Geoff Bennett:
On this Election Day eve, candidates spent the day making their final pitches to voters following a weekend of last-minute rallies and a high-profile Democratic defection in Michigan.
Amna Nawaz:
President Trump delivered his closing message here in Washington, D.C., today at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after days of campaigning in mostly red states.
Lisa Desjardins has our report.
(APPLAUSE)
Lisa Desjardins:
Today, President Trump’s closing message from a place off the trail, but close to the White House.
President Donald Trump:
The Democrat Party has nominated the most extreme and dangerous slate of candidates in American history.
Lisa Desjardins:
The president chose the location to tout the newly reopened Lincoln Reflecting Pool.
President Donald Trump:
Despite all that we went through, the Reflecting Pool right now looks better than it ever looked, and it is better.
Lisa Desjardins:
But Trump’s effort there has mostly made headlines for problems, peeling paint and algae blooms after spending millions on repairs, a symbol of a polarizing president who is off the ballot, but heavily on voters’ minds this election, as in New Hampshire this morning.
Rob Fremeau, New Hampshire Voter:
I will stick with our Republican governor, Kelly Ayotte, and every other office I’m going to vote Democratic to counter Trump.
Lisa Desjardins:
And Kansas, which has become an unexpected Senate battleground.
Julie Bees, Kansas Voter:
I’m a registered Republican, but I voted Democrat in the Senate race because I wasn’t happy with the way our Republican senators have just been bowing to the wishes of President Donald Trump.
Lisa Desjardins:
Across the country, early voting is surging. This center in Wichita saw long lines today. Some in other states waited hours over the weekend. Time is running out for candidates making their final pitches, including in Texas.
Ken Paxton (R):
I’m not exaggerating when I say, 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 who puts money in their own.
Lisa Desjardins:
And Maine…
Troy Jackson (D):
And you’re a unicorn?
Lisa Desjardins:
… where Democratic Senate candidate and former logger Troy Jackson dressed as a cord of wood for Halloween.
Troy Jackson:
People are coming out in droves because they know this government is broke and it has to change.
Lisa Desjardins:
The costume served as a rebuttal to an attack ad from his opponent Republican Susan Collins’ campaign.
Bill Green, Former Maine Sportscaster:
But we’re not talking about buying a cord of wood here. We’re sending someone to the U.S. Senate, and Troy doesn’t have the tools he needs to be effective.
Lisa Desjardins:
Meanwhile, in Michigan, a striking reversal that ignited a political firestorm.
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI):
I’m a proud Democrat. And I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States.
Lisa Desjardins:
Democratic Representative Haley Stevens announced Sunday she’s backing the Republican in her state’s Senate race. For weeks, Stevens has supported her progressive primary opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, after narrowly losing to him.
But tensions rose, including over his outspoken criticism of Israel. She demanded specific statements from him and then was disinvited from an event with him.
Rep. Haley Stevens:
I’m a really proud Democrat.
Lisa Desjardins:
Something she referenced in an interview last night.
Anderson Cooper, CNN Host:
People change their mind. I’m just wondering, what changed?
Rep. Haley Stevens:
Nothing with me changed, Anderson. This is — look, this is about Abdul getting angry and angrier and saying, I don’t want these people in my campaign.
Lisa Desjardins:
Stevens has been a fierce critic of President Trump, but yesterday he praised her decision alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson.
President Donald Trump:
It’s a smart thing to do because El-Sayed would destroy our country. So I thought that was fantastic.
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA):
I have spoken to her, encouraged her to stay safe and keep speaking the truth. And I think she’s doing that very well.
Lisa Desjardins:
For his part, El-Sayed said he’s more focused on the issues.
Abdul El-Sayed (D):
At the end of the day, I actually don’t think about Haley Stevens. I’m just less interested in the politics of it all than I am in the policy of it all.
Lisa Desjardins:
A final New York Times/Siena poll taken before Stevens’ announcement shows El-Sayed leading Rogers by a whopping 11 points. That poll has Democrats in the lead or virtually tied in all seven of the battleground states that will determine control of the Senate, including Texas, Maine, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, and Alaska.
And regarding Alaska, a federal judge over the weekend rejected a Trump administration lawsuit aiming to block the results if Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan loses. Also today, the DOJ announced charges for 63 individuals in connection with election-related crimes. It’s part of the administration’s monthslong effort to crack down on voter fraud, which multiple studies and audits have shown to be extremely rare.
A major election with high turnout and high drama to the end.
Amna Nawaz:
And in another legal development, late today, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block California from counting 20,000 ballots that the Trump administration alleges were cast by potential noncitizens.
Geoff Bennett:
More than 57 million Americans have already cast their ballots ahead of Election Day.
Our Lisa Desjardins is back with more on what those early votes can and cannot tell us.
So, Lisa, how does this year’s early vote stand as compared to recent election cycles?
Lisa Desjardins:
Let’s start with that comparative figure from the last midterm election, 2022, 46 million early votes.
That’s in-person and also mailed-in early votes. Now, as you say, 57 million Americans have voted early. That is a midterm record, and it is 24 percent higher than we saw just four years ago. What’s interesting about this, there’s another difference in the way people are early-voting.
If you look at the data from the University of Florida’s Election Lab, in 2022, the greater portion of early votes was done by mail. That has changed. This election, now more people are early voting in other ways, in person especially.
Now, I know a lot of people want to know, where is the early vote the greatest? We saw lines over the weekend, as we reported. Look at this. We saw some record increases in places like South Carolina and Texas in terms of early vote.
But the states that are seeing it the most in these key states, no coincidence, Geoff, I’m sure you and our viewers know these are places where there are key Senate races, and these states are turning out in force to voice an opinion.
Geoff Bennett:
Does this data suggest anything about which side has the momentum?
Lisa Desjardins:
Right, always the big question.
So, we looked at — the University of Florida again looked at what is known about registered parties of those who are casting early ballots. Not every state reports this, but, from what we know right now, 43 percent of those casting early ballots are Democrats. What’s the figure for Republicans? Thirty-one percent of the early vote, as far we know it, Republican.
That’s an understandable gap. It’s not a shock, especially President Trump, someone who talks about how he doesn’t trust things like mail-in voting. So we wanted to look at the comparison again for past recent years. Look at this. This percentage for Democrats in the early vote is similar to 2022, different from 2024.
Of course, this is a year that Republicans want to target more. What we see from all of this, of course, is that we’re seeing high turnout, it could be a close election.
And a reminder that the early vote is counted differently in every state, so results will depend on how the states count.
Geoff Bennett:
Lisa Desjardins, our thanks, as always. We’ll see you back at the Super Screen tomorrow night.
Lisa Desjardins:
You’re welcome.
