Rogers, if that was the decision they made, I don't know if they told you, in the last day or so if what Stevens did had any impact on that?

4:23It's interesting. And every one of those voters, Anderson, I asked them that question. They did not make up their mind in the last few days. It feels very much that these voters are voting their conscience, feeling like very early on they made up their mind. It was a feeling of right or wrong based on each of their candidates. I asked each of those voters if they had made up their mind because of Haley Stephens. They said, no, I made it up months ago. I feel very that people felt very strongly after the primary where their vote was. So certainly an interesting and fascinating dynamic here really speaks to why the Senate race is so close.

4:57Yeah, great to hear from them. Sutherland, thank you so much. I want to go to Texas, where the most expensive Senate race ever between Democrat James Tallarico and Republican Ken Paxson could prove critical in determining control of Congress. CNN's Ed Lavender is live in Dallas for us. So, Ed, What are voters telling you? Well, we've seen a steady stream of voters coming to the polling location where we're at in the city of Allen, Texas. This is a suburb north of Dallas. This is the county where Ken Paxton is from. And it's also a county that many of the Republican operatives are going to be watching very closely because these are the types of suburban counties that have historically voted and supported Republicans and helped them kind of dominate the state here politically for more than 30 years now.

5:42But there are real questions as to whether or not that support is waning. We've been talking to voters here this morning. We found several voting for Paxton and obviously several voting for James Tallarico as well. It's that top of the ticket that's getting the most attention. I do vote more Democratic. Of course, for me, it is more so of who's going to do the most for the community, especially down to the, you know, the lower income areas, how that's going to affect all of us overall. So I do try to look at policies and see how that looks for everyone. I believe that there's a group that is more biblically oriented to the way God wanted our country to operate and how our forefathers founded it.

6:25I don't know how many people know this, but in his 31-page farewell address, George Washington said, Those who separate politics and religion will never become true patriots. George Washington.

6:41So, Anderson, you get a sense there of kind of the themes and the thoughts that are kind of guiding people's votes. The first woman you heard from there voted for James Tallarico. The gentleman told us he voted for Ken Paxton. And so far, Anderson, the polls have shown that Tallarico has had a lead for much of the last few weeks. And what is interesting is that it's really in the last month or so that Ken Paxton and groups supporting Paxton's campaign have really dominated the airwaves in this state. They've spent about$275 million in campaign ads, much of that donated by Elon Musk. We will see if that ultimately makes a difference here in this election.

7:23Anderson. Thanks very much. We're going to live now to Iowa, where Republicans are scrambling to hold on to a key Senate seat in the governorship. CNN's Steve Pintorno is in Palo, Iowa. Steve, what are you hearing from voters there? Well, I've been talking to voters all morning and like Ed saw in Texas and Sunlin saw in Michigan, we've had a steady stream of voters in and out of here all day in Iowa. Like you said, this is an unexpected battleground, not one of those races a year ago that we thought was going to be this competitive. But the Senate race between Representative Ashley Hinson and Democratic Josh Turek is just neck and neck.

8:01And I have a Democratic voter standing next to me. He just voted seconds ago. This is Terry. And I think Terry is going to talk to us a little bit about what it's like to be a Democrat in Iowa in this moment with this unexpectedly competitive race, given what we've seen in recent cycles from Republicans here. Well, in my recollection, Iowa's pretty much been a red state for a long time. And everything's a mess right now, so it needs to be fixed. I don't think anything extreme is good for anybody, but we need some changes, not just in Iowa, but this country. So hopefully that happens. Do you feel like there's enough energy to get these Democratic candidates over the top or do you still think Republicans have a control of the most voters here?

8:54Well, yeah, I think there's enough. But, you know, I thought some things last year that didn't turn out that way. So we'll just wait and see. But I mean, the rhetoric and the stuff people are saying out in the community says different messages. So let's hope because we all need to change, I think, especially Iowa. Thank you very much, Terry. Yeah, it's definitely a message I've been hearing over and over again from Democratic voters, people voting for change. But this is a very rural part of the state, and there are still a lot of Republicans here who are optimistic that their candidates are going to hold on.

9:35I know in particular in talking to Republicans, they are very bullish on Ashley Hinson and her ability to potentially get split ticket voters. They're looking at that governor's race and seeing it might be a little bit of a challenge for their candidate and hoping there will be some red-blue divide when people cast their ballots today, Anderson. Steve Quintorno, appreciate it. All 435 seats in the House and 35 seats in the Senate are up for grabs tonight. But a few key races could prove to be early indicators of how this night plays out. I want to bring in CNN's Phil Mattingly at the Magic Wall.

10:03So which races are you going to be watching for indications of where the night is going? Yeah, Anderson, there's a lot of different ways you can do this based on poll closings. But here's how I would start. What you're looking at right now is a map of the final Cook political report forecast of where things are headed. And you can see as you look at this map, if Democrats win just the seats that they're solid in, they're leaning towards or they're in favor to win, they would be over 218. That's the environment, right? That's a big picture environment. I think the question for the night, especially for House Democrats, is, OK, getting a majority or how far can they push that majority?

10:39And that's where you want to look at three states in particular. You want to start in Kentucky, you'll move over to North Carolina and you want to go into Florida. Let me explain here why, because one of it is poll closings. That does, in fact, matter here. And that's why you always want to focus on Kentucky. They start their closing is at 6 p.m. You start to get results in early and everybody's going to be looking here. This is the sixth district. And if you're asking why, based on, say, the 2024 results, when the incumbent who's now running for Senate won by 26 points or the last midterm results where he won by almost 30 points.

11:08When you talk to Democrats, they recognize that this is an in-place seat in large part because of Lexington and Fayette County, which has swung hard towards Democrats over the course of the last several cycles. If this seat flips to Democrats, it is a huge sign that things are looking good. This is a suburban district, the type of voters the Democrats need, particularly in Fayette County. This is what they want. When you want to know what looks like a wave may be coming, Democrats didn't even win this district in 2018. But the margin, only being about three and a half points, that was a tell early on that people maybe didn't realize.

11:39Now let's flip back up into the broader map and go into North Carolina. I think this is going to be a fascinating district. This was a district that was redrawn by state Republicans, essentially to draw out the incumbent Democrat Don Davis. Davis having an opportunity to win, which by all forecasting accounts, Republicans and Democrats I'm talking to say is very real, is a big deal in and of itself. This was supposed to insulate Republicans. Davis, particularly the African-American, very heavy counties in this district, formed his old district. That'll be an interesting tell about how Davis is doing, about how the redraw effort is working for Republicans, but also demographically, if African-American turnout is matching what it seemed to look like in the early vote.

12:19Final thing I would point to, Anderson, is if you're looking at Florida, which obviously closes at 7 and 730, you want to come in right here. This is a redrawn district as well. And this is the most endangered incumbent Democrat without question in the map because of how state Republicans redrew this district. The fact Darren Soto may actually win here or the fact the race is in play in a basically Trump plus 17 district, the way it was redrawn, is extremely notable. Also notable, Osceola County right in the middle of that district, heavy Hispanic population. That will be an early tell demographically on where the Hispanic vote is if it's trending back towards Democrats after several cycles moving towards President Trump and Republicans Anderson.

12:57Phil Mattingly, appreciate it. Thanks very much. The sources say President Trump is privately predicting a worst case scenario when polls close tonight. We have new reporting from the White House, plus all eyes on Michigan, where we're waiting to see if a shocking last minute endorsement will spoil or spur Abdullah Syed's Senate campaign. We'll be right back.

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14:05Today, the president says he is optimistic his campaign blitz across the country and the lead up to the midterms will drive voters to vote Republican. Here he is this morning on Fox News. I think the results are going to be better than you think. We did the tour. I did a tour for 30 days and I want to tell you those stadiums were packed. We had people nobody's ever seen. I think they had a big effect. I think they will have a big effect on tonight. The president is also addressing another big issue weighing on voters. The Iran war just hours ago, the US military launched strikes on an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz.

14:40US officials tell CNN the strikes were limited and defensive in nature, aimed at protecting US assets in the region. I want to go to Elena Treen at the White House. So let's start with the strikes. What more is the president saying? Yeah, look, I think from all the conversations I've been having, including from these US officials who told us that the U.S. carried out these strikes on Keshem Island, which I should note is in the Strait of Hormuz. It's a vital island there. They're really downplaying. They're really downplaying this. And it's the same thing you're hearing publicly, Anderson, from the president.

15:11They're arguing this is defensive in nature. This is not a major resume of combat operations, as we know the president and others have been hinting at that could happen after the midterms. But still, I think having these type of strikes the day before the midterm election shows just how much of this war is still going on and that there could be a resumption of major action after Election Day. But the president this morning, Anderson, also downplayed this. He tried to frame this war as being a soft war. It's something he said last night as well. I want you to listen to what he told Fox News. This isn't really war.

15:46We haven't shot anything. We're not. You know, War is like you would see Russia, Ukraine. That's a war. War would be the Second World War where you just keep fighting and fighting. And there's no time to not fight. So, Anderson, that's what you heard from the president there. I will add as well that one U.S. official did tell us that the strikes yesterday in Iran came in response to Iran firing at a U.S. aircraft. But again, they're framing all of this as being more defensive in nature. One thing I want to note, though, is that from my conversations, I've been all over the country following the president.

16:21A lot of these different rallies he's been holding in the last month or so. The Iran war is one of the key issues that people said were driving them to the polls today, especially among young men. Someone a group that was really important to the president back in 2024 helped get him elected. So something to keep in mind as all of this plays out as voters are heading to the polls today. What are you hearing from people inside the White House on this election day? What is the mood like? Well, I think what's interesting is you heard the president kind of say he thinks it'll be better than expected.

16:52That is pretty much what I'm hearing behind the scenes in my conversations with people in the building. They're hoping at least that Republicans might fare better in the Senate, for example, than perhaps the polls are showing. But they're also very candid. I mean, they recognize that, one, of course, historically, the president, whoever the party is in power that the president is part of, typically don't tend to do well in a midterm elections. They recognize that they also see the same polls, Anderson, that we do. They recognize the national environment is really bad right now, particularly as it relates to how the Iran war has been driving up gas prices, the economy.

17:25They see the writing on the wall for a lot of this. I will say, too, though, that I don't know how prepared they are for what is to come should Democrats actually be successful, not only in the House, but potentially also in the Senate. If they do take back the majority, obviously, that's going to be very tough for the president who is facing down his final two years in office, trying to get anything done, what will be a lot harder, but also the investigations. That's something Trump himself is very much anxious about in private conversations with some of his advisors. So all things to keep in mind as we watch what happens later tonight.

17:58Elena Trina, thanks so much. A team of analysts join me now, which is good because we could all use some therapy. Congressman McHenry, what are you looking at today particularly? Magnitude. We know a midterm is bad for the party in power. The Republican Party would suffer at a midterm in any normal midterm election. Given the voter concern about affordability, the nature of the war, gas prices, and the president's popularity, we're looking for a larger magnitude of the wave against the party in power. Now, what does that mean? Is that 2006 for the Democrats? Is it more muted like 2018 for Democrats.

18:40We're looking at those questions. For 2010, for my Republican Party, that was a great reset for governors, state legislatures, control of the Congress, and that has borne out over, actually, since that period of time, the leaders came out of that election. Is it going to be that level of magnitude for the Democratic Party that enables them to further the policy prospects in 2028? That's what I'm looking for. Karen Finney, How about you? So, you know, I was at the DNC in 2006. And so 20 years later to be in almost exactly the same position. It's shocking to actually pulled some of the polling from CNN then and CNN now.

19:19Corruption in government, top issue. The economy, top issue. Dissatisfaction with the war, top issues. And so looking at I mean, listening to the president yesterday and this morning, I would like to say that it was surprising he went back to those talking points. but I guess it wasn't, but they're not working. And the American people don't seem to believe him. And I think that's part of why we're seeing such incredible turnout. One of the things I think we should be keeping an eye on, you know, there have been a number of efforts for months, a bit under the radar to increase early vote among black and Latino voters.

19:54And across the South, particularly since the Calais decision, we've seen actually about 60 percent of the increases in the black voter turnout, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, where voters are angry. And they, because after Calais, they felt like if you're going to try to take this away from us, we are going to make our voices heard in ways we haven't. So even infrequent voters and new voters. Alex Thompson, how much do you put into the polls? I mean, how much trust you put into the polls we've been seeing? You know, I'm always a believer that you don't poll, you report. And so, but the fact is that Republicans believe they have a tactical advantage, basically because the map on the Senate looks better for them.

20:39They've also had an unprecedented investment by the world's richest man in the tune of, as we know, around$400 million and counting through Elon Musk in these final states. But Democrats believe that they have an environmental advantage, that basically Trump administration came in, a combination of the Iran war, Liberation Day and the tariffs, the amount of corruption, and just sort of the sheer chaos of the Trump presidency. They believe that this is basically soured voters on the Trump presidency. And as Karen remembers from 2006, the second midterm election of a presidency is usually bad for the incumbent.

21:19What are your expectations on Capitol Hill, Mariana? Well, I'm going to be looking at those margins. We could know pretty quickly if Democrats end up flipping the House majority just on a number of districts that will be in play at 6 p.m., 7 p.m., and 8 p.m., how big the majority will really determine how much a Speaker Hakeem Jeffries will be able to govern. Obviously, a narrow majority. We have seen how difficult that has been for Republican leaders on the House side of the last several years. That could be a problem if, again, narrow majority, you have a good handful of Democratic Socialists coming in who really want to be making their mark.

21:53But Democrats are going to be watching if there is a very big centrist class. Democrats who are competitive in districts that Trump didn't just win by 10 points, but 15 and even 20 points. If that class comes in, how does that determine the policies going forward for Democrats? Similar dynamic in the Senate. If Democrats are able to flip the Senate, I mean, there's a lot that Democrats could be able to do to define an agenda ahead of whoever's going to be the 28 nominee. Of course, if it's a Republican Senate, it's going to be a little harder, but I can definitely see House Democrats still trying to make their mark and trying to get Trump to at least maybe veto even things that Republicans and Democrats could potentially come together on.

22:32It's interesting to hear the president today on Fox no longer or trying to not call it a war against Iran. I mean, he has been the one actually in the administration who has continued to refer to it as a war, whereas others have tried to kind of downplay it. He now seems to be trying to downplay it. Well, you also have, with the changing nature of the next Congress, if there's a Democratic House and Democratic Senate, a War Powers resolution has more potency. It gets to the president's desk. He then has to justify his decisions. And that would be the first use of the War Powers resolution to its really fullness.

23:04So a lot of questions on that, but also the funding of this. Is this a small intervention? It doesn't appear that way since we've been talking about this for more than six months. given the level of magnitude of the devices used throughout the Middle East, the nature of what that would spark with a larger regional conflict. There's a lot at stake at this, and funding for that will be a real pressure point on Capitol Hill in the coming months. You know, in talking to Democrats as they contemplate a majority, that will be likely one of the first things they take on is to rein in this war. It is one of the loudest messages that they have heard over and over and over again.

23:46You know, we we in Washington, we go back and forth between, you know, he has said it's a war. It's not a war. It's a this, it's a that. But there are people are experiencing it as a war. There are people who have lost loved ones in this war. People have been injured. And Trump has repeated something that we saw again in 2006 with the Iraq war, where they're not. People know that we're not getting the truth. We're not. You know, all this reclassification of various injuries. And once you sort of break faith with people on something like that, it's very hard to get back the trust. And so I think you are going to see really reining in the purse strings around the war and forcing also Republicans to be on record, because that's going to be a tough vote for many of them.

24:28Yeah, we'll have more ahead still to come. A lot more this morning, an issue that's hurt Democrats in the last election. But today could be a key reason they win. And next, we're headed back to the Magic Wall to see how the economy could impact key races. We'll be right back.

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25:23Many Americans, the economy will be top of mind as they vote today. Surging costs brought on by inflation have been crippling family budgets. And while unemployment is relatively low, 4.2 percent, gas prices are at an all-time high for an election day, coming in at$4.15 a gallon,$6.29 for diesel. I want to bring in, so you know, it's Phil Mattingly at the magic wall. So let's look at where the current economic conditions have the most impact in these elections. Yeah, I want to do this two ways, because I think there's clearly an inflection point starting February 27th when the U.S. strikes Iran and things have gotten significantly more difficult for Americans around the country.

25:57But you can actually start before that and get a sense of where things have been headed. If you take a look at what I'm about to pull up, we're just basically putting an economic data layer over the entire map. And where you see darker counties, that is where cost of living was already outrunning wages before the start of the Iran conflict. And if you take a look, it's in a lot of Pennsylvania and Midwestern states where there's a significant increase in the cost of living compared to wages, including several battleground house districts in eastern Pennsylvania, one toss-up district in New Jersey.

26:29So that was before the Iran conflict already began and underscored why Democrats had an advantage on the economic environment from the beginning. Now, Anderson, pull back and get a sense of where things are now. Add gas prices on top of that. It looks like a technicolor dream on some level, this map right now, but where you see pink turning into purple, that is where gas prices are between 65 % and 75 % higher than they were before the Iran crisis. If you flip over to the Senate map and bring up the key Senate races that we're all watching, look at all of those. If you wonder why red states are so in play right now, why Democrats are looking at places Trump won by 10, 11, 12, 13, 16 in the case of Kansas and thinking we have a real shot here, part of its candidates without any question about it, but also look at Kansas, Look at Iowa.

27:16Look at the panhandle of Texas. If you're Ken Paxton, you need to roll up huge vote in the panhandle of Texas. Look at Michigan. Look at large chunks of where population lives in Maine. The reality is there was significant economic pressure, particularly in some of the critical house battlegrounds before the Iran conflict even started. Since the Iran conflict, the pressure that has come just day to day by that billboard you see, the worst political billboard for any incumbent party when gas prices are high, that's just the prices at your gas station. This shows how painful it has been in critical races around the country and is a good kind of at least peripheral explanation as to why so many really red states of the president dominated in 2024, 2020, maybe even 2016, have gone so close to the kind of edge of flipping at this point in time.

28:04I think when you talk to Democrats right now, they are very realistic about the realities of the economy. They know that affordability has to be their economic message. It underscores they need policies to follow that up, particularly if they take majorities. But I think right now, when you talk to Democrats and Republicans, one of the things you hear constantly is the economy pre-Iran war would have made a very, very different map than what we're looking at in this moment. Gas prices are a huge reason why. And gas prices in places like Kansas, in Iowa, in Michigan, in Maine, even down here in South Carolina, is a good window into why we are where we are today as voters go to the polls.

28:39Phil Madden, I appreciate it. Thank you. Michigan Senate race saw a shock endorsement of the Republican candidate by Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens. We'll ask a lawmaker who ran against Stevens and Abdullah al-Sayed if she thinks the last-minute flip may affect the outcome. That's next.

29:02New details on the rather surprise and odd last minute endorsement by Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens in Michigan. One day after I talked to her about her decision to back Republican Mike Rogers in the state's U.S. Senate race, she offered a more thorough explanation sort of for switching sides at the last minute. In a 900-word post last night, Stevens says she was, quote, shut out after initially endorsing fellow Democrat Abdul El-Sayed when he beat her in the primary. She says, quote, there was little effort to listen to the voters who supported me or bridge the real disagreements our primary had exposed.

29:37Stevens also blames El-Sayed for being slow to reject an outside PACS ad linking high prices to Israel. She also fired back at suggestions that her fiance was behind her decision, saying, quote, that is sexism dressed up as political analysis. Joining me now is Michigan State Senator Mallory Morrow, who ran against Stevens and El-Sayed in the Democratic primary before dropping out in July. So, Senator, does the Congresswoman's explanation make any more sense to you after this 900-word piece she wrote? Because none of the things she ticks through happened between Saturday night when she told Congresswoman Debbie Dingell she wouldn't endorse Rogers and Sunday morning when she did.

30:15No, it doesn't make sense. But I will tell you that these actions have done one thing, and it has been to unify the Democratic Party in a way that I have never seen. There is only one battleground state in the country where volunteers have knocked over 50 ,000 doors in a day, and that's Michigan, and we've done it for the past three days. So I can tell you, this was a slog of a race. From the beginning of the primary to now, it's almost two years of campaigning. Everybody gets tired towards the end, and this felt like it gave everybody across across the entire spectrum of the Democratic Party a shot in the arm to get out there and finish strong.

30:54Are you concerned or have you seen any sign that voters going to polls today, particularly independents, may be just turned off by the Democratic Party infighting and either vote for Rogers or just leave the Senate race blank? Anecdotally, CNN, Sunderland, Safadi heard from Democrats who voted for Rogers, though they said they had made up their minds long before Stevens' endorsement. Yeah, I think that point is exactly right, that people's minds were made up. I mean, even before heading into this morning, more than 2.3 million people had already voted early. But what we're seeing is that turnout is high today, particularly in Democratic areas.

31:35So I heard from some campus organizers at Michigan State that there are a lot of students who maybe weren't really plugged into the election, especially in a midterm, who saw the nonsense of the past few days and got out and cast a ballot. In her statement, Congresswoman Stevens condemns the backlash she's received from the Democratic Party. Some House Democrats are pushing to remove her from their caucus for the remaining two months of her term. She writes, quote, we cannot preach inclusion while punishing dissent. We cannot promise to heal a divided country if we cannot tolerate disagreement among ourselves.

32:11Do you think she deserves to stay in the House Democratic caucus? I do not. Look, this is what the stakes are right now in Michigan. We could very well be the state that flips control of the United States Senate to Democrats, which if we are successful and we send Abdul El-Sayed to the Senate, that means that we can block Supreme Court appointments under this Trump administration. It means we can block cabinet appointments from wholly unqualified people that Trump has been appointing into these positions if there's any turnover. It means that we can take real action on a budget. And Michigan is facing 200 ,000 Michiganders about to lose health care.

32:52We stand to lose up to 13 rural hospitals. and Mike Rogers has shown himself to be nothing but a bootlicker for Donald Trump. So if you understand the stakes, yes, there are disagreements and there's tensions. And I have talked about that very publicly, especially given that I'm in an interfaith marriage, my husband is Jewish. We can have those debates and disagreements, but we cannot lose sight of what's at stake here. and we need to make sure that Mike Rogers is allowed nowhere near the United States Senate and Michiganders understand that. You know your state very well. What do you, like where tonight are you going to be watching as early results start to come in?

33:35Where, like where for you are kind of key indicators that kind of you could tell our viewers to be watching for? Yeah. So, you know, it's going to be interesting because here in Michigan, I serve as a member on Senate elections committee here in the state. So early voting is new for us. We passed it via ballot initiative in 2022. So this is the first midterm cycle where we have had early voting. So typically people have been looking for long lines on election night. And if you don't see long lines, that is by design. The fact that more than 2 million people have already voted is a good thing. But I would be looking to places like Detroit.

34:11I would also be looking to places like Kent County, which has swung towards Democrats significantly over the past few cycles. And I'm hearing reports early on that turnout in some Republican areas of Macomb County on Election Day is down from previous cycles. So those are some areas where I would be looking. You know, Detroit is our biggest city in the state, and that's where I'm going to be this election night. All right. State Senator Mallory McMurray, I really appreciate your time. Thank Thank you. Up next, we are live from North Carolina State with the must win Senate race for Democrats. You know, Jessica Dean speaking to voters there.

34:48Yeah, Anderson, Democrats hoping to send one of their own to the Senate for the first time since 2008. And a big part of that is going to be independent voters. We're going to talk to some of them at this polling place when we come back.

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36:10As more ballots are cast today, they're adding to the record number of early midterm votes in key states like North Carolina, with more than 2.8 million across in-person and mail-in voting. Tar Heel State was the first to send mail-in ballots this election cycle. Former Governor Roy Cooper is facing off against the former RNC chair Michael Watley to replace outgoing Republican Senator Tom Tillis. North Carolina has not elected a Democratic senator since 2008. I want to check in with CNN's Jessica Dean, who's at a polling place in Holly Springs, North Carolina. What are you hearing from voters this morning?

36:44All right, so Anderson, Holly Springs is an interesting polling location, and I'll tell you why. Because half of all of the registered voters here are independent voters. They're unaffiliated. The other half are evenly split. between Democratic and Republican voters. So that's why we chose this location. I'll let you take a little peek inside. We can't go all the way in, but you can see it's a very steady stream here in Holly Springs. As you would imagine, we had a big morning rush when everybody was getting ready to go to work, but a very steady stream here. And as you mentioned, it's the Senate race here in North Carolina that's gotten so much attention and it is really being closely watched as Roy Cooper tries to flip the seat and take Tom Tillis' seat, turn it blue, and Michael Watley, of course, trying to very much keep that in the Republican column.

37:27We did talk to some voters earlier today. This first voter is an unaffiliated voter. Then you'll hear from a couple others. But here's what they told us about what they were thinking about when they went in and cast their vote. We have people in power that are willing to enforce our Constitution and use the checks and balances that are enshrined in it. So that was important to my vote. I've watched for the last two years as Congress has failed to do their job. So I came here with the intention of putting people in seats that will do their job. And so to me, that sounds like you probably voted for Roy Cooper.

37:57I absolutely voted for Roy Cooper. When you were in there voting, what were you thinking about? What issues were important to you?

38:08Taxes, inflation, cost of living, property taxes, various things like that. Yeah, it seems pretty financial. Pretty much, yes. And so can I ask you, who did you vote for in that Senate race? I vote for Roy Cooper. Who did you pick in that Senate race and why? I went Democrat all the way. Yeah, I think not just for our current generation, but future generations and making sure that Wake County and North Carolina and the United States is in good hands.

38:39And again, there's also been, as you mentioned, Anderson, very heavy early voting here in North Carolina. The polls are open until 730 Eastern Time. So we'll continue to see people making their voices heard. And I'll tell you what else. I was in my hotel room last night and you cannot watch TV for 10 seconds without ad after ad after ad after ad. They have been inundated here in North Carolina from both sides of the aisle. So people certainly there are signs everywhere. It is election day here in North Carolina. There is no doubt about it. We will be keeping our eye on that very important Senate race that could act if Democrats are able to flip it as a kind of first foundational brick in what could become Democrats taking back the Senate.

39:23Again, we don't know. These voters have to tell us. There's also a couple of key congressional races here, Anderson, that we're keeping an eye on. One in particular that had been redistricted recently by Republicans to try to take that seat away from and make it harder for the Democrat to hold that seat. The question is, will that work tonight or not? We're going to find out. Anderson. All right. Jessica Dean, thanks very much for checking with you throughout the day. Today, it is all about turnout. I want to bring back my panel, Karen Finney, Patrick McHenry, Alex Thompson, and Mariana Sotomayor.

39:51Congressman, you're from North Carolina. If Democrats win there, should they send President Trump a food basket? Because he essentially pushed Tom Tillis out. He pushed Tillis out, yes, and his chosen recruit, Michael Wiley, who's a former RNC chair, very loved by the party, wasn't able to break through in the general election. Kudos to Chuck Schumer and Senator Gillibrand for recruiting Roy Cooper, who has been elected five times statewide. Actually, the interesting thing, talking to voters there in Holly Springs, that is a more Republican-leaning area right outside of Raleigh. So to sit in that place and talk to voters going in and out, two years ago, you have heard them say surprising things, and that is that they are voting for President Trump, like there's tipping in that way.

40:38And you're hearing something different there. The issue here in North Carolina doesn't just touch the Senate race, right? Cooper is ahead in the polls. By the polling average for CNN, it's over 10 points. Does he actually win by 10 points? What does that tell us about the rest of the map? He's going to win. How does it affect the two congressional seats that are being hotly contested by both parties? One in the far western part of the state, North Carolina 11, the other in the far eastern part of the state, North Carolina 1. What does it say about that? What we see with the early voting is the Democrats have certainly gotten their vote out in an unprecedented way in this midterm in North Carolina.

41:16And the voting bank that they have, when we see first returns tonight, we're going to see this very large number of Democratic votes and Roy Cooper with a major lead. Does that hold? Do Republicans close that gap somewhat, like a little, a lot? They would have to do a lot, an unprecedented election day for Republicans in North Carolina to get that much more like a normal midterm in North Carolina. So the pressure's on Republicans to perform on election day today in North Carolina, but across the map as well. I just want to point out to your viewers, getting new pictures of Mike Rogers going in to vote today in Michigan.

41:55in. Sorry, Alex, go ahead. I was saying what's happening in North Carolina is part of a larger pattern of stuff Trump has done that has produced self-inflicted wounds that are infuriating Republicans, which is he chose weak candidates. You look in North Carolina, you look in Georgia, you look in Texas, you even look in Louisiana. The people that Trump chose are underperforming. In many cases, they've had the national party has had to abandon them in order to or in the case of Texas, they've had to spend hundreds of millions of dollars they weren't not planning on spending. And if Republicans underperform in those states, you are going to see a lot of Republicans probably who have been privately critical, much more publicly critical of the president and of his team for not restraining him and making him make more strategic decisions.

42:44It'll be interesting to see if that's true, because one of the things we started to hear from voters in focus groups six, seven months ago is a frustration with Republicans in Congress for not holding him accountable, for not being more of a check on power. And that, along with several other things, obviously, we've talked about the economy, but also Democrats made some strategic choices, having the fight about health care. I mean, you remember when we shut down the government and people said, oh, this is going to be a disaster. It's going to blow back on Democrats. Actually, it may, I think it was one of the turning points where it was very clear, we were prepared to take on the fight and it brought it back to a very important issue.

43:24We're going to be talking about health care early next year because costs are costs are already going up and it's going to be one of the things we'll have to deal with very quickly. But the last thing I'll say is I also think this is the kind of environment where whereas not great candidates on the Republican side, we have really excellent candidates on the Democratic Party side. people who a lot of them who are, yes, a couple of DSAers, faith leaders. We have about a dozen faith leaders. We have a lot of new people who are very connected to the communities and the states that they're coming from.

43:57And we're able to much better talk about what people really cared about and relate to. You know, it's the economy, stupid, but it's also about putting people first. I think the question of health care, I'm surprised as a Republican that there's not been actually more of a centerpiece of the fall campaign for Democrats. That's a surprise to me. We'll see on the exit polls whether or not the voters actually register that as a motivation today. The real motivation is around the economy. The president said, look, Democrats are already messaging, I'm on the ballot. I'm going to tell Republicans I'm on the ballot.

44:32Does he have that capacity to get Republicans out in these Republican states? In a state like North Carolina, there's got to be a lot of work done just to get Republicans out. That voted for him two years ago and now multiple times. In the rest of these states, does this, did the president have the effect of motivating Republicans to come out in a normal midterm election year? If he did not, that also shows a shakiness within his power base in the Republican Party. It also tells you what the next two years might be like. To further just emphasize that point, Republicans also made the strategic decision early on this year to really embrace Trump because they knew that Trump would turn out voters that usually don't turn out for the Republican Party.

45:15The problem isn't embracing him for so long, voting for his agenda. It was a little too late. And we'll see if that bears out in Senate races, whether Republicans should have stepped away sooner. We saw that after Labor Day because there was this thinking early on this year that Republicans were saying very publicly, You know, the Iran war is going to be over. The tariff trade war is going to be over. Gas prices are going to go down. But it really was Labor Day when I think a lot of us here started to hear from Republicans. None of that is bearing out. Some Republicans were making a strategic decision, but some Republicans felt it was a little bit of a shakedown because Trump had this big super PAC with hundreds of millions of dollars.

45:53They had not spent money yet. And it was made very clear that you need to embrace the president if you are going to get this investment in this money. And look, even if you run away, you can run, but you can't hide. I've seen this with Democrats and Republicans in the House. You're either with them or you're not. So what do the next two years look like? I mean, assuming Democrats. We don't have it. What I will say is in 2010, John Boehner got the speakership by asking a question. Where are the jobs? That was on an agenda, but it was enough to win the midterms. Hakeem Jeffries has been disciplined enough to not offer an agenda.

46:25Smart for the midterm, but very difficult for governance. That's what we're going to see shake out. What is actually their governance agenda in the U.S. House? And if the Democrats get the U.S. Senate, what's that coordination going to look like to put bills on the president's desk? I would say Jeffries has put, he hasn't made it maybe the centerpiece, but they have put out an agenda. I think you're going to see. We've made affordability and corruption have been two of the top issues because those are two of the top issues that voters have. But that's what we were hearing from voters and health care because it is one of the biggest drivers of costs for people right now.

47:02All right. Thanks to my panel. The next hour of CNN's coverage of Election Day in America begins right now.

47:22I'm Andrew Scoober in Washington with CNN's special election day coverage. Election day in America. Right now voters are at polling sites across the country deciding if the Republican Party will keep control of the Senate and the House for the remainder of President Trump's second term. Moments ago, polls opening in Alaska in Washington state. Some polling sites also opening, meaning voters in every state except Hawaii can now cast in-person ballots, an election that has already set early voting records. Her team of reporters is across the country as Americans make their voices heard. I want to begin the hour in Ohio, where Democrats are hoping to flip a Senate seat and the governorship, seeing as Lauren Fox is in Upper Arlington, Ohio.

48:04Lauren, good morning. What are you hearing from voters? Yeah, we actually just talked with Senator John Husted about how he is feeling about his chances today in this fight for the United States Senate. He said he's feeling good. He says his team has a number in mind for where they need to be when polls close tonight and then what they have to make up for later in the evening. He also talked about that now very controversial ad that Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign put out that featured Amy Acton's estranged mother. Obviously that is in the gubernatorial race, but here's what he told me about whether or not that may affect his race for the United States Senate.

48:47Really? I hadn't noticed that.

48:59I said all I'm going to say about that. There are so many factors. There will be people who will, after this is over, who will claim that they know exactly what happened and why, and it's no one thing. There are dozens of issues, but I think it'll be the things that, you know, between the candidates. Who do you believe will get it done? Who do you believe will get the job done? I have to approach every election like that because I can't control. This is something I'll give you all some advice. Don't worry about the things you can't control in life. Focus on the things you can. Senator, I'm sorry.

49:36And I am talking to a lot of voters today at this polling site. Some of them are splitting their ticket, including John Husted's neighbors who I talked to. They said they're going to vote for their neighbor, John Husted, but that they aren't actually going to vote for the Democratic candidate for Governor Amy Acton because they were so turned off by that ad. So that's one of the dynamics here today in this Senate race is whether or not the top of the ticket in that governor's race and some decisions that were made from Ramaswamy's campaign may have an impact on John Husted. Lauren Fox, appreciate it.

50:09Thanks very much. Want to go to Maine where longtime incumbent Senator Susan Collins is trying to fend off a challenge from Democrat Troy Jackson. CNN's Jason Carroll is in Bangor, Maine. So what are you hearing this morning, Jason? Well, a few things, Anderson, as we've been out here at this polling location in Bangor all morning long, talking to voters about what's motivating them to either support Susan Collins or Troy Jackson. Really interesting. Those that we spoke to who are in support of Susan Collins were pretty much all saying the same thing. They're supporting Collins because of her experience.

50:41They're supporting Collins because they say she's the one who's going to continue to bring federal dollars back here to the state. When talking to those who are supporting Jackson, many of them told us that they're supporting Jackson because they don't. It's a vote against Susan Collins. It's a vote against President Trump. These polls opened at 7 a.m. and we found no shortage of people willing to offer their opinions. I voted for Susan Collins in the past. I actually do do like her. But yeah, unfortunately we just really feel that we need to flip the Senate here and try to stop some of the Trump agenda.

51:21So yeah, so we gave Jackson our vote. I prefer Susan Collins, but I just hate the current state of affairs in our country and feel like giving the support to Trump. It was a tough decision because there's a lot of factors playing into it's an important election year. I did support Susan Collins. I think she has the most leverage in doing what's best for Mainers. I think Troy brings up a lot of good points and getting some fresh blood in that Senate seat is important. But I think for now we need to lean into who has the most leverage that can help Mainers. I voted for Troy Jackson today. Not because I believe him to be the perfect candidate because he's the one that inspires the most hope in me at this time, but still holding your politicians accountable, always.

52:11And Anderson, a lot of voters here talking about those polls, those polls showing that Collins is trailing Jackson just by a little bit, but they're not putting much stock in those polls because folks out here remember what happened back in 2020 when Collins was also trailing back then. She ended up winning by some nine percentage points. Yeah. Jason Carroll, thanks very much to you later today. Now to Michigan, where the Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers has been full of twists and turns, some of them very surreal, including a last-minute surprise endorsement, CNN's Brian Todd is at a polling place in Detroit.

52:45What are voters telling you today? Well, Anderson, of course, that elephant in the room is the controversy between Haley Stevens, the former Democratic candidate for senator, and her endorsement of Mike Rogers, the Republican. We've talked to a lot of voters about that. I'm going to talk to a voter in just a second about that issue. But first, I want to just kind of lay out the scene here. You know what's so much fun about covering Election Day for CNN is because everywhere you go through the years, every single place is different. They have a different layout. They have a different set of rules for what you, you know, where you can go, what you can show, what you can't show.

53:18We're at Northwestern High School in Detroit. You've got six precincts here, thousands of registered voters in this precinct. We've had people coming in and out of here all morning. And look, just the layout is interesting. You've got to come in here. You've got to walk up four short flights of stairs. I'm not going to ask our photojournalist, Mandy Klimiko, to walk up all four staircases here, but I'm going to ask Mandy to come over here. Now, by rule, we have been told we cannot go beyond this point, but I can tell you that the voting stations are right there. You see two of them right there.

53:46People check in here. There's a tabulator just to your left. I'm not sure if you can see that or not, but you've got voting stations in all six precincts that go down this hallway and then down another hallway. We are not allowed to go down there and show that to you live. What we can tell you is that voters, when they come in here, they get their choice. They've got a long paper ballot that they can use. They can fill out ovals with a pen and then feed them into the tabulator. Or they've got something that is called VAT, which is a voter assist terminal. That's made for handicapped people, but anybody can use it.

54:21And that's electronic. And then their votes are recorded electronically there. So that's the layout. Every place has different rules and just different layouts. And that, again, it makes it fun for us because everything, you have to kind of deal with a different set of challenges, et cetera. I've got a voter here, Karan Cook. She's a longtime Detroit voter. Karan does not want to tell us who she voted for, and we respect that, of course, Karan. But I do want to ask you about that Haley Stevens controversy. You're aware of it, right? First of all, did it change your mind as to who you wanted to vote for?

54:51And what did you think of the whole thing overall, her endorsement of Mike Rogers and the political stir that it caused? Okay. My thoughts on that are she has a right, Haley Stevens, to do what she wants to do as far as who she wants to endorse and who she wants to throw her support to, just as I have the right as a voter to vote for who I want to. It did not change the way I voted. I respect her because she had the guts to do what she did. That's interesting because a lot of people are telling us they're not too happy with her, but you're not that upset with her. No, I'm not that upset with her.

55:25I'm opinionated. So I expect other people to be opinionated too. And quickly, Karan, so that didn't change your mind. What's the main issue that drove you out here? And we're talking to people about everything that they care about from prices to education. What is it you care about most? The prices, but one thing that I really care about is the divisiveness in the country. I want to get leadership in that will bring us back together as a country, not as one party versus another party, but as a country. Don't know if that's going to happen, but that really was my driving force today. Of course, I'm interested in bringing prices down and all of that, but I don't think this one particular election is going to do that.

56:05It will help, but depending on who gets in, it'll help, but it's not going to solve it today. Karan, thank you so much for talking to us. We appreciate it. Good luck. Thank you very much. So there's just a sampling of what is driving people here. I got to tell you guys, Anderson, I've talked to dozens of voters who've come in and out here off camera, just kind of sampling what they care about the most, the issues that they care about the most. I can tell you that literally no one said that the Haley Stevens endorsement swayed their vote at all. Now, I have to say this is a fairly heavily Democratic area.

56:37There are a lot of Abdul El-Sayed supporters here, a lot of people who voted also for Jocelyn Benson, the Democrat for governor. So this is a very heavily Democratic area. But I'm telling you, I asked people specifically, did the Haley Stevens endorsement matter to you? Did it sway your vote? None of them said yes. Anderson. Brian Taib, thanks so much. Appreciate it. There are a total of 35 seats in play today for the Senate. Democrats need a net gain of just four seats to win the majority. Phil Mattingly joins us again from the magic wall. So what states might give us an early view of where the balance of power could swing?

57:08Yeah, based on poll closings and how fast these states count, here's three that you really need to keep an eye on. You start with Ohio, North Carolina, and Georgia. One must hold for Democrats in Georgia. One must flip in North Carolina. where they expect to win right now based on polling, and then the state of Ohio, where a former incumbent senator is running again to win back his seat, and things have started to revert back to where Democrats would like them to be, when it used to be a purple state, although it's moved ruby red over the course of the last several cycles. I want to start in Ohio.

57:39You saw Lauren Fox. She was in Franklin County. Let's go back to 2024. She was here in Franklin County. This, for Sherrod Brown, you're looking at his Senate race. He lost this seat in 2024. He won Franklin County by 34 points. He needs that margin to be as big or bigger, preferably bigger, given the fact that even though he outran President Trump's margin by about six or seven points, he still lost this race. You travel up about 25 miles north on 315, though, and I think you get to a really, really critical place. Delaware County pushing out from Franklin County into the suburbs and exurbs. This has moved more towards Democrats over the course of the last five or six cycles.

58:16If Sherrod Brown is holding even or even winning this county, flipping this county, that would be a very, very good sign for the Brown campaign. This, though, I think is critical. You're looking in this area right here, Northeast Ohio. This is the Mahoning Valley. You start in Ashtabula. You go down through Youngstown. Nothing has shifted more dramatically, save for maybe the Rio Grande Valley back in 2024, than this part of the state towards President Trump. You see Ashtabula. Sherrod Brown lost this county pretty significantly. Let's go back to his 2018 race. He won that county by three points.

58:48Let's go down here to Trumbull County. He won Trumbull County in his 2018 victory by 15 points. What happened in 2024 with President Trump on the top of the ticket? He lost it by six points. You go down here into where Youngstown is, Mahoning Valley. He lost Mahoning Valley narrowly by two tenths of a percentage point. If you go back to 2018, he crushed Jim Renese in this county. So it's can Sherrod Brown flip the kind of labor blue collar Democrat that shifted so hard towards President Trump in the northeastern part of the state? That will be a big question. And that will determine whether or not he's able to flip that seat back to Democrats.

59:23You flip down to North Carolina and this obviously statewide has been problematic for Democrats and the presidential side of things. But their candidate, Roy Cooper, has won six times statewide, two governors races, attorneys general races as well. He has a map. Just go back to 2020 and you see he was able to beat Cal Cunningham by just shy of two points. The reality is, if you do very well in the urban and suburban areas, the research triangle, you go down to Charlotte, do well there, and then you pick up in kind of the heavily black counties up in the northeast, he should be fine by all accounts.

59:54His team feels fine. Democrats feel fine about it. It would be a huge must win flip for Democrats if they were going to have any path. That'll be what to walk for there. And then you flip down to Georgia, which obviously President Biden was able to win back in 2020. Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff have won statewide there as well. The story, Anderson, we are all familiar with it at this point. It's right here. It's Fulton County. It's Cobb County. It's Gwinnett County. Run up huge numbers there. And that's pathway for John Ossoff to win again. Phil Mattenly, thanks so much. I want to go to Michigan and Mike Rogers speaking live after voting.

1:00:28To make sure that doesn't happen right here. Sir, can you tell me, have you had any conversations with Haley Stevens over the last 24 hours today? Is she welcome with you tonight at your event? Tell me about your... Well, she would be welcome. I have not, we have not spoken directly about her coming to the event. She'd be absolutely welcome at the event. I mean, I think she's, again, I just think the amount of courage it took to do that. Last night at our last rally, we had a whole host of other Democrats who have come out and said that this guy's too extreme. By the way, voting Democrat down the straight ticket.

1:01:05So, listen, if she wants to come, she'd be welcome. If she doesn't, I certainly understand that as well. But we ought to celebrate. The press ought to celebrate the fact that these courageous people stood up, even though they've been lifelong Democrats, and said this is too extreme. It's too extreme for our party, the Democrat Party, and it's too extreme for our state. To me, that's huge. This is a massive shift, and it's the most important race in the country, and this has been going on. We just had another Democrat that I served with in the House of Representatives. Mr. Clark came out. Yeah, what was that?

1:01:42Yesterday, right? Why are you guys in my living room? Just kidding. Yesterday, and said, listen, this is too extreme. This is the right guy. There is just been a pattern of Democrats who know him best saying this guy's too extreme for the state. I hope Michiganders are listening. I think that sends a really important message. So she'd be welcome. Mr. Rogers, what's different this year? Thank you guys. We'll see you tonight. What's different this year from 2024? I'm going to win this year. That's what's different. Why do you think they're going to win this year? Better totalitions. It's candidate Mike Rogers talking to Sunilin Sirfati from CNN who was asking that last question.

1:02:20Still to come, election monitors. Nothing new, but the sheer number deployed at polling centers today is. We'll take a look at where they've been sent and why and what those cities have in common. And later, will Republican redistricting efforts pay off as they fight to maintain control of Congress? We're zeroing in on some key races looking at that. Stay with us.

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1:03:20Well, federal election monitors at local polling places are a routine part of Election Day, but this year more of them will be deployed than ever before as part of what the Justice Department describes as its largest monitoring effort in history. According to a CNN review, the 126 counties where federal monitors are observing include some of the biggest and bluest districts in battleground states, including Dallas, Detroit, and Cleveland. CNN's Omar Jimenez is tracking developments on this. How many election monitors are fanned out, Omar, across the country, and what does the DOJ say that they're actually going to be doing today?

1:03:52Yeah, so we're talking just about a thousand election monitors in places across the country, all 50 states to this point, and the Justice Department is describing it as its largest monitoring deployment in history. So what exactly does that mean? Obviously, we're talking about all 50 states, so let's take a look at the map. It includes, of course, some of these most closely watched races and battleground states, whether it's Texas, Michigan or Alaska as well. And when you talk about the monitors themselves, obviously we're talking about the roughly a thousand. But the scale or the deployment of them is not new.

1:04:25It is more the scale of it, because even when you look at any deployment under the Biden administration, this is hundreds more at that record level, as we have described. So let's talk about who these monitors are. They are Justice Department lawyers. They are not law enforcement officials. And according to the DOJ, they'll be checking for compliance with federal voting rights statutes that fall within the jurisdiction of the Civil Rights Division. They will also be observing polling places and they can't interfere with voting in any way. So if you're voting and things are going well, you might not even notice they are there.

1:05:01Access, though, is maybe one of the most critical things because they have no access to ballots or voting machines. They are not involved in counting votes in any way. However, very critical here, what they observe or allege could end up being the basis for any post-election investigation or challenges. Anderson. And when can the ballot counting begin? Yeah, so obviously it depends where we are. So we're talking about a wide range here. You look at states, for example. Let's take a look at Florida right now. So final polls close at eight o 'clock Eastern. Early and mail-in ballots can be counted quickly.

1:05:36And part of that is because they do a lot of the work in tabulating some of these votes before polls actually close. But in contrast, let's look at a place like California, for example. Mail-in ballots just have to be postmarked by today, but can be received basically within seven days after Election Day. And if we want to take a step even further, let's look at Alaska, because, look, first results aren't expected till 1 a.m. Eastern. Yeah, time zone is going to take a while. But then they can receive their ballots up to 10 to 15 days after Election Day. 10 if it's coming from the U.S., 15 from overseas.

1:06:13And part of that is just because Alaska is so remote. But if these races end up incredibly close, as we expect them to be, and it comes down to those mail-in ballots, we're going to be waiting a while for a place like Alaska Anderson. All right. Omar Jimenez, appreciate it. Thanks so much. I'm joined now by our panel of election analysts. Cade Benningfield, let me start off with you. Election monitors, I think you were working in the Biden administration. They had some 400 or so, less than half the number. They're from the Civil Rights Division. This Trump Civil Rights Division is very different in terms of what they focus on.

1:06:44And do you have concerns about what they're doing? Yeah, look, it's not inherently problematic to send election monitors, as you said, as Omar noted. Obviously, in the Biden administration, we certainly did. I think where it is troubling is when you have a president who has been very clear that he is interested in raising concerns about the legitimacy of the vote. That's been a strategy of his from day one in this midterm cycle. It was also very much his strategy, by the way, post 2020 when he lost the presidential election and spent many, many years arguing that that wasn't the case. So I think what is different here is that you have a president who's shown a willingness to use the Department of Justice, first of all, for his own political aims.

1:07:24And secondly, who has been very, very open about wanting to stir concern around whether around the legitimacy of the election. And so I think when you're deploying a significant number of monitors to raise the specter that things are not going to be on the level, yeah, there should be some concern around that. Sure, Michael. I mean, it seems like a lot of them are in heavily Democratic areas. Yeah, look, I'm not an election denier. That's just not a theory that I buy into. Everyone gets a vote. Everyone should have their vote guaranteed and protected. This is a tough environment for my party, Anderson.

1:08:01I mean, since the 1940s, the party of the president's lost 18 out of 21, 22 midterms. So losing the House is expected. The Senate is slightly more competitive because of cost of living, gas prices. There's a huge enthusiasm gap between Democratic voters and Republican voters, particularly those in rural areas. They're not motivated to turn out. And so if we do lose the Senate tonight, it's not because of some election conspiracies or election cheating. it's because we frankly dropped the ball and we didn't deliver on the promises that garnered us the house to sit in the White House in 2024 and so I think the party will need to do some introspection and figure out what we have to do over the next two years to regain that trust.

1:08:41God bless your willingness to say that by the way. I wish many others in your party were willing to call it out like that. I was going to say there are some concerns even among some Republicans of how Trump could react and what is he going to say? We saw already that he's more or less suggested that the Senate shouldn't seat Mary Paltola if she were to win her Senate race in Alaska. And let's remember, Congress actually does have a role in being able to potentially deny seating certain members until some lawsuits, if they are filed in the states, end up going much longer than post-election, post-January 3rd.

1:09:15Democrats have been ready, both in the House and the Senate side, for any potential challenges. They haven't displayed or said necessarily how they're going to be responding to specific situations that could come up from the administration. The long story short is that they have a number of lawsuits potentially ready to go. They also have election monitors. This is something that the House has done traditionally in a bipartisan manner. They have a record number. I think it's about 300 this year in different battleground districts. The Senate has employed that this year as well. So right now, a lot of those a lot of those people are definitely starting to watch and seeing how different states how governors could respond how state attorney generals could respond and it's a big question mark as to how republicans really do and potentially challenge some of the outcomes.

1:10:00And one of the things you see also is voters are responding to this right I mean you can see from the early voting data the reason you see the surge in many ways is because people don't want to be stuck in whatever might happen on election day. For months and And so these are all of the things that people think about voting day. And hopefully, again, for the last few months and months, there's been this fear, if you talk to average voters, that Trump is going to send out federal agents to monitor the polls. Obviously, these aren't, you know, sort of federal agents in the way that people think they are.

1:10:24But so, I do think this has changed the way people think about voting day.

1:10:43black and brown areas as well. So it definitely raises the specter of what we saw in this country early on in this country's history in the 60s and the 50s in trying to ban black people from voting. And I think you're gonna see a real response to that when you see the returns of the ways in which black people show up in these different areas. Kate, what race is most interesting to you that you're watching today? Well, all eyes on Michigan, certainly. I think there is a big question about, first of all, whether Abdul can do it. And if he can, what does the margin look like? And then what does that mean for the direction of the Democratic Party?

1:11:19I think it would be the first time that somebody from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party has won statewide in a truly swing state, a state that Donald Trump won in 2024. And so I think if he is able to pull it out tonight and if he's able to win by a convincing margin, which I certainly hope he does, there's going to be a really, I think goes in 2028. It'll be interesting to see what he's able to do with black voters, what he's able to do with Jewish voters, what he's able to do with Muslim voters. And I think it will give us an interesting snapshot into where an electorate that is clearly frustrated with the status quo on both sides.

1:11:57I mean, I don't think, listen, I think if the Democrats have a great night tonight, it's a most aggressively a rejection of Trump and Trumpism. This is a Senate map that should have been great for Donald Trump. And the fact that he started the Iran war and drove up gas prices has really has made a lot of these races competitive. And I think it's going to be a challenge to this idea that Trump somehow kind of permanently realigned the coalition of black voters, Latino voters, young voters. So Michigan, not the only race I'm looking at, but it is one that I think is going to have really interesting impacts as we move into 2028.

1:12:32We're going to have a lot more ahead. One of the first states to report early voting totals tonight will be Georgia, where we're launching key Senate and governors of races. We'll take you there next.

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1:13:26Welcome back. We're going to turn to Georgia, where Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson cast his ballot this morning. His Democratic opponent, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, appeared at a campaign event with Senator Raphael Warnock. The state has also had a crucial Senate race with Democratic incumbent John Ossoff running for re-election against Republican Congressman Mike Collins. Polls close at 7 there tonight. I want to go now to CNN senior correspondent Ryan Young. He's live at a polling place in Dunwoody, Georgia, outside Atlanta. Ryan, what are you seeing this morning?

1:13:57Yeah, Anderson, people are pretty excited. When we got here this morning, already 25 people standing in line to get into this polling center. And a lot of folks were talking to us about the things that we've heard consistently. Gas prices are impacting them. The fact that grocery prices are higher. There are a lot of families in this area. So talking to a lot of dads and moms who are coming in with their kids because school's out. And they've been talking about the fact that they've had to change their budget based upon how things are going. But the one thing that sort of shocked me is people are talking about how tough it is to find a job.

1:14:26Those who are trying to transition for work or look for higher paying jobs. They say, this job market is so tough. It's really making them really think about this vote differently. They want to send a message to Washington because they believe it's clear that the folks in D.C. aren't paying attention enough to the kitchen table issues. Take a listen to a few of the voters that we spoke with this morning. What motivated you to be here today? I think really just change. Okay. Change. And I think that it's important that we, for me, just getting integrity back in politics. and I think we've got politicians out there right now that are on the ballot that can do that for us.

1:15:03Do you think integrity could come back? Civility could come back? I mean, I was just having the same conversation with the other guy because it's like, we should be able to argue and not hate each other, but we seem to be at a different point right now. I don't know if it can. I hope it does. I mean, I value the times if I think back to the days of even when I was in elementary school and debating Ford versus Carter, right? So yeah, I hope those times can come back. I'd really enjoy those. I just really want to see us be able to be united again as a country. I think there's been a lot of division, there's been a lot of hate, and I think that that's been happening so broadly that it feels like at this point it's both sides.

1:15:48So I just kind of want to see us come together and hopefully bring back the America that I knew when I was a kid.

1:15:58Anderson, you heard that on both sides. And I will tell you, the ads that have been on the airwaves here is just unreal in terms of when you're watching television sometimes. Before one ad's over, the next one starts playing. And I think people are sort of tired of that. When you spoke about Rick Jackson, he spent more than$100 million of his own money to fuel his campaign and to fill the airwaves with those ads. But it's a tight race between Rick Jackson and Keisha Lance Bottoms. A lot of people paying attention to that. It looks like John Ossoff, of course, has gotten off to an exciting start.

1:16:24But then, of course, you have Mike Collins, who's trying to pull right behind there. A lot of the voters we were talking to today said they felt it was important for them to be there. And, of course, we'll continue to watch this all the way through, Anderson. Yep. Up to the voters. Ryan Young, thanks so much. Appreciate a growing number of prominent Republicans are crossing party lines to endorse Democrats in this year's midterms, including my next guest, former Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake, who also served as Ambassador to Turkey under President Biden. Ambassador Flake is back in Georgia.

1:16:48Democratic Senator John Ossoff for re-election of Republican Mike Collins. Ambassador, thanks for being here. Is your support for Ossoff an exception to how you generally feel about Democrats this cycle? Is it about him? Is it about the Democratic Party? Do you want to see them win control of the chamber? Well, it's a couple of things. I've been impressed with John Ossoff, how he's handled himself and how he's reached across the aisle. We need more of that. I also tend to vote against those who don't accept free and fair elections, and his opponent is one of those. We have several of those in Arizona as well.

1:17:23So, yeah, typically when Republicans refuse to accept elections, then I'll vote for the Democrat. How much, in your opinion, how much political capital does President Trump have on the line tonight? And if it's a bad night for Republicans, do you expect some of his congressional allies to actually start to break with him or at least feel maybe less beholden? Yeah, I do expect them. Yeah, I do expect them to break. You know, in any event, this is his last term, the last two years of his last term. So he's a lame duck in any event. But I think the decline is going to be even steeper because his policies just aren't that popular.

1:18:03So, yeah, I expect Republicans to be breaking with him on a number of issues, on certainly tariffs. That was the original sin of this administration when it comes to the economy. So tariffs, I think you're going to see a lot more pushback from Republicans as we should. And then on the war itself, you're going to see a lot more pushback there. Do you think Pete Hegseth is going to remain as Secretary of Defense? I don't. I think that he'll go. Much like President Bush in 2006, Don Rumsfeld went right afterwards. I would expect something similar here. If Democrats win control of Congress in whole or in part, they're still the issue of President Trump's threat to lean into his veto power.

1:18:49What do you think could actually be achieved in terms of legislating, governing under those circumstances? You know, the irony is I think you're likely to see more effective legislating going on. Divided government, in my view, is the best government. Republicans, we tend to act more fiscally conservative when we aren't in control of both chambers in the White House. I think the president will kind of rediscover his deal-making abilities. He really, other than tariffs, there's not much that he, you know, that is a bedrock principle for him. So I would expect to see him negotiating and a lot more legislating actually going on than when you have one party controlling both chambers in the White House and thinking that they can control everything.

1:19:36The other question is oversight. I mean, if Democrats win the House and or the Senate, do you think there would be meaningful oversight of the White House? Or do you think, you know, Jeff Toobin has argued that the president would just ignore congressional subpoenas and use his pardon power? There's definitely going to be more oversight. If Democrats happen to take the Senate in particular, you're likely to see a lot more. And that is justified, particularly some of the crony capitalism that's going on, the contracts that are going on. Yeah, there's going to be more oversight. I desperately hope that the Democrats refrain from impeaching and going that route.

1:20:15I just understand this president is going to be out in two years and provide effective oversight, but don't overdo it in terms of going after the president. Jeff Flake, it's really a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Coming up next, some of today's races are in districts that were specifically redrawn with the intent of giving Republicans an edge. Will those efforts pay off? Also, we just heard from both Ohio gubernatorial candidates, Amy Acton and Vivek Ramaswamy. Their race getting national attention, obviously, after Ramaswamy used Acton's estranged mother in that very controversial campaign ad.

1:20:53We've been on the ground for two and a half years. So we definitely put in the work. We've gone to every corner of the state. But what I hear is 95 % no one disagrees on, but they're longing for public servants again. Often they don't even care what party you are. They just want to know that you're going to solve problems of everyday life instead of making them. And they want you to bring this temperature down. It is a tough time. There's no doubt about it. People are looking not just to make ends meet, but get ahead. And at the start of this day, if I have one suggestion to those who are deciding how to vote today, vote for the person who can actually make your life better.

1:21:32Vote for the person who you believe in your heart of heart is actually gonna make your family's life better. That's all that matters. Everything else is noise. Nothing else matters. The politics, the media, the noise, it's all irrelevant.

1:21:58The midterms today offer the first major test for Republicans redistricting efforts across the country. Nine states have newly redrawn congressional districts. Fifteen House seats were redrawn to favor Republicans. Six to favor Democrats. Our Phil Mattingly is back with us at the Magic Wall. So where can we look tonight to see if this redistricting strategy actually worked as expected? Because we've heard a lot of places where it has not. Yeah, I think the biggest issue that I've picked up from talking to Democrats and Republicans who were involved in that mid-decade redistricting warfare that played out for much of the last year and a half is that Republicans who redrew districts in states they controlled intentionally to unseat Democratic incumbents may not have the cushion going into a night like tonight like they felt they would as they drew this up.

1:22:45And what I want to focus on really is three states in particular. You start in Ohio, where there's two seats, a compromise map. Two of the seats moved much more towards Trump. You got North Carolina, where one seat moved from a Kamala Harris district to a Trump plus 11 and a half. And then down in Florida. And Florida in particular is fascinating as there were four seats down there that were moved sharply towards Trump results in 2024. And now it's a very different map. And what I mean when I actually say that, Anderson, is you just go into the most recent and final Cook political forecast of where things stand right now.

1:23:16We'll start in Ohio. So those two seats that were redrawn start here in Marcy Kaptur. Right now, they have her, this district, leaning towards Kaptur. Democrats are gonna hold onto this district if things go well. That would be, obviously, a blow to a potential pickup for Republicans. Ohio First, Republicans pulled money out of Ohio First a couple of weeks ago, acknowledging that Greg Lantzman, And despite the fact he went from a Harris district into a Trump plus two or three district, pretty much had it sewn up. We'll see how that plays out. But again, two potential pickups for Republicans drawn potentially explicitly that way may no longer be on the map for them.

1:23:50Then you go into North Carolina. We talked about this a little bit earlier. I think this is a fascinating district in and of itself. This is Don Davis's first district as it was redrawn, bringing in a lot of the Outer Banks area on the eastern edge of the state, combining it with his heavily African-American counties from his old district. This, the way it was redrawn, Anderson, Trump plus 11 and a half. This right now listed as a toss up. When this was redrawn, the expectation was Davis was maybe, maybe had a shot if everything went his way. Right now, Democrats feel very good about where that is.

1:24:21And Republicans have had to spend a ton of money in a very real fight that they hoped would just unseat a Democrat and give them one layer of protection going into a tough midterm year. Then you come down to Florida here because this map was redrawn probably more aggressively than any other targeting Democrats. You got one Democrat, one Democrat over here in Kathy Castor's district. If I can actually click on the right button. Kathy Castor's district right here. The Tampa area, Castor's district was dramatically changed from a Harris district into a Trump plus 10 and a half district. Republican money pulled out of there as well a couple of weeks ago.

1:24:54Castor's run a strong race. It felt like that was slipping away from them. A hold there would be a big deal for Democrats. Also here, this is the most endangered Democrat up for reelection right now. Darren Soda's district was completely redrawn into a Trump plus 17 district if you go off 2024 results. Right now, it is leaning Republican. The expectation throughout the entire cycle has been, since it's been redrawn, there's no chance Democrats would win this. Democrats right now have a little bit of hope here, and that in and of itself is telling, and I think underscores the environment in terms of where things stand right now.

1:25:25The big picture, though, Anderson, is Republicans are very clearly going to pick up seats held by Democrats because of this redistricting process. Democrats will as well, particularly out in California. But the scale of those pickups driven by the redistricting, not nearly as large as Republicans hoped it would be when they aggressively launched it, driven by the White House last year, but also seems to have gotten riskier and more dicey over the course of the last several weeks as the environment has shifted. We will see how it plays out. Obviously, these districts now have a very Republican DNA and profile.

1:25:55Maybe that holds. But Democrats certainly feeling better in the last couple of weeks than they did when this whole process started about a year and a half ago, Anderson. Yeah, Phil Mattingly, I appreciate it. Thanks very much, Phil. Texas is one of those red states, obviously with newly redrawn districts. Voters there are not only deciding a key Senate race, they'll also determine Republican Governor Greg Abbott will stay in office. Back now with our panel. Sure, Michael, do you think Senator Cornyn has his I told you so email ready to go if Tariko wins? I mean, absolutely. I mean, if Cornyn would have been the nominee, he's a great fundraiser, prolific fundraiser.

1:26:29I don't think this race would have been close at all. we probably would have won by five or six points despite how and maybe had more money to spare for elsewhere well as correct despite how bad this environment is so i think you have a governor with 92 percent approval among republicans you would have had a senator in cornyn who's viewed rather favorably in a broader election he had some issues with the base but if the president would have immediately endorsed him i think he could have overcome that then you have the five congressional districts that we redrew that you saw on that map that we may only win two out of the five i think we probably could have protected most of those seats if you had the right senator in place or the right candidate for senate in place, I should say.

1:27:06You have a number of Republicans in Texas, Anderson, I've talked to many, I'm from Texas, who are saying they're going to vote for the governor, they'll vote for others, but many are planning to leave the senate blank because there are legitimate concerns about Paxson morality, ethics, etc. But I do wonder, Georgia has a unique history of this. Texas does not. Will you see enough Republicans split the ticket? Georgia did with Kemp and Warnock when he was running against Herschel Walker a couple of years ago. Texas doesn't have a history of this. It would really surprise me if you see a Republican governor win in Texas but the Republican senator does not.

1:27:40It would be by the grace of God to be quite frank if Paxson were to get across the finish line. And so that's the one outside thing that I'm not certain of. Do Republicans just vote straight ticket or do they say I just can't quite vote for this guy because of my concerns. I mean, it would be by the grace of God if Paxton wins, but it would also be by the grace of Elon Musk's hundreds of millions of dollars that he's spending down there. Listen, I have all along said that I can't really get behind the idea that a Democrat will win because it's Texas, because of the DNA of that state, because, you know, they're just much more plug and play, the Republican Party down there, right?

1:28:19Democrats are not as organized, even though they've tried over many, many cycles. But in Ken Paxton, you do have a uniquely terrible, terrible, awful candidate in terms of just the way he campaigns, right? He's just a lazy, lackluster campaigner, aside from the corruption issues. And then in Tallarico, you have a real fresh-faced candidate down there. He's able to talk about faith, talk about the ways in which faith informs his ideas about policies and governing. So we'll see. I will be shocked, absolutely shocked if Tallarico wins. I'll be shocked also if you see in Annie Andrews, somebody who can win in South Carolina.

1:28:57But the South more generally is fertile ground for Democrats this cycle and beyond. It's diverse. You know, you've got Latinos, you've got African Americans. The Democratic base is in these Southern states, and they are going to have something to say this cycle. The question, I think, beyond is what they're going to say. And will Democrats listen and really start to put money down there? Yeah, I mean, Texas has long been a Lucy in the football situation for Democrats. And I have certainly lived through many cycles where it felt like we were sort of on the cusp. But, you know, if you look at the data, you know, Dave Wasserman at Cook Report had a really interesting fact the other day and analyzing early vote data.

1:29:37There's a 10 percent enthusiasm gap between count the 23 counties that have voted statewide in Texas for a Democrat before and the entire rest of the state. So that would suggest to you that in the early vote, Democrats are, you know, do have a bit of an advantage. You know, my feeling on this is I think both candidates, I think Gina Hinojosa and James Tallarico have run really exceptional races. And I think Tallarico has been really smart about capitalizing on Paxton's weaknesses. I think if this cuts against Democrats, it will actually be maybe maybe counterintuitively because the race was so nationalized.

1:30:14And, you know, you would think in a year when Trump's at 37 percent, that would accrue to the Democrats benefit. I think in a state like Texas, where you have such a Republican registration advantage, the fact that this has become sort of one of the marquee national races, you know, it may turn out those last Republicans who hold their nose and wind up voting for Paxton because they just can't stomach voting for a Democrat. But it's going to be so, so, so. And I would argue in Florida as well. I mean, Republicans do have a voter advantage there that they didn't have in 2018. But I've been talking to Republicans down in the state who are freaking out over what could happen, especially with the gubernatorial race.

1:30:48Just not enough early voting numbers, similar to I think North Carolina is another state where you're just not seeing Republicans turn out in a similar manner in past elections. The panhandle, big underperformance. That's your most conservative part of the state. And when it comes to redistricting, there's just so many questions that Republicans had before the Trump administration went on and, you know, told a number of governors you should redraw the state. Number one was do not assume that Latinos are going to be with the Republican Party in the midterm election. Also, it's just going to be harder because it's a midterm election.

1:31:21You are seeing that play out in Texas and Florida. And the fact that there is even more attention on these Democratic held seats in Florida is a big reason why Republicans are also kind of panicked down there. Because naturally you're boosting more turnout just by giving attention to seats that were not in play two years ago. Yeah, it makes it, I mean, it makes the map just really difficult for Republicans. Again, you look at Texas. I think we ultimately win, but it's not because Kim Paxton was a great candidate. And the amount of resources we've had to expend there, I think 300 plus million dollars, Anderson.

1:31:53So those are dollars you're taking from Maine, you're taking from South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, even Michelle Tafoya. Who would have expected she would have run such a competitive Senate race, but where are the resources to help her? This is a race we probably could have won because if we lose it because of the corruption issues across the state there. But again, all of the focus is on Texas because you can't lose that seat. And it's interesting because if you talk to people on the ground who are working on these races in Texas, this is also this shift, should it happen, and what they're seeing thus far, is heavily on the back of women and suburban women, moms who are frustrated with the MAGA agenda, who don't like the culture war sort of focus.

1:32:38And so, you know, you have women who have been fairly reliable Trump voters since, you know, 2016, who said enough. I don't feel like I'm getting, you know, I don't get straight answers from MAGA politicians who give me the runaround on what's happening in schools. And so it's interesting to see that it's actually heavily suburban women, in addition, of course, to Latino voters and black voters. Black men. As we've seen. 34 % of black men in Texas. Yeah. In the early days. Where are the 30, where's the targeting, the engagement, where are the legislative successes for the 34 percent of black men who voted for the president in Texas?

1:33:12That's a huge group that we should be able to mobilize for our candidates. We are out of time for this panel. Thank you, guys, for a lot to watch for today. Stay with CNN. Our coverage of Election Day in America continues with Wolf Blitzer and Aaron Burnett after a quick break.

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