Return to Transcripts main page

CNN 10

Americans Will Cast Their Votes in the U.S. Midterms; Getting to Know Blind Skater Dan Mancina. Aired 4-4:10a ET

Aired October 26, 2022 - 04:00:00   ET

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

COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Wonderful Wednesday to you. I`m Coy. Grateful to be spending part of this day with you right here on CNN

10.

Let`s start today with an update on the midterm elections in the United States. In two weeks, Americans will cast their votes for representatives

in Congress and candidates for state and local offices. As we`ve said, these elections are called midterms because they happen in the middle of a

president`s four-year term.

Currently members from President Joe Biden`s political party, the Democratic Party, controlled both the U.S. House of Representatives and the

U.S. Senate but Democrats control both chambers by a thin margin. In fact, in the Senate, it`s currently a tie with Vice President Kamala Harris as

the tiebreaker vote.

Let`s take 10 to break it all down in the House, there are 435 voting members elected every two years so every seat is up for re-election this

year. However senators are elected every six years, so about a third of those seats are up for re-election. Historically, lawmakers who are in the

same party as the president tend to lose seats in the midterm elections regardless of who the president is. Americans head to the polls to cast

their vote on November 8th.

If Republicans take the majority in one or both chambers, this would likely make for a more difficult road for President Biden`s Democratic agenda, the

remainder of his term. There`s a lot of attention on this election and you`ve likely seen the political advertisements, especially if you live in

a state with a tight race.

Early voter turnout for the 2022 midterms appears to be on pace to shatter the previous records set in 2018.

Let`s hear more now from CNN anchor and chief national correspondent John King who`s looking at three key Senate races that could determine which

party gains control in the New Year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The numbers tell the story better than any words can. The Democrats have a majority but just barely,

the vice president breaks the tie in the 50-50 Senate. The question is, can the Democrats keep that majority in a very difficult midterm election year

climate, 35 Senate elections in all.

Let`s look at three likely to determine which party controls this chamber come January. Let`s start in Pennsylvania. No incumbent here, Pat Toomey,

the Republican is retiring. Democrat John Fetterman versus Dr. Oz, you know him from TV, he`s the Republican candidate backed by Donald Trump. So let`s

go back in time, the 2020 presidential race, what will we look for on election night.

We will start over here in the Pennsylvania suburbs. The Democrats need to run it up here. Fetterman now the lieutenant governor was mayor of

Braddock, it`s out here near Pittsburgh. Can he do what Joe Biden did in say Montgomery County?

These are the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Look at Joe Biden`s margins. That`s why he`s president of the United States. The suburbs win against

Trump in 2018, even more so in 2020. Can Fetterman match Biden in the Philadelphia suburbs? That is one key test.

The other question, the flip side of that is, can Mehmet Oz run like George W. Bush or George H.W. Bush did in these suburbs? They used to be

Republican suburbs or at least open to Republicans. Can Dr. Oz do that?

Let`s go down to another marquee race, Georgia. Marquee because you have a Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock. Marquee because you have a football

hero, Republican Herschel Walker.

Interesting because you also have a libertarian candidate here and on Georgia on election night, if you don`t get 30 percent plus one, then we

have a runoff in December. So that`s one big thing to look for in Georgia.

What else do we look for? Just like in Pennsylvania, Joe Biden won Georgia because he won in the suburbs. Here`s Atlanta Democratic base, obviously,

Senator Warnock needs that. But how does he do in places like Rockdale County, moving away from Atlanta?

Traditionally, Republican or purple suburbs, they have become more Democratic especially in the Trump age. Can Senator Warnock get anything

like that or can Herschel Walker prove that he can contest for the suburbs? And just like Dr. Oz, as a newcomer to politics, Herschel Walker has to

prove if he is to win -- see all that red? That is Donald Trump`s strength in rural America. Can Herschel Walker in a place like Dodge County -- not a

lot of votes, it`s small but they add up if you win all these small counties by margins like that.

Let`s come back to the Senate map and let`s move out west to the state the Democrats are most worried about and it`s a surprise.

Nevada, you have a Democratic incumbent here, she is a Latina. This is a state where the Latino vote is critical. So why is Democrat Catherine

Cortez Masto in some trouble? Number one, Laxalt is a big brand name in Nevada politics. So you have a very close race between the Democratic

incumbent and a very well-known Republican.

To win Nevada, you have to win Clark County and you have to win big. Clark County is the home to Vegas. If you can see that up there, it`s nearly 75

percent. It`s around percent of the statewide population if you can run it up here, you can win.

It was reasonably close last time, right? Joe Biden just won Nevada that was a surprise to many Democrats. They thought he`d have a bigger margin.

Why? Donald Trump made inroads among Latino voters, especially male Latino voters.

So one of the tests is we watch the Senate race this time is can the incumbent, a Latina, dominate the Latino vote? That is critical. Or the

Republicans keep making inroads. That could make that one incredibly close as we move from east to Midwest to West and count the votes come election

night.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Ten-second trivia:

Baseplates, trucks and grip tape are key components of what activity?

Slacklining, skateboarding, cycling or parasailing?

Originally known as sidewalk surfing, the first commercial skateboards began appearing in 1959.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right. I think you all know me and my team well enough now to know that we love sharing stories that inspire and make us all reconsider

what we think is possible.

I introduce you now to Dan Mancina, a skateboarder who lost his eyesight at 23 years old due to a neurodegenerative disease. But his perseverance is a

reminder that when circumstances build up walls around us, we have to find ways to continue to build ourselves up within them because changing within

leads to changes without.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN MANCINA, SKATEBOARDER: Add some O&M training which is orientation and mobility, that`s using the white cane, that really helped shift my mindset

and get some of my mobility and freedom back and self-confidence.

SUBTITLE: After quitting skating for a few years, Mancina found his way back to the sport.

He started filming short videos of his progress and posting them onto Instagram and YouTube.

He then met a new group of people to skate with, eventually gaining enough confidence to return to the streets.

MANCINA: It was just kind of a slow, you know, dealing with, coping with, you know, my vision loss and starting to be comfortable and figure out who

I was again, got some training, started doing kind of all the things I would do in life before I lost my vision. Skating was one of those and then

just started -- yeah, I started very slow trying escape wearing one day and then posting some videos on it.

SUBTITLE: Now, Mancina wants to create a space where visually impaired people can enjoy the sport. He is currently building the first fully

adaptive skate park, which he says is set to open in 2023.

MANCINA: I wanted to build like the first fully adaptive skate park kind of designed around visual impairments and stuff like that. It`s just like

the environment that has visual impairment as well as like WCMX, that`s the wheelchair motocross stuff in mind. Ledges are really long and quarter

pipes are really wide, so I`m just kind of more time to figure out where you are in the park, using a lot of like contrast is important for those

who have a little bit of residual vision between the ramps and the ground, so it`s easier to pick up and see.

SUBTITLE: He also wants to challenge misconceptions around blindness and how that affects opportunities for kids.

MANCINA: They should have access to everything just like every other child. So skateboarding is just one of those things. You know, it`s not for

everybody, but there are going to be those kids who want to skate, so yeah, equal opportunities for everybody.

I enjoy skating so I`m going to do it. So I encourage people to kind of more think that way. You know, don`t let other people dictate your life and

decide what -- what you can and can`t do. You know, it`s all up to you, and it`s kind of the biggest thing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: And for today`s "10 out of 10", a dog on cute creation that deserves a round of applause. David Jensen was tired of riding his bike alone so he

got creative so that he could take his pups Salt and Pepper along for the ride. He got a long John a type of cargo bike then custom built a box for

the dogs, but he also made them some awesome goggles or shall we say goggles so the wind isn`t rough on their eyes. Where there`s a will,

there`s a way.

All right all of you diamonds in the rough, it`s about that time, shout out time. A round of applause for Prairie Farm Middle School in Prairie Farm,

Wisconsin, we see you and we hope you and everyone watching around the world have a wonderful one. I`m Coy and this is CNN 10.

END