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Inside Politics

Wisconsin Mail Ballots to Be Sent Out Tomorrow; Poll Shows Harris, Trump Effectively Tied in Wisconsin; Economic Worries Boost Trump's Hispanic Support in Nevada; Celebrities Urge Biden Administration to Bring Israeli Hostages Home. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired September 18, 2024 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: -- quietly excited about it. Thank you, guys. Great reporting, great discussion.

Coming up, get ready to check the mail, Cheeseheads, because ballots go out tomorrow in Wisconsin where Joe Biden won by less than 21,000 votes in 2020. Can Kamala Harris keep the state blue? The Democratic chair of that state will be here next.

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BASH: Election Day is only 48 days from now, but the voting process is already beginning, including tomorrow in pivotal Wisconsin. That state will start sending out mail ballots to voters who requested them.

[12:35:00]

This is a state both candidates want badly in their column. It was decided by fewer than 21,000 votes in 2020.

Joining me now is the Chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, Ben Wikler. Wikler, thank you so much for being here. So, let's talk about your confidence first and foremost about the integrity of the process in Wisconsin this year, how they're going to be counted, how they're going to be certified?

BEN WIKLER, CHAIRMAN, WISCONSIN DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Dana, it's great to be with you today and it's great to be on the cusp of a history- changing moment. Wisconsin has one of the best-performing election systems in the country. There's an MIT performance index that ranks electoral administration systems, Wisconsin is consistently in the top three. So I'm confident that everyone who cast a ballot will know that their ballot will be counted. The question is how many folks can we make sure cast ballots for Harris? Because Wisconsin is the land of the nail-biter.

BASH: Yeah, it sure is. And I'm glad to hear you say that about your confidence. Sure is the land of the nail biter, as I said before. I'll say it again, it was only 21,000 votes that President Biden won by in 2020. And if you look at a poll from earlier this month, it is incredibly close. Kamala Harris, there has 51; Donald Trump has 49, but it is still very much in the margin of error. What is your confidence level right now in Democrats taking that state?

WIKLER: Well, it's not just 2020, four of the last six presidential races here have been decided by less than one percentage point, by less than 25,000 votes. And that's two or three votes per precinct across the state. And the other thing is that in both 2016 and 2020, the polls had us up significantly and then it came down to these razor-thin margins. So right now, we are up in all the major polls in Wisconsin, but we expect this to be hyper tight. We expect this race to be a photo finish, and we are going to organize like that next volunteer shift, that next donation at wisdoms.org (ph), that next phone-banking call could be the one that tips the entire state, that tips the entire country.

BASH: And we were talking in the break and I didn't mean to bring up a sore subject, and that sore subject, of course, is Hillary Clinton didn't go to Wisconsin the way that a lot of Democrats, I'm sure yourself included, would have liked in 2016. She lost there. But, that has been very different this time around, both the Democratic ticket and the Republican ticket have been visiting your state quite frequently.

WIKLER: All the time. And you know, in 2016, the model said Wisconsin was going to be blue. Turned out to be bright purple. This time, even if it says we are up, I know that Harris and Walz will keep coming back. Harris will be here this Friday in Madison. It's going to be amazing. We had Walz here this weekend. He was in Wausau. He was in Superior, Wisconsin. They're not going to skip Wisconsin, they are in all parts of the state. And one part that's key is we are racking up Democratic votes in rural areas, in small towns, in suburbs, in medium cities, and in the bigger cities -- the Madison, Milwaukee. You have to do the whole map to win Wisconsin.

BASH: Obviously, you're all about getting out the vote. What do you want her to say? What's the most important thing policy-wise that she can do to help you get those votes out for her in Wisconsin?

WIKLER: Wisconsin had, in effect, a near-total abortion ban for 451 days after the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade. I want every Wisconsin voter to know. We don't have ballot initiatives in our state. What we do have is elections. So if you want to make sure we do not get a Project 2025 Trump abortion ban in Wisconsin, if you want to make sure Republicans in our state can't pass a state abortion ban, you have to send Harris to the White House, and send Tammy Baldwin and Rebecca Cooke and Brian (ph) Peter Barca in the first Congressional district sent her to Democratic congress, send Harris and Walz to the White House. We will pass Roe v. Wade into law nationwide and prevent Wisconsin from going backwards again to a disastrous abortion ban that terrified and traumatized so many families across the state.

BASH: Really interesting that you talked about abortion and -- before the economy, but we are going to have to leave it there and I want to pick up there, next time you and I talk. Thank you so much, Ben. Good to talk to you.

WIKLER: Thanks so much, Dana. BASH: And up next, Chelsea Handler, Andy Cohen, Connie Britton, those are just some of the more than 50 celebrities pushing the Biden Administration to do everything in their power to bring Israeli hostages home. That's coming up, new reporting, stay with us.

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BASH: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas doesn't apply to this election. CNN's John King is "All Over The Map" in Nevada, a deadlocked battleground state.

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JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Afternoon drive time in Vegas, Rogelio Regalado at his dream job, mixing the music.

ROGELIO REGALADO, NEVADA VOTER: I was born in Mexico. I became a citizen during Obama's presidency. The main goal for me was to vow (ph) to participate in the elections and been in Vegas for 14 years now -- love the city, love the state.

KING (voice-over): Fiesta 98.1 was launched in the middle of the COVID pandemic, by Regalado and his close friend, Rafael Cerros Jr.

KING: That's risky.

RAFAEL CERROS JR., NEVADA: Yes, super (ph). We are crazy, maniac.

(LAUGH)

KING (voice-over): Their little startup is now number two in the Las Vegas market. Their Hispanic audience critical in deciding who wins battleground Nevada.

CERROS JR.: We are one-third of the population and last time I checked, it's like 23 percent of voter registrations.

[12:45:00]

KING: It's power.

CERROS JR.: It's power.

KING (voice-over): Donald Trump narrowly lost Nevada in both 2016 and 2020. But this time, Cerros and Regalado see a big shift.

REGALADO: I've seen people on social media, Hispanics sharing (ph) that polls that I'm not with her. I'm like, well (ph).

CERROS JR.: A lot of people are calling me -- I mean, calling us, Latinos, talking about voting for Trump.

REGALADO: Yeah, (inaudible). KING: So where does that come from? Is that they think he'll make the economy better?

CERROS JR.: Yeah.

REGALADO: Yeah. That's exactly what it is.

CERROS JR.: That's exactly what it is.

KING: You saw (ph) that?

KING (voice-over): COVID shut Vegas down. Nevada had the highest pandemic unemployment rate. The jobs are back and it's easy to find a $4 million home in the hills, the rents are up, starter homes scarce, and real estate agent, Zoila Sanchez, hopes interest rates drop soon to help working families.

ZOILA SANCHEZ, NEVADA VOTER: Prices are extremely high, the highest they've ever been. The affordability is that there for a lot of people.

KING (voice-over): Sanchez is a Reagan Republican. She won't vote for Trump, finds his tone about immigrants offensive, and many of his policies anything but conservative.

SANCHEZ: I don't want the government in my business that much. So, it's incredible to see how the Republican Party is meddling in all of our business.

KING (voice-over): Yes. Sanchez says she has a lot of friends backing Trump, but she sees more excitement for Harris.

SANCHEZ: She's going to win Nevada. Definitely.

KING: Why do you say that?

SANCHEZ: Hispanics have made the difference in a lot of elections and I can see it right now.

KING: Thank you very much.

KING (voice-over): Muslims are just a tiny slice of Nevada's population. But in a battleground where every vote matters, Zena Hajji is a problem for Harris.

ZENA HAJJI, NEVADA VOTER: Why would you keep voting for a group of people that promise no more bombs, no more pain, peace in the Middle East? KING (voice-over): She's a Democrat, 21, with Harris on just about every issue, but a proud Muslim, daughter of Moroccan immigrants, mad her family's tax dollars helped buy the Israeli bombs dropping on Gaza. If nothing changes, she's thinking third party or just skipping the presidential race.

HAJJI: We just need to see the ceasefire, that's it. We are tired. We are very, very tired and we don't know what to do with our votes right now.

KING (voice-over): Antonio Munoz was undecided when we first met last December, unhappy with the prospect of a Biden-Trump rematch. Now leaning Harris, but he needs specifics.

ANTONIO MUNOZ, NEVADA VOTER: We need a different plan to get over the hump with this inflation that has caused severe damage to a lot of businesses. She needs to be more direct.

KING (voice-over): Munoz owns the 911 Taco Bar. The rib eye is the best seller. His optimism is contagious, but a scorching summer hurt the catering business critical to Munoz's success.

MUNOZ: We had over 30 days of 110 degrees. So we had a lot of cancellation because people didn't want to be outside. It starting to pick up again but it does affect business when people don't know who they're going to vote for, or where the nation is going towards.

KING: Really?

MUNOZ: Yes, it does because people are afraid to go out and spend. They don't know what to expect when it comes around to a new administration.

KING (voice-over): Munoz too sees more Latino support for Trump this time.

MUNOZ : I have friends that were Democrats that have turned the page and they feel that the country is not going in the right direction.

KING (voice-over): But he says Harris is more competitive than Biden was, because of her energy and her story.

MUNOZ : She came up with immigrant parents, which to me is amazing, for someone like that to come and be able to be president.

KING (voice-over): Munoz is a veteran, former police officer, active in the community, trusts his instincts.

MUNOZ : It's a 50/50 (inaudible) because this is a battleground and you cannot forget about Nevada. And they need to be out here with a direct message and talking to the voters out here. I really think it's 50/50 right now. It's tight.

KING (voice-over): Almost time to choose in a battleground where change is a constant.

John King, CNN, Las Vegas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Coming up, some big names in Hollywood are pushing to bring Israeli hostages home. That new reporting because after a quick break.

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[12:53:25]

BASH: It has been 347 days since Hamas terrorists kidnapped more than 250 people from Israel. Today, more than 50 celebrities are signing onto an open letter to the Biden Administration, urging it to do everything in its power to bring those hostages home. CNN Entertainment Correspondent, Elizabeth Wagmeister, broke the story and is now joining us from Los Angeles.

Elizabeth, tell us about this letter and how it relates to a different letter asking the Biden Administration for something else from, obviously, a completely different slate of celebrities?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So just this morning, we broke the news that this open letter has been issued to President Biden and Vice President Harris. A group of over 50 celebrities which includes Jewish and non-Jewish celebrities, by the way, are urging the Administration to bring the hostages home. As you said, Dana, it has been nearly a year coming up on October 7th, that these hostages have been held in Gaza by Hamas.

Here we see some of the names -- Mayim Bialik, Connie Britton, Andy Cohen, Rebecca Gayheart, Chelsea Handler, Patricia Heaton. And there's also some reality stars, our "Real Housewives" star Jill Zarin, the "Bachelor" alum Colton Underwood, and also some major TikTok stars. BabyAriel, who has nearly 37 million followers on TikTok, and Montana Tucker who has around 10 million followers -- they have both been incredibly outspoken. They have signed this letter.

Now, Dana, I want to read you a piece from this letter.

[12:55:00]

It says, "We are artists who wants sustainable peace in the Middle East and recognize that the first essential step toward that peace is Hamas returning the 101 remaining hostages, including five Americans. We urge you to continue to protect and support the only democracy in the Middle East. Please do all that you can to pressure the terrorist to release the hostages now. Now, Dana, you brought up a different letter -- a few weeks ago, a group of Hollywood celebrities signed an "Artists for ceasefire petition" urging the U.S. to stop arms sales to Israel. This obviously incredibly different than that, Dana.

BASH: Yeah. Very interesting. Thank you so much, great reporting as always, Elizabeth, good to see you.

Thank you so much for joining "Inside Politics." "CNN News Central" starts after a quick break.

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