Jeff Bennett:
On the eve of this Election Day, candidates spent the day making final pitches to voters after a weekend of last-minute rallies and high-profile Democratic defections in Michigan.
Amna Nawaz:
After days of campaigning in mostly red states, President Trump delivered his closing remarks today at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.
Lisa Desjardins has our report.
(applause)
Lisa Desjardins:
Today, President Trump delivered his closing remarks from a remote location but close to the White House.
President Donald Trump:
The Democrats have nominated the most extreme and dangerous slate of candidates in American history.
Lisa Desjardins:
The president chose the location to promote the newly reopened Lincoln Reflecting Pool.
President Donald Trump:
Despite everything we’ve been through, the Reflecting Pool looks better now than it did before, and way better.
Lisa Desjardins:
But Trump’s efforts there have mostly made headlines for problems, with peeling paint and algae blooms after millions of dollars in repairs were spent, symbols of a polarizing president who is not on the ballot but deeply on the radar of voters in this election, as he was this morning in New Hampshire.
Rob Fremo, New Hampshire voter:
I will stand up to our Republican Governor, Kelly Ayotte, and every other office I will vote Democratic for to stand up to Trump.
Lisa Desjardins:
And then there’s Kansas, an unexpected Senate battleground.
Julie Biss, Kansas voter:
I’m a registered Republican, but I voted Democratic in the Senate race because I wasn’t happy with the way our Republican senators were bending to the wishes of President Donald Trump.
Lisa Desjardins:
Across the country, early voting is surging. This center in Wichita had long lines today. Some people in other states waited for hours over the weekend. Time is running out for candidates to make final campaigns, including in Texas.
Ken Paxton (right):
I am not exaggerating when I say that if we lose Texas, we lose America.
State Rep. James Talarico (D-TX):
This election is about whether you want a senator who puts money in your pocket or a senator who puts money in his own pocket.
Lisa Desjardins:
And Maine…
Troy Jackson (D):
And you’re a unicorn?
Lisa Desjardins:
…Democratic Senate candidate and former lumberjack Troy Jackson dressed up as a rope for Halloween.
Troy Jackson:
People are coming out in droves because they know this government is broke and must change.
Lisa Desjardins:
The outfit was a rebuttal to attack ads from the campaign of his opponent, Republican Susan Collins.
Bill Green, former sportscaster from Maine:
But we are not talking about buying wooden rope here. We’re sending people to the U.S. Senate, but Troy doesn’t have the tools he needs to be effective.
Lisa Desjardins:
Meanwhile, in Michigan, a stunning reversal sparked a political firestorm.
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.):
I’m a proud Democrat. I support America’s Mike Rogers.
Lisa Desjardins:
Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens announced Sunday that she will support Republicans in her state’s Senate race. Stevens has backed him for weeks after narrowly losing to her progressive primary opponent Abdul-Sayed.
But tensions have grown, including over his outspoken criticism of Israel. She asked him to make specific statements and was then disinvited from events with him.
Rep. Haley Stevens:
I’m a very proud Democrat.
Lisa Desjardins:
She mentioned something in her interview last night.
Anderson Cooper, CNN host:
People change their minds. I’m just wondering, what changed?
Rep. Haley Stevens:
I haven’t changed anything, Anderson. This is – look, this is about Abdul getting increasingly angry and saying, I don’t want these people involved in my campaign.
Lisa Desjardins:
Stevens has been a fierce critic of President Trump, but yesterday he joined House Speaker Mike Johnson in praising her decision.
President Donald Trump:
This is a smart move because El Said will destroy our country. So I think that’s awesome.
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA):
I have spoken with her and encouraged her to stay safe and continue to tell the truth. I think she does a great job with that.
Lisa Desjardins:
El-Said said he is more concerned about these issues.
Abdul Said (D):
At the end of the day, I wasn’t actually thinking about Haley Stevens. I’m just less interested in the politics of it all and more interested in the policy of it all.
Lisa Desjardins:
A final New York Times/Siena poll conducted before Stevens’ announcement showed El-Sayed leading Rogers by 11 points. The poll shows Democrats leading or nearly tied in all seven key states that will decide control of the Senate, including Texas, Maine, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa and Alaska.
As for Alaska, a federal judge over the weekend dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit seeking to stop Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan. Also today, the Department of Justice announced charges against 63 individuals in connection with election-related crimes. It’s part of the government’s monthslong crackdown on voter fraud, which multiple studies and audits have shown is extremely rare.
A momentous election with high turnout and drama right to the end.
Amna Nawaz:
In another legal development later today, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block California from counting 20,000 ballots that the Trump administration said were cast by potential non-citizens.
Jeff Bennett:
More than 57 million Americans have already voted before Election Day.
Our Lisa Desjardins is back with more on what early voting can and can’t tell us.
So, Lisa, how does early voting compare to recent election cycles this year?
Lisa Desjardins:
Let’s start with the comparative numbers from the last 2022 midterm elections, which were 46 million early votes.
Here’s how to vote in person and vote early by mail. Now, as you said, 57 million Americans voted early. This is a mid-term record and is 24% higher than four years ago. Interestingly, there’s another difference in how people vote early.
If you look at data from the University of Florida Elections Lab, you’ll see that in 2022, the majority of early voting was done by mail. Things have changed now. This election, more people are now voting early through other means, especially in person.
Now, I know a lot of people are wondering, where is the greatest early voting? As we reported, we saw lines forming over the weekend. Take a look at this. We’re seeing record increases in early voting in places like South Carolina and Texas.
But it’s no coincidence that we’re seeing this the most in these key states, and Jeff, as I’m sure you and our viewers know, these are the places where key Senate races are being fought, and those are the states that are making their voices heard in large numbers.
Jeff Bennett:
Do these numbers show which side has the momentum?
Lisa Desjardins:
Yeah, always a big question.
So we looked at what the University of Florida knew about early voters’ registered political parties again. Not every state is reporting this, but as far as we know so far, 43% of those who voted early were Democrats. What are the Republican numbers? As far as we know, thirty-one percent of those who voted early were Republicans.
This is an understandable gap. That’s not shocking, especially from President Trump, who has talked about how he doesn’t trust things like mail-in voting. So we wanted to compare again the past few years. Take a look at this. Democrats’ share of early voting will be similar to 2022, not 2024.
Of course, this is the year Republicans want to target more. Of course, what we’re seeing out of all of this is we’re seeing high turnout and it could be a close election.
And as a reminder, every state counts early votes differently, so results will depend on how each state counts them.
Jeff Bennett:
Lisa Desjardins, thanks as always. We’ll see you tomorrow night on the Super Screen.
Lisa Desjardins:
You’re welcome.