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Ballot Counting Continues in Arizona; Ballot Counting Continues in Nevada; States Still Counting in Key Races; Ukraine Celebrates Liberation in Kherson; Court Strikes Down Student Debt Relief. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired November 11, 2022 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:46]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Good Friday morning. I'm Erica Hill.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Sciutto.

Happening right now, President Biden in Egypt meeting one-on-one with the country's president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Next hour he will speak at the U.N.'s climate conference there, touting new initiatives to curb emissions here in the U.S. and around the world. Will they make progress there? We're going to bring you that speech live.

HILL: And as the president travels abroad, votes still being counted back here at home to determine what kind of Congress Biden will be working with in the new year. In Nevada and Arizona, two critical Senate races still too close to call this morning. We are expecting those vote counts, though, will be updated throughout the morning.

SCIUTTO: Of course, we are covering every angle of this consequential election week. We will bring you those updates live as we get them.

HILL: Let's begin this morning in Arizona where CNN estimates there are about 540,000 ballots that still need to be counted.

CNN's Josh Campbell is at the Maricopa County Election Center in Phoenix.

So, Josh, officials do expect to start releasing results from some mail-in ballots today.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And that was a key focus here because we're told by election officials here in Maricopa County that they received an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots that were physically delivered to polling locations on the date of the election. Now, that's fine. Voters can do that. We've heard a number of reasons why they may have wanted to do that. Perhaps voters didn't decide until the last minute which candidate they actually wanted to support. Perhaps they thought that it was more secure to actually give that ballot to the election worker. But that means that there's a backlog here. Some 290,000 votes still left to be counted from that tranche A total of 340,000 votes just for Maricopa County alone. And, of course, the reason why this is so important is, we look at

these vote totals in these key races. You can see in the U.S. Senate race between Senator Mark Kelly and venture capitalist Blake Masters that the split there is just about 115,000 votes between the two. Again, hundreds of thousands of votes left to be casted and counted. And, of course, as we look at the governor's race, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs leads Kari Lake by even tighter of a margin, which is why there's been so much focus on this race.

Now, it's important to point out that this race has also been plagued recently by conspiracy theories, particularly the Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake casting doubt on the work of election workers. She's alleging that they are slow rolling and slow walking this process for political reasons. The Republican head of elections here came out blasting those accusations, defending his own people.

There's one other conspiracy theory we saw yesterday, and this started on far right media. There was a claim that Katie Hobbs, the secretary of state, was actually inside the voting counting center. This far right website posted an image of a woman in glasses. That resulted in the elections department here tweeting out a response. I'll read you part of that. They say that not every woman with glasses is Katie Hobbs. We can confirm this was a party observer. Please refrain from making assumptions about workers who happen to wear glasses. A cheeky response there, but, obviously, very serious when we talk about conspiracy theories.

This building, guys, behind us, is surrounded by sheriff's deputies. That's the world we live in now. People doing their civic duty to count votes are now surrounded by armed guards.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HILL: Yes, it is something and it really says so much.

Josh, appreciate the reporting. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Yes, as unfounded as they are, sometimes you've got to to knock them down.

Now to Nevada where there are roughly 95,000 votes outstanding with both the Senate and governor races there still undecided.

CNN's Rosa Flores, she is at Clark County Election Center. That race for the Senate in particular tightened overnight. When do we expect the next update and how many votes are we looking at and when will this all be over?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, the next tranche of results are expected to be posted later this evening. Now, today is Veterans Day, but these workers will not stop working. That's according to the registrar. They will continue counting. There will be a tranche of ballots that will be posted later this evening.

Now, if you thought that the races in Nevada were tight yesterday, well, buckle up because they got tighter, even tighter overnight. In the U.S. Senate race, Republican Adam Laxalt is ahead of Democratic incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto by a razor-thin margin of 1 percent.

[09:05:00]

We have seen that Laxalt's advantage has shrunk. On Wednesday morning it was by more than 22,000 votes. Then it was 15,000. Then, 12,000. Right now it's 8,900 votes. The governor's race, same thing, it was tight yesterday. Right now the Republican is leading by 3 percent. Very tight.

About those 95,000 votes that are outstanding, that still haven't been counted, they're still not reflected in the results here in Nevada.

Jim and Erica, I can tell you that more than 60,000 are from here in Clark County. There's 7,000 in Douglas County, which is a GOP stronghold. And 22,000 in Washoe County. And, again, we're monitoring.

But I want to leave you with a little light at the end of the tunnel here because the Clark County registrar told us yesterday that they are expecting, at least here in Clark County, to finish counting the majority of these mail-in ballots, the majority of those 62,000 ballots, by Saturday. So, we're hoping that that happens.

HILL: There we go.

SCIUTTO: Does that give the final answer? We'll know then.

Rosa Flores in Las Vegas. Thanks so much.

All right, sometimes you've got to take a closer look at the numbers. So, let's dial in closer to what we're seeing in these races.

HILL: John Berman back at the magic wall this morning with all his magic and his math.

Berman, good morning.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to both of you.

Let me just follow up on what Rosa was just talking about there. In Nevada, you can see the Republican Adam Laxalt ahead by about 9,000 votes. Yesterday, for most of the day, he had a lead of about 15,000 votes. But, overnight, there were new vote counts reported and that lead shrunk.

Where did it shrink? Washoe County. Right there. There were some 18,000 votes - 18,000 new votes counted there, or reported there. And Catherine Cortez Masto, the Democrat, won about 60 percent. So, you can see how that margin shrunk right there.

And in Clark County, down here in the south, there were roughly 12,000 new votes -- counts reported. Twelve thousand of which Catherine Cortez Masto, the Democrat, won 61 percent. So, you can see again how that lead was shrinking. And 57,000 more votes from Clark County, 22,000 more from Washoe. You can see, there might be enough runway there for Catherine Masto to retake the lead.

I just want to give you one historical reference point of races in Nevada. They can be very close. The 1998 race, which the late Harry Reid won over John Ensign, he won by 401 votes. So, it can be tight, very tight. This one might be like that.

Let's quickly look at Arizona now. You can see Mark Kelly with a lead of 115,000 votes. He expanded that lead from about 85,000 yesterday. Some 540,000 votes left to count. A lot of vote left to count, including a huge batch from Maricopa County, including -- now, stick with me here -- 290,000 mail ballots that were delivered on Election Day, hand-delivered on Election Day. And the big question for control of the Senate right now is, will those ballots behave more like in- person Election Day votes, which can skew Republicans, or the votes we've seen so far being released from Maricopa County, which have skewed Democratic. And even if they skew toward the Republican, will it be enough to make up this 115,000-vote margin? Blake Masters is going to need to win anywhere between 60 percent and 70 percent of the remaining vote if he hopes to win, guys.

HILL: We will be watching and waiting. Appreciate it, Berman.

BERMAN: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: All right, joining us now to discuss, Ron Brownstein. He's senior editor for "The Atlantic."

Ron, always good to have you on.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, Jim.

SCIUTTO: I mean big question here, right, control of the State right now. If Nevada goes Democratic, it's done. Democrats keep control.

BROWNSTEIN: Right.

SCIUTTO: If not, then all the attention on Georgia.

Where is your -- where do you see this going, you know, the latest read of the numbers, particularly the trend lines there as to how these late votes are breaking?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, first, I think Arizona, it is highly unlikely that Blake Masters can overcome 150,000 -- 115,000 vote lead with 500,000 plus votes to go. As John said, there is some uncertainty whether these in-person mail ballots delivered on Election Day will behave more like Election Day ballots or early mail ballots. But Masters needs such a high percentage of them that that seems very unlikely.

Nevada is just heading right for the edge. I mean, you know, you kind of - there are many fewer votes left. If you apportion them in the way they've been breaking it puts Masto ahead but only very slightly. And it would take only a small shift from what we are expecting to, you know, put it -- tip it the other way.

You know, I am struck -- you know, I talked to a lot of people in this election year and the -- one of the people - and the most memorable thing anyone said to me was the general treasurer of Unite Here, which is the parent union of the culinary workers, which are the powerful force in Las Vegas and Nevada, and she said, you know, everybody's talking about the margin of error. These races are within the margin of effort. Great phrase. Great concept.

[09:10:00]

Margin of effort. And that - that may in -- once again, the fact that Democrats have a better ground game in Nevada than maybe anywhere else in the country might allow them to get through by the skin of their teeth.

And, by the way, if they win Arizona and Nevada, I think that really shifts the (INAUDIBLE) toward Warnock in the runoff because I don't think there's nearly the incentive to vote for Herschel Walker unless you believe control of the Senate is on the line.

SCIUTTO: Right.

HILL: Which that will be -- it will be so interesting to see how these two races, they really will and could impact the outcome in Georgia.

You know, I want to just follow up on what you said there in terms of what you - what you heard from the culinary workers union or that --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

HILL: It's about the ground game really at the end of the day. Do you think both parties, right, looking at how close a number of these races have been, are they both really going to do the work and take those lessons as they move into 2024 about what that ground game is and also what it means to listen to voters?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, no, those are - those are different questions, right?

HILL: True.

BROWNSTEIN: Mechanically, I think, yes, I mean, you know, one of the things that we don't talk about much is that we are in a situation where we have a country of 330 million people and we're down to about six states that get to decide everything. Get to decide the presidency. Get to decide control of the Senate. I mean the five states that flipped from Trump in '16 to Biden in '20, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, plus Nevada, that may be it on the list of true swing states. And where -- and each of those states, as we have seen, are divided almost exactly in half, which means possibly something like 400,000, 500,000, 600,000 people in the country are deciding at this moment of intense polarization and division between the parties.

So, to answer your question, there is a real incentive to, you know, put every ounce of effort into the ground game in those states because they tip -- by the way, 40 states have voted the same way in each of the past four presidential elections. That is even higher level of consistency than in the four elections that Roosevelt won. SCIUTTO: Wow.

BROWNSTEIN: So much of the country is locked down, it leaves very few people in very few places with decisive control over the direction of the nation.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HILL: They're going to get stick of those text messages real quickly.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Exactly. I mean we talk about uncontested House races. You're talking about entirely - not -- if not uncontested but pretty predictable states entirely.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

SCIUTTO: OK, big question, of course, post-election, whither Trump, right? I mean, is Trump done? I asked GOP Congressman Adam Kinzinger that question yesterday. Have a listen and I want to see if you agree.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Is this election, in effect the fourth in a row, that Trump as leader of the party has lost, is it it for the former president?

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): I -- no, I don't think this is it. I think it's going to take a number of losses for the GOP to kind of fully exercise, if you will, the Trump influence, the Trump thing. And, you know, we'll see what happens. This is definitely a blow to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Do you agree? Need more losses?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Probably. I mean there was a pretty clear signal here, Jim. I mean this electorate was more Republican leaning than in 2020, 2018 or, for that matter, what we're going to see in 2024. And even though it was a more Republican leaning electorate, 60 percent of voters said they had an unfavorable view of Trump. Among independent voters, that got up to 66 percent. And, you know, Biden was not in great shape, either, but that -- those are very weak numbers. And the results, the fact that the Trump selected candidates ran so poorly, again, in these key states, these five states that flipped the presidency from '16 to '20, I think is a clear signal to the Republican Party.

Look, Republican elites are ready to move on from Trump. I think that's pretty clear. You know, you can see "The New York Post" and Rupert Murdoch or many of the big donors, but he has -- still has a big piece of the party. And as we talked about before, Republican rules in picking the nominee favor the candidate who has the biggest piece, even if that's not a majority.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Yes. Didn't move on after January 6. We'll see if this one's different.

Ron Brownstein, thanks so much.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Coming up next, just stunning new images out of the key Ukrainian city of Kherson this morning. An emotional moment there. Ukrainian soldiers lifting onto the -- lifted on to the shoulders of civilians in the town square as it is liberated for the first time in months. CNN is live there.

HILL: And a bit later here this morning, a federal judge declares President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan illegal. So, what does that mean for millions of people expecting that debt to be canceled?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:18:31]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: These images just from this morning. Ukrainians celebrating in the streets there as their soldiers liberate the strategic southern city of Kherson. Russian troops have retreated. Flags being raised -- the Ukrainian flags being raised around the region.

SCIUTTO: Now, Ukrainian intelligence is telling any remaining Russian soldiers in the area to surrender.

Our own Nic Robertson, he saw firsthand some of the elation and relief as Ukrainians welcomed Ukrainian soldiers coming in. He's very close to the city there.

And, Nic, I don't have to tell you, when the Russians took Kherson, really their only big provincial capital prize in the invasion, there was a lot of opposition there, brave, and now a chance to celebrate. Describe the moment.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: This is a moment of pure relief. I can't sort of begin to explain, you know, what we've seen today in Sniverifka (ph), which is about 30 kilometers away from Kherson. People there liberated just yesterday waving at us even as we drove in, just so happy to see people coming in, hugging the troops on the streets. I mean it's -- you get this sense of euphoria and relief.

But talking to people, you begin to understand why.

[09:20:00]

The last few days and weeks under Russian occupation have been absolutely hell for these people. They told us that the Russians have set up filtration camps that take people in, torture them, beat them so that they would tell them where the Ukrainian troops were. Of course, they didn't know that.

I talked to a young girl here earlier on, 15 years old, she said over the past few days the Russians had taken her away, kidnapped her, put a bag over her head, taken to the basement of a building, threatened to cut off her (INAUDIBLE) didn't tell them where the Ukrainian troops were. You know, she thought she was going to be raped. She was only released yesterday.

I talked to another old lady, a pensioner, who was in floods of tears. She said the Russians had threatened to kill her, threatened to smash her head in.

This is the fear that people have been living under the last few days. So, the euphoria and the jubilation and the gratitude that's being shown towards these liberating Ukrainian troops is huge. This is momentous. This is a moment of freedom and rejoicement for people here.

SCIUTTO: No question.

HILL: Those stories, and, sadly, I'm sure there are so many more like that.

Nic, appreciate the reporting from you and your team. We'll continue to check in with you. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: An enormous moment for Ukraine.

Well, back in the U.S., a setback again for the 26 million potential applicants to President Biden's student debt relief program. A Texas federal judge struck that program down Thursday, declaring it, quote, illegal. The ruling was a response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of two borrowers who did not qualify for the program, which was already on hold from a separate legal challenge.

HILL: CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz joining us now with some more of the details.

So I think bottom line for a lot of folks, Arlette, is this morning, what does this mean for the program? Is it dead?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica and Jim, for the time being it is completely on hold. The Justice Department has appealed this ruling from that federal judge down in Texas which essentially has blocked President Biden from implementing one of the key midterm campaign promises he had made. Now, Judge Mark Pittman, a Trump appointed judge, argued that the 2003 law that the administration has used to justify this student loan forgiveness program doesn't actually give them the authority to enact it. He wrote in his ruling, quote, in this country we are not ruled by an all- powerful executive with a pen and a phone. Instead, we are ruled by a constitution that provides for three distinct and independent branches of government.

The White House has pushed back on this ruling with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issuing a statement in which she said, quote, we strongly disagree with the district court's ruling on our student debt relief program and the Department of Justice has filed an appeal. We will never stop fighting for hard-working Americans most in need, no matter how many road blocks our opponents and special interests try to put in our way.

Now, this program had already been on hold for several weeks as cases were being heard in another court. But the Department of Education was still moving forward with accepting applications. The White House saying they've accepted 26 million and approved 16 million, but for the time being all of those people who have applied will remain in limbo as this ruling from this judge has struck down the president's program for the time being.

SCIUTTO: Arlette Saenz, at the White House, thank you.

HILL: At least four people are dead after Nicole hit Florida as a category one hurricane. The dangerous storm pummeling the eastern coast -- you see some of the aftermath here -- bringing with it powerful waves that eroded the coastline, sent some homes straight into the ocean as they collapsed. Officials in Volusia County say the structural damage there is unprecedented. Dozens of properties deemed unsafe at this point. The storm has now weakened to a tropical depression, crossing Georgia and the Carolinas today as it continues to move north. Flash flooding, thunderstorms, possible tornadoes expected over the southeast and the mid-Atlantic regions.

SCIUTTO: Coming up next, Donald Trump sharpens his attacks against his possible 2024 primary challenger, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. But we have new CNN reporting that the former president's family not all on board with his re-election hopes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:29:04]

SCIUTTO: Former President Trump is already laying into Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as it becomes possible the two men may face off in a 2024 GOP primary. Trump posting to his Truth Social platform claiming it was he who saved DeSantis' campaign in 2017 and accusing him of lacking loyalty and class.

On Tuesday, the former president is expected to announce his intention to seek the presidency yet again. His own family, however, not everyone's on board.

CNN White House correspondent Kate Bennett, she's out with a new story this morning.

So, Kate, who in the family is against all this?

KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I don't know if anyone is against it, they're sort of like, he's going to do what he's going to do.

SCIUTTO: Right. BENNETT: But certainly Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are not on board with being a part of politics again ever. They have both indicated that they want to not go back to Washington. And this is interesting only because, you know, during Trump's administration, Jared Kushner was his gatekeeper.

[09:30:00]

He was the person that everything went through. Everything for the Middle East to Covid response. And Ivanka Trump has always been sort of the favored daughter, if you will, and his closest adviser. But right.