Trump Tries to Defend Senate Seat in Deep Red Mississippi

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1:03It's the homestretch before the midterm elections that will decide which party controls Congress. I'm Caitlin Collins, and this is The Source live from Capitol Hill.

1:29And there are now eight days until Election Day. With just over a week to go before the final day, more than 30 million ballots have already been cast. That's actually several days ahead of the pace from the last midterm elections in 2022. if it gives you any indication of where this could all be headed. From the campaign trail to the White House, in the last few days, the Trump administration has been on defense. Right now, President Trump is in the Republican stronghold of Mississippi, where his party is trying to protect a GOP Senate seat. Yes, in a state that he won by 23 points just two years ago.

2:05But the numbers that might matter most there tonight are these. Right now in Mississippi, it costs on average$3.82 per gallon to fill up your gas tank. That is$1.33 more than it was the day the war with Iran started back in February. Yet the president didn't really mention it much tonight. Nobody's ever campaigned like I have for midterms. I haven't. Why is he talking about men playing in women's sports? Why is he talking about the transgender mutilization? 15 years ago, if you would have talked about things like this, they would have said, get this guy off the stage. He's crazy. I really don't have to say that much anymore.

2:45You know, I should save my voice because, because Barack Hussein Obama, he came in yesterday and he made a speech and part of his speech was to say, isn't it terrible that Donald Trump spends a lot of his time, very little time. I do it very good. I'm really good at real estate and fixing things. I fix things very good, very beautifully and inexpensive. I always build beautiful and inexpensive, which is a good combination if you can do it. But I can do it naturally. It's a natural thing. It actually relaxes me. Donald Trump spends a lot of his time fixing up the White House. He said, this isn't a Cheesecake Factory.

3:26Can you believe it? Which is a very successful company. This isn't it. He doesn't like successful companies. But you know, he was very critical about me. Well, we're nearly eight months into the Iran war and right now the average price of gas during President Trump's entire second term so far is now more than it was during the Biden administration, according to a CNN analysis of AAA data. That milestone was nearly unthinkable as recently as January. And it comes as the White House is attempting to defend the president's comments about the price of gas this weekend. The United States oil and gas business is making hundreds of billions of dollars.

4:08So I said, I wonder if I should say this. Our country is making hundreds of billions of dollars because of what's happened in the Middle East, because they're coming to Texas, and they're coming to Oklahoma, and they're coming to Louisiana, and they're taking that oil. We're making hundreds and hundreds of billions, trillions of dollars. But my people said, please don't mention that, sir. because people are paying a little higher. So I said, let me say it very gingerly, very softly, because somebody would say the fake news. He's bragging about making money while people are suffering. No, I could just see the fake headlines.

4:46President Trump is talking about all the money they're making while people are suffering at the pump. That'll be the headline. But I said, I don't give a damn. I'm going to say it. We're making a freaking fortune. Our country is getting stronger and stronger all the time. And those pump prices are going to come down. Now, when the president talks about oil and gas companies making hundreds of billions of dollars, he's right. Exxon Mobil alone more than doubled its second quarter profit to$14.5 billion. It works out to about$160 million per day. Now, President Trump owns stock in Exxon as well as Chevron and other oil companies.

5:25and an analysis that was released today by congressional Democrats found that the president made up to$81.6 million from oil and gas stocks during the war. Now, when issues about his stock trades have come up during this second term, White House officials have maintained that the president's assets are entirely managed by an independent third-party financial institutions. Critics have noted it's not in a blind trust, which means he can still see what's in his portfolio as he is making decisions from the Oval Office. And even as the president is touting those massive profits for oil and gas companies, listen to what Republicans are saying.

6:03Those candidates are not following suit. But what's important to South Carolinians is affordability, the price of gas, putting food on the table. I've heard from Iowans who are being squeezed by the gas prices and and the challenges we're facing here at home. It's the people.

6:24But they're all telling me the same thing. Everything costs more, groceries, gas, the electric bill, everything is up except our paychecks. The midterms will be decided by the price of gasoline in October. We start tonight with a special edition of The Source Live here on Capitol Hill, where, of course, control of power will be determined next Tuesday. I've got CNN political commentator and the former senior policy advisor in the Obama White House, Ashley Allison here. Mark Short was the chief of staff to Vice President Pence. And Jeff Mason is a White House correspondent for Bloomberg. And Mark Short, obviously you've worked in Republican politics for a long time.

7:00Do voters want to hear about the record oil profits that companies are making right now? Caitlin, I think that as we head in this midterm, the Democrats have nominated truly some radical socialists in many cases that have harbored resentment toward America. But a challenge for Republicans this cycle is you're trying to make it about them when you have control of the House, the Senate, and the White House. So it's a really difficult challenge if that's what you're running the midterm on. And this White House isn't helping Republicans who are on the ballot. Number one issue is remained affordability, and those concerns are generally dismissed.

7:33And what I think exacerbates the challenge for Republicans is every day there's a new story of grift coming out of the White House, of whether or not it's the president's son who's having a wedding paid for by a Russian oligarch, or you have Middle Eastern nations that have harbored terrorists invest in their investment funds, or getting access to things that American taxpayers don't. And so there's a giant juxtaposition of the voter who's trying to see how can my wages keep up with inflation versus the grift and corruption. And Caitlin, you know, I was on the campaign show with you in 2016 and 2020, and what resonated with voters was the promise to drain the swamp and electing somebody who was the outsider, who wouldn't get trapped and seduced by the swamp of D.C., and yet that's where we now are, and I think that's a really big challenge for Republicans in the House and the Senate right now.

8:18Jeff, does the White House realize that, you think? I don't know. I mean, I think the White House is hoping that things are going to go their way. You still hear people in the White House saying that the president sees a pathway for victory in the House and the Senate, and that there are others within the Republican Party who see that too. I don't think that's the conventional wisdom, but it is definitely a view that he has. He thinks that he's making a big difference with these rallies. I can tell you I've covered US politics for 18 years and I'm not sure I've ever been to Mississippi as a political reporter.

8:50It's such a deeply red state. There's never been a reason to. So I think that alone is a pretty big sign of where their thinking is, even if they are putting on a brave face. It's a great place to visit. Great food, great people. But for a Republican president to be there this close to the election, obviously is concerning enough. And Ashley, when you look at this, the Democrat who's running for that Senate seat there against Cindy Hyde-Smith, which is why the president is there tonight, he is using her own words, Scott Colombo's, on high prices in an ad like this one. Price of beef continuing to go up.

9:27You know, you have so many proteins to choose from. Pick another protein? Shit, I'd rather pick another senator instead. Pick another protein. She done lost her damn mind. I'd rather pick another senator. Pick another protein? What the? Pick another senator instead. I mean, that ad has been pointed to as pretty effective. But I think there's a real question of if Democrats think they have a real chance in Mississippi. Well, Urban Dictionary would call that ad a banger because it hit hard. hard and it made the point. And she made it for him. I met Scott Colom a year ago, and he was talking about this Senate seat.

10:14And I have to tell you, he was very clear-eyed on how he was planning to win it. It wasn't going to become a national race. He was going to talk to Mississippians about the real vacuum of leadership that Cindy Highsmith is presenting right now, because she's so focused on the audience of one of Donald Trump and that he was going to focus on Mississippians. Now, to the panel's point, Mississippi is a red, ruby red state. And Scott is running a very intentional race. And I think this is the midterm of surprises. And I will just say, in 2020, when Georgia flipped and went blue, there were people very high in the Democratic establishment on the Biden campaign that were surprised that was happening.

10:55But there There were organizers in Georgia that have been working for decades and years building political power. And I have to tell you, some of those things have been happening in Mississippi over the last couple of years. And if it's not this year that it goes blue, maybe in a couple other years. So I think there's a chance it will be a long shot, but there's possibility there. Yeah, I mean, the fact that we're even talking about it obviously shows how much it's kind of upset the political conventional wisdom. You know, Mark, on this idea of gas prices and what people are paying, something the vice president said today got a lot of attention.

11:29It was what he said about gas prices in Montana. And then listen to what he said in a second speech tonight where he kind of tweaked his line that he delivered a little bit. They skyrocket every time some tin pot dictator decides to throw a tantrum. But it's also true that the price of gas goes up each time a foreign leader in the Middle East throws a tantrum. Why do you think you changed that line? Well, I mean, obviously, the first one is not going to be viewed favorably. It's going to have connotations about other people he doesn't want to be bringing in this conversation. Like which people?

12:06Mark? But look, I mean, I think there are better ways to talk about it. I think what the administration has failed to do is to talk about the threat that Iran has been for 47 years, to talk about why we're engaged there, what the peace dividend could look like down the road. But instead, it's constantly been a, this is a week, or it's two weeks, or this is for a nuclear reason, or this is to basically limit what their military capability is. The rationale and explanations have continued to change, and I wish they would basically say, here's why. Here's what the real peace dividend could be to the globe if we're actually to change the situation around.

12:40But that has not been their messaging. Mark says the rationale has changed, but so has the timeline. And that's also something that's really tricky to sell right now. I mean, I can't imagine that President Trump in February of this year thought that during the midterms, this war would still be going on. And yet he promised four to six weeks. And now it's months and months and months in with all of the ramifications, economic and political otherwise. Yeah. And not clear when it's going to end, of course. You know, Ashley, you talked with the Democrat who is trying to make history in Texas. That's James Tallarico.

13:12And you asked him specifically about what his message is in these final few days of the race to black voters. And this is what he told you. I want to be a senator for every single black Texan. As the next U.S. senator from Texas, I'll represent the most African-Americans of any senator in the country. And that work of representing black Texans doesn't start the day after the election. It starts now. When you look at the numbers, as you know, in 2018, Beto O 'Rourke had 89 percent of black voters in Texas. Kamala Harris had 86 percent. They both still lost the state. How are you viewing what his campaign has done in this space?

13:50Well, I look at Texas the same way I look at Michigan and Mississippi, for that matter. It's not about the percentage of voters that are voting with you. It's how many voters actually show up. James Tallarico has to run the numbers up in places in a place like Houston. I met with him in San Antonio and there were black voters at that rally that literally talked about how they had not been engaged in the political process since 2008 because they did not feel like their vote mattered. Now, compare that to a Mississippi. You have Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, all that feel like they've been under attack with the Calais decision and the Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act, gerrymandering attempts by this administration.

14:31And it is animated black voters. And in Texas, in particular, it's animated Latino voters. So if Tallarico can pull those Latino voters that went to Trump, who are upset that they went into their congressional districts, he can animate black voters in higher numbers, not just percentage of alignment, but actual turnout. That's the type of coalition. And he can get some of those disaffected Trump voters. That's the coalition he's looking to win this race. The other ad that I saw today that really stood out to me was in Michigan, where this super PAC that is seeking to help Abdul El-Sayed. And this is the ad and this is part of it.

15:07You're gonna have to put those eggs back. They don't like eggs anymore? No, they like eggs. But we have to set that$7 aside. For killing Palestinians? What? I mean, don't we give Israel$4 billion a year anyways? Yeah, and now we're giving them another$26 billion. Do you know how much that is per American taxpayer? No. It's like$161 per person. Apparently it's costing us a lot of money to drop bombs on Gaza. Now, Abdul Saeed's campaign says they had nothing to do with that. They weren't affiliated with that ad. But given, obviously, the conversation that's been had in Michigan, I wonder what the two of you made of it.

15:48Well, it certainly brings attention to sort of the controversy around him, at least on the right, about what he would represent. It also makes me think, listening to it, of the controversy that surrounded the war for Biden and for Democrats in the last presidential election. I mean, it was such a—Joe Biden couldn't get through a rally. Kamala Harris often had the same issue without interruptions from people who were complaining or protesting the war. That struck me just a few days ago when some of the protests at the rally that I was covering in North Carolina with President Trump kept interrupting him.

16:24That is something that was a big deal the last time around, and this was the reason. I think the ad is not just a canard. It's actually offensive. And the reality is that Syed has had opportunities to even condemn Hezbollah and Hamas and has refused to do it, Caitlin. El-Sayed actually even condemned President Obama for going after the Houthis. And so you have a candidate there who is so radical and anti-Semitic. But I think still the challenge is that in this cycle, the election is going to be about the party that's in power. But it's actually crazy that Michigan can actually be on the precipice of electing this person.

16:58Mark, Jeff, great to have both of you. Ashley, you as well. Thank you so much for joining us. Up next, the Justice Department is now going after James Comey again. What we are now learning about this new case, James Comey just put out a video responding and we'll have Ellie Honig and Tom Dupree to break it all down.

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18:29According to newly unsealed court documents, the Justice Department alleges that James Comey leaked a sensitive national security document when he served as the FBI director 10 years ago. If that sounds vaguely familiar, it's because it is. This was investigated and it resulted in no charges. Now, James Comey says he's taking it in stride. Well, they're back again. It would almost be funny if it weren't such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice, one that we cannot become numb to. Nothing's changed with me. I'm still innocent. I'm still not afraid of these people. And I still believe in the independent federal judiciary.

19:09And I'm still lucky to have an amazing family and an incredible group of lawyers. and we'll stand up in court and fight the latest and whatever comes after this. The next couple of years are going to be hard for all of us. It's really important that we stand straight and keep the faith in America. My legal sources are here tonight. Ellie Honig is a former state and federal prosecutor. Tom Dupree was the deputy assistant attorney general at the DOJ. Ellie, first off, can you just lay out what happened here? And also, was James Comey actually charged here? Because his attorney, I noticed, said in a statement that they attempted to charge him.

19:48So, I mean, I read through all these documents and I need your legal expertise on this. Okay. Yes, everyone does, I think, because this is procedurally absolutely bizarre what has happened here. This is not an indictment. This has not gone to a grand jury. The Justice Department right now does not have a warrant to go out and arrest Jim Comey. Instead, what this is, is a document we call a criminal information. Now these get used sometimes. I used to use them sometimes, but you have to have the defendant agreeing to it. The way it usually happens is if you have a plea agreement and both sides say, okay, we agree.

20:23We're not going to have to bother with the grand jury. Here, however, Jim Comey's team has not agreed to this. So the justice department has filed, as far as I know, the first ever unilateral criminal information. And let me tell you why that's a problem. I think a judge is going to say that criminal information is invalid. And now we've got a statute of limitations problem because the conduct they're trying to indict Jim Comey for happened on October 5th, 2016. Now there's a 10 year statute of limitations. So even if DOJ goes to a grand jury tonight or first thing tomorrow morning, we are outside the 10 year statute of limitations.

21:00So I don't know what DOJ was trying to do here. I think they tied themselves into a not. And I think they've sabotaged their own case by doing that. Well, and so, Tom, I'm reading, I mean, to Ellie's point, I was reading in the motion to dismiss from Comey's legal team here, where they argued that there needs to be an indictment within those 10 years, not just the charges, as Ellie pointed out there. And they say the DOJ filing doesn't meet that. Is his team right in that point? Well, I think his team is right in that if you look at the law, it does strongly suggests that you need an indictment within that 10-year period.

21:36And as Ellie said, that a criminal information is not sufficient. What the Justice Department is saying, Caitlin, is that there are courts that have said, look, if you file the criminal information, it does what's called total statute of limitations, which means it's okay to delay. So the idea in the Justice Department's view is if they got their criminal information in before the deadline, they can take their time and maybe a week or a month or two months from now, they can replace it with an indictment. I think this is a question that is going to be foremost on the federal judge's mind. And I strongly suspect that the Comey defense team is going to take an early shot at this case to try to knock it out before it gets anywhere close to a jury.

22:16You know, Ellie, I interviewed James Comey just back in May around his new book. And obviously, all of these questions were swirling around then about whether or not he thought he was going to be charged again, what was happening with the DOJ. This is what he told me just back in May. I've told my family this. This is going to continue until this group led by Donald Trump leaves office, because for whatever reason, he is obsessed with retribution in general, and especially with me. So do you think that this could happen potentially again during Trump's term in office? Oh, sure. I mean, I'm assuming that the first case they brought went away.

22:53Whatever happens with this case, which I'm not going to talk about outside the courtroom, But whatever happens with it, I would expect they'll try something else. Ellie, when you look at the DOJ filing that was unsealed today, I think it has like five names on it of senior DOJ officials. Do you what would you say is their chance of success here? Close to zero. And here's why. They're going to have to rewrite the law books when it comes to vindictive prosecution, because what we're seeing happening to Jim Comey is truly unprecedented. Now, look, Comey is a controversial figure. There are valid criticisms of things he's done over the years, but nobody's ever been subject to this type of process.

23:35Yes, absolutely. But nobody has ever been subject to this type of serial prosecution. Just quick history here. Jim Comey and Donald Trump hate each other. They've verbally criticized each other dozens and dozens of times over the years. September 2025, Donald Trump goes on True Social and explicitly tells his then attorney general, Pam Bondi, I want you to indict Jim Comey soon. And days later, she does that. And then a federal judge throws it out. That was case one. Case two is this ridiculous indictment where Jim Comey posted an image of seashells spelling out 8647. That one's not gone yet, but it's not going to pass first amendment muster.

24:11That's going to be case two. And this here is case three. And I think for the reasons we discussed before, this one's got no hope either. So Jim Comey was exactly right when he said to you a few months ago that he thinks they'll come back again, and they have. Ellie Honig, Tom Dupree, thank you both for being here. Up next, Manu Raju is not here on Capitol Hill. For some reason, I am. We've swapped places. He's out on the campaign trail in South Carolina. He just caught up with Senator Darlene Graham. She is in a tight race there. And also, John King is all over the map tonight in Iowa. Those high fuel prices are frustrating farmers and could have a big impact on who controls the Senate here on Capitol Hill.

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25:26Tonight, South Carolina Democrat Annie Andrews got a bipartisan boost in her race against the Republican Senator Darlene Graham from two former South Carolina governors. Republican David David Beasley and Democrat Jim Hodges released this ad today. Now, over the years, the two of us haven't always agreed on everything. But one thing we do agree on right now is this country is too divided, and the political rhetoric has gotten way, way out of hand. That is why we're coming together today to support Annie Andrews. And it's clear Republicans are worried about this race, given who's also trying to turn out voters right now.

26:05That includes Senator Ted Cruz, Congressman Jim Jordan, and CNN's Monty Raju spoke with Darlene Graham herself about her race and the big scrutiny following that debate flub where she said national security was not really her thing. But your comment in the debate that national security is not your thing, how much did that hurt you in this race? I don't think it hurt me at all. I'm becoming very informed on national security. I never said it wasn't important. It's extremely important. But what's important to South Carolinians is affordability, price of gas, putting food on the table. Every time I go to one of these events, they're not talking about that.

26:42They're talking about affordability. So that's what's on my mind. That's what's important to the people in South Carolina. And Manu Raju joins me now. And Manu, it's great to have you here because I do think when you see how many Republicans are going into South Carolina in these last few days, the money that they're putting into that race. I mean, it's a state Trump won three times. How are they feeling about it? And what are they saying to you? Yeah, they're very concerned here, Caitlin. In fact, she mentioned affordability being a major concern. I just tried to ask Darlene Graham at this event as she was leaving about whether or not she thinks that the Iran war should end given the impact that it is having on gas prices on her constituents.

27:24She did not answer that question. In fact, she left without answering further questions. But just by the fact that look where Donald Trump is going. He's coming back here to the state of North South Carolina this week after coming here last week. And it's a lot of because, not just because of the economic situation, but the fact that Andy Andrews is raising a ton of money, a lot more than Darlene Graham. Democratic groups are outspending Republican groups on air at this moment. And polls are very, very tight. So that's why Republicans believe if they can get the GOP's support out in the state that Donald Trump won overwhelmingly three times, that ultimately the support will be there to elect Darlene Graham to the United States Senate for a full six-year term to fill the seat vacated by the death of her late brother, Lindsey Graham.

28:12The question, though, is can they get those Republican voters to go along with her? There's a belief that the Republican governor in this candidate, who's going to be the top of the ticket here in South Carolina, could help with his coattails, could help drag Darlene Graham over the finish line. So there is optimism, but there's a belief here among Republicans that it'll be very close, Caitlin. You know, Manu, we always see you asking questions of lawmakers here on the Hill. You were in Myrtle Beach, though, today, and Senator Cruz was there. Jim Jordan was there. You got to talk to him about the governor's race in Ohio.

28:42What's going on with that ad from Vivek Ramaswamy? What did they say to you? Yeah, they actually deflected, and they didn't weigh in whether they liked it or they didn't like it. and they turn it into an attack against Democrats and the media. There's been a lot of criticism. People have defended him. How do you feel about that? I think there's nothing the media likes more than to attack Republicans. Remember, she's been called the Fauci of Ohio. She tried to, for goodness sake, she tried to shut down golf courses. You don't think she should take down the ad? I think this is all the Democrats saying.

29:16We got to say anything, do anything, talk about anything other than Amy Acton's record. Of course, it was the Republican governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, who is among the critics, both Democratic and Republican critics on this ad, including Senator John Husted, who is battling to hang on to his seat in Ohio, calling on Ramaswamy to take it down. But as you heard there from Caitlin, from those two top Republicans not going that far. Yeah. Manu Raju on the ground in South Carolina. Great to have you here tonight. Right. And now we go to the Senate race that is happening in Iowa, where the Democrat, Josh Turek, and the Republican, Ashley Henson, their final messages appear to come from the same playbook.

29:58Of course, there's eight days to go before voters are finally done casting their ballots. And both of those candidates are trying to create some distance between themselves and their respective parties. Let's take Trump. What do you think he's done right? Good question. I agree with Trump. He's done a better job on the border than Biden, for sure. The president said this is an A++++ economy. Is that the way you see it here in Iowa? Well, it sure doesn't feel like it right now. Where do you see yourself working with him? Be immigration, those tax issues? Yeah. You know, I say that Trump accurately identified the problem.

30:43He would go when he was out here, and that's why I don't vilify people for voting for Trump. I do not think Iran should ever get a nuclear weapon. That is what is my end goal here, but I do think the war needs to come to an end. I've heard from Iowans who are being squeezed by the gas prices and the challenges we're facing here at home because of what's happening there. My source tonight is CNN anchor and chief national correspondent John King, who is on the ground in Iowa as part of a five-day tour across five crucial states this week. John, you're going to be busy. What do you make of what's happening on the ground in Iowa right now?

31:17Well, you just heard Senate candidate Ashley Hinson saying they need to bring an end to the Iran war. And she's heard from her constituents. So before I get to the details of that, just remind you, you said it at the top. Kamala Harris won only five of the 99 counties here. Joni Ernst, when she won that Senate six years ago, won it easily. All four House districts here are Republican. So why am I here? Why is Iowa in play in this midterm election year? Well, Caitlin, look at this. House member Hinson, Senate candidate Hinson just mentioned it. Look at this map, and before you look at all those colors, look at the guide down here in the bottom left of your screen.

31:50If you see purple on this map and look at it in 13 Iowa counties, your gas prices have gone up 73 % or more since the start of the Iran War in February. For the pink you see on this map, your gas prices have gone up between 63 % and 73%. If you are in the Orange County, your gas prices have gone up 54 % to 53%. So Ashley Hinson is right. Her constituents are in pain. And this is gas prices. Remember, this is rural Iowa. A lot of people have diesel. That's gone up even more, Caitlin. So you see, and voters here connect the dots, even Trump voters, that Trump policies, including and mostly a decision to start a war that many Trump voters say he promised not to start, is hurting Iowans.

32:32That's why you see Ashley Hinson saying the president needs to bring a war to the end. And that, look at all that purple, look at all that pink, and look at all that gold. This is why a state the president won by double digits just two years ago is in play for Senate, for governor, and probably three of the four House races. Well, we see what the candidates themselves are saying. What are you hearing from voters about what's driving them ahead of Tuesday? It's really interesting. One of the reasons we have this project is so we can come back and talk to voters over time. This is our eighth visit to Iowa since we started this a little more than three years ago.

33:04We met with one of our three-time Trump voters today who said she's going to split her ticket. She's going to most likely vote Democrat for governor and Democrat in one of those congressional races, either for House or Senate, most likely House, she said, because she wants to send a message to President Trump in part about the war. Democrats here, Caitlin, are coming out of the woodwork. They're so excited because they've been out of play in Iowa for so long. But even there, listen here, this is Lindsay Murray. She owns an independent bookstore in West Des Moines. She's a progressive. She's an immigrant.

33:32She was adopted from China. She's a younger voter. And she hears, you just played Josh Turek, moving to the middle on immigration or complimenting Trump on immigration. She says a lot of the Democrats here are moving to the middle or trying to run away, in her view, from the transgender rights issue. So she's going to vote blue, but she's not particularly thrilled about it. You would say to them what? Be more bold, take a chance, be more aggressive. What is it? I feel like they're doing what they probably need to, but they are also, for example, throwing trans people under the bus, using them as a talking point, using scare tactics of, oh yeah, we don't want men in women's locker rooms.

34:16A number of the Democratic candidates have said things like that lately, which has been very disappointing. I understand why they think they need to do that. But it's just showing that they're playing the same game as everybody else and not advocating for real narrative shift more towards what's actually true, what's actually lived experience rather than just playing the political game. So somewhat remarkable, Caitlin, to hear a Democrat with a chance to flip so many seats here in Iowa, but still a little disillusioned about the direction of her own party. It's a reminder, eight weeks from tonight, we'll be counting votes.

34:59We'll see what happens in the midterm election. But both parties are going to have a lot of internal business to do after the midterms as we then move on into 2028, without a doubt. Oh, yeah, it's going to be just as fascinating to watch that period as it is to see the map next Tuesday. You mentioned that governor's race, John. What's going on in that race? So it was 20 years ago, in the middle of the Iraq War, the unpopular Iraq War with the Republican president. That was the last time Iowa elected a Democratic governor. Rob Sand, Democrats here believe, will win that race for governor. And they believe that will help other Democrats down the ballot.

35:34One of the reasons is what I just showed you, and we can show you again if you want to hold it up, is the gas prices. Just punishing Iowa voters because of the Iran war. Rob Sand also is the only Democrat who has statewide office right now. The Republican candidate, Zach Lane, has a farm here in Iowa, but he also has a business, and his family goes back and forth. And Rob Sand has made an issue of the fact that he voted in Kansas in prior elections. So Sand is slightly favored in this race right now, and that would be a huge deal. Iowa going blue in that capital right behind me. Yeah. John King, can't wait to see where you're headed next.

36:05Thanks for joining us here tonight. And up next from Iowa to Montana, Vice President Vance was hitting the campaign trail today. He didn't just go after Democrats, though. I'll explain why after this.

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37:44Now, despite the three colors on the screen and the I next to Bodnar's name, the vice president made the argument today that both of those challengers are one and the same. In the Senate race, you have not one but two Democrats on the ballot. Aren't you blessed with abundance? You have people, of course, who pretend that they're not Democrats, who are running away from the legacy of Chuck Schumer. But rest assured that if they got into Washington, D.C., they would bend the knee to Chuck Schumer. They wouldn't fight for you. They would fight for the far left interest groups. And my source tonight is Montana's independent candidate for Senate, Seth Bodnar.

38:27And thank you for being here. What's your response to the vice president saying that actually if you made it to Washington, you would do what Chuck Schumer wanted? You know, I've said repeatedly that I'm not going to caucus with either party. I've said repeatedly that Montana deserves a United States senator that doesn't work for Chuck Schumer. And Montana deserves a United States senator that's not at all afraid of Donald Trump. That's the problem. What he didn't say about Kurt Almey is Kurt Almey's only obligation, as he said repeatedly, is to support the president, support an unauthorized war in Iran that's costing us billions of dollars and costing hard work in Montanans severely at the pump everywhere.

39:07And what we're sick of in Montana is blind partisan loyalty, the blind loyalty that Vice President Vance is expecting and that Kurt Almey will deliver for him if he's elected. You know, for people who don't know, Bernie Sanders is an independent, but he caucuses with the Democrats. So if you did win this seat, how would that actually work if you don't caucus with either party? Well, you know what? I'm going to look at every issue through one lens. What's good for Montana? What's good for the United States of America? And, you know, if I have the honor of serving the great people of this state, I'm going to work with other independent minded senators to form a block of independent minded.

39:48U.S. senators to move bipartisan, common sense solutions forward. You know, one vote alone makes a huge difference in the U.S. Senate right now. One vote's the difference between Pete Hegseth being in charge of the Department of Defense or not. But a couple of independent-minded senators that work together, they're not the majority, but they can form a majority. And they can build a majority on key common sense proposals to move this country forward and get us out of the ditch that we're currently in. Do you believe that Alani Bankhead should leave the race in the next eight days? You know, I've never called for anyone to drop out of this race.

40:26Would it be easier if the Democrat dropped out? Of course it would. It'd be easier if the Republican dropped out as well. But what we're doing is building a coalition, a coalition that's not focused on partisan labels, but around our shared values, you know, of individual liberty. And I'm honored to have the support of Planned Parenthood, that protect women's reproductive freedom. I'm honored to have the support of key environmental conservation groups that really resonates with Montana. I'm honored to have the support of labor. That's a coalition that can win. That's a coalition that cuts across partisan divides.

40:57And that's the coalition we've been focused on building. Yeah, I guess just people looking at the math of it would say, is this really a race that either of you can win if neither of you drop out. And it's just you two and a Republican on the ticket. Yeah, look, you know, the largest voting block in Montana right now, it's not Republican, it's not Democrat, it's independent. And that's why the parties fight so hard to make it difficult for independents to be on the ballot. And we've seen over the course of the past few months, our poll numbers going up. We saw a poll last week that actually showed us up two points.

41:34We're hearing it everywhere we go from Democrats, from Republicans and people all across the state who are hungry. And we believe and we're confident that that a week from Tuesday, Montana is going to make history. And we're going to send an independent voice to the United States Senate that's accountable to no one other than the people of this great state. Pete Buttigieg endorsed your campaign this week. Do you believe that that other national Democratic figures are making a mistake by not weighing in on your race? You know, we're looking for the confidence, not of people outside of Montana, but everyday voters across the state.

42:14You know, I'm grateful for Secretary Buttigieg, his endorsement. You know, we don't agree on everything. We also had the endorsement of a former cabinet official in the Bush administration, Christine Todd Whitman, last week. We have the support of our former Republican governor, Mark Roscoe, the former chair of the Montana Republican Party, Susan Giese. Also, the former Democratic senators, John Tester and Max Baucus, our former Republican governor, Steve Bullock. And what we're seeing is that Montanans, and frankly, Americans more broadly, are fed up with the toxic partisanship that's ripping us apart when nothing gets done.

42:50Your previous segment, you just talked about soaring diesel prices, the crisis that rural America is facing. I'd add to that health care. I'd add to that the lack of any progress on comprehensive immigration reform. Americans are ready for leadership that's going to bring us together and move us forward. And that's what we're seeing here of people that are endorsing this campaign and getting behind our race here. What did you make of the vice president's comment today about gas prices going up when at first you said tin pot dictators throw a tantrum in the Middle East? you know i think gas prices are going up because we have an unauthorized war in iran that no one asked for that that the senate didn't authorize and that a bunch of cowards in the u.s senate don't have the spine to stand up and follow through on their constitution obligation you know article one section eight says it's congress's job to declare war and my republican opponent kurt almy has said oh you know my job is only to support the president no do your job You know, hold the president accountable, regardless of party, and stand up for the brave men and women in the United States military and do your job as U.S.

43:58senators. That's what we need to drive down gas prices. Seth Bodnar, thanks for joining us here on The Source tonight. Obviously, we'll be watching your race very closely, along with a lot of others, on next Tuesday. Thank you so much. I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you. Up next, it is time for Source Code. Tonight's Source Code is 50. I'll be right back with the story.

44:26Tonight's source code is 50, as in the Justice Department is preparing to send election monitors to all 50 states ahead of the midterm elections. It has sent federal monitors to polling places in the past, but the assistant attorney general said that this is going to be the, quote, biggest DOJ election observer effort in history. with hundreds more monitors deployed than during the 2022 midterms, for example, when President Biden was in office. A DOJ spokesperson told CNN those monitors, who will be attorneys, not law enforcement officers, will only be looking for potential violations of federal law and report concerns to the department.

45:03CNN had previously reported that several DOJ monitors in this year's primaries actually helped challenge President Trump's 2020 election laws. I should note, there's no evidence that the monitoring efforts will disrupt polling places or prevent anyone from voting next week. And there's also no widespread evidence of cheating or fraud in U.S. elections, despite what you hear from the president on a regular basis. You can stream The Source live or watch On Demand anytime with an All Access subscription. Scan the QR code on your screen or go to CNN.com slash watch to learn more. Thanks so much for joining us here tonight on The Source Outside.

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