wait a minute. where's the election music? dom, dom, dom-dom-dom. >> similar. >> it's the morning music. >> we are a little unstruck. already on the air two hours. >> mcdonald's coming, because you order us breakfast. >> doesn't count on election day. it is election day in america. so happy you could join us this morning again, we have been here two hours. a lot to get to this morning. soon the polls will open in ohio and pennsylvania and georgia. three very critical battleground states with extremely tight and consequential senate races. when all votes are counted the races that decide control of the house and senate. a very busy show today, and we have you covered all morning with everything you need to

know. >> we do, indeed. pennsylvania candidate john fetterman suing in court to try to keep thousands of mail-in ballots from not being counted. he wants them counted. we'll explain why. the issue, they were not properly dated. an exclusive cnn interview. house speaker nancy pelosi sitting down for the first time after that attack on her husband paul pelosi in her san francisco home. weighing in whether or not it's going to affect her on political future. >> we'll get to to that. let's see. 6:00 a.m. polls other in connecticut, kentucky if you're there, living on sirius, have your phone out. new york here good to see you. opening in 30 minutes in ohio and north carolina. ohio, though, democrat tim ryan and trump-backed j.d. vance locked in a senate race. >> the president said it well. we got to get out there and run up the score on these guys, because we need to win and win big and take our country back.

>> that's why these elections are so important. especially taking on such an extreme group of people who are trying to hijack it and jam their ideology down the throats of everybody else in the country. >> cnn has all the battleground states covered with a team of reporters. we begin with the one and only mel li zanona live in columbus, ohio. a very breezy columbus. sun's not up yet. good morning to you. what's the mood like there. >> reporter: good morning. you really hit the name on the head here. it is competitive and also contentious. this race is a lot closer than a lot of people expected it to be. especially considering this is a state, a red state, that went for donald trump in 2020, and, yes. j.d. vance is still seeing having the edge but tim ryan kept it really competitive and views himself as the underdog in this race and has done that by having a consistent economic and jobs message from the beginning. he's didn't a very prolific fund-raiser and also tried to

portray himself as this no nonsense fighter willing to stand up to his own party. now, aside from being competitive, also very contentious. j.d. varnce, the republican, trying to say ryan is trying to act like a republican even though in record voting against his own party. tim ryan, rather codeful language, maybe too early to repeat on the morning show, to describe how many of a siycophat he is of donald trump. and donald trump was here last night rallying for j.d. vance in ohio. also at that rally last night was the republican governor who also is up for re-election. way ahead in polls. so the thinking among j.d. vance's camp is that this is going to help him, j.d. vance, ride the coattails into power. >> we shall see.

melanie, thank you very much. appreciate that. also in georgia, the polls open in less than an hour. that's if you're not one of those 2.5 million people in the state who broke records voting early. chosely watching the highly contented senate rate in georgia. each candidate exuding confidence, ending the day making closing arguments to voters. >> we ain't talking about no runoff. we're running this! when we leave, when we leave tomorrow night, we're leaving at winners. >> if the people show up, i win. if the people in georgia show up, i win! if the people of georgia show up, we win. are you ready with this election? >> cnn's jeb zelleny joins us from marietta, north of atlanta. you know, a big question whether or not we are going to see a runoff in this senate race similar to the one we saw, of course, warnock in 2020.

you're hearing from candidates there. what are voters says, what are you hearing on the ground? >> reporter: good morning. in fact, just a few moments ago lights literally came on here in this polling place, and poll workers are arriving here. the polls will be open in an hour, but talking to voters and talking to campaign officials, first and foremost, the economy and inflation on the minds of voters. that is certainly creating anxiety for democratic candidates here. particularly democratic senator raphael warnock. you heard him say there, "if the people show up, we win." that's the question. which voters turn out today? which are moat valuated more? there is a sense even though president biden has not been to georgia for months, you were covering the white house when he was here last time, in fact, here for a rally and has not come back. the reality, senator warnock's campaign believed dragged down by the unpopularity of the white house, unpopularity of the biden administration's policies, but also, you know, the strong

challenge from republican herschel walker. it wasn't that long ago republicans included him on the list of candidates not viewed at quality candidates. that's all changed now. republicans have entirely circled wagons behind him and dismissed all allegations of he paid for abortions of former girl friends or not and it's clearly become a race about which party controls the u.s. senate. if democrats remain in control or if republicans win control. talking to voters here, struck by the fact that's how they're thinking about this also going into this. georgia can send a message tonight, but it may not be tonight. reason is, of course, georgia, one of the very few states of battlegrounds that has that runoff policy. if either one of the candidates do not get 50% plus 1 vote it goes into a runoff. doesn't mean anything's wrong, just how election laws go here. the runoff would be december 6th. for now, officials expect some 2 million more voters to turn out today on top of the 2.5 million who have already cast their

ballots early. kaitlan? >> fascinating you have not seen president biden or former president trump in georgia, despite this race. >> or vice president harris. >> as well, really says something about that the approval numbers of the white house look like. how it affects what they believe voters will be doing today. >> go to pennsylvania. one more hour until polls open there, voters decide whether republicans keep the open senate seat by electing mehmet oz or sending the democratic candidate john fetterman to washington instead. straight to our colleague kate bald baldwin. joins us from pennsylvania. the swingiest of swinging. swing yes you can get. >> reporter: i can say it a few more times and won't encapsulate how swingy this state it, and makes it exciting this morning.

one issue entering the frame while voters head to polls to vote in just an hour, as you mentioned, poppy, one thing that's entered the conversation is this lawsuit. an issue with mail-in ballots. the latest development, the john fetterman campaign joined in this lawsuit with other democrats to try to get a federal court now to step in and basically overrule the state supreme court which ordered that when it comes to mail-in ballots, in mail-in ballots are missing a handwritten date or have an invalid handwritten date, they cannot be counted. state rules put in place certain procedures that are required for voters to do when it comes to their mailette ballots before they send them in, and now this has become a very major thing. in their lawsuit, john fetterman's campaign argues in this legal filing the date on a mail ballot envelope has no bearing on voters' qualifications and serves no purpose other than erect b

barriers denying a fundamental right to vote. we are talking thousands of votes at this point. 3,400 votes or more in philadelphia. more than 1,000 mail-in ballots in allegheny county, where pittsburgh is. this is a very important, when looking at a race this close, every vote matters. es specially a few thousand votes. that is why last night you could hear in john fetterman's very final campaign rally he really hammered home one clear parting message with folks. listen to this. >> and we are so grateful to all of you to get to this place right now, and now there's just one more thing to do, and that is to make sure you just vote tomorrow! [ cheers ] >> reporter: and that is the entire ball game at this point. you mentioned polls open, check my clock in now less than 60 minutes. in pennsylvania, poppy. >> in the middle of it all.

thank you for all that reporting. candidates across the country are making their final pitch, just like you heard from john fetterman, to voters. candidates said this last night, listening to some duelling campaign messages. >> i truly believe when we -- even in this moment of cynicism and anger, prove that government can help solve problems we prove that democracy works. >> the new republican party is the party of ideas that work. right? [ cheers ] we're no longer the party of warmongers like liz cheney. we are the maga movement, america first all the way. >> the middle class, bring manufacturing back, take on china. i think we're all in agreement there. >> people paying so much more for things pretty cheap a year ago and now really expensive. got to get inflation under control. >> when you look at the character flaws of the person that they put up, this is a difference between right and wrong. you cannot trust herschel walker to tell the truth about the

basic facts of his life. >> what the heck is a pronoun? my pronoun is sick and tired of this, because senator warnock's pronouns going to be former president, former senate. a good pronoun for him. >> we must push back against corporate greed. dr. oz refused to ever commit to raising our minimum wage. >> how do you want to fix the economy in pennsylvania if you're going to hold their hands and not allow us to unleash energy? these are positions that he has taken in the past. >> this election is not a referendum. it's a choice! it's a choice between two very different visions of america. >> this is the year we're going to take back the house. we're going to take back the senate, and we're going to take back america, and in 2024, most importantly, we are going to take -- back -- our -- magnificent white house. >> all right. that is all the talk, talk, talk, talk on the campaign trail.

the big question, when can we expect results tonight? a lot of people going to polls. harry enten, our senior data reporter joining us this morning. these people are going out there. doing due diligence. what they're supposed to do, so when can they, or we, expect results? >> i hope you have a starbucks gift card, don, because it could take a while. start in arizona. okay? arizona. it took days to project the 2020 presidential winner. key thing in arizona was the later countered ballots were good for the gop in 2020. this is something you'll see across the states. in some cases you see democrats advancing as more votes are counted. in other states republicans advancing as more votes get counted, as is the case in arizona. go to another state. georgia, where everyone is keeping their eyes on. georgia, where cousins live. 2021 senate runoff winners weren't known until the day after the president's race. presidential race in 2020 took longer than that even. and georgia good for democrats

as those mail-in votes and votes from atlantic county and other county counted later. don't be surprised if republicans jump out and raphael warnock closing and closing and closing in as i am on don right now. >> go to nevada. >> there goes don. see ya later. go to nevada. took days to project a 2020 rin are winner. like in arizona good for gop, but my buddy, a great colleague here in cnn says unclear if that holds this year. unclear where exactly all the votes will get counted in nevada, but at least in the 20920, it was a lot like arizona with a later counted ballots good for trump compared to biden. >> okay. how long? >> oh. days. days. days. >> but how long? >> days. >> days could be 365 days? >> depends how close the race ultimately ends up. all we're going to say is patience. patience is a virtue in life when dating.

and patience is a virtue dealing with counting thee ballots. go to pennsylvania. another state that took days to project -- it was saturday. woke up saturday, sleeping. then joe biden was projected winner. days to project the 2020 presidential winner. like in the state of georgia. later counted ballots were good for democrat fls in 2020. depends the state you go to. sometimes later ballots good for democrats, some good for republicans. i have good news for you, don. there are important house races with poll closings before 8:00 wm we think the votes will be counted fairly quickly to give an idea what's going on in the evening. >> this is really important. >> yeah. north carolina, 13th. ohio 13th. virginia, a very important state, virginia, second and seventh district. look at these. if we follow historic patterns votes counted quickly. should know by tomorrow who won the races. of course, ends up close, might have to wait here at well.

>> closer here than 2020? will it take longer, do you think? >> really depends, again, how close it is. the thing i will say, states have tried to improve upon how fast they count their ballots. in georgia, for example, runoff ballots counted faster in 2021 than in 2020 during the presidential election. so just depends. what can i say? >> it's the rules? the states, their own fault, because that's the rules put in place. some candidates are saying if it doesn't happen within a couple of hours and something is wrong -- >> there's no wrong. the laws set up. a state like florida, historically has counted votes very, very quickly, but about the laws. these administrators for elections are working hard as they can. if it takes a while, it takes a while. more important to be right on these things. >> very nice. thank you, harry enten, appreciate it. kaitlan? before we bought twitter elon musk said the company should be apolitical, neutral. yesterday, though, he told his

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from all over the world. instead of talentless people from all over my house. so things are from kdka in pennsylvania. huh? pennsylvania. ross town, pennsylvania, where it is. you can see all of the candidates signs there lined up on the lawn, and -- polls will open there in just minutes in pennsylvania, but thousands of mail-in ballots are in limbo because of incorrect dating nap is a big issue there. a court battle is going on, a courtroom fight, what it could mean for all the results. over to our voting desk and mr. victor blackwell. good morning. a lot at stake and now throw

this into it. >> reporter: a lot at stake. minutes before polls open in pennsylvania now waiting for a judge to weigh in on the lawsuit filed by the john fetterman campaign. also joined by house and senate arms of democratic campaign committees. so this is a lawsuit that's in federal court and asking to allow mail-in votes with incorrect or missing dates to be counted. let me take you back. last month in pennsylvania supreme court republicans sued to block those ballots from being counted. last week the divided court granted the request. the fetterman campaign's hope, that the federal court will override the state court decision. they believe that it violates federal civil rights law. take a look at the mail-in vote here, because so far more than 1.1 million votes have been cast before the polls open today. look at this number. close to 800,000 of those were submitted by registered democrats.

the "philadelphia inquirer" reports the jump's decision could lead to thousands of fetterman votes being thrown out. now, this is already impacting 3,400 or so ballots in philadelphia. more than 1,000 in allegheny county where pittsburgh is, and about 200 ballots in monroe county. officials in philadelphia, in allegheny county, they've posted a list of those voters online to allow the voters to come and correct the ballots, called curing the ballots. in monroe county, they took another avenue here. they called and emailed voters to alert them of the problem. republicans sued to stop those calls and emails, but just yesterday a judge in monroe count determined that outreach can continue, and as you said at the top. such a tight race, that these votes could be crucial. don? >> all right. victor blackwell, thank you very much. we'll check in on that. very important issue was people go to the polls today.

>> such an important issue. let's fwling our cnn senior legal analyst, a formal federal prosecutor elie honig to talk about this. this is such a big deal in pennsylvania, the reason, why everyone is watching closely, right now state law requires voters handwrite and date the ballot and basically the ruling undated, wrongly dated ballots must be set aside and not counted. could be tens of thousands of those. the thinking, why fetterman's campaign is suing over this, typically, conventionally, traditionally, democrats are the ones voting by mail. >> yeah. the fundamental legal dispute here comes down to this -- republicans on one side arguing law of the state or commonwealth in this case of pennsylvania says that you have to write the date on the outside of the ballot envelope. date has to fall between set dates for the start of mail-in balloting back in august or

september about sentee. response from democrat, yes. nothing to do whether the person says who they say they are, who the person is attempting to vote for. therefore, this requirement violates the federal voting rights act. so that's the fundamental dispute here and the pennsylvania supreme court last week said, hold those ballots. put them aside. >> don't throw them away. >> do not throw them away, in case this is changed we'll need them, but do not count them for now and now fetterman is going to the federal court. that's wrong. fix it. >> the argument of fetterman's attorneys, that they're making it is multipronged. saying not only does not counting them violate the civil rights act, voting rights act, too, it's a violation of your first amendment right, freedom of speech and equal protection argument under the 14th amendment. you know constitution law extremely well. how strong is is that argument? >> their argument is, first of all, taking the vote away from people in general. people entitled to vote, the

most important right. also argue in their papers that this will disproportionately disenfranchise minority voters. >> the 14th amendment argument. >> exactly. how strong is that argument? depends who your court is and when we're talking about it. historically those arguments had success in the federal courts, but that's changed over the last couple years as the supreme court changed. >> where does this go? >> now fetterman has gone to the federal district court. the trilevel federal court saying you need to stop what the pennsylvania state supreme court has done. surely, whoever loses at federal district court will try to take it up to federal court of appeals, called the third circuit court of appeals. you bet whoever loses there will ask the u.s. supreme court -- to get involved. going all the way. whether the supreme court takes it or not, who knows. this is another one of those emergency orders we see from the supreme court so commonly now. >> always say that, look, when people talk about voter suppression that does not mean -- just because a lot of

people are voting -- doesn't mean there aren't suppressive voters and why wouldn't you want every vote to count? i just don't understand. i know it's the law and things that it can go but ways to check if these people are real and you, one, would think you would want as many to have access, to be able to vote as possible. this is fishy and odd. >> precisely the argument fetterman's team is making. >> very good argument, by the way. thank you very much. >> see if the courts decide. thanks for breaking it down. overnight donald trump putting a date when he'll announce his 2024 plan. >> plus this only right here on cnn. exclusive interview. colleague anderson cooper sits down with house speaker nancy pelosi really opening up about the attack on her husband and also how it will impact her political future. >> for me, this is really the hard part, because paul was not the target, and he's the one who's paying the price.

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elon musk taking to twitter. the platform he now owns and operates urging "independent-minded voters" cast ballots for republicans in the midterm elections today. what he tweeted "share power curbs worst excess of both parties therefore i recommend vote for a republican congress given the president is democratic." that is a contradiction of what he tweeted just a few months ago when he wrote "for twitter to deserve public trust it must be politically neutral, effectively means upsetting the far right and the far left equally." let's talk to probably the only tech journalist who interviewed

both elon musk on her podcast and thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> beyond the contradiction of elon musk, clear there, he owns this powerful plat norm form no seen misinformation and hate speech just since he took over. what's the big picture here? >> he likes to tweets and says whatever he feels like when he tweets and doesn't care about contradictions. he does what he feels like. if you read it, that's not the worst quote yesterday, although, you know, what he believes. he actually does believe that one, in being, being in the middle. thinks of are himself as an independent. says always voted democrat, along, also along with those tweets and this year voted republican. i tweeted back at him. that means -- he wants everyone to be equal, i guess. democratic president, the house, the senate should be republican. i tweeted back, apparently he lives in texas, that means he's

voting for beto, right? he's just playing games. just -- he's just -- >> that was very smart on your part, because how is that independent? completely inappropriate, and how is that even responsible when you have a platform like twitter, which is perhaps the most influential social media platform in the world? >> right. well, is it? i don't know if it is. here's the thing. >> at least for messaging. >> yeah. he paid $44 billion for it and why he can do it, and can do whatever he wants, he's been doing it the past couple of weeks. demanding money he's going to charge $8 for your blue check. he can do it because he paid $44 billion. >> does this at all make you feel like, you see moguls in newspapers and now elon by twitter. seems all decisions he's making about verification, account

suspension, using the platform to weigh in the way we haven't seen done before. making it up as he goes based on his own experiences on twitter? >> i think that's what he's doing. creating the twitter he wants. he was an active user and knows the product really well. a lot of people who buy companies don't use the products but he's after avid, almost obsessive, like myself, i might say, addictive use of the product. so he's doing what he wants to do. so i don't know what to say. he bought it. now it's a private company. not a public company. no one he's beholden to, and this is what he does. a lot of media people do that. although i have to say, rupert murdoch was controlled in comparison. >> ask you this quickly on the subject before we move on. >> sure. >> someone like, you know, celebrity like whoopi goldberg saying i'm done, unless it improves. >> yeah, uh-huh, yes. >> is that concerning at all? do you think elon musk cares about that? and what do you think?

>> no. he doesn't care. he was touting how much it's up now. creating chaos, and might remind you of some other person recently got kicked off the platform. who's probably coming back. he loves chaos. he's a chaos monkey, as we say in silicon valley. that's what he's doing. >> let me read you this from donald trump jr., something he said a few days ago. "i believe if you're going to be a united states senator you should have basic cognitive function." went on to say "it doesn't seem that unreason bible to have a, would go brain," saying "we're up against a democratic who does not believe a senator shot have moosh for a brain" speaking of candidate for pennsylvania senate john fetterman. i ask you this, because you not only had fetterman on your podcast for more than an hour, you suffered a similar stroke, and recovered to speak in the way you do today. so anything you'd like to say on that, respond?

anything you'd like to say in response to that? >> i really enjoy dr. donald trump jr., really great. dr. google university, he went there. ridiculous. just ridiculous. there's a difference between sensory problems. i have a lot of them and talked, i had a very hard problem sustaining small talk and things like that. sometimes i did. sometimes i didn't. when i interviewed him he was cognitively able to answer questions. i got a lot of flak for saying that, but he was. it was a long interview. you can listen to it. we didn't change -- a lot of ums and ahs, like a lot of people, by the way, and able to answer questions. such a cynical attempt to make someone look like he can't think and he obviously can think. that's not the case. >> kara, hope you feel better. thank you for getting up for us. >> i need a doctor. an actual doctor. >> a few we can send. >> by the way, ei see the

backpack. kids going to school. see the pink backpack on the door. >> an angry birds. >> that's angry birds. thanks for spying on me! >> thank you, kara. >> thanks. next, you'll have to see this. house speaker nancy pelosi sits down for her first interview since the attack on her husband. how he's doing, when she found out and why she says this you will impact her political future.

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announcer: dav helps veterans like adam get the benefits they've earned. they help more than a million veterans every year. adam: my victory is being there for the next generation. announcer: support more victories for veterans. go to dav.org. ♪ in an exclusive interview with our colleague anderson cooper house speaker nancy pelosi is opening up for the first time about the vimolent attack on he husband paul. watch this. >> you were the intended target. the suspect told us in a sworn affidavit he wanted to take you hostage, interrogate you, break

your kneecaps with a hammer if you didn't give him the answers that he wanted. >> for me, this is really the hard part, because paul was not the target, and he's the one who's paying the price. i mean, we all are, but he's the one who's really paying the price, but it really -- it's really sad, because it is a flame that was fueled by misinformation and all the rest of that, which is most unimportant. it has no place in our democracy. >> president biden drew a line between what happened on january 6th and the attack on your husband. the president said, i quote "the assailant entered the home asking, where's nancy, where's nancy? the same words used by the mob when they stormed the capitol on january 6th." do you draw that same line? >> absolutely. no question'sit's the same, the same thing, and copycatter, whatever it happen to be,

enflamed by the same misrepresentation. but the fact is right now it's time for healing. we want the country to heal. this is not a path that we can continue on, and we want people to run for office, local, and in every way, and you can't say to them, you're risking the safety of your families by going forward. there are no guarantees to safety. i'm very pleased that in august we were able to reach a place where the sergeant-at-arms informed the members of the house of an amount of money they would have, $10,000, to, and have capitol police come and -- evaluate what their needs were to make their homes safer, because there was a recognition, when we're gone, our families are home, and that's scary. or even if we are home. so we recognize that. it was figured that that amount of money could do what it needed

to do in homes. >> but, i mean, you have a security detail. you have -- great protection. >> uh-huh, yes. >> around you. if this can happen to someone in your family, it can happen to any member of congress' family. >> that's right. >> how does no amount of -- no amount of security is going to stop this. how does this not happen again? >> you would think there would be some level of responsibility, but you see what the reaction is on the other side to this, to make a joke of it, and, really, that is traumatizing, too, but nonetheless, forgetting them, there has to be some healing process, and democrats and republicans, you know, members of congress, anybody, could be a target, and we can't -- there's no guarantee, but we can -- in our democracy, there is one party that is doubting the outcome of the election, feeding

that flame, and mocking any violence that happens. that has to stop. >> the former president of the united states, donald trump, elon musk, others, have spread stories, casting doubt on what happened, fomenting conspiracy theories. what do you have to say to them? >> it's -- it's really sad for the country. it's really sad for the country that people of that high visibility would separate themselves from the facts and truth in such a blatant way. it's really sad and it is traumatizing to those affected by it. they don't care about that, obviousesly, but it is -- it's disinstructive to the unity that we want to have the in our country. but i don't have anything to say to them. i mean, we have nothing -- there would be no common ground to have any conversation with them. >> is there enough common ground

as americans to, to try to bridge this divide? >> yes. >> and the lower the temperature? because i mean -- >> yes. >> i think people on all sides would agree that it does not seem stainable? sustainable. >> i agree with you. this is a one-sided assault on our democracy, an assault on credibility and integrity of our elections and the rest. there has to be some adult supervision on the republican side in order to say, enough. enough. we need a strong republican party in our country. i've said that over and over again. >> you want a strong republican party? >> absolutely. gop is a strong republican party, done great things for our country and they should take pride in that yielding to a cult, to a thug, as i see it, actually. >> looking ahead, have you made

a decision in your mind, whatever that decision might be? >> i have to say my decision will be affected by what happened in the last week or two. >> will your decision be impacted by the attack in any way? >> yes. >> it will? >> uh-huh. yes. >> hmm. look, we spoke earlier about what happened to her, in the future, what she's saying is really important, and, you know, to say this. it sounds partisan, but it's not. she said that there is -- it's destructive to the unity that we want to have in our country. she said that the republican party at this point needs some adult supervision. she said it's not on both sides. this is not -- it's not comparable what's happening with democrats and republicans. she is absolutely right. it is not. you heard margaret hoover say that and others on the air say that. she didn't say we want to own the libs. or liberals are this and that.

what she said was, she wants a strong republican party. there is -- there are two different messages, and two different things happening on the republican side and on the democratic side. you get people who are saying, john fetterman has a mush brain. you have people who are saying, oh, it's funny, tweeting stuff with underwear and a hammer. very few people calling him out. we're at a critical point where you have to call it what it is. stop saying, well, some republicans louder republicans, louder leaders. stop leaning in to the, hey, this is funny, because that mean, that 82-year-old man could have lost his life, and on top of that, we don't think about it. the speaker of the house, had she been home, could have lost her life as well. i think that her message is very strong, but also she called the former president a thug. never heard her go that far with

this. so, here we go. biden administration. >> yeah. >> warned that today's election will have global implications. how is the world reacting to the midterms? >> stay right here with us, because we have our colleague can, cnn team, with our coverage live across the country of polling stations all this morning. for twice the goodness, twice the flavor, and twice the choioice. sirloin salisbury steaeak and all-natural salmon. perfect for lunch oror dinner. only at ihop. download the app and earn free food with every purchase. ♪ ♪ ♪ voltaren. the joy ofovement. it's nice to unwind after a long week of telling people how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need! (limu squawks)

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my blood pressure is borderline. garlique healthy blood pressure formula helps maintain healthy blood pressure with a custom blend of ingredients. i'm taking charge, with garlique. the white house is making the case that today's elections in the united states are going to have a direct impact on people around the world. cnn's bianka nobodyioilo foster joining us. you've seen a split in how some people in the republican party and democratic party have been talking about this. it's been a legitimate question for republican candidates on whether or not that is something they would support in this election. what are you guys seeing from london about the impacts of the midterms?

>> ukraine's definitely a big concern, in kyiv, in brussels, in london. not just in terms of the u.s. providing financial support and little tear aid, also as a force of leadership. central force that brings all other countries together. and fulfills that role. also more sympathetic chatter on russian state tv about republican candidates, and supporters of the former president donald trump. so obviously concern building in ukraine about the impacts this could, above all a litmus test of continued relevance and electoral viability, maybe, of former president donald trump. >> there is a lot of talk about what happens if there's one party and one house. one party and the house, paralyzing what should be the worlds's leader and to bianca's point about ukraine. it's the fact that america is providing most of the support to

the western effort in ukraine so that other countries would have to pick up if they pull back on that. >> we were chatting a little in the break. i was interested -- i wanted to know how interested are people in the uk and across broader europe in the midterms. bianca, you said above the fold, on front pages of the papers today. >> yeah. midterms, do they matter? bianca said, a lot is about donald trump. the question asked all the time. does it mean he's going to get back in? and a debate whether or not biden will run. how about that might inspire populists groups in europe, this questioning of elections. is that something we'll see off the back of the u.s. election. >> i was surprise td to see it the front of croatian papers, french, spanish. also this question looking at outcome of the elections as

telegraphing where american values are right now, because in most wealthy, liberal democracies, having no push for more legislation when there's rampant's gun violence. having desire for a national abortion ban. these kinds of things that the republican party are pushing for, that is quite antithetical to where a lot of america's traditional allies are on all of those issues. >> well, bianca and max, let you in on a little political reporting people asking if trump is running. he is, and he's going to announce it november 15th. made that pretty clear in ohio last night. thank you both for joining us, though. it is a big deal with worldwide a implications. what happens tonight. okay. minutes away from polls opening in 14 states. our reporters are live there all across america. >> four minutes.

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go to see you both. >> a lot of numbers to look at today and crunch. >> how many on air? >> a few hour urs. voting under way and more polls opening in key battleground states like pennsylvania, like ohio where critical senate races determine the balance of power in congress and already a court fight over mail-in ballots being thrown out. >> that's right. stakes could nots be higher for president biden and namely the american people. the outcome of this election could have significant impact on the biden agenda the next two years and also whether or not he runs for re-election in 2024. >> -- still we're good people. we just have to remember who in the hell we are. we are the united states of america! and there's nothing -- nothing -- nothing, nothing, beyond our capacity, if we do it together. so vote! >> all right. here's what to watch for today. control of both the house and the senate are on the line right

now. republicans only need to flip five seats to take over the house, and republicans only need a net gain of just one seat to seize control of the senate. >> there's a lot at stake and a very big day. happening now, though, polls are opening in battleground pennsylvania. voters there play a key role in choosing a new governor, senator and really the future of the country. kate bolduan is in my old stomping ground of pennsylvania in ben salem with more. good morning to you. the sun, when last we met, a few hours ago, the sun was not coming up. it is coming up. people are heading to the polls now. kate? >> reporter: absolutely are. welcome to election day, everyone. the excitement, after all the stump speeches and ads, a lot in pennsylvania. punditry and polls, exciting stuff. voters heading to polls and votes starting to be count the.

the whole shebang. we are in bucks county and considered a swing county. independent-minded suburban voters helped get donald trump elected in 2016 and helped elect joe biden then in 2020. these are the exact voters that vote in this critical senate race with john fetterman and mehmet oz. basically they've gotten to the point of begging for these voters to come to their sides. this was evident in their final campaign rallies last night. listen to this. >> can friends of yours hear from you tonight or tomorrow morning. here's the question you're going to ask. are you ready? "are you happy with the way the country's headed?" >> i need every one of you, every one of you to get out the votes! so i can get to d.c. so i can fight for every one of you. >> reporter: and there is a new,

big unknown you alluded to, don, here. this issue of mail-in ballots. a few thousand ballots that could be potentially rejected, that were mail-in ballots. this is coming after the state supreme court ruled if these ballots, these envelopes, the ballots were in, missing a date, had an invalid date written th, that they will not be counted. the fetterman campaign file add lawsuit asking for a higher court, a federal court, to step in to allow the votes to be counted. obviously, goes without saying. in a race this tight, every vote, especially a few thousand votes, matter. we'll see soon what it all means, don. >> those ballots and that court case looming large there in pennsylvania. thank you very much. voters can begin heading to polls no you in georgia, where a democratic senator and republican governor are both fighting to keep their jobs. live in the suburb of marietta for cnn this morning, jeff, 2.5 million people voted early e.

shattered records there in the state. kwhat ar what are you seeing on the ground? >> reporter: voting opened a short time ago. voting now. right. 2.5 million people here in georgia already voted. extraordinary. campaigns i've been talked to the last several days believe they'll be potentially 2 million more people voting today. of course, the senate race is front and center in all of this. democratic senator raphael warnock, of course, won that runoff race in january 2021 in the wake of president biden winning here in georgia narrowly, facing a very tough race against republican herschel walker. so the dynamic of this certainly could control the majority of the senate. take a listen to closing arguments, final words, from both candidates. >> we ain't talking about no runoff. we're winning this. whennal we leave, when we leave tomorrow night, we're leaving as winners. >> if the people show up, i win.

if the people of georgia show ip, i win! if the people of georgia show up, we win. are you ready to win this election? >> reporter: so, of course, every election is about who shows up, but in midterm elections that's even more true. the motivation certainly for republicans has felt stronger here. republicans feel optimistic. kaitlan, bottom line, republicans trying to nationalize the race. tie senator warnock directly to the white house and president biden. he's been trying to disqualify herschel walker saying simply unfit for the senate. the answer to that equation will be learned tonight here in georgia. >> jeb zelleny. thank you. today's vote, this election, going down in history already as the most expensive midterm election ever. a new projection from a non-partisan research group bp bring back in christine romans. how much? >> huge. money is the oxygen, right, in

the, in the election system. right? the money is umping. the money is flowing here. looking at $16 of.7 billion projected here for this midterm. way more than 2018 and 2014. look at spending by state. excuse me, guys. pennsylvania, georgia, arizona, ohio, wisconsin. these are huge numbers we're seeing, and who many doing all the spending? look at the senate leader sh's fund. $205.4 million. gop leadership. congress many, $188. senate majority, and how majority, $96.3 million. ip and down the ballot, guys, huge numbers. records for how much money spent on ballot initiatives for state races, for some secretary of state races. really huge numbers here and also when you look at the billionaires. billionaires are spending a lot of money here. billionaire -- a week to go spent hundreds of millions of dollars. names you know.

soros, griffin be, crypto billionaires and the like. 3-2 pbreaking for republican causes. >> it's interesting. people like mitch mcconnell saying, go the to put up money for the candidates. can't do it all. mcconnell's pack, schumer's pack, big questions over how that's played a factor in this. >> here in new york, i think given tens of millions. at least $10 million toal zeldin. >> and bloomloombergs, michael bloomberg a big contradicter as well. some giving to traditional conservative causes. some newcomers to the field, just want divided government. divided government, they think, good for business. also, you can't control -- so much money in this process. nothing that the average person can control, of course, but what you can control is, you've got to vote! >> right. >> some of these tight, tight races. talking to kate. every vote matters here.

a lot of dollars at play, but your vote is almost priceless. >> okay. >> results of supreme court decisions. right? citizens united stands and this is the result. >> right e. >> christine romans, thank you. one of today's key senate races is in nevada where the state's voting rules that the race could take days to call. victor blackwell joins us from the voting desk with more. good morning. >> good morning, don. start with the rules and a term you'll hear a lot today. "mirage." some called early leads for one party or another candidate or another a mirage. really it's a process of receiving and counting the votes playing out. for instance, look at nevada 2020. then candidate joe biden had a pretty sizable lead after the vote started, vote started being counted. then there was a noticeable blue to red shift as the votes were counted. trump narrowed the lead over time and ultimately did not win

the state. we'll see if there's a similar trend this cycle. nevada is one of eight states across the country that hold elections almost entirely by mail. this is their first midterm, though, with universal mail-in voting. adopted the system in 2020, when the covid-19 pandemic hit. as you said, the senate race there is a close and crucial one between incumbent democrat cortez masto and mif it stays close do not expect immediate predictions tonight. ballots post-marked, the rules, by election day that arrive at the elections offices after the polls close will be counted. some people call these late arriving ballots. they're not. in nevada they're legal. they will be counted. as long as they arrive by november 12th. that's saturday. just as a ipoint of reference, cnn protected joe biden's victory in nevada four days

after polls closed. even a couple hours after projected to have won the presidency. so be easy. this is going to take some time to get these projections in. don? >> all right. victor, words of wisdom. thank you, sir. appreciate it. kaitlan. >> speaking of the senate, with a 50/50 split vice president harris is that tie-breaking vote. democrats have no room for error, john berman. so the ads cut. seen the speeches, saw closing arguments last night and now wait for voters to decide. the senate is what everybody is watching today. >> absolutely. first of all, look, there are 35 senate races up for grabs. there are 8 that cnn along with help of inside elections deem to be most competitive. we put those eight in yellow. new hampshire, pennsylvania, north carolina, georgia, ohio, wisconsin, arizona, nevada. these are states that are either toss-ups or tilt one way or the other here. republicans need to get to 51 to control the senate. democrats need to get to 50, if

they want to maintain control with vice president kamala harris breaking a tie in the senate. i want to show you how tights this is. how narrow the margins are for each party and how it may not be determined for some time. so let's say, i don't know it's going to go this way. i'm not suggesting it will, but -- if there are these 0 scenarios that play out it could take a while. say that republican ted budd wins in north carolina. j.d. vance in ohio. incumbent ron johnson wins in wisconsin. all of a sudden you're a republican, hey! we're at 49. we're really close. >> yeah. >> but -- but -- incumbents in nevada, in arizona, incumbent democrats what if they win there? incumbent in "know your value" maggie, now you have 49-49. what are the two states left? you have pennsylvania and you have georgia. pennsylvania, i will remind people, in presidential elections, two years ago, was not projected winner until the saturday after the election.

georgia, not until the runoff in january. this time the runoff will be in december, but, you know, look. if democrats are able to win this, one of these states, it's over. they have control. republicans, able to win both of these states, they win control. >> the two states. the big questions, whether or not the candidates for governor help boost the senate candidates. something i've watched. josh shapiro in pennsylvania, the democrat, very popular, but in georgia, brian kemp, governor running for re-election is very popular there. do they help those candidates? >> one of the things we're watching closely. in georgia, the key, does anyone get to 50%. you need 50% plus 1 to avoid a runoff. in pennsylvania, what you can maybe watch. your guide. your guide to the pennsylvania election. what to know, whether it's going to tip one way are 0 the other. two counties in pennsylvania that, two counties in a presidential election voted for donald trump in 2016, and joe

biden in 2020. those counties are northampton, which you can see joe biden won barely in 2020. and 2016, that was a donald trump county. then the other county is erie, up in the corner there. 2018, put on the presidential, my first go at the wall this morning. you can see -- >> getting you warmed up for the many hours ahead. >> presidential election here in erie. joe biden won in erie in 2020. in respect 2016, that was a donald trump county. so erie and northampton count bey are barometers there. if they tip, a good night for fertman. tip for mehmet oz, probably good nice for mehmet oz. >> and president biden, thinks he'll keep the senate. not so sure about the house. a horrible two years for him personally potentially. definitely for democrats. >> one thing the democrats lost control of congress when

president first year, re-elected. bill clinton. barack obama. doesn't necessarily mean hurts you long term. >> and history, that's what happens to the sitting president. john berman, checking in closely with you to see what's happening here, of course. all the big questions what those races will look like. also comes as officials are warning americans to be on the lookout for election disinformation and conspiracies today. we'll tell you how to tell fact from fiction, next. >> that is so important. >> you know why all is well? >> why a, don? >> john berman is in the house. >> like i said -- >> suddenly -- >> everything is different all of a sudden. >> i used to call him, call him my encyclopedia. between those two brains on right of your screen, tell you everything you need to know. >> we're on the left. >> i know. talking about our friend! not talking about us. >> also, donald trump, teasing voters about his 2024 plan. watch this. >> we want nothing to detract

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this morning the justice department says it is sending workers to 64 jurisdictions in 24 states making sure they're in compliance with federal voting law. the doj has a hot line open today for callers who see possible violations of possible voters' rights. >> one thing everyone needs to be aware of, the rampant spread of disinformation and misinformation especially on election day. how do you separate facts from deliberate attempts to confuse, distract or scare you? bring in cnn media analyst and axios reporter. thank you very, very much much, great to have you. can you walk us through typical misinformation, disinformation, they may see today and how to tell between that and truth? >> absolutely, poppy. a lot of what you're going to see today is misinformation targeted at voting itself.

meaning the times that polls open or close. whether or not you are eligible to cast a ballot. whether or not your ballot can be mailed in or you have to go in-person. these are the types of themes you'll see most today. the way i advise a consumer or voters, consider what is misinformation, auvtimes trying to spread misinformation, disinformation, not aibt tributing their name. anonymous texts, emails or misleading about their identity. >> a lesson i learned as a kid that is right today. consider the source. where's it coming from. >> i'm a huge believer in local news, what they do for the community. seen a huge proliferation of fake local news websites. that's why leading up to today's

election advising people to visit vote.org or usa gov. non-partisan, nonprofit are and easy for voters to discern real from not real. >> what about the chaos? it is chaotic now inside twitter. no longer a public company. privately held. owned by elon musk who said, this institution needs to be non-political just a few months to be trusted and now today e in a d in a tweet telling people how to vote. >> very worried about twitter. not because policies changed but fired half the staff, meaning a lot harder to enforce policies in realtime. hearing election experts say this is a major concern. candidates especially red candidates taking to twitter and preemptively calling an election a win when it actually hasn't been called as so. that spreading on twitter, retweeted, goes viral quickly.

it's going to be a major problem. >> sarah fisher, glad to have you on the team. thank you. >> thank you. and the president did not say he'd bid for the presidency, but did say making an announcement next week. >> not to detract from tomorrow's very important even critical election, i'm going to be making a very big announcement on tuesday, november 15th at mar-a-lago in palm beach, florida. >> okay. so the trump advisers told cnn the former president was talked out of going forward with a surprise 2024 announcement last night after floating the idea to allies and family. joining us now, cnn political analyst and correspondent for the "new york times" maggie haberman. author of "confidence man: the making of donald trump and the breaking of america." good morning to you. so -- >> liked the music.

>> the music was very odd. seen this movie before. i'm going to do this -- likes to build up drama, build up -- seen be this before. does it matter if he makes the announcement today, tomorrow, i feel we're going to see, hey i'm going to do this a long time before some happens. >> incredible how he gets everybody to follow along with him when he does this game of i'm thinking of doing it. to be clear, hard to know whether it's a game, or working it out in his head, testing it out with advisers. yesterday afternoon a fire drill. in the afternoon walked back. then suddenly announcing an announcement, what he did. we all no what we he's talking about and what's calming. more interesting when he actually does something because we will cover it. a former president, front-runner in polls. legitimate reason to cover it, i don't know if this needs to be covered. >> and so far doing this, he says it and we fall for it.

we've done that before. >> we're doing it again. >> oh, trump rally about to start soon. the president is about to do something. then it becomes nothing. i think to your point, when it happens, then we cover it instead of -- know what i'm saying? >> i think he is extremely smart in terms of media coverage and what the media will chase and what we will go after and's what headlines will be, and we know one of the things donald trump loves more than anything is, with the possible exception of money is attention. so he has not had that much attention. he's had a hard time looking at other candidates getting attention. had a hard time watching midterm candidates and knows there are a bunch of people thinking of running themselves. the date he put out there, november 15th is when mike pence's book is coming out. i don't any it's a coincidence either. >> exactly what i was going to say. it matters speculation when he's auns knowing.

we're not the only ones watching. not just to get the media spun up. i think he was actively speaking to people about announcing. mike pence is looking at this, ron desantis, other 2024 hopefuls looking to see what he's going to announce. >> no question. i think personally aggravated with mike pence. we know this. mike pompeo less so. extremely good managing to hear he's on all sides of the issue around donald trump, but very, very stressed out and i do use that word intentionally watching ron desantis we know is poised assuming things go well for republicans and in florida, all polls indicate it's going to today, he could come out of tonight with a ed had of steam for 2024. we know in that debate with cherry crist he refuses to rule out serving his full term and trump doesn't want that. makes sense politically. just the sheer volume were of attention trump was able to command just saying something like this remains sort of astonishing. >> looking at the transcript,

poppy, last night of trump's ralry, putting up polls on the screen of his approval rating to different states compared to pence, compared to desantis and other hopefuls. >> why i think we need to be smart the way we doit. what's going to happen is how it happens. we're basically becoming a k commercial for donald trump and helping his cause rather than looking at who might be hopefuls. ron ds sesantis' of the world a mike pence's of the world. let's just see and see how it plays out. >> we talked about something he said last night. you retweeted it maggie kwout com without comment. nancy pelosi, first time she spoke about the attack on her husband with anderson cooper. then the formered president said this last night. let's play it. >> and we are going to end nancy

pelosi's political career once and for all. right? [ cheers ] that's right. >> of course, i think she's an animal, too, if you want to know the truth. [ cheers ] they'll say, oh, what a horrible thing he said about nancy -- she impeached me twice for nothing! >> yes. he's right. a dehumanizing thing to say about somebody second in line for presidency and husband just attacked in a break-in attempt she was the target. >> politically motivated. >> donald trump has a long history demanded to be treated with a level of humanity while dehumanizing others. no exception, but striking given everything we know going on right now, not even -- >> sorry. go ahead. >> i was going to say also read comments from last night, he talked about -- something he mentioned in office about how china deals with drug dealers and fentanyl coming across the border praising how they have

these sham trials for them in hours or less. just remarkable to read that and see him praising that and see the crowd cheering that. >> there is -- there is, i think -- it's not undere appreciated, actually something we need to be very focused on headed into the next two years. so much of what informed donald trump's strength was violence. that's when he thinks makes a good leader and what you're seeing there. >> he wants to be treated with humanity and respect and took note when kevin mccarthy said to our colleague melanie, we have to stop with the division, right? we have to stop treating people as if they're our enemies, and saying that they're stupid because they have a different opinion. i said, is he talking about the former president? that's exactly what he did with nancy pelosi case in point, right in that sound bite. >> and justifying what we've seen. wasn't talking about the attack on paul pelosi specifically but

didn't have to do get this attention. >> thank you. >> appreciate it. today control of congress and deciding factor in other key races that could come down to voters they do not identify as either democrat or republican. the impact of independent voters is just ahead. first, so much on the line, also, for president biden today. voters are deciding his political and maybe his personal future. >> today we face an inflection point, one of those moments that comes around every three or four generations. so, i refinanceded with sofi. break k up with bad student loan debt. to help, we'e're paying off upo a millllion dollars of student debt. sofi get your moneney right. ♪ ♪ ♪ voltaren. the joy of movement.

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let's get out of the way, and just, ah, do the civicic duty. we have a big election here. all the, the senate, the governor. all eyes are on pennsylvania today. >> ah, i think both sides are so polarizing right now no. it's hard to determine where the middle is, and it's just crazy the way things are going.

the way people are at each other's throats about every little detail about everything. i think it's -- it's important for me -- >> is that real, though? we're going to explore. you know what? it's election day in america. polls om here on the east coast. millions of americans have already cast their ballots, but as tense races come to a head between democrats and republicans, many will actually be determined guy voters outside either party. that's why i say does that actually, is it so? bring in now cnn senior political analyst cnn's john avlon. good morning, by the way, congratulation as. happy anniversary. your wife on earlier. >> i appreciate it, thank you. >> look at washington or through a partisan lens you would think the country is really, really divided. that might actually be so. >> that is not so. no. i want to reinforce this. washington presents a vision of america as evenly remorsefully divided, two choices. democrat and republican. most don't think that way.

here's proof. a gallup poll, plurality, more identify independent than democrats or republicans. this is basic. this is important to remember. you'd never guess this. look at it the way washington works. that's a fundamental truth. take a look at millennial voters it's more so. check this out. look at the next slide, you'll see that majority of millennials actually vote, 52%, identify as independent. right? as the younger you get, the more independent you get. folks saying i don't want to have to choose between e republican or democratic party. there you go. stat's right there. if you you miss the larger issue eight state registered independents outnumber democrats and republicans. a major driver and the deciders in most elections. >> then what is the lesson? is that the lesson learned from independents, in the past? they're deciders, is there a lesson. >> look at the data. a clear pattern.

numbers show independent voters do in midterm elections. 2006. democrats tas house. independent voters pushing back against republican party under george w. bur. s bush. pretty decisive. democrats had control under barack obama, democrats had control and republicans go in midterms for -- independents go for republicans. at the end, go back in 2018 heavily for democrats. president ially same thing. go for barack obama. independents. outlier. mitt romney, narrowly donald trump. 2020 decisively for joe biden. in both cases swing vote in american politics disproportion lit independents. want to find out where elections go, look at independents. >> and depending who your candidate is, most look at independent voters as a spoiler.

right e? they're going to spoil chances for people and don't really have a chance. what say you, sir? >> that's independent candidates. in some cases that can be the case. third-party candidate runs sometimes maxes a spoiler. may see that in oregon where earlier betsey johnson, independent candidate running on the ballot. it's rare and difficult to do but it could end up empowering the republican. other hand look what's happening in utah. independent conservative evan mcmullin provided the first competitive general election in almost 50 years, because democrats said know what? sit it out. not win it. instead, mcmullin is trying to throw a coalition campaign. one to watch. surprisingly close. in north dakota independent congressional candidate, former miss america and harvard law school graduate. part of a trend. independent voters, really what they do as a whole. >> you make us smile.

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i'm feeling, i'm optimistic, but i'm always optimistic. >> democrats win the house? >> i think it's going to be tough but i think we can. i think win the senate and house is -- >> president biden returning to the white house late last night. you see so dark there. perhaps no one has more on the line tonight than president biden. he has had two years of democratic control of congress. so a change in who controls the

house, who controls the senate, or both, could put his presidency into an entirely different phase than what he's been through so far. no one recognizes that better than the west wing where officials have been gearing up for what a republican majority could mean. cabinet officials, jumpjudges. so many implications. putting it on the line and waiting to see what voters decide tonight. >> a horrible two years. what president himself recently said about the next two years if democrats lose the house and senate, acknowledging, yeah. second half of his presidency could be kind of miserable's two areas where joe biden's washington could be completely transformed. one area is, of course, on the legislative area. an agenda. very difficult for democrats to get through any bills. we know that republicans have already talked about rolling back some of their accomplishments so far, and we

know the president could start exercising his veto power. now, the second area we've talked about a lot, republican allegations making it no secret they want to flood the president with everything from his son hunter biden, covid theories out there, about the fbi and doj, and also we have heard plenty of impeachment talk. so the white house has been preparing for this possibility for a number of months now. they've beefed up their operations and will say they are ready to push back on all of this as politically motivated. yeah. i think the idea of endless investigations is not a fun prospect for anybody in the building behind me. >> absolutely not. a lot of paperwork to start with. president biden did say if they take the house, take the senate, he will still have power of veto. i think a big question also is what does that mean for potential second term for president biden? a re-election run he's gearing up for? >> reporter: the biggest

question, of course, is he going to run for a second term? you know very well intent is to run but also going to take time over the holidays end of the year to talk to his family. there are other factors too, right? one is the donald trump factor as in, does he run, when does he ann announce, ready for a biden versus trump matchup part two and second i think we are going to have to watch sort of the mood among democrats. i leave you with something a democratic congressman, dean phillips of minnesota told me yesterday. remember, he's a lawmaker who said over the summer he doesn't think the president should seek a second term. this is what he told me yesterday. he said, regardless of tomorrow's results, i believe democrats must rebuild our brand and repopulate our bench of future leaders for both congressened a the white house. president biden has fulfilled his promise to serve as a stabilizing bridge to the

future, and i expect a majority of democrats will be seeking a next generation candidate to take the baton in 2024. so he's basically telling me he thinks most of his colleagues will join him in wanting somebody else. somebody that is not joe biden to run in 2024. we'll see. >> calls the white house white house, and the mj lee, thanks. and talk about this. cnn political commentator and former republican congresswoman is here and senator commentator and former adviser to bill clinton. pau . and crafted "the economy stupid" it was then and is now. whoever wins control, divided chambers, both flip. what does it actually mean for the economy? all of these candidates come on be say we're going fix inflation and the economy.

really? what will they do differently? >> republicans particularly run on inflation and the economy a lot. >> not on specifics. >> yes. politically, in strong position, but a problem, election ends and governing begins. they're going to have to come up with an agenda to tame inflation. not just sloganeering, and i have a lot of republican friends and tell you what they're saying. the deserty secret, running on inflation, borders and investigg hunter biden tormenting anthony fauci and impeaching president biden. a lot of people on both sides care about these things, but nobody out there is saying, gee, hope my country ties itself in knots over impeaching biden and fauci and hunter biden. >> stronger messages by sd democrats? >> absolutely.

republicans are good on politicking's pull together all things they democrats want. biden talking about windfall -- packet it together as a middle class bill of rights. >> how do you do this? simplistic, how does that become build a wall? >> help you make ends meet. we're the middle-class party. >> help you make ends meet. what do you think about that? >> one thing, what about you, heard about republican invest investigations, saying don't count the chickens before the eggs hatch. they don't stay on message all the time. seen that in the not so distant past. what have you come to within messages between the two parties? >> i think messaging, always said this. get -- don't pull trump's water. do not defend trump. your job is to talk about what

you're going to do for the american people tomorrow. what are you going to work on be? obviously, democrats are in trouble, and even some blue states. surprisingly. because republicans have effectively channeled voter dissatisfaction with -- >> look at new york. >> right here in new york. looking at the zeldin race who is full disclosure very, very good friends of mine be. served with him in congress, elected in the same year as zeldin in congress, and he has really channeled in the problems that new yorkers are facing. that's happening somewhat throughout some areas in the nation, in blue states, where they are dissatisfied with handling of crime, and inflation is top of mind. >> because you're here i want to talk to you about what >> i'm fascinated by the race in utah. >> evan mcmullin, here you have

a former republican in mcmullin, flips independent, the democratic candidate gets out, the dems get behind the independent, and he promises if he wins he's not going to -- not going to go to either side, he's not going to be a sure vote in either way. what do you make of all of this. >> more interesting than the democrat getting out, he was actually told -- he was pushed out by the democrat party because they wanted somebody who had a chance. who they could -- have a chance in a very red state. and the problem with that is it is also -- it is a double-edged sword, that's also really hurt evan mcmullin because he's funded and supported mainly by democrats, where mike lee is saying, hey, you don't know -- who is this going to caucus with, he's an independent, he's funded by democrats, he's an on island on his own. there is no way he's going to be able to get anything done. >> or co-hahe could have outsid power because he could be a key vote. >> i'm just telling you what

people are seeing. >> you're taking the fun out of it here, the mystery out of it. >> they don't see it that way. they're trying to figure out what's happening here. what is happening? and, if this is going to be something that they use going forward, something that democrats use going forward, whether they're going to be able to pull together their own candidate or whether it is going to be someone just because they need -- they want the seat. >> another big part of this also, don, we were talking about this earlier, we have been talking all morning about democrats and where they are competitive. typically they wouldn't be competitive in these races at all. you would normally see the president's party, they often get a shellacking as some former presidents called it in the elections. >> kansas, voted once for a democratic president the last 80 years. there is a democratic congresswoman from alaska, they had an open seat in three generations because don young, god rest his soul, served for 50

years. there are places where democrats, they hunt us down with dogs. and yet they have been able to win. i'm always impressed. >> met aphorically speaking. >> kansas has been big. that's probably what's broken the tide. if you ask me a year ago, i would say this would be a 70-seat republican gain. every single midterm this century, every single one, for 20 years, the house or senate or both have flipped. does anybody sthink we're lookig at a time now where people are saying that's enough change, i want the status quo? no. with high inflation, biden should lose 70. the republicans will snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory, thanks to the two mvps of the democratic party, sam alito and donald trump. they're the best thing the party has. >> this is one thing i know for sure, i'll make a prediction here, nobody knows you know what. we don't know anything. i've been voting since -- >> don't make a prediction. >> i've been voting since the

'80s, sitting here covering the elections since 2006, obama, i covered trump coming in and look what happened in 2016 and 2015 on election night. so nobody knows anything. we see -- the people who are going to decide are up on the right-hand side of the screen right now. not the people on the left. we can sit here and talk about it all the time, but it is the people on the right-hand side of the screen and we don't really know. >> final thought. >> well, i think it is going to be interesting. i'm -- we're not going to -- i don't think we're going to know tonight. i think we need to be patient and there are some states that are going to be -- that are going to be surprising. one more thought is that i think democrats are going to surprise us in some states, especially states where abortion is top of mind. but, i agree with paul, i do think that we are definitely -- republicans are definitely going to take the house. i think the senate, we're going to look at some places obviously

pennsylvania is early on is going to tell us a lot, georgia is going to tell us a lot. so -- >> all the people -- in both parties, who got up early, you know, had bad coffee, they're going door to door, they're texting their friends, calling, i used to be one of those. i used to go door to door. bring dog biscuits. i'm a dog lover. not all dogs love me. everybody out there trying to pull the vote out. i honor them. this is the most important thing they can do for their country. >> thank you. >> good to see both of you. >> thank you. >> late deciding voters, late deciding voters may break republican too. that's the way we're -- that's what we're not talking. when the pocketbook is at top of mind, it is hard to try to weed through everything out. >> okay. your vote counts, folks. that's what we're saying. all right. go vote, if you haven't already. live pictures. take a look here. key battleground states where voters are going to the polls. we're on the ground. you're watching cnn special live coverage. we'll be right back. >> that's where this is decided.

right there in the voting booths.

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do you know what today is? >> we do. >> today is election day in america. good morning. we're so happy nathat you could join us. you're going to see what's happening around the country. the polls opened in several key states. live look now, first look, cleveland, ohio. people have been showing up since 6:30 this morning. the nation's capitol, washington, d.c., more polling stations are set to open there. doors this hour like milwaukee. here's what one voter says they want to see. >> i just want to see some change, make sure we keep

democracy safe, all the votes get counted properly and just, yeah, elect people that are going to help regular everyday citizens. >> today, starting now, and happening already in some places. >> yeah. >> voters will cast their ballots to determine who controls both chambers. democrats are hoping to cling to their majorities while republicans predict they will win. cnn's team live, all over the ground, in ohio, wisconsin, georgia, arizona, covering this from all angles. >> in pennsylvania, controversy before the polls even opened this morning. democrat john fetterman overnight suing to try to stop the commonwealth from not counting at least not yet thousands of ballots on a technicality over a date. we'll explain. and on the heels of the senate race happening in ohio, a quote, very big announcement. that's what former president

trump was teasing, what is expected to be another presidential run on the final night of campaigning on behalf of jd vance. we'll tell you where he plans to break the news after the midterms. >> here is a big announcement right now. we're going to begin with what's happening on the ground. wisconsin, now, polls are open, incumbent republican ron johnson locked in a close race with democrat nademandela barnes. he's already planning to launch a series of investigations into his political rivals. let's bring in now cnn's omar jimenez in appleton, wisconsin, where a contentious race is in the hands of the voters. let's talk about what's going on. good morning to you. what is happening in the closing hours of the campaign? >> reporter: well, good morning to you. the sun is up, which is a good sign for voters heading to the polls. polls which just opened here in wisconsin. and polls that to this point have shown no clear leader between lieutenant governor mandela barnes and ron johnson.

now, barnes is on the other end of a now more than 100-stop rv tour. we talked about his strategy throughout. he told us they were really just trying to meet as many people as they could where they were. and not to assume anybody's vote. so i asked him, do you think you've done enough to unseat the two-term republican and take a listen to what he told me. >> what you feel is the key to what you've done? >> i can say we have done all we could. we have been outspent by outsiders, the most expensive race -- senate race in the history of wisconsin. i can guarantee you we have not been outworked. we're leaving no stone unturned, all gas, no brakes. >> he's planning to make a few more last-minute stops. on the other side of things, senator ron johnson tried to leave no stone unturned and tried to paint barnes as someone who doesn't like this state and the people in it for criticizing past institutions here. he's also, though, pointed to the wider implications of what

would happen if republicans regain control of the senate. take a listen to what he said just last night. >> i would like a mosquito in a nudist colony. it would be a target-rich environment. it is a fight for freedom. it is not anybody else's fight. not someone else's fight. it is our fight. it is the fight that we actually have to win. >> reporter: and those are stakes that not just he set, but also barnes, that this isn't just a race for a senate seat. this is a race for the future direction of this country. and it is a race, of course, that is now officially for this final day in voters' hands. >> under way, thank you very much. omar jimenez. let's take you to arizona, where polls are open. and the potentially pivotal races there that are drawing attention and concern, 12 of arizona's 13 republican nominees for federal and state office have questioned the legitimacy

of the 2020 election. that's according to "the washington post." our kyung lah joins us live in phoenix for cnn this morning. kyung, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. what we are seeing from the -- you just saw the split screen there of the two women who are vying for governor here in the state of arizona. what we saw last night is the republican final big powwow. it was a big blowout party, the big concert before voters head to the polls. the republican nominee for governor, cakari lake, she delivered a fm amiliar line, bu she ramped up the rhetoric just a bit. i want you to listen. >> these bastards back there don't want us talking about stolen elections. well, it doesn't matter what they attempt tomorrow, because we're going to show up like our lives depend on it. and there's not a darn thing

that katie hobbs can screw up tomorrow to make our win any less significant because we're going to win tomorrow. we're going to vote tomorrow. and we are going to take arizona back. are you up for it? >> reporter: katie hobbs is her comp competitor, a democrat running for governor. she's also the current sitting secretary of state. she spent the final day of the -- the election process -- the campaigning process to go door to door and to talk to voters in suburban phoenix, to try to target some of the swing moderates, poppy. but, you know, kari lake still questioning the election, talking about a stolen election as voters just now head to the polls. poppy? >> kyung lah, thank you for not only today, all the reporting you've done on the ground there throughout. see what happens. all right, we have talked about the lawsuit filed in pennsylvania in part by john fetterman's campaign over the thousands of undated ballots.

we're also starting to hear reports of issues in other states, something we're following closely on this crucial midterm elections day. victor blackwell is joining us now from the voting desk. what are we seeing, how isolated is this, and what does it really mean for today? >> we're starting to get reports of some allegations of voter intimidation, also legal fights over which votes to count, even how to count in the most crucial states. let's start in north carolina, where there is that crucial senate race between ted bud and cheri beasley. the state board of elections there is investigating a spate of allegations of voter intimidation, 15 of them since the start of early in person voting back on october 20th. some of the most egregious incidents are allegations of people outside of elections offices recording video of elections workers, even the election workers' license plates, some election workers claim that person was followed from a voting site, to the elections office, and then on to

their neighborhood. the investigations into these accounts are happening now, and that office will have to determine if they will be elevated to the department of justice or to a district attorney. let's go to wisconsin now. that's the home of the ron johnson mandela barnes senate race. a waukesha county judge denied a request to temporarily block the immediate counting of military ballots in that state. there is a group of veterans, also state representative, republican there, who argued that the wisconsin elections commission, the guidance of county clerk wasn't in line with state law to have updated military electoral list in each county. about 1400 ballots are questioned there. the judge said that this was a request to disenfranchise military voters and he called that drastic. let's move on now to arizona. this is in the southeastern part of the state there, a judge there blocked a planned hand count in a republican-controlled

county, local officials in that county said they didn't trust the electronic vote tallying machines so they were going to do it by hand. the judge said in this 12-page opinion, there is no evidence that the electronic tabulation is untrustworthy and that they were replacing with something with which was more trustworthy than what was already in place. of course, arizona as we just saw, kari lake and katie hobbs, mark kelly and blake masters, those tight races there, and as we mentioned, pennsylvania on the senate candidate john fetterman. his campaign along with the democratic house and senate campaign committees. they're suing to have pennsylvania voters who mailed in ballots with the wrong or no date at all to be counted, about 3400 in philadelphia, a thousand in allegheny county, that's where pittsburgh is, a couple hundred in monroe. we'll see how far this goes. but we're starting to get these reports, the legal fights and the questions of voter intimidation.

we'll continue to watch them. kaitlan. >> the legal fights are going to somebody to watch closely. obviously after what happened in the 2020 election, you know, it does come to the state that is important to remember if there are small errors that get corrected quickly and fixed, that does not equal fraud, even if some people try to take advantage of those instances. victor blackwell, appreciate the update. so, listen, voters are going to decide all of this. one thing we want to focus now is what is going to happen in the house. john berman joins us now. good morning to you. >> good morning. hard act to follow. >> blackwell was good. i was glued to every word he was saying. >> he does a good job. he knows it front and back, just like you. >> 435 congressional districts, all of them, every district in america up for grabs tonight. kind of. right? however, cnn has identified along with inside elections 82 that we consider to be the most competitive. 82 congressional districts, they are the ones in yellow on your

map right here. let these districts in yellow sink in. of these districts, they're not all created equal in the sense that democrats and republicans have a different path to get to the majority. and for the republicans, it is a bit of a shorter path in these competitive districts. republicans have to win 30 of the 82 congressional districts cnn believes in order to take control of the house. democrats have to win 53 of these 82 seats to win control of the house. the reason for that is democrats are defending more of their own turf tonight. so you watch this very, very closely, as the night goes on, as more of these yellow districts turn, it will determine how the night is going. >> we had the former utah congresswoman nia love on. she said we're going to have some -- there are going to be some things earlier in the night that will be a precursor of what's to come. >> i'll come into your space here, i'll show you what i think people should be watching early

on is -- i'll turn this off here, the state of virginia. which does close -- the polls in virginia close at 7:00 and we should start seeing some numbers coming in. okay. virginia, the gray districts here now are the competitive seats in virginia. we think there are three competitive districts in virginia, two years ago, for frame of reference, two years ago in virginia, we considered -- we considered all of these congressional districts in virginia to be blue. these three congressional districts we believe to be blue at this point. democrats need to maintain control of all three of these in order for this to be the type of night that they want. watch this space right here. elaine luria, elaine luria, you'll remember, is on the january 6th committee. one of the majority-maker women, she's in a tight district here in the southern part of the state, virginia, and norfolk area.

joe biden won this area, this district by 1.8%. a very narrow margin. i'll write that down. d, 1.8%. as the night goes on, keep an eye on this. is elaine luria doing one point or two points better than the republican here? if she's doing that margin or better, might be a good night for the democrats. if she's doing worse or losing, a bad night perhaps for the democrats. one other district you can watch in virginia is right here, this is a virginia 7th, abigail spanberger, part of the majority-maker women elected in 2018. this district two years ago was a joe biden plus roughly 6 points -- plus roughly 6.7 or so. so, as the night goes on here, again, is abigail spanberger not just winning, but winning by a fairly comfortable margin? if she's winning by one or two

points, it might bode ill for democrats as the night goes on. >> it shows you in comparcompar how well or how poorly they're doing. >> john berman, thank you very much. i appreciate that. the polls are open now as we have been saying in many places across america. we're live on the ground in several states. this is cnn special coverage of election day in america. men put their skin through a lot. day-in, day-out that's why dove men body wash has skin-strengthening nutrients and moisturizers that help rebuild d your skin. dove men+care. smoother, healthier skin with every shohower. ♪ ♪

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thank you! >> so there you go. applause and handshakes there from a very familiar face to a lot of folks. that is mehmet oz, going to the polls to vote, that's montgomery county, pennsylvania. i think lower merion township. >> you were educating me in the break. i wonder who he's voting for. >> i worked there for a long time at the nbc 10 station, which was in montgomery county, just on the other side of city line avenue, which is the main line as they call it.

anyway, that's dr. mehmet oz going to the polls this morning. i don't know who he's going to vote for. kaitlan does not either. >> i do. >> a lot of people voting this morning, though. >> the polls are open there. the polls are now open in midterm races all across the country. let's go to jeff zeleny live for us in atlanta. the atlanta suburb of marietta, georgia. that is just outside of the city of atlanta, sort of still atlanta proper. what's the deal on the ground there, good morning to you, sir. >> reporter: good morning, don. as you know cobb county, we'll be watching throughout the day and the evening, the suburban voters in atlanta and across the country are going to tell a story of this midterm election that is shaping up to be a referendum on the biden administration on president biden. that's what democrats are bracing for. so there is a sense of republican optimism, but also some democratic enthusiasm. but we caught up with republican herschel walker who is

challenging democratic senator raphael warnock. and both men clearly had -- >> jeff, we're going to get back to you, dr. oz is speaking. we'll get back to jeff in georgia. let's listen. >> i'm very proud of how i've run this campaign. pennsylvania is sending a very clear message to washington, we want less radicalism, and more balance. so i encourage everyone to vote. it is your duty. >> what do you think of fetterman campaign lawsuit? >> will you accept the result no matter what? >> mr. oz, would you accept undated mail-in ballots? >> watch yourselves, guys. >> back up. please back up. backing up. >> so there you have it, dr. oz

leaving the polling place in montgomery township, pennsylvania. montgomery, pennsylvania, saying pennsylvania is going to send a very clear message to washington, less radicalism, he said, and more balance. >> let's wrbring in our colleag michael smerconish, host of cnn's "smerconish". you know everything there is to know about politics in the state of pennsylvania. pennsylvania native. okay. what is at stake here with the state and what's the state of pennsylvania going to tell us about the nation? >> well, first of all, good morning from bucks county, pennsylvania, which is the swingiest of pennsylvania's counties. i should also mention that the dr. oz that i just heard speaking of balance and, you know, putting people together, i'm all for that. man, is that different than the dr. oz who was seeking the republican primary. it is just another reminder that here we are in a general election and the ground has

shifted. you've been talking about the issue of the day, i think. it is the mail-in votes. dr. oz defeated dave mccormick by 951 votes in the primary. the general election is believed to be equally close between fetterman and oz. i heard don make reference to the fact that there are about 3400 ballots that are effective of mail-in ballots in philadelphia alone. if it is that close, it could come down to the interpretation of how you treat the signature and the date on the back of the envelope. and, look, we're new at this. we didn't used to have mail-in voting without cause. you needed to have cause if you were going to vote by mail. so, stuff happens. and people make mistakes. human factors. and it is not just, you know, the low information voters among us. citizen a in philadelphia is brian roberts, the ceo of comcast. he's one of the individuals who

turned in a defective ballot, he had to go to city hall in philadelphia and correct it. so what i'm putting on your radar screen is if the margin in the general is as close as it was in the primary, oh, man, this really could be a blank show for the next couple of days. i hope not. i'm hoping that whom ever wins the senate race doesn't win by a little, because it could get ugly. >> that was a point i was making with kaitlan and poppy earlier when we were talking about these defective ballots. two things, it is easy to make a mistake. i have to look at my phone to figure out what day it is sometimes. and, look -- >> me too. >> i'm on the news. when you're writing things down, sometimes you just make a mistake. you may put month eight and it is month nine. little things like that. and i said to the group here, we should -- i feel like, michael, we should be making it easier to vote for more people and especially if we -- we're in this new sort of mail-in ballot thing, then we should sort of figure it out instead of

throwing people's ballots aside. >> well, amen to that. listen, don, i was born in 1962, okay. i've got a tendency to write my date of birth when i'm asked for a date. so, listen to this now. if i signed my name on the back of that envelope and put march 15, 1962, up until now, now it is being litigated, they would have accepted that, even though obviously i didn't vote in 1962. meanwhile, if you have left that line blank, they would have thrown your ballot out. and the other thing to keep in mind is, the voting by mail-in ballot is still disproportionately democratic voters. 70% of those who requested mail-in ballots in the commonwealth are deeds. so it has got a real partisan edge to it, and, of course, democrats want everything counted and republicans want to be restrictive, is it ballot security, or is it ballot suppression. all i know for sure is it is

going to be litigated, if this is a close race. >> michael, you're right. it does make a difference here because it is not expected to be a race for this huge margin. they have been neck and neck in the polls, that's why this is such a big factor into how we're looking at this today. i'm interested of your analysis of what mehmet oz just told reporters as he had just cast his ballot, he had just voted, the closing message from him has been that he believes fetterman is bringing extremism to washington. that's been his argument. you saw fetterman last night saying that he's feeling better and better every day in the months after the stroke he has, but he said by january, i'll be better, dr. oz will still be a fraud, he sold miracle cures talking about his past, of course, in his time on television. i'm interested, though, in the way that the closing remarks have changed as you've seen this progress, as you've seen voters head to the polls today. >> i don't think the stroke is an issue. from a distance, it is the kind of thing like in georgia with herschel walker, if you told me in the abstract, here is a guy

who is going to run as a pro life candidate and multiple individuals emerge and say he paid for my abortion, i would say, well, bottom is going to fall out of that campaign and it didn't. after fetterman's debate performance, many thought the bottom would fall out of that campaign, it really didn't, although the race narrowed. i think the race was always going to narrow because that's the nature of pennsylvania. we're a purple state. i think it is the crime issue and the commercials that have been run about fetterman and his ten year on the pardon board much more than it is anything having to do with his physical abilities. >> 100% for what i've been saying, michael smerconish. what is going on is -- >> you're in good company with each other . one of the points you made this week, i think it is so important for our viewers to hear this morning, the history in pennsylvania of ticket splitting. and what you think is going to be a vote in favor of shapiro may not be the same down the line for democrats. can you get into that a bit for

us? >> so, poppy, we got rid of, you know, big leave of voting in pennsylvania. there was a deal between the rs and the ds that took effect in the 2020 cycle. you can't go in, like, josh shapiro is the presumptive, you know, gubernatorial-elect. i would be floored if mastriano were able to run a competitive race tonight against josh shapiro. so you might naturally think, wow, what coattails that's going to provide to john fetterman. but you can't pull the big lever, you got to go in there, you can vote for all ds, you can vote for all rs, you got to fill it out one at a time. we have a rich tradition of ticket splitting in this state. think of bob casey, father, the late great bob casey, father of the u.s. senator as the democratic governor at a time when we had specter and hines as two republicans. think about tom wolf, right now with a state legislature that is

republican. think about 2000, al gore wins the state and rick santorum is sent to the u.s. senate. it might be a situation where people go and they vote for shapiro, but now all of a sudden they have pause in the senate race because they look at who do they want to control the senate? they look beyond fetterman and oz. i could see that happening. >> we'll see what does happen with the voters deciding. the ticket splitting could be an interesting part, not just in pennsylvania, but many states this election day. michael, pennsylvania -- >> he's at the philadelphia inquirer. >> the philly inquirer is just really cool today. like, this is it, man. we have been talking about it for a year. finally it is game on in pennsylvania. >> you're making me miss living there. you're making me miss living there. >> i remember when you were here. i remember when you were at channel 10. we had some good times. >> we did. as i have conveyed this story, i would leave to go to the parking lot at the building, montgomery county, right, bala cynwyd, and

michael smerconish, i would be looking through the glass and i would be watching him do the show. >> look at you now. >> look at you now. i love that headline. we'll see pennsylvania decide. pennsylvania's own michael smerconish, thank you. kate bolduan is joining us live. what are you seeing at the polling stations as we know voters are starting to make their way over? >> reporter: first, can i say, we need to establish how far away michael smerconish is to my location right now. if we're both in bucks county, we should be together, as i was sitting back enjoying hearing michael smerconish's excitement for election day is 100% infectious. >> it is contagious. >> since we saw you last -- it is absolutely contagious. since we saw you last, this polling station has really gotten very busy. it is a huge parking lod, this bensalem high school. it is very busy all morning and

understandably so. you were talking about it, bucks county is key to the victory for everyone on the ballot. this is one of those swing counties where they are looking both candidates in every race, especially the senate race, are at this point begging for these independent-minded voters, suburban voters here in bucks county to come over to their side. let's listen first to the final pitches that we heard to try to win over these voters from both john fetterman and mehmet oz and their final rally last night. >> ten trends you'll hear. here is the question you're going to ask. are you ready? are you happy with the way the can country is headed? >> i need every one of you, i need every one of you to get out the votes. so i can get to d.c., so i can fight for every one of you. >> reporter: and in terms of here in bucks county, the fourth largest county in the

commonwealth, we spoke to republican county commissioner who is very helpful in giving us the latest lay of the land as they see it in this county and how voting is going to go. they have about 90,000 mail-in ballots that they believe they're going -- they need to be going through. and they're hoping at this point to be pretty much done with counting between 3:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. >> that's a lot of counting late at night, kate bolduan, we'll be making sure we're tracking that closely. we're also now hearing from one of the candidates in the key senate race of ohio. we'll tell you what tim ryan is saying as he's going to cast his own ballot. this is cnn's special live coverage. i brought in ensure max protein with 30 grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks. uhhhh... here, i'll take that. [woo hoo!] ensure max protein, with 30 grams of protein, one gram of sugar and nutrients for immune health. the first time you made a sale online was also the first time you heard of a town named... dinosaur? we just got an order from a dinosaur, colorado.

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moments ago, you're looking at john fetterman arriving at his polling place in pennsylvania. you saw mehmet oz arriving at his polling place in montgomery county, just moments ago. and now you've got john fetterman, his opponent, going to vote. you can see a couple of hugs

there. and we will listen in on this one to see if he comes out, once he casts his ballot, that was moments ago. if he comes out and speaks like mehmet oz did, just a short time ago. >> i was trying to see if he was wearing shorts. everyone says john fetterman always wears shorts, even at weddings, anything like that. not just pennsylvania, where they're casting ballots, ohio as well. tim ryan who is, of course, running against jd vance for the open senate seat there, he was voting as well. this is what he told those who were on hand. >> a loss for words. tim ryan awfully quiet. >> it happens sometimes. >> that's the video of him going to cast his ballot. we're going to see a lot of candidates going and voting in person. it is a way for them to go and -- >> that's what i love about today. today is about people, it is about your vote. you hear from folks as they go vote and then see what all happens tonight. >> we have been talking so much

about these races. we have been talking about them all week long and now it is finally we get to see what is actually decided, what it means. it is critical races that could really up end how things are and how they have been in washington for the last two years. >> we don't have tim ryan, but we will have shimhim shortly in ohio. we're hours away from the first midterm election results. one of our next guests is already bracing for bad news for democrats. joining us now, we'll talk about that in a little bit. okay. so, sorry, something else is in the teleprompter. i said we were going to ohio. let's go to melanie zanona from ohio this morning. folks are headed to the polls. what are the folks saying in these last minutes of the election? >> reporter: yeah, good morning, guys. as you said, the polls just opened here in ohio. tim ryan already went in and voted. you also had jd vance tweeting out encouraging people to vote. and also saying today's the day we send a message to joe biden. and really that has been a

central theme of his message and campaign. he's trying to make this election a referendum on joe biden and the democratic agenda. that was also a theme we heard last night at the jd vance rally, which featured former president donald trump. and another strategy of vance's, trying to tap into the trump base, and trying to enthusiastically gin up that base. he sought out trump endorsement in the primary and hugged him tightly ever since. and then meanwhile you have tim ryan, who is really trying to portray himself as this independent no nonsense fighter who is going to stand up for his own party. he also had a very consistent economic message since the beginning of the campaign. he's trying to make an appeal to his working white collar voters. and he's also been trying to portray jd vance as a sycophant of donald trump. that's not something jd vance shied away from. in talking to tim ryan, it is very clear he views himself as an underdog and he thinks this

race is largely overlooked including by his own party. and to be clear, this race is a lot closer than people expected it to be. especially considering it is a red state in a trump-won state from 2020. but it is still a very tough political environment for democrats. so we'll have to wait and see. >> so, look there are issues and there are issues. some of them obviously more important than others. and there are issues that are drivers, right, that just drive people into the voting booths. what are you hearing? >> reporter: yeah, well, we have talked to some voters on the ground here and a consistent theme that we have heard is the economy. and it is how difficult it is to pay for things like everyday groceries. and we talked to one undecided voter who said they actually don't know who they're going to vote for today. this is somebody who said they are heading to the polls and it is going to be a game-time decision. but that the economy is top of mind and that's why you do hear jd vance and tim ryan harping on this message so much. and they recognize that that is probably going to be the number one driving issue in the midterm

elections today. >> melanie, thank you very much. speaking of tim ryan, let's hear now from tim ryan at that voting place where he went to cast his ballot, and here it is. >> you know, i mean, when you grow up here, it is always, you know, it's home. it's home. and the best part of the campaign really has been meeting people who are just like us. different town, names, you know, different cities, different jobs, different names, but people are the people. the same, they're gritty, ohio is filled with gritty workers. good people. you know, who just want a government who works for them. and it would be an honor to serve them. coming from the valley, having the last rally here, last night, having bernie kosar, you know, doing robocalls and commercials and, like, life long hero of mine, from the valley, and the

texts we're getting and the texts bernie is getting from his commercials and robocalls about people really wanting to have an opportunity to understand that somebody from the mahoning valley in the united states senate, one of 100 people, that would be great. >> an assist there. >> yeah, yeah. >> so that is tim ryan just moments ago as he -- i'm not sure if it was before or after he cast his ballot, but as you know, kaitlan, tim ryan has been -- he's run as a democrat, but really running as an independent and trying to appeal to republicans in that state. we'll see if it is going to work. his message was broader than what a democrat would normally have, running against a trump-backed supporter, jd vance. >> the new york times had a headline i can't get out of my head, which was tim ryan was running as a democrat, but the d is silent because -- >> it was a great headline. >> he was distancing himself so much from his party. he said he believed national democrats -- he didn't

understand the choices they were making, but talked about how they were fund-raising on their own. it is still a tough day for him. he's running against jd vance. it is a state that trump won in the last election. he won in 2016 as well. so it would be a really big political shift if ohio does elect a democrat to the senate, but we'll see what happens. >> i keep wondering if more democrats had run on the economic message that tim ryan is running on, would they have a better chance tonight? >> what we talked to tim ryan about, they're giving him more money. >> there's the music. go to break. >> that's okay. >> i know. >> this is what they're telling us. i'm going to do it for don. >> i'm just saying, i'm just being defiant, contrarian. we're live on the ground as voters get to the polls. we're expecting other big candidates in key states to arrive to cast their ballots. make sure you stay with us. this is cnn's special live coverage, election day in america.

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i think it is always important to vote. it is our responsibility in a democracy. you know, i actually think it is a good thing. i think it is good that people have different opinions. and i have a lot of friends that

have different political opinions than me and i respect that. and i appreciate the fact that in wisconsin we can have our own opinions and we can have discourse and really thrive as a result of some of the differences that we have. >> boy, it would be great if that resonated across the country. that's voters in wisconsin speaking as they cast their ballots. let's discuss more about what's on voters minds and political folks as well. cnn political commentator, democratic strategist hilary rosen, david urban, good morning. so good to have both of you. talking about closing messages, start with you, because i know you believe that democrats aren't particularly paying attention to what that voter just had to say there. >> yeah. though tim ryan is, you know. that was -- i think you were exactly right in that last segment. look, we -- we were always, you know, a couple of steps back in it is a midterm, we were going to lose seats, that's

inevitable. once in 20 years did that not happen. there is no question this isn't sort of democrats' fault that we're going to be in this s situation, but i think we lost an opportunity, i think the senate being so close when we have really stronger candidates, better candidates, i think this is a problem. voters have told us all year what they care about. and i think we have focused on other things and i think the president's closing message last night about democracy is on the ballot again is frustrating to people like me who, you know, don't want to see half the voters in america alienated or saying -- being accused of aligning with fascists because they're voting for their pocketbook. that's just not where we want to be. we want these people. we want them back in 2024. we want them to feel good when they go to the ballot. we have a story to tell. we have a really good economic story to tell. the last time the republicans were in charge, what was their economic plan? they gave away tax cuts to rich

people in corporations. >> i was -- listen, she had me until the last sentence. i was going to start clapping and say go, hillary, go, and then -- >> come on. >> nobody was enthusiastic about joe biden this entire election cycle. there is no energy. the guy is a terrible messenger. hillary is right, no message. they had no message. people are telling you, poll after poll, here are the things that are important to us, the economy, crime, resonating big, and they continue to -- democrats continue to message on things that people really didn't care about that much. and having joe biden as your lead messenger, tough, right? it is really tough. swimming against the current to begin with, you get a bad messenger, you have a bad outcome. >> you're not saying democracy isn't important? >> no, no. i'm saying, if you look at what the polling numbers were, right, it was the economy, crime, kitchen table issues like hillary is saying. abortion, voter integrity, democracy, all those things poll but poll lower.

people are concerned about paying their bills. that -- you don't have the luxury of worrying about all the other issues if you can't pay your rent. >> to the point about your fact that it is closer than even it normally would be for democrats. what does that say about republicans and the candidates they picked? >> listen, i think that candidates matter, obviously, right? and it is personality driven. some of the candidates are doing -- outperforming. people said herschel walker is dead on arrival. he's run a tough race against raphael warnock, pastor, very smooth, great orator. there are -- each race is race by race, and people do vote on the candidates. i don't think you can blanket s >> you can't put this at joe biden's feet. >> he is the president. he is the leader. >> the states where democrats are really struggling right now for these senate races have really strong republicans running for governor. so that top of the ticket

matters. it matters in arizona where kari lake is way ahead, it matters in georgia where brian kemp is way ahead. it matters in nevada. >> your thesis goes down the drain in pennsylvania. >> which is why fetterman i think is really competitive and it will help him, i think. there is this kind of notion of who is bringing out their voters, where is turnout? we still have -- democrats are much stronger in early voting, republicans are depending on everybody getting to the polls today. that's a risky strategy. >> come out, republicans, come out, hurry up. >> david, i'm interested in even beyond what happens tonight and what it means for 2024. i mean, those -- that "wall street journal" reporting this week that republicans have been really successful in getting many more black voters on board, 17% voting for republicans up from 8% for donald trump and hispanic voters. why do you think that is? >> listen, because we have a message that resonates. voters aren't monolith thick, smocking, african americans and hispanics care about the economy as well. also this current crop, kevin

mccarthy, tom emerson did an incredible job at recruiting candidates, 33 latinos running for congress, over 30 african americans, two of my friends will be congressmen tonight, john james and wesley hunt, west point graduates, proud to say going to be in congress. 13 asian americans. republicans are creating a more diverse party in our own party. >> donald trump is not on the ticket, that's why. donald trump turned off so many african american voters and so many latino voters i think that now -- >> that your cliffs notes? >> i can lean into the republican party if there is no donald trump at the top of the ticket. >> i think we see these working class voters have as much in common as white working class voters. >> that's my cliffs notes. >> thank you, hillary, thank you, david. and thank you, everyone, for watching. the question is which five states consider election day a public holiday. this morning's number is next.

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all right. election day may not be a federal holiday, but there are some states that do recognize it as a public one. here with this morning's number is our cnn senior data reporter harry enten. harry, are we in one of those lucky states here in new york and what are the other states that do let people go and vote today? >> there are five states that recognize election day as a public holiday as well as giving employers -- five employers are required to give employees time off to vote. hawaii, illinois, maryland, new york, west virginia. but i think there's also this question, okay, when did election day even become a thing? as it turns out election day has not been through our entire history. you have to go all the way back to 1845, i believe, is the first day in which election day was, in fact, a universal day and it actually correlated with the invention of the telegram because the idea was they didn't want some states being able to communicate with other ones to

know what their voting patterns were. now, i think there's almost this question, though, okay, why is it an early tuesday in november? this seems to be quite strange. well, it's a tuesday because a lot of people went to churches on sunday and on wednesday it was sort of the day you would go into town to sort of sell your goods and it's in early november because it's after the fall harvest and before the harsh winter. i know, it is amazing. and then there's one little last nugget which in all honesty my mind is sort of forgetting if we could put up the graphic i will remember it here, the last sort of nugget -- graphic, people, please, i'm begging you. there we go. the reason why that i wonder if it truly is an election day, still at this particular point is because so many people are voting early and are voting before election day even begins. >> 40 million. >> 69% of voters last night voted before election day either by mail or in-person. maybe the -- >> should we call it something

different? >> maybe it's the election sort of ends, it's sort of like the end of the fiesta. >> everything you just said is more proof we need election reform. we are still talking about what started in the 1800s not necessarily applicable in this day and age. >> i think the graphic people did a nice job. >> i thought they did. >> thanks, everyone, for joining us. we appreciate it. anderson cooper picks up election day coverage right after this. voters having their say right now. this is election day in america. stay tuned. the holidays were lonely for the yeti. but after saving big with early black friday at amazon... shop legenda deals at amazon.

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