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Debate Night: Senate Candidates Face Off in Iowa, Georgia, Maine; Evangelical Leaders Urge GOP to Refocus on Key Voting Bloc. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired October 14, 2026 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:15]
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what we're talking about today. Head-to-head debates in three different states crucial to controlling the Senate.
Now, some of the Republicans tried to distance themselves from Trump policies, including the war in Iran. Is that going to help them or hurt them at the ballot box?
Plus, the president just traveled 3,400 miles to a place that hasn't even elected a Democrat to the Senate in almost two decades. What does that say about Republicans in the midterms?
Also, the president could call off plans for a livestreamed firing squad execution after learning that the Fort Hood shooter is paralyzed. Are bad optics the bigger concern?
And the new White House press secretary's first briefing? Why sources are already questioning how long she'll last.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. Here is where we begin.
The Senate candidates in Iowa, Georgia, and Maine square off in debates with less than three weeks to go.
For voters, the main issues this midterm cycle remain the economy and cost of living. Moody's now estimates that Trump's war in Iran is costing U.S. households $2,000 each.
Now, new polling from Gallup showing Americans think that Democrats will do a better job of handling the most important problems the country is facing.
That had some Republican Senate candidates breaking with the president last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): I agree that the president did not have a good plan. He should have anticipated the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which part of the world's oil travels, and I don't feel that that was well anticipated, although it should have been. REP. ASHLEY HINSON (R-IA): We need to lower gas prices in this
country. We need to lower diesel prices. But I don't think we need to be making a deal with Russia to do it.
SEN. MIKE COLLINS (R-GA): Diesel prices are up. The supply is coming. The supply is coming now and the prices will continue to come down. They're already coming down, but they're going to continue to come down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, today in the group chat, we have Tamara Keith, senior political correspondent at NPR; Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project; and Antjuan Seawright, Democratic strategist.
OK, Tam, I know NPR Politics podcast has been following all of these debates, even the ones we're not mentioning here. Can you talk about who's having them and who isn't? Because I have been surprised here and there where there are not debates.
TAMARA KEITH, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NPR: And now I'm going to draw a blank on who's not having debates. So, thank you for that.
CORNISH: I'm sorry. I think it's Texas and Georgia.
KEITH: Yes, you're right. Well, no, Georgia just had one.
CORNISH: Oh, Lance -- Keisha Lance Bottoms on stage by herself with a chair.
KEITH: Yes.
CORNISH: Yes.
KEITH: In the gubernatorial race.
So, there are debates happening. There are also a lot of congressional House races where debates are not happening. Gubernatorial debates not happening.
CORNISH: Are debates helpful or not helpful?
KEITH: I mean, I think that candidates can clip them and put them out on social media. I think that there are still some serious voters out there who want to watch a debate and learn.
But also, voting has already begun in a lot of states, and a lot of people vote on feels. And so, I think that we, in the media, pay a lot of attention to debates, as we should. But I don't know how many people are tuning in, in the middle of playoff baseball and everything else.
CORNISH: Oh, good call.
Well, one of the things that's interesting is -- we've talked about this, and we'll talk about it more. The red states that are competitive in ways that maybe Republicans wouldn't have anticipated two years ago.
And in a way, this has all become a referendum on Trump's policies, specifically. Here's a sample of the conversation about tariffs, for example, in Iowa and in Maine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH TUREK (D), IOWA SENATE CANDIDATE: Our farmers are hurting, and it's because of the tariffs which Ashley Hinson voted in favor of five times.
HINSON: I talked to President Trump just last Wednesday about soybeans and making sure we are getting that deal across the finish line.
S. COLLINS: I've been able to negotiate and get certain items removed from the tariff list. Troy would have gotten nothing.
TROY JACKSON (D), MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: A Band-aid for a real big problem with a narcissist in the White House that is going to do whatever he wants. I mean, three things that she got off the list. There's thousands more that people are dealing with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, again, the impact of those tariffs right now, let's say, on a state like Iowa: $2 billion, right, hit to their economy.
[06:05:01]
You've worked for campaigns or with campaigns. What is a candidate supposed to say in a situation where the populace is angry about the president's policies?
TERRY SCHILLING, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN PRINCIPLES PROJECT: Well, I think they should be also angry at the policies that have been implemented over the last several decades that have shelved our jobs overseas.
Look, there's going to be some hiccups here. There's going to be some -- some upsets here with the economy. But we've got to look long-term. We've got to rebuild our manufacturing base as a simple matter of not just our economy, even, but as national security.
So, you've got to make the long-term play. President Trump campaigned on these tariffs. The American people voted for him in office. And so, they're kind of getting what they want. And maybe they just need to be a little bit more patient on the tariff.
And now I will say there are some mess-ups. I think the Iran War has obviously been a disaster. It's led to $5 a gallon of gas, $7 diesel.
CORNISH: Yes. We should say, J.D. Vance --
SCHILLING: This is going to cause some serious problems. CORNISH: -- actually announced that the administration plans to use a
wartime authority to boost fuel production at Texas refineries, when it comes to gas prices.
And this is notable, because we were listing the other day all the things the White House has been trying to do to deal with high prices, whether that's turning to Russia and saying, Hey, you get to do exports; whether that's the changes on red dye fuel.
Do those changes make a difference? Is that something people can debate on?
ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: The president and this Congress has had plenty enough time to course correct in terms of economic policies and how they deal with an economy that's hemorrhaging. They've essentially doubled down.
The problem in Maine is heating oil prices has Susan Collins on the defense and her being, essentially, a quarterback for some of the economic agenda items or policies of this administration.
In Iowa, the issue is this unconstitutional war of choice that's driving up diesel costs.
Here's the broader issue with the president and the Republican Party at this tick of the watch.
Their promises on the campaign have now become their political problem. And voters are saying, We gave you an opportunity to do what you said you were going to do. Instead, you turned your back on us. So now, we're going to turn our back on you.
And you're seeing that play out across the board.
CORNISH: We should say in Iowa right now, the polling is tight, tight, tight. But the Republican is still leading, at least, across there.
And then in Maine, you've got Susan Collins looking like she's still fighting for her, what, sixth term in the Senate.
I want to play something for you last night, which is the conversation in Georgia. As you mentioned, the gubernatorial race didn't work out so well, but the Senate race was fireworks.
So, let me play a clip of something between Ossoff and the Republican in the race, and Collins, where the conversation suddenly gets into Epstein and the Epstein files and neo-Nazis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): How weak a person do you have to be to be unable to stop someone under your own roof from disseminating neo-Nazi propaganda while you run for the Senate?
M. COLLINS: You have not denounced. You have not condemned. Give me Reid Hoffman, one of your largest donors out there, one that's been -- been supporting you with over $1 million. Why don't you denounce that? Why don't you return that money?
OSSOFF: So, you're going to allow neo-Nazi propaganda --
M. COLLINS: So, you're not -- you're going to allow --
OSSOFF: -- to continue to be produced from your home while you run for the U.S. Senate. 4
M. COLLINS: You're going to allow people, Epstein --
OSSOFF: Is that correct?
M. COLLINS: You've been putting.
OSSOFF: You're just going to let the neo-Nazi propaganda continue. Is that right?
M. COLLINS: You put the commercial out.
OSSOFF: Is that right? Now, it's commitment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse me.
M. COLLINS: Denounce him and talk about Epstein (ph).
OSSOFF: In two weeks, no neo-Nazi propaganda. Can you commit?
M. COLLINS: Make a commitment, Jon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Choice for the voters.
KEITH: What is it called in the transcript? When it's like, "Crosstalk"?
CORNISH: Yes, yes. Crosstalk.
KEITH: This is -- that is a race, though, that is not particularly close. That is a race where Republicans are starting to do triage and moving money to other states like Iowa.
And the race in Iowa is much closer. The race in Maine is much closer.
CORNISH: Because Ossoff is very popular?
KEITH: Because --
CORNISH: Or because Collins has struggled?
KEITH: Well, I think --
CORNISH: I mean, our own KFILE did the reporting on the idea --
KEITH: Yes.
CORNISH: -- that his son-in-law posts neo-Nazi imagery or antisemitic imagery online. That's something from our reporting.
But I don't know if that's necessarily the kind of thing that penetrates globally.
KEITH: I think the answer is both. Ossoff has -- you know, he is famous for these -- these clips that they put out on the Internet.
But in the state, he's known for very strong constituent services; for reaching out to local leaders. He is a known quantity, like this --
CORNISH: So, this is the candidate quality thing. Yes.
KEITH: This is a crazy thing. Members of Congress doing the job of a member of Congress. And as a result, he's gotten some endorsements even from -- from Republicans.
CORNISH: OK. Stay with me, because I want to -- he's going to come up again today. Another moment from last night's debate that's made some headlines: Ossoff's promise to serve his Senate term in full if he is reelected.
So, we want to know if that could affect whether or not he becomes a contender for 2028.
[06:10:02]
Plus, Trump's red-state blitz takes him all the way to Alaska, a state that has not elected a Democrat since -- to the Senate since 2008.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:14:22]
CORNISH: So, is the president now worried about a state that hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate in nearly two decades? He just traveled 3,400 miles to Alaska and back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: And nobody has done more for Alaska than Donald J. Trump. That I can tell you.
Well, we don't have to be in certain places. Here, I have to be, because we have to make sure that Dan gets in. We have to make sure that Nick Begich gets in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, is Alaska actually in play? Tamara, let's start with you. He says, "I have to be here." I noticed that. Why?
KEITH: Because --
CORNISH: He won Alaska by 13 points.
KEITH: He did.
CORNISH: OK.
KEITH: But it is actually in play. And it is interesting for a couple of reasons.
One is that there's not just one Dan Sullivan on the ballot. There are two Dan Sullivan.
CORNISH: Plural, yes.
KEITH: Plural, and one is the incumbent Republican. The other is a guy who has the same name with a different middle initial.
CORNISH: Who has vexed this Republican over the last --
KEITH: Yes, yes.
CORNISH: Has it actually become a problem?
KEITH: I mean, it's, you know, when -- when you're talking about a couple of points, it could be a problem. And there's ranked choice voting.
The other thing is Mary Peltola, the Democrat, is the last Democrat elected statewide in the state of Alaska back in 2022. She is not like the kind of Democrat you can put in a box. She is uniquely suited to the state, which makes this a very tight race.
CORNISH: Yes. So, one of the things that came out about her, I remember, just a few weeks ago, there was critic -- there was criticism about her temperament. Angry outbursts, slurs, firings. This was from a "New York Times" report about what it was like to work for her Senate campaign.
Inside baseball. Maybe something that doesn't reach the voters. But right now, in the polling, she's 50 percent, 43.
SEAWRIGHT: Map, math, candidate quality, the story of this midterm election. Map: Democrats are now competitive in places people did not expect, because we're finally realizing the importance of hyper- localization of the races, and the policies, and how we talk about them.
From a constituency standpoint. And this is where the math comes in. From farmers to rural voters to working class voters, non-college- educated voters, younger voters. We're finally winning the constituency game. The people that normally would vote for Republicans in these type elections.
And then you go to candidate quality. When you compare the two candidates every single election up and down the ballot across the country, we have better candidates on the ballot. And I think that is why people are leaning in for Democrats.
CORNISH: I ask you this question? He brought up something interesting, localized, because that means that in this state, you've got your Methodist mega pastor. In this state, you have, right? Everywhere is someone who matches the local populace.
Meanwhile, on the Republican side, Trump has basically spread his arms and said, "It's me. I'm on the ballot. This is a national race."
SCHILLING: Yes. Look, I -- I think -- I don't think these candidates are actually localized. I think that people are pissed off, and I think they're upset.
CORNISH: The voter, you mean?
SCHILLING: Yes. I think the voters are upset.
Look, things are not going great. If you don't own things, things have not been going great for you. And that's the big question.
This is what I've been on the show for the last several weeks, saying: the Republicans are great on all these 80-20 issues on the culture war, but it's hard to get people to listen to you when they're not doing well in the economy.
SEAWRIGHT: Terry -- Terry, let me tell you -- let me tell you --
SCHILLING: You guys don't have the best candidates.
SEAWRIGHT: Let -- let -- let me --
SCHILLING: You know what I'm saying?
SEAWRIGHT: Let me explain the hyper local part.
SCHILLING: Please.
SEAWRIGHT: For the farmer in Iowa who's paying $70,000 a month now for diesel. That did not happen before. That's hyper local to Iowa.
In -- in Susan Collins' race, the price of heating oil is --
SCHILLING: Heating. Who's going to be --
SEAWRIGHT: -- hyper local to that particular state. In my state of South Carolina --
SCHILLING: So, President Trump --
SEAWRIGHT: -- Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP.
SCHILLING: -- is going to serve out the next two years. So, if you want to fix the tariff situation, do you want Josh Turek negotiating with the Trump administration, or do you want Ashley Hayek [SIC]?
I saw the debate with Ashley Hayek [SIC] and Josh Turek the other day. She comes off as a grown-up. She comes off as a professional that actually knows what she's doing. I'm not worried about her. I think she's actually one of the strongest candidates we have this fall.
CORNISH: Are you worried about Alaska, like the president is?
SCHILLING: Absolutely. We should be worried about Alaska. It's definitely in play.
SEAWRIGHT: You should be worried about Iowa, because she is a part of the problem. She's in the majority where Republicans control the House --
SCHILLING: Right.
SEAWRIGHT: -- the Senate, and the presidency that has given Donald Trump a license to implement these touch dead policies that have essentially suffocated --
SCHILLING: Look, I just want to say --
SEAWRIGHT: -- suffocated the American people.
SCHILLING: So, here's where you guys are laying the trap for yourselves. You're giving all -- you're promising the sun, the moon, and the star, as I said last week.
But you're not going to be able to deliver, because the economy is fundamentally broken because of our dollar, because of our monetary system.
CORNISH: OK, well, let me hold on one second, because I think that's an interesting point.
After the break, we're going to talk about this. Republicans worrying about the evangelical voters sitting out the midterms. As you said, these culture war issues aren't the same in an economic race. So, is that an opening for Democrats?
And then the White House may be pushing out, or is pushing out, Kimberly Guilfoyle. Why so quick to cut bait on her?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:23:36]
CORNISH: So, white evangelical Christians were key to Trump's past victories. Some conservatives are worried that group is being neglected this midterm season.
One conservative pastor in Texas telling CNN, "I am not aware of any party machine that is at work right now to turn out evangelical voters." Quote, "Maybe they are assuming they're goi to show up, but that's a dangerous assumption."
Now, there are national faith leaders calling on pastors to, quote, "step up from the pulpit." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLY RICE, PRESIDENT, SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION: Should pastors engage in the political process? They absolutely should, because there are many political issues that are, at their heart, theological issues and moral issues that strike at the very center of what we believe to be true and what we believe people need to know in order to flourish personally and as a culture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Group chat is back. Obviously, we're talking about white evangelicals in terms of being a bedrock for the president. That's not the case with black Christian voters. And I do wonder about Latino evangelicals in places like Texas, Nevada, et cetera.
KEITH: Yes, I mean, I think that the concern that Republicans have more broadly is just that the -- the base that President Trump built, which was a --
CORNISH: The coalition.
KEITH: -- very -- the coalition was a very broad coalition that took in a lot of groups, some of whom weren't traditionally Republican. That that has crumbled, lost enthusiasm, all of those things.
[06:25:02]
And that's why you have the president out there saying, like, the country depends on it. The future depends on it. Making -- making that case, is he's trying they're trying to reactivate a bunch of those different voters.
CORNISH: Right. Because as we are learning, we're looking at the numbers here. They make up 13 percent of the population. But white evangelical voters reliably turn out. They're 20 percent of voters in a given election. One in 5 people who actually turn out is a white evangelical.
SEAWRIGHT: There was a rule change at the IRS a few months ago that allowed pastors, i.e., white evangelicals, to be able to -- and churches to be able to endorse candidates and causes, which is different than traditional thinking around IRS and C3's and so forth. I think that was to give them some leverage to be engaged and be involved.
The reason why they cannot be involved as they once were, because Republicans have a truth decay problem. They also have a morally bankrupt problem.
You can't declare yourself an evangelical Christian when you take away healthcare or take mouth --
SCHILLING: Dude.
SEAWRIGHT: -- take food out of the mouth of children. CORNISH: Hold on. Here's how you can. Southern Baptist Convention. I'm
going to go back to Willy Rice and play this for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICE: Pastors need to continue to articulate not just how to vote in these issues, but why we need to vote those ways.
And there have been a host of issues. The issues such as the redefinition of marriage; the -- the issue such as the identity of gender, the whole transgender movement. These issues are deeply, profoundly theological issues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, we've talked a lot about how those issues, while deep, profound, are not on the ballot right now; that, because as we -- I read in someone else's quote, evangelicals have to put gas in their cars just like everybody else. This is not the opportunity to strike that symbolic vote.
SCHILLING: No, look, I think voters need to be reminded. And I think that Trump came out of the gate on the culture war, and he was punching left and right, delivering left and right. And I think a lot of people need to be reminded because it was so early on.
We want to talk about moral bankruptcy. I mean, this is a political party that wants to use taxpayer funding to give kids sex rejection procedures that permanently sterilize them.
SEAWRIGHT: Where? Where is that?
SCHILLING: It's in Medicaid dollars. I've done all the reporting on this, Antjuan. You guys support taxpayer-funded --
SEAWRIGHT: So --
SCHILLING: OK. You call it gender affirming care. It's not.
SEAWRIGHT: The Republicans have -- the Republicans who control the House and the Senate and the presidency.
SCHILLING: And we banned it. And by the way, we're not talking --
CORNISH: To your point about putting it on the ballot, I think that is correct. You see this in Texas, where there is a concerted effort to portray Talarico under these -- under these terms, the way you're phrasing it. Right?
So, for example, on Twitter, talking about God being both masculine and feminine, God is non-binary. I've seen that in an ad.
Then here's the original comments. It's from 2021, when he was actually addressing the state legislature, opposing a bill to restrict transgender students' participation in school sports. So, this is what it actually sounded like. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES TALARICO (D), TEXAS SENATE NOMINEE: God is both masculine and feminine and everything in between. God is non-binary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: And then this has been the response on Sundays, right? This is a pastor in Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE RIGGLE, SENIOR PASTOR, GRACE WOODLANDS CHURCH: Let me just say this regarding Mr. Talarico personally. This is not a political issue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.
RIGGLE: It's not a Democrat issue. This is not a Republican issue. This is a truth issue.
A cunning deceiver does not come and make an announcement, "I am here to lead you away from God." What he will say is, "Let me help you understand what God really meant."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Christians in the audience are going to recognize a cunning deceiver, that phrase specifically, and I wonder if it's going to resonate.
SEAWRIGHT: Audie, can I -- can I just say this, with all due respect? "GOP" does not mean "God's Only Party," and conservative does not mean --
SCHILLING: You guys banned the word "God" in your own platform.
SEAWRIGHT: "Conservative" does not mean "Christian."
You want to talk about -- you want to talk about what's morally bankrupt? The fact that you have your attorney general of Texas, out of town with his mistress on New Year's. That was reported yesterday in "The Wall Street Journal."
SCHILLING: Yes, I agree. That is not.
SEAWRIGHT: So do not come on this program and lecture me about what's morally correct and what's not.
SCHILLING: You know what I feel worse about? I feel worse about all the -- I feel worse about Chloe Cole, who had a double mastectomy at 15 years old because of Democrat policies in California.
CORNISH: Wait. Is this a person in Texas?
SCHILLING: This is a person in California. But they're --
CORNISH: We're talking about Texas. I want to stay here for a moment.
SCHILLING: OK, let's talk about Jeff Younger, who lost custody of his child, because his wife moved to California to transition his son into being a girl.
SEAWRIGHT: You keep -- you keep --
SCHILLING: These are the things that are real that are happening in Texas.
SEAWRIGHT: You're speaking to Texas. You keep speaking to California. Let's talk about -- let's talk about -- let's talk about Texas.
SCHILLING: This family were in Texas. The wife stole him --
SEAWRIGHT: Ken Paxton. Let's talk about Ken Paxton and Talarico, the two candidates in Texas.
SCHILLING: Yes. Talarico says that --
SEAWRIGHT: Let's talk about twice, he's been out of town with his mistress.
[06:30:00]
