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Results Will Shape Critical November Midterm Elections; Votes Being Conducted In Key Races Across Six States; CNN Projects Trump- Backed Gallrein Defeats Rep. Massie. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 20, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:34]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, everybody. This is CNN News Room and I'm Paul Sandoval live in New York. Here's coming your -- here's what's coming your way.

Trump's influence over Republican voters on full display as he successfully ousts another GOP rival. We'll be taking a look at the election results in Kentucky and other key states and also what that could mean for the midterms. Plus, how affordability and also the economy are impacting voter behavior as many Americans are struggling with high costs and staff, stagnant wages. And two of the United States biggest rivals, they're showcasing their close ties as Xi Jinping welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from New York, this is CNN Newsroom with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: Hi. Welcome everybody. Let's begin with the takeaways from the latest U.S. primary elections. They of course, set the stage for the big showdown in the crucial November midterms with a shift of balance of power in Washington at stake. Some of the votes in these six states that you see there, they are still at this hour being counted. But we do have some projections to share with you, especially those in some of the most contentious races. And let's begin with the battle for Kentucky's 4th House district.

Republican Thomas Massie, who's been a thorn in Donald Trump's side, was up against the president's handpicked challenger. But Massie fell short and he conceded very early in the evening.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THOMAS MASSIE, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: I have called and conceded the race. We've been honorable the whole time and we're going to stay that way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: As for the projected winner in this race, Ed Gallrein, he gave the president a shout out during his victory speech. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED GALLREIN, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE: I want to thank President Trump for his support, his endorsement and his counsel as I navigated this campaign. Now my focus is on advancing the president's and the party's agenda to put America first and Kentucky always.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: I'm not sure if President Trump got much sleep as he's been gloating over Massie's defeat, saying that he's a bad guy who deserved to lose. CNN's Jeff Zeleny begins our coverage as he reports from Kentucky.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump's retribution tour continues with a stop in Kentucky, taking out Congress Congressman Thomas Massie. After serving 14 years in Washington, he was handily defeated Tuesday night right here in Kentucky by a farmer and former Navy SEAL named Ed Gallrein. But make no mistake, this was a race between President Trump and Thomas Massie. The president spoke about this congressman again and again right up until the very closing hours of Election Day.

But after conceding defeat, Massie made clear he's going nowhere.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MASSIE: To start out as an election, and it turned into a movement. We -- we stirred up something. There is a yearning in this country for somebody who will vote for principles over party. And we have to figure out what was the purpose of having the biggest fight ever. Biggest fight ever.

Why did it -- why did it converge on one of 435 congressional seats right here in Kentucky? What was God's purpose? What is he showing us tonight?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY: Now, Massie does have more than six months left in his term in Congress, but after that remains an open question. But in a concession speech that sounded anything but, Massie praised his young supporters as they chanted 2028. 2028.

Of course, it's far too early to know if Massie will actually try and run for president in 2028, but he made clear that he believes this is the very beginning of a movement. So even though he lost his Congress falling to President Trump and his retribution tour, Massie made clear he's just getting started. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Hebron, Kentucky.

SANDOVAL: Several unpredictable races have also been playing out in the state of Georgia. The Republican race for governor, it is going to a runoff next month since no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote on Tuesday. Trump backed Lieutenant Governor Bert Jones will be battling health care billionaire Rick Jackson for that nomination. The winner of the runoff will be facing former Atlanta Mayor Keisha

Lance Bottoms, who is celebrating this morning her landslide win in the Democratic governor's race. Bottoms could eventually become the first black woman governor in the United States.

[04:05:11]

And Georgia's Republican Senate race is also heading to a runoff. Trump endorsed Congressman Mike Collins, expected to face off against former football coach Derek Dooley, who's endorsed by Georgia's outgoing governor.

All right, let's head over to our strategist now, Democrat Caroline Heldman. She's standing by live in Los Angeles. And Republican Katie Frost joining me from Atlanta. Thank you both so much for staying up late and joining us for this conversation to have our viewers around the world get a better understanding of what this week has been like, politics wise.

CAROLINE HELDMAN, CRITICAL THEORY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE PROFESSOR, OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: Good to see you, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Katie, I'm wondering if we could start with you. In just one week, President Trump basically vanquished two members of his own party. In your view, what is the main takeaway for other Republicans in office, those who may not see eye to eye with President Trump?

KATIE FROST, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: It's wonderful to be with you, Polo. You know, I would say the main takeaway here is that you need to realize President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. And in many ways, he is going to be the director directing the party going forward.

So, you can disagree with him on certain issues, but it depends on how loud you are about it. You know, if you look at the voting records of some people in Congress, they aren't always aligned with the president, but they keep a lower profile. They don't tend to stir the pot too much and they're able to just go under the radar. And then there are others who draw his ire, whether it's Massie or others, and they get a lot of attention.

But I would just remind the voters at home, in 2020, Massie was targeted by President Trump and he won with 81 percent. For the last six years, there's significant change. And President Trump is now back in office and I would say stronger than ever with the Republican primary base.

SANDOVAL: Caroline, to you, if the Republican Party does continue to be the Donald Trump Party, per Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, do you think that opens up opportunities for Democrats in House elections come these midterms? I mean, and they can they seize this moment, actually capitalize on it, you think?

HELDMAN: I do think, Polo. In fact, if you look at the generic ballot, the Democrats are favored by almost 7 percentage points over Republicans for the House and the last time we saw that was when there was a massive swing in 2018, a swing of 40 seats. Donald Trump's approval ratings are in the gutter. They are the lowest of his second term. And much of that has to do with erosion of his base.

It's significant. And even though his endorsement still matters quite a bit in deeply read areas, what he is doing by making the party less diverse is actually harming his coalition. So, his approval ratings have actually put Democrats in an incredibly good seat this November.

SANDOVAL: Caroline, off of what? Off what Katie just said, rather. Forgive me. Katie, to you now. Seeing what happened to Thomas Massie and to Senator Bill Cassidy before him. How do Republicans on ballots in November midterms face this dilemma of -- of having to sort of separate themselves from a president who, as we just heard, is widely unpopular among the general electorate, but at the same time, avoiding drawing the ire of the president that we already have seen multiple -- multiple times comes with some serious consequences and you risk losing your seat in Congress.

FROST: Well, President Trump's a very smart man who understands math well, so he understands that people have to conduct themselves differently in certain states. But I would pull back to my home state here of Georgia and use Congressman Mike Collins as an example. Congressman Collins has not been endorsed by President Trump. He has been endorsed by many people in his sphere and many of these important organizations like Turning Point and Club for Growth.

Congressman Collins is running very much as the MAGA champion in the primary. But when he comes to the general election, he has a compelling story to tell about how he is one of the few members of Congress who has authored legislation that was signed by both President Biden and President Trump. He is someone who's run a very effective office and he's been able to deliver for the people of Georgia, regardless of who's in power and pass bipartisan legislation under both administrations.

So that is something that you can talk about in the general election and pivoting there once you complete your primary.

SANDOVAL: Katie, do you -- do you think this may come with a price, though, in states like Texas, for example, John Cornyn certainly seem widely popular in that state. Ultimately, though, do you think that could come with a price, especially for, you know, for the Democratic opponent, that this could perhaps provide him with, with an upper hand?

FROST: I don't necessarily see it as coming with a heavy price. And a lot of folks I know in Texas are not too thrilled with U.S. Senator Cornyn. He's been there since 2002, since, you know, I was in middle school. Probably time for a change there.

[04:10:05]

What I will say, though, is when you look at the math, I think we're going to be in a good position come November. And I would just remind everyone that it is a lifetime in politics from May to November. In May of 2024, President Joe Biden was still the presumptive nominee

for the Democratic Party. So, a lot can change between May and November.

SANDOVAL: I'm also curious if we could talk a little bit, Caroline, about just going back to Kentucky. I mean, ultimately the state back in 2024, 65 percent, of course, voting for President Trump. I mean, another way of looking at this, could it possibly be, is that the constituents in that district who voted overwhelmingly for President Trump simply saw this as an opportunity to then vote for somebody that may actually be a closer ally to President Trump.

HELDMAN: Well, for sure, Trump's endorsement mattered, right? That is what made the difference. And again, it's only happening in deeply red areas. And Katie is right.

We have a lifetime between now and the election. But the direction in which this country is headed, with gas prices, the price of everything else because of Donald Trump's invasion of Iran. He is underwater on Iran. He is underwater, obviously, on the Epstein files. He's underwater on the economy. And none of those indicators are going to turn around.

So, at this point in time, the best models out there are predicting about a 75 percent chance of Democrats taking the House of Representatives. And now the Senate is in play. And this is entirely on Donald Trump.

And this is entirely Donald Trump making decisions that are wildly unpopular now with the general public.

SANDOVAL: Katie, how do -- is there still some -- you both are right. There's so much that could happen between now and November. And between now and November, do you think that there might be opportunities for Republicans to really demonstrate to voters that they have an independent way of thinking, perhaps not really afraid of consequences when it comes to, you know, how -- how President Trump may respond?

Because there does seem to be a consensus certainly among Americans that there are many of these sort of kitchen table issues that they're deeply worried about, that they want to be hearing the president talk about more?

FROST: Well, absolutely. A focus on kitchen table issues is going to be a key element for the Republican Party going forward. And my message to the Republican Party is that we need to focus on issues that impact families. Our economic message needs to be focused on how our decisions impact the American family.

For decades, the Republican Party's message on the economy has always been geared towards business. But only 5 percent of Americans are going to start a business, but over 90 percent of Americans will start a family. So, we need to focus on how our policies will impact you and your family. And actually, married voters are one of the strongest demographics for the Republican Party. In 2022, we had 20 million less married voters' turnout than we did in 2024. That's why we saw a disappointing election night for Republicans in 2022, because those married voters weren't showing up. When folks who are voting for their family come and vote, that is when Republicans win.

SANDOVAL: Yes, both parties certainly have a lot of work to do between now and November. Katie Frost, Caroline Heldman, thank you so much for staying up late for me for this conversation. I really appreciate your time.

HELDMAN: Thanks, Polo.

FROST: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: The Internal Revenue Service is now barred from prosecuting or pursuing any claims against Donald Trump for past tax issues. That language, it was unveiled on Tuesday, which is part of the Justice Department settlements with Trump to resolve his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. It was filed over the alleged mishandling of his tax records. The addendum also covers Trump family, the trust companies and other affiliates.

Congressional Democrats, they call it outright corruption. Democrats are also denouncing the $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund in that settlement, which would give taxpayer money to people who claim that they were unfairly investigated by previous administrations. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch, who approved this deal, facing some tough questions from senators on Tuesday. Here are some of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATTY MURRAY, U.S. SENATE DEMOCRAT: Do you seriously think this arrangement is appropriate? The president telling the federal government to settle a case and let him pay billions to the people that he chooses?

TODD BLANCHE, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: What you just described wouldn't be appropriate. And that's absolutely not what happened and that's not what's happening now. So, you just set up a series of facts, most of which were not true --

MURRAY: No, they --

BLANCHE: No, it's not. I mean, I --

MURRAY: The president has set up a slush fund. However, you want to say that it got set up and he literally will get to choose through his handpicked appointees who gets paid that fund. That is absurd.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: President Trump is getting pushed back on the war with Iran. The U.S. senate advancing a measure aimed at restricting his war powers by requiring congressional approval for any future military action against Iran. The measure advanced 50 to 47, with four Republicans voting alongside Democrats.

[04:15:17]

And the vote coming as President Trump says that he was on the verge of launching new strikes against Iran and that he postponed the attack at the request of several Gulf nations. But he says that the pause is only temporary.

For more now, we do want to go to Leila Gharagozlou, who is joining me from Abu Dhabi for the very latest out of the Middle East. Alila?

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, so as you said, President Trump is facing some pushback both on Capitol Hill and from the American populace. This has not been a very popular war for Americans, and they're starting to feel that economic pain from this conflict. Now, when it comes to negotiations, President Trump did strike a decidedly positive tone earlier this week, saying that he felt that there had been some positive developments on the negotiation front.

And this was echoed by Vice President JD Vance just yesterday, who also said he felt good enough about the direction of the negotiations to keep them going. He did, however, go on to say, you never know until you know. All we can do is negotiate in good faith.

Now, President Trump, as you know, did back down from attacking Iran earlier this week. However, he has now put a deadline on that reprieve. He said it's going to be two or three days, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, maybe early next week. So, the next couple of days are going to be really critical to getting something over the line so that hostilities don't restart.

Now, it does have to be noted that for as far as we know, the Iranians and Americans still have quite a lot of gaps over these key issues like Iran's nuclear program, enrichment and control of the Strait of Hormuz. Polo.

SANDOVAL: Leila Gharagozlou, thank you so much for that live report from Abu Dhabi.

And days after hosting Donald Trump, China's leader has now welcomed Vladimir Putin to Beijing. A closer look at the visit in Live report.

Also, as tensions remain high between the U.S. and Cuba. Fidel Castro's daughter is warning that the U.S. should not underestimate the Cuban regime. She shares a story from exile. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:21:09]

SANDOVAL: Chinese leaders Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, they're currently meeting in Beijing during the Russian president's state visit. Two leaders sitting down for talks and they also held a ceremony to sign bilateral agreements. The summit comes just days after Xi hosted U.S. President Donald Trump. The Chinese leader is hailing ties with Russia as a force of, quote, "calm and chaos," while President Putin says the relations between the two countries have reached, quote, "an unprecedented high level." CNN Simone McCarthy joining me live from Beijing now.

Simone, it's good to see you again. Let's bring our viewers up to speed on, on what's come out of this meeting and also some of the implications for other countries around the world.

SIMONE MCCARTHY, CNN SENIOR CHINA REPORTER: Well, polo, as you just laid out, this has been an incredibly big week for Chinese leader Xi Jinping hosting both Trump and Putin in the space of just a few days. And how much those optics really play into exactly the messaging that Beijing has looked to project on the world stage in terms of China as a major power broker, a key driver of international relations. So, when we think about the outcomes, I feel like that's actually one of the biggest ones that we are seeing is just those optics, that messaging. Now on the other hand, that U.S. China summit was really important because it talked about stability between the two countries and that was the outcome that both -- that both sides really saw come out of that.

What we're seeing here is a very different set of tone of optics. These are two countries that have a deep and enduring alignment. And that's really the message that's being projected. And I think that's incredibly critical at this moment, too, because there's is so much in flux on the global stage, not to mention on the heels of that visit, which did have a tone reset between the U.S. And China.

And so right now, the messaging from Putin, from Xi is that our alignment stands. Putin actually called ties between the two at an unprecedented level. Why don't we take a listen to what Xi Jinping also said about the relationship.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

XI JINPING, CHINESE LEADER: Over the years, China and, and the relationship between our countries have developed with the world trend and strengthened and reached a new height for the new area.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCCARTHY: So there's certainly a lot of platitudes there about the strength of the relationship between the two. And remember that these are two countries that have really been brought together because of their shared mistrust of the United States. They want to reshape a world order that they see that's been unfairly dominated by the U.S. and its allies. These leaders have met more than 40 times, and that's been really a theme throughout the course of that. But on the other hand, when we think about outcomes, is there going to be more than platitudes?

Now, we've just seen a signing ceremony taking place here in Beijing where There's been about 20 deals that have been inked between the two. We're awaiting details on those.

But, you know, right now, one of the key areas that we're watching is energy. The this has become an increasingly unbalanced relationship between China and Russia, especially in the wake of Putin's war in Ukraine, where we've seen Russia become incredibly dependent on the Chinese economy, including because of China's energy purchases. With Russia sending a significant amount of crude oil to the Chinese market, whether or not leader Xi Jinping will be able to use some of that leverage to his advantage in terms of any kind of negotiations that might be happening over energy deals. In particular the power of Siberia to gas line, which has been a project that has been in the, in the works, in discussion for years, but has never been able to get off the page and into fruition.

So that's some of the topics that we'll be watching very closely as we await what has actually come past the platitudes, past the bon ami, past the comradery that we've already seen on display this morning here in Beijing. Polo.

[04:25:05]

SANDOVAL: Simone McCarthy with that live report from Beijing. Thank you, Simone.

And The U.S. justice Department. It could potentially indict former Cuban leader Raul Castro. Today, sources are telling CNN that it's over his alleged role in the downing of two civilian planes 30 years ago that killed three Americans. Raul Castro was Cuba's defense minister at the time of that incident back in 1996. And this comes as the Trump administration has recently intensified sanctions against Cuba, also imposed an oil blockade.

A daughter of the late Cuban President Fidel Castro, who is living in exile, is warning against underestimating the Cuban government.

Here's CNN's Carolina Peguero with more from Miami.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Inside a modest Miami home far from Havana and far from power.

PEGUERO: This is your home sweet home.

ALINA FERNANDEZ, FIDEL CASTRO'S DAUGHTER: Yes, this is my humble abode.

PEGUERO (voiceover): Alina Fernandez, daughter of Cuba's Fidel Castro, is opening a deeply personal window into a complicated legacy. She greets us with coffee.

FERNANDEZ: Well, this is a daily habit. Yes.

PEGUERO (voiceover): For the kids.

FERNANDEZ: This is home. Yes.

FERNANDEZ: Now, for the Cubans, it's just you cannot wake up or start the day without coffee.

PEGUERO (voiceover): Family photos.

FERNANDEZ: This is my sister. This is my little caricature.

PEGUERO: So you drew Fidel?

FERNANDEZ: Yes.

PEGUERO: Did he ever see these pictures?

FERNANDEZ: I don't know. I assume maybe.

PEGUERO: So this is your mother?

FERNANDEZ: This is my mother. I think she passed a speech speaking about him.

PEGUERO: And who's him?

FERNANDEZ: About Fidel Castro. I think she -- she lasted in love for as long as she lived, which for me is very difficult to understand.

PEGUERO (voiceover): But as the coffee cools, stories about family memories slowly shift to politics and an uncertain future for Cuba as relations with the U.S. reach a near breaking point with renewed pressure from President Donald Trump and Cuban President Miguel Diaz- Canel warning of a bloodbath should the U.S. attempt to attack the island.

PEGUERO: Do you see an invasion of the U.S. in Cuba territory?

FERNANDEZ: I think that at this point it depends on the Cubans, which is very worrisome.

PEGUERO: And why does that worry you? What do you feel will be --

FERNANDEZ: Who can -- who can desire or want an invasion for this country? As easy as it is to say it sitting here.

PEGUERO (voiceover): she says decades of sanctions and confrontation have hardened Cuba's leadership, creating a government she believes has learned to survive under pressure and respond when challenged.

FERNANDEZ: This is not the first time they are told that an invasion is coming immediately. We've been under invasion for the last 67 years or the threat of an invasion. I'm sure they are prepared. I will remind everybody that the capacity for reaction of the Cuban regime shouldn't be undermined and underestimated.

That can make the difference between a bloodbath and something else.

PEGUERO (voiceover): We asked Alina if she had a message for her uncle Raul, Fidel's brother, right hand man and former Cuban president.

FERNANDEZ: I don't have any specific message for Raul Castro. There is nothing I can elaborate to tell him. I assume he knows, being almost 95 years old, what to do. And what has he done? PEGUERO (voiceover): Alina believes Cuba will not cave to U.S. pressure. Yet she is short of saying an invasion is the only way to free the island from the revolution her father once led.

FERNANDEZ: I feel like every other Cuban these times, hopefully frustrated, sad, hopeful again, hope prevails.

PEGUERO (voiceover): Carolina Piguero, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Still ahead here on CNN Newsroom, we continue our coverage of the latest U.S. primary election results. We'll go to the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where the Democratic governor taking aim at the president after a big win. Plus, one of the most important topics for voters, the economy, how Americans are now feeling about rising prices and affordability.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)