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Election Day in America; The Reid-Angle Showdown; Sink or Scott, Florida Governor Race Also Tight; Robo Calls in New England Clog Phone Lines; Woman Uses iPhone App to Track Purse Snatcher; Investors Watching Midterms Closely; Fighting for Control of Congress; Giants Win World Series

Aired November 02, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, guys. Good morning. It's 9:00 a.m. in the East, 6:00 a.m. out West. Here's some of the stories that we're talking about right now.

Voting under way in the most important midterm election in years. Live pictures now from Westchester, Ohio. You've heard all the nastiness. Now it's your turn to cut through all the noise.

And if you're still out of work and out of cash due to the Gulf oil disaster, this is the last thing you're going to want to hear. BP is back in the black. Earning $1.8 billion in the last quarter.

And long suffering San Francisco Giants' fans can celebrate. The team has its first World Series championship since moving west.

Well, it's Tuesday, November 2nd. Election Day in America. All of the stumping, debating, mudslinging comes down to this.

The stakes are huge. Control of Capitol Hill, the future of the president's agenda and today we as Americans decide our path forward.

Millions of voters heading to the polls. Now open in 42 states and D.C. Up for grabs, 37 Senate seats and all 435 House seats. That's a lot of races but control of Washington hinges on two magic numbers -- 10 and 39. Republicans need 10 extra seats to claim the Senate majority. On the House side, they need 39.

So coast to coast, candidates are still stumping, knocking on doors, calling supporters, working to get every last potential voter to the polls.

We've dispatched the best political team on television to key races across the country to track the latest developments and what it all means for you. Jim Acosta in Nevada. David Mattingly in Florida. Carol Costello in Ohio and our Drew Griffin in Alaska.

Now more than $3.5 billion have been spent making this the most expensive midterm campaign ever. Historic spending as some big-time political players fight for their future. The most powerful man in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid is in a dead heat with Republican challenger Sharron Angle in Nevada.

In fact, Michelle Obama swung through Las Vegas yesterday and their hug is front page news in the "Review Journal."

Now Jim Acosta is live in Las Vegas.

Jim, how are things looking out there right now?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, you know, there is no bigger political jackpot for the Republicans than the prospect of taking down Harry Reid. Not only is he the Senate majority leader, he is one of the architects of the Obama agenda and his opponent in this race, the Tea Party-backed Republican Sharron Angle, she is giving Harry Reid the fight of his life.

The latest poll shows she is perhaps a couple of points ahead. Democrats feel pretty good about the early voting so far. They think that that might favor Harry Reid so far in this race.

And as you mentioned, both of these candidates are really trying to fire up this -- their base in these last hours of the campaign. Harry Reid had Michelle Obama, perhaps the most popular Democrat in the country right now, campaigning for him. Sharron Angle spent the last 24 hours doing a lot of interviews with conservative talk radio and on FOX News.

So both trying to work up and excite their base but don't count out Harry Reid just yet. Keep in mind, back in 1998, he won an election in this state in the Senate by less than 500 votes but he is doing more than just battling Sharron Angle in this race. He is battling this economy.

Not only does Nevada have the distinction of having the highest unemployment rate in the country, it also has the highest foreclosure rate, so Harry Reid is fighting this election battle on all fronts.

And on top of all of that, you have to keep in mind that this is a crowded ballot. Not only do you have Harry Reid and Sharron Angle's names on the ballot, you also have a Tea Party candidate Scott Ashijan. And something called "none of the above." People can actually vote for none of the above in this state and they're probably going to do that.

The polls close at 7:00 and we'll be watching -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jim, we'll be watching, too. Thanks so much.

And Florida's story is a lot like Nevada's. It has higher than average unemployment, second in the nation foreclosures and political drama with national implications.

Our David Mattingly is in Plantation, Florida near Ft. Lauderdale.

So, David, let's talk about the governor's race there. Alex Sink and Rick Scott.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You look at that race and you see a microcosm of probably what's going on in the country right now. Very sharply-divided race. Very even candidates going into the polls today.

Rick Scott, the conservative Republican, campaigning as much against Barack Obama as he is against his Democratic candidate Alex Sink. So we've been seeing a lot of anti-Obama advertising, a lot of anti-Obama campaigning going on, and that seems to be paying off for Republicans here.

But it's not just the governor's race. We have Marco Rubio running very strong in the U.S. Senate race going into the polls tonight. We're also watching a number of House seats, about a half dozen House seats in Florida that are possibly in danger of -- switching hands and switching parties tonight. Four of those seats belong to Democrats.

And the overriding factor here, of course, is the economy. We've got an 11.9 percent unemployment rate in Florida. And the state is the second in the country in foreclosures. So if you don't think that isn't weighing heavily on voters when they go into these polls, you've got another thing coming and that's what the Democrats are going to be watching for as these voters go in and vote.

PHILLIPS: David, thanks.

And there's been a tough three-way fight for a Senate seat from Alaska featuring a Tea Party favorite and an incumbent who's a write-in candidate.

CNN's Drew Griffin has been following that -- campaign, rather. He joins us live from a beautiful and snowy Anchorage.

Hey, Drew.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Cleansing white snow to end this dirty, nasty race up here in Alaska which is really, I think, Kyra, important because it's a test of the Tea Party versus the Grand Old Party.

The latest polls show it is pretty darn close. Almost a dead heat between Joe Miller, the Palin-backed Tea Party candidate, who is on the ballot as Republican, versus Lisa Murkowski, the Republican senator that he defeated in the primary. She's staging this write-in campaign.

The turnout is going to be everything. And the polls don't open for two more hours, Kyra, but the turnout is already high. Seventeen thousand people in this state voted early. Another 15,000 have sent in absentee ballots.

So despite this snow, expect pretty steady crowds at these polls as they try to pick what looks like to be a Republican senator either way just which one, the Tea Party or the Grand Old Party -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Thanks so much.

And while the polls are open across the nation, we'll be tracking any problems that are voting irregularities desk. Josh Levs handling that part for us. So, Josh, I understand you've already got some things to report.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do, yes, Kyra.

You know this is the most important thing in our democracy. One of them anyway. Making sure that these votes actually get counted which is why we have this desk all day. I've been tracking reports as they come in.

We've got the old crack team making all sorts of calls to state officials. Anytime we hear of what may be a problem in one precinct at one site we're all over it.

The first thing I can report to you this morning is that there has been one problem in Pennsylvania. In that state, some reports of people haven't properly filled out their absentee ballots and some of those ballots are showing up back to the voters. They're getting sent back even though they did everything right.

We spoke with the Pennsylvania Board of Elections about this and officials there tell us it was a mistake in and which the post office read the wrong bar code. And they believe it's less than a dozen absentee ballots. They're rectifying it.

They actually sent some people to the homes of these voters to pick up those ballots. Make sure they get counted in time. But this is an example of the kind of thing we're watching out for today. Making sure that all your votes are counted. Any kind of irregularity, we want to encourage you to be in touch with us.

We've got conversations going right now in my pages at Facebook and twitter @joshlevsCNN. Also on my blog CNN.com/josh.

If you experience a problem at a precinct or you hear about one, let us know. We will jump right on it. We'll tell you all about it and we will get the facts for you.

Also, we have an iReport assignment. That's up today in which people are sending in your photos, your videos, your experiences while you're out there casting that vote. Any problems let us know that way, as well.

Kyra, I'll be back next hour with whatever we get from around the country.

PHILLIPS: Great. Thanks so much, Josh.

LEVS: You got it.

PHILLIPS: Well, join the best political team on television as the final numbers come in. Our "Election Night in America" coverage starts tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern and we will stay on the air throughout the night.

Voters along the Gulf Coast might see some irregularities when it comes to the weather. Rob Marciano -- aw, look at your little bow with the balloons.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Come on, look at the balloons.

PHILLIPS: Look at this.

MARCIANO: Red, white and blue. Yes, baby.

PHILLIPS: You should be excited, from Houston to Portland to New York. Get out and vote.

MARCIANO: Yes. They're not voting in Mexico. But that's where we have the graphic.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right. You bet.

PHILLIPS: Well, so do you think there's anyone in America who says, boy, I sure do love those robocalls? I wish I got more? Or maybe gather around the phone, kids, the machine is about to call.

Canned political messages that have gone absolutely wild before the election, so wild that they crashed the phone lines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's go "Cross Country."

In Virginia Beach, an intruder gets caught trying to break into a restaurant but not the way that you're thinking. Police actually say the man climbed to the roof, slid down the ventilation pipe and he got stuck. He's trapped there for seven hours. Feet dangling above the grill and all. He faces felony charges now.

A love note throws a bizarre wrench into a penalty phase of convicted murderer Steven Hayes. Hayes faces the death penalty for a brutal home invasion of the Petit family. But an alternate juror had her eye on more than the case. She wrote a note asking a court marshal on a date. But that note got intercepted by the judge. That juror was questioned but not dismissed.

And this is Gavin George, quickly becoming a renowned pianist -- or pianist, rather. And guess what? He's only 7 years old. The piano virtuoso performed with Ohio's Newark Grandville Symphony Orchestra. This is the first time he's played with a full orchestra.

Well, November 2nd, Election Day. About dang time. Here's a big upside to the end of this cycle. It's safe to answer the phone again. Phones across the country have actually been ringing off the hook as candidates unleash the robocalls. You know those canned and personal messages from machines that know exactly where you live.

Well, in New England, the robo calls went so wild yesterday, they jammed the phone lines, and some people didn't even have service at all. Here's the story now from Jean Mackin of WMUR in Massachusetts (sic), New Hampshire. Then we're going to talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN MACKIN, CORRESPONDENT, WMUR (voice-over): It's a problem that crosses party lines, from the phone lines at this Republican call center.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much. You have a lovely day.

MACKIN (voice-over): To the Democrats dialing their supporters.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Remind you Election Day is tomorrow, it's Tuesday, November 2nd.

MACKIN (voice-over): Around 1:30, land lines went down at about a dozen campaign headquarters across the state just when both parties were trying to reach out to more than 100,000 Granite State voters.

RAY BUCKLEY, CHAIRMAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: That's over 100 phone lines that we were not able to use today to make get out the vote calls. So, we encouraged people to use their cell phones and we went door to door.

RYAN WILLIAMS, NEW HAMPSHIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY: We have cell phones that our volunteers are using to make calls to contact voters to make sure that they have rides to the polls tomorrow and that they're ready to get out and vote for our Republican slate.

MACKIN (voice-over): While both parties switched to a cell phone strategy, Comcast issued a statement saying, "Comcast and we believe other local phone carriers in New Hampshire and Massachusetts are experiencing severe call volumes due to auto dialing activity. We're working hard to identify the carrier that owns the originating telephone numbers generating these unusual traffic volumes."

The phone glitch quickly evolved into some political mudslinging. The state Democratic Party alerted the attorney general's office, and Republicans responded.

BUCKLEY: Well, we thought it was important to immediately contact the attorney general after what happened in 2002 where, you know, Republican Party officials were sent to prison over jamming our phone lines.

WILLIAMS: The Democrats have pushed reckless fiscal policies that are going to result in sweeping defeats tomorrow and it seems they're already laying the groundwork for excuses after they lose.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk some more about these robo calls with CNN contributor John Avalon. He also writes for "The Daily Beat," and John, also, you worked on campaigns for Rudy Giuliani. OK, admit it. Did you put together these annoying robo calls for Giuliani? JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I can claim innocence in that regard. These things are epidemic, though. Election Day is the day were it's not safe to answer your home phone. These thousands of calls going out every hour, and people getting inundated by them. Campaigns think they work but, obviously, a lot of people at home think, "You may remind me to vote, but if I've already voted, now you're just harassing me."

PHILLIPS: That's what I want to know. Do they work? Is there any proof out there that they do work? So many people don't even have a hard line anymore. Everybody just goes with the cell phone.

AVLON: Yes. Well, that's a great point. Campaigns do believe they work. To some extent, campaigns are like any other industry, they're sometimes fighting the last war. But campaigns will tell you, look, they're inexpensive, and they're effective, especially for get out the vote efforts.

And that's what today is all about. Political ground games on Election Day are just about get out to vote. That reminds -- that means targeting your voters and reminding them to get out to the polls.

So, they're inexpensive. They believe they're effective. But there's no question that for many voters who get the calls, they irritate them and sometimes cause some retribution. In fact, it's estimated that 24 percent of voters who get calls who hang up, say, get so irritated they go out and vote against the other guys.

PHILLIPS: Oh, interesting.

AVLON: It's a dicey proposition.

PHILLIPS: OK, so it does have the opposite effect. Because I'm wondering, I can see --

AVLON: It can.

PHILLIPS: Being totally annoyed, right? And voting for the other person. But does anybody ever come out and say, "Thank goodness I got that robo call. That's why I'm here today. It reminded me, or it somehow impacted me to make my vote toward that candidate."

AVLON: I imagine statistically someone has had that reaction, but I've never met them. I think much more irritation is the norm. And there's an amazing thing earlier this week. There was a robo call that went out mistakenly from former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Instead of going out at 1:00 in the afternoon in Nevada, it went out at 1:00 in the morning. So, talk about your irritated voters. That didn't go over too well.

PHILLIPS: We'll continue -- it'll be interesting to see what happens as the years go forward and people only have cell phones, if we'll get attacked by cell phone, or if these will eventually die out. What do you think? Do you think they're always going to be around?

AVLON: Look, I'm -- come on, do not call list. Let's hope they fade away.

PHILLIPS: Yes, that's true. John, thanks so much.

All right. I want to hear from you. Tell me if you've gotten a bunch of robo calls this election year, and if they've ever swayed your opinion. Maybe getting a robo call is a deal breaker for you. Leave your comments on my blogs, cnn.com/kyra. We'll read some of your stories next hour.

Crime fighting at your fingertips. There's an app nor that. We're going to tell you how one purse snatching victim turned the tables on an alleged thief.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Crime fighting at your fingertips. There's an app for that, as one purse snatching victim recently found out. Getting her stolen handbag back while giving the suspect a complementary ride to jail. From CNN affiliate WSB, George Howell has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE HOWELL, CORRESPONDENT, WSB (voice-over): Look closely at this surveillance video and you see it happen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think I said out loud, "Was that my door that just slammed?" And I looked over, and my purse was gone.

HOWELL (voice-over): This woman, who asked that we not use her name, says she was pumping gas and cleaning out her car when someone snatched her purse and took off. But all hope was not lost.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It dawned on me, I had a tracking system on my telephone, and my telephone was in my purse.

HOWELL (voice-over): Oh, how the tables turned. The victim called 911 and also called a friend to check her Mobile Me account, an iPhone app with GPS tracking built in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With my friend on the telephone, they followed the phone up 85, and with this app, he was able to tell them specifically which parking spot of a parking lot he was in.

HOWELL (voice-over): Within 15 minutes, police say they caught Freddrick Glover in Gwinnett County and recovered the stolen purse.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Apparently, this was a gentleman who had broken his parole. It was a car that didn't belong to him. He went to jail for much bigger things than stealing my purse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: That was George Howell reporting. And he adds that the woman who got nearly everything in the purse, well, she got it back, rather, except for one credit card that she promptly canceled. Kentucky's US Senate race has been one of the ugliest in the country. Republican candidate and Tea Party favorite Rand Paul spoke to CNN about what's next and what he plans to do if he's pushed through to Capitol Hill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Real quickly, we're going to check in live to Westchester, Ohio. That's John Boehner you see right there, voting in the blue jacket. Could be the next Speaker of the House, putting in the vote. Our Carol Costello is actually there in Ohio, her home state. We're hoping that she's going to catch up with John Boehner and get a chance to talk to him as soon as he finishes voting.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

PHILLIPS: Here's some other stories that we're talking about.

Of course, elections 2010. The most expensive midterm election in history since we're talking about money and it comes down to today. Your votes, the deciding factor of who will control Congress and lead key states. Will the balance of power in Congress shift to the right? Well, millions of voters are heading to the polls right now to answer that as candidates campaign down to the wire.

Three packages were shipped to Chicago just a few weeks ago. Investigators now believe those shipments were a dry run for the mail bomb plot that unfolded on Friday. The boxes were seized and searches in transit. But Officials say it was a test by al Qaeda members in Yemen, trying to get an inside look into shipping logistics.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" remains in place for now. Federal appeals court placed a temporary order to reinstate the policy last week. But it extended that ruling Monday, while federal judges reveal a lower court's ruling to suspend "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Months of wild campaigning and fevered debate among has come down to this. It's Election Day in America. Polls now open in 42 states and D.C. Voters casting ballots that reshape Congress and help map out our path forward. Up for grabs, 37 Senate seats and all 435 house seats. But control of Capitol Hill hinges on two magic numbers -- 10 and 39. Republicans need 10 extra seats to claim the Senate majority. On the House side, they need 39.

With so much at stake, you better believe Americans are sounding off, many of them in 140 characters or less -- on Twitter. So the "New York Times" actually put out this page tracking what you guys have been tweeting about in the days and hours leading up to the vote. Now, a candidate circle grows and shrinks based on the number of posts related to their campaign. You can see some circles burst on the page, then deflate. Jerry Brown, Kendrick Meek, Tom Tancredo. But some seem perfectly puffed out like, Alex Sink, Carly Fiorina, Harry Reid and Christine O'Donnell.

President Obama has nearly 6 million Twitter followers and he's sending them a string of Election Day messages. He says, quote, "This election is about our future. It's about what we want this country to be and you have to say vote today."

You might also hear the president's voice filling the air waves. Ryan Seacrest is airing an interview with the Commander in Chief this morning, and he's asking for questions from listeners. So far, topics range from bipartisanship to Justin Bieber. Yes, Justin Beiber.

White House correspondent Dan Lothian joining me live.

Really? They really want to know if he cares about Justin Bieber?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And Remember just a year ago, it was last December, almost a year ago, when the president didn't even know who Justin Bieber was. He couldn't even pronounce his name. How far we have come in a year or so.

But what the White House is trying to do is get the president outside of the box, realizing that Americans get the news from various different places, not necessarily the regular, traditional nightly newscasts. So that's why you've seen the president on "The View." You've seen him on "The Daily Show," and then sitting down, or over the phone, rather, with Ryan Seacrest. He was also, this morning, on the radio with Steve Harvey.

I should make one correction here. In the last hour I said that he was on the "Tom Joyner Morning Show." I do know my morning show hosts, the black hosts. I know them very well. Actually, the Vice President is on with Tom Joyner this morning.

In the interview with Steve Harvey, the president imploring listeners to get out and vote and laying out in very clear terms what's at stake in this election.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The fact of the matter is, even though my name is not on the ballot, you know, viability, so work on behalf of middle class families is going to be hampered if I don't have people in Congress who want to cooperate. And frankly, the other side, what they have said is their whole agenda is to spend the next two years trying to defeat me, as opposed to trying to move the country forward.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Dan, does this ad up to a referendum on the president's first two years?

LOTHIAN: Well a lot of people do believe so because Americans really are frustrated. And you listen to what Republicans are saying is that this is an administration that came into power with this banner that said, hope and change. But there's been so much disappointment.

Even among Democrats, there are those, Latinos in particular, who believe that the president hasn't done anything in moving forward immigration reform. So they haven't been happen with him on that. And a lot of Americans believe that when the president promised that he would do everything he could to turn things around when it comes to the economy, two years ago, the economy is hurting. People are going to the polls without a job or they know someone unemployed or they can't afford to stay in their homes. These are the things on their mind. They may not like the other side, Republicans, but they certainly don't like where they are right now and that could be reflected in how they vote today.

PHILLIPS: All right. Dan Lothian from the White House.

Dan, thanks so much.

And family history and passion may pay off for Rand Paul. The proud Libertarian son of the proud libertarian Congressman Ron Paul. Rand the front-runner right now in Kentucky's Senate race. He's just one more anti-government, anti-incumbent candidate that toppled the GOP establishment in the primaries. And if he wins today, he'll be the poster boy at the Tea Party.

That brings us to the AM Extra. John Roberts actually spoke with Paul today about what's at stake and what's next, right, John?

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": Yes. It's interesting that he is an anti-incumbent, anti-establishment conservative. But once he gets to Washington, he's going to become part of the Republican hierarchy. And one of the people he's been working most closely with is the Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

So, is he able to stay true to his independent roots? He said that, you know, he'd have to agree with Mitch McConnell on certain things but he would also stick to his guns, as well. And maybe every once in a while contradict Mitch McConnell.

I also asked him about this idea of Democrats potentially holding the Senate, while Republicans might win the House. That's the way a lot of projections are going, and whether or not that would just be a recipe for gridlock in Congress.

Here's what Paul told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY SENATE CANDIDATE: It's just not that President Obama's policies, Obamacare and the new banking regulations, I don't care who proposed them, but I think they're a disaster for our economy.

And I'm fearful that this recession we have may make a second dip because of all the new regulations. So, really that's my point. I don't care whether President Obama proposed these programs or who did, but we need to repeal the things that are preventing us from getting out of this recession.

ROBERTS: Understood, but if one side works to undo what the other side has done for two years, is that going to be a recipe for cooperation or a recipe for gridlock?

PAUL: Well, I think there'll have to be some cooperation, but I think the American people want a debate over this, and I think we do debate it and we decide how do we get out of the recession. And the thing is people primarily want results. The results would be jobs being formed, get out of this recession.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right. What's the first thing, John, that he says that he would cut?

ROBERTS: Yes, because he certainly is a proponent of smaller government. The first thing that he wants to cut is he wants to cut the budget, and he would like to see a balanced budget amendment. He would like to see the president toe the line in Congress, have to toe the line vis-a-vis a balanced budget amendment.

He has also proposed deep cuts to the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There's been some talk about getting rid of the Federal Reserve altogether. But, you know, proposing something during a campaign and actually getting it done, Kyra, really are two things. And when he gets to Washington, should he win today, he will find that he is but one voice of a hundred out there. And that saying something while you're on the trail is lot different than actually getting it done in Washington.

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. The battles will begin. John, thanks.

You can join the Best Political Team on Television as the final numbers come in. Our Election Night in America coverage starts tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE LOPEZ, HOST, "LOPEZ TONIGHT": Today is All Saints Day. Tomorrow, Day of the Dead. And Wednesday, Day of the Dead Democrats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": President Obama was out making last-minute appeals to voters. He told them, don't look at the polls, don't look at the cable news prognosticators. In fact, don't even look at the ballot. Just mark the dots in random and we'll have a better shot at winning that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": Most experts are predicting that Republicans will win back the House tomorrow. Yes, when Americans heard that. They're like, wait, we can begin back our houses? Wait. Is that -- who said that? Are you sure?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: You know, Paul Steinhauser, now that you told me drives you nuts because you don't know how to follow-up after every hilarious late-night comedian; it sets you up. I do this on purpose now just to put you on the spot.

You better be funny, Paul Steinhauser.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You are punishing me, Kyra. You are punishing me.

PHILLIPS: But you have a lot of serious stuff to say, no doubt. I guess we have to have a little fun and then we go to you for the real deal. But if people only knew your sense of humor.

STEINHAUSER: Like that was the dessert. Now, I'm the vegetables. OK, well here I am. I'm the mashed potatoes. And lets' talk about it. Let's talk about the CNN political ticker, what's happening right now, what's on the ticker.

All right. The polls are open in almost every state but four or five. Our final CNN poll of polls, Kyra. No more. I promise. We've been talking about this for a while.

Take a look at this. We averaged out the final six generic ballot polls, including one from here at CNN that came out over the last weekend. This is the battle for Congress. Look at this, we asked, would you vote for the generic Democrat or Republican in your congressional district? An eight-point for the Republicans -- 51 percent for the GOP, 43 percent for the Democrats.

And that is very comparable to and what the Democrats had four years ago in their final polls before they stormed back and won Congress. And the same thing was pretty comparable to 1994, the final polls there before that election when the Republicans came back and stormed back and controlled Congress.

All right, Kyra, how about those final -- final forecasts from the top nonpartisan political handy-cappers? Well, the two most respected ones that we keep an eye on the Cook (ph) Political Report and the Rothenberg Political Report. Cook Political Report says, they forecast they were from 50 to 60 seats, a net gain of 50 to 60 for the Republicans in the House.

Rothenberg puts a net gain of 55 to 65 for the Republicans. And that's a lot more than the 39 seats the Republicans need as a net gain to reclaim control of the chamber that they lost four years ago.

What about the Senate well both of them Rothenberg and Cook are right on the money they are both together at the same time and they both predict six to eight seats, a net gain of 6 to 8 percent for the Republicans and Senate, Republicans need of course ten seats in the Senate to reclaim control of the chamber -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, what about this last-minute endorsement by Sarah Palin?

STEINHAUSER: Yes. We keep a -- we keep a close eye on her, don't we? Well, this came just yesterday just hours before the polls opened it was in Colorado. The former Alaska governor and of course John McCain's running mate in 2008 endorsed Tom Tancredo in the gubernatorial contest out there.

Tancredo is now running as a third party candidate, he's a former Republican Congressman and pretty controversial for his stance on illegal immigration. It's a three-way contest. He jumped into the race after a lot of people were upset with Don Mays, who is the Republican nominee out there and the controversy surrounding him.

So Palin endorsing Tancredo and actually even recording a robocall to encourage voters to go out and vote for Tancredo. A last- minute action from Sarah Palin -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Paul thanks.

It's one of the most watched midterm elections in years. So our correspondents and producers are all over the story. We're going to have your next political update in just about an hour.

A few inches between cool and catastrophe. Brand new cruise ships close call with the Danish bridge. Your "Morning Passport" straight ahead.

But first, "Flashback" to some past elections days. How about 1948? Harry Truman defeats Thomas Dewey. But who can forget the famous picture of Truman holding up a "Chicago Tribune" printed with the wrong headline.

And on this date in 1976, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter defeated President Gerald Ford.

And November 2nd, 2004, President George W. Bush elected to his second term defeating Massachusetts Senator John Kerry.

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PHILLIPS: Our "Morning Passport" begins in Denmark. And you're going to want to hold your breath for this one. Full steam ahead, Royal Caribbean's new cruise ship, the "Allure of the Seas" barely squeezed under the Storebaelt Bridge this weekend. To get under that span's 213 foot clearance, they had to retract the ship's smoke stacks and increase its speed to flatten it down. It made it with just a few inches to spare. The Captain called it the great excitement of the day.

And one of the Chilean mine survivors heading to the Big Apple, not so much as a tourist but rather as one of the thousands of runners that will take on Sunday's New York City marathon. And don't count the underdog from the underground out of the race just yet.

Edison Pena reportedly ran nearly six miles every day of the 69 days that he was trapped in the San Jose mine. Race organizers originally invited him as a guest of honor until they found out he really wants to run the 26-mile course.

And blame it on the iPhone. Let's just say thousands of European workers were better rested yesterday and employers equally angry after an apparent bug in the iPhone didn't account for the Daylight Savings Time, making many people late for work by an hour.

Now a few weeks back, Australians reported a similar issue waking up an hour earlier than need be. Apple says it's trying to fix the problem with updated software.

"The Best Political Team in Television" following all the developments in today's election in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

Let's go ahead and start with Jim Acosta -- Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the polls open in less than ten minutes in Nevada. Can Republicans hit the political jackpot and take down Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid? I'll have a live report coming up.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm David Mattingly in South Florida where it's the bad economy driving this election. That does not bode well for the party in charge. That story at the top of the hour.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Carol Costello. In Westchester, Ohio, where Congressman John Boehner just cast a vote presumably for himself. He is poised to become the most powerful Republican in the house. Does he want to become speaker? You betcha. You'll hear from the man himself at the top of the hour.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks guys.

Also ahead, we're going to talk to the young man who set up virgin voting. He's been inspiring first-time voters since the third grade. Now he is a first time-time voter himself.

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PHILLIPS: You're killing me.

TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look at this.

PHILLIPS: Ok. Here we go.

HARRIS: Wilson is amazing, isn't he?

PHILLIPS: Here it comes. He needs to shave.

HARRIS: You don't like that look?

PHILLIPS: No.

HARRIS: But if you're facing him. If you are a batter facing him?

PHILLIPS: Oh, you'd be scared.

HARRIS: Oh, come on. Come on. And all this growling and sneering that he does. They're big kids jumping around. Yes, Giants win. That's John Sterling. I'm ripping off John Sterling from the Yankees, their announcer.

PHILLIPS: They beat the Rangers. I wonder if it had anything to do with the first pitch that was thrown out.

HARRIS: Yes. It is a political day, isn't it?

PHILLIPS: Yes it is. I just wanted to somehow make sure we kept everything political here.

HARRIS: The former presidents, Bush and Bush threw out the first pitch yesterday and they probably lose the ball game, right? I don't want to say it was a terrific World Series.

Let's think about that for a second. The Giants win. They win the series four games to one. Did we get a fall classic? This is supposed to be the fall classic? Did we get a fall classic? No, we did not. Did we even get a great interleague series? No, we did not.

PHILLIPS: Ok. But we got a first championship since 1954.

HARRIS: Since 1954. And that's a terrific story.

PHILLIPS: First time ever for San Francisco. Great city, by the way.

HARRIS: Yes, a terrific city and you think about -- look at the celebration.

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Key the cheesy music.

Harris: Good times. Come on. And apparently they didn't tear up the city or storm the Golden Gate, right. The Bastilles of freedom stands today in San Francisco. So it was terrific.

And you think about the players -- the great Giants players who now can participate in the parade. Willie Mayes, the all-time Giant, right. Willy McCovey (ph), Juan Marisal --

PHILLIPS: Never got the ring.

HARRIS: Never got the ring with his name. And let me say it, the Barry Bonds.

Ok. Moving on.

PHILLIPS: Let's go back to Willie Mays.

HARRIS: Yes. So you think about that great city, right. And you think about these great players, legendary hall of fame players who can now participate in the parade for the world champs of baseball, the San Francisco Giants. Here, here, yes, yes. Giants won -- yes -- Giants won.

PHILLIPS: Should we talk MVP.

HARRIS: Of the series? Renteria?

PHILLIPS: Yes.

HARRIS: See, this is an amazing story as well. This is a guy who helped the Marlins when he was playing for the Marlins. He helped them win the World Series, and now he comes up with another big hit, the series' really clinching hit, a bomb last night to put the Giants up for good.

He's a terrific player. He's moved around a little bit but he's a terrific player and now he's your series MVP. That's the story.

It's a good story all around but it was not a fall classic. It wasn't great interleague. We don't have a new rivalry here. We have a series we never want to see again, not in the World Series, and not in interleague play, Kyra.

We don't want to see this again. It's like the Rangers thought they had won the World Series with the (INAUDIBLE). Should I set up and let you segue me to the next topic.

PHILLIPS: Should we talk about Randy Moss?

HARRIS: Randy Moss.

PHILLIPS: Because if I let you keep going, we're going to be in trouble.

HARRIS: We really will. So Randy Moss is gone.

And here's the thing, it looks like a unilateral decision by the coach of the team, Brad Childress. It looks like he was upset with things Randy was doing and not communicating with the media there in Minnesota; also no taking the team flight back from the game in New England because he wanted --

Yes.

HE'S always had issues. He's not the only player in the NFL with issues but he is likely to be, shall I say, a first ballot hall of famer, because he is one of the best to ever play that position. He was going back to a team where he started his career and was an amazing player.

For it to end this way, particularly when the owner is saying, hey, wait a minute, I pulled all kinds of strings to get him here. And you made this decision, my coach with -- no, no, no.

He's saying to the coach, you made this decision without even consulting with it -- not even sending an e-mail that this was going to happen. So there seems to be a rub between the owner --

PHILLIPS: No common courtesy.

HARRIS: We see that way too often.

PHILLIPS: So we cue the celebration and -- all right. Here we go. This is going to be a little celebration music and your "big, fine exit here" at the bottom of the hour.

HARRIS: Ok, ready. So (INAUDIBLE) coming on.

I'm still trying -- I'm still trying to -- what do you think, jacket, no jacket, tie?

PHILLIPS: I like the casual. We don't have the music. I don't know what happened to the music.

HARRIS: Top of the hour.

PHILLIPS: She took it out. Bummer. I'm sorry. You're going to have to have a quiet exit, which is so unlike you.

HARRIS: Rock the NEWSROOM. Isn't that true?