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Trump Campaigns For Republicans In Red States; Trump's Low Poll Ratings Alarm Some House Republicans; Christa Pike's Attorney Calls For Death Sentence To Be Commuted. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 03, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:09]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I am Omar Jimenez in New York.

We've got just a month until the midterm elections, and polls are showing some very close races. President Trump is on a campaign blitz to energize his base, even in some traditionally Republican states. Tonight, the President is in Ohio, where the race is a dead heat for Vice President Vance's former Senate seat, now being held by Senator Jon Husted.

Iowa is also a toss-up with voters between Republican Ashley Hinson and Democrat Josh Turek and CNN's Alayna Treene is live in Vandalia, Ohio, where the President is campaigning. We expect to see him a little bit later this evening.

So, Alayna, what are you hearing there now?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, look, we actually have the program that has started. Right now, we currently have Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running for governor here in Ohio, speaking on the stage behind me. We've also heard from Congressman Mike Turner, who is also running again this fall, and then later we will hear from Senator Jon Husted himself, who is fighting to hold on to his Senate seat here in Ohio. He is really the reason President Trump is coming to Vandalia, right outside Dayton, Ohio, tonight.

And look, he is running against the former Senator Sherrod Brown, who lost his election in 2024 to Senator Bernie Moreno. Moreno is also going to be here speaking as well.

But look, I've been chatting, Omar with some people on the ground here. Some of the President's supporters, most of them, I will argue, are supporters of the President, it is a Trump rally, after all. But many of them I was asking them about how do you think the President has done with his handling of key issues? Specifically, I asked about the Iran War, about the economy, about gas prices, things we know are key issues ahead of the midterms. Many of them actually acknowledged that they're not exactly happy with some of those issues, particularly when it came to the Iran War.

I spoke with one person who said she believes that war should have never began. She said she has family who is in the military, and that she hopes that the President will try to end it soon. We also heard similar things about gas prices. Some of his supporters saying, look, we really need to lower these. Others, though, argue that perhaps Trump is playing chess and that he has a plan for this all along.

So a little bit of a mix there from some of the people in the crowd. But I also want to share Omar, just what I've been hearing from some of the President's own advisers, and I apologize, it is getting very loud in here in response to the Vivek Ramaswamy. But when I talked to the President's advisers, they acknowledge that the President's approval ratings are not great right now. They are actually the lowest they've been across his two terms, around 33 percent according to the latest CNN poll.

But they do still hope that with sending the President particular to areas where they believe his supporters will be, that will be enough to try and convince them to show up on Election Day. Really, for them, it is all about driving turnout, driving enthusiasm, ensuring that people who don't typically vote in an off year election actually do, because that could potentially make the difference between who will hold on to the majorities in the House and the Senate come 31 days or so from now -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Sure, and a lot of tight races, at least polls that show that in the Senate. And then, of course, you have Vivek Ramaswamy speaking behind you, a tight race to this point for Ohio governor in a state that President Trump won by double digits in the 2024 election. So that seems to be some of what he is trying to get into voters' minds here.

Alayna Treene, we will come back to you. Appreciate the reporting from a loud rally, as always.

Now, with just weeks until November, a new poll shows a very tight battle over which party could end up controlling the Senate, and CNN's Harry Enten runs the numbers for us.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Hey there, Omar. Happy Saturday to you.

October 3rd, which of course is the anniversary of the shot heard round the world 75 years ago. Bobby Thompson hit a three-run homerun and the New York Giants, defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the National League pennant. It was always a favorite of my father, so I just had to get that in.

Anyway, October 3rd is also a day in which Democrats really have to like the polling data that they saw this morning from "The New York Times"-Siena University polls. I mean, it is truly eye popping across five states that Donald Trump won by double digits back in 2024, and you see a lot more blue on your screen than you see red.

How about Alaska, where Mary Peltola, up by seven points. How about Texas, which has not elected a Democratic senator since 1988, but James Talarico, he is up six points. Ohio, Sherrod Brown trying to get back to the United States Senate, the race is close, no clear leader, but even there, he is nominally ahead by three. Kansas -- Kansas, which has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932. That was when my father was five years old. My father was born in 1927. He had me in his 60s. This state has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932. Yet, we've got a tie ball game here and in Iowa, which was another state that Donald Trump won by double digits, very, very close to Republican, nominally ahead by a point.

[18:05:12]

But again, no clear leader here. Now, I guess the question sort of is for someone like myself, as we look at all of this polling data, you know, could these polls possibly be right? Well, actually, they come at a time in which there has been a string of really, really good polling data for Democrats. These polls, they ain't outliers. They ain't outliers at all.

Omar, take a look here. Take a look at the Senate map. Okay. This is the 2026 Senate if results -- if the result matches the polls. Now, of course it is still a month to go, right and polls are not perfect. They come with margins of error. But if the polls didn't match the results, look at this, what we'd end up with. We would end up with a blue Ohio. We'd end up with a blue Maine. We'd end up with a blue North Carolina.

These are all flips, right? We'd end up -- yes, even with the blue Iowa. Yes, it is true that "The New York Times" poll, you had the Republican nominally ahead, but if you take the average of polls, yes, in fact, the Democrat is nominally ahead. You end up with a blue Texas, you'd end up with -- we go all the way here, of course, Alaska is actually all the way up there, you'd end up with a blue Alaska as well.

And look at that, I have Kansas in purple, because who the heck knows what might possibly happen. You add it all together. And at this point, if in fact the results match the polls, look at this, you'd end up with Democrats at 53, Republicans at 46, with Kansas as a big, um -- I don't know, but at this point, you have to think that the Democrats are, in fact, favored to take back the United States Senate. And indeed, if you look at these poll based models, that is you put all the polls together and kind of project out outwards, understanding that polls have margins of error and we still have a month or so to go until Election Day. You can see this.

Take a look here. The Democratic chances, they've been going up significantly over the last few months. Okay. Chance that the Dems win the Senate in 2026 polling. This is the average poll based models. Take a look here. Look at this, on August 13th, Democrats was about 50/50, right? It was about 50/50 Democrats with a 52 percent chance.

Today, that's up to a two in three chance that Democrats, in fact, take back the United States Senate. Now, you look at this. You say, well, I don't really trust the polls. What about the people who are putting their money where their mouths are? Right? That is the prediction market odds. Well, it is very different from what we saw just two years ago at this point. Chance that the democrats win the Senate as of October 3rd, two years ago, Democrats just had a 25 percent chance during the 2024 cycle. Today, that's up to a 64 percent chance. So no matter which metric you look at, Democrats have to be feeling pretty gosh darn good about themselves. You know what, Omar? What I am always on with you, I always feel pretty good about myself as well. And that's why I toss it back to you with a smile.

JIMENEZ: You always make me feel good about myself, too, harry. Good to see you. Appreciate it, as always.

All right, coming up, President Trump goes after a Republican senator, but wait until you hear what he just did to Senator Tom Cotton, who, by the way, happens to be the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Plus, days after a death row inmate survives her execution in Tennessee, the Governor says the head of the state's prison system will resign. We will bring you those details next.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:12:53]

JIMENEZ: One month out from the midterm elections, people, new CNN reporting shows House Republicans are increasingly focused on how to limit the size of a potential Democratic wave. According to more than a dozen people familiar with discussions, the House GOP has been alarmed as President Trump's approval rating has sunk in their own internal polling, including on traditionally red turf over the last two weeks.

So I want to bring in our political panel to talk about this, Democratic strategist, Antjuan Seawright, and Republican strategist, and former White House official during the George W. Bush administration, Ashley Davis.

So, Ashley, I want to start with you because President Trump is on a swing through red states right now. Is it the right move for some of these Republicans to be campaigning with him when his approval ratings have really sunk to historic lows across many of the most recent polls?

ASHLEY DAVIS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, first of all, good evening to you both. Hi, Antjuan. Listen, I think that he knows exactly where he needs to be in regards to who wants him and who doesn't.

Obviously, this is hand-to-hand combat at this stage, whether it is a congressional district or in a Senate race, and last weekend, he was in Tennessee and you saw that Marsha Blackburn and Senator Hagerty were sitting right beside him beside the Tennessee football game, but he is not going to be able to go to Maine and campaign with Susan Collins today, because he is very popular in Ohio still. He has the ability to get out the vote. So you will see someone like Husted actually benefit from that.

I mean, the reason Husted is in such in such a problem right now, first of all, Brown was a senator there for such a long time as you both know, but also because of the data centers. And so there is something that the President is going to hit on today, and we will see if it helps or hurts. But I think in places like Ohio, it will help.

JIMENEZ: Antjuan, I mean, you know, one of the sort of paradoxes here is that many Democrats have also wanted to see the President out on the campaign trail, sort of with the idea that, again, the low approval ratings might hurt some of the momentum of some of the candidates he is stumping for.

But on the Democratic side of things, do you believe they've done enough to go on the offense in terms of a strategy beyond just being anti-Trump?

[18:15:10]

ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, good politics are very contagious. In fact, they are viral. And what you're seeing from the American people is that Democratic policies and politics, they want to catch this virus. This idea of fighting for an affordable America, holding the crooks accountable, saving health care and lowering costs for everyday Americans, it is everything the Republicans have failed on.

In fact, Drive-Up-Your-Costs Donald, MAGA Mike and No-Political-Tune Thune have failed the American people on every single major issue they promised to deliver on for the American people. And one of the most important metrics or arguments to that case is MAGAnomics has been a complete failure.

So, Omar, when I think about the fact that you have record high unemployment in the African American community, I think about the foreclosures, repossessions, mortgage rates. You think about the fact that 25 million Americans are paying more for their premiums, co-pays and deductibles. That includes 18.2 million Americans in Trump states, and then the largest cut to Medicaid and SNAP benefits in American history, on top of ICE agents killing Americans in cold blood. That by itself is a rap sheet to allow the GOP to be dismissed from their majority.

JIMENEZ: Ashley, you were smiling and shaking your head, I think, a little bit in the beginning of his answer. What was top of mind?

DAVIS: Oh no! I was actually just laughing at his nicknames. I give -- we do this a lot together and I've never heard him give the nicknames to the three members, so I was just giggling at him more than anything.

JIMENEZ: Hey, look --

DAVIS: Listen -- no, I was just going to say, listen, this is perfect time for Democrats. This is not any different than any other midterm. I personally am not Chicken Little right now and that the sky is falling and everything is going to come to an end. I mean, I think it is going to be just like every other midterm. We'd probably lose the House. We are not going to lose like by 63 like during 2010 during Obama, we are not going to lose by 40 with Trump's first midterm. It is probably going to be more around low double digits, if not single digits.

I am not there on the Senate yet. Antjuan and I have this conversation all the time. I am just not quite there. I am not saying that it is a perfect night. Democrats can't win. I just -- I think the places where Kansas, Iowa, I actually think we could be very competitive in New Hampshire and I still think Susan Collins wins Maine.

So we will see. We've got four weeks -- five weeks left -- four-and-a- half really, and so we will see.

JIMENEZ: Antjuan, get your thoughts in?

SEAWRIGHT: Ashley, here is why the Senate is now a 60/40 jump ball instead of a 50/50 jump ball. The President is in Ohio. Ohio is one of the states in the country that has the largest drop off of people having health insurance, because Republicans and Donald Trump refused to expand those ACA tax credits.

A large trucking company went out of business yesterday in Ohio, largely because of Donald Trump's war of choice and we have record high gas and diesel in places all across the country.

Donald Trump and republicans are losing the constituency battle. They've given the middle finger to middle class and Middle America. And by and large, and in return, voters across the board, including battleground Texas, battleground Kansas, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio and Alaska and other places, they are saying, you know what? We are going to vote against you as a sign of our frustration and our festivity in the midterms.

JIMENEZ: And just one point on the people --

DAVIS: Yes, I think that's what happens in every midterms.

JIMENEZ: Just one point on the people laid off, the trucking company didn't go out of business, but there were 1,400 people that were laid off from their jobs. We are still talking about a lot -- a lot of people there.

Ashley, I want to ask you about this because President Trump earlier today posted on social media the phone number of Republican Senator Tom Cotton, encouraging people to call him. This was part of a series of posts where the President was railing against Cotton, accusing him of holding up a bill that would make Daylight Savings Time permanent.

But the reason I bring it up is Cotton is the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Do you see real national security concerns in doing something like this? Even if, you know, it is the style of President Trump to troll in the way that he does on social media?

DAVIS: Obviously, it is not the right thing to do. He did the same thing to Lindsey Graham. Lindsey Graham made a very funny comeback at the time by dealing with it, by you know, flushing his cell phone down the toilet and then smashing it. And so I think that Tom Cotton will change his cell phone.

It is not the right thing to do, but this is how he works. And I mean, it happened. I don't understand, to be honest with you, the fight between Daylight Savings, this was a big fight in the House, too, even though it passed. So, this is something that people are very, very on two sides of the issue on, and a lot of it, yes, it is, Antjuan, yes, it is.

It all has to do with -- it's not really the --

[18:20:10]

SEAWRIGHT: No, no, no!

DAVIS: Go ahead.

JIMENEZ: You guys are too polite to each.

SEAWRIGHT: I actually agree with you. I agree with you that people are on both sides of the issue. Where we disagree is this is certainly not a priority of everyday Americans. Forget about trying to make ends meet. They're putting two ends together, hoping they meet. And the President loves to distract from the issues at hand. That's why I am shaking my head.

I agree with you on both sides, where I disagree is the priority of the conversation.

DAVIS: I think -- no, I agree with you, I mean, we can talk about that all day long for sure.

JIMENEZ: Sure, sure. I've got to go. Antjuan Seawright, Ashley Davis, appreciate you both. Thank you for being here.

DAVIS: Ah! Okay.

JIMENEZ: I know, we were just getting into it. Really appreciate you both.

All right, so we are following a lot of news over the course of these hours. We talked about it in the break coming up, but the botched execution in Tennessee, it is raising questions about the use of lethal injections for capital punishment. We are going to break down how common this is and why some experts are calling to end the practice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:32]

JIMENEZ: More fallout after the failed execution of convicted murderer, Christa Pike in Tennessee. The state's governor says the head of Tennessee's Department of Correction, Frank Strada, will step down.

Now, Pike is currently in the hospital after surviving two doses of a lethal execution drug. Her attorney says she is critically ill, unconscious and on a ventilator.

CNN's Rafael Romo joins us now.

So, Rafael, what is the latest here?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, it has been three days now since Christa Pike survived Tennessee's attempt to execute her via lethal injection on Wednesday and there are still many unanswered questions about how something like this could have happened.

In a statement, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced in the last few hours that the head of Tennessee's Prison System is resigning. In the same statement, Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada said that stepping down is, "... in the best interest of Tennesseans."

As for Christa Pike, she remains unconscious in a Nashville area hospital where she is intubated and on a ventilator. Pike's attorney said Friday that she is receiving life-saving care after being injected with two ostensibly fatal doses of pentobarbital. In a statement, Pike's attorneys reacted to the announcement, saying that "... the resignation of Commissioner Strada is justified, but it does nothing to help Christa now. What happened to her Wednesday reflects a systemic failure that goes far beyond any one person."

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Omar, a Republican, announced the day after the state tried to kill her, a thorough and comprehensive review of Pike's case will be done by a third party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BILL LEE (R-TN): That investigation will be thorough, and it is going to take time and therefore, the last scheduled execution for this year will not take place.

Tennesseans deserve a justice system that's fair, that's consistent, that is faithfully administered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Governor Lee also announced he has halted the execution of death row inmate, Gary Sutton, which was scheduled for December.

Pike, who was set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years, was originally sentenced to death after being convicted of the 1995 murder of 19-year-old, Colleen Slemmer.

Randy Spivey, one of Pike's attorneys, said the governors call for a review of the execution protocol doesn't go far enough. He called for Lee to commute her sentence, saying Pike has endured punishment and here I quote, "greater than any other person," he said in the history of the American death penalty. Omar, now back to you.

JIMENEZ: All right, Rafael Romo, appreciate the reporting.

Meanwhile, an independent review is underway to figure out what went wrong. The state says they followed protocol, but now there are new questions about lethal injections and the drugs used for executions.

CNN's Meg Tirrell joins us with more on how something so serious could go so wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What I heard from experts is that that is actually happening more frequently. But what's really different about her situation is it does seem like the drug, this pentobarbital, was actually delivered to her.

So often one of the things we hear about is that there's a difficulty finding a place to place an I.V., for example, that can often lead to these really long delays or them not happening at all, as happened in May with the previous execution in Tennessee that was botched and didn't end up happening.

But here, you know the drug actually did seem like it was getting to her.

You know, data from the drug penalty -- sorry, Death Penalty Information Center shows that botched executions using lethal injection happen about 7.2 percent of the time, and that is twice the rate with other methods of execution.

And according to an Amherst College professor, Austin Sarat, who's been studying this, that has been ticking higher since 2010. He says closer now to eight percent for lethal injection. And there's a few reasons for that potentially.

One is that around that time, there was an advocacy group out of the U.K. called Reprieve which started putting pressure on pharmaceutical companies first in Europe to not export their drugs to be used in lethal injections in the United States that also led to export controls from the U.K. and Europe and then American pharmaceutical companies followed suit and put restrictions in place to try to ensure that their drugs which they say are used for life-saving medical purposes should not be used to execute people.

[18:30:01]

And so, that caused states and the federal government to have to turn alternative sources to try to get these drugs, and sometimes experts have questioned the quality of those drugs and how well they're stored and tested.

Beyond that, we know that major medical groups here in the United States, including the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, they oppose or even prohibit their members from participating in executions. The AMA says in its code of ethics, "An individual's opinion on capital punishment is the personal moral decision of the individual." They say, "However, as a member of a profession dedicated to preserving life when there's hope of doing so, a physician must not participate in a legally authorized execution."

Experts I have talked with have said this is just this sort of terrible, perfect storm of things that could go wrong, possibly not the best quality drugs. And we don't know who the people are who are actually performing the executions themselves and what their medical training is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right, Meg Tirrell, appreciate the reporting.

Meanwhile, the family of Colleen Slemmer, this is the classmate Pike and her boyfriend tortured and killed 31 years ago, says they are trying to keep the focus on the victim and Colleen's mother said this before Tennessee tried to execute Pike this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAY MARTINEZ, COLLEEN SLEMMER'S MOTHER: The criminals get so much attention. Why? She has been lost in this, and they lost a piece of her skull that we still can't find. She has been forgotten other than when it is brought up like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Words directly from the family there.

But we are also following more things as well, including still to come, CNN is going to bring you some newly unsealed video. Police bodycam showing the moment Luigi Mangione is cornered inside a McDonald's and taken into custody.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:38]

JIMENEZ: We are now getting a first-hand look at the arrest of the man who admitted to gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson on a New York City Street nearly two years ago. CNN has obtained the police bodycam video of Luigi Mangione's arrest which happened in a Pennsylvania McDonald's five days after the shooting.

CNN's Kara Scannell walks us through this newly obtained video.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: JUST give me a favor, go ahead and stand up. I want to pat you down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand up.

LUIGI MANGIONE, CONFESSED KILLER OF UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO BRIAN THOMPSON: This is a jar of peanut butter, by the way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can take that but I'm just letting you know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yep. Just put your hands on the wall. I'm going to pat you down.

MANGIONE: Sure.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Newly unsealed police bodycam footage, first seen on CNN, shows the moments Altoona, Pennsylvania police officers handcuffed Luigi Mangione and took him into custody ending a five-day manhunt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep your hands on the wall. Okay. Left hand first. Bring your right hand back. All right.

SCANNELL (voice over): A New York state judge unsealed the footage at the request of CNN after Mangione pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges and admitted to fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson.

The videos were played during a suppression hearing last December, but have not been publicly released until now.

Officers responded to a 911 call on December 9th, 2024 that the suspected New York City CEO shooter may be in a McDonald's restaurant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How you doing? Can you put your mask down real quick for me?

MANGIONE: Yes, sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Appreciate it. Thank you. Okay.

SCANNELL (voice over): The officers immediately thought it was him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's 100 percent him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told you, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That shooter checked in a hostel with a fake I.D.

SCANNELL (voice over): Officers confront Mangione about a fake driver's license bearing the name Mark Rosario.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that your name Mark Rosio? Rosaro?

MANGIONE: No, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then what's your real name?

MANGIONE: Luigi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Luigi?

MANGIONE: Mangione. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll write it down. Give me the date of birth then too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you spell your full name?

MANGIONE: L-U-I-G-I.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: L-U-I-G-I.

MANGIONE: Mangione. M-A-N-G-I-O-N-E.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you lying about your name?

MANGIONE: Clearly, I shouldn't have.

SCANNELL (voice over): A search reveals a gun magazine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, look at.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's (bleep) him, dude. It's (bleep) him, 100 percent.

SCANNELL (voice over): About 10 minutes later, Mangione is taken to the police station.

Mangione is asked to remove layers of clothing so he can be searched more thoroughly, while another officer unzips his backpack and finds a gun that authorities later link to the crime scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Need a (inaudible)?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a weapon. So, you want me to clear it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's just clear it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clear it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good. There's another magazine that was hidden in this underwear. In this underwear. (Bleep). Silencer.

SCANNELL (voice over): She also finds Mangione's handwritten notes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like a journal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bag it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would.

SCANNELL (voice over): While a different officer ticks off the evidence, including a checklist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, he has a handgun --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty cool. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- suppressor, his cell phone in a Faraday bag. He has a checklist for today. Tomorrow, he's supposed to do an intel check-in and a survival kit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Our thanks to Kara Scannell for that report.

All right, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, country singer, Zach Bryan performed wearing a t-shirt reading, "Free Palestine." Now, Bryan wore the short at the same Robert Kraft owned venue where rapper, Macklemore was barred by the Patriots' billionaire owner from playing at an Ed Sheeran concert last month due to remarks he made in support of Palestine.

That led to all of Sheeran's opening acts quitting his tour.

Now, members of Zach Bryan's band also wore shirts with the same message. They are scheduled to play at Gillette Stadium again tonight.

Still ahead for us, John King gives us a closer look at the changing demographics in Georgia that has Democrats and Republicans anxiously waiting to see how the midterms unfold. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:44:43]

JIMENEZ: With just 31 days until the midterm elections and President Trump's approval rating in steep decline, John King's All Over The Map zeroes in on Georgia, a state with two Democratic U.S. senators, but also one where Republicans have ruled for generations, including Trump winning in 2024.

But today, John King finds a once deep red state where the economy has voters looking for change and Democrats making gains.

[18:45:10 ]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Early to work at Rebel Tea House. Christine Nguyen first opened these doors four years ago. Six employees then, 18 now. A success story, but plenty of stress.

CHRISTINE NGUYEN, GEORGIA VOTER: Cost has risen 18 percent across the board for us. It has been a struggle for a lot of people to get out there and to sort of purchase goods, so we're grateful that we do have such a good local community that will show up for the small businesses.

KING (voice over): This is Decatur in DeKalb County, the Atlanta suburbs. Decision time as Georgia picks a new governor and decides whether to send Democrat, John Ossoff back to the Senate.

KING (on camera): And so the keiki at the bottom is the sugar?

NGUYEN: Yes. The keiki at the bottom is the sugar.

KING (voice over): Likely Ossoff will win.

She likes how he mixes it up on social media and sees Democrats in congress as more likely to help with a major business goal.

NGUYEN: Right now, for us to afford health care, it's not like I can work any harder to get it. It's -- it has to be something that comes from a bigger policy change.

KING: Right.

KING (voice over): Nguyen tends to vote blue, but is less certain in the Governor's race. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is the Democrat, health care executive Rick Jackson, the Republican. Data centers is a big issue.

NGUYEN: Energy cost has already gone up. Being able to differentiate between whether or not it ties in with the data centers would be nice to know. But the biggest thing is how it affects the community and the people living in those areas.

KING (voice over): Taxes and safety also on her list.

NGUYEN: I have to wait to see what the debates will say.

KING: Georgia's recent history is deep red. A Republican Governor for 23 years now, Republican controlled the legislature for 22 years, and Georgia has voted Republican in eight of the last 10 presidential elections.

In 2020 though, Joe Biden narrowly carried Georgia. And in early 2021, Ossoff and fellow Democrat, Raphael Warnock won runoff elections for both Georgia's U.S. Senate seats.

So is Georgia still a red state, a purple state, or a state about to tip blue?

It's a big and legitimate question because of the rapid pace of demographic change here. Back in 2000, Georgia's population was 65 percent white. That's down to 48 percent now.

Blacks were 29 percent of the Georgia population in 2000. That's up to 32 percent. Hispanics were five percent back in 2000, more than 12 percent now. And the Asian vote is also growing fast. Just two percent of the population back in 2000, now above five percent.

CARY FULKS, GEORGIA VOTER: So this is Marietta campus.

KING (voice over): Cary Fulks lives in Atlanta, sees the change every drive to his graduate school studies in Marietta. Suburban Cobb County was solid red 15 years ago, solid blue now.

FULKS: A lot of the programs were found ... KING (voice over): But Fulks still sees a lot of conservative Bible Belt outside of the suburbs, and he worries some younger students don't share his zeal for voting.

FULKS: Gen Z is just apathetic toward all of it. They don't see any sort of feasibility in voting because it's all just going to be terrible anyway. Why are we a part of this? And to some extent, I had that as well as a younger person.

KING (voice over): The governor's race is his test.

FULKS: Like, has there been enough talk, enough push for people to see, oh, we can have a Black woman in office? So I think that's where the skepticism comes in.

KING: Georgia's never had a woman governor. It's never had a Black governor. And it's never had a former Atlanta mayor become governor. You think she can knock all those three down in one election?

FULKS: I hope that she can. It would be great if she did.

CHANTA VILLANO-WILLIS, GEORGIA VOTER: We're trying to stay in Cobb County because that's where my son's job is.

KING (voice-over): Powder Springs is near the western edge Cobb County, about 25 miles from Atlanta. Chanta Villano-Willis would have voted for Donald Trump in 2024 had President Biden stayed in the race, but she went for Vice President Harris in the end.

CHANTA VILLANO-WILLIS: I was really trying to go with the lesser of two evils. Sorry to categorize her that way, but -- yes.

KING (voice over): Unhappy now with losses in crypto investments she blames on Trump, unhappy with the Iran War and with gas and grocery prices.

VILLANO-WILLIS: Why is everything always somebody else's fault? When do you take responsibility for what you put in place?

KING (voice over): A fan of Senator Ossoff, but Villano-Willis lived in Atlanta when Bottoms was mayor and says she often didn't feel safe.

KING: She would break three barriers in one election if she won. That matter to you at all?

VILLANO-WILLIS: Nope. Nope. I want the person who's most qualified who cares about all the people.

KING: Do you like Mr. Jackson or is it just you can't vote for her?

VILLANO-WILLIS: I like some of the things he's done, but no. She -- I can't vote for her. I won't being a Black woman, all that, I'm -- she don't get my vote for that.

KING (voice over): The Port of Savannah is all the way east, Chatham County.

KING: All aboard.

KING (voice over): Lifelong Republican Randy Powell lists immigration and taxes as his top issues, and he says it is unfair to blame just Trump and Republicans for high prices and high mortgage rates.

RANDY POWELL, GEORGIA VOTER: I put the blame on both parties because they're not talking.

No longer than 400 days.

KING (voice over): A flashback from 2009. I met Powell here 17 years ago, a Savannah police officer who at the age of 50 was called back to military service and sent to Iraq.

POWELL: The soldier always does what he stole.

KING (voice over): That war was unpopular and brought big political change. The current war is unpopular too with a big election just ahead.

POWELL: I feel he did the right thing. President Trump loves America. He loves the people and, granted there's -- this is short term pain.

Yes. Yes.

KING (voice over): Powell loves retirement. He politely spars with neighbors who are Democrats and during a lap around the lake was quick to point out his Republican friends.

POWELL: There's another two of my Republican friends.

KING (voice over): He hopes Republicans hold the House and says if Georgia and other blue Senate seats flipped red, maybe Trump could get more done.

POWELL: If we can get 60, we can start passing.

KING: Ossoff's counterargument would be if the Democrats take the Senate, maybe they can force Trump to talk.

POWELL: You know what? Trump is doing the best he can. President Trump's doing the best he can when it comes to the American people.

KING (voice over): Powell is as upbeat as they come, but he knows his midterm hopes might be unrealistic. Savannah is 250 miles from Atlanta, but also a big part of Georgia's shift.

George W. Bush was the last Republican to win Chatham County in a presidential race 26 years ago, back before Powell became a grandfather and was sent off to war.

POWELL: Times are changing. We're getting people from other states that are moving down here because one, they like the low taxes. They like the lifestyle and everything. But with that comes change in our voting percentages.

KING: John King, CNN, Savannah, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Savannah, also, just a great place to hang out.

John King, thanks for bringing us that.

Still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, any minute now, President Trump set to take the stage as he rallies voters in Ohio just 31 days until the midterms. This is a live look now, and we will take you there live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:57:51]

JIMENEZ: Chef David Chang is taking you on a cross country food trip with a new episode tonight. Dave hits the road traveling from Sonoma, California to the Pacific with his close friend, Chris Ying. And they are going to challenge some preconceived ideas about the Northern California food scene.

I sat down with David Chang to talk about the uniquely fresh ingredients from California, and how his friendship with Chris Ying added some laughs along the way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: You had been spending much more time at home in L.A. around family, so that's -- you know, it is a good thing. But it had been a while since you had really just gone out in the country like this. What stands out to you about Northern California in terms of the culinary scene?

DAVID CHANG, CHEF: I love NorCal. I love the Bay Area. And I feel like I know it pretty well.

I have a long history with Northern California. It is sort of like a Yankees-Red Sox type of rivalry. Long, long time ago, I did a talk with Tony Bourdain. He got me drunk. I went on stage. I gave a very long explanation of how the Bay Area should have the best food in America, maybe the best food in the world because of the quality of ingredients.

It has been at the vanguard, the very forefront of sexuality, government, technology, music, art and food. It became like only one way of cooking and anything that was a different perspective sort of got shot down.

So I said, they don't cook, they just put figs on a plate, people got very mad. I take 100 percent responsibility and this is going to get quoted. I am joking. Just settle down.

But again, part of this series was to sort of show how all of the things that I think are true are totally wrong.

It is the best eating city for fine dining in America, and I was guided by my good friend, a long-time resident of Northern California, Chris Ying. He is also somebody that is like a brother figure to me. And I don't know about you, but when you're hanging out with your friends, funny things can happen.

And there is a scene that happened where, unfortunately, Chris fell a little ill. And it was, to me, the highlight of the entire series. I laughed so hard.

If he was really, really, genuinely in trouble, I would have been the first person there as a first responder.

JIMENEZ: Yes, of course.

CHANG: But he was, he was -- he was in a good place.

JIMENEZ: It just makes this idea of what I think you're looking for in terms of finding familiarity in all of these places, it makes it that much more apparent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: I should have worn that hoodie today. All-new episode of the CNN Original Series, "The Detour" with David Chang airs tonight at 10:00 P.M. Eastern and Pacific, and tomorrow with an all-access subscription.

But for now, another hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

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