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Two Days To Go: Democrats Face Key Test In Critical Elections; Los Angeles Streets Turn Chaotic After Dodgers Win; Food Stamp Benefits For 42M In Jeopardy as Shutdown Drags On; SNAP Benefits Lapse As Shutdown Stretches Into Day 33; Dems Making Closing Pitch To Voters Ahead Of Key Races; Jamaica Begins Slow Recovery From Devastating Hurricane. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired November 02, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:41]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Just two days until election day and several key races hang in the balance in East Coast states. Voters picking in New York -- a new mayor of New York and new governors in New Jersey and Virginia. Plus a proposition in California that could give Democrats more seats in Congress.

A look around the country at these heavily watched races.

And an incredible Game 7 World Series comeback for the L.A. Dodgers sends fans pouring into the streets. But some of those celebrations turned chaotic with cars spinning in sideshows, fireworks lighting up the sky, and several people now under arrest.

And a long recovery lies ahead for thousands in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa devastated the country. Many are desperately searching for food and shelter. We'll take you there, live to hear from those on the ground trying to get help.

Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Thank you so much for joining us.

In just two days, several key races across the U.S. will be decided. Voters will head to the polls to elect a new governor in Virginia and New Jersey, and a new mayor in New York City. The candidates and their surrogates are busy stumping for last minute support.

And yesterday, former president, Barack Obama returned to the trail as he rallied voters for the Democratic candidates in New Jersey and Virginia.

The outcome of Tuesday's vote could be the first big -- the first big referendum on President Trump's second term and provide insight into whether Democrats have improved their standing with the midterm elections, which are just one year away.

We've got a team of correspondents out on the campaign trail for all these critical races. Let's begin with the mayor's race in New York. CNN's Gloria Pazmino is joining us now from Brooklyn where the frontrunner, Zohran Mamdani, is campaigning at this hour. Gloria, set the stage for us.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred.

You know, it is Marathon Sunday here in New York City. For most New Yorkers, it is one of the best days of the year. And that is because the city absolutely comes alive to cheer thousands and thousands of these runners.

And that's the reason why it makes it the perfect campaign stop for these candidates. And that's where the Democratic mayoral nominee, Zohran Mamdani, was just at a few minutes ago. He stopped here in Brooklyn to cheer on the candidates and to campaign.

Now it's interesting. Zohran Mamdani was running the same exact marathon last year as part of his launch for mayor. He isn't running the campaign -- the marathon this year, but he came here to cheer on the runners.

I caught up with him briefly. He's been campaigning this morning in the city's black churches. He's meeting with Jewish groups across Brooklyn here. And he also made a stop to cheer on the runners. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: There's nothing like marathon Sunday in New York City.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI, DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL CANDIDATE, NEW YORK CITY: No, no. There is not.

You know, some of the best days of my life have been running this marathon very, very slowly. And it is a joy to not be crawling along it, but instead be on the other side and just celebrating what so many New Yorkers love about the city, including myself.

PAZMINO: I asked you this a minute ago, but you were at the club last night. Six of them in Bushwick, right. At church this morning, more church this morning. Now the marathon.

MAMDANI: Look, we've got two days left. We have to try and speak to every single New Yorker we can find, whether they're at the club, whether they're here at the marathon, whether they're at church.

They're all New Yorkers who are struggling to afford this city. They deserve a mayor who sees them for what they are, which is the people that should be served by city hall, not actually sacrificed by them in the pursuit of personal freedom from Donald Trump administration.

PAZMINO: You talked about the need to run through the tape. Are you feeling confident and are you feeling confident that you can break that 50?

MAMDANI: I am feeling confident, but I'm not feeling complacent. I can tell you that having run this marathon, the final miles are the most difficult ones and I am thankfully in a better position than I was when I was running it in terms of this race.

But we know that today it comes down to how many doors do we knock, how many calls do we make? How many people go out there and vote?

[14:04:52]

MAMDANI: And so as incredible as this is, the best parts of the day so far have really been speaking to canvassers because those are the people who are on the front lines of spreading our message that the most expensive city in America doesn't actually have to be this hard. It can actually be affordable.

PAZMINO: Last question.

MAMDANI: Yes.

PAZMINO: How will you try and unite the community, unite New Yorkers? This has been a somewhat divisive race. There's been divisive rhetoric coming from some of the other candidates. How do you unite everyone if you win after Tuesday to make sure the city can come together?

MAMDANI: I'm going to make it clear that I'm looking to lead the entirety of this city, all 8.5 million people who call it home. I don't care if they voted for me, Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa, or didn't vote at all. They're all New Yorkers. They deserve a mayor who is committed to the work of ensuring this is an affordable city.

And I'm looking forward to continue to speak to every single New Yorker about how I can earn their trust in the work that we do, which will be to deliver an affordability agenda.

PAZMINO: Hakeem Jeffries was asked this morning if you're the future of the Democratic Party. He said no.

MAMDANI: Good to know.

PAZMINO: Do you have a response?

MAMDANI: No. I'm focused on the next two days.

PAZMINO: Do you think you're the future of the Democratic Party?

MAMDANI: I don't dare predict the future. That's why I'm out here canvasing to deal with my anxiety, to get through the tape of the future of 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

PAZMINO: How many Red Bulls so far?

MAMDANI: None today. It's just -- it's just adrenaline but probably going to have one later. Thank you guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Fred, we've heard Mamdani talk on the campaign trail about how when he gets tired, he allows himself one sugar-free Red Bull. But that last question you heard there is going to be a key part of the conversation after Tuesday if he wins this election.

Whether or not this is the direction that the Democratic Party at the national level is going to need to move in. And you heard Hakeem Jeffries telling our Jake Tapper earlier this morning, he doesn't necessarily believe that Zohran is the future of the party.

Now, you also heard him there talking about not taking anything for granted. So he continues to campaign and so do the other candidates. Andrew Cuomo also meeting with church leaders this morning. And so is Curtis Sliwa, he is also continuing to campaign. The polls have showed that Mamdani continues to be solidly in the lead. And then New Yorkers, they are turning out in record numbers. More than 500,000 New Yorkers have already cast their vote during the early voting period.

So if nothing else, we can say with certainty that there's an incredible amount of enthusiasm for this election and what it will mean for the future of New York City, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Gloria Pazmino, that was a Q&A on Red Bull. And it was great. Thank you so much, Gloria.

All right. Eva McKend, let's go to her now. She's covering the governor's race in Virginia.

So how are the two candidates making their closing arguments while on the campaign trail?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, good afternoon to you from Hanover.

We are waiting for Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican candidate. She's going to be making her case here in just a few hours. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee, is campaigning over in northern Virginia.

And here in Hanover, this is a community where Governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, just dominated four years ago. And so in order for Earle-Sears to pull off an upset, she's going to have to do quite well in communities like this one as well.

And what we've noticed on the campaign trail in these closing days is more of a narrow focus on the economy and economic issues more broadly.

And it's a departure for Earle-Sears, who previously was trying to draw Spanberger into some of these cultural battles, specifically talking about the rules that govern trans children in Virginia's public schools.

But at at least two recent events I haven't even heard her mention that. She's really talking about eliminating Virginia's car tax and keeping taxes low across the board. And it seems to be responsive to the concerns of most Virginians. And in many ways, it's where Spanberger has been all along, narrowly-

focused on the economy and specifically how the economy in Virginia is being impacted by what's going on in Washington.

Spanberger spoke to this at a rally with President Obama. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D-VA), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: We need a governor who will support the thousands upon thousands of Virginia's families whose livelihoods have been disrupted or destroyed because of DOGE and now this government shutdown.

We do not need someone who has said that losing a job isn't a real issue when we have Virginians who have dedicated themselves to service to our country, who have lost their jobs because of bad policies and a reckless administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: And Fred, in just a little bit, of course, we will hear from the Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears.

[14:09:51]

MCKEND: But I'll close with this. What's remarkable here in Virginia, more than a million people have already voted as of Friday, have participated in early voting across the state.

But still Earle-Sears, Spanberger trying to make their case in the closing hours to voters who might be complacent or for whatever reason, have just not tuned in yet, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Eva McKend, the clock is ticking. They better get tuned in, right.

All right. Thank you so much.

All right, let's now go to New Jersey, where former president, Barack Obama also campaigned this weekend for the Democratic candidate for governor there.

Arlette, what is the Republican candidate doing and saying as he tries to pull off a win in these final days of the race, even though you had a Democratic former president who was also campaigning for the Democratic contender.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli's bus actually just left this site in Hazlett, where he was rallying voters, saying that New Jersey needs change in this election. That is why they need to vote for him, the Republican.

He is about to head to another stop here in Monmouth County, as he is looking to turn out a solidly Republican -- or more Republican areas in his quest for the governorship. Now, one issue that has really become a flashpoint in this campaign

has been over that Gateway Tunnel project. It's a commuter rail project connecting New Jersey and New York City that President Trump has threatened to terminate.

Democrat Mikie Sherrill has really made that a focal point of her campaign, saying that Ciattarelli is unable to stand up to President Trump's threats at that time. But Ciattarelli tried to put a bit of a spin on that today when he said it is Sherrill's fault that she has not voted to reopen the government.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK CIATTARELLI (R), NEW JERSEY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: You know, the thing that really gets me here. She keeps talking about the Gateway Project, about the SNAP. Those are important projects, right?

13 times during shutdowns, during Joe Biden's administration, 13 times she voted yes to reopen the government. Now that Trump's the president, guess what? She votes no. Ok, it's a shame, but she's a hypocrite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: So Ciattarelli trying to message this in a different way, as Sherrill has tried to pin that Gateway Tunnel project as a liability on Ciattarelli due to his closeness to President Donald Trump.

Now, this morning, Sherrill herself was holding a rally over in west New York with Senator Ruben Gallego. That rally was really focused on trying to turn out Latino voters, which could be key to picking the next governor here in New Jersey.

That event that she held this morning comes on the heels of her campaigning with president -- former president, Barack Obama last night. But one person that we have not seen here in the Garden State is President Donald Trump.

He hasn't fully endorsed Jack Ciattarelli in this campaign. He held a tele-rally for him just a little over a week ago, but he did not actively campaign for him here in the state at a time when Democrat Mikie Sherrill has really tried to pin Ciattarelli and his embrace of Trump as a negative in this race, as she's trying to push out voters in this election.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette Saenz, keep us posted there on the campaign trail. Appreciate it.

All right. Still to come, in a push to end the U.S. government shutdown, President Trump issues a new directive to Senate Republicans on how to respond to the Democrats spending bill demands.

Plus, a World Series for the ages. But some fan celebrations turned into chaos on the streets of Los Angeles. [14:13:26]

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WHITFIELD: All right. The defending champions are champions again.

That's a lot of happiness there. The L.A. Dodgers clinching the win in Game 7 of the World Series. But the celebrating turned a bit chaotic in the streets overnight.

Awesome, dangerous close calls there. Police say officers were actually hit with fireworks and bottles as well. And at least one person, as you saw right there, was kind of crushed by a car doing donuts as fans crowded the streets.

Julia Vargas Jones is joining us now from Los Angeles. So Julia, it was supposed to be all happy, but those are some close calls right there.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, L.A. is known for these kinds of celebrations, getting a little bit out of hand. We saw that happen also last year, Fred.

Seven arrests were made overnight, including one of a woman who drove her bicycle into a police horse. But thankfully that animal was not hurt.

Police also closed off various parts of downtown Los Angeles, specifically the 6th Street bridge that is a known area for all those donuts, and a lot of those videos that we're seeing around the city.

But I will say that mostly these celebrations were peaceful. Personally, I saw that number of seven arrests. It does not -- it did not strike me as a high number this morning based on the level of the amount of people that we saw coming out to the streets.

[14:19:45]

JONES: It does seem like L.A., after having a very difficult year that started with wildfires, and then we had mudslides. We had protests over immigration raids throughout the summer.

This just feels like a big exhale and a time for the city to celebrate and really come together. I want to show you a little bit of what those celebrations look like around the city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT CULHANE, BARTENDER: People were doubting it at the beginning of the game. Everyone online was going uber (ph) mode. They thought we were going to lose.

But you know what? We won one and now we got the second one baby.

AARON PEARLAR, ADVERTISING WORKER: Amazing. It's a great series, fought through adversity. I don't know how we won that, but we did. Let's go Dodgers.

BRIAN PAUL, CATERING COMPANY CEO: Go Dodgers, baby. Back-to-back. Let's go. We got this. What a win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And that is today on this Sunday, Fred. People are just catching their breath here in Los Angeles. Looking forward to tomorrow, a big day for the Dodgers.

Another homecoming parade will be held in downtown Los Angeles with the entire team, coaches, Mayor Karen Bass will give us an update later this afternoon. More details and I'll be sure to bring those to you.

WHITFIELD: You know, enamored and euphoric. But at the same time, I hope that paint on the bus was like a washable paint because I guess no excuses for bad behavior.

But congratulations to everyone out there.

All right. Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much. Congratulations for the win, that is.

All right. Still to come. More than a month into the U.S. government shutdown, furloughed federal workers are looking for new ways to survive.

[14:21:30]

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

As the ongoing U.S. government shutdown cuts off millions of Americans' access to food stamps, the Trump administration said today the standoff with Democrats highlights the need to reform the vital anti-hunger program, known as SNAP.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE ROLLINS, U.S. SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE: What this conversation has allowed is a national spotlight on a broken and corrupt program. We found one guy in six different states getting a benefit. We found about 5,000 people that are dead who are still getting benefits.

Like it is time to drastically reform this program so that we can make sure that those who are truly needy, truly vulnerable are getting what they need. And the rest of the corruption goes away and we can serve the American taxpayer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook is joining us now from Florida, where the president is spending the weekend. Julia, what else is the administration saying today?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as this government shutdown drags on, neither party wants to be blamed for the impact that Americans are feeling.

And the lapse in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is having a huge impact. It hits about 42 million Americans.

To put that into perspective, that's about 12 percent of the population, or 1 in 8 people. A lot of those impacted are children.

On Friday though, we did see two federal judges rule that the Trump administration must tap into billions of dollars in emergency funds to at least partially fund the program in November.

Those orders reject an argument made by the Department of Agriculture that it could not use a contingency fund in order to do that.

Now, in that same interview that you played just a moment ago from the Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, she did acknowledge those rulings. She also added that the Trump administration wants to keep SNAP going, but said that they're working and looking at all different avenues right now.

When Trump reacted to the orders, he said that the government lawyers do not believe that they have the legal authority to use that money in that way, and that he is seeking more clarity on this.

The administration has said that there will likely be a delay, even if they move on this immediately, and it is not a long-term fix.

The contingency funding question here, the agency says, has about $5.3 billion in it and funding SNAP each month takes closer to about $9 billion.

WHITFIELD: That is a significant difference. But you know, in recent days Trump has been ramping up pressure on Republicans to eliminate the filibuster as a way to end the shutdown. And where does that stand?

BENBROOK: Yes. Day 33 now of this government shutdown and I think most people do want to see this come to an end. Trump believes that a solution is to have Congressional Republicans eliminate the Senate filibuster, to vote to do that.

Now that 60-vote threshold, though, has served as a protection for both parties, depending on who is in power at that time.

And top GOP lawmakers have expressed concerns about what that would mean when Democrats are in power. Proponents of the filibuster also believe that it promotes more cooperation and compromise in the chamber.

Trump is making the claim, though, that eventually he believes Democrats are going to get rid of this anyway and that Republicans should just go ahead and do it now.

In a social media post this weekend, he wrote in part, "Republicans, you will rue the day that you didn't terminate the filibuster. Be tough, smart, and win."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed that sentiment earlier today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: These are radical left lunatics in charge of the Democrat Party today, and they will nuke the filibuster.

[14:29:49]

LEAVITT: They want to make Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico states, they want to pack the Supreme Court. They don't care about our sacred institutions in our country.

And so Republicans need to play tough, and they need to play smart. And that's what President Trump thinks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:30:04]

BENBROOK: Earlier in the shutdown, the top Republican in the Senate, John Thune, ruled out the possibility of changing Senate rules in order to bring this shutdown to an end.

That pressure, though, the public pressure, is obviously ramping up in recent days. A spokesperson for Thune said that his thoughts on the filibuster and the importance of it are unchanged. Several other GOP lawmakers have echoed that as well.

So not likely to see a change at this moment -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Julie Benbrook, thanks so much, in West Palm Beach.

All right. With no end in sight to the shutdown, federal workers are showing up in droves to donation centers to get food for their families. Potential benefit lapses are also making it even more painful for households going without a paycheck.

Let's go now to CNN's Camila DeChalus.

Camila, you went to a food bank in Maryland. And what did you hear from people?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: That's right, Fred, I spent all this morning talking to federal workers that came to this food bank. Now that the government shutdown enters its 33rd day. And it was very interesting. I mean, a lot of these federal workers were telling me how the

shutdown has just taken a very serious toll on them, not just on their finances. But also on their mental health.

And a lot of workers said that they have really because of this government shutdown and not receiving paychecks, it has drained their savings and they really have fallen behind on their bills. One woman even broke down in tears just saying that. The weight of everything really hit her when she showed up today.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANIS: It's a big impact because, now we have to choose either to feed ourselves or to pay the bills because either way, we are, you know, it's affecting us. We have children, young children and we have to make sure that we're still keeping it together for them. And I feel as if the government is not -- doesn't care.

The holidays are coming, you know. It's -- people are going to be hungry. We are the land of opportunity. And it doesn't look like it now.

COLBY: But we're going to work every day. We're doing our normal jobs, but just waiting for that paycheck to come so that we can, you know, get the pay, get everything paid, all our rent and everything else. I would say get together and play nice in the sandbox, is what I would say. I mean, honestly, to be really frank, I don't know why these folks can't get together. I mean, they don't want to compromise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It ain't fair for everybody to suffer because they want to take off and do what they want to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: And, Fred, as you see there, a lot of them had a message for Congress, saying that they're very frustrated by lawmakers' inability to work with each other and that this political standoff is really hurting real people.

Now, I think something that's pretty notable is that just tomorrow, senators are about to return back to Capitol Hill to resume voting and the House is going to be out of session. And even why I mentioned that is that the House has been out of session since September 19th, and that really just shows this really big gap of what's happening. But we are being told that both Republicans and Democrats are having these conversations behind the scenes, trying to try to find some common ground so they can see some real progress next week.

And that's what were hearing, is that this upcoming week, they're really hoping to see a little bit more progress that both sides can kind of try to come up with some proposal that will get enough votes in the senate to pass, and then enough votes in the House for it to then get on the president's desk and then be signed into law and for the government to reopen. So, Fred, that is where everything is standing at this current moment.

WHITFIELD: All right. Camila, thank you so much, in Washington.

All right. Coming up next, bring in the closer. Democratic candidates hope Barack Obama's renewed message of hope and change will lead to victory for them on Tuesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:38:21]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

In just two days, the first big electoral test of President Trump's second term, as Democrats look to rebound after last year's upsets, they rolled out one of their biggest names this weekend to help make the closing argument to voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We need leaders who will tell the truth, and who will take responsibility and tackle hard problems and bring people together, instead of tearing them apart. We need leaders who won't serve bosses in Washington or big corporate donors, but instead will serve the people who put them there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I want to discuss a more now with Holly Otterbein. She is a senior politics reporter at "Axios" covering Democrats.

Great to see you, Holly.

So, I mean, can the former president still motivate voters in an off year election like this?

HOLLY OTTERBEIN, SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER, AXIOS: Look, Democrats, like Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger wouldn't bring him out if he couldn't. He's still one of the most popular elected officials in America. He's still incredibly popular with Democrats and in many ways is still a leader in the Democratic Party. And so, they brought him out because they know that he is the closer for the party and that he can persuade both swing voters and turn out Democratic voters.

WHITFIELD: And then there is new polling out today showing President Trump's approval ratings underwater. About six in 10 Americans disapprove of the job that he's doing. Just over 40 percent approve.

How much, you know, might this factor into the results that we all see on Tuesday?

OTTERBEIN: I think Democrats are counting on it in a huge way. I mean, you saw it in President Obama's rallies for Spanberger and Sherrill yesterday. He was really encouraging voters to turn out as a way to send a message to Trump. [14:40:09]

Other surrogates who are campaigning for those two major gubernatorial candidates are telling voters the same thing. You know, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro came out and campaigned for Mikie Sherrill, and he said, you know, send a message, you know, that, that we value our freedom. We cherish our democracy. We love our country.

Democrats are absolutely counting on a backlash to Trump, to power people to the polls this week.

WHITFIELD: And you've done some reporting on how Democrats are moving away from campaigning on the idea of saving democracy. What's behind this?

OTTERBEIN: Yeah, a lot of lot of Democratic strategists and campaign officials that I talked to said that when they looked at 2024, they felt like one major mistake was the fact that Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned pretty hard on protecting democracy and painting President Trump as a threat to democracy as much as they might like that message, they found swing voters really are not super interested in it compared to things like high prices and other issues that affect their bottom line.

And so now that you know, I spoke with, DNC Chair Martin and he said that, you know, last year and, and years prior, voters really didn't know what the Democratic Party stood for because they didn't have message, discipline. And so, this cycle, especially in those races in New Jersey and, Virginia, that we're talking about the Democratic candidates are really trying to focus on pocketbook issues.

You saw President Obama come in last night, talked about dangers to democracy. But if you look at the ads by these candidates, if you look at their closing messages, they are really trying to focus on pocketbook issues. And even when they talk about Trump, which is a lot of the time they are tying their opponents to Trump in terms of his handling of the economy. So, talking about things like tariffs and Medicaid cuts as opposed to these sort of loftier ideals about democracy.

WHITFIELD: Okay, a big race that folks will be watching on Tuesday. Who's going to become the next mayor of New York City? The Democrat in that race, Zohran Mamdani, has, you know, been looked at as a future of the party. But House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries disagrees, even though he is endorsing Mamdani.

Listen to what Jeffries told CNN earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: No, I think the future of the Democratic Party is going to fall as far as we're concerned relative to the House Democratic caucus and members who are doing a great work all across the country as it relates to our need to both take back control of the House. But in doing so, make sure that were communicating to the American people like we understand you deserve better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, does a win by Mamdani on Tuesday impact the calculus of how the Democratic Party approaches the midterms next year?

OTTERBEIN: I think that no matter what happens on Tuesday, both the progressives and the Democrats are going to come away pointing fingers and claiming victory, right, because traditional Democrats, if they win in Virginia and New Jersey, as expected, they can say, look, the answer is moderate candidates, middle of the road candidates. And if Mamdani wins is expected in New York, progressives are going to point to that and say, look, the answer is something more exciting than that, you know, something with a bolder message than that.

So, I think after Tuesday, the civil war within the Democratic Party is nowhere, you know, close to ending.

WHITFIELD: All right. Holly Otterbein, thank you so much. Good to see you.

All right. It was one of the most powerful storms to hit Jamaica in more than 150 years. Just ahead, we'll speak with the head of a charity on the island about the state of recovery and how he is keeping the children under his care safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:48:53]

WHITFIELD: All right. Happening right now. British police say there is no indication that a mass stabbing attack on board a London bound train was terror related. They say passengers were targeted as the train traveled through central England. Five of the 11 people originally hospitalized have now been released. Two suspected attackers were initially detained, but officials said only one of the two, a 32-year-old British man, remains in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Meanwhile, authorities are also working to determine a motive for the attack.

All right. In Jamaica right now, residents of the western part of the island are struggling to recover after the country was hit by one of the strongest storms in more than 150 years.

I spoke with Jamaican music superstar Sean Paul from the capital of Kingston, and this is what he is seeing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN PAUL, JAMAICAN MUSICIAN, SEAN PAUL FOUNDATION: We definitely got a lot of water in every building we got. You know, a lot of strong breeze. However, the bulk of the damage was done in Saint Elizabeth, Montego Bay. You know, places like and on the north coast, you know.

[14:50:04]

Ninety percent of the houses in Trelawny are gone. The other 10 percent that are remaining are roofless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: With us now is Monsignor Gregory Ramkissoon. He is the founder of Mustard Seed Communities. It's a Jamaican nonprofit organization that provides support for children and adults with disabilities who have now been -- who have been abandoned. And your place was a safe place for all of them.

But, Monsignor, how did you endure the storm? What was the secret behind you all staying together?

MSGR. GREGORY RAMKISSOON, FOUNDER, MUSTARD SEED COMMUNITIES: Well, I'll tell you something. Great -- thanks for having me, first of all. But great among everything was the how our staff worked. They left their own children at home in very precarious living conditions. They stayed with all -- we have 12 homes in Jamaica with nearly over 500 children facing severe disabilities. Mental and physical, HIV/AIDS, birth, pregnant teens, abandoned children.

So, our staff was to the letter, the most amazing people I've met, and they're the ones with the -- we have some priests and brothers who really got everything together. Although we have had a lot of damage, that's how we got things together.

WHITFIELD: And tell me what that means, getting things together. Because I understand you all are very close to the coast, but somehow you and your staff and everyone were able to elevate, really in the nick of time. Tell me about that.

RAMKISSOON: Yeah, well, you see, the staff we have had storm not this dangerous and earthquake before most of these 47 years old. And therefore, there was a kind of a way of doing things, you know. But I said, we are almost okay, but every place has a damage. Do you know our home is called Blessed Assurance in Montego Bay?

We couldn't get there by vehicle because the road was gone. A priest and a deacon had to go there by foot, walk nine miles and a mile back -- nine miles back. The story is the children were flooded out. The ladies have to take them upstairs in a second floor where it was raining anyway.

But what we did, we took everything in time, and we looked at how best we can serve the children in those present needs.

WHITFIELD: I mean, are you stunned? Even through it all, with this very violent storm that, you know, your -- you know, your plan worked to keep everyone safe.

RAMKISSOON: All right, well, let me tell you something. We have a very, very serious spiritual program. Even the very disabled children will get up and pray and so on. So, what caused that is, our Dear Lord, what we say Jesus Christ, because, you know, there's no other alternative.

We have something in all our chapels, Mark. He is here and under that is. Thank you Lord. So, it's not just our health and our work that we do. We depend very much, especially our children, on the presence of God among us.

WHITFIELD: And tell me how all of these children are feeling. I mean, this had to be really frightening, harrowing. I mean, they many of them didn't know what was going on as they were being hustled to, you know, a higher elevation. But I mean, tell me how everyone is doing and what now?

RAMKISSOON: All right. So, what is this, the one in Montego Bay, poor thing. They start from babies going up right up to past 18 years, but we can't put them in another home. We don't abandon a child twice, so we keep them from, you know, womb to tomb.

Now, the children, they are amazing. And the ladies are making sure that I said they're not -- do you know their own children at home? They're not -- they can't contact them by phone because there is no connection, nothing.

They can't even talk to us on the phone. That's why the brothers had to walk nine miles. But also, I should tell you that they are, my God, at least we have food.

Let me tell you something. Jamaica is going through a serious problem. Do you know I went to one of our programs today in Jacob's ladder. Coming back, there's a little old man with what seems to be a grandchild on the road. He stopped me. He stopped me.

I -- when I stopped, he said, oh, my God, you're Monsignor Gregory. I said, yes, he said, I said, so I asked him about his house and so on. Terrible. Gone. He's looking for place. I said, well, hey, you could come with me and maybe you could stay. And we see how it goes.

Then he said, no, please drop me off. I really have to eat. I said, well, okay, ill give you some food to eat. He said, no, no, no sir.

Do you know what he did? He left the car and I saw on the seat 2,000 Jamaican dollars.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

RAMKISSOON: Just given me that is what the heart of the Jamaican here is about these days.

[14:55:04]

We have our problem -- we have to do, you know, we have about 1 million U.S. dollars in repairs to do. And that's not even talking about, you know, things like furniture broken and all this kind of stuff. Stoves stop working. And it is just amazing what I know. And thank you for CNN doing this, because this is a great way to get the news across, even in Jamaica.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. I mean, it's a -- it's a beautiful story that you just told of just even in such a time of desperation, people who are also in need still finding a way to help each other out. Monsignor Gregory Ramkissoon, thank you so much. All the best to all

of you. As you continue to pull together, because the need is so great in so much of Jamaica and you are giving so much hope and inspiration. Even in the face of such devastation. Monsignor, thank you so much.

RAMKISSOON: Thank you very much. And the rest of your CNN crew. Thank you again.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

And for more information on how you can help all of the Hurricane Melissa victims there throughout Jamaica and beyond, go to CNN.com or text melissa to 707070 to donate.

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