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CNN Provides Updates As The Countdown Hit 16 Days Until U.S. Midterm Elections; France Faces Violent Protests; Car Plows Into Crowd At Wichita Youth Soccer Game; Trump Endorses Netanyahu; Settler Violence In West Bank; Georgia's Poll Observers; Manu Raju Hits The Trail In Kansas. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 18, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the "CNN Newsroom." Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

Election Day just 16 days away. Brand-new national polls out today painting a worrying picture for Republicans trying to hold on to their control of Congress. CNN averaged recent polls when voters were asked which party's congressional candidate they would support in their district, and in that question, Democrats lead Republicans by nine points.

The cost of living, another major issue for Americans. A new poll out today from ABC News, "The Washington Post," and Ipsos shows most voters say many everyday expenses are simply unaffordable, including groceries and healthcare. And at the same time, President Donald Trump is making a cross-country blitz to stump for Republican candidates, but his approval rating is now hovering near a career low.

CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook is joining us now. Julia, what's the polling saying about his approval rating and how is he talking about this on the campaign trail?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, for the most part, he is not really taking those issues head on. He is instead choosing to tout the areas where he believes that his administration has been successful, all while encouraging Republicans to get out to the polls.

Now, of course, right now, Republicans have control of the White House, the Senate, and the House. Any change in that dynamic would have a big impact on Trump's next two years.

And an RNC official tells me that the strategy for the rally that he had this weekend in Kentucky, as well as the other rallies that he has had throughout the month, has been to encourage turnout, to get Republicans to go to the polls.

And the message that we've heard over and over from him is that voters should pretend that he is on the ballot. Now, he continued to say that when he made this stop just yesterday. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- if we don't win. This is the most important midterm in the history of our country because we've gotten more things done, and they can undo them if we start losing an election, especially this one. So, pretend I'm on the ballot. Go out and vote. You got to do it. Raise your right hand. Will everybody vote? Yes. Right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: So, there, he's kind of giving his own poll to that crowd of supporters. But here's what the polls were tracking are showing. The CNN Poll of Polls, which is an accumulation of several key national polls, it shows that his approval rating right now is at just 34 percent.

And then you have that new poll from Washington Post, ABC, and Ipsos that asked voters specifically about some key issues like which political party do they trust more when it comes to the economy, and that found that 37 percent said Democrats compared to just 28 percent that said Republicans. Other key areas where polling shows the Democrats have an edge right now is healthcare as well as inflation and the cost of living.

So, in the coming days, Trump is going to continue to be out there encouraging Republicans to get out. And on his schedule, we expect him this week to be in Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, and then ending the week back here in the state of Florida with a rally in Fort Myers.

DEAN: And Julia, what are Republican candidates? And obviously, it varies by district and where they are. But generally, how are they handling the president's approach to all these issues?

BENBROOK: Yes, some Republican lawmakers specifically related to the House races have privately acknowledged to CNN that they are concerned about the growing frustrations on some of these key issues, particularly when it comes to working class voters, as they are seeing the cost in gas prices, the cost in groceries just skyrocket.

And some of those lawmakers do believe that they need to do a better job in messaging on those concerns and key issues and also with voters that are really frustrated just with the overall system of government here right now. Of course, that's a lot harder to do when you are the party in power.

DEAN: All right. Julia Benbrook, thank you so much. And a little further down the road from President Trump's Mar-a-Lago, the race is heating up for the 27th congressional district in South Florida. Florida overall considered now a Republican stronghold, but the president's support has been crumbling among Latino voters in a recent poll.

CNN correspondent Arlette Saenz joins us now from Miami. Arlette, walk us through what you've discovered being on the ground there.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, Latino voters have proven to be a key swing voting bloc in recent elections. The president had flipped an area like where we are right here in Miami- Dade County for the first time for a presidential candidate in 1988. Republicans have been hoping that they could sustain that support from Latino voters.

[17:05:00]

But recent polling has shown that there are signs that Trump's support with that community is shifting. An NBC News Telemundo poll found that only 27 percent of Latino voters support the president's performance in office and more Latino voters wanted to see Democrats win control of Congress than Republicans.

Now, that fight for Latino voters is playing out right where we are in Florida's 27th congressional district where you had Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar facing off against the Democratic challenger Eliott Rodriguez. They are both very well known in the Miami area because they were both local TV news anchors in their previous jobs.

Salazar won here by over 20 points in the last election, but she is contending with frustration from voters on the economy and President Trump's immigration enforcement actions. Salazar even herself released an ad pushing back on some of the president's immigration policies.

But I want you to hear from two voters that we spoke with over the past two days who voted for President Trump and share some of their frustration with what they've seen in nearly two years in office. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: How have you felt about the economy?

ROBERT PEREZ, INDEPENDENT VOTER: The economy kind of down, down, down, down, especially the gasoline. The gasoline would be $3.49, $3.59. Now, it's $4.05. That's too much. To live in Miami, you got to have money, man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYUMI CASTRO FERNANDES, VOTER: It's how the immigration go in this country. They are chasing immigrants. They are still here for more than 20 years in this country. This country built -- is built for the immigration -- immigrants, and they are chased like a criminal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, this community here in Miami-Dade County also features a very diverse population within the Hispanic community. You have a large population of Cuban Americans, large population of Venezuelan Americans and many immigrants living in this area.

But this district in South Florida isn't the only one we will be watching on election night. Just remember that there are a number of majority/minority Latino districts over in South Texas where Democrat James Talarico is really fighting against the Republican candidate, Ken Paxton, there.

But certainly, right now, one of the big questions is, even if the president's support with Latinos is dropping, will that affect Republican candidates in these congressional races in just a few weeks? Jessica?

DEAN: Yes, we're going to see. Arlette Saenz for us in Miami, thank you so much for that reporting. And don't forget to tune in tonight to the CNN special countdown to election night. That's with Laura Coates tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN, and streaming on the CNN app with an "All Access" subscription.

Still to come here on "Newsroom," cities across France reeling after a night of violent protests. Police officials say hundreds of police officers injured and more than 2,000 people detained. We're going to take you to Paris.

Plus, a mother is released from custody after allegedly plowing her car through a crowd of people at a youth soccer game in Kansas. We've got new details about the victims of that.

And early voting underway in battleground Georgia. We're going to talk with someone from the Carter Center about the work that goes into making sure elections are safe and secure. You're on the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: This morning, France woke up to destruction following one of the most violent nights of unrest there in recent years. What started as largely peaceful anti-government protests descended into rioting. Over the weekend, one police officer and one protester died. Police detained more than 2,000 people. They say over 600 police officers were injured. Stores were looted. Windows were shattered. Cars were burned.

According to the French interior minister, more than a half million protesters hit the streets across France. And organizers say even more people than that turned out. Last night, in the central city of Limoges, the historic 143-year-old city hall was set ablaze, leading to its spire collapsing, as you see there during the protests. And today, in the daylight, we can see the extent of the damage while the building is still smoldering.

French President Emmanuel Macron addressing the nation a few hours ago, vowing to hold rioters accountable, but also said the government should listen to public grievances.

And joining us now to discuss more about this, former New York Times correspondent and former CBS News Paris correspondent David Andelman. He's also the author of "Andelman Unleashed" on Substack. David, thank you so much for being here with us. Help catch people up to where we --

DAVID ANDELMAN, FORMER CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK TIMES: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: It's great to have you. Catch people up to where we are at this moment in France because this didn't just come out of nowhere. There are a lot of pieces that are coming together at this moment. So, give people a snapshot of where we are. It has been building for quite a while.

So, this is -- first of all, this is a very French way of folks expressing themselves. There's no gunfire on either side. People don't get wounded by gunfire. They build barricades. And this goes back to the times of Les Mis.

But 40 years ago, in 1986, I was tear gassed in front of the National Assembly, the parliament. Many folks remember eight years ago, near the start of the Macron presidency, the yellow vest movement. That was about gas prices, inflation, retirement age. A lot of the same issues that are happening today. I was live on the Champs-Elysees for CNN when a tear gas grenade went on right behind me. I jumped.

[17:15:00]

So, back in 1968, students were protesting like crazy. The real violence is not from the students in protest. And there has been real violence. Although -- people woke up this morning. There was destruction. A lot of destruction in various parts of the city, the Champs-Elysees, the Rue Matignon.

It was -- it was really -- it was -- it was a very, very tense evening. My wife actually got tear gassed when she was coming out of the Gare de l'Est last night after coming back from Germany, a trip there. So, it's -- it's -- it's certainly not fun when you're right in the middle of it.

And there are roots to this. There are some very real roots. The students and the protesters, they have some grievances. And Macron, frankly, hasn't been very good at addressing these grievances. So, that's really kind of the background of where we were right now.

DEAN: Yes. And so -- I hope your wife is OK. That's very scary. I -- a lot of this is economic, and it has been building over years. This happens to be focused on schools and funding for schools.

ANDELMAN: Yes, it does. But remember, back in 1968, the students began protesting overcrowded universities. This time, it's high schools. That nearly brought down the government in '68. President Charles de Gaulle actually fled Paris for a time. There were barricades in the streets.

There was a barricade in the street right in front of my apartment house last night. But it comes down. They tried to get -- an ambulance tried to get through. They took the barricade down so the ambulance could get through, and then they put it back up again.

The French can be very polite that way, in terms of their protesting. There were also, however, these people called casseurs, the breakers. They're the nasty guys, the looters. They jump in to take advantage of this. And that's where a lot of things really -- that's where it can get out of hand, and it did to a degree, and it has in the past. But these passes, you know.

And the biggest problem right now that we have is that nobody really trusts Macron anymore. He is still the president until next -- next April. So, it's -- it's going to be interesting to see how he can get out of it, if he can get out of it like he has gotten out of other things, a little concession here, a little understanding, and so on, but a lot of that trust with the people of France has been broken.

DEAN: And, as you noted, these demonstrations started as mostly peaceful and continued as mostly peaceful. However, they have become violent in some cases also, as you noted, and as we were seeing there. We've seen looting. We've seen the rioting. We saw an over 100-year- old city hall burned and lit on fire, cheering as something that lived through, you know, World War II burned to the ground. What changed?

ANDELMAN: Well, not much did change. I mean, again, this was -- this was an intense -- it's a level of intensity, the level of intensity when was up here, past riots, very often past demonstrations, if it's down here. So, it's really a question of just how pent up the anger is and how -- how frustrated people are. People are very frustrated now.

The biggest problem I can see coming out of this is there's lot more political issues involved, buried here. That is really going to make things very difficult in the next six months of political campaign.

You have the far-left, Jean-Luc Melenchon, France Unbowed is the name of his party, he's very much in favor of all of these protests, he was marching with them. And then you have Marine Le Pen on the far-right on the national rally. She also has been supporting a lot of what these protesters wanted. And these may be, in fact, the only two choices the French get next year in the second round of the election.

So, we're going into a very, very difficult and tortuous time in many ways, in many respects, and that's something we have to really watch carefully. Is this going to be the beginning of the end or is it going to be the beginning of something much more important that will change the way France deals with itself and with the rest of Europe and the world and the United States?

DEAN: All right. David, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it.

ANDELMAN: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: And still to come here, a horrific scene in Wichita, Kansas after a car plowed straight into a crowd of people, including children, at a youth soccer game. We've got new details about that driver. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Police in Wichita, Kansas are trying to determine what exactly happened after a mother drove onto a youth soccer field yesterday, hitting multiple people and killing a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man. Ten other people were injured.

CNN's Mark Morales is following this. And Mark, the woman has now been released from police custody. Why? How? What more can you tell us about all of these?

MARK MORALES, CNN REPORTER: Well, she's being released, pending a toxicology report result and a mechanical review of the car. But it's really important to know that this doesn't mean that she gets off scot-free here. I mean, we have to remember that investigators are still combing through because they're still trying to figure out what exactly happened here. And we have to remember that the evidence is what dictates what charges might be, should they get to the point where they're going to issue charges.

Now, there has been a lot of video. There was a lot of witnesses. They know that she drove on that field. But what led up to that and the circumstances that caused that to happen are what's going to be really critical here.

Now, investigators have been combing through video. They've been going through surveillance video. They've been asking the public for any type of video that they might have about the incident itself. They've talked to over 30 witnesses. They've even talked to the two children of the driver who were sitting in the car. That's part of the reason why they were able to determine that the driver was sitting, parked in a parking spot not too far from the soccer field that she drove on to later on that afternoon.

And witnesses also described a chaotic scene because, remember, first responders arrived and actually found people that were there rendering first aid to other folks.

[17:24:58]

And we had an affiliate of ours who spoke to some witnesses, and they could really put what they saw into context. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISAAC, WITNESS: My dad went to the truck, took the person out the truck so they don't hit any more people. Shocked he did that because if he didn't do that, maybe the car would have stopped and more people could have gotten hit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRYANT GAZA, WITNESS: I was mainly just shocked. You know, when you see a car driving over a bunch of people, you're just like -- you're just in shock. I was scared, obviously. Didn't know what to think. Just ran out the way, hoping they'd follow me, hoping I didn't get hit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORALES: Now, in addition to those two people that were killed, there were about 10 people that were taken to an area hospital for treatment. That includes five children. Now, again, this investigation is not over and the local police are going to be presenting the case to the local district attorney's office, what they're calling an initial case presentation. Now, that's going to happen early next week. Jessica?

DEAN: All right. Mark Morales with the latest, thank you very much for that. Still ahead here, President Trump gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a glowing endorsement just days before Israeli voters head to the polls. But will the president's support be enough to sway frustrated voters there? We have new CNN reporting. That's next.

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[17:30:00]

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DEAN: President Trump is endorsing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for re-election just nine days before the Israeli elections. Trump posting this morning, Netanyahu has -- quote -- "my complete and total endorsement." Until now, the president had declined to offer his full support amid points of high tension between the two leaders, specifically over the war with Iran.

CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak is joining us now. Kevin, you've got some new reporting about this. What did you learn about the president's thinking behind the endorsement and the timing of the endorsement?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. You know, I think it's clear that the president is aware that Netanyahu is fighting for his political survival. In a lot of ways, the polls in Israel have been very, very tight. And he has been monitoring the political situation there pretty closely over the last several months.

But it wasn't until now, you know, just days before Israelis go to the polls, that the president actually offered this endorsement. Every time we had asked him about it over the last few months, he had stopped short. He wouldn't even say whether he wanted Netanyahu to remain in this job.

And it's clear now he is hoping to try and get Netanyahu across the finish line. He says Bibi Netanyahu has been strong, brave, and brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition, and that this is the kind of partner that the United States of America is demanding of Israel.

You know, Jessica, it used to be pretty taboo for any American president to endorse in a foreign election. President Trump has kind of blown past that tradition for a long time, though.

It's not really clear how much help this is going to be. You know, at one point, the president was enormously popular in Israel. You know, back in 2019, when Netanyahu was facing an election, there were billboards lining the highways with Netanyahu and Trump on them. Those billboards are not there now.

A lot of Israelis have kind of soured in their opinion of President Trump. Many thinks that he has kind of dropped the ball when it comes to the war in Iran.

And it is the war in Iran that has caused some rifts between these two men. It has been come clear for a while now that the interests of the U.S. and Israel have kind of diverged when it comes to this conflict.

The president has been extraordinarily frustrated at some of how Netanyahu has gone about this conflict. He does mention Iran in this post and in this endorsement. He says that the U.S. and Israel will finish the job soon in that conflict.

DEAN: And another international event that we want to ask you about, he just posted about further defending his decision to waive Russia- related sanctions. This was a decision he had made in the last few days. What is he saying?

LIPTAK: Yes, it's a decision that came with this swell of criticism, including from a lot of his Republican allies. What the president is saying now is that he decided to waive those sanctions on Russia because in his view, he's close to a peace agreement. He says -- quote -- "My decision on Russia is a very simple one. I'm in the process of negotiating peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine and don't want to do anything that will drive foolishly Russia away from the bargaining table."

He says that great progress is being made, and that includes on hostage negotiations. He claims that signing this document, remember, it was named for Lindsey Graham, it would put sanctions into place starting next week, he said signing it at this time will do that, he can do it at any time that he wants.

I think perhaps most extraordinarily, though, he continues really going after the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, very harshly saying that his country is in shambles and that he doesn't want to end the war. One of the reasons that's so remarkable is that Zelenskyy was on the phone today with the president's envoy, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The president really pinning the blame entirely on Zelenskyy for how long this war has gone on.

DEAN: Yes. And let us not forget that it was Russia that invaded Ukraine. Kevin Liptak at the White House, thank you so much for that.

The U.S. is condemning recent attacks in the occupied West Bank. Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling on Israel to do more to crack down on settler violence, saying he was, in his words, disturbed by the images of an attack on a Washington Post photojournalist by a group of Palestinians.

CNN's Jerusalem bureau chief Oren Liebermann has more on this recent uptick in violence.

[17:34:57]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, we're seeing a series of brazen attacks across the occupied West Bank. Part of this is, for months now, we have seen increasing settler violence, and then it's also the beginning of the annual olive harvest, and that in and of itself brings a surge in settler violence. We saw it last year and it looks like we're seeing it again.

And the Trump administration here is clearly taking notice. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Israel to crack down on settler violence. That's something we haven't seen Israel do now over the course of recent months.

And we saw that here, not only on Friday, in an attack on veteran American Washington Post journalist Heidi Levine, but also on Saturday in a settler attack against European diplomats who were trying to visit the Christian town of Taybeh, not far away from where the attack happened on Friday.

So, let's walk through both of these. On Friday, Heidi Levine was accompanying a group of Palestinians for the annual olive harvest, and that's when settlers attacked them. Levine, who was hospitalized after the attack, says she was thrown to the ground, beaten, and that the settlers stole her cameras and her passport.

She was clearly wearing a vest and a helmet that identified her as press, and yet the attack continued. She was rushed to a Ramallah hospital by the Palestine Red Crescent Society, and then she was taken to a hospital in Israel where she is recovering. She underwent surgery on her hand because of that attack.

The Washington Post issued a statement saying, we are outraged by this unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job and urge a thorough investigation and follow through from authorities.

Yet one day later, we see another settler attack near the village of Taybeh, that Christian village, on a group of European diplomats, French, Belgian, and Polish. Condemnation from across Israel. That is Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, the Israeli military, Israel police. All condemned the attack on European diplomats. Many of them also condemned the attack on Heidi Levine.

All but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who tried to cast doubt on both of these attacks, saying that there has to be evidence, that despite the fact that we have video and pictures of both the attacks and the aftermath. Why would Netanyahu be doing this? Well, he's in a tight race for re-election, and it appears he's trying

to appeal to his right-wing voter base and make sure he doesn't upset them with only days to go even, it seems, if that upsets the Trump administration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Right. Oren Liebermann, thank you so much. And just to correct the record in that lead-in, I said the journalist was attacked by a group of Palestinians. The attack was done by settlers and not Palestinians. Thank you so much. We'll be right back.

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[17:40:00]

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DEAN: Senator Jon Ossoff is rallying voters in Georgia and taking aim at President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D), GEORGIA: Now, remember, they promised to lower prices on day one. Instead, under the failed President Donald J. Trump, it costs more than ever in American history to fill up your truck, stock your fridge, visit the doctor or power your home. They promised to drain the swamp. Instead, it's the most corrupt administration of all time, and everybody knows it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Trump, meanwhile, went after Ossoff at his own Georgia rally Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The people of Georgia are going to defeat your weak, arrogant, hate-filled, radical left senator, who is really -- I call him Pee-wee Herman. Pee-wee Herman. He looks like Pee-wee. His name is Jon Ossoff. Highly overrated. Somebody said, he's a good-looking man. I don't think he's a good-looking man. I actually think Mike Collins is a good-looking man.

(APPLAUSE)

And he's old man. He's old man. I'm not sure about Ossoff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Georgia's two highly competitive races for U.S. Senate and governor are helping drive voters to the polls. Since early voting began Tuesday, more than 800,000 Georgians have cast ballots, including more than 91,000, on Saturday alone.

Meantime, the Justice Department says it will be deploying more than a thousand election monitors on Election Day which, as we mentioned, 16 days away as the Trump administration intensifies scrutiny on the election process. President Trump has previously claimed, without evidence, that there is widespread fraud in U.S. elections.

And joining us now is the director of the Carter Center's Democracy Program, Avery Davis-Roberts. The Carter Center is one group monitoring the process in Georgia. Avery, you all are a nonpartisan observer and these are kind of basic facts. Help people understand. Poll watchers have been around for a while, but there are partisan observers, nonpartisan observers. What does that look like?

AVERY DAVIS-ROBERTS, DIRECTOR, DEMOCRACY PROGRAM, THE CARTER CENTER: Yes. Thanks, Jessica. Thanks for having me. I'm glad to be here to talk a little bit about our work and what nonpartisan election observation is because, as you say, we have had partisan election observation in this country for many years. In fact, it has kind of baked into the law in many states that there are party poll monitors, you know, available and able to observe election and polling places.

What the Carter Center does as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that has observed over 120 elections in 40 countries around the world is a little bit different. We are not focused on the outcome of the election. We are not there to ensure that the rights of candidates are upheld.

We are really focused on the process and assessing whether or not the election process is unfolding according to federal law and state law, and then providing a public report on how that process has unfolded so that citizens, voters, election officials have a better sense of what really happened on Election Day.

[17:45:08]

In Georgia, we're really focused on just a couple of things. We'll be looking at the tabulation process at the end of the day in counties across the state, and then focusing on the important parts of the process that happen after voting is concluded, principally the risk- limiting audit.

DEAN: And listen, we're seeing huge numbers of early voters there in Georgia. Already, people are going to the polls.

DAVIS-ROBERTS: Yes. You know, I think we -- I live here in Georgia. I'm a Georgia voter. We here in Georgia like to vote in person and early. These numbers, as you noted, are high. They, I think, are breaking records of previous midterm turnout at this point in the process. But we really do like to vote early and in person here in Georgia.

DEAN: Yes. Certainly. And so, you all will be there in Georgia monitoring, as you said, and just keeping an eye on the process itself, and then reporting that out to citizens. Why is that important?

DAVIS-ROBERTS: You know, I think it's important for a few reasons. One is that we know that nonpartisan election observation increases public trust in the process. MIT put out a survey about this a few years ago, and the results were pretty overwhelming. People across the political spectrum said that if they knew that nonpartisan election observers were monitoring the process, they would have more faith in it.

It also is an important and sort of, I think, new way for citizens to become involved in the election process in addition to voting, right? It's a way to sort of participate in this process that is not tied to your political identity. It's really just part of civic engagement, and it's a great way to learn more about how our election process unfolds.

And then, finally, it's a great way to support our election officials. Our election officials across the 10,000 jurisdictions in this country work really hard to make sure that our elections are running effectively, efficiently, and securely. They can use help understanding, you know, how that process is unfolding before Election Day, all the way through these audits.

They appreciate having extra eyes and ears collecting information and providing that back to them so that they can take the steps necessary to do more of what's working well and to improve the things where there could maybe be, you know, a little bit of improvement.

DEAN: All right. Thank you so much, Avery Davis-Roberts. We really appreciate you being here.

DAVIS-ROBERTS: Thank you so much, Jessica.

DEAN: Still to come, Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, not pulling any punches. How he's responding to President Trump's attacks on his faith. We are live from Michigan straight ahead.

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[17:50:00]

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DEAN: Adam Hamilton is on a mission to become the first Democrat in nearly a century to win a Senate seat in the ruby red state of Kansas. Republican incumbent Roger Marshall finds himself in a surprisingly competitive race with Hamilton, a pastor who co-founded the largest United Methodist Church in the country.

CNN's Manu Raju takes us inside this pivotal contest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Republicans are on a mission in Kansas, of all places, to rescue Senator Roger Marshall. It has been 94 years since a Democrat won a Senate seat in Kansas. The state has only had three Democratic senators in its history. But the pastor turned candidate Adam Hamilton is seeking to change that.

MARILY HARRISON, KANSAS VOTER: I don't think I've ever voted for a Democratic senator.

RAJU: You haven't. This will be the first time?

HARRISON: First time.

RAJU: A toxic brew is confronting Marshall here in Kansas: High gasoline prices, high diesel prices, the unpopularity of the Iran war, the unpopularity of the president's tariff policies, and the president himself seeing his own approval sliding.

ADAM HAMILTON, KANSAS SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I watched in Washington, D.C. after the -- after the inauguration of our president, President Trump. I prayed for him, God, please give him wisdom. And I will tell you, just because you're a pastor does not mean your prayers are answered.

RAJU: Republicans are trying to nationalize this race, trying to make it all about Democratic control of the United States Senate if Hamilton were to win.

SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS), KANSAS SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Who do you want running this country? Do you want Chuck Schumer, the AOC, big government Democrats running this country?

RAJU (voice-over): To avoid a historic defeat, Republicans are now in an all-out effort to save Marshall, launching attacks like these.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Adam Hamilton isn't a moderate. He's a two-faced extremist.

RAJU: I caught up with Marshall in central Kansas, a place that Donald Trump won overwhelmingly. I asked him initially about the Iran war. Instead, he pivoted to another issue.

Do you think that given the impact that's having on fuel prices, that it's time for the president to end the war with Iran?

MARSHALL: You know, I think what you should be talking about is my opponent, that he's a child sex predator protector, that he's --

RAJU: He denies that.

MARSHALL: It absolutely happened.

RAJU: What about Iran? I'm asking --

MARSHALL: No, I think you guys need to talk about something that Kansans want to be talking about.

RAJU: You don`t want to talk about the Iran war?

MARSHALL: I've given you my comments on Iran before. Look, I want this war to be over as quickly as possible. I don't want to lose any soldiers, any more soldiers like Eisenhower. I hate war.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Sex abuse at a fall church camp. RAJU (voice-over): Marshall now running ads accusing Hamilton of covering up a child sex abuse sex scandal from two decades ago. And Trump piling on in a Truth Social post this past week. But Hamilton says the accusations are riddled with lies.

RAJU: This is the president of the United States. He just said that.

HAMILTON: Yes. The president is lying.

[17:55:00]

He's twisting the truth around. Every organization that looked into these claims four months ago said the same thing. This is a misrepresentation of what happened.

RAJU: It's sad to be tragically in that situation.

HAMILTON: Absolutely. We should have called the police immediately. But that was not our policies 21 years ago. This is desperate attempts to try to deflect from a horrible record Roger Marshall has.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): He sued more than 700 of his own patients for paying their medical bills late.

RAJU: But Marshall has faced a series of damaging stories, including billing practices associated with his medical practice. The New York Times reporting that he filed lawsuits against roughly 700 patients who had outstanding debt. Eighty-one of those patients later were arrested for missing court dates.

What about the billing practices, "The New York Times" billing practice? They reported about that. Looking at those people who had about $100 in outstanding debt, was it OK to go after them?

MARSHALL: So why do you continue to repeat this lie?

RAJU: That was in the story. It's not true?

MARSHALL: So why are we repeating the lie? You're repeating the lie.

RAJU: Did you guys do anything wrong? Did you guys do anything wrong?

MARSHALL: Of course, we did not. The Kansas Bill of Rights clearly says you cannot imprison or even arrest somebody because of indebtedness. I would want no one to ever go to jail because of anything they owe me. There were people being bused from other cities to us, knowing that I would take care of them for free.

RAJU (voice-over): And the Kansas City Star reported that Marshall's practice charged an unusually high 18 percent interest rate on unpaid medical bills.

RAJU: What about the 18 percent interest rate that has come out? Was that an appropriate interest rate to charge?

MARSHALL: Listen, I think what -- you're losing the real story here, right? So, once this -- when and if this ever happened, and we wrote off hundreds of people's bills every month, some of those people by law have to go to collections. Whatever interest rate they charge, I have no idea. This was the first lie of many from Adam Hamilton's campaign.

RAJU: Should the president end the trade war with Canada? Should he end the trade war with Canada?

RAJU (voice-over): Marshall has shown little daylight with Trump who won the state by double digits three times, and relying on surrogates like Vice President J.D. Vance who recently attacked Hamilton's faith.

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Ladies and gentlemen, that is not Christianity. That is left-wing radicalism dressed in the skin suit of our religion.

RAJU: But when you look back at some of your past sermons, did you ever say things that were things that were outside of the political mainstream that you could have said differently?

HAMILTON: I'm a slightly left of center on some issues, slightly right of center on other issues. If you want to take a line out of a sermon, I preach 1,500 different sermons, take a line or two words out of one paragraph, two words out of another, you make something up, that sounds that way. But if he gets sad and pathetic, then both the president and the vice president would attack somebody's faith.

I guess I would ask the question, do the policies of Vice President Vance and Donald Trump, do they reflect the Jesus of the gospels? And the answer is no.

RAJU (voice-over): Democrats have demonstrated some success here in recent years, including Governor Laura Kelly's two wins and a ballot initiative reaffirming abortion rights in the state, and that makes Marshall backers nervous.

RAJU: Are you worried that Hamilton could actually win this race?

JAMES NELSON, KANSAS VOTER: Oh, he could, because we have a bad reputation in this state of electing liberal governors and things.

UNKNOWN: Adam Hamilton.

(APPLAUSE)

RAJU (voice-over): To win the race, Hamilton has to woo Kansas Republicans and convince them he's a different kind of Democrat.

RAJU: There are some voters who undoubtedly have concerns about the fact that if you were to win, the Democrats are likely going to be the Senate, then Chuck Schumer is going to likely be the Democratic leader. What do you say to them?

HAMILTON: Well, I say to them, it's possible that that's going to happen no matter what. But here's the question I ask: Are you better off as Kansas if we have two Republican senators representing Kansas on the Republican side of the aisle or if we had Jerry Moran who seems to be doing a pretty good job on the Republican side and I'm working as a moderate Democrat on the Democratic side?

RAJU: I saw you had said that you had spoken to Chuck Schumer about how he's making this race harder for you. What do you mean by that? Is it just how toxic the Democratic brand here is in this state?

HAMILTON: Yes, I think the Democratic brand is in trouble everywhere across the United States. Chuck Schumer becomes the sort of archetype for that. Whether it's deserved or not, that's how he's seen.

So, what I've said is I'm not going to vote for Chuck Schumer for, you know, the Senate majority leader or minority leader, whichever it is. No disrespect for him, but we need new and fresh leadership, and the Democratic Party needs that desperately. They need new and fresh leadership, new ideas, and I think I'm a part of that.

RAJU: Now, Hamilton is seeing a surge of democratic support, including fundraising. In the previous quarter, just reporting 11 times more money hauled in than Marshall himself. Marshall relying instead on President Trump, who plans to campaign with him tomorrow in Wichita as Marshall and the GOP try to nationalize this race and warn about a possible Democratic Senate if Hamilton were to win.

Manu Raju, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right. Manu, thank you for that reporting. And another hour of "CNN Newsroom" starts right now.

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