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Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) Beats Walker, Giving Democrats 51st Senate Seat; CNN Reports, Republicans Re-Calculating How to Mitigate Midterm Losses; Nearly Two Dozen Bullets, Casings Recovered Will Be Key in Investigation. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired December 07, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Erica Hill.

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

Overnight, Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock re-elected after defeating his Republican challenger, Herschel Walker, giving Democrats something they haven't in the last couple of years, that is a real, a genuine majority, 51-94 in the Senate.

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SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): I am Georgia. I am an example and an iteration of its history, of its pain and its promise, the brutality and the possibility.

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HILL: Also, this hour new details on possible criminal referrals from the January 6th committee. Sources tell us who may be in those crosshairs and just how soon you can expect to see those to come down.

Plus, the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments in a case that could have far-reaching implications for elections in this country, we're going to break down the details and why it's so consequential.

SCIUTTO: Yes, there's a lot of history there. Our reporters and correspondents standing by to bring you the latest as we wait to hear from the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer. That's going to be just in a few minutes now after the result from Georgia's Senate runoff.

HILL: Let's begin this hour with CNN Anchor and Correspondent Amara Walker who is in Atlanta this morning. So, let's take a look at these numbers, Raphael Warnock winning re-election, will head back to Washington. What did we see play out overnight?

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, if you look at those numbers, Erica, Warnock won 95,000 more votes than what Walker has. So, what we saw here in this runoff was Warnock expanding his lead from the 37,000-vote lead that he had in November. Also, the voter turnout was quite impressive. On Election Day itself, yesterday, 1.6 million Georgians turned out to vote, according to the Georgia secretary of state, that's the highest Election Day turnout ever, a total of 3.5 million ballots cast in this runoff.

Yes, it is slightly lower than the 3.9 that turned out during Election Day, but it is notable because this was a runoff. And, usually, interest wanes for a runoff.

I do also want to point out the historic nature of this, because this was the first time two black candidates competed for a U.S. Senate seat here in Georgia. But as you said, in the end, it was Senator Raphael Warnock who prevailed. And his win really says several things. First off, that Georgia is truly a swing state, this is something that Georgia Democrats were watching closely, and we can expect that they will use the same blueprint when it comes to the 2024 presidential election.

We also saw the Democrats really step up their ground game, a ground game that was laid out for us by Stacey Abrams. What the Warnock campaign wanted was their supporters to vote early, and that's exactly what they saw, a huge surge in early voting. Warnock was hoping the early voting numbers would give him a really big cushion on Election Day, and that is exactly what we saw.

I want you to listen now to both candidates last night. Here's what they said.

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WARNOCK: Whether you voted for me or not, that every single day I am going to keep working for you.

SENATE CANDIDATE HERSCHEL WALKER (R-GA): One of the things I wanted to tell all of you is you never stop dreaming. I don't want any of you to stop dreaming. I don't want any of you stop believing in America. I want to you believe in America and continue to believe in the Constitution and believe in our elected officials most of all, continue to pray for them, because all the prayers you have given me, I felt those prayers.

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WALKER: And this is obviously a huge blow as well to Donald Trump. He had handpicked Herschel Walker, so this is clearly a sign that he's not exactly a kingmaker, at least here in Georgia. Back to you.

SCIUTTO: And also to hear his candidate, Herschel Walker, there say something Donald Trump never says, which is to say, despite the results of this election, right, have faith in the Constitution, have faith in your elected leaders. That's a markedly different message from the man who endorsed him.

HILL: Yes, an important one for democracy. Amara Walker, I appreciate it. Thank you. Well, as we mentioned, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is set to make his way to that podium any moment now, where he will, of course, weigh in, take a little of a victory lap after Senator Raphael Warnock's election win overnight. Members on the other side, CNN is learning, is reassessing their losses this midterm cycle.

SCIUTTO: CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju is on Capitol Hill with more. Manu, Republicans talking about reassessing, not the first time they've done so, and then record has shown not actually reassessed or not actually course-correct.

[10:05:05]

Well, what's different about this time? What are they saying?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there is a lot of anger, anguish, frustration about what happened in the election cycle, not just in Georgia, but leading election key seats in Arizona, in Pennsylvania, Nevada on the table, real opportunities to take back the Senate majority.

I caught up with Senator Lindsey Graham this morning. He, of course, was a prominent supporter of Herschel Walker. He said not only do they need to improve their fundraising online, but they also need to not demagogue the idea of early voting, something that Donald Trump has done over and over again, questioning mail-in voting. He says, we need to stop that. Others, including Senator Roy Blunt, who is a member of the Republican leadership told me flatly just a moment ago, quote, we need better candidates.

And also one of the questions Republicans will have going forward in the next election cycle is how to get those better candidates. In this election cycle, the Republican Senatorial Committee led by Rick Scott decided not to engage in primaries, allow the primary process to play out themselves. I'm hearing an effort by Republicans to change that strategy, get more involved, get more heavy-handed, select those candidates that they believe will be successful going forward.

But there's a problem. Donald Trump got behind several of those key candidates who emerged from the primaries who ultimately lost, like Herschel Walker, like Blake Masters in Arizona. So, just a lot of soul searching, frustration among Republicans about what's next and how to avoid another debacle, because they thought they would not just be in the majority but would have a comfortable one, and now they've lost a seat and are now staring at a 51-49 minority for the next two years, guys.

SCIUTTO: Democrats surprised by their success, frankly, on the Senate side as well. Manu Raju, thanks very much.

HILL: Joining us now to discuss, CNN Political Commentator Errol Louis, Political Anchor for Spectrum News, Host of the You Decide Podcast. Good to see you, as always.

So, pick up where we left off with Manu. I thought it was interesting, Roy Blunt telling at Manu, we need better candidates. There's all this talk about what the assessment will be. There's a lot of finger pointing this morning, oh, this is Donald Trump picking bad candidates, but you have the party getting behind those candidates. Do you see a real reset in the wake of these midterms Errol?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, those -- he said, but -- going to happen. Herschel Walker was a terrible candidate, completely unqualified. He won -- four-way primary in Georgia. He won 68 percent of the vote. Now, Donald Trump did sort of put him up to it, but it was the voters who selected them as their nominee. So, it's going to have to be a broad leadership conversation, but it's also going to have to involve the masses of Republican voters who at least at the primary level seem to be attracted to some of these really flawed candidates who cannot win in general elections.

SCIUTTO: Also, we should note, right, that though Trump handpicked a lot of these losing candidates, the party then backed them, right? Even a Kemp in Georgia, right, who has gone head-to-head with Trump before, he backed Walker with his machine and didn't push him over the line. And there were multiple opportunities in these primary cycles for Republican leaders to say, no, an election denier should not be running, right, for governor in Arizona. They didn't do it.

So, I mean, is the question here, do they have the guts, in effect, to contradict the former president when he endorses candidates that they don't think are viable?

LOUIS: Well, Jim, that question has been asked and answered several times over since 2015, and the answer always comes back the same, which is that they do not have the guts to take on Donald Trump. I mean, the platform of the Republican National Committee says what we stand for is whatever Donald Trump says we stand for. And so once you turn over that kind of control to one person, who after all is very popular with the Republican base, you are going to have to take whatever you get. And if he gives you Mehmet Oz and Herschel Walker and Blake Masters and other losing candidates, you are going to have to just suck it up and ride it to the bitter end.

One thing worth noting also, though, Jim, is that Herschel Walker almost won. I mean, the Republicans won every statewide office except that one in this last cycle, and they won by an average margin of seven points. So, by no means is the Republican allegiance to Donald Trump always a losing proposition. It's just around the margin where it really counts, like this special election. It's really a problem.

HILL: I mean, you look at the numbers, right, we look at the numbers, Amara just walked us through turnout numbers, which were massive. We know that there was a very important mobilization to get people out to the polls, but still it's 95,000 votes that's separating them. I'm not saying it's two votes, but it's still -- in many ways, to your point, Errol, that's still close.

LOUIS: Yes, that's very close. Listen, it couldn't have been a better political science experiment.

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You have Raphael Warnock, who is eloquent, who is --

SCIUTTO: Errol Louis, hold that thought, if you don't mind, because we do have the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, majority leader again, speaking on Capitol Hill with reaction in all these elections. Let's have a listen.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): -- amazing Gary Peters, who led the DSCC in such a great way, and he's been terrific. So, they say all good things come to those who wait. And this outcome is absolutely worth the wait. After 1 year, ten months and 17 days of the longest 50-50 Senate in history, 51, a slim majority, that is great, and we are so happy about it.

First and foremost, I want to congratulate Raphael Warnock. I spoke to him this morning again on running -- and he'll be up here later today, on running just a great race. Strong, inspiring, unifying, never daunted. I remember calling him the day the vote came in in the general election. And even though he was disappointed he came close, but not at 50, he'd had have to run again, he said I'm raring to go, and we're going to win the runoff. And, of course, he did by not half a percent or 1 percent but by close to 3 percent.

And it was because he did an amazing thing. He was just a person for -- who had great faith, he had great strength, he had great conviction, he had great caring, he's a unique man who has a great future. And I was brought to tears last night watching him tell his story and his concluding line in the sentence, where he talked about his mom. And he said, she grew up in the '50s picking somebody else's cotton and somebody else's tobacco, and last night -- this is so touching. Every time I read it, I get choked up. Last night, she helped pick her son to be a United States senator, only in America, only in America.

You know, four years ago, I began recruiting candidates in Georgia. And my first choice was obviously my friend, Stacey Abrams. She said, I don't want to run for Senate, but there's someone as good as me, if not better, Raphael Warnock. And it took me a while to even convince him meet with me. He was very busy with the job he had at the Ebenezer Baptist Church as pastor of one of the leading pulpits in America. The minute I met him, I finally met him, I said, this guy is special. If there's anyone who can win in Georgia, which was then regarded as a red state, it is this guy.

And it took a few more months of persuasion. I had everyone under the sun call him. Al Sharpton was on T.V. today mentioning that. And thank God he ran. And, of course, the people of Georgia are better off, The Democratic Senate caucus is better off, and America is better off, because he ran and won. And as I said, he's going to have a great, great future. So, that's first and foremost. Raphael Warnock, an amazing man who has now had four victories in two years, in what was regarded as a red state.

And one more point I'd make, I'd give lots of credit to Stacey Abrams. She and her organizations helped take a state that was very red and made it purple. And it's a lesson for all of us. You don't just come into an election three months or six months before, but you build organizational strength day after day and year after year. Okay.

Second, I'm going to talk about why did Democrats defy history in these midterms. As you know, we did. It's the first time since 1934 where every Democratic incumbent won with the party, and with being the party in power. That hasn't happened since 1934, that every incumbent of the party in power won. Why did that happen? Well, first, because we had great candidates. Not just Raphael Warnock. Gary and I probably talked to every one of the candidates. I probably did every single day. And their strength and their vitality was just incredible. And they're just indomitable. Every time there was setback, none of them said, oh God, that's terrible, they just move forward.

But there are two other points that I would make here, why we won. Why did things change? Why back in April, when everyone think we would lose seats in the Senate, why did we win?

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And I think two things happened, and I'll take it in time order. First, in May and June, the public began to realize how far-right these MAGA Republicans had gone. The Dobbs decision was a crystallization of that, of course. When people said, wow, these MAGA Republicans are serious about turning the clock all the way back. But then there were the two Supreme Court decisions on concealed carry and on limiting what we could do to stop coal plants from poisoning the atmosphere.

There were the January 6th hearings. I think they had an important effect because people didn't just read about something that happened once, but every night they saw on T.V. these hooligans, these insurrectionists being violent, beating up police officers. I was very touched meeting the Sicknicks yesterday. Mrs Sicknick went to Madison High School and we talked about that. And they saw all of that and they said, wow. And then the third thing is they saw that the Republican leaders wouldn't even attack this craziness.

And so about 10 percent to 15 percent of the electorate, Republicans who were not MAGA Republicans, who were not Trump Republicans, people who said, well, I'm a Reagan Republican, I'm a Bush Republican, but this Trump Republican isn't for me, and independents who leaned conservative, intended to vote Republican started saying this Republican Party isn't for me.

But in June still, they held doubts about the Democratic Party. Was the Democratic Party talking about things they didn't care about or didn't like, and could they get anything done? And the turning point really occurred this summer, where we passed six major bills, five bipartisan, all of which affected people's lives. They were the things people wanted us to talk about, making the environment better, dealing with the high cost of prescription drugs, helping our veterans who are (INAUDIBLE), dealing with gun safety, getting American jobs here, not in China with new industries and the chips legislation, expanding health care. And they had, whoa, this Democratic Party is the party that I like.

And by September 1st, I thought we would win the Senate, we would keep the Senate, because the combination of those two things was the powerful one-two punch that made us defy all the odds and provided the right nutrient agar so our great candidates, both incumbent and non- incumbent could prevail.

And don't take my word for it. This is what I read Lindsey Graham said this morning. He said, quote, Democrats have done a pretty good job of picking issues that motivate their base and have wider support among the public. We, the Republicans, need to be doing the same thing. I think a lot of people in the Republican Party don't see us doing it as emphatically as the Democrats. One of the few times I'll quote Lindsey Graham with approval, but he said it. Okay.

The practical effects of the 51-seat majority is big, it's significant, it gives us a -- we can breathe a sigh of relief. Obviously, judges and nominees will be a lot easier to put on the bench. We are so proud of our record with judges. It's one of the most significant thing, maybe the most even things we have done. As you know, we put on the bench, two thirds are women, half are people of color, there are more black women on the federal bench now than there has ever I think today than all the others combined before we got into the -- Biden became president and we got into the majority.

And there are people who come -- they know what people's lives are like. They're not just corporate lawyers or prosecutors. They're immigration lawyers, and consumer advocates, legal aid people, public defenders, so the bench is looking more like America. Now, it's going to be easier. So, are the nominees. It's been amazing how the Republicans have been able to use the 50-50 Senate to procedurally hold up so many appointments. It is going to be a lot quicker, swifter and easier.

It's also going to mean that our committee chairs have more flexibility on legislation. The number of times chairs came to me and said, I would like to move this bill forward, but in a 10-10 committee, I can't do it. It will be tied.

[10:20:00]

That's all going to change because we'll have the advantage on every committee. It's going to mean that our committees will have greater oversight ability, subpoena power. And people say, well, it's the Biden administration, no, no. Subpoena power can deal with corporate corruption and inequities and other problems throughout the country, and just it gives just us a lift. The fact we got the 51 votes gives us just a great feeling, enthusiasm, unity, encouragement in that way.

And let me just add, in addition, our caucus has been greatly, deeply grateful for Vice President Harris' constant schedule juggling to preside over a 50-50 Senate. She did a great job. We're appreciative. It's part of her job. But I think she's done a lot of other good things, and now she's going to have a little more time to do those things, because the need for her to be here will be less.

Next, one of the things I hoped to do as leader is, even in this new electoral climate, is reach out to Republicans. There are a good number of Republicans in the Senate and the House who are not MAGA Republicans, who know that if the Republican Party follows the hard right and the extreme members in their caucuses, that they'll continue to lose ground, as they lost ground in 2020 and they lost ground in 2022, and in 2018 in the House. And it is my intention to reach out to them and say, how can we work in a bipartisan way?

And you say, oh, that will never happen. Well, look at what happened this summer with 50-50 of the six major bills we passed? Five were bipartisan. And it wasn't that every Republican went along with us but most did. Many -- enough did. We are going to keep doing that. Turn left, Republicans, or at least don't turn right, that would be a more appropriate thing to do. That's very, very important to us, to get things done.

SCIUTTO: Well, you might call that, Erica, a victory lap of sorts from the Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, praising his party's results in this most recent cycle, including winning the runoff election in Georgia just last night, and saying it's going to make a difference for his party going forward in this term.

HILL: Absolutely. It gives them a lift, enthusiasm and unity. But the practical here, right, moving political appointees through, having that control of committees, stronger subpoena power. It was interesting, too, that in that last point there, he talked about reaching across the aisle to work with Republicans, touting bipartisan legislation. And that's something we also heard from the 51st Democrat in the Senate, Raphael Warnock, as he was campaigning. There was talk of his bipartisan efforts. It will be interesting to see how that all plays out.

SCIUTTO: We'll see if there's interest from the other side, beyond, right, in terms of appointments, et cetera, legislation, because, of course, the House under Republican control.

HILL: Something a lot of Americans might like to see.

Still to come here, sources tell CNN nearly two dozen shell casings from a high-powered rifle have been recovered from the scene of the power station attack in North Carolina. That attack, of course, cut electricity to tens of thousands. We're going to speak with an expert who has investigated similar substation attacks before.

SCIUTTO: All right. Plus, the Supreme Court case we're watching closely, arguments underway, as we speak, in a voting case that could fundamentally change U.S. election law going forward. There is concern from some that it could have an impact on public safety, too. What it all means? We'll take a look.

HILL: Plus, new signals from China that an easing of its zero-COVID policy is underway. Is the country ready now for what could be a possible surge in COVID cases?

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SCIUTTO: We do have some news and update from power officials in Moore County, North Carolina. I just spoke to the mayor of one of the cities affected. She says, they've been told power could be restored by the end of the day tonight, by midnight tonight. That, if it happens, would allow schools, stores, restaurants to finally reopen. It's been days after this weekend shooting attack on two substations knocked out power to tens of thousands of people there.

Jon Wellinghoff joins us now to discuss. He's the former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and has some experience investigating attacks like this. Mr. Wellinghoff, thanks for taking the time this morning.

JON WELLINGHOFF, CEO, GRIDPOLICY, INC.: Thank you for having me.

SCIUTTO: So, first, let's speak about the sophistication of this attack. In the break, you were mentioning about how the target was a specific line, that by hitting that line, had a broad effect. What does that say to you about the planning, premeditation capability for those behind this attack?

WELLINGHOFF: Well, it tells me the people who did this understood the electric system in the area. So, they had some access to grid maps or other information, and they knew which specific substation to target, the western substation, which was one of the larger of the two substations that was hit, was the one that I believe actually knocked out this line. So, they were aware, to some degree, how this system operated.

SCIUTTO: You investigated a similar attack back in 2013, just south of San Jose, which, in effect, threatened the power supply to all of Silicon Valley.

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