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G7 Foreign Ministers Meet; Biden Applauds Passage of Ohio Abortion Rights Measure; Democrats Score Big Wins in Ohio, Virginia and Kentucky; Coral on Great Barrier Reef Begins to Regenerate; Continuous Winning Trend for Abortion Rights Advocates After Roe V. Wade Overturned; House Votes to Censure Rashida Tlaib Over Israel Comments. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired November 08, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:39]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all our viewers joining us here in the United States around the world and streaming on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary church.

Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM. A major win for abortion rights advocates in Ohio, and Democrats take full control of the Virginia Legislature. All this and more as we cover election results in key states across America.

Plus, intensifying the pressure on Hamas. Israeli forces say they have encircled geysers largest city and now inside. More on Israel's Gaza operation in a live report.

And G7 Foreign Ministers pledged to remain united as war rages in Ukraine and in the Middle East.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. Well, abortion is becoming a winning issue for Democrats, as they celebrate key victories and fiercely fought U.S. elections. Kentucky's governor who campaigned on abortion rights won reelection Tuesday, overcoming his Trump-backed challenger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): This was our victory. It was a victory that sends a loud clear message. A message that candidates should run for something and not against someone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And Ohio has become the latest state to enshrine reproductive rights and its state constitution with the passage of ballot measure one. Meaning, despite Republicans best efforts they will be able to restrict abortion access before fetal viability, which is around five to six months of pregnancy.

In Virginia, Democrats have won control of the state legislature, maintaining their grip on the Senate and flipping the House of Delegates. Abortion was not directly on the ballot but is believed to be a strong factor in the results. Republicans did get a win in Mississippi. Governor Tate Reeves has won reelection, defeating Democrat Brandon Presley, the second cousin of rock legend, Elvis Presley.

Well, more now on that historic abortion vote in Ohio. CNN's Kyung Kah reports.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Abortion rights will be enshrined in Ohio State Constitution. That is the result here in Ohio. According to CNN projections, it is the first Republican state to take such a move. And this was a hard battle fought on both sides of what's known as Issue 1. The effort to enshrine those rights in the state constitution. When CNN called the results of this election projecting the results, I want you to take a listen to this room. It is a watch party of those who supported Issue 1.

You can hear the cheering for yourself, others. I actually saw a woman burst into tears. It was jubilation. As those results were read. Now, the supporters of Issue 1 say that they won by trying to keep this as nonpartisan an issue as possible, urging voters that this was about keeping government out of their lives. The group that was against Issue 1 said in a statement that is heartbroken but it will regroup and aim to 2024 in battleground states.

And in regard to those battleground states, it's sending shockwaves through states like Arizona where abortion rights advocates there are also trying to get such a measure on that 2024 ballot. A Republican from Arizona, a consultant tells me tonight that his party should be "scared."

Kyung Lah, CNN, Columbus, Ohio.

CHURCH: So, we are one year out from election day 2024 and a new CNN poll shows that in a 1hypothetical rematch, former President Donald Trump has a narrow lead over President Joe Biden. 49 percent of registered voters pick Trump with 45 percent going for Biden. Our poll also shows support for Biden is significantly weakened now among several groups that he previously won by wide margins.

[02:05:07]

Including people under 35 women and black and Latino voters.

And I wanted to bring in our panel of political commentators. Maria Cardona is a Democratic Strategist and Alice Stewart is a Republican Strategist. Welcome to you both.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks, Rosemary.

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks, Rosemary. CHURCH: So, Alice, I want to start with you. So, despite this bad polling these bad polling numbers for President Joe Biden in recent days, Tuesday night delivered big wins for Democrats in Kentucky, Virginia, and Ohio. So, what is the overall message here for Republicans? And what might this signal for the 2024 presidential election?

STEWART: Well, it's a tremendous win for Democrats and that they are traditionally obviously more pro-abortion. And look, what Republicans need to do is realize that, as hard as the pro-life community has fought, Rosemary, for overturning Roe v. Wade and putting the choice of abortion in the hands at the state level with elected officials on the state level, as opposed to unelected justices, they have to acknowledge the fact that every time abortion has been an issue on the ballot in states, they have -- the pro-life community has lost.

People have voted to continue to protect their right to have an abortion at the state level. So, it's incumbent upon Republicans to recognize we need to change the conversation to more on abortion limits. And what is an acceptable level of limiting abortion? Some say 15 weeks, others say more, other say less but make sure the conversation is about abortion limits and also about what we can do to help the mothers in these situations.

The women who are pregnant and need help from whether it is the government or from the private sector. And that's where the conversation needs to go. Look, I think when it comes to Democrats, you look at Virginia, Democrats took over the House in the Senate. And the concern with that, for those who wonder who cares about the state of Virginia and how the House and Senate --- House of Delegates and Senate is traditionally how the Virginia Senate votes in the year before a presidential election, that candidate win.

So that bodes well for President Biden, given that the Virginia Senate is now back in Democratic hands.

CHURCH: Right. And Maria, how should Democrats be reading this despite these big wins Tuesday? President Biden, he's in big trouble, isn't it? If recent polls are to be believed, putting him behind Donald Trump on a range of issues? Voters can't seem to get past President Biden's age even though he's only a few years older than Trump. So how do the Democrats plan to deal with this one year out from the election?

CARDONA: Well, that's exactly right, Rosemary. It's one year out from the election. Polls this far out are not predictive of the outcome, especially when you have such a great night for such a critical issue that has been front and center for democratic wins since Roe v. Wade was overturned. We saw this happen in 2022, Rosemary. And I'm sure Alice and I were on your program when so many we're predicting a red wave right before the 2022 elections.

Except for me, of course, I knew that abortion and threats to democracy were going to be key going into the 2022 midterms when Democrats also had a great night. And I think that's going to exactly be the case in 2024. And I think the problem with Republicans and my dear friend Alice just demonstrated it is that they shouldn't be talking about anything except for letting women make decisions about their own bodies, with their families, with their doctors, and with their faith.

If that is something that they adhere to, period. That's it. No one should put a limit on that, except for women. And women are standing up to say no politician, no government official, no elected leader should be in the room with me while I make a decision that is critical about my family, about how and when I should raise a child. That is one of the most personal intimate freedoms and rights that we have as Americans.

And until Republicans understand that they're going to continue to lose elections. And so, going into 2024, there's no question that Biden has work to do with all of

his coalition. But that is exactly what the campaign is focused on. They're rolling up their sleeves. They're having a great night tonight celebrating but then they're going to roll up their sleeves and focus on communicating this message along with threats to democracy and continuing the job of boosting the economy going into 2024.

CHURCH: Right. And Alice, let's look at this because all three wins did have some link to abortion, didn't they? Will look at that big win though for abortion advocates with Ohio residents voting to enshrine republic -- reproductive rights in their state's constitution.

[02:10:11]

Let's look again at what this might signal for the 2024 presidential race. Because you were saying that they might have to consider compromise these limits that you mentioned, maybe agree to 15 weeks. But as we heard from Maria, she wants to see it. And most people in America, it's actually quite split. They want to see women having access to abortion, some would say that they want to have some sort of limit on there.

But how does that change the conversation for Republicans? Because you've got some far-right individuals who will not compromise on this.

STEWART: Right. And that's not a viable path to the future with regard to advocating for the pro-life issue? Look, we have to understand there is a place where we can agree. Nikki Haley made a very great answer in response to this in one of the debates where she talked about, let's find an issue where we're not demonizing the women. We're not punishing the women or punishing the doctors.

We're not making this an issue where a woman who is in this situation is the victim, is the bad person here. And let's look at where can we agree because the alternative -- and Maria, I'm sure my dear friend will push back on this. And some Democrats are fine with abortion up until the nine months and the third trimester abortion. That is absolutely something that should not ever happen. And people say that that's not an option but it is.

If you don't put a limit on it, there's -- there is no limit. So, it's important to make sure that we discuss where can we agree on this issue. But also, we also have to have Republicans make the concession, the necessary concession, there has to be exceptions for the case of rape, incest, and life and help of the mother because we cannot steer from that. There are situations where people -- whether it is a victim of rape or incest or life or health of the mother, those decisions need to be taken into account when we're talking about legislating such an important decision.

CHURCH: And Maria --

CARDONA: Rosemary.

CHURCH: I know you want to respond to that. But -- and please do but I also want you to focus on how the Democrats are planning to harness these results that prove that reproductive rights big for voters?

CARDONA: Absolutely. I just want to clarify something that my friend Alice said, there is no Democrat that I know today that is advocating for abortion up until the time of delivery. That that is just a lie, a misinformation that Republicans are spreading. And that is absolutely not true. And Americans understand that this is a decision that should be in the hands of women and their doctors.

And look, the reason why women see any limit like 15 weeks, as frankly, a ban on abortion is because so many women have different circumstances. One woman is completely different from the circumstance of another woman and you cannot legislate the uniqueness of women's bodies and the -- and the tragic things that might occur later on in their pregnancies. You just can't legislate that.

So, you have to give women and their doctors the freedom to decide what is best for them, for their lives, for their babies, for their families, period. And again, until Republicans understand that, they're going to keep losing elections. So, you know what, bring it on. Continue to make this a focus of their elections and Democrats will continue to win. And that's exactly what Democrats are going to do going into 2024, Rosemary, to your question about how we're going to harness this one, the same way that we have up until now.

By not making it a Democratic issue, by not making it a progressive issue, by making it an American issue focused on personal freedoms and personal liberties which Republicans are trying to take away which Republicans as an extremist position, are trying to tell women what to do and women and men and families and Americans across the board including a good sliver of Republicans are standing up to say no.

CHURCH: Maria Cardona, Alice Stewart, many thanks for joining us appreciate it.

CARDONA: Thanks so much, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And still to come. The latest on the war between Israel and Hamas as Israeli forces in circle and say they have entered the largest city in the Palestinian territory. Back in just a moment.

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[02:18:36]

CHURCH: To Gaza now where Israeli forces are pressing their military offensive tightening their grip on the besieged territory and its main city. Israel's defense minister says the IDF is at the heart of Gaza City. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli forces are now operating inside it and putting severe pressure on Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Gaza City is in circle, we are operating inside it. We are increasing pressure on Hamas every hour every day. We have killed thousands of terrorists above ground and below ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: However, the Biden administration is once again warning Israel against occupying Gaza. That came hours after Mr. Netanyahu said that Israel will have the overall security responsibility in the territory once the war ends. But Israel's defense minister says there's only two certainties right now about who will run Gaza once Hamas is wiped out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOAV GALLANT, ISRAEL DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): I can tell you who will not govern. It will not be Hamas and it will not be Israel. Everything else is a possibility. And I want to say one more thing. At the end of this conflict, there will be no Hamas in Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Let's go to journalist Elliott Gotkine who joins us live from London. Good morning to you, Elliot.

[02:20:02]

So, what more are you learning about the military operation in Gaza City or around Gaza City and this warning from the Biden administration to Israel's Prime Minister?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, we heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu which has sparked this whole discussion when he was speaking yesterday. Talking about how Israel would have, in his word's overall security responsibility for an indefinite period. Now, I think those words were deliberately vague. One to give Israel maximum flexibility as to what does come the day after this war is over.

And also, because he probably doesn't really know himself exactly what is going to happen inside the Gaza Strip after this war is over. Now, we heard from the defense minister there saying that it's not going to be Israel governing the Gaza Strip, and it's not going to be Hamas governing the Gaza Strip. But assuming that those two things occur, what are the other options? Well, I suppose the most convenient option would be to have the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli occupied West Bank to come back into the Gaza Strip which it lost control of when it was violently arrested from it by Hamas in 2007.

But of course, Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, is anyway lacking in legitimacy among the Palestinian people. He's now in his 19th year of a four-year term, and you can hardly see him riding in the metaphorical slipstream of Israeli tanks into the Gaza Strip to take control. Although he did say, in conversations with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken over the weekend that that would be a possibility, but only if there were major strides towards an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Right now, of course, that seems pretty fanciful. So, what are the other options? Well, maybe some kind of peacekeeping force with the U.N. or friendly Arab states could be a possibility as well. And I suppose there's also the possibility for perhaps a period of time for Israel to take control. But although there are far-right ministers in the governing coalition who would like nothing more than for Israel to reoccupy the Gaza Strip on the ground, as it did from 1967 until 2005.

That also seems incredibly likely. And we had that warning from the White House against the possibility of this happening, but I don't think there are really any easy solutions or any obvious solutions that are likely to happen. And I think that the cold reality is that while Israel is focused on this military campaign and entering Gaza City which it sees as a kind of headquarters for Hamas and to try to free those 240 hostages that are still being held by militants in the Gaza Strip, that is the focus.

And I don't think a huge amount of thought, Rosemary, has really gone into what happens the day after this war is over.

CHURCH: Yes. Elliott Gotkine, can we thank you for that live report from London. Appreciate it.

Well, foreign ministers from the G7 member countries are meeting right now in Tokyo. The group is discussing several issues, including reiterating their support for Ukraine amid Russian aggression and condemning North Korea's repeated ballistic missile launchers and arms transfers to Moscow. But they're still working towards joint language to address the war between Israel and Hamas.

CNN's Marc Stewart joins me now live from Beijing with more on this. So Mark, what is expected to come out of this G7 meeting of foreign ministers in the end? What would they be able to pin down language they're all happy with?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Rosemary. That is the big challenge. To create some kind of statement, a unified voice especially when it comes to the Israel-Hamas war. These are economic giants and their words certainly carry some weight. And the wording of it is really what could cause some trickiness and difficulty in all of this. For example, some G7 nations are very much in favor of using the phrase cease fire but that's not something the United States especially Secretary of State Antony Blinken is so keen on.

He is often suggested he prefers the phrase humanitarian pause as to what should happen next in this conflict. So that's going to certainly be a point of conversation. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expect for him to take the lead in many regards in this conversation about the statement he just arrived in Japan from the Middle East where he had meetings in Israel, Iraq, Turkey, as well as the West Bank.

So, he has some fresh eyes and fresh perspective on all of this. So, expect for him to take some kind of role in negotiating all of it. Despite the difficulty with Israel and Hamas, we are seeing some unity, though, on other fronts among the G7 nations, including the war in Ukraine. Once again, G7 nations have expressed their support for Ukraine. In fact, going as far as saying that it is very necessary to have this this unified voice to advance the process of a peace formula.

So, on that point, they are very much lockstep. Also, we are hearing condemnation from the G7 again, toward North Korea and its continued ballistic missile testing, as well as allegations of arms transfers to Russia.

[02:25:10]

Rosemary, it is still afternoon time in Tokyo. So, perhaps we will get some indication as to where the G7 is heading with Israel and Hamas in the hours ahead.

CHURCH: All right. We will talk next hour. Marc Stewart joining us live from Beijing. Many thanks.

A U.S. state that leans Republican has just passed two controversial ballot measures. We will discuss the votes to protect abortion rights and legalize recreational marijuana. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Results from the latest U.S. elections are sinking in and it is becoming clear abortion rights are popular no matter when or where they're on the ballot. And Democrats are reaping the rewards. They're celebrating key wins in Virginia, where they swept the legislature hanging on to the Senate and taking control of the House of Delegates. That's after the Virginia Governor vow to outlaw abortion after 15 weeks in most cases had Republicans won full control.

[02:30:01]

In Ohio, voters have chosen to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitution. And in deeply Republican Kentucky, Democratic Governor Andy Beshear won re-election after campaigning on reproductive rights. So let's go now to CNN's senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, in Los Angeles. He is also senior editor of The Atlantic. Always good to have you with us.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST & SENIOR EDITOR, THE ATLANTIC: Hi, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Democrats are getting mixed messages here from voters, aren't they? On one hand, celebrating these big wins in Kentucky, Virginia and Ohio. On the other, trying to make sense of recent troubling poll numbers for President Joe Biden.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.

CHURCH: And putting him behind Donald Trump in a hypothetical rematch. What do you make of all of this? And what might it reveal about voting intentions come 2024?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, first, as I say in The Atlantic tomorrow morning, a preview tonight, Democrats continue to perform better at the polls than in the polls, right? I mean this continues a pattern where they have outperformed their 2020 results in a whole series of special elections through the year and in 2022 midterm, when Republicans gained much less than they expected and much less than the party out of power in the White House typically has done when people are dissatisfied with the president.

I think you can't square the circle. And the way I look at this, is that the polls are telling us one thing that is real. And that is that Americans are dissatisfied with President Biden's leadership, they're unhappy about the economy, and they question whether he has the physical and intellectual capacity to do the job for another four years. But what these elections are telling us is that even when all of those doubts are present, when you have an actual campaign that focuses voter attention on whether they want to entrust Republicans with power, they may choose to vote for Democrats anyway.

Despite all those doubts about Biden. And that instinct is especially powerful in the large metro areas, the urban centers and inner suburbs that were the consistent threat in the results tonight whether it was in Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio or Pennsylvania for the state Supreme Court election. In all of those creations Democrats dominated in the population centers where the Trump-era Republican cultural agenda is pretty consistently unpopular.

CHURCH: And Ron, on the other side of the political divide, what is the message for Republicans here in the wake of these big wins for Democrats Tuesday night? Including, of course, Ohio residents voting to enshrine abortion rights in their state's constitution?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, I mean Republicans have lots of reasons to be optimistic. As I said, the doubts about Biden are real. You can't just kind of wave them away from these election results. But I think the message for Republicans is that the biggest problem they have had in the last few elections, really since Trump became the dominant figure in the party, is still there which is that in these well-educated and diverse populous and mostly prosperous inner suburbs, there are too many voters who question whether Democrats are delivering further interests, who still won't vote for Republicans because they consider them a threat to their rights and their values and to democracy itself.

And it does suggest that it is premature to assume that all of those doubts about Donald Trump and the kind of the Trump-era GOP cultural agenda had dissipated in those places. I think, right now, the polls are telling us that we are seeing a lot of dissatisfaction with Biden. That is primarily what is being registered in the polls. What these election results are telling us is that when you have campaigns that can focus voters on the choice, and ask them to also consider, whatever their doubts about Democrats, whether they want Trump-style Republicans in position to implement their agenda on abortion, on book bans, on voting, and other issues, you can get a very different result in a broad array of states. But consistently, in those big suburban and urban population centers.

CHURCH: Ron Brownstein, always a pleasure to get your political analysis. Many thanks.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: And still to come, bouncing back in the face of climate change, parts of the Great Barrier Reef are now spawning new coral, giving hope to scientists who are trying to protect it. Back with that in just a moment.

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[02:37:30]

CHURCH: Climate scientists have released new data showing 2023 is shaping up to be the hottest year on record. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service reports that October was the warmest October on record globally with a surface air temperature of 0.85 degrees Celsius, above the average for the previous three decades. And this graph shows the 2023 monthly temperatures in bright red, despite a slight dip in October, each month since June has set a new global temperature record.

And sea surface temperatures are also setting record highs this year which corresponds with six consecutive months that the Antarctic sea ice has remained at record low levels. While warming oceans are considered the greatest threat to the world's coral reefs, but parts of Australia's Great Barrier Reef are showing some resiliency with coral now starting to regenerate. Scientists are welcoming the news as they lobby the Australian government to do more to protect this natural wonder. CNN's Ivan Watson has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nighttime on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The sea explodes in an otherworldly spectacle. This is coral spawning, one of the world's greatest natural wonders, is made up of billions of living creatures that reproduce like this each year. And this season has scientists excited.

ABBI SCOTT, CAIRNS-PORT DOUGLAS REEF HUB COORDINATOR: We were out diving until about 11 o'clock last night, looking at the corals spawning, and we were lucky enough to see some of the species spawning. Not all of them, but we saw the soft corals and they filled up the water with bundles of eggs and sperm, which was really spectacular.

WATSON (voice-over): The spectacular sight is a type of synchronized breeding. Coral polyps release millions of sperm and egg bundles into the water all at once. When two bundles from the same species collide, new life is born. It is a display of nature's resilience, repeated around this time of year across the Great Barrier Reef's nearly 133,000 square miles. But while some parts of the reef remain healthy, other parts are bleaching and dying, killed by temperature rises due to global warming.

[02:40:00]

ROGER BEEDEN, CHIEF SCIENTIST, GREAT BARRIER REEF MARIN PARK AUTHORITY: They are a little bit like Goldilocks, they need the temperature and other conditions to be just right. And if they go outside of those boundaries, then we have this phenomenon called coral bleaching.

WATSON (voice-over): Scientists in Australia are studying ways to boost the chances for successful reproduction. Right now, it is nature that holds the key to the reef's survival.

BEEDEN: This process, the sexual reproduction, which is what's going on, is also one of the ways in which you get natural adaptations to changing conditions. Now, one of the big challenges with climate change is that it is happening so fast that it may mean genetic variability is not able to keep up with it. But nonetheless, it is really important that the process is happening.

WATSON (voice-over): The coral spawning at more reefs near the city of Cannes gives hope that this wonder of the world might still be rescued. The speed at which we transition to green energy and the degree to which our planet warms will determine how much of the Great Barrier Reef can be saved.

Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Extraordinary images there. And thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. For our international viewers, "World Sport" is coming up next. And for our viewers here in the United States and in Canada, I'll be back with more "CNN Newsroom" in just a moment. Please stay with us.

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[02:45:00]

CHURCH: A warm welcome back to our viewers in North America, I'm Rosemary Church. More than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the law that legalized abortion, voters in Ohio have handed a victory to reproductive rights advocates. CNN projects Ohio will approve a measure that enshrines abortion rights into its state constitution. Abortion advocates are working to get similar measures on the 2024 ballot in other states, some of which have restricted access to abortion, including Arizona and Florida. And that has become one of the big takeaways from Tuesday's elections. Abortion rights matter to many voters in crucial swing states. CNN's Jeff Zeleny explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY ZELENY CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (on camera): For the next year, as Republicans try to win the senate, keep their narrow majority in the house, and indeed win back the White House, abortion will be front and center in their strategy. The lessons of Tuesday night's elections in Virginia, in Ohio, and in Kentucky certainly serve as a reminder that abortion is still a very potent issue. And now, it has become a motivating factor for Democrats.

Of course, since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs decision a little more than a year ago, there are so many examples now, election after election where Republicans are largely on the losing side of this argument. We're going to see much of this discussion at a Republican presidential debate here in Miami on Wednesday. There has been a difference of viewpoint to some degree about the way forward on abortion.

Nikki Haley for example, the former South Carolina governor has tried to strike somewhat of a middle ground. Now Donald Trump, for his part, will not be participating in the debate. But he has tried to not dwell on abortion. He believes it's a losing issue in the words that he has spoken to some of his advisors. But look for Democrats to try and turn this to their advantage over the next year, in fact it could be one of their big motivating factors. So there is no doubt, as Republicans try to win control of the senate, hold their narrow majority in the house, and win back the White House, abortion will be front and center.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining me now is Lindy Li, a political strategist and Women's Co-Chair of the Democratic National Committee. Appreciate you being with us.

LINDY LI, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: Rosemary, thank you so much for having me.

CHURCH: So, we have been watching key votes across America that could potentially signal the direction of the 2024 presidential race. And Ohio has been one of the most closely watched, where residents just voted to protect abortion rights by enshrining them in the state constitution. What is your reaction to that result? And how significant is this do you think?

LI: This is so significant, and it wasn't just a victory. This was a resounding victory. And Republicans did everything they could to prevent this from happening. Over the summer, they put a vote before the people to raise the threshold acceptance to 60 percent, which would've made it much harder to defeat this. But people batted it down, just like they batted it down today. Issue one, enshrine the right to abortion, not only abortion though, but to contraception, to all sorts of reproductive decisions. And it keeps these very vital and very important intimate decisions between a woman and her doctor, where it should be.

And it's incredible because we also have to keep in mind that this is the very state that forced a 10-year-old rape victim to travel to Indiana to get abortion care. She was denied care in her own home state. And then she was attacked by Representative Jim Jordan who denied her story and then refused to apologize once she was exposed. And then Representative Jean Schmidt of Ohio also called her rape an opportunity. So today is a victory not just for women, but for everyone who believes in a woman and a girl's right to have control over their own bodies.

CHURCH: And Lindy, in the last couple of days, we have seen some pretty tough polling numbers for President Joe Biden, putting him behind Donald Trump on a range of issues. However, reproductive rights have of course become a central issue for President Biden and his party. But, will Democratic voters be fired up enough about this controversial issue, do you think to turn out in sufficient numbers, come November 2024, given Republicans, they're also motivated by this issue?

[02:50:00]

LI: Rosemary, that's an excellent question. But I want to remind everyone today that today is a reminder that women have not forgotten about Dobbs. We haven't forgotten that they took away our reproductive rights. They took away our bodily autonomy. And it's been more than a year, but the pain is still there. And it's going to propel us to victory in 2024. And despite all the naysayers, despite all the doubts, this rest (ph) at the heart, the core of what it means to be a woman, we're not going to soon relinquish the importance of that. This is something that lights a fire under the bust (ph) of women, young people, allies, everybody.

And this isn't just about women's rights but it's also about having -- it's also about gay marriage, it's about privacy, it's about making decisions. It's about birth control. It opens the floodgates to everything. So this impacts every facet of American life.

CHURCH: And Lindy, ever since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Republicans have been pushing through restrictive antiabortion legislations in some red states. But Democrats have won in all six states that put abortion on the ballot and now, of course, Ohio can be added to that list. So, how might these wins change the trajectory of the fight for reproductive rights at the state level?

LI: I think that this is a model that we could replicate in many different states. We saw this in Kansas where pro-forced birth interests spent $3 million and more trying to ban abortion. They lost. We saw this in Ohio just today. They lost. So we're going to keep doing this again. And one should also be aware that Glenn Youngkin, the governor of Virginia, promised to pass an abortion ban if he were able to win a trifecta in Virginia. Tonight, he was denied that trifecta. And so, he's not able -- he will not be able to implement the abortion ban that he promised.

Governor of Kentucky, Governor Andy Beshear who is in a ruby red state promised to keep abortion legal which demonstrates that wherever Democrats run on abortion, they win. This is about life, this is -- if you cannot control your body, nothing else matters, this rest (ph) of the core of humanity. So this demonstrates that reproductive rights will continue to be a winning issue everywhere.

And this is the very issue that Biden and Democrats need to propel young people, who are otherwise unsure, to the polls. This is no joke. You know, we should vote like our life depends on it because, in this case, it literally does.

CHURCH: A powerful message, Lindy Li joining us there and sharing her perspective on this issue and the outcome in Ohio. Many thanks. Appreciate it.

LI: Thank you so much.

CHURCH: The U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass a resolution to censure Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib for her comments criticizing the Israeli government and supporting Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war. Tlaib is the only Palestinian-American in Congress. CNN's Manu Raju has more now from Washington.

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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tuesday night, a bipartisan house majority voted to censure Rashida Tlaib, the Palestinian-American congresswoman, someone who is a sharp critic of Israel and especially its conduct in this war. She recently used a remark that has been widely condemned and used by Hamas as a battling -- rallying cry, calling for the destruction of the Jewish state, "From The River To The Sea." That phrase, she contended, was now meant as a more peaceful phrase, but that has not how it has been interpreted here, especially in light of some of her recent criticism of Israel and criticism that has come from even members of her own party.

In fact, a bipartisan majority voted to censure her. 22 Democrats voted in favor of this resolution. It was 234 to 188. There were four Republicans who voted against it. Essentially, there is a public reprimand of Rashida Tlaib. (inaudible) typically rarely used in the past, but becoming increasingly used in recent years. But in the aftermath of this vote, Democrats were sharply divided on this question.

REP. RITCHIE TORRES (D-NY): When you're uttering phrases like "From the river to the sea," you're not simply advocating for the creation of a Palestinian state, you're advocating for the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state. And that crosses a line that no member of Congress should ever cross. It's hate speech and Congress has a right to condemn it.

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA) It is outrageous. I am embarrassed for those Democrats who voted to censure their own colleague, who voted against free speech. It is an embarrassment.

RAJU: Now, Tlaib took to the floor earlier in the day and said that she was speaking as a Palestinian-American. She was criticizing her critics for silencing her, or at least attempting to silence her, said that she would not be silent in a very emotional speech on the house floor.

[02:55:00]

RAJU: However, she did not apologize for any of her past remarks. And in talking to a number of Democrats and Republicans, they wanted to hear more contrition about some of her remarks, which is one reason why she was publicly reprimanded on Tuesday night.

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

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CHURCH: U.S. Congressional Republicans appear no closer to avoiding a government shutdown with just days until funding runs out. House Republicans emerge from a meeting on Tuesday with apparently no clear strategy. But, the new House Speaker Mike Johnson says he will release a funding plan in the coming days. Several ideas have been floated, including a short-term spending bill through January 19. But any measure will have to get the support of a Democratically-controlled senate and the White House.

Affordable housing is moving further out of the rich for many Americans due to high mortgage rates and rising home prices. This is now the least affordable housing market in almost 40 years, according to research from the Intercontinental Exchange. The study says, it now takes nearly 41 percent of the average monthly income to cover the principal and interest payments of a medium-priced house. To put that in context, for the past three decades, it took less than 25 percent of the average monthly income to make mortgage payments.

CHURCH: I want to thank you for your company at this hour. I'm rosemary church. I'll be back with more "CNN Newsroom" in just a moment. Do stay with us.

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