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New Jersey Governor's Race Remains Neck and Neck; Republican Glenn Youngkin Wins Virginia Governor's Race; Democrat Eric Adams Elected New York City Mayor; U.S. Kids Ages 5-11 Start Receiving Pfizer Vaccine Shots; World Leaders Accelerate Action at Critical COP26 Summit; U.S., China Race to Lead World on Climate Solutions. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired November 03, 2021 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and right around the world. I'm Isa Soares in London. And just ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLENN YOUNGKIN, REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR VIRGINIA GOVERNOR: Alrighty, Virginia, we won this thing!

JACK CIATTARELLI, REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: We have sent a message to the entire country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: A big win for Republicans and a wakeup call for Democrats. We've got the U.S. election victories and close calls ahead.

World leaders make big commitments at the COP26 climate summit. But will they follow through? We're live for you in Scotland this hour.

And World Series champs, the Atlanta Braves defy the odds clinching their first title since 1995.

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Isa Soares.

SOARES: It is Wednesday, November the 3rd, and we begin with a big night for U.S. Republicans. Right now, we are watching a key election in New Jersey where after many hours of ballot counting, the governor's race is just too close to call. With some 84 percent of the votes processed, it is a dead heat. Take a look at the numbers. Just hundreds of votes, in fact, separate the incumbent governor Democrat Phil Murphy and Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli. Ciattarelli told supporters, we want every legal vote counted. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CIATTARELLI: And although it was not my intention, we have sent a message to the entire country. But this is what I love about this state if you study its history. Every single time it's gone too far off track, the people of this state have pushed, pulled and prodded it right back to where it needs to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: So, we'll keep an eye on those numbers from New Jersey. But in Virginia -- take a look -- Republicans are basking really in the glow of a big win. Glenn Youngkin has narrowly defeated former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe. Top Democrats including President Joe Biden -- if you remember -- campaigned hard for him. This is, of course, the first time a Republican has won any statewide office in Virginia since 2009. And this stinging loss is seen really as a wakeup call for the Democratic Party and a possible bellwether for whether next year's midterm elections that could see Democrats lose their razor thin majority in Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNKIN: Alrighty, Virginia.

A campaign that came from nowhere, but we were joined by neighbors and friends of all races, of all religions, of all ages, of all political ideologies, and it turned into a movement. This stopped being a campaign long ago. This is the spirit of Virginia coming together like never before. The spirit of Washington and Jefferson and Madison and Monroe and Patrick Henry, of Virginians standing up and taking our commonwealth back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Good enough for Youngkin. Well, CNN's Jeff Zeleny has been reporting from the somber McAuliffe campaign headquarters. But we begin with Eva McKend and the issues really that helped Youngkin get elected.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: In his speech thanking supporters, Youngkin revisited a lot of the same themes that he mentioned out on the trail. Like parents having more involvement in their children's public-school education as well as the creation of new charter schools. But noticeably absent from his victory speech was critical race theory, something that he has repeated on the trail several times in recent weeks and has become one of his loudest applause lines. Critical race theory not taught in Virginia public schools, by he often said he would ban it. He did not mention it in his speech this morning.

That's the latest from Chantilly, Virginia, Eva McKend, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Democrats significantly defeated in Virginia. Terry McAuliffe had his eye on a second term as the governor of the commonwealth, stopped short by Republican Glenn Youngkin. Now McAuliffe addressed the crowd late Tuesday evening, did not concede, and even though the early hours of Wednesday morning still had not called Mr. Youngkin.

[04:05:00]

But the point was clear. He had narrowly lost the Virginia governor's race according to CNN's projection. It was the voters in the middle that simply did not support Terry McAuliffe this time. So, Democrats now certainly going through recriminations. How this defeat could have happened. Certainly, a rejection of the Biden administration's agenda, a split screen moment. President Biden landing back in the U.S. from a week abroad to this news that certainly will shake this Democratic Party.

Terry McAuliffe, of course, underestimated Glenn Youngkin, no question, trying to tie him to Donald Trump. In the end that simply was not enough. So, Terry McAuliffe again not conceding, but certainly defeat is at hand. Democrats have so many questions to answer as they head into the 2022 midterm elections where their House and Senate majorities certainly on the line.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, McLean, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, professor Thomas Gift Is Director of the Center on U.S. Politics at University College London. The joins me now. Professor, thank you very much for joining us. Good morning to you. Look, let's start with what you saw in Virginia. A big win for Republicans and big blow, I think it's fair to say to Democrats. What does this win, would you say, by Youngkin tell you about the mood as well as the voter sentiment in the U.S. right now?

THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR, CENTER ON U.S. POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Well, it's great to be with you, Isa. Thanks so much for having me. I think what we saw in Virginia especially was significant. Understandably there's a desire to tie the outcome to national politics.

But first and foremost, Youngkin's win reflects a successful statewide campaign. In lots of ways, I think this is a politician who was really able to flip the conventional wisdom that all Republican candidates need to take a clear pro or anti-Trump stand. McAuliffe supporters notoriously tried to paint Youngkin as Trump in khakis.

But Youngkin really threaded the needle here in an interesting way. He kept Trump at sufficient arm's length to appeal to the northern Virginia voters, places like Arlington and Leesburg, but he didn't distance himself so far from Trump that he completely alienated MAGA voters in the southwest. In addition, Youngkin really doubled down on making kind of this race about concrete issues. Where he argued were progressive overreach in public schools, tackling crime, pushing for tax breaks, et cetera.

By contrast I think what we saw from McAuliffe was a relatively flat campaign that kind of lacked direction. When you add it all up in an off-year election where Democrats have been struggling to articulate a coherent message beyond the fact that they're not Trump, I think the outcome maybe wasn't too surprising.

SOARES: Yes, we were looking on the screen at top issues on both sides. How much do you think the thinking or popularity of the president, President Biden as well as the Democrats struggled to move the legislative agenda, perhaps has dragged or dragged McAuliffe down here?

GIFT: Well, I think it's certainly a challenge for Democrats going forward. It's pretty clear that Democrats need to look at yesterday's results as a wakeup call. Virginia in particular is instructive precisely because of its demographics, mix of rural and suburban voters, mostly a swing state. Means that it could be a bellwether. Vice President Kamala Harris actually said as much on the campaign trail just a few days ago, what happens if Virginia will in large part determines what happens in 2022, 2024, so on.

So, the fact voters went out and rejected the Democratic candidate has to be worrying to party leadership. And then does tie back in, I think, to Joe Biden. I mean, this is really consistent with broader electoral frustration with Democrats. As you say, in Washington over lack of ability to get the infrastructure bill done, declining approval for Biden and so on. So last night could prove a real road map for Republicans on how to duplicate that success heading into 2022.

SOARES: Yes, so what you're saying in many ways, that this is almost like a national referendum on President Biden and Democrats waking up this morning, Thomas, might be waking up to quite a headache. How do they solve this? Where do they move the needle if we're talking about the midterms here?

GIFT: That's a great question, Isa. I mean, the real question is what lesson will Democrats draw from this going into the midterms. And I can already hear some on the left saying the reason Democrats are on the ropes right now, is because they aren't pushing forcefully enough on some of these big spending bills. For example, in Washington that moderates like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are the problem. And what voters want is a large active government that presses a progressive social agenda.

I think if that's the takeaway, it's going to be a mistake. Democrats will be reminded of what 2010 looked like, for example, when the party got soundly defeated by a Republican wave two years after Obama took office. So, I think that, you know, certainly they want to get some things done in Washington. They want to get infrastructure through. But my own thinking, at least personally, they have to kind of strike this middle ground in a way that -- and kind of frame their agenda in a way that's not just anti-Trump.

[04:10:00]

If they can do that, I think they can have a better chance of maintaining control of Congress in 2022. SOARES: Well, let's have a look at the race at the moment in New

Jersey. As you probably heard in the last few minutes, a very tight call. If we can bring it up with the latest numbers in the governor's race. It's neck and neck this moment. I think 100 votes or so separates them as you can see there, Ciattarelli from Murphy. What does this tell you? No one expected, I suspect, this to be such a narrow race, Thomas. What do you make of this?

GIFT: Well, you're right. And just the fact that Ciattarelli is making a serious play against an incumbent here in New Jersey is notable. And it's going to energize the GOP I think regardless of the eventual outcome. So, if you're Republican you really got to be saying to yourself this is the kind of wave that we can ride to take back control, you know, of both the Houses of Congress potentially in 2022.

Right now, it is too close to call. We'll see how the result turns out. But I think you're right. The fact this is even in play, especially given what the polls looked like a week ago, two weeks ago has to be a huge boost to Republicans, and they've got to be thinking that this is a trend that they can latch onto across the country.

SOARES: We'll just stay on top of those numbers. Thomas Gift, always great to have you on the show. Thanks very much for your perspective.

GIFT: Thanks so much.

SOARES: Now, New York City has elected its next mayor. Democrat Eric Adams celebrated his victory a few hours ago as you saw there, the retired police campaigned in Brooklyn. He will be New York's second black mayor. CNN's Athena Jones is at his campaign headquarters in Brooklyn with the latest. Athena.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. Supporters of Democrat Eric Adams are in celebration mode after Adams easily beat his Republican opponent in the mayor's race. Curtis Sliwa, a Republican. He was the founder of the Guardian Angels, a crime fighting organization.

Adams who is a former New York Police captain and former state Senator, now poised to become the 110th mayor of the city of New York. And only the second black mayor of New York after David Dinkins in the early 1990s.

Adams grew up with working class roots. He often speaks about living on the edge of homelessness in his youth and about having been arrested as a teenager and beaten by the N.Y.P.D. He later decided to join the force to become a voice of reform from within. Later rising through a state office, state Senator, now to the Brooklyn Borough presidency, next to city hall.

Eric Adams running on -- making sure public safety which he called the prerequisite to prosperity is something that New Yorkers can rely on. So, he spent a lot of time talking about public safety. But he also talked about issues like improving education, a universal child care. He spoke tonight at his victory speech about making sure that corporations here in New York given internships to underserved communities. Here's a little more of what he said in his victory speech.

ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR ELECT: All of the challenges that every New Yorker faces, tonight is just -- not just a victory over adversity. It is a vindication of faith. It is a proof that people of this city will love you if you love them.

CROWD: That's right.

ADAMS: It is the proof that the forgotten can be the future.

JONES: And Adams won by putting together a coalition of working-class voters, union voters, people who live in the outer boroughs, voters of color. In his victory speech he mentioned several communities, the Korean community, the Hasidic community, the Dominican community. But the bottom line here is at a time of rising crime, Eric Adams staked his race his promise of increased public safety. And also, things like making sure businesses are able to work more easily here in New York, cutting through red tape. These are ideas that clearly resonated with the voters of New York.

Athena Jones, CNN, Brooklyn.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Thank you very much, Athena.

Well meanwhile, Boston is witnessing history in the making.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE WU, BOSTON'S MAYOR ELECT: So, let's celebrate tonight and tomorrow we'll continue to work together. Thank you, everyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: CNN projects city Council Michelle Wu will become Boston's next mayor after her opponent conceded. Making her the first woman and first person of color elected to the office. She campaigned on a progressive platform earning support from high-profile Democrats in the state.

And in Atlanta, the city's mayoral race is headed for a runoff. City council president Felicia Moore holds a substantial lead for the first spot and just 600 votes separate the two candidates vying for the second spot.

Meanwhile, as you can see the mayor of New York State's capital Buffalo is claiming victory after mounting a massive write-in campaign. Bryon Brown appears to have defeated the Democratic nominee, India Walton.

[04:15:00] Potentially securing really unprecedented fifth term as mayor. But with so many write-in votes it will be weeks in fact before election officials certify fifth term those results. We will, of course, have much more election coverage throughout this hour right here on CNN.

Now, the first American children ages 5 to 11 have already received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Think of a funny joke. There you go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: How excited was he about that? This Connecticut hospital administered the kids size doses of the Pfizer vaccine just moments after the CDC director gave the green light for young children Tuesday evening. Right now, millions of doses of the vaccine are being shipped around the U.S. President Joe Biden says there's enough for every child and calls the moment a turning point.

The CDC's advisory board unanimously approved using the Pfizer vaccine on young children on Tuesday by a vote of 14-0. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky says the benefits outweigh any risks the vaccine could have. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR, U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: The chance a child would have severe COVID, require hospitalization or develop a long-term complication like MISC remains low. But still the risk is too high and too devastating to our children, and far higher than for many other diseases for which we vaccinate children.

DR. SARAH LONG, PEDIATRIC PROFESSOR, DREXEL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: I think the data support that we have one more vaccine that saves lives of children, and that we should be very confident to employ it to the maximum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Now, President Joe Biden is now back at the White House after attending the COP26 summit in Scotland. And the head of his return, Mr. Biden was expressing confidence that he can convince Senator Joe Manchin to vote for his sweeping spending bill despite concerns from the Democratic lawmaker.

Manchin says his main concerns will need to be addressed before securing is vote for the nearly $2 trillion economic package. Though he was optimistic a deal could be reached. But the senator said a vote could be possible before Thanksgiving. And on Tuesday Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he's aiming for the bill to come to the Senate floor by the week of November 15 as long as the House passes it this week. There were cheers during the closing bell -- as you hearing there --

on Wall Street. As the Dow ended the day above the 36,000 mark for the first time ever. Tuesday's close also saw the S&P 500, as you can see there, and the Nasdaq posted record highs.

And there were cheering as well in Atlanta. The Atlanta Braves had just been crowned World Series champions and their fans are going wild, as you can imagine. Atlanta beat the Houston Astros on Tuesday to win the series four games to two. It is Atlanta's first World Series title since 1995. The most valuable player was Braves outfielder Jorge Soler. We'll have more on the Braves win later this hour from CNN's Andy Scholes in Houston. But a good night for the Atlanta Braves. Well done to them.

Now, U.S. President Joe Biden has returned home from Scotland where he and other world leaders welcomed several agreements at the COP26 climate summit. We'll have more on the nations that are pledging next.

Plus, a green energy race is shaping up between the U.S. and China, and Beijing may be getting the edge. We'll explain after this short break. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

[04:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Now, in the first major elections in the U.S. since Joe Biden took office, we are seeing strong showings by Republicans in two key governors races. Take a look at this. In New Jersey Democratic incumbent Phil Murphy is locked in a much tighter than expected battle to keep his job -- as you can see there. He and Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli are neck and neck with just only a handful of votes separating them. I think, less than 100 in fact.

Have a look at Virginia though. The next governor we know will be a Republican. Glenn Youngkin has defeated Virginia's former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe. It is a state Joe Biden won easily in last year's presidential election. We'll keep an eye on those numbers there.

Now, just a few days into the high stakes climate summit in Glasgow and we've seen dozens of nations sign off on several agreements aimed at tackling the climate crisis. Another day of meetings will soon be underway, and the U.K. is set to announce plans to become the world's first net zero financial center. As part of the proposal U.K. financial institutions and listed companies will be required to publish plans on how they reduce their contribution to global warming.

Well, that announcement is just one of the pledges coming out of COP26 in Glasgow. On Tuesday, dozens of nations agreed to cut methane emissions by 30 percent from 2020 levels by the end of the decade. The British Prime Minister says there is still plenty more work to do, though. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We must take care to guard against false hope and not to think in any way that the job is done, because it is not. There is still a very long way to go. But all that being said, I am cautiously optimistic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Cautiously optimistic there. Well, CNN's Phil Black is following developments and joins me now from Edinburgh, Scotland. And Phil, so we've seen pledges on deforestation, cuts in emissions. Today it seems it's about climate finance.

[04:25:00]

Do you think we'll see the private sector coming to the table here? And do you think regulation will be involved to make sure there's not a lot of hot air?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there is a key announcement here today, Isa, with a big group, world's biggest financial institutions collectively with some $130 trillion behind them. Announcing that they will together start to actively back the sort of projects and technologies that will help the world get to net zero carbon. It's called the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. And it is led by the former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney.

We know that in order to quickly transition to green policies, infrastructure, technologies on the sort of scale and in the sort of time frame that the science says is necessary, that's going to take a lot of money. Carney with the British government believes this alliance can help make that happen through access to global finance. It is voluntary. There is no regulation here.

So, what that means is these institutions are under no obligation to suddenly stop backing or it will back away from dirty carbon intensive industries. And climate activists, critical climate activists make the point it is wrong to suggest these institutions are going to suddenly be directing all or most of their money towards the sort of projects that are going to make a difference.

But it is a start perhaps, and the thinking goes that if you start to change where the money is flowing, then you can start to change how quickly the world is adapting and, therefore, perhaps speed up the process by which the world does respond in an adequate way to the climate crisis -- Isa.

SOARES: Yes, it's a step in the right direction. But like you said, regulation perhaps has been needed for some time. Phil Black for us in Scotland. Thanks very much, Phil. Good to see you.

Now, China is signaling it could be warming up to more ambitious climate goals. So far Beijing has been reluctant to commit to keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

But on Tuesday China's special envoy for climate said his country what quote, not resisting the target. China is the world's largest polluter. So, securing Beijing's support is critical to curbing climate change. And yet China's President Xi Jinping has been noticeably absent from COP26. On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden criticized his decision not to attend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We showed up. We showed up. And by showing up, we've had a profound impact on, in a way I think the rest of the world was looking at the United States in its leadership role. I think it's been a big mistake, quite frankly, for China in respect to China not showing up. The rest of the world will look to China and say, what value added are they providing?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, that criticism is just the latest volley in a growing rivalry between the U.S. and China over who will lead the climate -- the charge really on climate action. In the U.S., President Biden is pushing hard for green initiatives in his infrastructure bills. We've been reporting to you on the show. And China is now outpacing every other country in producing electric vehicles. As CNN's David Culver now reports the race to green supremacy really is just getting started.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Devastating scenes of destruction no longer needing a Hollywood portrayal. This is real. And it's happening now. The world turning to the U.S. and China for leadership in battling climate change the two largest economies are also the biggest emitters of carbon. Combined, they are responsible for more than 40 percent of all global emissions both sides making big promises. The U.S. pledging to reduce emissions by half of 2005 levels in 2030. China aiming to reach their peak emissions by then. America's targeting net zero by 2050 China hoping to be carbon neutral a decade after that.

But these are promises not guarantees. Within the U.S. energy has become more efficient. About 20 percent of electricity comes from renewables like wind and solar. But politics have forged avoiding creating consistent climate solutions.

MICHAEL DAVIDSON, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO: The U.S. has a credibility challenge. There's a lot of just attention on U.S.'s domestic political challenges to achieving and fulfilling those climate promises. China for its part tends to under promise and over deliver.

CULVER (voice over): Under the all-powerful central government, China's challenge is its size and rapid growth.

CULVER: Shanghai China's most developed city is home to more than 24 million people and keeping all of this up and going, well, it relies on a constant power supply.

CULVER (voice over): In recent decades, China's economy has soared. Nearly everything it seemed made in China, giving this once rural agrarian nation a massive economic boom, built mostly on fossil fuels.

CULVER: China is still heavily reliant on coal. In fact, coal provides more than 60 percent.