Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

America Votes: Congress and 37 Governorships Up for Grabs ; Voters Finally Get Their Say; Polls Now Open in Florida

Aired November 02, 2010 - 6:59   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Just before 7:00 here on the east coast, and that means a whole lot of other states' polls are opening right at this very minute. Some others have been open for an hour now. Welcome to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING on this Tuesday. It's Election Day, November 2nd. I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Americans across the country heading to the polls, the power in Washington up for grabs this morning. Let's get you oriented with where we're going this Election Day 2010. All right.

We're covering today's midterm elections like no other network possibly can. We've got correspondents fanned out coast to coast. Following the race is big and small from our Drew Griffin in anchorage, Alaska to our David Mattingly in Florida, all part of the best political team on television. And as we cross over at the top of the hour now, 13 more states and the District of Columbia now opening their polls. Delaware, Florida, Georgia, up to Illinois and out west of Missouri all starting to vote now. The balance of power on the line. We're looking at all the big races.

Eighteen Republican seats are at stake, 19 Democrat seats. We're looking at all the big issues and looking at the big picture, as well. Our Tom Foreman is here. He's introducing us to a brand new technology that helps us tell the election story throughout the day. We're calling it the CNN 100. And Tom, this is pretty amazing thing you've got here. Exactly what is it and what are we following?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the 100 races that are most on the knife edge in the house side, in the House of Representatives. These are the ones that threw a variety of metrics that we measured on this. They're polling, and basically whether or not, their district was normally a Republican or Democratic district. This decided whether or not these guys got in.

2008, these are the people who came in. It's largely Democrats. These are Democrats who came in on the coattails of Barack Obama. In 2006, this was the big Democratic surge. So watch very closely what happens as those and as you move back through time -- we've done it by classes. This is when these people came in.

As you move back, you're going to see people who got into office some time ago and have proven they can stay in office. If these start falling, this will tell you that more of a landslide is in effect here. So this is going to be the wall where everything else you watch today. If you want to know what's happening, keep an eye -- whenever we watch, walk over here, turn up the sound, sit down and pay attention, because as the results come in, these will start flipping and you'll get a sense of what's happening.

And 39, that's the number, if 39 of these flipped, and the Republicans are taken control of the House.

ROBERTS: So we've got 435 races on the House, 100 of which we're watching closely. On the Senate side it's 37 races that we're watching, and how are we following those?

FOREMAN: Over here on our data wall. If you look at these races here, our data wall.

ROBERTS: The formally known as "magic wall," now "data wall."

FOREMAN: Yes, now it's the magic data wall.

Some big ones to watch, you know this, Colorado. A lot going on between Ken Buck and Michael Bennett. People are going to pay attention to that. I think a lot of people are going to watch Illinois because it's the president's former place.

And keep an eye on Nevada out here. Oh, my gosh, Sharron Angle and Harry Reid out here. Here's the Senate majority leader. This is one of those things you know is hugely symbolic. If he gets toppled out there, people pay a whole lot of attention.

And 39, 10 over here. And I think if you pick any state you want at this point, but 39-10, Nevada, it's like a football play. Watch those and see what happens. That will tell you the story of this election.

ROBERTS: The race here in Nevada sort of emblematic of the nastiness of the 2010 campaign. And there are so many things that divide this nation. But you found something that is actually bringing people together. What, pre tell is that?

FOREMAN: It's not going to make you feel better. This is one of the things bringing us together. Take a look at this map over here. You see all that orange over there?

ROBERTS: Yep.

FOREMAN: First of all, look here. This is up in Vermont. This is through crimson hexagon, which is a service that monitors Twitter -- they're monitoring twitter flow here. Up in Vermont, 33 percent of the people are voting for a person or a policy according to what they're saying on Twitter.

Down here in tiny, tiny Rhode Island, 36 percent of the people are going out because they want to get out the vote.

The nation, however, is united in voting against a person or a policy. That's all that orange says, that tells you the overall story of this election even before the results.

ROBERTS: And I can see you're wearing an orange tie, too, so solidarity.

(LAUGHTER)

Tom, thanks so much. And we'll be checking in with tom throughout the morning. Our fascinating new technology through which we're bringing you the results of the election 2010 as well as what's happening --

FOREMAN: It's 39-10, Nevada.

ROBERTS: I'll hike it over to Kiran.

CHETRY: All right, thanks, guys. Well, you know, we talked about how it's been a brutal, bitterly fought campaign season and an expensive one too, candidates, in fact, spending $3.5 billion to win your vote. That's a record, an all-time record for a non-presidential year.

When the final vote is tallied, this really comes down to a referendum on President Obama and his first two years in the White House. Dan Lothian is live at the White House this morning. And Dan, we have an Opinion Research Corporation poll out finding many Americans plan to vote against the president and not for any particular candidate. So in their own district, which candidate opposed the president more?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And I think the reason for that is that one word you've been hearing now for quite some time is that a lot of Americans are simply frustrated. Even within the president's own party, there's a lot of disappointment, especially among Latino groups, for example, there has been no movement on immigration reforms.

Republicans like to point out this is an administration that came into power under the banner of hope and change, but there has been disappointment.

And the one big issue for many Americans is the fact that the economy two years in still has not turned around. The president has been pointing out on the campaign trail that things are much more difficult. The situation was much more grave than anticipated. And so it will take time to turn things around.

But nonetheless as people head into the polls, they might be out of work or they'll know someone out of a job or they're simply trying to hang on to their home. So that is in the front of their mind.

They may not be happy with the alternative, the Republicans, at least that's what the polls are showing. But nonetheless, they're not happy with their current place either, Kiran.

CHETRY: It's interesting, you hear some people say I may be voting Republican, but I'm holding them to the same standard in two years, and if they don't turn things around, they're out too.

What else is the president, by the way, Dan, doing in the final hours today?

LOTHIAN: Well, he's all across the airwaves. Yesterday he recorded three syndicated radio shows rolling out this morning. In fact, I just listened about 20 minutes or so ago to the Steve Harvey Show, obviously a friendly audience and urban audience. The president was really pleading with the listeners to go out to the polls. If they've voted already, that they should encourage their family members and their friends or their co-workers, anyone to get out to the polls, as well.

The president laying out what's at stake here, pointing out it would be difficult for him to get anything done over the next two years if Republicans have big gains. And the president ending that interview saying the biggest thanks anyone can give me is to go to the polls.

In addition to the taped interviews this morning, the president also doing some live radio interviews across the country in some key states like Florida, California, and Nevada, obviously trying to get every last vote down to the wire, Kiran.

CHETRY: Dan Lothian at the White House for us today, thanks so much.

LOTHIAN: Also, how will it play out today? And what will the president do next if Republicans indeed take control of the Congress? We have "The Best Political Team on Television" joining us in ten minutes. Insight and analysis from all of them coming up.

Also at 7:30 eastern, we'll be joined by former Virginia governor Tim Kaine. We're going to talk to him about how he feels about the prospects heading into today, Election Day. John?

ROBERTS: Ahead this morning, Kiran, we're watching key races in several states. Up after the break, we're going to go live to Anchorage and check in on the race for senator there. Joe Miller, Scott McAdams, Lisa Murkowski all vying for your vote.

We're also watching Florida and the heated Senate race between Marco Rubio, Kendrick Meek, and Charlie Crist. And then we'll go live to Nevada, that all-important race between Harry Reid and Sharron Angle. It could not get any uglier.

This special edition of AMERICAN MORNING continues after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Ten minutes after the hour now.

Phone service backup across New England after robo-call overload -- several Democratic and Republican field offices in New Hampshire lost phone service last night. Comcast, which provides phone service in the area, blamed a late flood of political calls saying "Comcast and we believe other phone carriers in New Hampshire and Massachusetts are experiencing severe call volumes due to auto dialing activity. We're working hard to identify the carrier that owns the original telephone numbers generating these unusual traffic volumes."

They're on the case, Kiran.

CHETRY: All right.

Now to the Senate battle in Alaska. It is two Republicans against a Democrat after Tea Party-backed Republican Joe Miller defeated incumbent Lisa Murkowski in the primary in that state. So she launched a write-in campaign. The Democrat in the race, Scott McAdams, is hoping to benefit from this GOP split. Miller, you may know has the support of Sarah Palin.

Drew Griffin is covering the race for us. He's live in anchorage this morning. And this race as we know is going to be a close one. The polling literally at least between Murkowski and Joe Miller has it tied up at this point.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and it's all over the map, Kiran. Several polls out over the weekend wildly different in how this race is going to end up. But they both show this is really -- really the only place in the country, I think, where you have the old Republican guard going against the potential new Republican Party, the Tea Party. Tea Party candidate Joe Miller, the Republican who is on the ballot, versus Lisa Murkowski, the sitting Republican senator who is not on the ballot and staging this write-in campaign.

Scott McAdams is the Democrat, the mayor who thinks there's a wedge where he can potentially move in. But as I'm reading the tea leaves of the various polls, it looks like Lisa Murkowski and McAdams are trying to split the same vote, and that Miller with his strong conservative backing is really potentially benefitting from having a three-way race here.

What's interesting is it's all going to come out to turnout, right? Turnout is what it's all about. And in this election already, 17,000 Alaskans have placed their ballots in early voting. That may not sound like a lot, but that's twice as many that have participated in early voting in 2006 in the last non-presidential election.

So I think turnout is going to be very high here, look for a late, late night. And I really believe this is going to be a test between the Tea Party, Palin-backed candidate Joe Miller against the old Republican, old Alaskan political name Lisa Murkowski.

CHETRY: And there were a couple of other interesting elements. One, a reporting over the last couple of days that perhaps the GOP establishment was quietly turning toward Murkowski, whether or not she's getting some of their support as they look at the polls. But also the issue that it is very difficult to win as a write-in candidate. We haven't seen that in the Senate since Strom Thurman in 1954.

GRIFFIN: That's right. Let me take those by the each. Number one, there was a report by ABC, an anonymous source saying that the Republicans were pulling out of Joe Miller's campaign. Well, the National Center Republicans went on the record, said no. That is absolutely not true. That report was absolutely false. We talked about it with Joe Miller. He said no, they still support me and are running ads in this state for me. That's the Republicans.

Murkowski, you're right, she's got a difficult write-in campaign. You actually have to go to the ballot, you have to fill in the little dot and then write in her name. So that's going to be a test.

The other thing that came up over the weekend, Kiran, we did some reporting with Lisa Murkowski in which she said in an interview she felt liberated from the Republican Party. Joe Miller and conservatives ran with that saying Lisa Murkowski is now threatening to caucus with Democrats and to become a conservative. She had to do a little -- I mean a liberal.

She had to do some backpedaling on that, say this morning that she is a Republican and will vote with the Republicans if she gets back into the White House, into the Washington, D.C.

So you can see where she has to run this narrow path between still being a Republican but yet attracting enough liberals or Democrats in this state to try to defeat the Tea Party candidates. It's going to be a very interesting dynamic to watch.

CHETRY: It will, and we'll be watching throughout the day and into the early morning hours, as well. Drew, thanks so much. You got us in a holiday spirit with your live shot there. We love it. Thanks so much.

GRIFFIN: I'll get a dog with jingle bells running around.

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: Thanks, Drew. John?

ROBERTS: Somehow I think, though, he's the only guy up at 2:00 a.m. in Alaska.

Well, polls are now open. About half of states are up for grabs, control of the House and Senate, 37 governorships. "The Best Political Minds on Television" up next with the insights and analysis that you've come to expect from CNN. We're back right after a break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Eighteen minutes past the hour right now. A quick programming note for you.

AMERICAN MORNING will be on at a special time tomorrow. Yes, it's very special. It's 3:00 a.m. Eastern time for all the breaking election results and analysis. We're taking you through noon. Interestingly enough, John, we might still be trying to find out some of the results, especially on Alaska.

ROBERTS: Yes, Alaska and Nevada, maybe a couple other races, as well. Boy, 3:00 a.m., there's something really special about that. No question.

Eighteen and a half minutes after the hour. Joining us now, former White House chief of staff Andy Card, Democratic strategist Kiki McLean, "The Daily Beast" columnist John Avlon, who we pointed out wins no matter who wins because independents always do. Cord Jefferson, Washington reporter for TheRoot.com, "New York Times" national correspondent Kate Zernike and Michael Scherer is the White House correspondent for "Time" magazine.

So I want to throw out another jump ball this morning. Issue numbers one through ten, basically this election, the economy. You look at it almost 50 percent of people say that's the number one issue. And then all of the other issues that used to fair high are down below 10 percent. So who can better turn this economy around?

When the Republicans are in power, the Democrats say trust us, we can do it. When the Democrats are in power, the Republicans say no, we're the ones who can do it. Is anyone really more capable than another, Andy, of doing this?

ANDY CARD, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Well, I think if the Republicans take control of the House, they will control the debate over taxes.

ROBERTS: But will they do anything about it?

CARD: Oh, yes, I think they will do something about it. Remember this great uncertainty right now, even if the IRS, they're supposed to be sending out forms right now to employers, how much do you withhold from pay on January 1st. And that isn't being done because Congress hasn't worked. The administration hasn't worked. What's going to happen with the Bush tax cuts? Are they going to take place? So there will be a debate about taxes right after this election is over.

KIKI MCLEAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: But John raises the question which we refer to as the choice this year. Right? And the choice is really about the economy.

Historically, people have had great confidence so one side or the other could control it. That would make for an easy campaign year. This is more complicated because this is not your average recession, and so people's confidence at one side or the other can fix it isn't there and that's where the choice comes in, which is from my point of view Barack Obama and Democrats stopped us from going off the cliff. Now, they can move us forward. But that's a choice everybody is going to make and the most important thing is somebody go out and vote on it.

ROBERTS: Winning independents trust. JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, independents thought the economy was issue number one going back to 2007. When Republicans were focused on terrorism, the Democrats were focused on health care. So this has been a long standing issue. Clearly, they've swung towards Republicans on this. And there is a philosophic difference. I think it's fair to say. Republicans embrace a pro-growth tax- cutting philosophy, which some folks would say didn't necessarily pan out as well in terms of macroeconomics in the late Bush era. Democrats have embraced a more spending Keynesian philosophy, but I think overall the country has kind of rejected that the moment out of concern about deficits and debt. Independent voters being very motivated about that.

MICHAEL SCHERER, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "TIME": I don't think it's that complicated. I think it's just to throw the bums out mentality. And then there's that.

ROBERTS: It's a very eloquent argument.

SCHERER: No, and the situation is that for a decade now, people have felt stagnant. They haven't felt their incomes growing for a while. We had the housing bubble, that's gone now. People are insecure and neither party has been able to offer. Democrats will say spend. Republicans will say cut taxes, but neither of the solutions are solving the underlying problem. Until that's solved, we'll keep getting thrown out.

CORD JEFFERSON, WASHINGTON REPORTER, THEROOT.COM: I think something that's important to point out is that as much as people are concerned about the economy, people really don't know that much about the economy. It shows that most of the electorate believes that Obama actually raised taxes. That's not true.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

JEFFERSON: Most of the electorate believes that TARP funds won't be repaid. That's not true. So as much as people are concerned about all of these financial issues, they really don't know that much about --

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: But who can create jobs? Because that's the important point here. From all of the analysis that you've done, from all the coverage you've done, is there one side or the other that has a better plan for actually creating jobs? Who should voters believe?

KATE ZERNIKE, AUTHOR, "BOILING MAD INSIDE TEA PARTY AMERICA": Well, I think voters are trending toward believing Republicans now. But I don't think either side has monopoly on this. This is why I'm so curious about the vote in Nevada where voters have an option to choose neither -- none of the above. And I think if voters in other states have that option, a lot of them will be choosing it. They don't trust Democrats or Republicans.

ROBERTS: Hold that thought and we can come back. We've got to take a quick break and we'll be back with it. We'll do with you what we did with Ed Rollins in our 5:00 a.m. hour. We'll start off with you.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.

ROBERTS: Well, he is the good looking one. We'll be right back after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: It's 26 minutes after the hour. Let's bring our panel back in. Kiki McLean has got a thought this morning. And just to clarify, she was the one who earlier this morning dubbed Ed Rollins the cute one.

MCLEAN: I did. I did.

ROBERTS: That's what the reference was too.

MCLEAN: And so is Andy. This is all about moving America forward.

CARD: We're the old ones.

MCLEAN: We? All right.

CARD: Ed Rollins and I are the old ones.

MCLEAN: This has gone severely off track. We can bring it back in.

ROBERTS: Would you like my foot to put in your mouth?

MCLEAN: I'm going to bring this back and actually disagree with a couple of my green room buddies here and point out that number one, Democrats do believe in tax cuts. We just want to do it in the right place. All right, for the middle class. And the first point, I agree that not everybody may recognize the value of what happened with TARP. In fact, we finally actually made some money. The American treasury got some money back out of the deal, but Americans do know what's going on with this economy. And this is not just soft talk over here. They know it when they're losing their homes and they don't have a job. But the question is, not necessarily who you think is going to fix it by themselves, but who is going to put ideas forward that move us forward. I have concerns based on things that people like Mr. McCollum (ph) has said that they're not going to work.

ROBERTS: Wait. When you look at the state of the economy, you would think that what this country needs is a Manhattan-project style approach to, OK, let's drop the partisanship, let's drop the fighting, let's drop the zero sum game in Washington. Let's all get together and do something before the unemployment rate goes higher, before more people lose their homes, before more people run out of unemployment benefits and before America loses its position in the world.

AVLON: Yes. And that's what we needed for energy independence. On every major issue that faced America, that's exactly what we need.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So why can't people expect that?

AVLON: It is hyper-partisanship. Hyper-partisanship is stopping our country from solving problems, bottom line. And in terms of --

ROBERTS: Do you agree?

CARD: Government has got to work, but we've got to make sure that we take away the uncertainty of this climate in the economy. And the uncertainty over regulation is stifling economic opportunity to grow.

AVLON: But it's not just top down. The middle class has been feeling squeezed for a long, long time. They felt the pain of the economy from before when the great recession began. And any great American recovery begins with the middle class feeling confidence, beginning to believe that their future is going to be better than their past.

ROBERTS: Michael, you said don't hold your breath. Why can't the American people expect that the politicians that they elected in Washington work for them will not do that?

SCHERER: Because we're caught in a vicious loop here. Anger fuels the ideological extremes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

SCHERER: We keep electing more partisan Congresses, those partisan Congresses, and even maybe the president of the United States feel they have a mandate from an ideological point of view and that further polarizes. I don't know how we get out of that loop, but it's sort of a self-reinforcing --

JEFFERSON: I think one way to get out of it and I think that's something is going to be great is when some of these Tea Party Republicans take a lot of these House seats, they're going to be forced into action. Because guess what, you can no longer finger- point at the Democrats and say you guys are the ones ruining the country. Now you have to act and govern.

ZERNIKE: But I think they're interpreting it as a mandate for gridlock. I think they're interpreting it as a mandate to say no, we're not going to go forward. You know, at all cost, we're going to stop this. We're going to block this.

CARD: I think this election is more about getting rid of arrogance than it is about almost any government policy or any policy. Washington has been too arrogant. And the American people are sick and tired of it.

ROBERTS: Would you include both parties in that?

CARD: I include both parties. I include the president right at the top of the list. He came across as very arrogant over the last two years. And it was his way or the highway. And I don't think -- I think that is what's being --

(CROSSTALK) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No more so than Bush prior to him and then Karl Rove and --

CARD: That is so not true. You're living a myth. I'm talking reality.

MCLEAN: John, before this table goes crazy.

ROBERTS: No, I like it.

MCLEAN: To your point about what is it that's going to make people move forward and how do they if they haven't been able to before? I'm going to tell you that part of it is going to be with governors who get elected today because they don't have a choice. The state budgets are in shambles. They don't have the leeway to kind of goof around.

ROBERTS: What's going on out there?

MCLEAN: But this is also where you see governors who become president, right? Because they have to make these things happen. And I think that you can turn around today and you can look up. And everybody's talked about the congressional races today being when you walk in to vote at your polling place, I say when you walk into your polling place, say you better think really hard about this gubernatorial races that are out.

ROBERTS: We have to run. Thanks very much for being with us this morning. Great to talk to you all.

Andy Card, Kiki McLean, John Avalon, Cord Jefferson, (INAUDIBLE) Michael (INAUDIBLE), good of you to come in this morning. Really appreciate it. Kiran?

CHETRY: John, thanks.

Well, in any midterm election, it's common for the party in power to lose seats. But polling by us here at CNN, Gallup, Cook, "Political Report," "Rothenberg Report," all suggest that the Republicans will likely win more than the 39 seats needed to give them the majority in the House. That's still a little bit unclear, at least, from the polling about what will happen in the Senate.

But Democratic leaders are certainly not throwing in the towel yet. And joining me this morning is Democratic National Committee Chair and former Virginia governor Tim Kaine.

Governor Kaine, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

TIM KAINE, CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: You bet, Kiran. glad to be with you.

CHETRY: I know you've been asked about this over and over again, whether or not democrats will lose the House. You have said as late as last night with Wolf Blitzer, you believe that it will hold.

KAINE: Yes. CHETRY: Are you changing your mind this morning?

KAINE: Kiran, here's my take. The other guys say they're going to take both Houses back, and we say we're going to hold both Houses. We feel quite good in the Senate, although we're not taking any race for granted. We're out working as hard as we can. In the House, it is going to be tougher. But here's the path for us. The Republicans are going to pick up a number of seats, no doubt about it.

As you know, there are 49 Democratic House members who represent districts that voted for John McCain two years ago. That's natural territory where the Republicans are going to run strong races. However, what a lot of folks don't count on is that there are also a number of seats in the country where we're going to win Republican seats. So we feel good about seats in Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Illinois, Hawaii. There's some other seats out there on the bubble that we think we can pick up.

Every Republican seat we win makes it harder for the Republicans. It increases their numbers that they have to win. So while I think we've got the head wind we're running against, we're not throwing in the towel. We're encouraging everybody to get out there and vote. And we are seeing positive signs in early voting that is taking place in the states that allow it.

CHETRY: Do you think this notion of a Republican wave is being overplayed?

KAINE: I think it's been overplayed kind of throughout the cycle. And, again, you do see Republicans starting to back off now. They were going to take both Houses as of late summer. They're starting to back of that. And I think, Kiran, actually what you're going to see. However the numbers are, the margins will be closer. We didn't believe on inauguration day 2009 that America was 59 percent Democratic and 41 percent Republican. That was the essential margin in both Houses, we're a more closely divided nation than that. And the margins in the two houses, I think, are going to reflect that after today.

CHETRY: Well, even if you don't lose big in the House - lose the Senate, and let's say you do lose the House. How will Democrats interpret that message from the voters moving forward?

KAINE: Well, I think we're going to see it as, look, the margins will reset back to where the American population is. None of us believe that the population was 59-41 democratic. And so then the issue is, look, we've made strong progress over the last two years in turning a shrinking economy into a growing one. But now we have to accelerate that rate of growth. And that is imperative that we work together in Congress whatever the party to continue to move forward in the economy and in other key areas.

And so it's going to be up to everybody to come to the table with constructive ideas about how to move forward.

CHETRY: Now, I know that you enjoy a close relationship with the president. Does it bother you personally to see Democrats who are running by distancing themselves, in cases even running ads distancing themselves from the president and his policies? Or you think that's just how it goes in these tight races?

KAINE: Well, Kiran, it does bother me. It bothers me partly because I think the president is doing such a spectacular job. It also bothers me because the historical precedent suggests that when you do that, it doesn't help you. The Democrats did that with Truman in 1946, after he had done a great job in his first year as president and it didn't help them. They lost both Houses when they did that.

But the good news is, Kiran, I have now been in 40 plus states as DNC chair. The overwhelming majority of Democrats run, proud to be democrats, proud of the party's accomplishments, and proud of President Obama.

CHETRY: Right.

KAINE: It's kind of a notable few that distance themselves from the president. But when they do, that's newsworthy. A democrat standing up and saying I support the president isn't newsworthy.

CHETRY: No, I totally get what you're saying. And that is going to be played because it's curious, of course.

KAINE: Right.

CHETRY: When you look at a president who was wildly popular when he was elected in 2008. You said something interesting. You said that you think the president's doing a spectacular job.

KAINE: I do.

CHETRY: Is it about the message? Because our latest poll has 75 percent of the country when asked think we're going in the wrong direction.

KAINE: Here's what I think it's partly about the message. But there's other things that - look, you can always improve. This job has the steepest learning curve in the world and nobody just jumps into it at the top of the learning curve. Like you're going to get better every day. You ought to be trying to be better the last day you're in office than you were the day before. But if you looked at the accomplishments of this president, we stopped combat operations in Iraq.

An economy that was shrinking on inauguration day for the first time since the 1930s is growing again. Women are entitled to equal pay for equal work. We've done historic health care reform to curb insurance company abuses, save the auto industry. I could go on. These are accomplishments that are big and notable accomplishments that are going to be very, very well regarded.

But look, the economy's tough, people are still hurting. That means there's anxieties out there. And we all - all of us in public life of either party -- we've got to speak directly to those anxieties. CHETRY: You talked about the learning curve, as well, for the president that you can always do better. What do you think the president could've done better specifically over the past 22 months?

KAINE: You know, I'm not going to get into that. I can tell you that I think some things you're going to start to see. The president had to save the financial system. Which the previous administration had put us into a position where we were on the verge of a complete collapse of the financial system and the president and his team have done a remarkable job of saving the financial system and shoring it up with the administration of the T.A.R.P. bill and then also the important Wall Street reform.

Now what you see is the White House turning with the small business lending bill and other policies to focusing on the kind of start-ups, entrepreneurs, mom and pop businesses. And you're going to see much more focus on that going forward. But the most important thing at the start was to save the financial system from collapse. And so just as time evolves, there's different issues you now have the ability to focus on.

And I think the small business success, which the president has talked about often is going to now take center stage now that the financial system has stabilized.

CHETRY: All right. Well, I know you have a busy day ahead of you. Thanks for giving us some time this morning. DNC chairman Tim Kaine, great to talk you as always.

KAINE: You bet, Kiran.

CHETRY: John.

ROBERTS: Kiran, Kentucky's U.S. Senate race has been one of the ugliest in the country this morning we're going to talk to the Republican candidate and Tea Party favorite, Rand Paul. He joins us at 8:10 Eastern with what he would like to get done if he is elected.

Coming up, he began as an underdog, but now Tea Party Republican Marco Rubio is now an underdog in the three-way Florida Senate race. A live report on that race, just ahead. 37 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Many Americans expect this to be a big change election. At stake, the balance of power in Washington and in dozens of state races, including Florida. The polls there are open now, all eyes on the three-way Senate race. Republican Marco Rubio has been leading Governor Charlie Crist, Republican turned independent and Democrat Kendrick Meek. The contenders to replace Crist as governor - Democrat Alex Sink and Republican Rick Scott have been running neck-and-neck.

Our David Mattingly live in Plantation, Florida, for us this morning. And when it comes to the sunshine race, David, what are voters looking for? DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Voters are looking for some relief as they go to the polls right now, John. Just look at the numbers that really count. And that's the numbers dealing with the economy.

Florida's unemployment rate at 11.9 percent. That's two percentage points above the national average. Also, state of Florida is second in the nation for foreclosure rates. Just look at these numbers, one out of every 148 homes in Florida in some stage of foreclosure. So you have a lot of voters going to the polls today that are very worried about their immediate future.

Two years ago, Barack Obama took Florida, independents going toward the Democrats two years ago. Those same voters not expected to be so kind to Democrats this time around, John.

ROBERTS: How has voter dissatisfaction surfaced throughout this campaign, David?

MATTINGLY: Well, you see it in every campaign, virtually, as the message of jobs, jobs, jobs keeps coming up. The Republicans running very strong in key races. Marco Rubio very strong in that race, so strong that there was talk that the Democrats might even try to talk their guy, Kendrick Meek, into getting out of the race.

But last night, we saw former President Bill Clinton campaigning with Meek to put that question to rest. But again, Marco Rubio running very strong in that race. Also, Rick Scott, conservative Republican, running very strong in the race for governor. That race expected to go to the wire. A lot of drama as we go into the polls today.

ROBERTS: David Mattingly for us, watching the sunshine state. David, thanks so much. Kiran?

CHETRY: Well, 42 minutes past the hour right now. Coming up, the San Francisco Giants giving their fans something to celebrate. A World Series title, their first in 56 years. The Giants finishing off the Texas Rangers in just five games. A lot of celebrating going on around, at least the California area.

And a dry election day for much of the country. Rob's going to have the forecast right after the break. 43 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Well, continuing our special election day coverage in just a moment. But first, other stories that we're following this morning.

The cost to go brown is about to go up. UPS announcing it is raising rates for ground and air express shipments by 4.9 percent. Those new rates will take effect in January. So you can still ship all your stuff for Christmas at the usual cost.

CHETRY: Well, a federal appeals court ruled that the Military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy can, indeed, be enforced while the Obama administration appeals a lower-court ruling that found the policy unconstitutional. The gay rights group that filed that suit may make an emergency appeal directly to the Supreme Court.

ROBERTS: Former Congressman Gary Condit testified in the Chandra Levy murder trial. Condit was allegedly having an affair with the Washington intern when she disappeared back in 2001. He refused to tell the court if they were intimate, but did say he quote, "Didn't commit any crime." Ingmar Guandique is on trial for allegedly attacking and killing Levy while she was jogging.

CHETRY: Just a week after he reportedly trashed the Plaza Hotel in New York, Charlie Sheen filing for divorce from his third wife Brooke Muller. The divorce was first reported yesterday by "People" magazine's web site. They have twin sons together. Sheen is seeking joint custody. Court documents show that they separated a year ago, the same day they had a fight that led to assault charges against the actor.

ROBERTS: And a real San Francisco treat. The Giants winning their first World Series championship since 1954. They beat the Texas Rangers in five games. And the city will honor the new champs with a ticker tape parade on Wednesday.

CHETRY: Congrats to them.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Well, the stakes are so high that they sent in the closer. At least that's what First Lady Michelle Obama is known as when she's out campaigning. She was campaigning for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, saying her husband can't do it alone. A closer look at this race and what's on the line in Nevada coming up next.

It's 50 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: There's some video just in to CNN this morning. At 53 minutes past the hour, there's a look at Delaware Senate candidate Republican Christine O'Donnell. She is leaving the polling booth after casting her ballot in Wilmington, Delaware, earlier this morning.

She had been doing some interviews last night and on her Twitter page, which is @christineod, one of her Tweets at 10:00 last night, VP Biden comes to Delaware, stumps for my opponent, draws a crowd of only 200. Oh, this race is so winnable.

Well, we have to wait and see. Chris Coons, the Democrat, had more than double digit lead over her in some of the latest polling. But of course, today is the day that we find out for sure who will be the senator from Delaware.

The balance of power, of course, on the line this morning. Some very wig names with jobs in jeopardy. And even if the Democrats hold on to the Senate, they could lose their leader. Senator Harry Reid, the Majority Leader, is fighting for his political life in Nevada, against Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle. It is one of the closest and watched and, frankly, one of the nastiest races that's taking place in the country.

With so much at stake, the White House sent First Lady Michelle Obama to Las Vegas to make one last pitch for the man that fought for the president's agenda in the Senate, saying, quote, "My husband can't do this alone."

Jim Acosta is live for us in Las Vegas this morning. And as we've talked about this, this is possibly one of the most watched races in the country because of how it affects the leadership in the Senate.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. If the Republicans can take down Harry Reid, that will perhaps be the biggest scalp of the night for the GOP. And Sharron Angle comes into this Election Day with a slight lead in all of the polls.

Democrats caution, though, that they feel like they're been doing very well if you look at the early balloting, the early voting that has been going on in this state. And so place your bets at this point. This is anybody's contest at this point.

And that's why in the last 24 hours you've seen the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Tea Party favorite in the race Sharron Angle both trying to excite and fire up the bases. As you mentioned, Harry Reid has Michelle Obama. Well, Sharron Angle, she had FOX News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D), NEVADA: Thanks, insurance companies and these oil companies take advantage of us. We've got to keep fighting to stop it. And I'm not finished fighting for you. I want you to join me in this fight. I ask for your vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHARRON ANGLE (R), NEVADA SENATE CANDIDATE: When he went in as the Senate Majority Leader, we were at 4.4 percent unemployment, and now as you point out we're at 14.4 percent unemployment. But when you put in the underemployed and those who have quit looking for jobs, we're really at 22.3 percent unemployment. And we lay those squarely at Harry Reid's doorstep. He's the one that pushed, promoted and made deals for those poor public policies that have absolutely crushed our economy here in Nevada.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And Harry Reid is not just battling Sharron Angle. He is battling the economy. Nevada holds the dual distinction of having the highest unemployment rate and the highest foreclosure rate. But don't count out Harry Reid just yet. Back in 1998, Kiran, he won a Senate race in the state by less than 500 votes -- Kiran.

CHETRY: That's why they're not kidding when they say every vote counts, especially today on Election Day.

Jim Acosta, thanks so much.

ACOSTA: That's right.

CHETRY: We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING continues. Your top stories coming your way. It's now three minutes until the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)