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Today: Voters Head To Polls In Michigan Senate Race; Former Trump Official Files Restraining Order Against Rep. Miller. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired August 04, 2026 - 06:30   ET

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

CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: -- running a TV commercial on this in the midterms.

[06:30:02]

But it's just another thing that stacks up.

JESSE ARM, POLLSTER: Well, that's the key point. I don't think any undecided voters are going to be making their decision based on reflecting pool dynamics.

ROCHA: Right.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Got it. Okay.

Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, Michigan's primary shines a light on the deep divide in the Democratic Party and ask whether voters are choosing an ideology or candidate they think can win in November. Plus, crews scrambling to gain control on wildfires in Washington state as the weather turns dangerous again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CORNISH: Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. Thank you for joining me on CNN THIS MORNING.

[06:35:01]

It is half past the hour. And here's what's happening right now.

In Washington, a man is arrested on arson charges in connection with one of three wildfires burning in the state. The 37-year-old man is being held on a $1 million bond, and officials say the fires are expected to keep burning for weeks. Already, more than 65,000 people have been forced from their homes.

And in just a few hours, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general. The first vote was delayed last week due to concerns from two key Republicans, but both have signaled they will vote yes after Blanche formally rescinded the presidents $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund.

And happening now, polls are set to open for critical primary elections in five key states. Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Virginia and Washington. Today's races will settle nominations in the Senate, House and gubernatorial races as we get closer to the midterms this November.

And one of today's most closely watched contests is Michigan's Democratic Senate primary. It's a key test of where the party is headed. There's Haley Stevens making her final campaign pitch, framing herself as the pragmatic choice to take on Republican Mike Rogers in November.

Meanwhile, Abdul El-Sayed rallied Detroit progressives and mounted a direct challenge to the party's Washington establishment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE; I believe in what we're going to do. I believe in the opportunity we have in front of us to take our democracy back from the likes of the corporations and the billionaires and the special interests who want to tell us what we cannot have and should not fight for.

REP. HALEY STEVENS (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: West Michigan needs a senator who's going to deliver, who's going to show up, who's going to show you that I can campaign like I govern and I govern like I campaign, I'm present, I'm focused, I'm dedicated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now, two journalists who have been following these candidates closely. Dana Milbank, political columnist for "NOTUS", and Nicholas Wu, congressional reporter for "Semafor".

Let me start with my congressional reporter. I know you like to cover the House, so it must be so irritating to be stuck covering the Senate. What is it about this race that you think is making it kind of one of the most written about?

NICHOLAS WU, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, SEMAFOR: Well, this is one of the clearest ideological divides were seeing in pretty much any Senate race in the country in the primary. Since we have such a clear division between the folks who have lined up behind Abdul El-Sayed, progressives, AOC, Bernie Sanders and so on.

CORNISH: And put up their endorsements so people can see that pretty clearly. Haley stevens got Chuck Schumer, Gretchen Whitmer. It is -- it's pretty obvious if you were drawing, if you asked a kid to draw a picture of wings of the party, these are the faces that would be on opposite sides.

WU: Exactly. And beyond that, you have very clear ideological divides when it comes to Israel, which, you know, in our post-October 7th environment has become such a huge dividing line among Democrats as they look to build the future of their party.

CORNISH: How come you say this is not a civil war? You've been writing about this, and it sounds like you think it's overblown. DANA MILBANK, POLITICAL COLUMNIST, NOTUS: I mean, what Nick is saying

is all true. I think some of it is a little overblown. I mean, one of the main reasons El-Sayed is doing so well is he's just extremely charismatic. I mean, he's a very good politician, you know?

And for all the talk of divisions within the Democratic Party, the electorate is actually pretty close. You know, it's probably more unified than it's been really in decades. And you see, you know, even the mainstream of the party, the so-called establishment, has gone substantially to the left in recent years. So, yeah, there's this huge divide they have on Israel, but the whole party is moving in El-Sayed direction on Israel.

They're both looking for universal health care, just different ways of getting there.

CORNISH: Yeah.

MILBANK: So a lot of --

CORNISH: It comes down to that dreaded word electability. Here's what Abdul El-Sayed said about that when he was asked on CNN on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: How much of this is about convincing people that you can win in November?

EL-SAYED: The question of can I win in November is, is a question that voters alone can answer. Convincing folks like you and everybody who watches from everywhere else, I'm so sorry. It just doesn't matter.

Electability is the thing that's best defined after the fact. So -- if and when I get elected, then you'll know I'm electable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I feel like Donald Trump, it applied to him, right? Like for the longest time, all I heard from Republicans is this guy is not a Republican. This isn't serious. Some of the people in his cabinet, some of the people who are with him now were people who said he was not electable. And here we are.

And so, I'm wondering if we're at the beginning of a movement that ends with some version of that for Democrats, someone that they thought was not electable, who suddenly is.

MILBANK: Yeah, I'm not sure that he's wrong in making this electability argument. The populist appeal that he has is really considerable. You know, you don't hear a word out of his mouth about sort of the woke issues, the cultural issues, and it's all pocketbook economic issues. So I'm sure --

CORNISH: But I think those issues can be pretty much foisted on you when you get to a general election, right? Like everything that Mamdani is doing in New York becomes the thing that everyone else has to run against.

MILBANK: Right. I mean, the conventional wisdom is Mike Rogers is very delighted to have El-Sayed as his opponent, but it's not entirely clear that that's the case.

CORNISH: Yeah.

MILBANK: He can ignite a populist fire. And that's what will be interesting in the fall.

CORNISH: Let me play one more thing for you. It's the vote I always keep an eye on in states like this. This is the Reverend Dr. Charles William II on CNN. This was on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. DR. CHARLES WILLIAMS II, SENIOR PASTOR, HISTORIC KING SOLOMON BAPTIST CHURCH: She's the only one in the race that's actually been elected. She was elected a congressperson. She worked in the executive branch.

And of course, she has been a legislator. She understands how to work to get policy passed. Unfortunately, there's nobody else in the race at this time that has that cache.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Historic King Solomon Church. There is always that Black Church vote that comes out, and they aren't always aligned with the academic progressive left vote. We see this in South Carolina. Biden was happy to receive those votes.

Is that the kind of thing that's a wild card here in Michigan, or are those voters also embracing some of these more populist ideas or ideas on foreign policy?

WU: I mean, the strategy that the Stevens campaign is running is to try to run up turnout in Black majority areas in Michigan. Whether that is --

CORNISH: I think I saw her at a church.

WU: Exactly. Right. Right.

CORNISH: The obligatory many times Democrats, Black church visit. That happens.

WU: Exactly. She's been trying to run up turnout there. El-Sayed has been trying to cut into those margins. For example, you know, we saw him going around Detroit with a whole crew of influencers. So it's like it's a much different kind of strategy --

CORNISH: Very different reach, but I understand.

WU: Exactly. MILBANK: And the polling shows him ahead, but it's just sort of a

guess by the pollsters about is it going to be young male white voters? Is it going to be older female black voters? We don't really know until tonight or tomorrow.

CORNISH: Yeah. Both are frustrated for different reasons. And there's always the couch, as it's said, right.

You guys, thank you so much. Hope to have you back in the group.

And tonight, don't miss key primary races across the country, including big gubernatorial and congressional races, as we've talked about of Michigan. We're going to talk about who's going to advance and we're going to have election results all night.

You can get that tonight on CNN and our CNN app.

Next on CNN THIS MORNING, a Republican lawmaker facing censure after an ethics report showing that he gave female staffers jewelry, vacations and guns. But some don't think that punishment goes far enough.

Plus, I'm going to talk to a reporter who sat down with Congressman Max Miller. What he told her about the abuse allegations he's facing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:47:12]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know Max. He's a -- he's a good person. I mean, I always thought he was a very good person. And I'm going to let the families figure that out. But it's accusations, and I'm going to let them figure that out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: President Trump publicly standing by embattled Republican Congressman Max Miller, even as his former press secretary launches a new legal battle against Miller.

So, on Monday, Stephanie Grisham's lawyer filed for a temporary restraining order against Miller. Now she's suing him for breaking the terms of a nondisclosure agreement, an agreement that stems from 2021. In a "Washington Post" op-ed, Grisham had written about abuse allegations dealing with an ex-boyfriend, and Miller sued her at the time, but they settled out of court and agreed not to disparage each other publicly.

Grisham now claims Miller violated the deal in this interview back in June.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MAX MILLER (R-OH): Without question, every allegation should be taken seriously. What should be noted is that allegation came out on the same day as somebody's book launch.

And the other part, what I would like to discuss is my ex-wife was with me every single day during that time of my life, in that election. And she, in her own words, will tell you that I never did any of those things. And she never saw evidence of me ever doing those things. And that was nothing more than somebody trying to get notoriety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining the group chat, Harri Leigh, political correspondent at Spectrum News. She conducted that interview with Congressman Miller.

This is a fascinating conversation that you got to have with him. Before we get to the allegations within his family and ex-wife, can you talk about this issue with Stephanie Grisham, why they are all of a sudden back in court?

HARRI LEIGH, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, SPECTRUM NEWS: Well, they're back in court partly because of that interview and their nondisclosure agreement back in 2021. It appears this was a confidential agreement. So we didn't know until she filed this suit.

But it appears that they agreed not to disparage each other. And she's saying that in that interview, by denying the claims that she made, as well as the claims by his now ex-wife, that he broke that agreement. And as you know, yesterday she also filed a restraining order.

CORNISH: Right. Because he's basically saying there are not multiple allegations, right? He doesn't want this to sound like it's piling up. And so, he reached back to this conversation and she's like, no, keep me out of it.

LEIGH: Yes.

CORNISH: All right. So, let's talk about the Moreno family. The Senator Bernie Moreno has been obviously, like, very upset and frustrated. He has called for Miller to step down, saying he shouldn't be in Congress anymore.

Joining him, Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Roger Marshall.

Are we going to see any other senators speak up?

ARM: I think Rick Scott might have said something to that effect. Yeah, I don't know.

[06:50:01]

CORNISH: When does it reach the House? The people who actually work with this guy?

AARON BLAKE, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORER: I think it's getting to that point now. We're seeing signals coming out of the White House where at least Trump is apparently privately saying that he doesn't think Max Miller can win reelection.

That seems like the beginnings of kind of a subtle pressure campaign to convince this person to at least step aside from his reelection campaign. And there's a very good reason for that. You know, even besides from -- aside from kind of the details of the allegations, this is a district that Republicans would worry about losing if Max Miller is on the ballot in November. That's the same with some of these other congressmen, which were talking about.

CORNISH: But now, we're talking about family. So, for instance, Senator Moreno, like I said, he put out a statement where he says, as he admitted privately, Max Miller needs serious psychological help. He's a danger to my daughter. I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter.

And then there is also this audio obtained from earlier this year. Emily Moreno is telling police about an incident on New Year's Eve where she alleged that Miller held a gun to her head when she was changing their infant daughter. So just give you a moment to listen to this.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

OFFICER: So when -- when does the gun come into play?

EMILY MORENO, EX-WIFE: When I'm changing (AUDIO DELETED).

OFFICER: And what does he do?

MORENO: Holds it on me.

OFFICER: Holds it on you? Okay, can you show me where he held it to you?

No, hey, it's -- it's okay, that's fine, that's fine. Like I said, I -- that's a hard thing to talk about.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CORNISH: Has he said anything about this incident or others? Because I know he released his own drop box of audio. So, he does want people to kind of hear his side as he's denying these allegations.

LEIGH: Yeah. And I think that's part of the problem is that he keeps releasing more and more information and more evidence that can then be used against him in certain cases. He does deny that this incident even happened.

CORNISH: What does he say about his father in law? Has he talked about what's going on publicly?

LEIGH; So, for a long time he said that they could work together. He said that he could walk and chew gum at the same time. But after a while, he was saying that his father-in-law was helping his daughter, enabling her in what he said was lying. And so that is when he started taking to social media to criticize

him. Bernie Moreno didn't say anything for a very long time. His team consistently said no comment until Sunday, and that is when he released that scathing post on X.

CORNISH: And then he was asked about it. I just want to play some video of the last time Moreno was asked about this incident. Oh, sorry about that. It is actually a full screen. I'm not sure I can say it because it involves swearing.

It says, you know, I hope you never have to go through a situation like this and you wouldn't ask that kind of effing question.

And I think it's a great example of the fact that they do want this not to be so public. This isn't something that they want to be discussed this way. Do you think it would be discussed this way if it weren't two lawmakers involved?

ROCHA: Yeah, I think we'd be having a whole different conversation. We'd also be doing it different if Bernie Moreno wasn't just elected, that means he's not up for reelection. Everybody at home should know. Just because you're a senator don't mean you're up for elections every six years.

Just elected. He's not up for another four and a half years for reelection. But in the house, to your point. Audie, everybody is up every two years. And in this congressional race, it's only an R plus seven, which should be a very safe seat. And in most circumstances, it would be a very safe seat.

But when you put that on the screen, an ad maker like me can run that against -- he's running against an ironworker, a regular union guy, and that makes that be more vulnerable.

That's why you have to put politics in this horrible situation where you're talking about guns and babies, which nobody should live through.

CORNISH: All right, so let's turn to that. Another Huse Republican facing ethics scrutiny. The ethics committee is recommending a full vote to censure North Carolina's Chuck Edwards, a months-long probe found that Edwards engaged in persistent, inappropriate conduct toward two young female staffers. That's from the ethics panel report.

Now, examples that they provided included skipping scheduled house votes to help a staffer decorate her Christmas tree, writing and reading a tearful personal poem at a staffers departure party and buying a staffer lavish gifts, including jewelry worth more than $1,000.

Edwards and his team reject the allegations. They claim that the ethics committee failed to demonstrate that either of the two staffers actually expressed discomfort to Edwards regarding his conduct with them.

The group chat is back. I wanted to follow up with this because just a few weeks ago, Mike

Johnson was saying, I want to ban dating, not just of your own staffers, but across the board. So, obviously, there was like a Houston, we have a problem situation.

What do you see in the fact that there's a censure going on here, but that hasn't come up yet with Moreno.

LEIGH: With Miller.

CORNISH: With Miller. Sorry.

LEIGH: I think that they've -- they've expressed some issues with due process. I think that now that the ethics investigation is over with Edwards, they feel more comfortable moving forward with that. But we have seen several lawmakers refuse to take a stand until the Ethics Committee makes a decision.

[06:55:05]

I don't actually know if they have started that yet, but --

CORNISH: And I'm going to throw up on screen so people can see the number of lawmakers who are facing some kind of sexual harassment or ethics investigation at this point.

And one of the people in the past was Jorge Santos. And it was interesting. I remember thinking, Jorge Santos is not going to have to leave Congress unless a Democrat also is a problem, and they can be asked to leave Congress. Like there seemed to be a kind of one for one situation that had to happen.

Is that the case right now? Just the balance of power is so tight that leadership is loathe to let anyone go?

ROCHA: That's the point here. I mean, I think that's exactly what's happening.

CORNISH: But even for Democrats, you can be like on your deathbed and still in Congress.

ROCHA: Absolutely. And you can die in office if you stay there until you're 90. I mean, it's just one thing after another.

And I think this is where the American people are fed up with both parties. When you say, what do you think about Democrats? What do you think about Republicans? You're like, well, they're all too old, and they're all a bunch of crooks that seem like they\re acting like a bunch of freaks on Capitol Hill.

ARM: I genuinely weird behavior from Edwards's part.

CORNISH: Which one?

ARM: From Edwards's part.

CORNISH: Yeah.

ARM: I mean, that's the latest one you've raised, Audie. I just -- it is strange to me that, you know, even if it is true what his office is saying, that none of these people ever complained about this, that one would think it's appropriate to shower young female staffers and these kinds of gifts and invite them to things, it's just, you know, it's strange.

CORNISH: Yeah, which two adult -- two consenting adults outside of this environment? Sure. But you know what I mean? But in Congress, there has been this sense that there's some other standard. And is that dead?

ARM: I think there is some credit that is actually due here to Speaker Johnson, who I would say probably saying nobody who works in Congress can date anybody else who works in Congress is maybe a little bit of an overcorrection. I'm not sure if that's exactly what he proposed, but if it is, I would say that, you know, maybe a bit heavy handed, but look, it's a -- it's a House Republican majority. And that ethics committee is the one that dealt down this decision.

CORNISH: Right, it's Republicans leading that committee. Yeah.

ARM: Edwards. So, you know, I respect the fact and appreciate that there is at least an effort here to clean up house and recognition that there is a problem.

ROCHA: And if Democrats take the House, which they probably will, at least in the house, it'd be interesting to watch how they deal -- how they deal with the ethics committee on either side.

CORNISH: I know, because they also always complain about the ethics committee. That's like a big Democrat thing. They're always frustrated with.

Since you were here, we want to give you something positive to talk about what is in your group chat other than people being like, oh my God, did you talk to this lawmaker? How did that interview go? What are people talking about in your world?

LEIGH: That's been a big thing this week, I'm going to say. But I think, you know, we're talking a lot about how the House, the Senate are going out. They leave so much unfinished business, so much that did not get passed. And it's going to be such a rush when they come back in September. Just talking about the budget, the NDAA, the crypto bill, military funding. So --

CORNISH: The military funding, even?

LEIGH: All the NDAA.

CORNISH: Yeah. You think that's not going to get done this week?

LEIGH: It could, but -- I mean --

CORNISH: Group chats, not hopeful. Okay. Aaron, what about you?

BLAKE: Major League Baseball salary cap. If you look at the trades that happened this week ahead of the trade deadline, the rich get richer. They get all the best players the Dodgers, the Yankees, the Phillies. We're tired of it. The Minnesota Twins need to have a level playing field to be able to compete with those teams. Salary cap.

CORNISH: Really well-delivered. Quite the argument.

ROCHA: And the billionaires.

CORNISH: Oh really?

What's in your group chat?

ROCHA: Look, it's the Latino group chat. We're getting past the primaries, Audie, and we're looking towards the general.

CORNISH: Already?

ROCHA: And look at these are great Latino candidates who are up in marginal seats. If Democrats take back Congress, it will be because --

CORNISH: All right. These -- are these folks you're working with?

ROCHA: I've worked with some of these. Randy Villegas, I would draw your attention to who I was talking to in the green room is from Fresno, auto mechanic, college professor. Like working class guy that's not made up.

CORNISH: That this is the other running trend I'm interested in, given ICE and all these things and the miscalculation in the past of left activists about thinking Latinos care about immigration so much, I'm really interested to see.

ROCHA: This story will be the story of the midterms.

CORNISH: Okay.

ARM: Well, I'm so thrown off because I was going to say the thing about the MLB salary cap.

CORNISH: Also a salary person?

ARM: I'm a Detroit Tigers fan. So, you know, I'm really hurt by this Tarik Skubal situation with Dodgers.

CORNISH: I like this baseball populist.

ARM: But, no, no, no, no, I'm actually going to talk about the new Spider-Man movie because we haven't had a solid superhero movie in a hot minute at this point. And this Spider-Man movie was really quality.

CORNISH: The last one probably was a Spider-Man movie. ARM: Yeah, probably. So, Spider-Man is just like the best pop culture

figure. Honestly, of any --

CORNISH: Certainly the most durable, as is Tom Holland. Yeah.

ARM: So go see it. The world is smaller. It's not huge. There's not like aliens from other dimensions coming in and messing up timelines. So good movie.

CORNISH: Anti-multiverse. What a take. Okay.

ROCHA: Has it already come out? I'm the old guy here. Has Spider-Man come out?

CORNISH: Has already come out. I don't blame you because the hype and run up to these things is just so long.

ROCHA: It's actually show.

CORNISH: No, it's actually out. And it also means both Zendaya and Tom Holland, who may or may not be married, but they probably are, have two top box office films with "The Odyssey" and "Brand New Day". So, shout out to them.

Thanks for being here, guys. Thanks for sharing what's in your group chat?

The headlines are next.