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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Rallies GOP Voters Ahead of Midterms; New Video Shows Passengers and Crew Seizing Control of Plane; TikTok Settles With Alabama for $100 Million-Plus. Poll: El-Sayed, Rogers Locked In Tight Michigan Senate Race; Tennessee Halts Executions After Killer Survives. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 01, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Pamela Brown, in for Jake Tapper.

And this hour, President Trump is on his way to Oklahoma for his second event of the day aimed at rallying Republicans ahead of the crucial midterm elections. It is part of what the White House is billing as an aggressive campaign schedule for the president and the vice president. So, does that signal the administration is getting more worried about Republicans' odds?

Plus, there are still so many unanswered questions today about why a pilot allegedly attacked his captain and tried to seize control of a flight yesterday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the suspect, quote, underwent Islamist radical indoctrination. CNN is in Israel tonight with the latest details.

And also the state of Alabama reaches a landmark deal with TikTok over claims the app harmed children and teens. The company agreeing to pay at least $100 million and institute new safety protocols for young users. The Alabama attorney general joins us live to walk us through some of those changes.

The Lead tonight, President Trump is on the trail with just 33 days to go until midterm election day with visits to reliably red Oklahoma and Texas tonight, which he says is to thank Republican voters for their support. Moments ago at his rally in Denton, Texas, Trump was pushing voters to support Republican Senate nominee, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Such a big race. It's such a big race. And I want to just say that he's been a friend of mine for a long time, one of the most loyal people. When I was being hit by the radical left very hard, harder than very few people could have withstood it, I was being hit, Ken Paxton was at my side more than anybody. And I have to always remember that, because he can be a pain in the ass sometimes, I'll be honest.

Is he here, by the way? Oh, there he is. Good. I didn't even know if he's here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Later tonight, he'll head to Durant, Oklahoma, where he'll headline an RNC midterm rally.

CNN's Julia Benbrook is on the ground there. Julia, what are we expecting to hear from Trump?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Donald Trump has said that he is really going to hit the campaign trail. He's going to pick things up over these next several weeks, and a source familiar with midterm planning tells me that that all starts here in Durant, Oklahoma.

And that gives us a little glimpse into the strategy here. This is an area where Trump has dominated. In fact, during the last presidential election, he had the majority of votes in all 77 counties here in Oklahoma. So, as you mentioned earlier today, when he was pressed on why focus in on some of those red states, he said that he wanted to include them as a way to thank them for some of the sweeping victories that they have delivered to him.

Now, one area of focus in all of this for his advisers is turnout. He has said himself he wants voters to pretend like he is on the ballot to get out there and vote. But some close to him have privately acknowledged, some advisers have privately acknowledged, that that turnout can go two ways, especially right now as Trump's approval rating is at an all-time low. It can motivate his base to get out. It can also motivate Democrats to get out and vote as well.

Now, we're going to see him here in Durant, Oklahoma, this is Southeastern Oklahoma, in just a matter of hours, and then he is tomorrow expected to speak in Mobile, Alabama. A GOP official tells us that those two stops are kind of an outlier here, that he is going to be going to some more battleground-focused areas.

And while his schedule is still being worked out, we do expect him to spend some time focused on Florida, Texas, Michigan, and Ohio as he hits the trail. Tonight, he is going to likely be pushing for the Republican candidate for governor, Mike Mazzei. He has endorsed him. Mazzei narrowly won the nomination, and he'll be facing off against the Democratic nominee, Cindy Munson, here in just a matter of weeks.

BROWN: All right. Julia Benbrook in Oklahoma for us, on the campaign trail, thanks so much.

And speaking of the midterm elections, new early voting data compiled by CNN shows a trend that we've seen in polls all summer long. There are emerging signs of a Democratic advantage in the midterms.

CNN's Tom Foreman is following the numbers at the magic wall.

[18:05:00]

So, Tom, walk us through not just what you're seeing, but also what you're hearing from early voters.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we're seeing is that the early ballots cast are way up and they're going even higher. And over in Fairfax, Virginia, today, I saw an early polling place that was just buzzing with activity, lots of people coming and going all day. And when we asked some of them, why are you voting early? Some of them said, well, because they're fearful that Election Day could be chaotic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's -- well, I don't have to take it seriously. It's real. It's there.

FOREMAN: The sense that people might try to disrupt it on Election Day?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I think they will. But, you know, I think that, for the most part, the voting people of America, they're going to go, and they're going to do it regardless.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of the reasons that I came out early because I don't want to risk the day of election when there could be shenanigans going on and the stress and pressure of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Now interestingly, when you talk about Donald Trump meeting with the people who support him out there, look at the reaction that is occurring in a broader sense from the many people who do not support him. He is right now a not much approved of president in this country, greatly disapproved of.

So, look at this. In pre-election ballots requested in Iowa, Republicans down 11 percent, Pennsylvania down 3 percent, Maine down 2 percent. If you go over to the Democrats, whole different equation. With the Democrats, the numbers are decidedly up 13 percent in Iowa, 4 percent in Pennsylvania, 4 percent in Maine. And if you go to the return of the ballots, the casting of the ballots, look at Pennsylvania there compared to 2022, 78 percent return.

The Republicans over here, nothing like that. They are at 19 percent in 2024, 26 percent, but trending down to about 14 percent right now compared to 78 percent for the Democrats there. North Carolina, that's a little more balanced out, but still, if you look at it, you see what's happening over here with the registered Democrats. Yes, they're not a whole lot. They're lower than they were in 2022 at this point, but they're up here. And if you look at Republicans, again, they are down from where they would've been.

And in Virginia, it's a really interesting number to look at here. In counties where Kamala Harris won by more than 20 points, 78 percent up in ballots cast. In counties where Trump won by more than 20 percent, only 61 percent. A lot of ways you could explain this. A lot of things could be involved, but, yes, this matches up perfectly to all the polls we've been seeing that say most Americans, the vast majority, do not think Donald Trump is a good president, and midterms tend to be referendums on the sitting president. Pam?

BROWN: They sure do. All right, Tom Foreman, thank you so much.

All right, let's talk with Democrat Johnny Garcia, who is running for Congress in Texas's 35th Congressional District right near San Antonio. Thanks for coming on.

So, this district is one that has been targeted by Republicans in Texas' newly redistricted map. Cook Political Report shows if the district had existed in 2024, that Trump would've won it by 10 points. You are confident that this race will swing in your direction. How much do you think Trump has to do with that?

JOHNNY GARCIA (D), TEXAS CONGRESIONAL CANDIDATE: Absolutely. It has to do with everything in this district. They thought that this was going to be an easy win for them, redrawing it to favor a Republican, and we've been able to make sure it backfired at every single level along the way.

And here we are just 33 days out from the midterm election and making our opportunity to win back the House majority even that much more of a reality. What they thought they were going to do was silence Latino and minority voters by redrawing this district.

These are the same Latinos that are coming back, the same folks that are fed up and frustrated with high gas prices, not being able to go to HEB to buy their groceries not being able to pay their utility bills with the wages that they're bringing home. But more so than anything, these are the same folks that aren't able to make it to Sunday to buy their barbacoa and Big Red. And, unfortunately, it's getting a whole lot harder for this district to just do the everyday things that they were used to doing before this administration took place.

And we're also seeing in my district, in my opponent, who I'm running against, who has pledged fully that he's just running to be another wing man for Donald Trump, another wing man for Senate and House Republicans. And we've also gotten to see what a Congress full of Republican yes men and yes women have gotten us, higher costs at the grocery store, higher costs with your prescription medications, and ultimately, higher costs at the gas pump. And this is why we're seeing a big shift in Congressional District 35.

BROWN: So, polls certainly show that voters are not happy with prices right now. There's a new poll from the Associated Press that shows 82 percent disapprove of the way Trump is handling cost of living issues. What specifically would you do to bring costs down?

GARCIA: We have to end these tariffs. Look, when I'm speaking to folks in the district, it's not only families that are telling me they're feeling the pinch when they go to the grocery stores. [18:10:01]

It's the business owners. It's the folks that have barbecued restaurants that are telling me it's getting harder to put together a barbecue plate in Texas. It's more for the brisket. It's more to put beans on the plate. It's even costing more for the styrofoam plate to serve the brisket on, and they're not able to bear the burden of these tariffs.

And it's why we have to get into Congress. We have to end these tariffs and make Congress be able to end what we're seeing across the board throughout the nation, higher costs.

BROWN: If Democrats manage to take control of the House but not the Senate in November, would you be willing to work across the aisle to bring down costs for your constituents?

GARCIA: Absolutely. Look, I've served my community as a sheriff's deputy for nearly two decades. And during my time as a sheriff's deputy, I never asked dispatch whether that home I was headed to was Democratic or Republican. I responded every single time when lives are on the line. And we know in this midterm election cycle, lives are on the line.

BROWN: So, really quickly, an FEC report shows that a Texas PAC has spent close to $131 million in supporting the Republican Senate candidate, Ken Paxton, against Democrat candidate James Talarico this week. How do you predict that race could impact down-ballot races like yours?

GARCIA: I mean, we're seeing this super PAC spend the most against our top-of-ticket candidate, James Talarico. My race is right underneath as the second most targeted race in Texas. They're going to spend e- every little dollar that they can, throwing every trick in the playbook at us. But what they can't stop is the frustration that folks are feeling on the ground. And we know here in the next 33 days we're going to see an overwhelming amount of folks come out and vote, and it's why I feel so confident I'm going to win this race.

But only -- we're only going to be able to do so by getting folks to come out. And we're asking everybody that is able to help us across the finish line. Please go visit votejohnnygarcia.com.

BROWN: Okay. Texas Democratic Congressional Candidate Johnny Garcia, thank you.

And we should note we did reach out to the Republican candidate in this race. Their campaign did not respond.

And up next, CNN's Jeremy Diamond sat down with one of the passengers who stormed the cockpit during yesterday's Flydubai flight and helped restrain a pilot who was allegedly stabbing his captain. Hear what this heroic passenger says went through his mind as this all unfolded.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

BROWN: All right. In our World Lead, incredible new details tonight about the attempted hijacking on a Flydubai flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel yesterday.

President Trump said today that he believes the attacker is linked to Iran, but didn't offer any evidence. As key questions remain unanswered, what was the co-pilot's motive in stabbing the captain? How did he get a weapon on the plane? And how was he able to come so close to causing a tragic disaster so close to Israeli airspace?

CNN's Jeremy Diamond sat down with one of the passengers who jumped into action.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's hard to imagine, but this family just survived a dramatic brush with death. 24 hours ago, they were aboard that harrowing Flydubai flight. Tali was taking her six-year-old daughter to the bathroom when she says she suddenly heard strange noises coming from the cockpit.

I mainly heard banging on the door, something you're not supposed to hear coming from the cockpit, noises, a man's raised voice. Suddenly, she says, the cockpit door flung open, and she saw one of the pilots stabbing the other.

At that moment, I realized that was it. It was over. I couldn't imagine any way we were going to get out of there. I just screamed, they're stabbing the pilot, they're stabbing the pilot, help. I screamed and screamed.

That's when Tzvika, seen here in a bloodied white shirt, jumped into action, grabbing his daughter from the bathroom before rushing to subdue the attacker.

TZVIKA MANES, PASSENGER WHO SUBDUED ATTACKER ON FLYDUBAI FLIGHT: I heard my wife screaming, and I heard my daughters screaming, we don't want to die. Father, we don't want to die. And this -- you know, this is -- and I'm getting emotional right now as well. When you hear that your daughters are crying for help, you do whatever you can to help them. And that's what -- that's the trigger that pushed me to run.

DIAMOND: Do you describe it as instinct?

MANES: It's absolutely instinct. We were like jumping on him, three guys, and with hands. We were struggling with him.

DIAMOND: And, I mean, this must have all been happening so fast.

MANES: It's so fast, and the adrenaline is so high. And I didn't know where I was covered with blood from fighting with him. I don't know. Maybe he was injured. I don't know how.

DIAMOND: It was his blood?

MANES: It was his blood, yes. I was covered with blood.

You know, I have some bruises here that I only today I just noticed that this is the adrenaline, you know? When you are in this moment, you don't feel anything. You act like actually a machine trying to solve, trying to control, trying to be efficient as much as you can.

DIAMOND: Tzvika is one of three passengers who rushed toward the cockpit and took down the co-pilot before he could crash the plane. But they only managed to get in thanks to the quick thinking of the plane's captain, Smit Machchhar, who managed to open the cockpit door.

MANES: He's absolutely a hero. He's absolutely a hero. And due to his acts, we are sitting here today.

[18:20:01]

DIAMOND: Have you ever been in a situation like this before?

MANES: Never.

DIAMOND: Never?

MANES: Never. There were moments we thought this is the end of our life, and I'm glad that we succeeded making the change.

DIAMOND: Tzvika's daughters are still processing their ordeal, but Millie's (ph) opinion is set on her father.

He's a hero, she says, and I love him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND (on camera): And, Pam, the suspect still hasn't been publicly identified, but he was transferred today to the United Arab Emirates as investigators and intelligence agencies are still trying to piece together what exactly were his motives and whether or not this was an attempted act of terrorism.

For Tzvika and many of the other passengers on this flight I spoke to, for them, it's quite clear. They do believe this was a terrorist act. Pam?

BROWN: All right, Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much.

In a new interview, President Trump didn't rule out declaring a national emergency ahead of next year's midterms. I'll ask a Democratic member of Congress for his reaction up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

BROWN: In our Law and Justice Lead, new details are emerging from the initial 2024 investigation in an alleged gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity house. The New York Times reviewed more than 1,000 documents from the school's Title IX investigation, and the records shed light on what the accuser, identified as Jane Doe, told her roommates immediately after the alleged incident. One roommate reportedly told investigators that Doe did not use the words rape or assault, and another said, I don't really remember her ever kind of citing that she had said yes to anything that occurred.

The case has sparked national outrage and renewed questions about how universities handle sexual assault allegations.

Here to discuss is Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. Congressman, thanks for coming on. So, first, I just want to get your reaction to these new developments.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Well, it's horrific. We have a crisis of misogyny in our country. I mean, you have a student who was allegedly raped or assaulted by seven people in Cornell. The New York Times is reporting that Cornell sent over to the D.A. an edited and summarized report. Five of the students were not even expelled, and there was no criminal investigations.

And what you have is a culture in this country where star athletes are protected, the students are protected at universities and people are not being held accountable for assault or rape. That's why Thomas Massie and I have been so passionate about going after the Epstein class, because, again, there was a situation of no accountability.

BROWN: You've said that universities often protect athletes and fraternity members. What would real accountability for the broader campus culture look like, and what, if anything, can Congress actually do?

KHANNA: Well, I reintroduced today the Campus Accountability and Safety Act. I had worked on this with Carolyn Maloney, who when she was in Congress was a real leader on sexual assault on campus and protection of survivors' rights.

What it would do is require transparent reporting. What it would do is require universities to have a system that actually took survivors seriously and made sure that they had justice done. And right now you don't have that. You really have a lot of these campuses set up being -- setting up their own systems, which are sometimes just downright hostile to survivors and other times dismissive.

BROWN: I want to turn to something else, and that is this TIME Magazine interview that it had with President Trump. And the reporter asked President Trump whether he plans to deploy ICE agents to polling places during the midterms. The president said, quote, I haven't thought of it. Asked whether he would rule out declaring a state of emergency ahead of the November elections, Trump said, quote, I don't rule anything out or in. We'll see.

With the midterms just 33 days away, what do you make of those comments?

KHANNA: He's desperate. He knows that people are tired of the war in Iran. He knows that food prices are up. Gas is almost $4.40. Diesel is killing us. It's at $6.40. It's one of the reasons that groceries are costing so much. So, he knows he's losing, and he's lashing out, and I don't put anything past him.

But here's what people should know. Anyone who does something illegal if they are intimidating people at polling places, if they are following orders that are illegal, we will hold them accountable once we win. They will be hauled in front of our committees for subpoenas. They will be investigated. And when the Democrats are in charge, we are going to prosecute people who broke the law.

So, in my view, people should think twice before doing things that are blatantly illegal and violating democracy.

BROWN: All right, Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you so much.

KHANNA: I appreciate you, Pamela. Thank you.

BROWN: The Alabama attorney general joins us live next, fresh off of his $100 million settlement with TikTok. We'll walk through the changes he says the app has promised to make to protect kids and teens.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BROWN: And our Tech Lead, the state of Alabama has reached a landmark settlement with TikTok over claims the app harmed children and teens. The social media company will pay at least $100 million, potentially up to $300 million, and set a two-hour daily limit for young users. The deal also requires stronger age checks, overnight restrictions, and tighter protections against harmful content and suspicious adult content -- contact, I should say.

In a statement to CNN, TikTok says, quote, TikTok's priority has always been fostering a safe and positive space where people can be creative, discover what they love, and connect with their community. This builds on our commitment and core objective to continually enhance our robust safety tools to protect teens.

Joining us now is Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. This is a big settlement. Walk us through how you got there.

STEVE MARSHALL, ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Yes. Well, TikTok was on the eve of trial. We had the opportunity in Alabama to be the first state in the nation to be able to set forth the facts that we believe demonstrated very clearly that not only were children addicted to the platform itself but also that there are opportunities for harm that could occur as a result of being there.

[18:35:08]

We're grateful for the fact that we were able to resolve the settlement, and people talk about the money. The money was not the critical factor here. It was the structural changes to the platform that not only makes it appropriate for kids, but gives parents additional controls they need to make sure they understand not only how their children are using social media, but also to have choices on what their children are doing.

BROWN: So, let's talk about those changes. How will you hold TikTok accountable for actually following through on these requirements? I mentioned the two-hour screen time limits, the age verification, and so forth. Who is the enforcer here?

MARSHALL: Yes. First of all, it's going to be the State of Alabama, and then when we see other states come on board, which I hope that we will with these similar terms, there'll be ultimately the appointment of an independent auditor.

But, look, we're going to be able to see very specific changes to that platform right away, particularly around daily use requirements, productive pauses that occur when kids are online, age assurance is going to be able to take place. And then TikTok has a responsibility to report to us both data and substantive changes they're making, and give us the ability to be able to look behind the wheel and make sure those are occurring.

BROWN: But if you're ultimately not satisfied with TikTok's response, what are your options?

MARSHALL: Yes, there's built-in reforms within the settlement agreement itself for our ability to bring those back before a judge if in fact we believe they're in contempt of that agreement. Look, I think that we're going to see multiple A.G.s around the country have similar negotiations and discussions that we've had with TikTok, allowing a broader coalition to be able to come together.

Meta stepped up. They've now led the platforms on being able to protect kids. TikTok has adopted that in Alabama. I expect you're going to see more of that coming in the near future.

BROWN: You also settled with Meta earlier this year. Your office said the company must, quote, Implement a sweeping set of safety features designed to protect children on Instagram and Facebook. What more do you know about that in terms of how that is progressing? Have any new safety measures actually been put in place so far because of this deal?

MARSHALL: Yes. Meta has begun doing what we've hoped the entire industry would do, and that is to ensure that we're keeping kids safe. They're going to make sure that they report to that independent auditor, along with the respective states that are a part of that negotiating committee. We should see that same thing take place with TikTok.

And what we hope following that is going to be similar changes with both Snap and YouTube so that we can ensure across the platforms that kids are using the most, that we know that they're using them safely and appropriately for their age and the content that they're seeing.

BROWN: Do you see any benefit for kids using social media? MARSHALL: Oh, I think there's obviously things that kids can be enriched as a result of what's going online. The concern is both the time in which that social media use is taking place, but also the fact that we know that kids are seeing harmful content.

One of the more impactful provisions of our settlement with TikTok is the ability to great -- to allow TikTok to be able to screen and report to parents where their kids are going, if there's potential harmful conduct, or content that they're seeing, and to try to do everything that we can to be able to keep kids safe.

Look, parents continue to have a role here. We've not superseded that. We've given them additional tools to make sure their kids are doing what they want them to be doing, and doing so in a safe manner.

BROWN: And you say that kids were seeing harmful content as part of this settlement. How do you define that and what kind of evidence did you have to reach this point?

MARSHALL: Yes, there was significant evidence that we did in our investigation. Unfortunately, much of that is under seal, but yet you've seen independent reporting about sexualized conduct, children that have been abused, and other content that was simply not age appropriate that kids had access to.

That shouldn't happen. It's not going to happen under this settlement, and we have the opportunity to bring it to the attention of the judge if in fact we see it's not being complied with.

BROWN: And what do you say to parents who are still worried?

MARSHALL: Oh, I think it's a good day that we're giving them more robust tools, additional tools that are going to be rolled out. We've already seen Meta come to the plate. TikTok has done that with Alabama. And then we're also providing them with opportunities, both through limited use as well as time restrictions that are occurring, to give kids an opportunity to be enriched, frankly, to be able to go out and play with their friends outside and do the things that we know contribute to a healthy wellbeing for kids across our country.

BROWN: Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, thank you.

MARSHALL: Thank you.

BROWN: And up next, new CNN reporting reveals Democrats are privately growing frustrated with Senator Bernie Sanders, and they're urging him to invest more money to help get his favored candidates elected. Our panel weighs in, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BROWN: All right. Let's look at our Politics Lead now. Tensions are rising among Democrats who believe independent Senator Bernie Sanders needs to spend more money for his candidates who are in expensive midterm battles.

According to nearly a dozen people familiar with internal conversations, top Democrats privately believe that the Vermont senator and other left-wing groups are not investing enough to get them over the finish line, especially in battleground Michigan.

All right, the panel is back with us. Karen, let's kick it off to you first and talk about this. You had one Democratic operative involved in the Michigan Senate race say it was absurd he's spending in a safe election, referring to the Minnesota contest, before showing up for Abdul El-Sayed. Is Sanders doing enough to support the candidates he endorsed in Michigan, in your view?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: He could do more. But I'll just say this, every Democratic donor could be doing more, because we are in the situation where the field, whether it's the governor's races, the House races, the Senate races, we need more money, period, full stop, and we need our donors to get off the sidelines.

[18:45:01]

So, I just hope that if Senator Sanders has more to give, more to do, he does it because you will feel bad on election day if we lose, when a little bit of money could have made the difference.

And we have a lot of candidates where they're being outspent by such dramatic numbers, and someone like Abdul, part of the challenge, too, is they're running a very racially tinged campaign, using his full name all the time, I mean -- and all the sort of negative misinformation. They need the resources to be able to push back.

So, yes, Sanders should be helping, but I want every donor doing the max.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: And speaking of the Michigan race, the latest Fox News poll shows El-Sayed and his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, locked in a tight battle. You see it right here. No clear leader.

Brad, does that concern you, given that there are only 33 days left until the midterms?

BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, I'm working on the Michigan race with outside groups, and I can tell you that Republicans are very excited about it. It's one of the places where voter enthusiasm among Republicans and Democrats is at par, and low propensity voters. Republicans this year are challenged to get low propensity Republicans out to vote. In Michigan, they're fired up.

And so, this is a race we have a great chance of taking away from Democrats. It's a Democratic seat. I think Republicans are thrilled that El-Sayed got the nomination. If Haley Stevens is the nominee, this race is probably not even on the board. But we have a great chance to win there.

But you know, I -- going back to your first question, ideological groups like Bernie Sanders and his crowd, they love to just win the primaries and then hand the establishment party their nominee. We've had that on our side, the Club for Growth used to do it in House races like crazy. They'd get somebody nominated, then dump them, you know, and so make it somebody else's problem once they win the primary.

BROWN: Do you see it that way?

FINNEY: Well, look, I think it's important that Senator Sanders likes to play in the primary. And then, you know, he's been asked different questions about the Democratic Party and say, I'm not a Democrat because he's an independent.

BROWN: Yeah.

FINNEY: Okay. But if you're going to play in the primary, then be part of the general election and be part of bringing the change that you're talking about. Otherwise, why are you playing in the primary? Look, I agree, you got to bring it all the way. You got to bring it home.

BROWN: Take it to the finish line.

TODD: There might be a fifth column. It might be a fifth column like the DSA.

BROWN: All right. I want to talk about something else. As you well know, President Trump backed Ken Pax -- Ken Paxton for retirement for the Republican Senate nominee in Texas. But he continually has undermined him even though he backs him.

Let's listen to what he just said at this rally today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Such a big race. It's such a big race. And I want to just say that he's been a friend of mine for a long time. One of the most loyal people.

When I was being hit by the radical left, very hard, harder than very few people could have withstood it, I was being hit. Ken Paxton was at my side more than anybody, and I have to always remember that because he can be a pain in the ass sometimes. I'll be honest.

Is he here, by the way? Oh, there he is. Good. I didn't even know if he's here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: He's also talked about his looks and so forth. Why does Trump keep going after him if he wants to win this big race, as he said so badly?

TODD: Well, it might be better off if Ken Paxton's not at the Ken Paxton rallies, to be honest with you, because this race needs to be about James Talarico and not about Ken Paxton. James Talarico is far left of the Texas primary electorate. If Texans had nominated a Hispanic sheriff's deputy for this seat, I

would be really worried about it. But they didn't. They nominated a unitarian from Austin, or at least someone with unitarian outlook who is far, far left in the average Texan.

And so, the race for Republicans has to be very disciplined. It has to beat Talarico. We have to dare Texas voters to vote for someone that radical.

BROWN: But is it also because you think Paxton is a bad candidate?

TODD: Well, our party is divided. I mean, half the Republicans wanted John Cornyn, and they're not over it. And so therefore, the whole goal has to get those Cornyn voters to vote for Ken Paxton. And I think this was a mistake nomination. I said it at the time, it's a $100 million mistake.

John Cornyn would've been a much stronger candidate. But now we have Ken Paxton. And so, the challenge in the campaign for the president is to get people to vote against Talarico.

FINNEY: I'm proud of Talarico and the campaign. He's run and taken advantage of the opening to potentially win over some Cornyn voters, as well as build a pretty broad coalition in Texas. He's doing a good job.

BROWN: We'll see what happens there.

All right. So, let's head over to California now because last night, my CNN colleague Jake Tapper and Dana Bash moderated a debate between the two gubernatorial candidates, Democrat Xavier Becerra, and Republican Steve Hilton.

And Becerra really tried to tie Hilton to Trump as much as possible. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE HILTON (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: All you ever say is Trump, Trump, Trump. And that's nothing but an insult to every Californian who is desperate for something to change in this state. And all you're offering is more of the same.

XAVIER BECERRA (D), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Your words Trump, Trump, Trump because he is your supporter. You chased his endorsement.

HILTON: That's all you can say on every question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Karen, your thoughts?

FINNEY: Look, it's a -- it's an important issue in this election at all these levels. Can you trust this individual to be independent of Donald Trump, particularly if you look at some of the impacts of the big, ugly bill that are coming, where cost is going to shift from the federal government, like SNAP costs, for example, to the states.

[18:50:09]

So, governors are going to have to make really hard choices. And do you trust someone to be for you, or are they going to be aligned with Trump? I mean, it's an important message for Becerra to push.

He's also been talking about his own agenda. But with Hilton, that is his big vulnerability. And that is a part of what you do in a campaign is you push the vulnerability of your opponent.

BROWN: And there is also this moment on immigration. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN DEBATE MODERATOR: Would you direct California law enforcement to assist the Trump administrations mass deportations beyond dangerous criminals? Yes or no?

HILTON: It's about enforcing the law. I mean, the federal law is -- immigration law is obviously a federal matter.

BECERRA: You seem to welcome immigrants who look like you, but deport immigrants who look like me. I don't need to stand here and listen to you say that you'll enforce Trump's laws, but you won't enforce California state laws.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Brad?

TODD: Well, you know, this is another example of how Becerra is trying to nationalize the race and move it beyond California issues. Voters in California think the states on the wrong track. Gavin Newsom is not popular with swing voters right now in the state. They think he's trying to run for president and not trying to run California. And so, Becerra wants to move this election beyond Sacramento at every chance he gets. Immigration is one of those places where he's trying to move it beyond -- beyond that.

He's a weak nominee. It's a good Democratic year, by all accounts in many ways. And so, you know, it's I think Republicans were striving hard in California, but they certainly picked a weak nominee.

BROWN: What -- do you think he's weak?

FINNEY: Hilton? Yes, I do

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: All right. I could have guessed that one. What about Becerra?

FINNEY: You know, look, I think Becerra, I think he's a great candidate. I think he's doing an excellent job. Look, I do think, though, part of the challenge when you're a Democrat and you've and California's had a Democratic governor for a long period of time, you do still have to talk about what will you do differently.

And I grew up in California, so I know that energy is there. People want like, okay, what's next? And frankly, I think that's the mood across the country that we're also seeing people are ready for what's next. So hopefully he will continue to make that case in the remaining days.

BROWN: All right. Thank you both. Appreciate it.

Well, this afternoon we got an update on the condition of a death row inmate who survived two lethal doses when the state of Tennessee tried to execute her last night. Those details just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:56:52]

BROWN: All right. Turning to our national lead, a shocking scene in Tennessee last night when a woman sentenced to death survived two execution attempts. Christa Pike entered death row more than 30 years ago after she was convicted of the murder of her fellow student, Colleen Slemmer. But after years of legal challenges and two lethal doses of pentobarbital, Pike remains alive and in critical condition.

CNN's Ryan Young has the latest.

Ryan, what happened?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Pam, this new information that we've gotten from the lawyers in the last two hours or so really stands out to a lot of us.

When you think about Christa Pike being in critical condition right now. But what the lawyers describe, and this process that took some quite some time for the state of Tennessee to try to kill her, really played out in a way that no one expected.

In fact, Christa Pike herself really believed her veins set her up for this not to work out because, according to her attorneys, she has small veins. And at some point, she was even pointing to where she thought the people putting the needles in her arm should place those needles. She said she wasn't upset about the situation and she was comforting them, actually thanking them as they went step by step.

But what we know is that second dose that was administered to her took 40 minutes after that first dose was first administered. And according to some death row experts, this is the first time someone survived after a second dose was given. So, the state of Tennessee has obviously already had some issues when it comes to execution in that state. But listen to her lawyers talk about exactly what happened last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDY SPIVEY, ATTORNEY FOR CHRISTA PIKE: Last night, the execution team attempted to establish an I.V. line for an hour. I counted at least seven needles used in her left arm alone, one of which appeared to be bent when it was pulled from her arm after an unsuccessful attempt. The state continued its efforts despite the very complications that we had warned about in court months earlier.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yes, the governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee, has said that he wants a state investigation into what happened. He suspended all executions for the rest of the year in the state of Tennessee. But there are so many questions about how this will move forward now.

We do know from people in the room this was hard to watch. In fact, take a listen to a witness talk about what they were seeing when they were trying to execute Christa Pike

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CATHERINE SWEENEY, WPLN REPORTER: She said that there was a spot that was burning and hurting, and asked if that was normal. None of -- none of it was normal. I covered all the executions last year, and most of the ones this year. We haven't seen anything like it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Over and over again, Christa Pike's attorneys talked about the fact that a lack of dignity that was taking place in that room. Let's not forget the victim s mother was at this execution yesterday. We haven't had a chance to speak with her just yet, but so much pain in one room, people trying to figure out exactly what's going on and what the next steps will be.

We now know Christa Pike is in critical condition. Have no clue what will happen next -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right. Ryan Young, thank you.

Well, you can follow me on Instagram @PamelaBrownCNN. You can follow the show on X and Instagram @TheLeadCNN.

If you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can watch the show on the CNN app. And I'll see you back in "THE SITUATION ROOM WITH WOLF BLITZER" tomorrow morning at 10:00 Eastern.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.