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Tomorrow: Democratic Socialism On The Ballot In Democratic Primary; Tomorrow: Republicans Pick Nominee To Replace Lindsey Graham; AOC Says She's Freezing Her Eggs As She Mulls Next Political Move; Sen. Grassley Mourns Loss Of Decades-Old Appliance. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired August 10, 2026 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:34:28]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Tomorrow, Democrats in Wisconsin will decide if they want a Democratic Socialist to run at the top of their ticket. State Assemblywoman Francesca Hong, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is the frontrunner. She says that's because regular people are tired of the status quo.

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FRANCESCA HONG (D), WISCONSIN GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: So we're working harder and harder and it's still not enough. And we need the types of bold transformative policies that we're talking about -- taxing the ultra-wealthy, moratorium on data centers, fully funding our public schools and cutting property taxes.

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[12:35:03]

BASH: David Crowley is the Milwaukee County Executive backed by the current governor, Democrat Tony Evers. He's made electability the centerpiece of his pitch and says he's the one to beat MAGA Republican Tom Tiffany in November.

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DAVID CROWLEY (D), WISCONSIN GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: Let's compare that to Tom Terrible Tiffany. Don't boo. Vote. He is focused on dividing us. He supported some of the most restrictive abortion policies in our entire country. He voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election.

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BASH: Joining me now is Wisconsin Public Radio's State Capitol Reporter Anya van Wagtendonk, who has been covering this race from the beginning. Anya, thank you so much for being here. Hong talks about economic issues as much as she can, but her past statements about a lot of things, including defund the police, opposing Thanksgiving, her distaste for Halloween, that's all gotten a lot of attention nationally. How is it playing among the people who matter tomorrow, Democratic voters in Wisconsin?

ANYA VAN WAGTENDONK, CAPITOL REPORTER, WISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO: You know, I think a lot of those kinds of statements only started to get picked up on in the last couple weeks as it became clear that she was this lasting frontrunner. She did very well in the polls leading up to the summer, and then at a certain point just broke ahead of the rest of the field, and so I think that's when you start seeing, you know, some of that opposition response.

As far as her base goes, her base is extremely energized, extremely excited about her. The real question is the sort of undecided voters of whom polling chose, you know, maybe a third of Wisconsin Democrats are still undecided, and so that's where I think some of those concerns about past statements and things like that are really going to play into the decisions that they make at the ballot box tomorrow.

BASH: So they are potentially open to the argument that the opponent -- his -- her opponent, David Crowley, is making that he is the only one who can beat Republican Tom Tiffany. How is that playing with Democratic voters? Do they think about kind of the big picture and the general election and who is the most electable, or are they thinking about some of the messages that Francesca Hong is pushing as what is the ultimate decider of their vote?

VAN WAGTENDONK: Yes, absolutely. Any conversation that you have with a Wisconsin voter, especially in a primary, is going to kind of center around electability. So again, there's kind of the core base of Fran's support, and those folks, for them, it is really her message. But I think for the majority of Democratic voters right now, the concern is who can win in November.

And I should say that there are two other candidates, not just Fran and David, but the kind of question around who can win against Francesca Hong as she has kind of grown again in popularity and in national appeal. There's been a concerted effort to consolidate against one alternative so that there's not kind of a breaking up of that vote, because I think Democrats are very nervous about going up against Tom Tiffany in November.

BASH: And a lot of drama. Two candidates have dropped out and, you know, and on and on and on. I do, before I let you go, want to ask about Francesca Hong, because she was a relatively unknown before this race. What is it that voters tell you they saw in her that drove her from obscurity to frontrunner?

VAN WAGTENDONK: Yes, I can tell you, I think every single person I have spoken to, including Francesca Hong herself, is a little bit surprised at how extraordinarily well she's been doing in this campaign. I've spoken to Republicans who said we are taking her very seriously. I think that the consensus when she got in the race was that it was essentially going to be about pulling the other candidates further left, not necessarily about becoming a frontrunner herself. And then she did. And I think that really speaks to this divide within the Democratic Party among Democratic voters who are frustrated with what they see as sort of establishment politics here in Madison, out there in Washington, D.C., and they are looking for an alternative. And so I think she kind of speaks to that more sort of disaffected and frustrated voter. Again, the really big question is what will that do for moderate and independent voters who are the kind of determining factors in a November election?

BASH: Anya, it was so great to have you. Thank you so much for being here.

And another big race tomorrow is for Republicans in South Carolina. GOP voters are going to pick a replacement for the late Senator Lindsey Graham. President Trump endorsed Graham's sister Darline, but she's facing withering attacks from fellow Republicans who question whether she's conservative enough.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can't spell Darline without D-E-I. As a government bureaucrat, Darline Graham ballooned the size of a state agency. Doubled its spending and let a culture of diversity and inclusion. Darline calls it an achievement and give herself a raise as a reward.

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[12:40:07]

BASH: That's an ad from GOP Congressman Russell Fry. Joining me now is Meg Kinnard, national political reporter for the Associated Press, who is South Carolina-based. Meg, thank you so much for being here. You also have been talking to voters specifically about Darline Graham. What are they saying about their appetite for a full term of another Graham?

MEG KINNARD, REPORTER, AP: I've heard a lot of complimentary things about Darline Graham in terms of her being this interim pick to serve out the rest of what would have been Lindsey Graham's current term. But when it comes to a full six years, I've heard a lot of skepticism. A lot of it comes from the very experienced GOP field that you just mentioned some of there.

But it's also a question of, well, we don't really know who she is or who she stands for in a politician in her own right. We just know her in relation to her late brother, but she's never been a candidate before, and we don't really feel that we know where she stands. So there's a lot of complimentary things about her. But again, that skepticism when it comes to considering who's going to represent South Carolina for the next six years.

BASH: President Trump is putting a lot of political capital into getting Darline Graham elected. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Darline Graham has my complete and total endorsement, and I have no doubt she will make South Carolina very, very proud. Go vote for Senator Darline Graham. You'll be saying in years from now, I'm glad I listened to the President.

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BASH: Meg, Lindsey Graham used to tell me that South Carolina is so pro-Trump, it may as well be called Trumpistan. So my question for you is, is that still the case? How much weight will President Trump's endorsement of Darline Graham have?

KINNARD: That definitely sounds about right. I heard that from Lindsey Graham myself many times through the years. But in terms of where the state is, I've heard a lot of voters telling me these last couple of weeks of this very compressed sprint toward the nomination, second go around, that they respect President Trump. They like his policies. They like a lot of what he's doing as President.

But when it comes to selecting a Senate nominee, they feel that they can go their own way. They have a lot of good options, they tell me. And so they're not necessarily married to picking exactly whom he has endorsed, which of course is Darline Graham here.

BASH: And you mentioned it is a crowded race. We played a part of an ad from Russell Fry, also well-known Republicans there like Ralph Norman, Mark Sanford, the former governor, former member of Congress. It seems as though a runoff is likely?

KINNARD: I would say it is extremely likely. I'm not in any way pretending that this election is going to be over on Tuesday. It'll be two weeks after that when we have the runoff results. So again, it's been a very compressed primary, but I think it'll continue at least for that long.

BASH: Thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate your perspective from South Carolina. It's great to have you.

KINNARD: Happy to.

BASH: And up next, AOC is sharing part of her private life on social media.

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ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D), NEW YORK: All right, everyone. Deco and I, day one of freezing my eggs.

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BASH: There's a lot of talk about what this means for her political future, but we're also going to dig into what it means for younger women in public office.

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BASH: Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she's doing something thousands of American women are also doing -- freezing her eggs. She's sharing details on social media.

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OCASIO-CORTEZ: I have made the decision to start freezing my eggs. So I'm aware that just by me choosing to not keep this private, there may be a consequence. But you know what? I'm OK with that. This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life. And if people want to make assumptions about my decision, let them make those assumptions.

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BASH: And my panel is here now. This is something that I have thought about and reported on for a long time. And when I say this, it's women who go into public office and have to make decisions, they think, about family versus work for lots of reasons, because of travel, because of a whole bunch of other factors that working women everywhere, no matter if public office or not, tend to make.

And it's kind of the first wave of women who came here to Washington tended to be, not exclusively, but tended to be women filling out the roles of and the terms of their husbands who passed away. Then another wave, like Nancy Pelosi's generation, she had her kids, and then she came to Congress. And that was sort of the second chapter in her life.

And it's only in the last, I would say, 20 years that you have younger women, because they are being recruited, and thank goodness, in both parties to come and serve, that there are different kinds of decisions. And the fact that she -- the fact that science has evolved, Arlette, to the point where it's not just about IVF, meaning you have a partner, or you have to decide you want to have a baby right now, but freezing your eggs as an insurance policy that allows women to have the option, also allows women to not have to make a choice between public service and family.

[12:50:11]

And the fact that she's making that public, and she's not the only one. I mean, Sara Jacobs, and she also has legislation that she's pushing on it, Lauren Underwood, that these women are having this public discussion, I think, is a huge public service.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's very admirable that she would come up and open up this part of her private life, because this is an issue that women across the country are confronting. For whatever reason, they decide to freeze their eggs. There's multiple personal reasons to do that.

But this is showing that even someone in a very high position of elected office is making that time in their life. There's this conversation all the time of, can women have it all? And I think her showing that she's willing to take those steps shows people that they, too, can do that. I also think she kind of framed it, too, in the stakes of health care for women as well.

BASH: Yes.

SAENZ: One thing about freezing your eggs and or IVF, it's an incredibly expensive procedure. She said that she had to save up thousands of dollars to be able to do this. I mean, that's something that people are confronting all across the country, as well.

BASH: Yes, if you don't have good health care, I mean, here -- again, I went through IVF, which is different from freezing your eggs, a little bit more involved. You know, we're lucky we have a good health care policy, and not everybody does. It's something that she's been thinking about for a while.

I spoke with her about this issue exactly five years ago, yesterday, when she posted this. Watch that.

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OCASIO-CORTEZ: I really want to not just, you know, have a family and check it off as a box, but like, with how demanding work can be --

BASH: You want to be present.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: Yes. How can you be a really present parent? The actual logistics of working in Congress is really tough. I've even thought to myself, like, is it even possible? Like, is it even possible? And I've thought to myself, do I have to, like, choose?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And you have people who, like Brittany Pettersen in Colorado, Anna Paulina Luna from Florida, who have had babies while serving in Congress and have had to fight somewhat successfully to have kind of basic employment rights, if you will, in order to be with the baby. I mean, there's so much unchartered territory that shouldn't be that difficult, but is, which is something that she saw five years ago. And obviously, no matter what she does in elected office is a tough choice.

JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, BLOOMBERG: And I would also say, from the lens of a political reporter that --

BASH: Yes.

MASON: -- there are 50 percent of the population are women. And a lot of what she's talking about is going to be very relatable, not only because it's a very personal thing that she's sharing, and sometimes sharing something personal makes you more relatable, but this particular issue, along with many others, will no doubt resonate with a lot of women voters, whether that's at all part of her calculus in sharing it or not. It's a political reality.

BASH: OK. Speaking of politics, she did talk to our friend John Karl over at ABC about potentially running for president.

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JOHN KARL, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, ABC: Are you going to run for president?

OCASIO-CORTEZ: I mean, I'm focused on winning the midterms. I'm running for Congress right now.

KARL: But, I mean, do you see this as something -- I know you said you're open to it.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: Yes.

KARL: Is it a realistic possibility for that?

OCASIO-CORTEZ: I haven't -- well, I haven't ruled out the possibility.

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TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: She very much understands the power of social media, part of the reason she did that straight-to-camera video about her own personal decision. And as you see her talking on The Sunday Show, she realizes how those shows are going to be cut up and clipped, and she did not want to say anything that would, you know, harm her chances of running for president.

She wanted to keep her options open. Later in that interview, she said, woke one was crazy, which is this quote that she's heard from a colleague about some of the distancing that we're seeing among Democrats moving back from some of the positions that they had in 2020. And so she realizes that she has to keep her options open as she starts to think about what she's going to do in 2028.

And as we all know, 2028 does not start in 2028. It's actually already started --

BASH: Yes.

OLORUNNIPA: -- and it's going to start in earnest after these midterms close, and people are going to start announcing, and she's going to have a big decision on her hands whether to try, as we see what happens in November --

BASH: Yes.

OLORUNNIPA: -- to capitalize on this fervor that we see among the left and try to turn that into a presidential campaign.

BASH: All right. Coming up, a beloved fixture in Iowa politics bites the dust, sparking a sweeping farewell from both sides of the aisle.

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[12:59:16] BASH: Now to some news that quite literally sucks. For years, Senator Chuck Grassley posted about his beloved Beth, praised her loyalty, work ethic, and decades of service. But this weekend, the 92-year-old Iowa Republican delivered some somber news. "You will see Beth no more. See black that's from electrical sparks. It's not safe to use anymore. Goodbye, Beth."

Beth was his vacuum cleaner. She was roughly 49 years old. Her made headlines and drew condolences from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle because Grassley loved keeping the public plugged in to Beth's moves. These are just some of his many posts over the last decade showing how she swept into action on holidays.

Here they are right before Thanksgiving, back in 2023, Beth was bagging everything in sight. But before the dust could settle on this loss, a successor emerged. A man in Sioux City offered Senator Grassley his used Hoover. The senator accepted, posting, "Beth is back, but newer model." As for the original Beth, rest in peace, you dirt-devouring dynamo.

Thank you for joining Inside Politics today. CNN News Central starts right now.