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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Nail-Biter In Wisconsin Democratic Governor's Primary; Sen. Amy Klobuchar Will Win The Democratic Nomination For Governor Of Minnesota; Wisconsin Democratic Primary for Governor: Too Close to Call; Bronin Defeats Larson in Connecticut House Primary; Demuth Defeats Trump-Backed Lindell in Minnesota Governor's Republican Primary; Darline Graham Qualifies for Runoff. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired August 12, 2026 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:03:25]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: It's election night in America and you're watching a special edition of the Story as I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles.
Tonight, the top story is what's happening across the country. Some races have been called, projections have been made, but we are still awaiting the results of a very close and very important race in Wisconsin. We're talking about the battle between Democratic socialist Francesca Hong and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
They are both up for the state's Democratic nomination for governor. Just a slim margin of votes between the two. Crowley up right now 3,141 votes. He's at 40 percent. She's at 39.5 percent.
We've seen a lot of money spent here. All this to take on Republican Tom Tiffany, who's advancing to the November election. He's a congressman who's running for governor.
Hong spoke to her supporters a short time ago, which we showed you live in the last hour of The Story Is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCESCA HONG, DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR WISCONSIN GOVERNOR: When our neighborhoods and our neighbors are disappeared by uncontrolled ICE fascists, it's Tom Tiffany who shows up in support. And while he's doing that, we are fighting for hope. We are fighting for the freedom to show compassion to one another and to show care for the people around us.
[01:05:07]
MICHAELSON: An easier call to make in Minnesota, where CNN projects that Senator Amy Klobuchar will win the Democratic primary for governor. She's seeking to take over the office from outgoing Governor Tim Walz, who abandoned a bid for a third term because he's very unpopular in his state.
Let's bring in my panel now. Ron Brownstein, CNN senior political analyst and an opinion columnist with Bloomberg. Democrat Katie Porter served in the U.S. House and ran for governor and senator here in California. And Matt Klink is a Republican strategist as well as the owner and president of Klink Campaigns.
Congressmember, as the Democrat here who has run for governor before, your thoughts on what's going on with Francesca Hong, why she may not be up even though a lot of the polls indicated that she was supposed to be.
KATIE PORTER, FORMER U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Well, I think polling has gotten much less reliable. I think we've seen that across the country. And the thing that people miss about polling is increasing. People who will actually pick up the phone or will actually fill out a poll are kind of weirdos. You're polling weird people, normal people.
MICHAELSON: I always accept the call.
PORTER: Listen, I always -- I always do.
MICHAELSON: I think you have so much power. You have more power if you answer a poll than you do voting.
PORTER: We're up at 10 o'clock in the night talking about this election at 1 o'clock in the morning. We are election weirdos.
MICHAELSON: Yes, we are.
PORTER: It's OK to say that.
MICHAELSON: I definitely am a weirdo.
PORTER: So, I think there's a lot of polling error. I also think Francesca's campaign was interesting because she, I think, rode some of the buzz of Abdul El-Sayed, but she doesn't actually have the endorsements. I mean, not having AOC, Alex -- Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, not having Bernie Sanders, not having Elizabeth Warren. These were people who came in a meaningful, early and consistent way for both Abdul and for Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota.
And so I actually think in some ways the fact that Francesca has put this all together as is in this narrow of a margin kind of all on her own is pretty remarkable.
MICHAELSON: What did they not see in her?
MATT KLINK, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, but some weird stuff came out. I mean, to talk about Thanksgiving being, you know, colonial oppression and being anti-Valentine's Day sounds like a woman scorned. You know, just she didn't want to celebrate it. But I mean, it just, you hear all these weird things.
And then she started to backtrack on some of her socialist views while still saying that she was a democratic socialist. I mean, I don't think she's really comfortable in her own skin right now.
MICHAELSON: Well, and to her point, I'm sure she had never experienced anything like what she's experienced in the last few weeks --
PORTER: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- when the entire national media shows up, goes through every tweet she's ever posted, and turned her into a caricature.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, look, and the backdrop is, you know, for anybody who's voting in a Democratic primary anywhere in the country, Donald Trump is an existential threat to everything they care about. And in that environment, electability and viability and plausibility, it matters a lot.
MICHAELSON: Yes/
BROWNSTEIN: You know, it just matters a lot. And, you know, you have Tom Tiffany, someone I said before, you know, he moved to overturn the votes of his own states in 2020. The implications of him being governor in 2028 for Democrats are really significant in terms of Wisconsin, one of the core swing states, and what -- what he would certify or not certify. You know, the governor has a role in it.
Now there is a Democratic control, state Supreme Court that might have. But nonetheless, I think for Democratic voters, the Trump era is not a time to take a flyer. Now, there are legitimate disagreements about what is the best strategy. And I think we saw that in Michigan, whether Haley Stevens or an Abdul El-Sayed would be a stronger candidate.
But the fact that Sanders and AOC and Elizabeth Warren and others stayed out, as the congresswoman said, was an indication that there were not a lot of voices in the Democratic Party who thought that she was a strong general election candidate.
And if she does somehow get over the top with these last few votes, there's going to be a tremendous amount of anxiety. It's a whole different order of magnitude than Abdul El-Sayed, which is enough anxiety.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Yes.
PORTER: She's pretty girl. She's pretty young. But I have to say, I have to go back to the fact that David Crowley did not light the world on fire.
MICHAELSON: He literally --
PORTER: Let's talk about falling uphill. I mean, he must have a bump on his forehead. Falling uphill potentially into being --
MICHAELSON: I mean --
PORTER: -- Democratic nominee and probably governor here.
MICHAELSON: I mean, it kind of reminds a little bit of Javier Becerra, who was running in the Democratic.
PORTER: No comment.
MICHAELSON: In the California kind of right place, right time. And sometimes being lucky is important.
BROWNSTEIN: And Democrats felt like in the end, you know, they felt like he had the best chance. It's all they wanted. Right. Democrats wanted someone who would just win the race in November. And I think in this case, you know, Crowley, I mean, he didn't do great in Milwaukee. Right.
I mean, like, it's not like there's a groundswell for him. It's -- most Democratic voters at this moment don't feel that you can be taking flyers, I think.
MICHAELSON: But that being said, this race is really close.
KLINK: Yes.
MICHAELSON: It's 3,000 votes. She could still win. And you look at, look at the -- go ahead.
[01:10:00]
PORTER: Probably is a little bit of a flyer in a different way. Right? I mean, nobody has really -- he is not really -- he was in and out of this election. He has not --
MICHAELSON: That's your preliminary --
(CROSSTALK)
MICHAELSON: So he dropped out of the race because he thought he couldn't win. Other people dropped out. And then he said, look, there's an opening there.
PORTER: Yes. Does that inspire confidence in his leadership capacity for swing voters.
BROWNSTEIN: Of the choices on the menu.
MICHAELSON: But he's not Donald Trump.
BROWNSTEIN: Other choices on the menu. He's the most conventional choice that was left for people.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BROWNSTEIN: And that's --
PORTER: My point is low bar in this race.
BROWNSTEIN: Low, yes.
MICHAELSON: But sometime -- to your point in 2020, when the Democrats were looking --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. He was very smart.
MICHAELSON: -- Joe Biden was somebody who felt like was, you know, safe and people thought Trump was such an existential threat. They wanted --
BROWNSTEIN: The big, broad parallel, and I suspect someone to my left is going to disagree with this, is that in 2019, there was a broad sense on the left in the Democratic Party that the repudiation that -- the sour Trump by the electorate meant they wanted big, bold left change. And you saw that really powerful through the 2019 stage of the Democratic presidential primary when Bernie introduced Medicare for all, five candidates ultimately endorsed it.
But then ultimately, when you got to the voters, after his early wins, right, in Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire, or Buttigieg won, but after his early success there, black voters in South Carolina said, wait a minute. Do we really want to put this up against Donald Trump, given all that is on the line?
And again, you see this going back and forth in Democratic primaries this year. It's not like the center is winning all of them. But that impulse, I think, is still there in some of these races. And if Crowley wins tonight, that was --
MICHAELSON: One of the candidates that race is your mentor, Elizabeth Warren --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- of course, did not win that presidential race, did not endorse in this race as she has in others. Why do you think she stayed out of this? Why do you think Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, somebody you know well, stayed out of this?
PORTER: I can't speak to exactly what conversations were had. I just don't think there was the relationship building there. I think this, like, there's just this voice of the weird. There were candidates that came and went.
I just don't think there was the relationship building. I don't -- I think if she does pull this out, if Francesca Hong pulls this out, I think we'll see the entire Democratic establishment, obviously, given the incredible importance of Wisconsin come around her. But I think she just isn't somebody, I mean, she's pretty green to be in a race this important and this big. And I think that showed in her election night speech tonight.
KLINK: So is Crowley, I mean --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
KLINK: -- on Milwaukee county executive. He's equivalent of a -- of a supervisor. PORTER: But I have to say, like, knowing Tom Tiffany, I'd still rather be us than you. Like, I'd rather be a Democrat than a Republican. I think the Democrats are going to win in Wisconsin. The other thing --
MICHAELSON: Francesca Hong?
PORTER: I think either one of them will win in Wisconsin.
MICHAELSON: All right.
PORTER: I think they can both beat Tom Tiffany.
MICHAELSON: All right. We have more to discuss on this. We'll continue with you guys throughout the hour. We also want to break down even more what's happening in Wisconsin. We've got a former candidate from Wisconsin who knows this very, very well.
Steve Olikara is going to be with us on set to give us some insight on what we're actually looking at in terms of the numbers in the hours ahead. He knows all of that. Stay with us. You're watching a special edition of The Story Is here on CNN.
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[01:17:42]
MICHAELSON: Live picture right now from Milwaukee Wisconsin, where we are awaiting a speech, hopefully from David Crowley, who is monitoring election results, as are we. Let's look at the numbers. And they actually just got a little better for Francesca Hong. And during our commercial break, she made up about 400 votes.
And so Crowley now ahead, 2791, it's now 39.6 to 39.6. Hong spoke just a short time ago saying she feels confident as votes are still being counted, although her speech, frankly didn't sound that confident.
Joining me now here live in Los Angeles is Steven Olikara, a former U.S. Senate candidate in Wisconsin, a senior fellow right now for political reform at the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and founding CEO of Bridge Entertainment Labs.
All right, you're the Wisconsin guy here. You know this so well. What should we be looking for? Where are we at right now when you see these numbers?
STEVEN OLIKARA, FORMER DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE FOR WISCONSIN: Right now the next big shoe to fall is the roughly 28,000 absentee ballots that are going to be dropped in Milwaukee. It was supposed to happen about an hour ago. These USB drives, apparently they were missing some of the results.
MICHAELSON: Tell us this story. What is that -- what is this? This about a USB drive?
OLIKARA: So there, I believe, five USB drives with the results that were going to the courthouse to be officially counted. They were missing the results, so they're going back to get those. And this late drop is actually pretty typical for Wisconsin.
MICHAELSON: OK. For those that are suspicious about election integrity.
OLIKARA: Yes.
MICHAELSON: That's not a great story.
OLIKARA: Yes, yes. No, I mean, actually there's quite a bit of bipartisan support for early counting of absentee votes, something that --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
OLIKARA: -- Ben Wikler, the former chair of the party, was talking about tonight.
MICHAELSON: So we're waiting for USBs or them to find the votes, I guess, as we now are waiting for what's happening in Wisconsin.
I mean, coming into this, the thought was in the last few days at least that Francesca Hong had this thing and was going to win big. Why is she not so first?
OLIKARA: So, welcome to Wisconsin politics. This is -- this is what we do. And the Marquette Law School poll, which is the most respected poll in the state, showed Francesca up by somewhere around 20 points or so.
MICHAELSON: 20 points?
OLIKARA: Yes, depending on, you know, there was a poll with Mandela Barnes still, and then there was a follow up poll after that.
[01:20:05]
So that showed her comfortably ahead, which in itself would have been an upset. Then David Crowley jumps back in with the support of the governor, Tony Evers, and ran a really strong three-week campaign. They were barnstorming across the state.
And what happened simultaneously is Francesca Hong was introduced to the nation and I think revealed some of the fears that Democratic primary voters had about Francesca and her ability to win a general election. And the other thing that happened is, get this, Elex, the number one spender in the race for governor on the Democratic side were Republicans.
MICHAELSON: Yes, it was because they want Francesca Hong because they think she'd be such a weak general election campaign that they're trying to lift her up.
OLIKARA: About $4.3 million spent by Republicans elevating Francesca Hong. And a lot of Democratic voters saw that and they saw, OK, let's look at this situation. If the Republicans clearly want to run against Francesco Hong, maybe we should be looking the other direction. So now we await David Crowley, I believe, to speak tonight. He's an electric speaker, so I'm excited to hear his remarks.
MICHAELSON: And at the beginning of this governor's race, or even in the middle of this governor's race, nobody thought either one of these people would be the one, right?
OLIKARA: Yes.
MICHAELSON: I mean, there's been all over the map in terms of this race.
OLIKARA: It's all over the map. Look, this is completely unprecedented in many ways. It's historic in many ways. The original name that people had heard of was our former lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes.
And then going into the summer, the current lieutenant governor, Sarah Rodriguez, was gaining a lot of steam. She was winning a lot of straw polls in county parties as well as the statewide Democratic Party. She won the straw poll and so she had the momentum. She unexpectedly had a campaign finance issue, dropped out of the race. David Crowley jumps back in. So then it blew wide open after that.
MICHAELSON: OK, so next up, how do you see the general election either way and sort of the most important things going forward?
OLIKARA: Well, I think if Fran was going to, first, let me say I'm friends with both of them and I'm proud of both of them and they've both run great campaigns. I think if Fran happens to win this race, I think you give the early edge to Tom Tiffany because of how far left ideologically Fran has been presented and how far out she is on some cultural issues. This whole Thanksgiving question that's come up and her first impression on that was not her best effort. I think even she would admit to that.
MICHAELSON: Being anti-Thanksgiving.
OLIKARA: Yes, but the turkeys all support friends.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
OLIKARA: I can be confident of that. On the flip side, if David Crowley wins this primary, he will be the front runner going into the general election. I think that's why the governor of Wisconsin, he was not expected to jump into this race and endorse in this way.
You know, he's not known to be an extremely bold, you know, politically kind of leader. So he was very clear in saying he believed, look, knowing all the candidates --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
OLIKARA: -- knowing what the coalition it takes to win statewide and govern, deliver results, he believed that's David Crowley. And I do think he has the advantage if he wins the primary.
MICHAELSON: Well, it's interesting and our panel was just pointing this off camera. He has not really been vetted that much publicly -- OLIKARA: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- because so much has been focused on Francesca Hong. So you wonder how much opposition research could be going into them. And are there things that we don't know about him, you know, that tend to come out when you got all that attention on you?
OLIKARA: Yes. It's an interesting story with David Crowley. First of all, he's been in public life for a bit. He was in the state assembly for several years. He ran for the county executive job in Milwaukee, which is a significant position. I actually disagree with your previous panelists.
Milwaukee county executive was the seat that Scott Walker had before he was elected to governor and later ran for president. So this actually -- David Crowley was the one candidate for with significant governing experience as an executive from Milwaukee County. So I think he has been vetted quite a bit.
Now if you were to go into the general, certainly people would look into things, but I think David has been more vetted than Fran in terms of Wisconsin politics.
MICHAELSON: Great insights. Steven Olikara, thanks so much for being here. Does this make you miss being on the ballot?
OLIKARA: No, I like being here. This is fun just to break down the news. It's less nerve wracking.
MICHAELSON: All right. Well, it is great having you here to do it. It is election night in America. We continue to follow results, including in Wisconsin Democratic primary for governor.
Still too close to call. While Steven was speaking, a bit of a lead for David Crowley. He went up 0.3 percent while that interview was happening. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:29:13]
MICHAELSON: Welcome back to The Story Is. I'm Elex Michaelson. We continue to follow the big top stories. The president says Iran would, quote, get blown away if it tries to do something in the Strait of Hormuz. This comes as Donald Trump insists that the U.S. still has total control over the critical waterway.
Meanwhile, Trump administration officials are warning of higher oil and gas prices for next year.
President Trump says he followed instructions from the Secret Service and military when he secretly switched aircraft in Turkey last month. A U.S. official tells CNN the covert switch was prompted by an Iranian assassination threat.
After boarding Air Force One in front of the cameras, President Trump secretly exited the aircraft via a catering truck and was rushed into a smaller military plane without anybody noticing.
[01:30:05]
President Trump flying to Ohio earlier to watch the end of the so- called Patriot Games. The Trump-backed event, featuring high schoolers from every U.S. state, territory, and some tribal nations competing in various athletic challenges for $125,000 in scholarship money.
Some politicians and observers say it wasn't a fair contest, alleging competitors were chosen for their alignment with Trump's politics rather than merit.
Now back to the other big story we're following right now. The Wisconsin Democratic primary for governor still too close to call. We keep getting new numbers. You're looking at them there. And now 2,778 votes separate David Crowley and Francesca Hong.
We have -- we've seen some changes, but we haven't seen the amount of changes that we would expect. And there's a crazy kind of story for why. We just hit on this a little bit with Steven Olikara as we bring in our panel -- Ron Brownstein, Katie Porter, Matt Klink.
Listen to this. This is from the Associated Press reporting that at least 28,000 absentee ballots in Milwaukee could be delayed at least an hour, according to the AP.
Milwaukee Election Commissioner director Paulina Gutierrez said that audit logs, instead of ballot results, were uploaded onto flash drives. According to reports from the AP, those ballots could be the difference in the razor-thin Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor.
So at a time when people are so focused on our votes and how they're cast and how they're counted and all the rest of this, this is not a great story.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: No. Look, I mean, you know, when elections get this close, you know, I mean, I remember I was in 2000 -- in 2000, I was in Tallahassee during the recount forever. It gets very cold in Tallahassee in the winter.
And someone said, I forget who, someone said to me, we have finally -- it was, it was one of the -- it was one of the county election commissioners who says we have finally come to an election where the margin of victory is smaller than the margin of error.
And you know, I'm not sure we're there in Wisconsin, but you know, this -- when every vote counts, sometimes the system buckles a little under the pressure.
MICHAELSON: Yes. As we think about hanging chads.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, exactly.
MICHAELSON: People are going to have remember what that means back in 2000. Not so much an issue anymore as we now do electronic vote counting and you've got USB problems, Matt.
MATT KLINK, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: You look, there's still the human error factor. Someone hit the wrong button and hit save on the wrong file. I mean, it happens all the time. Unfortunately, it's just now with the world watching.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
KLINK: So I mean, it doesn't seem like there's any ill intent here. There's no skullduggery or things going on. Someone just screwed up and I'm sure that they'll figure it out and get the right drive to the right place. But yes, and it frustrates people like us.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And meanwhile, we wait for David Crowley, who we hear is waiting to hear those results before he comes out to speak yet his party continues. Francesca Hong's party already over.
KATIE PORTER (D), FORMER CALIFORNIA CONGRESSWOMAN: Well, I mean, I think David Crowley is -- he's the leader so he's going to keep waiting. He might get to give a victory night speech on, I guess now it's day two because we're into the wee hours of the morning in Wisconsin.
But I think he's smart to wait. I think that last batch of Milwaukee ballots will be important.
It's, you know, we're getting closer and we're having kind of the same problem we saw Haley Stevens have with Abdul el-Sayed. There's just aren't that many uncounted ballots left. She would have to win them by a very big margin to make up that gap.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Although we know of at least 28,000 that are outstanding in that particular dump. And right now, the margin 2,700.
BROWNSTEIN: And since it's absentee ballots, it could have been cast while he was out of the race. I mean, who knows.
MICHAELSON: And it could be for other candidates that are no longer in the race as well.
BROWNSTEIN: Of course, of course, he could be -- he could be heading toward George McGovern time for his -- for his acceptance speech, which was famously 2:00 a.m. in 1972.
PORTER: He's right up against that now.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: I think there should be a bingo card for historical references for people that are watching you.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Or drinking game or something?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, something like that. MICHAELSON: How many different eras you can bring into one -- into one
segment.
BROWNSTEIN: The 2:00 a.m. -- except the 2:00 a.m. acceptance speech. If I was him, I might wait until the morning show in Milwaukee, but that would be me.
MICHAELSON: Ok, well, speaking of old versus young and different demographics, an interesting race in Connecticut tonight. Let's bring this up onto the screen.
Yet another incumbent Democratic congressional candidate is out or will be out in January. Luke Bronin defeats John Larson. John Larson, 78 years old; Luke Bronin in his 40s.
Congressmember Porter, this is somebody you served with for a long time. There's clearly a wave happening right now with young Democrats who are fed up with old Democrats.
[01:34:45]
PORTER: Yes. I mean, look, John Larson was a terrific member. Worked tirelessly on Social Security. But I think what Luke Bronin said back was, yes, you've been working tirelessly, and guess what? Social Security still isn't fixed. You've had a decade plus to try to get this issue fixed, and you haven't gotten it done.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And you've been eligible for it for 30 years.
PORTER: So take a gamble on me. Like give me a stab at it. And I think there was some of that feeling, I think when we got in in -- all the new Democrats, we were eager to do things.
And one of the things I kept hearing is, well, I have a bill on that, and I've been working on it since the mid-90s. And part of my reaction was, maybe you're not going to get it over the finish line if you've been waiting for 25 years to do it.
And so I think that this one's an interesting one because it wasn't a progressive/moderate fight. It really was like, you've been at this for a long time and it just isn't -- you're just not doing it anymore.
And I think if I'm Ed Markey --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
PORTER: -- in Massachusetts --
KLINK: Right.
PORTER: And I'm facing Seth Moulton, this result makes me a little nervous.
BROWNSTEIN: Very nervous.
KLINK: Yes, absolutely. BROWNSTEIN: And Moulton chose not to -- Seth Moulton is running as Ed
Markey --
(CROSSTALKING)
BROWNSTEIN: -- and that's one of the last.
MICHAELSON: Ed Markey is the current senator.
BROWNSTEIN: 70.
MICHAELSON: -- has been in the House, ran for president.
BROWNSTEIN: I think Ed Markey was elected around the same time he was born in '76.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BROWNSTEIN: And Moulton chose not -- Moulton has been kind of a centrist gadfly in the Democratic Party, but he chose not to run -- he's really de-emphasized all that. He's made it fundamentally about generational change.
And as we said before, that is a powerful impulse we're seeing tonight. Peggy Flanagan 46, el-Sayed 41, Crowley 40, Hong, 37.
Also, depending on how you count one complicated, complicated example in Texas, this is even -- this is either the most incumbents who have lost in a non-reapportionment year since 1970 or now since 1962.
So there is -- there is a level of discontent that goes beyond even what's happening --
KLINK: We just got Nixon and Kennedy thrown in.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. And I didn't --
(CROSSTALKING)
PORTER: Before I was born, right.
BROWNSTEIN: Exactly.
MICHAELSON: I mean, it's interesting that a lot of these things, as we watch here in California did not happen here. We had Jake Levine running against Brad Sherman. There are other examples of that in California.
California seems to be a bit of an outlier to almost all of the national trends that we've seen in the Democratic Party this year.
PORTER: Yes. I think that's right. I think that's right. I mean, we were, you know, we saw this with some of the frustration toward Joe Biden, post that debate. People, you know, why wasn't he, you know, didn't do a good job, you know. And yet we saw that very same moment, people saying like, we can't
ever criticize, you know, Senator Feinstein, she's fine. We should honor her. We should let her keep serving.
So I do think California is a little different on this, and I can't explain it to you, but I think we've seen it in enough instances that it's there.
BROWNSTEIN: It's Doris Matsui, right? Doesn't she -- she still has the younger progressive challenger, top two finish.
(CROSSTALKING)
KLINK: Yes. Right.
BROWNSTEIN: You know, but look, I mean, I think -- I think one of the stories of this year is there is no silver bullet. There is no -- there is no dynamic that is winning everywhere.
MICHAELSON: Right.
BROWNSTEIN: Right. I mean, there is no single theme to the Democratic -- the theme is that the party is really searching for its direction. You have a lot of different forces that are closely contending, but I think this generational -- this, this, this -- we're ending with a very powerful generational story that I think is going to carry forward into 2028.
MICHAELSON: I think there is, though, a theme that there is a lot of frustration with incumbents --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- and the establishment on both sides.
KLINK: Totally.
MICHAELSON: And that's why you see so many incumbents going down. People are frustrated.
BROWNSTEIN: Trump beat two senators.
MICHAELSON: Both bases are frustrated that their party isn't doing enough to deliver.
You guys are doing a great job and I have high marks for you. You're going to stay as we continue to count the votes in Minnesota. We're also in in Minnesota and in Wisconsin. Really interesting election in Minneapolis that we want to break down.
You see there, Amy Klobuchar speaking a little earlier. We'll hear from her. We'll go to a reporter on the ground to break down what's going to be one of the most interesting senate races in the country.
Stay -- stay with us.
[01:38:54]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE LINDELL, FOUNDER, MYPILLOW: I've been attacked for five years because I want to secure our election. You know, Amy Klobuchar and I were in lockstep in 2020. She wanted the machines gone and go to paper ballots.
Amy and I -- she was the loudest voice louder than me. But as soon as you know, to get -- she was in the movie "Kill Chain", the documentary, Amy wanted the machines gone. She named them. So did all the Democrats.
Now, when I get there after 2020, what did I do? I spent $80 million all over this country trying to secure elections.
What did Amy do? She turned her back on that fraud, Went out to Washington and brought back, I don't know, $9 billion and had it shipped off to Somalia.
Amy I'm sorry. You should follow the money. You're not a good steward of money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That was Trump-backed businessman and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell, founder of MyPillow, who failed to get the Republican nomination in Minnesota's governor's race.
CNN projects State House Speaker Lisa Demuth will win the Republican nomination. She will now face off against U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.
We just talked there. Ran essentially unopposed for the Democratic nomination in terms of the big heavyweights of Minnesota. She kind of cleared the field of them.
Meanwhile, CNN also projects Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan will be the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. This race was closer. The progressive defeating centrist U.S. House Democrat Angie Craig.
Let's go live now to Minneapolis and Minnesota's Star Tribune reporter Allison Kite joining us live. Thanks so much for being with us.
ALLISON KITE, MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE REPORTER: Thanks for having me.
MICHAELSON: Let's hear from Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic nominee for governor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE: While the Republicans are still deciding their nominee, it has appeared for a while that this race has come down to two candidates. Mike Lindell, as you know, is Donald Trump's guy and Lisa Demuth, you
may have seen her advertisements recently. Lots of them.
Well, most of those ads are paid for by one person, one man, one billionaire who doesn't even live in Minnesota.
[01:44:48]
KLOBUCHAR: A Wisconsin billionaire who is one of Donald Trump's biggest donors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Lisa Demuth -- talk to us about the fact that the Pillow guy, who got the Trump endorsement, why didn't he win? And how do you see the dynamics of this governor's race going forward?
KITE: Certainly. So, House Speaker Lisa Demuth was widely seen as the most electable on the GOP side of the equation for Minnesota governor. She had better funding than her rivals, Mike Lindell, who you mentioned, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, and Kendall Qualls, who had the endorsement of the Minnesota GOP.
And so she's going to go up against Amy Klobuchar and be probably the best situated to make that a tough race.
MICHAELSON: You say a tough race because we know President Trump is unpopular in Minnesota, but so is Governor Tim Walz, the Democratic incumbent. Could he be a drag on Amy Klobuchar?
KITE: You know, I think Senator Klobuchar is well-positioned to kind of separate herself from the Walz administration's biggest political liability, which is fraud in social services programs in Minnesota.
You know, she can credibly say that she was in Washington working on other issues and does not bear responsibility for those issues that have been a drag on the Walz administration, you know.
But I think that there could be folks who are ready to hand over leadership from Democrats to Republicans in Minnesota, but I think Senator Klobuchar is going to be a formidable candidate.
MICHAELSON: Let's talk about the race for Minnesota senate and on -- show both candidates that we're talking about here, the Democratic and Republican side.
On the Democratic side, as we mentioned, the lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, is going to be moving on after defeating Angie Craig, the congressmember, even though Angie Craig had backings from folks like Nancy Pelosi and Hakeem Jeffries.
Flanagan had the backing of Bernie Sanders and AOC and Tina Smith, who is retiring from the Senate.
On the Republican side, Michele Tafoya, who a lot of folks remember as a sports broadcaster, sideline reporter on NBC Sports for years doing Sunday night football. She's now moving on.
How do you see the dynamics of this particular race?
KITE: Certainly. So having Michele Tafoya as the GOP nominee makes this potentially a really competitive race. I think it will draw a lot more national attention, national money, than, you know, a Peggy Flanagan versus Royce White race, for example.
So it could be -- it could shape up to be a pretty tight race. Peggy Flanagan, you know, has as you mentioned, the progressive momentum behind her campaign compared to Angie Craig, who had a lot more money to spend and outside money benefiting her.
So I think that Flanagan has really tapped into a progressive grassroots momentum. But a point that Angie Craig made on the campaign trail a lot is that she felt like she would be better situated to take on Republicans, have more statewide appeal. And so it could be a tight race between Tafoya and Flanagan.
MICHAELSON: And if Michele or -- Amy Klobuchar wins as governor, then there's an opening for her Senate seat, right? And she gets to pick that person.
KITE: That's correct.
MICHAELSON: And is there thought that that could be Angie Craig?
KITE: You know, I think that that will be held pretty close to the vest until we get much closer to that point.
MICHAELSON: All right. Minnesota Star Tribune reporter, Allison Kite, up late for us on a big night in Minneapolis politics. Thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.
KITE: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Another big race we're following on this election night in America and Minnesota is in South Carolina.
Just weeks after taking over her brother's U.S. Senate seat, Darline Graham has qualified for a runoff for a full term. But this race could be close.
We'll talk about the interesting dynamics underway here from our panel next.
[01:49:06]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DARLINE GRAHAM (R-SC): This is a very emotional night because I'm usually standing here celebrating with Lindsey. So I know he's looking down right now smiling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: South Carolina Senator Darline Graham speaking about an emotional night after she qualified for the August 25th runoff to compete for a full term.
CNN projects that Representative Ralph Norman will be the second contender in that Republican runoff.
It's very interesting, Matt Klink, you've got a competition here between Norman, who has five terms in Congress --
KLINK: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- and Darline Graham, who has 28 days --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- of service in the United States Senate. Real quickly, wrap around your thoughts on the South Carolina race.
KLINK: Ralph Norman is a known commodity in South Carolina. He has a 98 score for heritage action. He's a very conservative Freedom Caucus Member.
And that being said, Darline Graham, because of her last name, will likely win the Republican primary.
MICHAELSON: Is this nepotism?
PORTER: I mean, obviously. I mean --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
PORTER: We have a long tradition of that in the United States. I mean, a long, long tradition. And it doesn't show any signs of stopping.
KLINK: Exactly.
PORTER: I just think the speed of the runoff here plays in Darline Graham's favor. It's a two-week runoff, I think. And so in two weeks, Norman doesn't have enough time to figure out, much less action, what he would have to do to pull ahead.
[01:54:50]
BROWNSTEIN: On the other hand, 33 percent with the last name Graham and the Trump endorsement is not a ringing endorsement by the voters. So I would say there is still at least some opening for Norman.
MICHAELSON: But some people might say, you haven't done enough.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Yes.
(CROSSTALKING)
BROWNSTEIN: I mean, you know. MICHAELSON: She keeps saying, I want to earn your vote.
BROWNSTEIN: Right.
MICHAELSON: I want you to trust me, I want to --
BROWNSTEIN: But really, really her claim to the seat is, is that she's Lindsey Graham's sister.
MICHAELSON: Sister.
BROWNSTEIN: Right. And Donald Trump wants her because Ralph Norman endorsed Nikki Haley, Right. And that's -- that's what we're Watching in South Carolina.
And Trump has won these primaries when he's intervened, mostly across the country, but not entirely as we saw tonight.
And as I said, that's not a huge number with that last name and the Trump stamp on your Shoulder.
MICHAELSON: But for the governor of South Carolina race --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- he didn't win that, right.
(CROSSTALKING)
MICHAELSON: He initially endorsed somebody. Then it looked like she was going to lose. He endorsed two people.
KLINK: Right.
MICHAELSON: Which is -- which is a great strategy to win.
PORTER: If you're right, Ron, about this anti sort of incumbency bias, if it holds for Republicans, not just for Democrats, then I think that hurts Ralph Norman. I mean, he has been in Congress for a very long time.
BROWNSTEIN: Right.
KLINK: Correct.
PORTER: He is the epitome of a southern, very conservative member. And so I just need to see if that's a Democratic phenomenon. We certainly are seeing --
KLINK: -- and sympathy factor gets it for Darline.
BROWNSTEIN: If you look -- if you look at the -- look at the results tonight, I was just taking a quick look. I mean, it looked like she was doing better in the population centers, right. Kind of that more country club Republican. I'm not sure that's the winning hand in South Carolina. And the South
Carolina Republican primary. It may be the one who is stronger in the rural areas.
She did do well in Greenville, which is -- and is a big evangelical vote. But we'll see.
MICHAELSON: So this is the time when I usually say good night on THE STORY IS. But not tonight. We're sticking around, all three of you sticking around, for another hour because we still don't know what's going to happen in Wisconsin.
We're waiting for you as (INAUDIBLE) drives. Hopefully they get delivered in the next hour, and we may even have a call -- this important race. Stick with us for an extra hour of THE STORY IS right after this break.
[01:56:53]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
