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Mayor Bass Fights For Second Term Against Progressive Nithya Raman; Can Democrats Win Back Latino Voters Who Went For Trump In 2024?; CNN Poll: Just 20 Percent of Hispanics Approve Of Trump's Job Performance; This Weekend: Obama Hits The Trail In Michigan, Ohio. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired October 23, 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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[12:31:02]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing a tough fight for re-election just four years after becoming the city's first female mayor. Her challenger, Nithya Raman, is a member of both the L.A. City Council and the Democratic Socialists of America. Polling last month showed Raman with an edge. Among the issues at hand, homelessness and affordability. Both very precedent -- present, rather, in a pitch by Bass overnight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mayor Karen Bass taking action in her first day on the job.

MAYOR KAREN BASS (D), LOS ANGELES: Day one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before even sitting down behind her new desk at City Hall --

BASS: I think that people should be housed. This area here is in Nithya Raman's district. We took action. We cleared this encampment. We got people housed. The day of the operation, I was here.

The councilwoman didn't even bother showing up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Hard to believe they were friends not too long ago, Elex. Thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it. What is happening in this tight race?

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR, "THE STORY IS WITH ELEX MICHAELSON": Yes, and that Raman endorsed Bass the first time --

BASH: Exactly.

MICHAELSON: -- around and then decided to run at the very last second. So what's happening? If you look at the recent polls, two things are true. Raman is ahead in every recent poll. But also the number of undecided is big enough where Bass could potentially win still.

Bass recently has been leaning into comments that Raman has made about policing to try to shore up some support, maybe more on the right, including comments that Raman made to me earlier this week when I asked her, who's an example of a police chief that you like or respect? And she said, I don't know.

Bass put out ads about that right now, is literally doing an event at LAPD headquarters, standing next to the chief to talk about that issue of policing. But on the issue of homelessness, Bass has plenty of vulnerability. In 2026, when she -- well in 2022, she took over as mayor. Shortly after that, she sat down with Jake Tapper and said she would end street homelessness by 2026.

The number has gone up. Unsheltered homelessness has gone up 8 percent this year alone. It went down in that same period in Nithya Raman's district. Raman pointing that out as an example of why she should be given the keys to the city of Los Angeles and deal with the issue of homelessness.

BASH: One of the big questions is Raman and the fact that she comes from the Democratic Socialist Party. You spoke to her. What did she say about that?

MICHAELSON: Well, I asked her, are you L.A.'s Zohran Mamdani? And she said, I'm L.A.'s Nithya Raman. And so I tried to get some clarity on where she agrees or disagrees with the Democratic Socialists of America. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Do you agree with abolishing the police?

NITHYA RAMAN (D), LOS ANGELES MAYORAL CANDIDATE: No.

MICHAELSON: Do you agree with abolishing prisons?

RAMAN: No.

MICHAELSON: Do you agree with getting rid of the Senate?

RAMAN: No.

MICHAELSON: Do you agree with capitalism? Are you a capitalist?

RAMAN: I am a capitalist and I'm also a Democratic Socialist. I want the city to work. And when the government is doing its job, it needs to work really effectively. And we need to make sure capitalism works without harm to workers, without worker exploitation, without exploitation of poor people. That's what I'm going to focus on.

MICHAELSON: So you are a capitalist?

RAMAN: I'm a capitalist and a Democratic Socialist.

MICHAELSON: There's a lot of people here that that sounds confusing. RAMAN: I don't -- you know, I think Democratic Socialism is a big

tent. The DSA is a big tent organization. And I'm in part of that tent. And I think a lot of Angelenos are in that tent with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: So there's an interesting conundrum, Dana, in that L.A. is an incredibly progressive city. There are plenty of members of the DSA that are looking for somebody to back those policies.

[12:35:00]

But then there's also folks that voted for Spencer Pratt, the reality star. People remember he ran in the primary. That don't really like either one of these candidates and are looking for someplace to go. And so leaning in too much to the idea of the DSA may alienate those folks who are looking for a political home. Big question is whether they're going to vote at all.

BASH: Elex, thank you. Don't miss "The Story Is with Elex Michelson." That's tonight at 9:00 p.m. Pacific, midnight Eastern Time. He is sitting down with Karen Bass, who, as we discussed, is fighting for reelection as L.A. mayor.

I just want to do a quick correction to something Lauren Fox said in our last segment. Amy Acton's stepfather was not convicted, but he was indicted by a grand jury on charges of sexually abusing Amy Acton. He pleaded not guilty but fled the state before a trial could begin and remained at large until his death in 2004.

Coming up, are the Latino votes who swung to President Trump in 2024, ready to swing back to Democrats in 2026? Two key strategists are here. We'll talk after the break.

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[12:40:42]

BASH: Democrats' hopes to retake the House and the Senate come down to reversing gains President Trump made two years ago with many key demographics, including Latinos. Look at this trend line. Joe Biden won Latinos by 33 percentage points in 2020. Democrats won by 21 percentage points in the 22 midterms.

Then two years ago, Kamala Harris carried the group with just 5% of the vote. President Trump is now massively underwater, though, with Latino voters on every issue -- election integrity, health care, foreign affairs, immigration, the economy and inflation. This morning, the President talked about this demographic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hispanic voters have been great to me, but I've been great to them, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: I'm joined by two veteran strategists, 2024 Trump campaign adviser Bryan Lanza and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona. Hi, guys.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Dana.

BASH: It's good to see you.

CARDONA: Good to see you.

BASH: Bryan, there was -- we talked about it. Everybody talked about those huge gains that the President made, not just in Texas, but elsewhere with Latino voters. And if you look at the polls, there's been a snapback. Why?

BRYAN LANZA, SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP 2024 CAMPAIGN: Inflation. You know, I think the good part for the Republican Party with respect to Latinos bouncing back and forth, it shows that they're sort of becoming more economical in their decision-making for this. And so in 2004, you know, Latinos were frustrated with Joe Biden.

They were frustrated with inflation. They were frustrated with the direction it was going. And they were nostalgic to what it was under Trump 1, where they had record, you know, they had the lowest unemployment, you know, in a long time. They had new businesses opening, so the deregulation was working.

And so I think from our standpoint, you know, its inflation is clearly hurting, you know, cost of living is hurting. But at the end of the day, it shows the Latinos have sort of sophisticated as electorate and have focused more on pocketbook issues, which puts them more aligned with us in the long run than the short-term election here.

BASH: And you don't put immigration enforcement interior? Not the border, but interior.

LANZA: You know, I come from California --

BASH: Yes.

LANZA: -- so I saw the mistakes that took place with Proposition 187. Clearly, the rhetoric has gotten hot about it. It has caused damage. You know, it's -- some of it will take time to repair. But I think the example what Trump showed and, you know, we -- I come from California, where Latinos -- where Republicans thought Latinos would never make their way back.

And they went to Trump. They went to Trump because of the dire economic condition that existed for them. And so what we know that in the long run, Dem policies sort of run counter to the entrepreneurial spirit of Latinos. And if we're having that economic conversation day in and day out for elections, we're going to be in a much stronger position.

But we do have to move beyond, you know, the implementation policies because the policy itself is popular. Everybody wants to deport illegal aliens. Criminal aliens need to get out of our streets. But the implementation of policies just is --

BASH: The arrest.

LANZA: Yes. Correct.

CARDONA: So there's definitely truth in what Bryan said in terms of inflation and the economy. The problem is, is that when you want to connect and reach out and really get the Latino vote, you have to have trust. They trusted Trump and Republicans in 2024 on the issue of the economy and on the issue of immigration.

Trump said, I'm going to deport the most violent. I'm going to deport those that are doing us harm. Latinos never imagined that he was talking about their own family. And so immigration has absolutely become this issue of a huge and very personal deep betrayal in the community.

In the Latino community, people are afraid to go out. There are businesses that have failed because, a, they don't have customers and they don't have workers because they've been deported many times. They've been deported with legal status to countries that they don't even know. And so, on those three issues, the economy, inflation and immigration, they feel this deep sense of betrayal.

BASH: We had a report from John King from Southeast Texas where he was talking to a Latina store owner who said exactly that. I want to dig in, Maria, a little bit more on the Texas Senate race --

CARDONA: Yes.

BASH: -- because, as I mentioned, in Texas, Latinos broke for Trump by 10 points.

CARDONA: Yes.

BASH: It was pretty big. And those same voters could, could help flip the Senate seat to Democrats.

[12:45:03]

But are you concerned that this is -- even if it's just, you know, half of that --

CARDONA: Yes.

BASH: -- that it's just short-term, it's just anti-Trump, and that your party isn't giving them a reason to vote for as opposed to against?

CARDONA: I think we should always be concerned because Latinos are a group of voters -- and this is what I have always told my party, they are not part of our base. They have always been some of the swingiest voters that there are. When I first started working on the Latino vote, it was under George W. Bush, and he was great, and he got 44 percent of the Latino vote back when he first won --

BASH: Yes.

CARDONA: -- election, right? So this is not a group of voters that we should ever take for granted, and that had been happening in these last cycles. What I'm loving about this cycle, Dana, is that Democrats understood that. They understood their homework.

And many candidates, including Talarico, including Gina Hinojosa, have been very early on reaching out to Latino voters on Spanish-language television, radio, digitally, in English, in Spanglish, bilingually, right, in all the places where they live and talking about these very personal messages and letting them know what Democrats are doing, to your point, about this can't be just anti-Trump. They are offering solutions.

BASH: Let's look at two of the House districts in Texas. Obviously, this isn't just about Texas, but Texas is a big battleground here. Texas 34, Vicente Gonzalez, it's a D plus 7. Texas 35, Carlos De La Cruz, there's no clear leader.

34, Texas 34, Bryan, is 98 percent Hispanic. Texas 35 is 39 percent Hispanic. How do you feel about Republicans' chances of holding both of those, either of those?

LANZA: Listen, I think this election cycle, it's tough, but I would always make the case that, you know, any time there's a midterm for a president, it's always going to be challenging, especially when the economic conditions don't exist. But I think -- you know, for us, it's -- you have to look -- you know, the election's in two weeks, it's important not to look beyond it.

But when you're analyzing Latino trends, you sort of look long term, and you're right, Latino trends have been moving towards the Republican Party, away from Democrats, because they have been ignored, and some of the policies didn't line up, they weren't priority to the Democratic Party, and we make them. We have to have the appeal.

The vast majority of Latinos who come to this country, they come here for economic opportunity. They line up with who we are. They're very conservative. They're rooted in faith. Most immigrants are very conservative. So I think it's a matter of getting out there, delivering an economic message, but you have to get away from the rhetoric that's taking place regarding immigration.

I come from California. You saw the Latino community die for Republicans for nearly 25 years as a result of that rhetoric. I think we're going to have an opportunity on a national level, because Latinos, you know, their -- the Latinos in California are definitely different than Latinos in Texas.

BASH: Final word.

CARDONA: On the economy, I think Republicans have a big problem, because, for example, the big horrible bill, that stripped health care from millions of Americans, many of them Latinos, because a lot of Latinos are on Medicaid. A lot of Latinos were dependent on the Affordable Care Act subsidies. Republicans took that away. This is something that Latinos --

BASH: Yes.

CARDONA: -- will see, and they will see that as, again, another betrayal.

BASH: It's so nice to talk to two nice human beings who are on other sides -- opposite sides of the aisle who like each other and can have a real great --

CARDONA: Absolutely.

LANZA: Thank you.

BASH: -- strategic conversation.

CARDONA: Gracias, Dana.

LANZA: Same, gracias.

BASH: De nada.

OK, can a little bit of Barack Obama's hope translate to Democratic votes in three key states? We're going to drop by David Chalian's office. There he is. Hi, David. He's going to give us the Obama itinerary right there, right there in the bureau chief's office, inside scoop. Stay with us.

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[12:52:50]

BASH: He's been out of office for a decade, but many Democrats think he is still their best messenger. It's former President Barack Obama, and he is going to hit the campaign trail this weekend in Michigan and Ohio and will be in Georgia next week. So what is the strategy behind where specifically he's going to go in these states? Who is he trying to reach? Which voters?

Let's go to our Political Director and Washington Bureau Chief who's in his office. Hi, David. What's the answer to that question?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hi, Dana. How are you?

BASH: Hi. What do we think about this Obama trip? Who's he really trying to reach?

CHALIAN: Well, I think there's sort of a macro way to look at it and a micro way. Macro, obviously, in an attention economy, just having him out on the trail, he is somebody who can command attention. You know, Donald Trump does that on the right right now as the incumbent President. His rallies where he goes has sort of dominated a lot of the media coverage conversation, and Obama getting in the game will help Democrats in that front. But you are right. There is obviously also a micro component, and look

at where he's going. So in Cleveland and Detroit tomorrow, obviously, he is attempting to get black vote turnout in these Democratic bastions in these two battleground states. And I would note, Dana, that in Donald Trump's three successive elections, he has improved his share of the vote in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, where Cleveland is, and in Wayne County, Michigan, where Detroit is.

Each time he was on the ballot, he actually got a slight uptick in his share of the vote in those counties, and I think part of Obama getting out there in those places is to try and push back that trend.

BASH: So let me just take Wayne County, where Detroit is. I interviewed Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate candidate, last weekend and asked him about this Obama trip, especially since one of the things that Rogers is doing is trying to build what he calls a new coalition that includes Republica -- excuse me, black voters who traditionally vote for Democrats who might not be interested in El- Sayed.

And I said, well, what about Obama? Isn't that going to blunt your efforts? And his answer was, well, of course they love Obama, but it doesn't necessarily mean they're going to vote the way he says. I know that's probably unanswerable for you, but what do you think about that comment?

[12:55:15]

CHALIAN: Yes. I mean, that's certainly true, but I think, no doubt. If you are El-Sayed, you're going to want Obama there to try and do everything possible, if this has especially been a potential sore spot. And, in fact, look at the polling on this. There was a Fox News poll out at the end of September, and you could see the crosstab of the African-American vote in the Michigan Senate race.

And I have it up on my screen here. It's -- it was 77 percent Abdul El-Sayed, 22 percent of likely black voters for Mike Rogers. Compare that to the exit poll two years ago when Rogers was on the ballot against Elissa Slotkin, Rogers got 12 percent of the African-American vote in Michigan two years ago when he was the candidate.

So if this Fox poll is indicating that there is a potential for a greater share of African-American vote, there's no doubt that Obama being there is the kind of thing you want to sort of unload from your arsenal if you're El-Sayed to try and mitigate against that.

BASH: Yes, and if it doesn't change, if that is the trend in a razor- thin race, that could be the deciding factor or maybe one of many deciding factors.

CHALIAN: Yes.

BASH: David, I love that office.

CHALIAN: No doubt.

BASH: I'll come see you after the show.

CHALIAN: Thanks, Dana.

BASH: OK.

CHALIAN: OK. Thanks.

BASH: Thank you for joining Inside Politics. Join me on State of the Union this Sunday. Pennsylvania's Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro will be with me at 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon Eastern.

CNN News Central starts after a quick break.

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