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CNN Live Event/Special
Final Hours Of Voting In Crucial Election In Jersey, New York And Virginia. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired November 04, 2025 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:00]
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: A pinball machine. And we're going to be discussing the results and tell you what they actually mean. And of course, I will make sure to keep everybody up to date on the latest election results. But I just think it's going to be a fun time, a different way to watch the results, especially in this day and age in which we have multiple screens.
KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Sounds like a great hangout. We'll be watching. Harry Eten, thank you very much.
ENTEN: Thank you.
HUNT: And of course, we're going to have all the live results and analysis throughout the night right here on CNN. I'm going to be here throughout the night alongside Dana Bash. Our coverage anchored by Erin Burnett and Jake Tapper. Starting right now.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: You are looking at New York City. In just a few hours, polls will close in the main election of the night. Right now, voters are racing to try to get their ball in these final hours. There have been long lines in New York City and across the country. Welcome to CNN's Election Night 2025. I'm Erin Burnett here in New York.
And I'm Jake Tapper here in Washington, D.C. where President Trump is about to receive the first major electoral report card of his second term. The spotlight squarely on the New York City mayor's race where Democratic socialist and state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is squaring off against former Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent. Also on the ballot, long shot Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Two governor's races are front and center tonight, one in Virginia, one in New Jersey. In Virginia, former Democratic congresswoman and CIA case officer Abigail Spamberger is running against the state's sitting lieutenant governor and former Marine Republican Winsome Earle-Sears.
In New Jersey, Democratic congresswoman and former Navy helicopter pilot Mikie Sherrill is going head to head with Republican former state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli in what could very well be the night's closest race.
Out in California, the stakes are high for Democrats and for Governor Gavin Newsom. With control of the U.S. House of Representatives possibly hanging in the balance, California's will decide whether to accept newly drawn congressional district maps. Newsom is a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate and is trying to help Democrats counter Republican mid-decade redistricting efforts across the country.
We're just moments away from our first exit polls of the night, results that will give us our first peek at the country's political temperature nine months into Donald Trump's second term. CNN's David Chalian will dig into the numbers and tell us what they mean in just minutes.
But first, our correspondents are taking us inside these campaigns for these last few hours of the race. Let's kick it off with CNN's Abby Phillip, who's at Mamdani headquarters at the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, New York.
And Abby, how is the Mamdani campaign feeling tonight?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: You know, Jake, this is the pinnacle event of a very unexpected and surprising campaign for Zohran Mamdani. Just a few months ago when he won the Democratic primary in New York City, election night didn't look anything like this. Now they are expecting hundreds of members of the media. They're expecting tons of supporters, maybe even some celebrities who come by this party tonight. And they're feeling good today.
You know, the last minute endorsement that we saw in this race of Andrew Cuomo by President Trump and by Elon Musk is exactly the sort of message that the campaign thinks plays into what they've been trying to do. Mamdani has been running as much against Cuomo as he has been running against Donald Trump.
And one adviser that I spoke to said it is a perplexing choice that Cuomo has sought to embrace this at this moment, considering that Trump and Elon Musk are two of the most unpopular Republicans in the country. So that is the backdrop that this campaign event is going to be on tonight.
And I also spoke to another adviser who said that high turnout that we're seeing so far, according to the last update, it's about 1.4 million New Yorkers who have come out. The early voting was about four times what was normal for that period. They're encouraged by that because they are seeing signs that younger New Yorkers, particularly people under the age of 40 are coming out and they think that benefits Zohran Mamdani. So we'll see as voters continue to vote. But they are feeling good in Mamdani headquarters tonight, Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Let's now turn to CNN's Omar Jimenez, who's at a voting center in Queens, New York. That's the borough that Mamdani represents as an assembly member. Omar?
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so Jake, you know, you heard some of those numbers about enthusiasm and how much more it is at least in the early voting period heading into today as compared to a few years ago. We're seeing a lot of that actually play out here in person.
For example, at this particular polling center, we're getting towards the end of the workday here.
[17:05:00]
You can see there are numerous different election districts that are being represented here where people can come in and check in. You see the line that is sort of forming at that check in portion, but some other people waiting in line to get in the door as well. And then of course, people make it over to the very familiar voting boxes and booths that we have come to know on election nights like these that have come and passed in so many ways.
But we've also been talking to voters over the course of today and what we have heard has spanned the range. We heard from a liberal voter who wanted to vote for Curtis Sliwa because he felt that Sliwa was authentic. We heard from a former Cuomo person who now is Mamdani.
And it will be interesting to see what these returns actually reflect in some of the anecdotes that we are hearing here on the ground here in Queensgate.
TAPPER: All right, Omar, thanks so much. Let's turn now to CNN's Brian Todd who is with voters in Aldie, Virginia. It's part of Loudoun County where Winsome Earle Sears, the sitting lieutenant governor running for governor, could pick up some key votes. Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jake. And we are at the rush hour surge here in Loudoun County which has just exploded in voter population. The polls are going to close in less than two hours here. What's really great about our access here tonight is that we have access.
In years past were not allowed into the room. We are now allowed into the room to show you people registering and voting. I want to go to Belinda Matingou. Belinda is the precinct chief here at Arcola Elementary School. OK, Belinda, turnout is key. How has turnout been?
BELINDA MATINGOU, PRECINCT CHIEF: It's been very strong today. We are a precinct that expected to have about, we have a total of 5,000 voters in our precinct and about half of them expected to turn out with about half of them having already voted early. So like, you know, with the expectation today we are strong and on course to hit that target that we're expecting.
TODD: Very good, Belinda. Good luck for the rest of the night. We're going to be here when polls close. They close in a little less than two hours, Jake. And we're going to be able to show you the tabulation and everything live as it happens.
TAPPER: All right, thanks so much, Brian. Let's go to CNN's David Chalian now who has our very first exit poll of the night which is about how much President Trump was a factor for voters in these key races. David? DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF OF POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes,
Jake. Obviously it is the first electoral test for the president in a significant way. And in New Jersey, you could see that the president's approval rating is underwater. 43 percent of those voting in this New Jersey electorate approve of the job Donald Trump is doing. 55 percent disapprove. These are preliminary numbers, and they may shift as we get more information from voters throughout the night.
To your point, Jake, about is Donald Trump a factor? Well, listen here. The plurality, 47 percent say Trump was not a factor in their vote. But where Trump was a factor, he was more a factor for people to oppose him. So 38 percent in New Jersey cast their ballot in opposition to Trump. 13 percent did so in support of Trump.
We see a similar story in Virginia tonight. You see, the president's approval rating in Virginia is even a tick lower than it is in New Jersey, 41 percent job approval for President Trump in Virginia, 56 percent disapproval. And the same kind of story we see here in terms of whether Trump was a factor for people voting in Virginia today.
The plurality, 47 percent, roughly half say, no, he wasn't a factor. But when he was a factor, it is a factor to oppose him. That's what when he was a factor, people who wanted to cast a ballot did so to oppose Trump. 37 percent anyway, 15 percent said they were casting their ballot in Virginia to support Trump. Jake.
TAPPER: All right, those are preliminary numbers, but they are important exit polls, potentially from David Chalian, thanks so much. And Dana Bash, there's so much that any candidate can outrun a president who is underwater, who is an albatross around their neck. Terry McAuliffe, the former governor who Virginia who ran again four years ago, he was here yesterday and he talked about how Trump was 17 points underwater in Virginia. And I said, what was Biden when you ran four years ago? 17 points underwater. Terry McAuliffe, of course, lost.
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I was talking to a Republican strategist who has worked at the most senior levels of campaigns for the past 10 years or so, who said, quote, Donald Trump is the greatest turnout machine Democrats ever decided discovered. And I said, still. And he said, oh, yes, even more so now.
And it's just a fact. And this Republican doesn't expect that his party will do all that well today. But, you know, they're very candid and understanding of the reality, the political reality for the president and what that means for Democrats.
TAPPER: And how much, Kasie, how much did that affect the way that the Democrats running for governor in Virginia and New Jersey campaign? How much did Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger in Virginia talk about Donald Trump?
HUNT: Not infrequently, honestly. I mean, they ran a similar playbook to the one that Democrats have been running, one that has worked when they have been running against Donald Trump, who when he is in power. Right. [17:10:02]
I think the test is going to be what do they learn from the results tonight if they do well. Right. Governor Newsom in California and Zohran Mamdani in New York City, they're trying new things. Right. Newsom is trying to take the fight to places that Democrats have previously argued they shouldn't. Right. He's breaking norms around redistricting. He is using social media to, you know, troll Donald Trump, quite frankly.
Zohran Mamdani obviously has this whole new young, progressive social media based campaign. Spanberger and Sherill, on the other hand, are using a tried and true method that Democrats have used in the age of Trump. I'm interested to see what their takeaways are for how they should keep going after tonight.
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Trump is a great motivator for Democrats and sometimes you can look better because the opponent Trump in this case drives your numbers up. Even if the Democrats win tonight in New York City, the New Jersey governorship and the Virginia governorship will count the votes and see if that happens.
But even if it happens, that doesn't mean the Democratic wounds are healed. The Democratic Party still has a lot of work to do. And in fact, the winners could highlight some of the disagreements. If you get a Mamdani in New York and then a more centrist governor of New Jersey, a more centrist governor of Virginia, you already have a centrist, more centrist governor of your home state, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to the victor -- does that actually highlight the Democratic divide?
Now, you can make that a good thing, have a debate about policy, or as the Democrats have often done, you can make that a bad thing and have an internal family feud. But Trump does motivate to the point. The exit polls, David, went through, number one, Trump's approval rating in both of those states, Virginia and New Jersey, higher than it is nationally, a little bit higher than we have it nationally. But almost twice as many people say they're motivated or sometimes more than twice motivated to vote against him. A protest vote.
Look, Trump says this. What I'm about to say is not true. It is true. Inflation is up from a year ago. Credit card debt is up from a year ago. The same issues that made Donald Trump president or present in the economy, they make people mad. They make you vote against the people in power.
TAPPER: And we'll talk more about that in a bit. We have to squeeze in a quick break because we're less than two hours away from the polls closing and our first big race of the night, just a few miles away from where we're sitting in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the governor's race, a very hotly contested race.
Coming up, CNN's David Chalian is going to dive into more exit poll results and we're going to discuss what those numbers could tell us about the political headwinds of the night. Stay with us.
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[17:16:40]
TAPPER: A live look for you some New York polling locations in Queens on the left side of your screen and Manhattan on the right as voters are still casting your ballots in the final hours of the race for mayor of New York, New York.
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic socialist and Democratic Party nominee seeking to become the city's youngest mayor in a century. Let's go to CNN's Manu Raju, who is at the campaign headquarters of former governor, now independent mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo in midtown Manhattan.
How is the campaign feeling, Manu?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they believe there's a narrow path to victory, Jake, and it rests in no small part on President Donald Trump. His late endorsement of the Cuomo campaign and the hope that Republican voters, people who would have voted for Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate in this race, could be swayed, particularly Election Day voters. People will be coming to the polls today.
There's a belief among people that I have spoken with that if they can peel off roughly half of those would be Sliwa voters and come over to the Cuomo campaign. Perhaps that could offset the loss of more liberal voters.
But to get there, Jake, the hope is to get a coalition of voters that would rest largely on Hispanic voters, black voters, Jewish voters, working class voters and New York's outer boroughs. But it would take a lot to get there because a number of voters could also be put off by Donald Trump's endorsement in this very blue city.
But nevertheless, we have seen Cuomo embrace figures on the right, go to conservative media and tout his work with Donald Trump, all in an effort to win over those conservative voters and pull off what would be a rather stunning upset if you were to do that tonight.
TAPPER: Can you imagine if you woke up from a coma from five years ago and you hear that President Trump has endorsed Andrew Cuomo for mayor? I mean, there'd be a lot of explanation that would have to come forward.
I want to go to CNN's David Chalian, who has some brand new exit poll data on the key issues for voters. David, what do you got?
CHALIAN: Jake, we're seeing something consistent across all four major races we are following all night long tonight, and that is that the economy is a driving force in New Jersey. You see, we asked voters the most important issue facing New Jersey, 36 percent say taxes, 34 percent say the economy. You add that up, that's more than 70 percent there. 7 and 10. Everything else far below that. Take a look in Virginia. You'll see a similar story there. The
economy, 49 percent of Virginia voters today say that's the most important issue. It's double anything else. Their health care is next to 21 percent. In California, we see something quite similar there as well. 46 percent say the economy is the number one issue facing voters. The next closest one is at 18 percent, that's immigration.
And finally, in New York City, you see that a majority of New York City voters, 56 percent, say that the cost of living is their most important issue that they are facing in New York City, 22 percent say crime, 10 percent immigration. That cost of living issue, it has been a dominant force in this campaign. And clearly it's because it's the first thing on voters' minds.
TAPPER: It also happens to be the number one issue that Mamdani has been running on. So that theoretically bodes well for him. Let's hand it over to CNN's Erin Burnett in New York.
BURNETT: All right, Jake. And so let's start here. Mayor de Blasio, former mayor of the city. You just heard what Manu said. Narrow path to victory, which that Cuomo sees resting in part on Trump's endorsement, which came in just about what, 22 hours ago.
[17:20:08]
So is there any path to victory for Andrew Cuomo?
BILL DE BLASIO (D) FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR: Trump's endorsement in New York City is a kiss of death. So I think what happened here was the Cuomo team was absolutely desperate. They hoped they could pull Sliwa voters, Republican voters, over with a Trump endorsement.
The problem is New York City voters. A lot of people come out on Election Day, especially in the evening in New York City. And so they had plenty of time to hear that Donald Trump has endorsed Andrew Cuomo, which for the vast majority of New Yorkers, you're talking about 75 percent or so of New Yorkers will hear that and feel very negatively about that. Obviously Democrats, a lot of independents as well.
There's a huge miscalculation by Cuomo, but I think it was an act of desperation because he didn't have anything else.
BURNETT: Ken Cuccinelli, you know Andrew Cuomo, you also have been in the room with Donald Trump and Andrew Cuomo.
KEN CUCCINELLI, FORMER ACTING DEPUTY SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Yes.
BURNETT: So, you know, in the Oval Office. Does it surprise you to see something like this at this point? And what is the relationship between the two?
CUCCINELLI: Well, they share circles of friends and have for a very, very, very long time. I mean, Trump comes from New York and you know, Andrew Cuomo isn't the first Cuomo that Donald Trump was friends with and goes back a long way.
So -- and I remember arguments with the governor, then governor, with the president more or less as the referee, and the familiarity vibe was there in the room and I lost.
BURNETT: To fight -- but fighting like people who knew each other. I mean, it is incredible when you think about where we are, Congressman. But how do you think this goes in New York City?
REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): Well, I've consistently thought Zohran is going to be roughly at about 45 percent and in a three way race that was going to be impossible to overcome for any candidate. And so I think obviously the push here at the end is to try and peel off as many Republicans as you can to support Andrew Cuomo, which for a lot of Republicans is a very difficult task.
I think the only person that's going to be happier than Zohran Mamdani tonight if he wins is Bill de Blasio, because that was quite the relationship for eight years of overlap. But the fact is that, you know, this is a moment in New York City where you have an avowed socialist on the verge of becoming mayor of the financial capital of the world.
You already see a situation where over the last few years Wall Street has left in droves. JPMorgan Chase has more employees in Texas than they do in New York now. That is despite opening this big new --
BURNETT: They just put $3 billion. Their stock.
LAWLER: Despite doing it. But this is -- I as a Republican from the immediate suburbs of New York City, a large chunk of my constituents work in New York in the financial services industry. 50 percent of households in my district have a cop, a firefighter, a veteran living in the district.
There is going to be significant blowback if Zohran Mamdani wins tonight in the suburbs of New York City. And it's going to be very interesting in these swing congressional districts next year.
DE BLASIO: I got to say, Zohran, hold on. Zohran has been talking to the issues I wish Democrats had talked about in 2024. He talks about affordability all day long. You notice he doesn't talk about identity politics. He doesn't talk about social issues.
And so I would argue to you, a lot of those constituents you talk about want to hear people talk about affordability. How are we going to make ends meet? And he's actually presenting a message that if Democrats ran on everywhere, we would do a hell of a lot.
LAWLER: And by the way, to that point, that's why I've won twice in two to one Democratic districts because I've always talked about affordability, taxes. I fought and lifted the cap on salt. That's a major win for New York. The average New Yorker is going to see a $4,000 tax cut next year. So that's a big -- that is a big issue. And you are right, he ran a strong campaign on that issue.
BURNETT: Rahm.
RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, I think what you're going to see here is the White House is going to try to make Mamdani the face of the party. All three candidates, New Jersey, Virginia, governors, mayor, all talked about affordability, different plans on how to address it, but they all had one common theme. And that's going to be theme of Democrats.
I agree with what Bill said. If Democrats in 2024 ever and across doesn't take a genius to realize people are trying, their backs are against the wall. That is where you're supposed to be. And were not -- we were the farthest away from there.
I do think that New Jersey and Virginia governors' races tell more about the future and where the party is than where Manhattan and Queens are going. No disrespect --
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN HOST, THE ASSIGNMENT WITH AUDIE CORNISH PODCAST: But also the fact that Democrats have had basically brand collapse in cities. I mean, wondering what is the progressive wing? What do they represent? How do they talk about the issues they talk about and their facility with online as the new retail politic? That he did do that different from Harris.
He did not actually shy away from identity politics. He just embodied it differently than the way it had been used in the past elections. Which is to say, you're the first, this -- you're the second. He just didn't do that.
[17:25:00]
He spoke from his experience constantly. So I think the irony here is there's this hope that all of a sudden Republicans will be able to look at the city and say a Muslim socialist. But to Democrats, they said, well, you already said we had one of those a long time ago and now we actually do. What are you going to say about it?
BURNETT: And I think the word socialist, right, and you know, Trump calls him a communist. Mamdani told me once, he does not things he doesn't like about capitalism. But he calls himself a democratic socialist.
CORNISH: Which is an actual movement. And the question is --
BURNETT: Right.
CORNISH: -- will it actually become something after.
BURNETT: That's right. Does that modify our Democrats?
(CROSSTALK)
EMANUEL: No, that I agree with. You can't wish it away. But I think in Albany is going to have a big --
CORNISH: Yes. Close. EMANUEL: -- vote on whether he is either a Democrat or a socialist. I will say on this point, look, Upper Peninsula is more important in Michigan is more important to the Democratic Party than the Upper west side of Manhattan as it relates to the future of this party.
The party should be always foremost about affordability, helping families and their children make ends meet. And in 2024, the Democrats were off on a cultural island. And the party, that's how we got the bad brand because we want people that their lives.
LAWLER: In 2018, when Joe Crowley lost to AOC, people said, oh, it's an aberration. That's not reflective of the party. Since that time, you have seen Democratic socialists win election after election. The primaries have gone further to the left. AOC, Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani are the face of the party after tonight.
BURNETT: All right, we have to hit pause there. They're yelling at me where it is. You will, you will. And you know what? I should stick you on them because. All right. We are continuing to monitor voting locations across Virginia because that is where Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat, is facing off against Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican. Latest from that race. Polls closing shortly. Stay with us.
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[17:31:28]
TAPPER: And you're looking at some live pictures of actual voting underway in New York, New York. Plus, a big race is underway just across the river in New Jersey, where Republicans are hoping for a come from behind win. CNN's Danny Freeman is in New Jersey at a voting location in Passaic County. That's a county that flipped from Biden to Trump in 2024. And Danny, you're with a voter. What does he have to say?
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Jake. And that's why we're here, because this is one of those swing counties all important for either Ciattarelli and Sherrill if they want to take the governorship. I'm here with David Rutherford. You just voted. Thanks for being with us. You voted for Mikie Sherrill, I understand. Tell me, did you vote for Sherrill because you love her in particular? Or do you think of this vote as a referendum on President Trump?
DAVID RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY DEMOCRATIC VOTER: Well, I think I voted both just because I love her and also just being a Democrat and just wanting change. You know, these last couple of days have honestly been scary for a lot of Americans. So I feel like it's me as a young voter I have to make a change.
FREEMAN: And just quickly, you said that that's because of SNAP and because of other things, right, shutdown, quickly?
RUTHERFORD: Yes. SNAP, just our futures. You know, we're hearing so many things, you know, and while we're sitting here struggling and worried, they're building a ballroom. FREEMAN: Right. Right. Well, so there you have it, Jake. That's part of the concern of at least one voter, David here, why he came out to vote for Mikie Sherrill in this New Jersey governor's race. Jake?
TAPPER: All right. Interesting stuff. Vox populi. Let's go to CNN's David Chalian, who has some exit polls. David?
CHALIAN: Yes, Jake, we're going to take a look at some New York City residents and voters today and what they're -- what they -- what's on their minds. Take a look here. How long have you lived in New York City? This is kind of the makeup of the electorate in New York City. Less than five years, 6 percent, five to 10 years, 8 percent. The bulk here of voters in New York City, look at that, 48 percent born in New York City.
Do you own or rent the place you live in? Fifty-seven percent of voters in New York City are renters. That speaks directly to Zohran Mamdani's promise to freeze the rent for a portion of them. Thirty- nine percent say they own their home in New York City. Do you consider yourself a Democratic socialist like the Democratic nominee?
Twenty-six percent say yes. Sixty-nine percent say no. And is this the first time you have voted for mayor in New York City? Seventeen percent of voters in this election, according to these preliminary exit poll results, say they are first time voters, Jake. And I will say usually first time voters, a big chunk of them are younger voters because they're new to the electorate.
Four years ago in the mayor's race, it was only 9 percent of young voters in the electorate. It'll be curious to see if this is a big youth surge with all this first time voting in the New York City mayor's race.
TAPPER: All right. Interesting stuff. I'm here now with John King at the Magic Wall. John, what are you going to be looking for when the results come in in New York?
KING: So let's start with where David just was going through some of the demographics of New York. Are you a new voter or not? One of my big questions tonight is Donald Trump had a lot of wows when he won reelection in 2024, even in places where he lost like New York, Virginia and New Jersey.
One of the wows was Donald Trump's growing support among men of color. In New York, five very distinct boroughs. Yes, it's a blue city, but five very distinct boroughs. The Bronx is majority Latino. That's where Donald Trump made huge gains. And I was just there. And you feel it and you see it. A lot of them, Donald Trump voters think they're going to vote for Cuomo in this race. Why do I say this? So look, this is the Bronx.
Let's go back to the 2024 presidential election. You say, oh, why are you worried about this? Harris won 72 to 27. That's a blowout. Yes, that's 2024. But go back just four years. Donald Trump only got 16 percent. He rose 11 points in four years in the Bronx County. Why? Men of color, particularly Latinos there. So do they stay as Republicans or were they just Trump voters?
[17:35:12]
Was it just because of the cost of living issues in 2024? Or have they moved over to Donald Trump and will they vote for other Republicans? This is a mayor's race there, but it's a theme that we'll watch elsewhere as we come through. Let's come back to 2025 and come back to these governor's races because, you know, Danny Freeman is in Passaic County, right? Passaic County is plurality Latino, right?
This is we're waiting for votes tonight. So it's blank. But you go back to the 2024 election. Donald Trump won this county. Now, just barely. But what happened? Men of color moving toward Donald Trump, particularly Latino men. Look at 2024. Go back just four years. This is the same county, the same people. Joe Biden won it by 16 points.
So there was a huge movement. Even in states Donald Trump lost, like New Jersey, but by a closer margin, like New York, by a closer margin and like Virginia. So we're going to watch this throughout. It's -- it's in New York. It's in Virginia. It's just one of the questions is that those voters that Donald Trump brought to him in 2024, was that just for one election? Was it just for Donald Trump or are they Republicans? Well, we'll get some answers tonight.
TAPPER: Yes. And those trends beyond tonight, beyond the mayor's race could hold nationally. Voters are still casting their ballots in key races across the country, including in New York City. So what will President Trump be watching tonight? Well, we're going to go live to the White House, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:41:02]
TAPPER: And we're back with a live look at voters in New York City as Americans coast to coast cast their ballots in key races. It's a big night for Democrats and Republicans, but it also is a big night for President Donald Trump as the results tonight will stand as his biggest electoral test of his second term so far. CNN's Kaitlan Collins is at the White House for us. And Kaitlan, what is President Trump going to be looking for tonight?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, the White House is not casting it as a test of President Trump's first nine months in office and what voters think of that. Instead, they're more in wait-and-see mode to see what the results are tonight and whether or not they want to tie it anywhere near the President and what he's done in office so far and what voters think of what the President has done so far.
Of course, this is the first time, the first major election since Donald Trump has been back in the Oval Office, though, so we will be looking for any of those clues tonight. And the President has been weighing in on these races. He did two teller rallies last night, one for Virginia, one in New Jersey. He was just posting a few moments ago telling people in New Jersey to get out and vote for the Republican candidate in that governor's race, Jack Ciattarelli.
But overall, Jake, it's been a relatively muted response from the President when it comes to these races. We've seen in the past where he's gotten quite involved before, and we have not seen that yet with tonight's races. And really, Jake, that has to do with the President's political aides and advisers behind the scenes.
They've been looking at their own data. They're not expecting any major Republican victories tonight, maybe New Jersey being the one that they are the most hopeful about. So they are kind of sitting back and waiting and watching, and, Jake, before they go anywhere near tying the President to these results or saying that it serves as a referendum on his first several months in office.
I will say, Jake, obviously the one race of the President, with that exception, has been the most closely paying attention to is the New York City mayor's race. He has been weighing in on it constantly, including with that late endorsement of Andrew Cuomo yesterday. And I've been told that privately, when it comes to the mayor's race in New York City and the governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey, far and away the President has been talking way more about the Zohran Mamdani race with Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa than any of the others.
TAPPER: All right, Kaitlan Collins, thanks so much.
I'm back with my panel. We also have with us Republican Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio. He's the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Thanks for being here tonight, sir. Let's talk about the government shutdown, because as of tomorrow it will be the longest in American history. The House has not been in session for six weeks. Well, we've done our work.
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): Yes. Well, we've done our work.
TAPPER: Well, shouldn't you all --
JORDAN: We passed it.
TAPPER: Shouldn't -- well, the Clean Government Resolution --
JORDAN: Yes.
TAPPER: -- the Clean Funding Resolution, but obviously there are negotiations to be had.
JORDAN: Well, I will not -- I would argue not just -- not just we -- we've done our work and we passed it, we passed what they all agreed to, what the Democrats all agreed to six months ago. So that -- that, to me, is like -- that's why the speaker said we -- we've passed it now 14 times they've tried to pass it in the Senate, and unfortunately they're not listening to John Fetterman, Senator Fetterman said we should pass this. We should move on. This is ridiculous, so.
But I've also been back in town the last three weeks. I -- I -- well, last four weeks. I come in every week and do -- do -- do work that I think is important for the folks in the Fourth District, important for the country, namely some of the oversight duties we have as members of Congress.
TAPPER: But obviously, though, there are disagreements that Democrats want some changes to health care policy in terms of extending the Obamacare subsidies, et cetera. Isn't part of the job, not necessarily just you, but all members of Congress, to be negotiating and figuring out a path out of this?
JORDAN: Everyone's been clear on our side. Look, open the government. We'll be happy to talk about that. I think it's -- it's kind of strange that they brought it up. They won't vote for what they voted for before, and they bring this up and say, oh, we -- we -- we want to --
TAPPER: It's not exactly the same thing as it was before.
JORDAN: It's a -- it's a continued resolution.
TAPPER: No, because you guys --
JORDAN: Which means you continue --
TAPPER: Right.
JORDAN: -- the exact funding level you were at that they all voted for. That's why they called it a continued resolution, so exactly the same.
TAPPER: But you made -- but you made major -- you made major changes to health care policy in the intervening times with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. That's what Democrats are objecting to.
JORDAN: They shut -- they shutdown the government because they're concerned about a policy that doesn't kick in until the end of the year. We're saying keep the government open. Don't jeopardize the -- the, you know, our -- our pay for our folks in uniform who serve our country and defend our country. Don't jeopardize the pay of air traffic controllers and hurt Americans who are getting close to the travel season. Don't jeopardize payments to people on the SNAP program.
[17:45:10]
All that we say, like, just get the government open and we'll talk about it. But again, they picked an issue where Obamacare, where they extended the subsidy, they set the deadline for this. They're the ones who extended this subsidy. Now they want to do it again for Obamacare, which is something everything they told us about turned out not -- not to be true. Like your plan, keep your plan. Like your doctor, keep your doctor. Premiums will go down. President Obama said premiums will go down on average $1,500 per family.
BASH: Well, I feel like it's like 10 years ago --
JORDAN: Well, now, now here we are. BASH: -- 15 years ago. I feel like I'm in a time warp.
JORDAN: That's what they're trying to do. It is a time warp because none of that changed.
TAPPER: Except they were the ones shutting down the government then.
BASH: Well, I just mean about the repeat your doctor. Yes, exactly.
TAPPER: Exactly.
BASH: Can we talk about the elections?
JORDAN: Sure.
BASH: The --
JORDAN: It is an election day.
BASH: It is an election day. And I have not talked to one Republican who has been bullish about how Republicans are going to fare from coast to coast, from California to New Jersey.
JORDAN: Yes.
BASH: Maybe the attorney general race in Virginia. As somebody who has a gavel, what are you looking at when you think about '26?
JORDAN: Well, I -- I do feel good about the attorney general's race here in Virginia. I think Jack Ciattarelli's run a good campaign. We'll see what happens in New Jersey. I think he's got a real chance. But the context is three blue states and a real blue city. And you're all saying, oh, this will be a mandate against the Republicans and president. Are you kidding me?
Like Kamala Harris won, my guess is she won all four jurisdictions. I bet she won New York City. I know she won New Jersey. I know she won Virginia.
BASH: But we're looking -- I'm sure you know this.
JORDAN: I know she won California. So three blue states and -- and one really blue city.
BASH: Yes, that's true.
JORDAN: But yet somehow -- somehow it's going to be the Republicans have a bad night if we don't win.
BASH: -- purple-ish. But I -- I take your point, though. There are pockets within each state, particularly in New Jersey, where Donald Trump did so much better in '24 than he did in 2020. So are you looking at that, particularly with demographics, younger people, Latinos, to see how that could fare when he's not on the ballot and you are? JORDAN: I think there's likely to be one big takeaway from today's election, from tonight's election and the results, and that's the mayor of New York. I mean, I do. Like, it's the socialists. They're going to elect the socialists. I mean, I was telling someone earlier today, I remember like 30-some years ago, I was -- I competed in -- in what was then the Soviet Union.
Tell people you go to places like that, you thank the good Lord you live here, and I remember walking into a store. First, I remember Moscow. We were there in February. Moscow in February.
BASH: It's not a political competition.
JORDAN: It's -- it's -- I understand, but it's like --
BASH: No, no, I just want you to clarify when you say competed.
JORDAN: What's that?
BASH: You said you competed in the Soviet Union.
TAPPER: You were -- you were --
JORDAN: Oh, no, no, I was wrestling.
TAPPER: You weren't running for office.
BASH: I just want to make sure that our audience understands what you mean.
JORDAN: I don't think they do. I was wrestling there. But you go -- you walk into a store, there's nothing on the shelf, and he's -- that's what Mamdani is promising. We're going to have government-run stores in New York City. I don't think that's their guy. That's the guy that the party is now embracing.
HUNT: But Cuomo is your guy.
JORDAN: Well, that's how -- that's how -- that's how --
HUNT: Should the President have endorsed Cuomo?
JORDAN: -- that -- that's how crazy the world's be -- become, that this guy is so bad that we're now for the former governor in New York who shutdown the whole state during COVID, and we criticize, I mean, that -- that's how ridiculous it is because so far left, the Democrat Party.
TAPPER: Didn't House Republicans refer Cuomo to the U.S. Attorney's Office here in D.C.?
JORDAN: I can't remember, but I remember -- I remember he came in and we asked him some questions in a hearing. I was on that committee.
TAPPER: Yes, you were on the COVID committee. You referred -- you referred Cuomo to the U.S. Attorney's Office. JORDAN: I don't think -- I think it came from Chairman Cuomo, if I remember right.
TAPPER: Well, a slightly different tone, I'm saying today. Anyway, thank you so much, Chairman. Appreciate it.
[17:48:37]
We're monitoring voters across the country in our key races, Virginia, New York, California, New Jersey. We're a little more than an hour away from our very first poll closing of the night. That's in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Stick with us. We'll be right back.
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TAPPER: The Santa Ana winds are blowing at the polling location we're showing you right now in California, a traditionally red area in a blue state. Democrats are hoping to pass newly drawn congressional maps that would give Democrats an additional five seats in the 2026 midterm elections. CNN's anchor Elex Michaelson is with us tonight at California Democrats' campaign headquarters in the state capital of Sacramento. Elex, what are you hearing from Governor Newsom this evening?
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the Newsom team is feeling confident. He's expected to speak here behind me at some point later on tonight. But there -- there's a lot of spinning going on as that voting is underway. President Trump posting on Truth Social today that the California vote is a scam and that it's rigged. He didn't really post a lot of evidence of how exactly it was rigged. Governor Newsom just posting himself on social media saying that President Trump is trying to suppress the vote.
He is pointing to the fact that there were Border Patrol and ICE agents reportedly showing up to stage outside Dodger Stadium today. He says that's an example of an intimidation tactic. We don't have any evidence of those officers actually interacting with voters. Again, we don't have any evidence of any widespread fraud in California. Clearly, we do have evidence of a lot of spinning going on. And from the beginning, Jake, this campaign, President Trump and Newsom have been going at it. If Newsom has tried to make this a referendum on Trump, if he's able to do that in deep blue California, he probably wins.
[17:55:04]
TAPPER: All right, Elex, thanks so much.
I want to hand things over now to CNN's Erin Burnett in New York, New York.
BURNETT: All right, so here we are. Anybody who's been watching knows that you wanted to get in as we were ending. So you're getting to start here on this panel.
EMANUEL: Yes, but I have short-term memory loss. I forgot what I was so angry about.
BURNETT: And we're moving on now to California. But as Elex was saying, right, this whole ballot initiative, you know, and then there's the fight between Schwarzenegger and Newsom on whether to do it, and then it seems to be metastasizing across the country. What do you think happens in California?
EMANUEL: Oh, I think Governor Newsom comes out today as a big winner, gets the map. He's going to get five districts for the Democrats. And this is a big win for him, and it's a big win for the Democrats. And that effort is we go through this stupidity of redistricting mid-cycle and across.
I want to say one thing for the Democrats, although there's a big win for Governor Newsom, no doubt, this is a losing game. When you look at what they're doing in Texas, North Carolina, Ohio, Missouri, we don't have a cape -- capacity to do this. Democrats should come out across the board, get rid of the primaries, and go to rank voting across the board. It would open up a massive amount of districts that would become competitive, and -- and members of Congress, and I know why you're saying no, members of Congress would have to compete for more voters than primary voters.
This is a losing structure for the Democrats. Now, I'm for what Governor Newsom just did, and I'm for what we're going to do in Illinois, but it's not a winning game long term.
CUCCINELLI: Yes, this is the first time I heard rank choice voting dragged in here. I mean, NAACP leaders all over the country, all over the country hate it because it disenfranchises people.
You want actual disenfranchisement, that second ballot wipes thousands of people out of elections, and it's phenomenally confusing. It's easy enough for people who game in politics all day long in their whole lives. That doesn't work for regular Americans, and it's a disaster.
LAWLER: This whole dynamic is a downward spiral.
EMANUEL: Yes.
LAWLER: OK. New York did --
BURNETT: It's like mutually assured destruction --
LAWLER: That's exactly what's happening. By the way, over -- over three decades ago, there were over 100 competitive seats. Last November, 35 seats were decided by five points or less. You do mid- decade redistricting all over the country, it's going to be even less than that. You look -- let me just -- let me just make one point. New York did mid-decade redistricting last year. They picked up four seats in New York.
So this whole notion that it just started with Texas, this has been happening for decades. Eric Holder, the former attorney general under Barack Obama, went and headed up the National Democratic Redistricting Committee because he was intent on gerrymandering the maps all across the country. You look at your home state of Illinois, three Republicans, despite the fact that Republicans get 40-plus percent of the vote in the state. It's absurd.
We need --
EMANUEL: We're getting rid of the plus.
LAWLER: Yes, I know you are. We need independent redistricting. I've been against gerrymandering no matter who does it because it's a disaster for the country.
EMANUEL: That I'm -- that I'm 100 percent for. Go to a court or a commission-like system that California has.
LAWLER: We did it in New York.
EMANUEL: But you have to -- what ends up here, I'm for it. Governor Newsom's going to be a winner. We had to do it based on Texas. But this is not good for the country. And it's not good for the party.
BURNETT: Yes. But -- but saying you're going to, OK, New York and Texas and it's just going to stop there is not how it goes.
EMANUEL: No.
DE BLASIO: Also, let's talk about the politics of what's happening in California and what it means for '26 and '28. Gavin Newsom, to his great credit, showed tremendous, aggressive leadership is what Democrats wanted.
I mean, this is -- this is the big story. Remember how many, many Democrats were concerned about Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries seeming to accommodate Trump at the beginning of the Trump administration?
BURNETT: Right. Sending strongly worded letters.
DE BLASIO: Yes. What Newsom did, and it surprised me, honestly, because you'll remember he was doing his podcast and one thing or another it looked like maybe he was trying to test that kind of accommodationist approach as well. Instead, he ended up being the most aggressive, the most aggressive, forceful Democratic leader out there.
And what I think it's doing is giving heart to Democrats, especially after the wins tonight, that were on the offensive again. Unfortunately, it's been tough. Let's be blunt. The first months of the Trump administration, Democrats are really back on their heels, trying to figure their way in the wilderness. After tonight, I think we see something very different. And Newsom benefits from the fact that he took this uncompromising line and sort of said damn the torpedoes. And I think a lot of other Democrats are going follow.
BURNETT: Well, he -- he started doing all caps. He started -- thank you for your attention to this matter.
CORNISH: I mean post through it. I get it. I think it's also redistricting is the kind of issue as a reporter you try and tell people about it and their eyes glaze over and yet somehow they were able to make this into the conversation about democracy that the Biden administration struggled to convey towards the end and create some kind of stakes.
Now obviously in California you have a -- they're pretty primed to feel picked on by Trump and to feel like they're going to make a statement here. But I think the question is they've now created a dynamic where if you talk about these things to the average person, they somehow get a picture in their mind about what that means and they start talking about in if it's fair or not fair because they can't talk about it the way you guys do, right?
[18:00:04]
Like they just don't have the facility with it. So I think that's the message from this is like there is a way to talk about these issues.
EMANUEL: I'm was -- I'm going to, although he's --
BURNETT: It's going to happen again.
EMANUEL: I'm going to -- I'm going to disagree -- I'm disagreeing with Bill on this point. Fighting -- finding Donald Trump has X amount of energy. By 2027, it's going to be fighting for America, not just Donald Trump.
BURNETT: OK. All right. And CNN's Election Night 2025 continues right now.
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