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CNN Live Event/Special

Harris Sticks to Unity Message; Polls Open in Multiple States; Focus on Battleground States Today; Heidi Wrath is Interviewed about Voting in Wisconsin. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired November 05, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: One thing that has been very clear is that Donald Trump has a problem with women. And that is a problem that they've not been able to solve for as we are here on Election Day.

But they tell me that they are encouraged somewhat by some of the data that they've seen of how men, and specifically male Democrats, are not showing up in the numbers that they had expected they would for the Harris campaign. They've also said that they feel encouraged by some of the signs that black voters and rural - or, excuse me, and urban voters are not turning out as much as they thought as well, but rural voters are.

So, these are just some of the tea leaves that they are reading. I cannot emphasize this enough, Kate, though, that we have no idea what is going to happen. The Trump campaign does not know what will happen. Polls do not close for several hours. So, everyone's just kind of waiting by to see, you know, how this will all turn out. But this is what they are doing today at Mar-a-Lago.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, a lot of tea leaves reading happening, I think, across the country and throughout the campaigns.

Alayna, thank you so much for standing by for us in Florida.

Now, Kamala Harris, she spent her last day of campaigning here in Pennsylvania, where we are sitting this morning. And this morning she's starting her day off in Washington, D.C. And CNN's Eva McKend is live at - where Harris' campaign election watch party site is going to be at Howard University in Washington this morning.

Eva, what - what are you hearing from the vice president's team and what they hope is the final message that she has now left with voters?

EVA MCKEND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, the vice president telling supporters that in this close contest every single vote matters. You know, she ended her campaign in Philadelphia, which she described as the foundation of our democracy, on the "Rocky" steps, to sort of illustrate that the underdog can eventually claim the victory. And we were with her in Pennsylvania yesterday as she was

crisscrossing the state. And it really illustrated how she has run her campaign more broadly, trying to appeal to such a diverse coalition of voters, right? Everyone from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to Liz Cheney, under the same umbrella.

Bottom line, the message from her is that she wants to be a president for all of America. And now, of course, it's time for voters to decide.

But take a listen to how she's made this argument.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: America is ready for a fresh start. Ready for a new way forward where we see our fellow American not as an enemy, but as a neighbor. And we are ready for a president who knows that the true measure of a leader is not based on who you beat down, but based on who you lift up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: And, Kate, when I spoke with her over the weekend in Atlanta, she told me that ultimately she believes that disagreement is healthy and that's how it would inform a future, potential presidency.

But listen, we are going to hear from the vice president today. She's doing a series of radio interviews.

Meanwhile, Governor Walz, her running mate, is going to be campaigning in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, today. And then it all ends here, where it began, at Howard University, a big homecoming for her this evening.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Eva, thank you so much. A busy, long day ahead for you. And as she is in D.C., at the - what will be the watch party will for - for Kamala Harris, we continue to watch as voters are heading to the polls here at Bensalem High School in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Back to you, John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And it's not just the Bensalem High School in Bucks County. We're live at polling places across the country that are opening their doors to voters.

CNN's Randi Kaye and Rene Marsh are talking to voters in Florida and Virginia.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And we are here in Broward County, Florida, where we have seen a steady stream of voters coming into this voting place here, the polling place. And we spoke to one first-time voter from Puerto Rico. Wait till you hear what she has to say about her vote today. RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Rene Marsh in Fairfax County,

Virginia, where the foot traffic is also steady. I'll tell you what voters are saying is top of mind once they cast their ballots.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:38:24]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: It is as busy as ever here at the community gym where voting has commenced in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Across the country and, of course, people lining up to do the exact same thing because it is Election Day in America.

Our team of CNN reporters is spread out across the country speaking with voters.

Our Randi Kaye is in Parkland, Florida. And our Rene Marsh as at a polling site in Burke, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C.

All right, let's begin with Randi. What are you seeing there so far?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Sara.

We are seeing a pretty steady stream of voters here in Parkland, Florida. This is in Broward County, Florida. And we are talking to several of them. Of course the issue here is people are coming. There's - there's two very important ballot measures on the ballot here, of course in addition to who they want to vote for, for president. Already more than 8 million Floridians have voted either early or sent in their mail-in ballots.

And the issues here on the table are certainly, one is Amendment Four, which is the abortion amendment, and the other one is Amendment Three, which is whether or not they should legalize recreational marijuana.

But it's also a question of who is coming to vote because, as you know, there's a very large Haitian population here in Florida. The Harris campaign did a - the Democratic National Party did a big ad by here because there's about 350,000 Haitians here in Broward and Miami County - Miami-Dade County. And then also, of course, there's the Puerto Rican vote, 1.2 million Puerto Ricans live here in the state of Florida. And, of course, you recall that - those comments by that comedian that was at the Trump rally at Madison Square Garden talking about Puerto Rico being an island of garbage.

Well we happened to talk to one first-time voter here as she was heading into vote.

[08:40:02]

She is Puerto Rican. And listen to what she told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's my first time voting.

KAYE: Oh, you're a first-time voter?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

KAYE: Who would you like to win?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump.

KAYE: This bothers you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Me, I am Puerto Rican, so that was like - I was like, wow, like, I don't really like that, you know? It's - I don't know really. I really don't know, honestly. It's hard.

KAYE: So, as - as a Puerto Rican, you're OK with that though?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, definitely not. I just think, you know, like, people, like, everyone has opinions. Like, you know, if they don't like Puerto Ricans, it hurts, of course, but, at the end of the day, I'm OK with who I am and, at the end of the day, I want to be able to have a better life in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: She thinks with Trump in office at the White House that she would have a better future, she told us. And she said this was a family decision. That they all spoke together as a family and talked about this. And this is what they decided to do. She does believe that she didn't get really any clear answers from Harris. I asked her why not Kamala Harris. She said, when Harris was asked about what she would do to help people, she didn't hear a very clear answer from her, Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you so much, Randi Kaye, for that.

Now to my friend Rene Marsh in Virginia, where early voting wrapped up with some surprising numbers.

What are you expecting there today?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, the polls here have been open for about two and a half hours and we are certainly seeing a steady flow. I just spoke with the two precinct leaders here and they say within those first two and a half hours they've seen hundreds, close to 600 voters come in. They're pleased with those numbers.

In as far as just speaking with the folks who are here and casting their ballots, I will say, I've spoken to mostly Harris supporters. When you speak to those who have cast their ballot for Harris, and you ask them, what are the top issues top of mind for them, they say democracy and they say abortion.

However, we have found within the crowd of people casting their ballots here in northern Virginia Trump voters as well. And when you talk to them about their top issues, not surprisingly, they say immigration and economy.

We spoke to one family who came out here as a family to cast their ballots. Here's what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREA CHOTTINER, VOTING WITH FAMILY: The top issue for me was the right to choose, abortion rights, women's healthcare. We have two little girls, and we want to make sure they have rights and freedoms and safety.

STEVE CHOTTINER, VOTING WITH FAMILY: Well we've got two girls here and I want to make sure their rights are taken care of and, you know, they don't have to worry about anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: Well, of course, 2.3 million absentee ballots have already been cast here in the state of Virginia. I've been speaking with the officials here at this precinct. The polls here will be open until 7:00. Once they close, they say they have their procedures in place where they will begin the process of just counting how many ballots were cast and then, of course, those ballots will be taken to the county for tabulation.

Again, Sara, what we're seeing here is steady, steady turnout. And the stress levels and anxiety levels amongst people on both sides, extremely high.

SIDNER: Yes, it is, though, lovely to see both of you and Randi Kaye talking to whole families who have come out to vote and do their civic duty. And that is a good thing.

Thank you, both, so much. Appreciate your time this morning.

John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now, Scott Jennings, CNN's senior political commentator, and Maria Cardona, CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist.

Look, we've been talking about how difficult it is actually on the morning of Election Day to have any real analysis because it's just so hard to tell. I mean we need to wait a few hours to wait and see. But is there any sense of where the momentum is? Does either candidate have any extra bit of juice heading into Election Day?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So, I think, given everything that I have seen with the latest polls, with the early vote data, with the conversations I've been having with groups that are going door to door in some of the key battleground states, I do believe that Vice President Harris has the momentum here at the end. And what I'm seeing within that momentum, what is it that is pushing people to go to the polls and to break for her? And we have seen in the early data that the voters who have decided in the last two weeks are breaking for the vice president.

I think that a lot of what we've been hearing from Donald Trump, the Madison Square Garden hate rally, the insult to Puerto Rico, calling it an island of trash. But it's not just that. It's everything else. And I know we've heard stories and talked to folks from his campaign and heard about folks from his campaign that are frustrated because he can't be on message. I think that has crystallize for voters, John, what another four years would look like.

BERMAN: So, Scott, very quickly, I'll let you answer the question I just asked, but whether the late-breaking voters, undecideds are breaking toward Harris, have you talked to anyone in the Trump campaign that has a similar or different view to that?

[08:45:10]

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, they have a different view. They think that the early voting data looks better for Republicans than it has in years past.

Look, I've resisted the urge to overread this or just read the party's talking points because '24 is different than '20, OK?

BERMAN: Right.

JENNINGS: We were in a pandemic. People voted differently. And I don't know. And so I think the - the honest answer as we sit here this morning is, we don't really know. I mean the polling got really close. All these forecasters, you know, ended up at a coin flip.

But the Trump people do feel like they succeeded at a couple of things. One, convincing low propensity Republicans, some of them, to participate early. And two, they do feel like that they tracked down this election in the month of October. I mean they were - you know, Harris had a great rollout and lead for a good chunk of the fall, but they really feel like she had a rough October and they tracked it down.

And here we have arrived on Election Day and functionally a 50-50 race. And so I'll be as excited as anyone else tonight to watch the magic wall.

BERMAN: Good October, but do they have as good of a first few days of November? Late October into November.

JENNINGS: Well, you know, I mean, and so the question really to answer it, you'd have to know, how many people were truly undecided as we got into the last few days of the election.

BERMAN: Right.

JENNINGS: I - you know, because Trump is in the election, and everybody has an emotional, visceral reaction to Trump going into it already, I've just been skeptical that there were all that many people out there going, hmm, I need to - I need to research Donald Trump a little bit more.

The real issue is, did Trump turn out the low propensity men? The people who aren't connected to the news, that don't do much in our politics. Did he turn them out or not? We'll find out tonight. CARDONA: So, on the early vote data, because it's not party talking

points. I did do a deep dive with two friends of mine who are analysts on early vote data. Scott's right, this year is very different from 2020 and even from 2022. And you can't extrapolate and make comparisons and then try to divulge what is going to be the end game. You can't do that. So, you're absolutely right about that, Scott.

But what you can do is make comparisons, party to party, and then look and see who those voters are. And so two things have emerged. Both parties are down in early vote from what they were in 2020. We expected that because it was a pandemic. And we've talked to groups of voters. For example, there are a lot of the - of voters in the black community who have said they're going to vote on Election Day. A lot of women have said, they're going to vote on Election Day because they're excited about doing it because they can and they couldn't in 2020. That's number one.

The second thing is that you can actually look at the early vote data and compare to see, were those voters, voters who voted before in 2020? A lot of the voters that Republicans have seen or are in the early vote data are voters that voted in 2020. So, right now there is no data that shows, or proves, that the strategy for low propensity voters that Republicans have hung their hat on is actually coming to fruition.

BERMAN: As we were joking, by the time the polls close tonight there will be zero undecided voters, right? The voters will, by definition, have decided.

CARDONA: That's exactly right.

BERMAN: So, we'll get a sense of that.

JENNINGS: My election day advice for every American, please, for the love of God, ignore early exit polls.

CARDONA: Absolutely. I agree with that.

JENNINGS: If someone in your life calls you today and says, I've got early exit polls, hang up on them.

CARDONA: Yes, don't believe them.

JENNINGS: Delete their contact out of your phone. Go to a movie. Whatever. Do - please, I beg of you, do not lose your marbles over early exit polls today. There's my Election Day advice.

CARDONA: And - and - and for the people who have not gone to go vote, please go vote. We have safe, fair, free elections. Our system is safe and secure. Please go vote pick

BERMAN: This has been a public service announcement.

Maria Cardona, Scott Jennings, all right, thank you to both of you.

CARDONA: Thanks, John. BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: I mean that was amazing. And also, Scott, as - you said don't lose your marbles. As if anyone still has any marbles left after this election - after this election cycle. But, like, that's very optimistic of you. You're so cute.

OK, let's get - let's get back to it.

Across the country as voters are arriving at the polls, election officials are preparing for everything, let's be honest. A lot of work leading up to this day today and a lot of hard work happening as we speak. You're looking at live pictures right now in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

And the country's costliest strike in 25 years is over. New details inside the offer that Boeing workers just accepted.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:53:38]

BOLDUAN: Breaking overnight, striking workers at Boeing voted to accept the company's most recent offer. The workers had rejected two previous contract offers. This final agreement now ends the country's costliest strike in more than 25 years. That strike stretched on for more than 50 days. This new deal includes an immediate pay raise, but does not restore the traditional pension plan that they lost - that workers lost in 2014. Workers will be returning to work on Wednesday.

Also new this morning, western officials tell "The Wall Street Journal" that Russia is likely behind the plot to start fires on cargo and passenger planes headed to the United States and Canada. In July, two incendiary devices exploded at DHL facilities in Germany and the U.K., and western officials say that those are likely - those were likely test runs. The Kremlin has denied any involvement. A U.S. government official tells CNN that there's no current threat to U.S.- bound flights.

ESPN analyst and former NFL safety Jason Kelce is apologizing right now. This is after an incident that happened at Penn State where Kelse was on campus for ESPN's College Game Day on Saturday. As he was walking through a crowd, a fan followed him and directed a homophobic slur at him about his brother, Travis, who's, as we know, dating Taylor Swift. Kelce then smashed someone's cell phone and repeated the slur back. Kelce admits he is not proud of his response.

[08:55:03]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON KELSE: I'm not happy with anything that took place. I'm not proud of it. And, you know, in a heated moment, I chose to greet hate with hate. And I just don't think that's a productive thing. I really don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Penn State Police say that they are investigating the incident.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate.

Polls have been open for just under an hour here in battleground Wisconsin with heightened security measures in effect. Here in Cedarburg, which is a picturesque town, by the way, it is beautiful, already we've seen a bomb sniffing dog who did a sweep before the precinct opened. That's significant because they've never had to do this before, but they are taking extra precautions this year.

Now, the vote here is expected this year to surpass 90 percent of those registered voters. This place takes voting very seriously.

Joining me now, I want to discuss a little bit more with one of the hometown voters here, Heidi Wrath.

Thank you so much for being here.

HEIDI WRATH, WISCONSIN VOTER: Hi. Yes, absolutely.

SIDNER: I'm going to have you come in close.

OK, I see you have your "I Voted," so you've done the thing.

WRATH: Yes.

SIDNER: Give me some sense of just how busy you've seen it, maybe compared to 2020?

WRATH: I feel that there's a lot of workers. Everything is running really smoothly. I was in line for maybe five minutes, and I already got to vote. So, it was quick, efficient. Everybody should come out and vote.

SIDNER: Got right through. This place, voters take it very seriously. I mean this is a huge number of people who come in. Ninety percent is higher than most of the country votes.

Why was it important for you to come today, and what were the issues that really got you out?

WRATH: Well, you know, you can't really complain if you don't come vote. That's my opinion. And I'm just voting for the future for my daughter. And I hope that it all goes well, no matter what happens. I just hope that everybody comes together and we can move past this.

SIDNER: Do you have any sentiment about what has been happening during this election season? It has been a rough and tumble season.

WRATH: It's definitely divided the country, and I hope that everybody can just come together once this is done today. SIDNER: In the town of Cedarburg, when you look around you, when you

get here, I notice people are saying hi to each other. Have you seen people you haven't seen since last election? Because this is the only place in town, this gym, the community gym, where people come to vote.

WRATH: Yes, I've seen a lot of people. It's really nice to see everybody from all over Cedarburg. You know, we all just run into each other. It's nice to see everybody come out and vote. I'm sure a lot of people did early voting. But, either way, as long as you vote, that's your choice.

SIDNER: Cedarburg has this long history of voting Republican since 1936, but then it flipped in 2020. Will you tell me who you voted for and why?

WRATH: I won't tell you who I voted for and I won't tell you why.

SIDNER: (INAUDIBLE).

WRATH: I'm just voting - I'm just because I just think that it's the right thing to do. And I think that, you know, we have to keep our children in mind. That's what I think.

SIDNER: It is wonderful to have you here.

WRATH: Thank you.

SIDNER: There are a lot of people that want to keep their vote secret, and you certainly can here. They make sure that nobody can see who you're voting for, and then they put it into these two machines and it will be counted. We will find out what the answer to all - everyone's question is, who won, probably overnight.

Heidi, thank you so much.

WRATH: Thank you.

SIDNER: I really appreciate it.

And thank you for doing your civic duty.

WRATH: Absolutely. Take care.

SIDNER: Have a great day.

WRATH: Thank you.

SIDNER: All right, that is the scene here in Cedarburg. It has slowed down just a tad, but we're expecting another rush of voters. They are expecting potentially a historic turnout here in Wisconsin.

John.

All right, Sara, we are watching the results come in. And as you can see, as it stands at 8:57, 8:58 in the morning, it's tied right now. Zero percent for Vice President Harris, zero percent for Donald Trump. There are two numbers here that are wrong, though. It's not zero votes to zero votes anymore because we do have some votes tabulated from New Hampshire. I can push in here. And you can see way up here, in Dixville Notch, they actually voted and released the results. Three votes for Kamala Harris, three votes for Donald Trump. So, it's still tied 50-50. Dixville Notch, congratulations to you. You do this as a publicity stunt. It worked. We just talked about you.

I do want to show you what we are watching tonight, looking back at 2020 right now. Not New Hampshire. I want to go back into Pennsylvania for one second because there were two counties in Pennsylvania that called it, that voted the same way had the election correct in 2016 went Donald Trump won and in 2020 when Joe Biden won. It's Erie County and Northampton County. I want to push in and give you a sense here.

Joe Biden won Northampton by 2,000 votes in 2020. In 2016, Donald Trump won by about 5,000 votes. Biden was able to flip that. Obviously, Kamala Harris wants to do the same here.

And Erie County, which we've talked about, about as close to 50-50 as you can get almost anywhere. Joe Biden narrowly edged out Donald Trump by 2,000 votes in 2020. In 2016 it was Donald Trump by 2,000 votes.

So, keep your eye on those two counties in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which might very well be the most important state in this election.

[09:00:00]

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