Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

New Jersey Voters Can Fax/Email It In; Candidates Pound the Battlegrounds; Interview with Jon Husted, Ohio Secretary of State; Mountain Mommas of Colorado; NYC Marathon Postponed

Aired November 03, 2012 - 19:00   ET

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


DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you, Wolf.

You're watching CNN, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. And this evening, I'm coming to you from downtown Columbus, Ohio, specifically at the boathouse restaurant.

We're in a state that holds 18 electoral votes and they call this a swing state because -- I want you to look at this: it is CNN's most up-to-date polls showing the direction voters are leaning here. Fifty percent for the president, 47 percent for Republican Mitt Romney.

But, with the sampling error, it is a dead heat.

Now, look at this coverage. Three days to go and CNN has a battleground state covered like no other news network. CNN reporter teams are all over Nevada, Wisconsin, Florida, and, of course, here in Ohio. All across this country.

I'm going to take you on the road with both campaigns in just a minute. But, first, we have a very interesting Election Day from the state of New Jersey that they tell you about now. It involves people who are victims of superstorm Sandy and who either cannot return home or have no home anymore.

Our Joe Johns is following us in Washington on this story. But what he is following is that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is now saying that people in the affected areas of New Jersey, people affected by hurricane Sandy, can now vote electronically. They can now vote by e-mail and they can now vote by fax. It is an interesting turn, with CNN Joe Johns.

Joe, what are you finding out about this?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a very interesting turn, Don. As you said, in response to the superstorm, Governor Christie has issued a directive. This is for displaced voters. They can submit ballot applications either by e-mail or fax to their county clerk. The clerk in turn sends them a ballot and then they have to return that ballot by about 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

It sounds highly unusual. And to some, it might even sound off the wall. But the fact of the matter is, in an emergency situation, there is some precedent for it. The United States actually has a program for military and overseas voters to basically do very similar things. So, Chris Christie is taking a page from that program and trying to find out how New Jersey voters are not disenfranchised. This is what he's come up with, Don.

LEMON: And, Joe, I understand it's not just for the people who have been affected by the superstorm. It's also for the rescue workers, the emergency workers, the people who have left their homes and did not get a chance to vote early. They're going to vote electronically, as well, I'm hearing.

JOHNS: Right. Yes. Obviously, we've been talking about all the programs in the state of New Jersey and how they were going to resolve this, because, as you know, there are some polling places that just completely disappeared after this storm. They're trying to deal with the problems of the first responders who are working around the clock, away from their families, away from their homes, as well as all the individuals that are directly affected, without homes, without electricity, without water, and might otherwise not want to go to the polls, even if the polls were there to go to.

LEMON: All right. CNN's Joe Johns.

Also, we should tell you, we're going to talk more about this. The New Jersey National Guard will be having mobile polling places in New Jersey as well to help those people. More on that in just a moment.

But the two men on the Republican ticket hit seven states between them today. All of them battleground states. Mitt Romney began his day in New Hampshire and he's wrapping it upright now in Colorado. There you see him on the stage and you see his wife, Ann, as well.

Our national political correspondent, Mr. Jim Acosta, is on the road now traveling with the Romney campaign near Englewood, Colorado.

So, Jim, seven states. That is one busy day for Romney and Ryan.

Did they generate any momentum today; do you think?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're going to have to wait and see, Don. I mean, if you look at those battleground state polls that have come out in recent days, it does appear that surge of momentum that Mitt Romney had coming out of that first debate may have stalled with the arrival of superstorm Sandy. We're just going to have to wait and see on Election Day, Don.

If you look at all of these battleground states, it is so very close when it comes to this contest between the president and Mitt Romney. We are leaving Colorado Springs right now. We are on our way to a rally tonight in Englewood, Colorado. It will be his final stop here in this battleground state.

And, also, Don, his final Western stop of campaign 2012. We've been hearing Mitt Romney sort of talk nostalgically all day long about this race for the White House. You know, he's been running for president for a good five years now and he was talking about the long days and the short nights and how his campaign is almost there. It's almost until Election Day.

But really, what he's been doing all day long, Don, he has been delivering his closing argument, talking about what he calls real change for the country. He's been seizing that unemployment data that came out yesterday, saying that that uptick in the unemployment rate to 7.9 percent is proof once again that this economy is not moving in the right direction.

But, Don, the other thing that he has really been hitting the last 24 to 48 hours and hitting it hard is this notion of bipartisanship. He --

LEMON: All right. That is CNN's Jim Acosta. He is traveling with the Romney campaign. We're going to get back to Jim. We'll get that straight for you. But we're going to move on now.

Of course, Jim is traveling with the Romney campaign. And, of course, they feel that they're going to have some momentum. They're in seven states today, seven states between Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. That's a lot of states to cover.

You know , the center of the nation politically today is Dubuque, Iowa. Both campaigns brought their road trips -- their road shows to Dubuque. Mitt Romney at lunchtime, President Obama, there right now.

Our chief correspondent White House correspondent Jessica Yellin is there as well.

Jessica, that city is getting plenty of attention today. At least the two men weren't there at the same time. That would have been a bit awkward.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, although maybe they would have had an unscripted debate. That would have been unusual and probably good for the public.

This state getting so much attention because it is one of those must- win battlegrounds, Don. And it tells us so much about the -- the map tells us so much about where they're fighting in these final days.

Where we are right now is not jus just -- it's sort of a twofer for the president, not just fighting for Iowa, but also right across the river for Wisconsin. That's usually a blue state. But right now, the president fighting hard to hold onto Wisconsin as a blue state. He is visiting it three times in the closing days of this campaign.

And if you count Dubuque, it's sort of an extra, because some of this coverage bleeds over there.

Why fighting so hard? The campaign says they're not taking anything for granted. And Paul Ryan, that's his home state. So his addition to the Romney ticket has made that more of a reach for the president, though it's still polling a little bit to the president's way. It just shows you how close this fight really is.

Now, the president's closing message, Don, a lot of countering the Romney themes. Romney has been talking about how he's the candidate of change. The president is saying, uh-uh, not so fast, that's me.

And going back to his old message saying, Governor Romney's party brought gridlock to Washington. That's what the president is saying. Don't let that candidate and that message suck you in because he insists, he's the candidate change. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm just counting on you to be so worn down by all the squabble, so tired of all the dysfunction that you just give up. You walk away. You leave them in power.

In other words, Wisconsin, their bet is on cynicism. They figure they cannot outlast you. They figure, you know what, yes, these guys may get enthusiastic, but, overtime, you know, that enthusiasm fades away and we're still here.

But, Wisconsin, see, my bet is on you. My bet is on the goodness and decency of American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: So, from here, Don, the president heads to northern Virginia where he's expected to get about 5,000 people here, a much larger crowd. I think he's going to show up there with Dave Matthews.

And in then in the coming days, he's bringing rock stars where ever he goes. Let's leave it at that, and Jay-Z.

LEMON: All right. Jess, just save your voice. You're going to need it. It's going to be a long night Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. Thank you, Jessica Yellin.

You know, the election is the least of people's worries in the Northeast. They are frustrated. Frustration growing over the response to superstorm Sandy with more and more people asking why they can't get gas, why they can't find it or when they will get their power back.

Officials say fuel is being brought in. But some places may not have electricity for another week.

One survivor described her ordeal to our Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The water came on all the way up to where we were. We were knee-deep. We couldn't get out, 911 wouldn't answer. We were stuck. We had to just stay there. We were totally scared.

And the devastation after the storm is what you see, there's children with no food. There are people without water. Nobody has power. People can't cook.

And nobody -- the only people that are out here are people from Rockaway that are doing stuff, and Rockaway Park, just like everyone one else needs help.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you feel like you're left out?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like we need help out here. We need the city to step in. We need FEMA to come and place people in housing because you have children who lost everything. You have parents who are devastated, who are sitting in shelters.

I was in a hurricane shelter, I.S. 217. There were no showers. We were for four days. WE got to take a shower.

CANDIOTTI: You got your teenage son out of here before the storm hit. Why did you do that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got my son out because I didn't want him to be here in the devastation.

CANDIOTTI: And see all of this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And see all of this.

CANDIOTTI: Your neighbors, you were telling me?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The neighbors across the street, they live in the basement apartment and they lost everything. Everything is gone.

CANDIOTTI: And now, you are heading to higher ground to stay with family?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, I'm leaving.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That was CNN's Susan Candiotti.

You know, the weather is another worry since a new storm, not as strong as Sandy, I should point out, could blast the Northeast with wind and rain next week.

Three days until Election Day. And here in Ohio, many see it as a game of inches. I tag along as campaigners go door-to-door.

And the pressure is on for the man who has to certify a winner here in Ohio. Will Ohio's secretary of state sign off on who will be the next president? And is he ready? We'll ask him live next.

(COMMERICAL BREAK)

LEMON: Standing here with the secretary of state who's making me look really bad because he's not wearing a coat, but we're going to have him in just a moment talk about that and other things and whether he's ready, ready to announce who could be the next president of the United States.

You know, the battle for Ohio being fought door-to-door. Campaign volunteers are scouring hitting the streets and trying to convince voters to put their man in the White House. I travelled around with volunteers from both the Romney and Obama campaigns.

And the teams, well, on both sides have something in common, huge amounts of determination.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (voice-over): The front line on the Ohio battleground, cold, soggy and grey. But neither snow nor sleet nor bad directions --

(on camera): Are you lost now?

SHAWN HENNING, ROMNEY VOLUNTEER: Oh, yes.

LEMON (voice-over): Shall keep their volunteers from these appointed rounds.

(on camera): Why are you doing this?

HENNING: I do it to support Governor Romney.

LEMON (voice-over): When college sophomore and first time voter Shawn Henning isn't in class or working, he's driving. Walking.

(on camera): Is this your next one?

HENNING: Yes.

LEMON (voice-over): Knocking.

And talking to voters.

HENNING: When you're going to vote, if you're going to go in early or, like, on Election Day?

UINIDENTIFIED FEMLE: We're going on Election Day.

HENNING: OK.

LEMON (on camera): Is it worth it?

It's cold. It's rainy. Some people slam the door in your face, others don't. Some people are receptive.

But is it worth it?

HENNING: In the long run, hopefully, it will be if I see my man, Romney, as the president. Yes.

LEMON (voice-over): But President Romney is the last thing Beth (INAUDIBLE) wants. She says she has a preexisting medical condition. So she put on her boots, put her jewelry business on hold last summer to volunteer full time to make sure President Obama and his health care plan stay put.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you support the president for reelection?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I do.

LEMON: Both campaigns say in these critical, final moments, they need people like Beth and Shawn. And other dedicated volunteers because the barrage of negative ads and robocalls have run their course.

(on camera): So it's about personal contact?

MATT CAFFREY, OBAMA VOLUNTEER: Yes, person to person. Not robocall. Not mass mailing. What's important to you? And what can I say about that subject.

LEMON (voice-over): You don't get more personal than Gail and Matt Caffrey.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So live in Mexico now?

LEMON: When they're not out knocking on doors, these neighborhood team leaders rally the Obama troops from home, working the phones each evening after work.

CAFFREY: We are very well organized. We have been doing this. A lot of us participated in '08. So it's like a veteran army going to fight another battle.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: You know, if the actual voting machines, you know, in the polling, if they match up here in Ohio, my next guest could be the man to call the election on Tuesday for either President Obama or for Mitt Romney.

Jon Husted is the secretary of state here. He's a Republican and he is the state's former House speaker.

Thank you so much for joining us.

JON HUSTED (R), OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE: You're welcome.

LEMON: You said to me, before I get to this question, you said to me that you're surprised that the candidates aren't going door-to-door because?

HUSTED: They're here all of the time. They're like a house guest. They think Ohio wants to go home.

LEMON: Yes. Absolutely, I've heard some of that.

Let me start with something that I think most Americans, most people outside of Ohio aren't aware of. You sent out absentee ballot applications, right, to all registered voters in the state because you said, your reasoning was to level the playing field.

HUSTED: Make sure that the rules are the same in all 88 counties. In the past, we've been sort of running by different rules on all 88 counties. For the first time ever, we'll have the same rules in terms of how we vote in this state.

LEMON: Let's stick on that because 40 percent of all Ohioans, will have voted before?

(CROSSTALK)

HUSTED: I don't think 40 percent, 30 percent to 33 percent we estimate.

LEMON: OK. So then their accusations by doing this is that you are, you know, trying to suppress voters or trying to up the turn out for Republicans and that you're doing something that's actually partisan by doing that?

HUSTED: Actually, I'm not doing anything. That is the law of the state of Ohio. I am the administer of the law. We have strict laws and rules regarding this. I have some latitude in setting uniform hours.

But what we really like is the more people that vote early, the fewer people show up on Election Day and that means we have shorter lines at the polls because most people have already cast their ballots, or at least a lot of them.

LEMON: A lot of them, yes -- 1.3 million absentee ballots were requested. As of now, 1.1 million were returned. And that 200,000 or so, that's an issue here because of the provisional ballots.

If the people who said yes, I do want an absentee ballot don't turn it in and go to the polls and vote, then they'll have to do a provisional ballot. And that's what --

HUSTED: Yes.

LEMON: That can't be counted until November 17th. Does that worry you that you may hold up the entire election?

HUSTED: Well, first of all, we want voters who requested their ballot to turn them in. We encourage them to do that. Right now, we're at 85 percent of them have returned. So, that's a pretty good rate right now. We expect a lot of voters put them in the mail yesterday and today. And we think that the number could actually be smaller than it was the last time. So we're not concerned about that.

LEMON: So you're not -- we are because we're here and you can't count those ballots or those votes until November 17th. I'm joking, but the whole country could be waiting. This is a close race here.

HUSTED: Look, we recognize the importance we play in this process and we're ready for it and we're doing everything we can to make sure we deliver the result on election night.

LEMON: Quickly, if you respond to something that's new in the news and I want to read it because it's from the "Columbus Free Press" here. They're reporting that you installed experimental software patches on some voting machines on some of the most populated Ohio counties, and some voting rights activists are worried that that might amount to tampering. You've heard the whole thing Tagg Romney, owning --

HUSTED: Sure.

LEMON: -- the companies that own, that make voting machines. Are you worried about that? Do you think --

HUSTED: Yes. Not at all. Let me explain what happened. We have a new election night reporting system. All we have is an ability for them to load the data into that election reporting system. And actually, it's so -- the reporting system or the actual county system are not connected in anyway. The results, anybody can get them at home on their computer, they're going to get them the same time I do on election night.

So, we have a supporting system that's brand new and help people across this country, across the world, frankly, look right at our web site and find out what's going on.

LEMON: So nothing fishy going on. And then you responded to me on the break about the Tagg Romney thing, what did you say?

HUSTED: That's silliness. There's only two counties that have those machines and even the Democratic leader of the board of elections down there in Hamilton County were to have them, says this is a silly notion.

LEMON: And you had those machines before?

HUSTED: Yes, we've used these many times. They're only in two counties in the whole state. It's not an issue.

LEMON: Thank you.

HUSTED: Thank you so much.

LEMON: Thank you, sir. Put a coat on, will you? And I hope you're ready. You guys are ready. Thank you very much.

HUSTED: You're welcome.

LEMON: We're going to move on now and talk about the clean up from Sandy. It continues. The storm washed away homes, infrastructure and even the New York marathon -- you know what? It had to be put off.

But one young girl found a way to help everyday New Yorkers. Her story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Pictures of the shoreline before and after superstorm Sandy offer a peek into what has been lost to the storm's fury. The death toll is now 106 people killed. And life for the survivors won't be the same for a very long time -- 2.7 million households still in the dark. Some will stay that way for another week. In New York, Governor Cuomo tried to reassure New Yorkers worried about gas shortages.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: Do not panic. I know there was anxiety about fuel and sometimes you se a long line at the gas station, it makes you more nervous and you see people lining up and you say should I be lining up?

Fuel is on its way. You don't have to panic. We don't need the anxiety. We don't need the lines. Be prudent, but fuel is on the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And so that crane left dangling -- well, workers are busy trying to secure it. The one left dangling by Sandy's fierce winds in New York City. Officials say it could take up to 36 hours to finish that job.

In the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, getting back to normal seems like a distant reality. Survivors pleading for basic necessities. Most importantly, power.

One young lady, she's 11 years old. Her family lives on one of the only powered blocked in Hoboken, New Jersey. She decided that she had to do something to help. And with the assistance of her dad, she set up a pop-up Internet cafe and charging station right in front of her house allowing dozens of people to get back on the grid -- if only for just a few minutes and return for a suggested donation.

Lucy Walkowiak is making her mark. She spoke to me earlier about what she's doing with that money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUCY WALKOWIAK, STARTED POP-UP INTERNET CAFE: All the money that we raised, which is $392, we were going to donate to the Red Cross. And we also received a generous donation of $2,500 from someone who was going to run the marathon, but, since it was cancelled, he donated all the money he would have spent going to the marathon and donated it to the Red Cross.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, Lucy says about 100 people visited her charging station, 100 people visited that station.

We have an amazing development to tell you about. This to superstorm Sandy, we'll get to that in just a moment.

And we'll be back from here, from Ohio, in just a bit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: In a final push, both candidates are touching down in several states each day. Tonight, Mitt Romney is in Colorado. Tomorrow, President Obama will be here in Ohio. It's another of those battleground states we have talked about so much. CNN is in all of the hot spots. In Colorado, it's our Kyung Lah and she joins me now live. So Kyung, you know, you talked to "Mountain Mommas"? Who are the Mountain Mommas?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in political speak, Don, they're the got-to-win-over crowd. Here, in this battleground state, with nine electoral votes, a third of the registered voters are registered independents. Drill that down even further and one of the key demos? Suburban mothers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (voice-over): With the crunch of fall leaves beneath jogging strollers, this group of suburban Colorado moms self-described "Mountain Mommas" hit their first lap chatting about the final leg in the race for president.

TINA SUSAK, REGISTERED INDEPENDENT: I'm very torn.

LAH (on camera): So you're undecided?

SUSAK: I am definitely undecided.

LAH (voice-over): That makes Tina Susak the coveted prize by both parties. She's a registered independent, a suburban mom in a key swing county of Jefferson.

SUSAK: Knocks on my door, mail, to the TV ads. I put a note on my door that said "There are children napping in this house and I guarantee you that you don't get my vote if you wake them up by knocking now."

LAH: So they're really bothering you.

SUSAK: They're really bothering me.

LAH (voice-over): How important is this demographic? Well, just listen to what the candidates have said visiting Colorado.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The small businesswomen in Jefferson county.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Young women who graduated -

JOE BIDEN, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Women's right.

PAUL RYAN, VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Small businesswomen.

LAH: Why the emphasis on women? Pollsters estimate there are still 75 to 100,000 uncommitted voters in this key swing state, most of them non-partisan women living in the Denver suburbs. White, affluent and well educated. They voted for Obama in 2008.

(on camera): But 2012 is a different story. Just a month ago, President Obama led Governor Romney by double digits among Denver suburban women. Today, that margin is razor thin.

LAURA WELCH, REGISTERED INDEPENDENT: It really is still right down the lines of is the economy the important tipping point for you one way or the other, or is it really the social issues that are the tipping point one way or the other.

LAH: And for you it was?

WELCH: For me, it was a little bit of both.

LAH (voice-over): Registered independent Laura Welch is voting for Obama. Her running mate voted early.

(on camera): How did you vote since you voted already?

AMY DILBERTO, REGISTERED INDEPENDENT: I voted for Romney. I feel like there's a lot of things in our economy that need to be worked on. And I feel like Obama has a lot of great talk but not as much that has been done.

LAH (voice-over): With just days left, there are fewer and fewer Tina Susaks.

(on camera): Do you feel like they're fighting over you?

SUSAK: A little bit. Yes, I do.

LAH (voice-over): The state's nine electoral votes could hang in the balance and so could the election.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: Now, Governor Romney is expected to arrive here at this amphitheater right behind me in just about 90 minutes. This is his final stop through this critical swing state. He says he's going to be out here trying to energize people. The people who are here say they feel the energy, Don, and they're also confident. They're not calling this a get-out-the-vote rally. They're calling it a victory rally. Don.

LEMON: Mountain Mommas and Kyung Lah. Thank you very much, Kyung. We appreciate it.

You know, after (INAUDIBLE) of campaigns, spent relentless ads and long speeches, election day is almost here. Thank goodness. Some people in the battleground states like Florida are hitting campaign overload. Enough already, they say. You're hear Floridians a view of surviving campaign season coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I've been trying to warm up during the breaks and I've been sitting here and they told me to go ahead and stay here. So I'm going to stay here.

We're in the home stretch of the most expensive presidential election in history. Three days, three days until election day. After months of relentless ads, constant hypes, speeches and debates, it ends on Tuesday, fingers crossed, hopefully. Lets bring in now CNN contributor, Republican strategist Anna Navarro in Miami and political comedian, Dean Obeidallah in New York. They have been teasing me during the break.

Anna, what's the temperature in Miami?

ANNA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: You know, babe, they sent you to the wrong swing state. It's 75 degrees in Miami right now. I think you need to ask for a hardship - you need to ask for hardship pay.

LEMON: Hey, listen, it has been a long road to election date. What do you want to see happen on Tuesday? I guess happen most on Tuesday. Dean, I'll start with you.

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, POLITICAL COMEDIAN: Well, I think the big question is is America ready for a white president? That's the big question that has to be answered on Tuesday, right. You know, once you go black, who knows, do you ever go back? To me, the real question is the voter turnout. And I swear to you, (INAUDIBLE) CNN coming out tomorrow. I'm appealing to people, really vote. People say it doesn't matter. No, it does. It matters to your family. It matters to you. It's not about Obama. It's not about Romney. It's about policies that are going to affect your life.

You know, I propose, if you don't vote, you're not allowed to vote on "Dancing with the Stars" or "American Idol" for a year. That's what we should do. Make people vote. We need to get out there. It's too important this year.

LEMON: You know, listen, it is. A handful of battleground states, though, may determine the election, which is one of the reasons I'm here. Ohio could determine it. Florida, who knows which way it's going to go. So let's pause for a moment and offer some sympathy for people living here in Ohio or other battleground states like Florida. They've withstood months of constant campaign ads, endless phone calls from eager volunteers and campaign mailers clogging up their mail boxes. They are the prize, Anna. You live in Florida. Are you hitting campaign overload here? Every ad on television, I'm not kidding, is a negative ad.

NAVARRO: Let me tell you something, Don. I never thought it would come to the point where if was actually missing the Viagra and Cialis ads, but I am because right now, I'd rather hear about erection than about election. It's just, you know, it had become crazy here in Florida. What do I want to see on Tuesday? I want to see the end. I want to see light at the end of the tunnel. I have been adding a couple of phrases to my nightly prayers. And it is god, let this election end on Tuesday night. I don't have the patience, stamina or money for a recount fight.

LEMON: Anna, you take my breath away. Switching gears now, we saw a flash of bipartisanship this week with President Obama when he met with Governor Chris Christie and they toured the storm ravaged New Jersey together. Dean, you say some people over-reacted to the Obama- Christie display? Why?

OBEIDALLAH: I'm originally from New Jersey. I think this is a great gesture. We need more bipartisanship, especially in a time of an emergency. There are actually articles going - Has Chris Christie ruined his chances for 2016. That's assuming Romney lose when he runs for the Republican nomination because he worked with President Obama? We should be encouraging bipartisanship. We should be throwing out people on the far left and far right in Congress who are not encouraging that. There's a reason (INAUDIBLE) approval rating. (INAUDIBLE) is more popular than our Congress because these guys like to fight more than get things done. Congress is a mess. The problem is no bipartisanship, no compromise. We need to have compromise. This was a great moment.

LEMON: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: I thought the same thing. I said, listen, two men - the two men working together getting things done this is how our government should work.

OBEIDALLAH: Exactly.

NAVARRO: I absolutely agree. I will tell you I haven't heard one word of criticism coming out of Mitt Romney or Paul Ryan about it. Look, not only am I swing state election survivor, I'm also a hurricane survivor, as a Floridian. And when you're in a middle of a host of devastation of a hurricane, of a natural disaster of this size, you want to see your federal, your state, your local authorities all working together cooperating to solve the issues at hand, which are great. To solve the emergencies. I think Chris Christie did just the right thing for the people of New Jersey. I think he did just the right thing for him, politically. I think it was politically smart and the right thing to do.

OBEIDALLAH: I agree.

LEMON: Listen, whether you're trying to survive a Katrina or a Sandy, or whatever it is, it doesn't matter if a person has a "D" or an "R" in front of their name.

OBEIDALLAH: Absolutely.

LEMON: For which party they belong to. You just need some help. So thank you, guys, appreciate it.

OBEIDALLAH: Thanks, Don. Stay warm. Good luck.

LEMON: All right. I'm trying.

NAVARRO: Stay warm vicariously for me, my friend. LEMON: All right. The New York Marathon, of course, cancelled because of Sandy. But my next guest is she's still going to run in memory of her mother, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: For the first time in its 42-year history, the race will not go on. We're talking about the New York City Marathon. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg wanted to send a message that the city was on its way back after the devastation of super-storm Sandy. But despite his good intentions, the public reaction was swift and it was harsh. Critics argued there was still too much devastation and work to do, mainly in Staten Island, which was to be the starting line of the race. The wave of criticism caused the mayor and race officials to pull the plug on Friday.

Well, 27-year-old Beatriz Craven was to be one of the runners. She planned to run the marathon for the first time ever in honor of her mother who died in March from ovarian cancer. And despite the race being cancelled, Beatriz still plans a run of her own. She joins me now from New York. How are you, Beatriz?

BEATRIZ CRAVEN, WAS TO RUN NYC MARATHON TO HONOR HER MOM: Hi, Don.

LEMON: Are you still going to run the entire length of the race? Are you still going to do a run of your own in a different way?

CRAVEN: Absolutely. And I completely plan on running the full - the full marathon, the full 26.2. The course would be different. The idea is to do the original New York City marathon, which would be four loops around Central Park. So that's the idea. I think it's a little bit more sensible, you know, given the state that Staten Island is currently in. And, well, still meeting some of my own goals at the same time.

LEMON: And you're doing it why?

CRAVEN: I'm doing this for my mom. As you mentioned, my mom had passed away of cancer, from ovarian cancer in March. And, shortly after, in April, I decided to run the marathon for her and raise money for cancer support. So, since April, I've been training hard to be able to get to this point.

LEMON: Yes, that was the point I was trying to get to, you were raising money for cancer support and that's why you're doing it.

What do you make of the decision to cancel the race? The marathon?

CRAVEN: I think it's absolutely the right decision to make, without a doubt. With all the devastation that's currently going on, it just seems like the right thing to do. Unfortunately, I wish that we had gotten the news just a little bit earlier in the week. But we're here. There are a lot of us that are in the same kind of situation. When it comes to running a marathon, most people come into it, you know, with big goals in mind. Doing it for charities. Doing it because of a much larger reason. And, so, you know, that in mind, we're here and I'm fully prepared to run the full thing for my mom.

LEMON: So you know I work with your brother, right?

CRAVEN: Yes.

LEMON: Yes, and I've been told - Mariano. I'm told I'm supposed to ask you about mom's scarf?

CRAVEN: Yes, that's right. My mom wore a scarf whenever she had lost her hair. She lost her hair in the first round of chemo that she had. And it was something that was naturally a very personal thing. It was a very hard time. But my mom, you know, she took it just absolutely fearlessly. She lost her hair and she - as a way of, you know, trying to ease, you know, some of the pain and some of the difficulty in that time, you know, we decided to make a trip out to Hermes. It was a bit of a ha ha for me to lighten the mood. "If there's any time to go to Hermes, mom, you know, now is the time to go and pick out a beautiful scarf because you deserve it." And this is a hard time. And you should gift that to yourself.

And, so, you know, she lost her hair and I still very vividly have that memory in my mind of her tying on her scarf and looking in the mirror. I was ready to break for her and she was just absolutely fearless. She looked in the mirror and tied it on and walked out the door just fabulous and fierce as always. So, in tribute to her and I think channeling some of that own strength and hoping that she'll be with me there tomorrow, I decided to run wearing her scarf tomorrow.

LEMON: Ahhh, very nice gesture. Beatriz Craven, good luck. And thank you for coming on and being an inspiration. OK.

CRAVEN: Thank you so much, Don. I really appreciate it.

LEMON: All right. The upcoming election, let's not forget, it's not just a presidential election. Next, the battle for the U.S. House of Representatives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The White House, not the only House at stake in three days. All 435 members of the House of Representatives are up for re- election. CNN's Athena Jones explains what could happen on election day that would tip the current balance of power.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over) Republicans won control of the House in 2010, riding a wave of victories by Tea Party-backed candidates carrying a message of fiscal conservatism and strong opposition to Obamacare.

So what's going to happen this time around?

Back in September, democratic leader Nancy Pelosi had high hopes for her party's prospects.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), CALIFORNIA: We have an excellent chance to take back the House.

JONES: But so did Republican House Speaker John Boehner.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I continue to feel confident about House Republicans' chances of holding on to the majority.

JONES: Republicans have 242 seats to the Democrats' 193. So Democrats need a net gain of 25 seats to win the majority.

Analysts say that's not likely to happen.

STU ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT: There's little doubt that the Republicans will control the House again after November. They'll probably suffer very minimal losses if they suffer losses at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tyranny, no. Liberty, yes, tyranny no.

JONES: For Republicans, Obamacare is still front and center, along with the economy. Democrats have tried to link Republicans to vice presidential hopeful's Paul Ryan's plans to turn Medicare into a voucher program, something Democrats say would be disastrous for seniors.

Republicans believe they've neutralized that message by arguing Obama care hurts seniors by slashing Medicare. Redistricting will have a big impact helping Republicans.

SHIRA TOPELITZ, ROLL CALL: For the most part, Republicans because they made such overwhelming gains not only in Congress but in state legislatures last the year, they were able to control the redistricting process in a lot of key states. For example, North Carolina, where Democrats will probably lose a couple seats this cycle.

JONES: GOP gains look like likely in districts from North Carolina to Arkansas, among others. In fact, party operatives say they've even put traditional blue states like Rhode Island and Massachusetts into play.

Democrats are trying hard to unseat GOP incumbents in blue states like California, New York and Illinois and could see gains in Maryland and Florida. So why do these House races matter? Members of Congress will have to make big decisions in the coming months. Chief among them, reaching a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, a series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect next year.

TOEPLITZ: The decisions confronting Congress over the next four months are bigger than I think most of us have seen in our lifetime at least on the fiscal matters.

JONES: Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Hurricane Sandy changes the rules for election day. Some voters will now cast their ballots by e-mail and fax.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: With just three days and counting until election day, the presidential candidates are hitting the campaign trail at a dizzying pace. Earlier today, President Barack Obama stumped in Milwaukee and Ohio as well and a little while ago he was in Iowa and then he's going to end the night in Virginia. Governor Mitt Romney started the day in New Hampshire, also made a stop in Iowa. And the president tonight and is making two campaign stops in Colorado.

People in New Jersey pushed from their homes by the storm will be allowed to vote electronically. That word today from the governor's office. They're basically widening their fax and e-mail program used by the absentee voters and deployed military members. So many buildings were damaged or destroyed by the storm that New Jersey officials widened the program to take pressure off temporary polling places.

Search and rescue teams are looking for victims from superstorm Sandy. The toll in the U.S. 106 people killed right now. 2.7 million households are without power and utilities. And they warn it could be another week before they get them back.

I'm Don Lemon, live in Columbus, Ohio. Thank you so much for joining us, and thanks to our hosts here at the Boathouse Restaurant. Our special election programming on CNN is next. "ROMNEY REVEALED" followed by "OBAMA REVEALED" begins right now.