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Trump and Ron DeSantis Holding Dueling Rallies in Florida; Biden Campaigns in New York for Governor Kathy Hochul; Candidates Make Final Push with Elections Just Two Days Away; Interview with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) about Midterm Elections; Multiple Election Deniers Running for Office Across the U.S.; Biden and Trump Return to Campaign Trail Today; Police: Kari Lake Campaign HQ Received "Suspicious" Package, Campaign Says It Contained White Powder; Results of Key Races May Not Be Decided Election Night. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired November 06, 2022 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:22]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Atlanta, in the battleground state of Georgia.

The midterm elections, they're just two days away, and you're looking live right now at Vice President Kamala Harris campaigning in Chicago while Governor Ron DeSantis is speaking in Florida.

After months of rallies, handshake lines and fundraising events, candidates are no longer in a marathon. It is now a sprint. Control of Congress hangs in the balance. The Senate could be decided by three key tossup races right here in Georgia and in Nevada and Pennsylvania. Of course there are other crucial swing states also in play.

But the importance of Pennsylvania was on full display this weekend as three presidents past and present stumped for their party nominees in that state. More than 40 million people, 40 million people, have already cast their ballots outpacing early voting in 2018.

Let's take you now to New York and Florida where President Biden will land soon to headline a rally and former President Donald Trump will be speaking in about an hour from now.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Jonkers with the president. But first let's start with Kristen Holmes in Miami.

Kristen, Trump's rally there is actually competing with events starring another Florida Republican, Governor Ron DeSantis. A one-time Trump ally and potential presidential challenger we all know in 2024. Tell us about that.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, 2022 midterms haven't even happened, yet we're already talking about 2024. And there is a reason for that. And it's twofold. One is that we reported last week that Trump is eyeing the two weeks after the midterms before Thanksgiving to launch a third presidential run, and the other is that there was no real reason for Trump to campaign in Miami for Senator Marco Rubio.

Rubio is leading in all of the polls. He is a strong favorite to win. And so this is largely seen as a shot across the bow to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who is really seen as Trump's main potential rival should they both run in 2024. DeSantis was not invited to this rally. He actually wasn't even made aware that it was happening until it was announced publicly.

Now these two men were once allies, but the tension behind the scenes has continued to grow for months. Now that's according to sources who say now it's starting to spill out into the public. Particularly as it looks more and more likely or at least seems more and more likely the two will face off in 2024. So we will be listening closely tonight to see if Trump says anything about DeSantis.

He took a public swipe at the Florida governor last night in Pennsylvania giving him a nickname of Ron DeSanctimonious while Trump was talking about just how popular he himself is in the Republican Party. But that just goes to show you how seriously Trump takes DeSantis as a potential opponent in 2024.

ACOSTA: All right. Kristen, I'm not sure how Ron DeSanctimonious ranks in all of the Trump insults that we've heard over the years. Not very high, I don't think, but he's got time to work on that.

Jeremy Diamond, Kathy Hochul is governor of one of the most liberate states --

HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE).

ACOSTA: Exactly. Jeremy Diamond, let me go to you. Kathy Hochul, she's running for reelection in one of the bluest states in the country yet she has President Biden making this 11th hour visit. Tell us more.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right. One Democratic official familiar with the decision-making here for the president to come here said that the Biden folks hope to infuse some enthusiasm into this campaign in the final days, and really this speaks to the Biden White House's strategy as it relates to the midterms, particularly in these final days. They are really limited in terms of where the president can travel with the president's approval ratings, where they are.

And so they're focusing in many ways on these Democratic strongholds. The president was in California on Friday. On Saturday he was in Illinois, another district where the president ran up high numbers in the 2020 election. And so once again the president is focusing on turnout in these final days, to see if he could enthuse and galvanize these Democratic voters in this final push to the polls.

Of course this also shows the limitations of where the president cannot go. Other than the battle ground state of Pennsylvania where we saw the president last night, he has largely been focused on these more Democratic areas. These areas that he won handily back in 2020. It also speaks to of course the fact that he's in New York to the difficult landscape that Democrats face up and down the ballot, given where inflation is at, given crime problems that are playing a particular emphasis in this race here in New York.

So I've spoken with most officials on the Hochul campaign, as well as folks on the Biden side, all of them hoping that the president's final visit here can really push up that enthusiasm and get this governor in a race that has gotten a lot closer than Democrats would have liked over the finish line -- Jim.

[16:05:13]

ACOSTA: All right. Jeremy Diamond and Kristen Holmes, thank you very much.

And our election coverage continues in two more key states. Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. We're watching two neck-and-neck key Senate races there. CNN's Omar Jimenez is in Milwaukee which -- is in Wisconsin, of course, highly contested race there. But let's begin with CNN's Jessica Dean live in Pittsburgh.

Jessica, Democrat John Fetterman and his GOP rival Dr. Mehmet Oz both out again on the campaign trail today. That race like so many other of these Senate races around the country really could determine who controls the Senate. What's the latest where you are?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's 100 percent true, Jim and the stakes just could not be higher here in Pennsylvania as we see the final, as you mentioned, sprint to the finish line of election day on Tuesday. We did see the three presidents here in Pennsylvania yesterday as they really tried to fire up their respective bases. Former president Barack Obama and President Joe Biden for Democrats, and former president Donald Trump for Republicans.

But today the candidates themselves back on the trail doing what they can to make sure that both their base voters are turning out but also that any independent or swing voters are being captured as well. We have really seen Dr. Oz attacking to the middle. Really selling himself as a moderate. It's something that Fetterman is certainly taking issue with. I'll let you listen to both of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN FETTERMAN (D), PENNSYLVANIA SENATE CANDIDATE: Dr. Oz wants to try to portray himself now a moderate after, you know, going very right, right, right, far-right, you know, during the primary. Now he's trying to pretend that there is no moderate -- moderate -- if you're willing to share a stage with somebody like Doug Mastriano.

DR. MEHMET OZ (R), PENNSYLVANIA SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm not a politician. I'm a surgeon. And what surgeons do is tackle big problems and we do it successfully, in my case fixing broken hearts by working with everybody. By making sure we unify people in the operating room. Not divide them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And what you were just listening to was Oz at the Trump rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, last night where during his stump speech he did not mention former President Trump or Doug Mastriano, the Republican gubernatorial candidate. Instead really sticking to what we normally hear from him on the stump as we travel with him across Pennsylvania over the last several days and weeks.

So he just really stuck to the message there and did come back and appear on stage with President Trump. But again a really brief plea to the people in the crowd to vote for him and then got off the stage.

We do see Oz and Fetterman, Jim, in the Philadelphia suburbs today. It is rich with independent and swing voters. Those are certainly voters both of them would very much like to have them on their side in this contest that has shown to be quite tight in the days leading up to election day -- Jim.

ACOSTA: It's going to be extremely important there and also where you are in Pittsburgh. That area where you're standing now could very well determine how Pennsylvania goes.

Let me go to Omar Jimenez. Omar, election day is still just two days away but Senator Ron Johnson is already casting doubt on whether he will accept the election results. I mean, all of this sounds awfully familiar. Tell us about that.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Jim. I mean both of these candidates at this point are campaigning on the future of this country being at stake. I'm talking about the Senate competition. I mean with just 48 hours or less than 48 hours to election day, Democratic Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes is expected to appear with the president of Planned Parenthood today along with the chair of the DNC, while Senator Ron Johns is continuing to make stops ahead of what would be appearances with former governor and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley tomorrow.

But as you mentioned, Johnson over stops this week has said, well, I should say when he was asked whether he would accept the results of Tuesday's election, he did not outright say yes. Instead he said I sure hope I can. And they are comments he doubled down on even in conversations with me after some of his events saying that, he cited in part I should say, a case out of here in Milwaukee of a now former election official who's been criminally charged for obtaining military ballots for fake voters, and it's part of why he feels like he can't fully trust what is going to happen on Tuesday, despite what the Wisconsin Election Commission and others have said about that not affecting the vote or anything. Take a listen, though, to some of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): We want full transparency, full access. And if that happens and that is what needs to happen, then I'll accept the results. But we need that full transparency. I'm not sure we're going to get it.

LT. GOV. MANDELA BARNES (D), WISCONSIN SENATE NOMINEE: I will accept the results. I said this multiple times. It's a shame that Ron Johnson can't commit to something as simple as participation in democracy. (END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:10:02]

JIMENEZ: And now Barnes has also given us some insight to the focal point of what his final push will be in the days leading up to the election. They're trying to make as many stops as they can. They don't want to assume anyone's support here. They want to meet people where they are to use his words. But also Democrats notably here have taken the fight to Republicans, trying to go out on offense and show people why their Republican counterparts are not fit to be in office.

I should also mention, we've got a very tight governor's race here between the incumbent Democrat Tony Evers and the Trump-backed Republican challenger Tim Michels. And Evers has pointed to multiple points where he's vetoed anti-abortion bills that have come across his desk during his time as governor, but bills he says would have passed if someone like Michels were in office.

And all of these races have been too close to call. No clear leader as they have been for months s we'll see what happens in two days' time.

ACOSTA: Yes. I think these races are going to stay that way for some time. All right, Omar Jimenez and Jessica Dean, thanks to both of you. We really, really appreciate it.

Here in Georgia, voters have set a new record for early voting in a midterm election. More than 2.2 million people in the state have cast their ballots early and in person. More than 216,000 have already returned their absentee ballots.

And joining me now is Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. He's got to think about all of that in addition to running for reelection.

Secretary Raffensperger, you know, what happened after the 2020 election as you know all too well in this state, raised a lot of safety concerns for election workers. What is being done this time around to make sure election workers feel safe and don't feel threatened in their jobs?

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER (R), GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, we made available to all 159 counties a texting tool so it's an app so that when people come in, if it looks like you need to call security, law enforcement, something like that, or just report an issue, it's a texting tool that our state election director gets that, along with the county election, and they can loop in local police.

So we want to make sure that everyone knows it will be safe. 85 of the counties have signed up for it. It's a free service that we're providing to every single county.

ACOSTA: And you know, as you know, Secretary Raffensperger, former president Trump tried to get you to help him overturn the election results in this state back in 2020. You stood up to him. A lot of voters here in this state from both parties, independents as well, give you a lot of credit for that. And yet now we see and we just heard, you know, this from Omar Jimenez a few moments ago, Ron Johnson not committing to honoring election results. We also see election deniers running for office across the country.

What has happened to your party since that phone call that you had with Donald Trump? Why has this problem gotten worse?

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, I know in Georgia we have honest and fair elections for everyone, and I will honor the results from my own personal race. I'm not going to be contesting it. Let the people speak, you know, through their vote because I do know that we have honest and fair elections.

We now have, you know, photo I.D. for all forms of voting. So our absentee ballot is photo I.D., driver's license number, and then as it relates to in-person, that's all photo I.D. It's been that way for over 10 years now. So we can identify the voters. We recognize having one of the cleanest voter rolls in the entire country. We're getting accolades from Heritage Foundation on the right side of the aisle and then from the Center for Election Innovation and Research on the left side of the aisle for having accessible honest elections, so we must be doing something right in Georgia.

ACOSTA: But let me ask you, does it trouble you that what happened in 2020, in early 2021, I should say, where the former president, then president at time, was putting a lot of pressure on you to overturn the election result here, that that has essentially spread around the country? And now we have races from here to Arizona where you have candidates not committing to honoring election results.

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, yes. And to your point, Jim --

ACOSTA: You're troubled? Are you troubled?

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, of course I'm troubled, but you have to understand, when I took office back there 2019, Stacey Abrams lost by 55,000 votes and never conceded, and so we had to push back on that narrative. And in fact, that was almost like training camp for us because that got us ready for 2020. So we made sure that we had honest and fair elections in 2020. We made sure that we have --

ACOSTA: Well, what's happening on the Republican side is happening on a much larger scale. No question.

RAFFENSPERGER: And that's why I've stood up and told everyone that I'm going to accept the results of my race and I'd encourage everyone holding themselves out to running for office, you know, you have a process and if it is so close you could ask for a recount. You can have your challenges. But when that's all said and done, you follow the law and you follow the Constitution and you accept the will of the people.

ACOSTA: Yesterday, I spoke with Martin Luther King III and he had something to say about Georgia's election law. He does not have as much confidence in the new election law here as you do. Let's listen to what he had to say and I'll get your response. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN LUTHER KING III, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS LEADER: The laws that were passed, the draconian laws, you can't even bring people water in line? Really? I mean, a person who's suffering and struggling with something personal, I mean, especially seniors is water. That's just one of several issues that have changed.

[16:15:02]

The fact of the matter is there are still some voters who may not be able to get to polling locations because they've cut locations where you drop off and a number of things. So I just vehemently disagree with that. I applaud him for what he did as it related to President Trump but I don't agree that he came out and then supported all of these laws.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: What about that, Secretary Raffensperger? Martin Luther King III essentially saying that, yes, while you did stand up to Trump, you did support these election laws here, these election restrictions in Georgia, that a lot of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King III have a problem with.

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, he just mentioned about the water. But we've had in no politicking, no electioneering ban that was 150-foot. So no electioneering within 150 feet, that goes back to the beginning of time. But what happened in the last campaign, one of the senatorial candidates had people coming within their -- really they said they were giving them water but they were campaigning, you know, and trying to touch voters at one time.

So in the Election Integrity Act, we said you have to keep lines shorter, so this Tuesday lines have be shorter than one hour anywhere. But you could give people water outside of the 150-foot zone. And also the counties, you know, people who have actually taken an oath to be nonpartisan, bipartisan, those folks can go out and give water to people. But we want to make there's no electioneering. So we introduced that, you know, segment of the law. We modeled it after existing law that you have in New York state.

ACOSTA: Let me ask you about Cobb County. There's been record turnout here in Georgia but hundreds of voters in Cobb County have been told to vote in person after 1,000, more than 1,000 absentee ballots were not sent out. What does that say? I mean, the county election's director has said that their staffers have averaged 80 or more hours per week. Are there problems already starting to happen in Georgia that voters here should be concerned about?

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, as that relates -- Cobb County is one of our top, you know, offices who are running elections well but they had some turnover -- someone who'd been in that position for over 20 years. They brought in some new people and things dropped through the cracks. So she apologized profusely, sent out those absentee ballots, you know, to people the next day air FedEx with a return envelope. But obviously those people can vote in person, that's great. But if you're a college student, you know, a thousand miles away, then you're going to have to get that ballot and get it back.

And so they've done everything they can. But it's one of those unfortunate circumstances. We will open up an investigation and that will come before the state election board post-election. They're doing everything to mitigate, you know, the mistakes that they did make.

ACOSTA: Let me ask you about the attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. You're no stranger to these violent threats, facing election workers and to yourself. Your wife previously revealed that you've received some of these threats or your family has received some of these threatening messages. One said you and your family will be killed very slowly. We plan for the death of you and your family every day.

Given your own experience and what you've gone through, you know, should we have -- should we be seeing Republican candidates out there, people like Kari Lake, people like Glenn Youngkin, making light of what happened to Paul Pelosi?

RAFFENSPERGER: It's a serious issue. It goes back to really you could say Giffords, then you look at Steve Scalise, what happened there, and now, you know, Paul Pelosi. And both sides, that is when you really need to, you know, step up your leadership and really call off people and say this is what --

ACOSTA: But after Scalise, you didn't have Democrats poking fun and so on.

RAFFENSPERGER: I know. And that's why we need --

ACOSTA: There is sort of a toxicity that needs to be addressed.

RAFFENSPERGER: And we need principal leadership. People that will stand up and hold their own side accountable. It doesn't do us any side on the right side to be pointing to the left side, or the left side to point to the right. The right needs to take care of their side. The other side needs to take care of their side. And it really calls for a principal leadership on both sides.

ACOSTA: And do you think we could have a situation after these elections coming up on Tuesday, where you have a runoff and in that runoff you have Herschel Walker going up against Raphael Warnock, and Donald Trump out there announcing that he's running for election to the White House talking about rigged elections and so on. This is what hurt Republicans the last time around in Georgia.

RAFFENSPERGER: Well --

ACOSTA: Is that something you want to see out there as a Republican?

RAFFENSPERGER: I can't control any of that. What I can control is to make sure that we have honest and fair elections for everyone. If we end up with a runoff of any race then our county is prepared to get that done. Obviously runoffs will be in four weeks. ACOSTA: It doesn't sound like it would be ideal, though.

RAFFENSPERGER: But no --

ACOSTA: If Republicans in the state to have Donald Trump doing that.

RAFFENSPERGER: We have to be a 50-plus one to win a race. And so you can never runoff. I'm the runoff king. I've been in four of them in my life. City council, statehouse, and then when I ran for secretary of state four years ago. So I'm well-versed on how to run for runoffs. They're not the most fun things as a candidate but I want to make sure that everyone knows I'll make sure for everyone that we'll have an honest and fair election and we'll get it done.

ACOSTA: All right. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

And don't forget CNN's special election day coverage, it starts at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Tuesday afternoon.

[16:20:04]

And as the final hours tick away to election day, presidential power is hitting on the campaign trail. You're looking at Air Force One taking off for New York where President Biden will rally voters for New York Governor Kathy Hochul. She's in a tight race for reelection. Plus a live look in Miami where former president Donald Trump has taken the stage to support Senator Marco Rubio.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM on the ground here in battleground Georgia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: In the 2022 midterms there is an alarming trend growing among Republican candidates sowing doubt in democracy and already questioning the election results.

[16:25:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: We want full transparency, full access. And if that happens, and that is what needs to happen, then I'll accept the results. But we need that full transparency. I'm not sure we're going to get it.

KARI LAKE (R), ARIZONA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I will accept the results of this election if we have a fair, honest and transparent election. We have a lot of corruption in the system.

KRISTINA KARAMO (R), MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE NOMINEE: We have evidence and I personally witnessed myself, ballots duplication occurring outside of the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And joining me now is former adviser to four presidents, David Gergen, and CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem.

David, let me start with you first. Let's just look at the races for governor. At least 22 of 36 Republican candidates have tried to overturn, reject, question or decline to affirm the 2020 results. If those 22 candidates win, almost half of the states will be run by people who have questioned American democracy or questioned the underpinnings of American democracy.

I was just talking to Brad Raffensperger, the secretary of state, a few moments ago about some of this. It's a touchy subject even for him. And he stood up to Trump, trying to overturn an election. What does this say about the state of our nation right now, David?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Nothing good. I think, you, Jim, and I can't remember an election period of time in which we didn't accept the results of the election. And it is particularly, I think, problematic now and dangerous now for the republic that this rejection of the ballots and the voting, it's very much now linked to violence. And the violence is excused because there are people say, well, on the right, you know, that these elections are rigged.

So, I -- and I think it's going to get worse after the midterms because if the right loses in the midterms, they're going to come back and say it was stolen. If they do very, very well, they're going to say just the opposite, you know, we're on a winning strategy now. This disruption we brought to politics and what we've conducted on the trail is working. Let's keep at it. And the violence will continue and it will grow.

So it is -- let's get one figure that makes a lot of difference here, Jim, if I might just go on for a second. Juliette knows this. If you look at the number of murders that have been committed by extremists over the 10 -- the last 10 years, it is about 440. But they haven't been evenly divided. Of the 440 murders, 75 percent, 75 percent have been committed by right-wing extremists. 75 percent are right-wing extremists.

Donald Trump who is going to run for president has to change his strategy about the way he is approving in absentia, in effect quietly approving all of this violence.

ACOSTA: And Juliette, I just don't see that happening. I mean, from a security standpoint, I was just talking to Brad Raffensperger about this, he was saying here in Georgia, they're going to have an app for election workers. So they can, you know, hop on an app if they're feeling threatened. I mean, what does that say about where we are as a country? But how do election officials address this?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So, yes, I agree with David. We are in a very bad place. People sometimes ask me what Trump's greatest policy success was and I think it was by creating acceptance of -- of rejecting the nonviolent transfer of power. In other words, he touched that rail. He broke that rail. He did everything he could to have us deny or be denied the peaceful transfer of power. So I actually think he has been successful. The second thing is just to be clear here as you said in your previous

interview, the Democrats or at least I would say minority populations, urban populations are the ones who are actually have the greater claim to rigged or lack of access to ballot box just given a lot of these conservative laws that have passed through and that the Supreme Court has approved. Donald Trump won't change because it's working for him.

And the Democrats can't get -- cannot solve this for the Republicans. If there are Republicans left who view this as not only anti-American, but also anti-government, then -- and the United States, they have to do it. The Democrats can't do it for the Republicans at this stage.

ACOSTA: And David, from a political standpoint, the leader of the Republican Party, Donald Trump, has never accepted the results of the 2020 election and yet Trump may be announcing he's running for president again in the next few weeks and so we could have a situation where Republicans are on the verge of taking control of Congress having won elections in this country with Trump still saying that his election was rigged.

How are people supposed to sort that one out? That's going to be odd?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You -- I don't think you can sort it out in any kind of rational way. This has all been about playing upon people's emotions, their hatreds, their resentments, their -- you know, all the dark sides of politics, that the Republicans have unleashed, and given us a society in which, you know, there are a growing number of young people don't want to get involved. And in political arenas, they just, you know, then the army, the military now is, you know, it doesn't have all the enrollees it wanted, I'm hearing that they are about 25% short. Given all that, this is a country, which is in fact, has some serious dangers now that are growing up. And this issue of linking violence to the way that could votes are conducted, I think is one of the single most dangerous steps that any country has taken in recent years, especially here in the United States.

ACOSTA: And Juliette, in recent days, we've seen, you know, armed people at ballot boxes and so on, in Arizona, that sort of thing. Do we face the prospect in this country of seeing more January 6 type situations, not necessarily in the nation's capital, but at election headquarters and various municipalities and in states around the country? How do we get a handle on that?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yeah. And we -- yeah, so we got -- the FBI still hasn't solved the attacks on the DNC and the RNC. I mean, one thing is, you know, to remind the Republican Party, you think you can control this, you think this isn't going to come after you, whatever they've unleashed, we've seen in the history of violence being used by political parties, that it cannot be controlled. So, the idea that this is a winning strategy for the Republicans, it may be for a midterm, not necessarily and I'm not being -- I don't need to be casual about the violence. I also don't think that we should be using words like civil war, or whatever else.

We are -- the country is diverse, it's big. We don't know what happens on Tuesday. We know that there is a party that has already created a narrative that if they win, it was fair. And if they lose, it was unfair. Where that leads average Americans in terms of violence, we do not know. There will be increased violence, as David was saying, over the course of the next couple of months, and certainly into the Presidential. But the idea that Trump is my -- is anyone's focus in terms of walking away or trying to get him to go to ignore or not use, terrorism or terror, as a political device is now ridiculous at this stage. He is he has bought into it. He has nurtured it. He knows that violence is an extension of politics works with his people. And it's incumbent on Republicans to find the other people in their party. Because this is the idea that this is controllable by the party to live by history, and they ought to know that. This is coming after them. Let me just tell you, it's going after them.

ACOSTA: All right. And I think it may sound quaint, but it's about getting back to having faith in one another as Americans that we can conduct elections in this country. We've been doing it for a long time. We're pretty good at it. David Gergen, Juliette Kayyem, excellent discussion, thanks to both of you, we really appreciate it. Thank you.

And wait until you see the lengths, some Arizona voters are going to protect themselves from voter intimidation when casting an early ballot. But first two live pictures right now. On your right, former president Donald Trump. He is in Miami right now speaking at a rally for Senator Marco Rubio who was running for reelection. On your left, that's a live picture from Yonkers, New York, President Biden is heading there right now to speak at a rally for Governor Kathy Hochul, you're live in the CNN Newsroom. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:38:14]

ACOSTA: This just into CNN Phoenix, Police say the campaign headquarters of Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake received mail containing suspicious items. Lake's office says, the package contained white powder and that the staffer who opened the mail is under medical supervision. Police are investigating there have been no reports of injuries. Lakes Democratic opponent Katie Hobbs released a statement saying in part, "Political violence, threats, or intimidation have no place in our democracy. I strongly condemn this threatening behavior directed at Lake and her staff."

When election results start coming on Tuesday night, voting experts have two words of advice, be patience. There's a good chance we won't know the outcome of some key races until after polls close and perhaps longer than that. And expect early leads to change as the counting goes on as well. CNN's Political Director David Chalian is at the Magic Wall.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: We're going to focus in on battle for control of the United States Senate and I'm going to explain why you need to pack a little patience as you watch the election results come in on Tuesday. Because it may be that this is not resolved. We may not know which party will control the U.S. Senate on Tuesday night when we go to bed.

These are the 35 Senate races, this cycle. They're in like right here because this is the live map. We're waiting for votes to come in. These will start turning red and blue on election night. But keep your focus on five states, Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia. These battleground states will determine which party controls the Senate.

I want to talk specifically about Pennsylvania for a moment, because this is what I mean by pack your patience. It's the Firmino Senate race. We know that in Pennsylvania elections officials cannot even open ballots and begin processing and counting that absentee mail until polls open on election day. And it's going to take some time. There's going to be a substantial amount of absentee vote and it's going to take some time to count.

[16:40:12]

So, on election night, when this first starts filling in, I would imagine Mehmet Oz is going to have a big lead. Now, whether or not he wins at the end, I don't know. But he's going to come out front with a big lead, because the Election Day vote, which tends to be more Republican will be counted first, before the absentee vote, which tends to be more democratic. So, the more pro-Fetterman vote will start filling in as the night and possibly days were on.

An example as a reminder to folks is to go back to the 2020 presidential election. OK, and let me come out here and use Georgia as an example. 7:16 p.m. on November 3 in 2020 votes just start coming in, Donald Trump, way ahead. Watch that timestamp. OK. 8:07, Donald Trump still way ahead. Midnight, November 4, Donald Trump 315,000 votes ahead. Eight percentage points ahead of Joe Biden, 24 hours later, Donald Trump's lead is cut to 33,000 votes. Still quite close. But Trump on top 24 hours after that still 4:47 a.m. November 6, Donald Trump has 665 vote lead. It was not until November 7 that Joe Biden actually came ahead of Donald Trump in Georgia. And as we know, Joe Biden won the state of Georgia. It just took some time for all of that to get voted. So, when you watch the returns coming on Tuesday, be aware you may need patience.

ACOSTA: A very important reminder, David Chalian at the Magic Wall. Thank you.

I'm live in battleground Georgia right here in Atlanta. Now, right now in Miami, President Trump is talking to supporters as he encourages voters there to reelect Senator Marco Rubio, who's up against Democrat ballot Val Demings. And just outside of New York, a rally for Governor Kathy Hochul is soon to get underway featuring President Biden. You're live in the CNN Newsroom. Stay with us.

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[16:46:30]

ACOSTA: At least 19 people were killed when a small commercial plane crash landed -- crashed landed in bad weather earlier today. The plane went down in Lake Victoria in Tanzania, CNN's Larry Madowo joins us now. Larry, what are you learning about this video looks like it's just really unbelievable stuff. Tell us more.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is extraordinary, Jim. What happened is this aircraft was approaching Bukoba airport that's in northwestern Tanzania. It borders Lake Victoria, Africa's largest freshwater lake. It appears to have lost control and the final approach and dished into the water. The pilot we are told from eyewitnesses had reported bad weather, it was raining, there are some strong headwinds, there was some cloud covering the area as well.

Even in the best of times, this is not an easy landing. The runway is literally 400 feet away from the lake. So, it needs a lot of expertise. We have now learned for the pilot, the captain of this aircraft is among those killed in that crash. He had been with the airline for almost 20 years. The first officer was killed as well. When the plane dished into the water, people around the area, local fishermen, villagers, people on canoes and boats rushed to the scene, trying to pull people out of the wreckage, just doing what they can do, even though they're not trained for it, is just an example of the humanity of the Tanzanian spirit and made -- amid such difficulty. And they did manage to rescue 26 people from that scene. Unfortunately, 19 people were killed. Families have been notified and the names have been released. And right now, a huge tragedy for this regional carrier, Jim, that has a great safety record. This is the worst accident in its history. It flies mostly in Tanzania, but also to Kenya and Uganda neighboring countries there. And it's just been a huge amount of outpouring of grief in the country, because they can imagine something like this happening on a bright Sunday morning and now 19 people dead.

ACOSTA: All right, Larry Madowo. Thank you very much for that update. Very troubling scene there where you are. Thank you so much.

You're live in the CNN Newsroom here in the battleground state of Georgia. Before we go to break, check out this live look from Milwaukee where Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes is talking to supporters as he hopes to unseat Senator Ron Johnson on Tuesday. And in Miami President Trump is at the podium drumming up support for Senator Marco Rubio who is up against Democrat Val Demings. More on all of this when we come back.

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[16:53:24]

ACOSTA: It was a tough night last night neither you nor I became a Powerball billionaire last night but there is still hope nobody won the Powerball drawing last night with its record jackpot. So that means of course keep your tickets or buy some more tickets. There's another drawing tomorrow. And the pile of money somebody will win just gets bigger and bigger. The new grand prize is just shy of get this $2 billion for one winning ticket. I feel like you should do the Austin Powers Dr. Evil thing with the pinky next to the mouth. But anyway, it's another story for another time. This is by far the biggest lottery jackpot ever in the world. And if I'm not here next weekend, you know it was me. And it will be, probably not.

In the meantime, the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2022 have been announced one of whom will be named the CNN Hero of the Year by you, our viewers. So, we'll be reintroducing each of our top 10 as you vote for your favorite in the next five weeks. Top 10 CNN Hero Teresa Gray is doing all she can to help refugees from the war in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERESA GRAY, CNN HERO TOP 10: What we were expecting to see was large groups of people housed in tent cities and actually they are housing these refugees and individual dorm rooms. They've got food, they've got shelter, but the trauma is the same. They've lost almost everything. This is filled with women, children and elderly. There is a flu outbreak currently that obviously affects the children. We also have pre-existing conditions. It isn't just about fixing the broken arm or giving you medicine, it's making that human connection. Sometimes you need to hold their hand and walk them down a hallway and listen to them. We try to meet the needs of whatever presents to us.

[16:55:10]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smile everybody.

GRAY: Human suffering has no borders. People are people. And love is love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Go to CNN Heroes.com right now to vote for Teresa for CNN Hero of the Year or any of your favorite top 10 heroes. You can vote for any of them or all of them up to 10 times a day every day. That's right, you can do that.

All right, we want to show you this. You're looking live right now at Florida and New York from President Donald Trump on the stage in Miami. And moments from now, President Biden will be speaking in Yonkers. You can see the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer there at the podium. President Biden will be there shortly. Much more on this final sprint to the midterm election live from the battleground state of Georgia. That's where I'm at right now in Atlanta. It's all coming up next.

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