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Virginia Governor's Race Deemed Bellwether For 2022; Final Hours Of Voting For Bellwether Virginia Governor's Race; Key Mayor Races In Boston, Buffalo, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Cleveland; Retired NYPD Police Captain May Become NYC's 2nd Black Mayor; Biden Speaks On Last Day Of Climate Summit As Domestic Agenda Stalls. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired November 02, 2021 - 15:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:40]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: It's the start of a new hour. Hi, everybody, I'm Alisyn Camerota.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: I'm Victor Blackwell. It is good to be with you on this Election Day and we are just hours away from the polls closing. Voters in 32 states are deciding ballot initiatives. They're choosing mayors but also the races for governor, they're getting the most attention, especially in Virginia. Republican Glenn Youngkin is running a much tighter than expected race against Democrat Terry McAuliffe, a former governor of Virginia. For Democrats, Virginia could be a bellwether for the 2022 midterms.

CAMEROTA: And for Republicans, it's a potential playbook for how to campaign around Donald Trump. A Republican has not won a statewide election in Virginia since 2009. Over New Jersey, incumbent Phil Murphy may become the first Democrat to win re-election in more than 40 years there. Murphy like McAuliffe in Virginia has been trying to tie his GOP rival to Donald Trump.

So let's start in Virginia. CNN's Sara Murray is in the state capitol of Richmond and CNN's Boris Sanchez is in Woodbridge, that's in Northern Virginia suburb. So first to Sara. So Sara, tell us what we're hearing from the candidates.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, you know, we've seen that over the last 24 hours or so really driving home these closing arguments trying to make sure that they turn out every single last one of their voters on this, at least in Richmond Rainey Election Day. You know, Glenn Youngkin brought it back to what he says are the local issues, that's what he believes is driving this race. You know, people in Virginia wanting to lower taxes, wanting to ensure that parents can be involved in schools. That's been his big late push.

But he did acknowledge yesterday, look, the nation is watching what is going on in Virginia, and they're watching it for those reasons that you laid out. People are waiting to see, you know, is this going to be as some kind of indicator about how voters feel about Democrats nationally? Is this going to be an indicator about how you should run as a Republican in the era of Trump?

Now for Terry McAuliffe's part, he sees the same polls we all do. He sees a race that has been tightening. He told his voters now is not the time to be complacent. Now is the time to make sure that you get out there that you return your ballot. Obviously, this is a state where a large chunk of voters already have done that. They have voted early but, of course, you're seeing folks turn out here in the polls on Election Day, even on this pretty rainy day in Richmond.

Alisyn, Victor?

BLACKWELL: All right, Boris, in Prince William County, what do you see in there?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY WEEKEND: Hey, Victor, things running fairly smoothly so far here in Precinct 509 in Prince William County. No major issues to report. As you can see behind me, voters have been trickling in steadily all day. Some folks casting their ballots as we speak.

We should note, this part of Northern Virginia, critical for Terry McAuliffe to draw turnout if he expects to beat Glenn Youngkin. This precinct specifically turned out for him to elect him governor in 2013. It also helped elect his successor, Ralph Northam in 2017. And it went for Joe Biden pretty heavily in 2020 as well. We should note it's a very small sample size, we shouldn't draw any major conclusions from it.

But the majority of voters that we've spoken to here today tell us they are voting for Glenn Youngkin. The education and economy component making a big -- be having a big factor in their decision. Listen to some of what they shared with us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANNE MEETRE, VOTER IN VIRGINIA: The school information of school NAAS (ph), the critical race theory, I don't think it's right.

BRIAN WESTHOFF, VOTER IN VIRGINIA: I mean, just everything the economy, the just kind of price of gas. That's probably my number one issue right now is the economy.

SANCHEZ: So you voted for Terry McAuliffe?

LIZ RIVAS, VOTER IN VIRGINIA: Yes.

SANCHEZ: What is it about his message that motivated you?

RIVAS: I don't want Republicans to win, has nothing to do with this message. I just want the Democrats in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Ironically, that was part of Terry McAuliffe's message arguing that Glenn Youngkin is just another Donald Trump. Polls here close at 7:00 p.m. Obviously, a race that has a lot riding on it potentially with implications for next year's midterms as well.

Alisyn and Victor?

BLACKWELL: All right, Boris Sanchez, Sara Murray, thank you both.

Let's bring in now Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the UVA Center for Politics. Kyle, thanks for being with us. We heard from one of the women that Boris spoke with that she just wants Democrats in, she does not want to Republican, didn't even really use names there. How much of that not the other guy is leading what we're seeing in Virginia?

[15:05:06]

KYLE KONDIK, MANAGING EDITOR, SABATO'S CRYSTAL BALL AT UVA CENTER FOR POLITICS: There's something in American politics called negative partisanship, which is that instead of -- you kind of dislike the other side more than you like your own and that's a -- I think that could be a motivating factor for a lot of voters. And look, you know, look, Democrats, Republicans are very different, they have very different priorities. And so for a lot of voters, the choice is not actually that difficult. You know, you vote straight ticket, either for your side, you know, either for one side, or the other.

And it is interest -- you know, it'd be interesting to see not just what the turnout is in a lot of these places, but whether there actually is some, you know, erosion for Democrats in Northern Virginia, which has been become such a source of strength for them in recent years, particularly in elections contested during the Trump years. And then also, you know, what's the turnout mix look like.

You know, Republican areas turning out to heavier democratic areas, turning on heavier. And it's too soon to tell at this point, we've got to wait for the results for that.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

CAMEROTA: So other than the negative partisanship that's driving voters to the polls, what are the big issues in Virginia? I mean, we keep hearing a lot about school curriculum. Is it as big as we think in Virginia?

KONDIK: You know, again, I think the results will help tell us that, particularly if there is, you know, substantial erosion for Democrats in Northern Virginia, because that might indicate that some of the education messaging from the Youngkin campaign is actually broken through. But, you know, it was interesting too there was one of the voters was talking about gas prices, you know, and that's something a lot of voters pay attention to. You know, it's a number that's basically posted on main street corners across the state and across the country.

And, you know, there's just general dissatisfaction I think with President Biden. You know, his approval rating is net negative nationally, it's probably net negative in Virginia too, even though Biden got 54 percent of the vote in Virginia. And, you know, we often see this in the Virginia governor's race, it's one of the first big elections that comes after a presidential year. And the President's party, you know, usually does worse in this race than they did in the previous year's presidential in Virginia.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

KONDIK: It's just a question of how much worse we'll get for Democrats in Virginia. You know, there is a big kind of buffer. You know, Biden won the state by 10 points. And yet a lot of the indicators we have suggests we should be expecting to fairly close rates, and we'll see if those indicators are accurate or not.

BLACKWELL: Now, if this is, you know, a close race, of course, we'll see once polls close, is the message of a two-point win for McAuliffe dramatically different than the message of a two-point loss as Democrats look at what they can take out of this race?

KONDIK: You know, I don't really think so. I mean, again, if this race is decided at the margins, you know, whether it's again, one or two, one way or one or two the other, that still represents, you know, a falling off for Democrats in Virginia, again, compared to what they were doing during the Trump years. Ralph Northam won the governorship Democrat in 2017 by nine points. Again, Joe Biden won the state by by 10, you had two kind of lopsided U.S. Senate races in 2018 and 2020 in favor of Democrats.

So if there is significant erosion, even if the Democrats, you ended up winning, you know, maybe that tells us something about the political environment. Again, it's, you know, when you have a president who has, you know, negative approval rating, that's kind of the most important statistic in a lot of these races particularly in a kind of an off-year or this year, you know, midterm environment coming up next year --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

KONDIK: -- that, you know, causes trouble for the presidential party.

CAMEROTA: Kyle, hasn't been interesting to see how Glenn Youngkin has navigated around the thorny topic of Trump? He's basically said, I don't need outside help, I can win this on my own. But often, I mean, we've just seen in the past, former President Trump's ego doesn't tolerate that. But this one seems to be working for both of them.

KONDIK: Yes, look, I mean, if Youngkin had wanted Donald Trump to do it in person campaign event for him, I'm sure Trump would have oblige. But I think, you know, Youngkin, I think, wanted that. And so you've seen Trump kind of dip his toe in a little bit in the race. But, you know, McAuliffe has been, you know, really trying to tie Youngkin to Trump.

And, you know, I don't know if it's gone over as well as the McAuliffe folks would have hoped, although, again, you know -- we'll be able to make -- work better judgment about that after we have the results. But, you know, I think Youngkin has been able to try to, you know, focus a lot of his messaging on trying to persuade some folks in the suburbs, while also, you know, not distancing himself from Trump entirely and sort of keeping the kind of Trump Republican base, particularly in kind of the more rural small town parts of the state, central and western Virginia.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

KONDIK: And so he's going to hope for, you know, huge margins and big turnout in those places. We'll see if he gets them.

BLACKWELL: All right, we will see. Kyle Kondik, thank you.

KONDIK: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: So there are handful of mayoral races to watch as well no matter who wins. And let's start here in Boston. This seat, it will make history of voters who said to pick the first woman and first woman of color. That's because the choice is between two minority women. One progressive, one moderate.

[15:10:06]

Let's go to Buffalo, a Democratic socialist is running against the former mayor. If she wins, she'll be the first socialist mayor of a major U.S. city in more than 60 years.

CAMEROTA: But in Minneapolis and Atlanta, the mayor's election is far from a two-person race. Fourteen people are running for mayor in Atlanta, a former mayor is among the frontrunners. The high crime rate is dominating that discussion. And crime and policing are big parts of the campaigning in Minneapolis where George Floyd was killed. There are 16 candidates are trying to unseat the incumbent.

And voters in Cleveland will reportedly choose a new mayor for the first time in 16 years. And finally, in the nation's largest city in New York, a retired NYPD captain may become the city's second black mayor.

CNN's Miguel Marquez is on the ground. So Miguel, tell us what you're hearing from voters today.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, we're at Brooklyn Borough Hall, which is typically a pretty darn busy voting place precinct. This is where they sort of check in and they fill out their voting cards here and then they put them into those machines there and get them counted. I can tell you, that count is pretty slow. We've been at what? About nine hours now of voting.

They've only clocked about 450 votes total in this location. There are three different election districts in this one room. So, typically, they would have a lot more. It doesn't mean that the numbers are low everywhere, but it's certainly an indicative that at least here in Brooklyn, people aren't rushing to the polls. There were -- there was early voting, there was absentee voting, so that may be a much larger part of the share of the vote this time around as well.

The two candidates, the two main candidates, a Democrat, Eric Adams voted today. He carried a picture of his mother, got choked up at times talking about the moment that voting for himself in this election means he is on the cusp of becoming mayor of the city because there's such a big number of Democrats compared to Republicans in New York City.

And Curtis Sliwa, the Republican, also founder of the Guardian Angels, he went to vote today, was told he couldn't wear his trademark red jacket with his name on it because it was considered campaign material. He got into a fight with whole workers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I'm not supposed to be standing here, but because I'm standing here, every Day New York is going to realize that they deserve the right to stand in the city also.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

ADAMS: This is for the little guy.

CURTIS SLIWA (R), NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: This is what you call busting my stones. We're going to have to wait this out. I mean, taking this jacket off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: So Sliwa was eventually allowed to vote with the jacket on, but he was not allowed to bring one of his 17 cats into the voting areas. So Sliwa is the, you know, founder of the Guardian Angels who has lots of cats, 17 of them. Adams is the Democrat who's a former police officer and a vegan. Lots of choices for New Yorkers this time.

Around 9:00 tonight polls close. Those early votes and the votes cast today will be counted first. And then lots of absentee ballots will be counted in the days ahead. Back to you guys.

CAMEROTA: I mean, Curtis Sliwa is so known for that outfit that he wears. I can understand why he would be pushing back against taking that off.

BLACKWELL: And it's a shame that cat didn't get to witness democracy --

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- and action --

CAMEROTA: You're right.

BLACKWELL: -- at the same (INAUDIBLE).

CAMEROTA: Up front. Meow. OK, Miguel Marquez, thank you very much.

So voters in six states will also be casting ballots on a range of high profile issues today.

BLACKWELL: In Minneapolis, more than a year -- we're going to interrupt this. Let's go to the President in Glasgow for his last news conference of the environmental conference.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- today in Scotland, I think we got a lot done. We've a lot of good substantive meetings. And with my fellow leaders, and most of all, it was critically important for the United States to be here. At COP26, back in the Paris Agreement, raising domestic climate ambitions and demonstrating a commitment to support the rest of the world, particularly those countries that are on the frontlines of the climate crisis.

Today I spoke to leaders of forested nations, island nations, developing countries, my message to them was the United States is going to be their partner as we meet this climate crisis. I want to thank the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Johnson for hosting us hosted in a world of a critical moment as well as I met with Prince Charles who's put together a very significant operation over the last six, seven years who've trying to bring in the private sector and did too work on a number of these issues.

Glasgow must start -- been started as I'm tired (ph) hear me say it but a decisive decade of action. So we can keep limit of 1.5 degrees within the reach of less than the rest of the world.

[15:15:10]

We have to keep accelerating our progress. Today's agreement by more than 100 countries represent 85 percent of the world's forest, halt and reverse deforestation by 2030 is a great example. Great example of the kind of ambition we need in the United States is proud, proud to have initiated and supported it.

For our part, the United States is going to keep raising the ambition and delivering the goal that we are reducing U.S. emissions by 50 percent to 52 percent as Secretary Kerry's talked about, from the 2005 levels by 2030. This decade, we have to make significant progress.

And by the way, I might note parenthetically, I can't think of any two days and more has been accomplished dealing with climate than these two days. Overall, the past two days, I've announced a series of initiatives that are going to make sure we hit the target of including today two new rules to reduce methane losses from new and existing oil and gas operations and from natural gas pipelines.

Thanks to the effort of our joint effort with the E.U., we've grown global methane pledge and remember, I raised it when I spoke to United Nations from nine countries signed on to that pledge in September. At the United Nations more than 100 countries have signed on, it's about half the world's methane emissions, 70 percent of the world of global GDP.

We made commitments to remote climate-smart agriculture, spur innovation, catalyze private finance to clean for a clean economy and to drive high standard clean climate resilient infrastructure through the Build Back Better initiative. We had a great meeting today, where we sat and talked about the whole focus of my Build Back Better initiative, which is adopted by the G7. Was that everything should be focused on as we help with the infrastructure the rest of the world which needed it badly, focused on climate, climate.

The example is if you build an oil well, if you assumed that if you build a gas -- or oil refinery, you're going to have that for the next 30 years. Well, why not invest now if we're going to provide for the help for nations in solar capacity or wind capacity. So the point is, although the -- we also brought through the new President's Emergency Plan for adaptation and resilience. We called it -- and I'm getting tired of acronyms I have to admit to -- but it's called a PREPARE.

We're going to support climate adaptation efforts and more than a half a billion people worldwide. We also released our overall long-term strategy outlines how we'll get to net zero emissions by 2050. You know, we know that this is -- this must be a whole of society effort. I'd also want to thank to representatives from the private sector and from labor and philanthropies, civil societies, who are dedicated themselves to the climate action efforts were all making here.

That leadership together with action by state, local and tribal governments, is been essential in the United States. That's why despite the previous administration's pulling us out of the Paris Agreement, and refused even to acknowledge there was a climate crisis, we still brought down emissions during that period. I also want to acknowledge the passion and power of the young people in the activists who are doing such vital work to remind us of our moral obligation to future generations.

But look, as I said yesterday, it's not just a moral imperative, it's an economic imperative as well. Investing in our clean energy future is an enormous opportunity, an enormous opportunity for every country to create good paying jobs, and spur a broad-based economic recovery. As I've said, you've heard me say before and my colleagues as well, when I think of climate crisis, I think of jobs. And that's what the Build Back Better framework will do for the American people, is going to bring historic investment and clean energy addressing the climate crisis.

It's going to cut greenhouse gas emissions by well over a gigaton by 2030. It's going to save consumers money in their energy bills and with tax credits for things like installing solar panels and weatherization of their homes. It's also going to provide manufacturing credits to make sure the United States is competing in energy markets, the future like solar panels and wind turbines.

It's also going to accelerate electric vehicles and electric school buses and build a nationwide network of 500,000 charging stations to power them. It's about jobs. It's about competitiveness versus complacency. It's about making the world safer, cleaner, healthier a place for our children and children all around the world to look to the future in a way that they can't now.

[15:20:02]

I -- and so there's so many other things that have happened today that I feel good about. But let me start, if you will, by I'll be happy to take your questions. Phil, you got a question? You're watching on TV a lot.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Thank you very much, Mr. President. You know, your disappointment with Chinese actions on climate in Rome, and also the lack of willingness from Chinese President Xi Jinping to show up at either the G20 or COP26.

But I wanted to ask more broadly, when you assess where things stand right now, in U.S.-China relationships after your first 10 months in office, your diplomats have had difficulty engaging in a substantive manner, with some of their counterparts, you have Chinese military that is tested a hypersonic missile this summer, and is building its nuclear capability. What is your general assessment of where things stand? And are you concerned that the potential for armed conflict has grown over the course of your first 10 months in office?

BIDEN: Well, let me start off by addressing the first part of -- not the question, the statement. And that is that I indicated that China and Russia not showing up in Saudi Arabia was a problem. We showed up. We showed up.

And by showing up, we've had a profound impact on the way I think the rest of the world is looking at the United States and its leadership role. I think it's been a big mistake, quite frankly, for China, respect to China, not showing up. The rest of the world going to look to China and say what value added are they provided? And they've lost an ability to influence people around the world and all the people here at COP, the same way I would argue with regard to Russia.

With regard to the more profound question about, do am I worried about an armed conflict or some that accidentally occurring with China? No, I'm not. But I have had, as I've said before, I think we've talked about this film, but I may be mistaken, that I think, as I've said, I look at China. And I've had hours of conversations with Xi Jinping, both in-person when I was vice president, and since I've been President, at least five or six hours where the conversations on the telephone.

And I am going to be having a virtual summit with him. I've made it clear. This does -- this is competition, it does not have to be conflict. There is no reason there need be conflict. But I've also indicated to him, and I've -- so I don't -- I'm not reluctant to say it publicly that we expect them to play by the rules of the road. We're not going to change our attitude toward constitution, international airspace, international sea lanes, et cetera.

We also have made it clear that we have to work on dealing with things like cybersecurity and a whole range of other issues. But I'm not looking for I don't anticipate there will be a need for -- to be -- there'll be physical conflict. But, you know, as you've heard me say this before, my dad had an expression. He said the only conflict worse than one that's intended is one that's unintended, one that's unintended.

And so in my meetings with him virtually coming up, we haven't set the exact date yet. I want to make sure there's no misunderstanding. It's competition, not conflict. And so there's no unintended.

Yes, Peter?

PETER: Mr. President, you're touting on this visit your $1.75 trillion plan that includes climate but your party is still not united behind it. Senator Joe Manchin yesterday called it budget gimmicks, shell games and a recipe for economic crisis. Today, he said he never signed off on the framework. So, do you have a specific commitment from Senator Manchin to support your Build Back Better bill? Yes or no? And how do you respond to those criticisms? And I have a quick follow-up.

BIDEN: Number one, I'm not going to talk about the specifics of my conversations. He will vote for this, if we have in this proposal, what he has anticipated, and that is looking at the fine print and the detail of what comes out of the House in terms of the actual legislative initiatives. I believe that Joe will be there.

With regard to the issue of whether or not he thinks that he's worried about this being inflationary or going to be negative impact in the economy, I think that I've made it clear to Joe and we'll continue to and we will, that -- I've apologized if repeated, Peter, nut 17 Nobel laureates in economics that is going to lower inflation, raise wages, increase competition, create 2 million jobs a year, et cetera.

[15:25:02]

And so I think that I understand Joe is looking for the precise detailed and make sure nothing got slipped in terms of the way in which the legislation got written that is different than he acknowledged he would agree to. But I think we'll get this done.

PETER: Follow-up, you mentioned the word inflation there, you recently said you have no short term answer to bring down gas prices. But as you know, it's not just gas prices now, rents are up, the cost of everyday items are up, inflation in the U.S. is at a 13-year high. So when specifically should Americans expect those prices to come down?

BIDEN: Well, look, first of all, the significant reason why prices are up is because COVID affecting the supply chain. I mean, I know -- I'm not trying to be instruct, I know, you know, this, number one. Number two, if you take a look at, you know, gas prices, and you take a look at oil prices, that is a consequence of, thus far, the refusal of Russia or the OPEC nations to pump more oil. And we'll see what happens on that score sooner than later.

Number three, I think if you take a look at what we're talking about, you look to this coming Thanksgiving. You know, we're in a situation where we find that we are in a very different circumstance. Last Thanksgiving, you know, I -- as I said, this year, we're working on a supply chain issue. But last Thanksgiving, I sat down with my wife, my daughter and my son, this Thanksgiving, we're all in a very different circumstance. Things are a hell of a lot better.

And the wages have gone up higher, faster than inflation. And we have generated real economic growth. It doesn't mean these dislocations aren't real. They do affect people's lives. For example, one of the reasons why I decided to talk about the need to deal with the operation and the gouging that occurs and some of the pricing of beef and chicken and other things is that -- that's why I think -- that's why I indicated you we're going to look at whether or not there's a violation of antitrust laws and what they're doing.

So there's a lot to look at. But the bottom line is that I think that anyone who would prefer as bad as things are in terms of prices, helping hurting families now, trade this Thanksgiving for last Thanksgiving.

Jen Epstein Wall Street Journal.

(OFF-MIC)

BIDEN: I mean, excuse me, I beg your pardon.

JENNIFER EPSTEIN, REPORTER, BLOOMBERG: Bloomberg.

BIDEN: I hope -- I got it. I got it.

EPSTEIN: Thank you.

BIDEN: And especially since my granddaughter works for you guys in a different circumstance. So I got it, I'm in trouble.

EPSTEIN: Well, I'm going to ask a very Bloomberg question to begin, which is, have you decided who you'll nominate to chair the Federal Reserve Board? And if not, can you speak a little bit about what you're thinking about as you consider your choice for Fed chair and the other seats that are open?

This is the latest that that a president has gone without nominating somebody the year before a nominee needs to be selected. And are you concerned about potentially having a short timeline, especially if you're not going to read nominee Jay Powell?

BIDEN: No, no, no. No, I'm not going to discuss it with you because that's in training now. We'll be making those announcements fairly quickly. It's been entrained for some time, number one. Number two, I also would indicate that I think we're going to have plenty of time to make sure all the major nominees are able to be cleared in time that where their terms would expire.

And number three, I would give them a lot of thought to it. And I've been meeting with my economic advisers on what the best choices are. We've got a lot of good choices, but I'm not going to speculate now.

Nancy, CBS. I think you had your hand up. I'm sorry. Did you?

NANCY CORDES, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CBS NEWS: Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. President. Some of the commitments you made here won't happen unless Congress passes future legislation. How do you convince Republicans and even some Democrats to get behind more spending if they look at this conference and say China isn't meeting these global goals, Russia doesn't intend to meet these global goals, India doesn't plan to why should we?

BIDEN: Because we want to be able to breathe and we want to be able to lead the world.