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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Interview With Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen; Election Day. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired November 06, 2018 - 16:30   ET

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

[16:30:01]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: He's at the headquarters for Democrat Beto O'Rourke. He's trying to win the Senate seat currently held by Ted Cruz.

Rebecca Berg is in Springfield, Missouri, at the headquarters for Republican attorney general Josh Hawley. He's trying to capture the Senate seat currently held by Claire McCaskill.

First to Rebecca.

Rebecca, polls show this race in a dead heat. President Trump was rallying support there for Hawley just last night. How does Hawley feel?

I saw he was behind in one poll, but it seems pretty neck and neck.

REBECCA BERG, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right, Jake. It's been neck and neck for pretty much this entire race.

And so both sides today very nervous going into tonight. No one knows how this race is going to turn out. That might be surprising to some of our viewers, when you consider that President Trump won the state of Missouri by 19 points in 2016.

But the politics here are a little more complicated. It's not a straight partisan state. In 2016, when President Trump dominated here, Republican Senator Roy Blunt only won reelection by less than three points over his Democratic rival, Jason Kander.

And so there isn't a clear edge here for a generic Republican in Missouri. It's called the Show Me State for a reason. Voters want the candidates to prove themselves to them. And so one of the big questions is, did Josh Hawley, the Republican candidate, close the deal with Republican voters, with Trump supporters here in the state of Missouri?

He's not very well known. He's only been in office for a couple of years statewide. And so he's been introducing himself too much of this state throughout this campaign.

Meanwhile, Claire McCaskill has developed a reputation in Missouri among -- during many years as an elected official and someone running statewide in the state. Of course, President Trump working very hard to try to get his supporters to come out for Republican Josh Hawley. He was here in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, last night. He's been in Missouri multiple times throughout this campaign.

The wild card in this race, Jake, will be which side has the energy? Is it going to be Democrats and Claire McCaskill, or will the Republican base turn out for Josh Hawley? We're going to be waiting here bringing you updates on election night.

There's no early voting in Missouri, so all of the voting is happening right now, today on Election Day. It used to be that Missouri was a bellwether for the presidential election. Tonight, it's going to be a bellwether for the Senate -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Rebecca Berg, thanks so much.

Let's go to Ed Lavandera right now. He is at O'Rourke headquarters in El Paso, Texas.

And, Ed, this race has gotten a lot of attention, but Congressman Beto O'Rourke, he's behind in the most recent polls. Is the campaign feeling that what they see in the field will actually result in more votes than they're seeing in the polling?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are banking on this operation that they have spent the last 20 months building and they are hoping that all of the polls and all of the analysis that has gone on beforehand, they believe, has no way of really measuring what they have been able to build here, more than 725 what they described as pop-up offices around the state to generate turnout and to canvass neighborhoods, block-walk and that sort of thing.

But it's still a question. And Beto O'Rourke mentioned this last night as he capped off his campaigning, that essentially what this election will come down to is a real test of that operation that they have built, whether or not this has all been hype and for nothing, or whether or not the operation that they have built here is the real deal.

Here in the town of El Paso, the election headquarter watch party will be held in the minor league baseball stadium of the El Paso Chihuahuas. That's the stage and sound checks you have been hearing going on behind me here throughout the night.

And hear, the giddiness and excitement among Democrats here in Texas is really hard to overstate. And here in El Paso, one local resident, Jake, told me that there hasn't been an event like this happening in El Paso since 1966, since Texas Western University, a team with that fielded the first team of African-American basketball players, an all- black basketball team, won the NCAA basketball title back in 1966.

One local resident told here, this has been -- this would be, if Beto O'Rourke were to win, the big biggest event to take place here in El Paso since then.

TAPPER: All right, Ed Lavandera, thank you so much. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen joins me now. He's the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Senator, good to see you. Thanks for joining us.

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D), MARYLAND: Good to be with you on Election Day, Jake.

TAPPER: So, I don't know if you remember this. But eight years ago, when you were the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in charge of the House, and I was with a different network, you told me that you were confident the Democrats were going to retain the majority in the House.

And your party went on to lose more than 60 seats in the House. Now, you were being polite and diplomatic at the time. You said it was going to be a challenge.

How confident are you feeling today about the Senate, about Democrats in the Senate, compared to how confident you were feeling eight years ago about Democrats in the House?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, Jake, I have said from day one in the Senate races that this is a very difficult road for Senate Democrats, certainly to get a majority.

In fact, the story of this race is the fact that we're so competitive right now in the states that the won big, and that you and I are not even talking about the Midwestern states that Trump won, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan.

[16:35:17]

Those are not on anybody's big board tonight. So we're going to be battling it out. This is a very difficult path. This is the toughest political map that Democrats have faced in 60 years. And so that's just our sort of realistic view.

Now, the fact of the matter is, turnout has been good in the early vote and turnout as good around the country. So let's wait and see. But this is a very tough road for Democrats to get to a majority in the Senate.

In fact, I think the real story is the fact that we're fighting it out at the point we are.

TAPPER: Yes, I mean, we just did -- we just did a reporter hit in Texas, not a state where Democrats normally compete very well.

The map is definitely tough for Democrats this year. Republicans say they might even pick up a seat or two, North Dakota, for instance, or Indiana.

Do you think it's possible that Democrats might actually take the House, but lose a seat or two in the Senate?

VAN HOLLEN: I do believe the Democrats are going to win a majority in the House. But, again, just everybody's got to get out and vote.

As you know, a lot of the polls are all open on the East Coast and we got a lot more hours to go out West. Look, as I said, the Senate is a much tougher road to any kind of majority. So I'm not going to make any predictions with respect to particular races.

I will say that the president's really extreme rhetoric has turned off a lot of swing voters. And the fact that Republicans have spent the last two years trying to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and take away protections for people with preexisting health conditions has had a significant impact.

If you look at Nevada and Arizona, there, you have got a senator, a Republican senator, Dean Heller, who voted to strip away protections for people with preexisting conditions. Martha McSally, the Republican Senate candidate, helped lead the charge in the House to take away those protections for people.

They're trying to spin it all differently now, but the reality and the truth is, that's how they voted, and people are going to hold them accountable.

TAPPER: I understand you're not going to make any predictions. But let me ask you, what state are you going to be watching as the best bellwether, meaning that if you're doing well in it, it will likely symbolize that there is a Democratic wave that even helps the Senate for you?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, Jake, there's just too many states.

We have got seven tossup states and in the Senate races right now. And so I don't think there is any one state to watch. Obviously, Florida is going to come in among the earlier returns. And so we will be watching very carefully what happens there.

There are a lot of House races that can provide some indicators as to how some of the Senate races will go, like Nevada or Arizona. But, again, I'm -- what I'm trying to do right now is monitor turnout in different states. Turnout overall seems to be good and healthy for Democrats and independents.

But, as you know, in those very deep red Trump states, in addition to winning Democrats and independents, our senators have to win Republican votes. And the reason they have been able to do that in the past, and the reason they're competitive today is, they have always stood up first and foremost for their states.

And they have been very clear that they will work with President Trump when it's good for their state and they will oppose him when it's not good for their state, like on the health care issues and certainly on Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader's proposal to cut Medicare and Social Security, now that they blew a huge additional hole in our deficit and debt.

So I think all these issues are coming into play as we speak. And voters will have to render their judgment. TAPPER: Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, thank you so much. Always good to see you.

VAN HOLLEN: Good to be with you. Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: At 7:00 p.m. Eastern, some polls will close in Florida, though not the polls in the Panhandle. That's a state with two of the most hotly contested elections in the country.

Democratic Senator Bill Nelson is fighting to keep his seat against a challenge from current Republican Governor Rick Scott. And Democratic Mayor of Tallahassee Andrew Gillum wants to become the first African- American governor of Florida in Florida history. And he's running against former Republican Congressman Ron DeSantis.

Boris Sanchez is live from DeSantis headquarters. And Ryan Nobles is at Gillum headquarters.

First to you, Boris.

How bullish are Republicans feeling about winning the governorship? They seem to have been fighting an uphill battle, at least in terms of how DeSantis has been fighting.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jake, yes.

A source inside the DeSantis campaign today told me that they are feeling confident about tonight, telling me that the candidate is feeling good. He's apparently already here at his campaign party upstairs watching coverage with his wife.

[16:40:03]

We have been told a number of times that DeSantis has tried to cast himself as a Trump acolyte, somebody who's very closely aligned with the president on a number of issues, including immigration.

We remember that commercial where his kids are building a toy wall and reading "The Art of the Deal." A source inside the campaign told me they're watching several areas very closely, including the I-4 Corridor from Daytona, Orlando, and Tampa, as well as the Panhandle, which you noted is closing polls later than the rest of the state.

That's an area where President Trump saw an overwhelming amount of support in 2016. They're also looking closely at Miami, where they're counting on Cuban Americans who also voted for President Trump. That's why DeSantis was in Little Havana last week talking about indicting Raul Castro.

This is going to be a close race. And ultimately if DeSantis succeeds, the president could see this as a referendum on himself in the Sunshine State, which he has called his second home. Just last week at a rally with DeSantis, he told supporters, this is my state too.

TAPPER: All right, Boris Sanchez, thank you so much.

Let's go to Ryan, who is with the Gillum campaign.

Ryan, tell us what the mood is where you are.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, I have talked to Democrats across the board in Florida today. And they all have the same exact feeling about tonight. They are optimistic, but they're not quite confident.

And the reason they're not quite confident is because, frankly, Democrats have a miserable record in Florida when it comes to midterm elections like these. In fact, they haven't won the governorship here in the Sunshine State since the late '90s.

But they do feel like this year is different, and one of the reasons they think it is different, because of the candidate at the top of the ticket. Andrew Gillum represents the type of voters that Democrats are going after, young voters, voters that come from different minority groups, and they believe that Gillum has the type of energy and enthusiasm to drive those voters to the polls.

Of course, the big caveat, Jake, is that those voters are traditionally unreliable, and they're especially unreliable in Florida. However, the early returns have them encouraged. They believe that they see an uptick in early voting among those groups.

And if those groups come home tonight, they feel that it's going to be very difficult for Democrats, including Bill Nelson, who's running for the Senate, and Andrew Gillum, who's running for governor, to lose tonight.

But, Jake, everyone concedes that this one is going to be tight. And it may be a long night for both sides.

TAPPER: Been there.

Ryan Nobles, thanks so much,.

Joe Trippi, Amanda Carpenter, Nina Turner, David Urban are still with me.

Joe, let me start with you.

Rick Scott, the governor running for Senate, and Ron DeSantis, the former congressman running for governor, both Republicans, they have approached President Trump very differently. Rick Scott in ads saying he will he will be with President Trump when he's right and he will stand up to him when he's wrong, DeSantis embracing Trump wholeheartedly.

Which do you think is smarter politics for a midterm election in Florida?

JOE TRIPPI, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Oh, it's clearly supporting him when he's right and moving away from taking him on when he's wrong. I mean, that's the -- but I think it's really tough for Republicans to

separate themselves from Trump. He is just so -- I mean, just shines a spotlight and just grabs the whole thing, and then -- and is so divisive in abusive and on the attack constantly, that I think even sort of Republicans who want to try to sound like they're for common ground can't get there from here with some of these voters.

AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I would say what's so exciting about the Florida races is that you have two marquee races, the Senate, the governor, two parties, but four extremely different candidates.

You have the Trump Republican in DeSantis. You have the centrist kind of business Republican in Scott. You have the old-school moderate Democrat with Nelson. And then you have the exciting progressive in Gillum.

So depending on how those shake out, they will win by different margins. And it might be a grab bag, but that will tell us a lot about how to campaign and win in 2020. But we have no idea what formula is going to work.

TAPPER: And what's interesting, Nina, President Trump has said Gillum's not qualified for the governorship. He's called him a thief.

I know there are a lot of individuals in Florida on the progressive left and African-Americans who feel like President Trump is using racial coded language, calling him a thief, et cetera.

Is it working in getting Gillum's voters excited and enthusiastic about voting? Or is it -- or is it depressing the vote?

NINA TURNER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think in some ways it is exciting.

But, again, I was there on Sunday. And it's not just that, but the president has racialized this race. He racialized the race for Andrew Gillum. He also racialized the race in Georgia for Stacey Abrams. He brought race into this.

And to call an African-American man a thief, we all know exactly what he's intimating there, no secret. But people have something to vote for. The African-American community, the black community as a whole and all of the residents of Florida, it's not just against President Trump, but it is for Andrew Gillum.

So there is a sort of pride, oh, no, you didn't. And we're going to come out here and show you. To me, I got the same feeling in 2012. Remember when Leader McConnell, Senator McConnell, Mitch McConnell, said, we're going to make President Obama a one-time president.

He said that after...

TAPPER: One term, yes.

TURNER: Oh, one-term. One-time. One-term president. You're right. But then in 2012 when his back was against the wall and it was all on

the line, the African-American community, in particular, had the same feeling, oh no, he will get another term. And that is exactly what I saw on the ground in Florida for Mayor Gillum.

TAPPER: What do you -- what do you see on the ground that you find --

DAVID URBAN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So let me just go to Joe's point. I'll give you African-Americans somebody to vote for. A good friend of mine West Point grad African-American running in Michigan --

TAPPER: John James.

URBAN: John James who had -- who had a great line and talking about how Joe's saying how do you run, and he said I don't want to -- I don't want to misquote him because he's really good. I'm capable of disagreeing with the president without attacking him and agreeing with him without worshiping him, right? And I think in that DeSantis ad, he kind of cried -- you got to jump the shark there a little bit, right?

I think John James has the right message. Hopefully, it'll resonate in Michigan. But that's the message I think that it's a winning message when you're running. You can attack the president -- you don't have to attack him, you can disagree and you can -- you can admire him without worshipping him, right? And I think that's the line that these members need to walk.

TAPPER: There's also a lot of people saying that if Nelson wins tonight, he has Andrew Gillumto thank --

TURNER: That's right. Exactly. No doubt about it.

TAPPER: -- because Andrew Gillum is generating enthusiasm.

TURNER: That's where the excitement is, absolutely. Many in a bouquet of flowers on top of the thing.

URBAN: He was -- look, I mean, even Democratic friends of mine acknowledge at the beginning this race that he was you know, Bill Nelson was dead man walking right? I mean, he was going to be done. And if it wasn't for Andrew Gillum that Bill Nelson would get -- would be not a senator.

JOE TRIPPI, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And what I think the same thing is going on in Texas with Beto O'Rourke. He -- what -- I don't mean about him winning and I think that you know, it's going to be close and maybe he can. But what he's doing is he's really attracting a whole bunch of young people and other folks that are -- that may make a big difference in three or four of those House race.

URBAN: Bur real quick though. Beto, this Beto mania, like Beto O'Rourke, he's in 47th. That's the top. The guy who ran against Ted Cruz last time I think got 44, Beto O'Rourke's but $80 million like two or three points. It's crazy.

TAPPER: If the -- if the voter models are correct and I never have any idea if they are anymore --

URBAN: I don't know either.

TRIPPI: But it -- but it could win three or four House seats for the Democrats in Texas because of him.

AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I would just say, Beto has all the money and all the enthusiasm in the world but when you read the stories about his campaign, they don't have an internal polling director. Why? They have no strategy to flip Republican voters in a ruby red state. Why? That just seems like a malpractice.

TRIPPI: Yes. He's still my pick to be a shock tonight. I still think he may be the shock there.

TAPPER: You think -- you think he's the shock -- there was just a good article by I think it was Tim Alberta in Politico Magazine about how he would have had a better chance perhaps if he had tried to appeal to all these Republicans who don't like Ted Cruz.

TRIPPI: He still has a chance

TAPPER: Well, he still has a chance. Who knows?

CARPENTER: Democrats have to make an argument for Republicans to win.

TAPPER: Joe Trippi, Amanda Carpenter, Nina Turner, David Urban, thank you so much. Coming up next, we're standing by for the first exit polls plus John King at the magic wall working his magic with what he'll be looking for tonight as the polls close. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:50:00] TAPPER: Welcome back to a special edition of THE LEAD. We are just about an hour away from the first polls closing in Indiana and Kentucky and the race everyone will be talking about. First, Kentucky's Sixth District where Amy McGrath a former combat pilot and political newcomer is challenging Republican Congressman Andy Barr. Sources tell CNN it is one of the races that President Trump and his team will be watching most closely tonight and John King is at the magic wall. John, tell us more about this race.

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Kentucky Six, Jake, one of the many bellwethers or Canaries if you will, will be looking at especially when the early results start to come in. Why this district? President Trump carried this district, Mitt Romney carried this district. If the Democrats Amy McGrath are winning this district tonight, you can be all but certain the Democrats will carry the House majority. The Republican incumbent is Andy Barr. He's tried to run on tax cuts and the economy. Amy McGrath as you noted, a former military veteran. She has run on health care and her military experience. If this district turns blue tonight, you can be almost certain the Democrats are taking back the House. So it is one of the races we will watch as the results come in early on, one of the building blocks if you will, for the Democrats to get that net 23 to take back the House. Another place to watch early on is the Mid-Atlantic region

specifically let's start in Virginia. Here's the test for the Democrats. Do you just get one, they're favored to flip this Republican seat in the Northern Virginia suburbs or can they get two possibly three. This is a prime target here in one of the key 2018 battlegrounds. Dave Brat is your Republican incumbent in Virginia 7th District. Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat. Why does this district tell us more than just what's happening in Virginia? You have the Richmond suburbs. That's where Democrats, especially Democratic women think they will do well. President Trump's numbers down in the suburbs near Richmond. Can the Democrats get propelled to victory there?

Dave Brat though, in the other parts of the district, tea party, the Trump base is there, a classic confrontation of suburbs versus Trump country in Virginia Seven. Can the Democrats pull that one off? If Abigail Spanberger is winning tonight, you can be certain the Democrats will have the majority.

I want to move up to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. They had to redraw the lines here. Democrats think they can pick up four, maybe five, maybe more seats just in the state of Pennsylvania. Watch that as results come in tonight. And now let's cross over the border here into New Jersey. This one is a national test case for the Democrats. Number one, they think in the Northeast including New Jersey targets of opportunity to pick up seats. But some seats matter more than others to the Democrats including this one, New Jersey's Third. The Republican incumbent is Tom MacArthur, one of the moderates who stepped forward to help broker the compromise for the Republican bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

This one is personal for the Democrats not just for Andy Kim the Democratic candidate but for Democrats nationally. And again it's a test in the suburbs this is in New Jersey but if you go to the western parts of the district, you're in the Philadelphia suburbs, another key race to look at as we look for control of the House. Again Democrats think they can get most of the seats they need if not all, Mid- Atlantic and the Northeast and now in the Midwest where they have a lot of targets. If they need some other help though, one of the places we'll be looking is red Texas.

If you look down in Texas, two districts, the Houston suburbs. The Republican incumbent is John Culberson. The Republicans is going to lose in the Houston suburbs, will Millennials turnout, will college- educated women turnout, that's one. Texas 32, in the Dallas suburbs, Pete Sessions, an endangered Republican incumbent. We shouldn't be talking about this race in a normal year. The question is, is this a normal year? Is there a blue wave, a big blue wave? Those two districts in Texas will tell you that.

[16:55:16] That's the House map as you look at it. Democrats favored coming in, plenty of targets of opportunity of the 31 toss-up races heading into election night, 30 of them currently held by Republicans. That tells you when it comes to the House how much the Republicans are playing defense. It's a little different when we switch maps and come over to the battle for the Senate. One-third of the Senate up every two years. This year this map is tilted in favor of Republicans. Ten Democratic incumbents in states the President carried, some of them hugely up for reelection. So we favor the Republicans heading into the count tonight. If you take the races that are not on the ballot, plus those we lean or toss already, 49 Republicans to 45 Democrats.

What does that mean? What does that mean? If nothing else changes, meaning, if the Republicans hold Texas, if the Republicans flip North Dakota, if the Democrats hold Montana, that's what we think heading into the night, we're about to count the votes. If that happens, this is all the Republicans would have to do. If the Republicans can hold Tennessee, now, they think they can do well in these other states too this is all they would need for 50. Mike Pence could then break a 50- 50 tie. So Tennessee looms large.

Look at these other races though and let's go back to the map as we had it. Democrats of late see momentum in Florida, see momentum in Indiana, see momentum in Missouri, all states President Trump carried. These ones by giant numbers. So can the Democrats pull that off? Democrats think they have a chance to flip Nevada, to flip Arizona, those are two seats currently in Republican hands. So is there a chance the Democrats can take the Senate? Not probable but possible.

Let's see what that would look like. If you played it out, again, six toss-up States, you see them there in yellow? If the Democrats could win them all, then conceivably 51-49. Is that going to happen? Republicans say no. Republicans think they're competitive in all of those states and can win at least half of them. But if there is a bigger blue wave than anyone anticipates, the Senate map could be in play which would make Tennessee emerge as the Republican firewall.

Marsha Blackburn of all the Republican candidates in those toss-up states, she has the biggest lead heading into Election Day. It is quite possible Tennessee could emerge if there is a bigger blue wave than people anticipate as the key firewall. One last point as we come back to the map here it's a Midterm Election here. Democrats think they have a chance to take back the House. This is where we start. The Republican majority at 235. Democrats think if there's a modest to a big blue wave, they can do this. They can take us back in time to the last time. The Democrats won a big House majority. This is right after the election of President Obama in 2008. They lost this majority in 2010 but this is what America looked like the last time we had a House Democratic majority. This is what it looks like now.

The big challenge tonight, can the Republicans keep all this red, can the Democrats flip a lot of seats and restore blue especially in middle of America down toward the south. That is the big challenge as we head into the night. We're about to count the votes. Election night in America starts right now.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: It's a momentous election night in America and we're about to get our first exit polls on what voters are thinking.

TAPPER: Are they giving Democrats control of the House and sending a message to the President? We're awaiting the first results.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the night when voters decide whether to reward or rebuke the President.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not on the ticket but I am on the ticket because this is also a referendum about me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After two years of Trump, will Democrats win new power to bring him in and call him out?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: We say the Trump, we are not going backwards, we are going forward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonight, Democrats aim to take back the House for the first time in eight years. Democrats will carry the House, it's going to be a great night for America.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Republicans hope to hold on to the Senate, against an energized opposition.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: There are a whole lot more Conservatives in Texas than there are Liberals.

REP. BETO O'ROURKE (D), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE, TEXAS: We are going to celebrate a victory for Texas, for this country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a high stakes Midterm Election.

ANDREW GILLUM (D), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE, FLORIDA: Are you all ready to flip Florida blue?

REP. RON DESANTIS (R), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE, FLORIDA: Is Southwest Florida Trump country or what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With women running in record numbers, breaking barriers.

STACEY ABRAMS (D), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE, GEORGIA: This is our moment, our chance to lift up Georgia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the President looming over it all.

REP. MARTHA MCSALLY (R), ARIZONA: America is back, thanks to the leadership of President Trump.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Mr. President, tick tock, tick tock.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN's coverage of election night in America, the fight for Congress, the battles for governor and the future of the Trump presidency.

TRUMP: Get your friends, get your neighbors, and get your ass out to vote. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The people are choosing, the world is watching, and anything is possible until the last vote.