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CNN Election Night 2025; Now, Final Hours Of Voting In Crucial Elections In New Jersey, New York, Virginia; New CNN Exit Polls Of Key Races; Massive Flames After UPS Plan Crashes Near Louisville Airport. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired November 04, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonight, a pulse-check on the state of the nation.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: We have a movement of the masses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As voters deliver a report card on President Trump's second term.

REP. MIKIE SHERRILL (D-NJ): I give Trump an F.

JACK CIATTARELLI (R), NEW JERSEY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: There is nothing she won't blame on the president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the direction of the Democratic Party.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We're drawing a line in the sand.

MAMDANI: Our time is now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One year after Donald Trump's victory --

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Elections do matter and they matter for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- which party has the upper hand?

In New York, Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani vies for generational change.

MAMDANI: For too long, we have tried not to lose. Now, it is time that we win.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As former Governor Andrew Cuomo attempts to mount a political comeback.

ANDREW CUOMO (I), NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Socialism has never worked anywhere on the globe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While in New Jersey -- SHERRILL: New Jersey is a blue state.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Republicans look to extend Trump's gains in the Garden State.

CIATTARELLI: She doesn't know a damn thing about running the state of New Jersey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And in Virginia, a moderate Democrat fights to take back the governor's mansion.

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D), VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Are you ready to win?

LT. GOV. WINSOME EARLE-SEARS (D-VA): We understand what socialism looks like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Out west, California votes on a redistricting plan crucial to control of Congress, and Governor Gavin Newsom's presidential ambitions.

NEWSOM: Wake up, America. Wake up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As voters head to the polls, will they offer Democrats new energy and hope, or keep Trump's momentum going?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: They got away with it with all their woke crap, and now it's stopped.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's democracy in action once again. Election Night 2025 on CNN starts right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, voters coast-to-coast are racing to cast their ballots on the first big election night of Donald Trump's second term.

Welcome to CNN's Election Night 2025. I'm Jake Tapper here in Washington, D.C., our nation's capital. We are less than an hour away from our first poll closing of the Night in the Commonwealth of Virginia, which will make history no matter who wins by electing its first woman governor tonight. Former Democratic Congresswoman and CIA Case Officer Abigail Spanberger is pitted against former Marine and the commonwealth's sitting lieutenant governor, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears. It's a race that is centered on affordability and culture war issues.

The other pivotal governor's race tonight is in the Garden State of New Jersey, where Democratic Congresswoman and former Navy helicopter pilot Mikie Sherrill is squaring off against former Republican State Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli.

Donald Trump might not be on the ballot in New Jersey, but he has been central to the fight for the New Jersey Governor's mansion, and a potentially historic night is coming in New York City this evening as Democratic socialist. Zohran Mamdani is looking to become the city's youngest mayor in a century, as well as its first Muslim mayor. He's aiming to defeat former New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who's running as an independent after losing in the Democratic primary, and also long shot Republican Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani has galvanized a new base of Democratic voters with a progressive and populist campaign focused on lowering everyday costs.

Plus, it's a huge night for Democrats and California Governor Gavin Newsom out west, as Californians will be making their final decision on whether to accept a newly drawn Congressional district map, which could help Democrats win an additional five U.S. House seats in next year's midterm elections.

We're also watching half a dozen other mayoral races unfolding across the country, as city leaders find themselves more and more in the national spotlight. And we have reporters spread out at campaign headquarters and key voting locations across the country, ready to report on the winners and the losers as the actual voting results come in this evening.

Let's go now to CNN's Jason Carroll, who's at a voting location in New York City. And, Jason, you're on the upper west side of Manhattan talking to voters.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very busy polling location on the upper west side, Jake. It's been busy out here all day. We've been speaking to voters here throughout the day. This race, this mayoral race, has really come down to a contrast between the candidate who represents experience to some of the voters versus the candidate who is representing progressive ideas to some of the voters.

I want to bring in Valerie Kennedy. Now, we were speaking a little bit earlier, you were sort of maybe on the fence about who you're going to vote for and then it was your son, you said, who convinced you to vote for Mamdani.

[18:05:07]

VALERIE KENNEDY, NEW YORK VOTER: He showed me his social postings and I was very impressed. And I --

CARROLL: You were impressed with Mamdani's social media?

KENNEDY: Yes, I thought it was very clever. And I felt the time had come for young people to be, you know, running the place and was really -- had a lot of faith in him.

CARROLL: And what were your thoughts about Cuomo initially going into the race?

KENNEDY: I really liked Cuomo so much during COVID. I thought he was amazing and gave me such confidence, thought those poor states who don't have Cuomo. But then I got very delusion, you know, at the end and I felt he was sort of -- he didn't want this job as much as Mamdani.

And then another thing, when I found out that he went to Bank Street School for Children, where I went, my alma mater, I --

CARROLL: That did it for you?

KENNEDY: It did it, yes.

CARROLL: All right. Thank you very much, Valerie. I really appreciate it.

And, Jake, now -- thank you very much, Valerie. Now, what is interesting also, Jake, is so many people who we spoke to actually wanted to talk about the race, but they say the race has become so divisive here in New York City and there's been so much rhetoric back and forth.

Many people said they simply didn't want to go on camera because they were afraid. Once they publicly said who they wanted to vote for, they might lose a friend or get. In a fight with a family member over, it gives you an idea of just how much interest and just how divisive this race has become. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Jason Carroll on the upper west side of Manhattan, thanks so much.

Let's go now to New Jersey. CNN's John Berman is at the Sherrill campaign headquarters in East Brunswick. John, it looks like it's starting to fill up the room.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. The people are just coming in. The doors will open shortly. The polls close in New Jersey at 8:00 P.M., Jake, and the Mikie campaign is very happy right now with how things look for them, they say. I'll give you one city, Jersey City, the second most populous city in the state, has already surpassed the voter turnout from 2021. That was the race that Phil Murphy won but by just three points. By about 4:00 this afternoon, more people had already turned out to vote in that heavily Democratic city than in all of 2021.

In New Jersey, you can actually track voter turnout by party registration over the course of the day, and the Sherrill campaign says they feel they're actually running substantially better than former Vice President Kamala Harris did in the presidential election in 2024. Again, she won New Jersey, but by about six points. So, the Sherrill campaign feels pretty good about where they are right now.

Their message, they say, tracks with what David Chalian has been talking about in our exit polls. Mikie Sherrill has been leaning in to tying Donald Trump to concerns about the economy. It's not just, they say, an anti-Trump message, is that President Trump has not delivered on the promises he made for the economy and on affordability.

So, if you listen to any one of Mikie Sherrill's events, she repeats that again and again and again, and they think that is paying dividends. So, when you see the numbers and the exit polls, the likes of which David Chalian is showing, it validates what they say.

One more point, Bergen County, hometown of Dana Bash, the Mikie Sherrill campaign says that they are winning the election vote there. These Democrats are overperforming there based on what they have in the last few campaigns. Jake?

TAPPER: All right, Berman. You know, my best friend from high school is from East Brunswick and I know a great diner with amazing cheese fries. I will hook you up after the election is over.

Let's go to CNN's David Chalian. He has new exit poll results, which will give us some insight into what's going on in the New York City mayor's race.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: I also know that diner, Jake, and I love it. Yes, in New York City, we are three issues that animated a ton of conversation in this race, especially in those two big mayoral debates that we saw, first, the importance of the candidate's positions on Israel. Look at this, 38 percent, the plurality of New York City voters call the candidate's position on Israel a major factor, 30 percent, a minor factor, 29 percent, not a factor at all. Of course, that cuts both ways since there was a real contrast in positions on Israel.

How about crime? That was a major issue discussed in this race. 33 percent of New York City voters say it's a major problem, but the majority call it a minor problem. 51 percent say so. Only 13 percent of New York City voters say crime is not a problem at all.

Housing costs where you live, look at that number, 72 percent, nearly three quarters of New York City voters today say that is a major problem, housing costs.

[18:10:07]

This was critical to Mamdani's message. Only 14 percent call it a minor problem, 12 percent, not a problem at all. Jake?

TAPPER: All right, interesting stuff, David Chalian. And there we go again with another exit poll sign that things could really -- well, no matter what happens, the idea that Mamdani is talking about affordability and he's talking about rent, this is what is top of mind of New York voters.

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's remarkable and yet totally unremarkable at the same time, because this is why Donald Trump is president and now it's the albatross around his neck because it hasn't gotten better, and for some people, it has gotten worse. And that is something that privately Republicans recognize that Republican candidates in these four places, and maybe even five if you count the attorney general in Virginia, are dealing with.

And, you know, there's a little bit of worry that when President Trump talked to Norah O'Donnell in 60 Minutes that it was a -- there's nothing to see here message on the economy at time.

TAPPER: And he denied prices were up when they are.

BASH: And he told Norah that she was wrong, and she wasn't. She was right.

TAPPER: No, she was right, right.

BASH: Yes.

TAPPER: It's actually reminded me a bit, Kasie, of the previous president when it came to high prices.

KASIE HUNT, CNN AND CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes. The thing about denying that prices are high when people that you need to vote for you or support the party that you're a part of, everyone has to buy groceries every week, right? It's not -- you can't pretend. And, look, this affordability issue, right, when you put those numbers up about how many people think housing is unaffordable in New York, I mean, have you looked at rent in New York lately?

Have you looked at housing prices across the country post-COVID? I mean, have you talked to young people about how they feel about their own prospects for doing the things that their parents did relatively easily? I mean, their parents were able to buy houses. They felt like they could afford to take care of one, two, three or more kids.

People -- I'm a millennial. I'm not as young as I used to be sitting on a set like this, but let me just tell you that most people do not think that any basic, normal life is easy to figure out anymore. It is so incredibly difficult and, frankly, the gerontocracy in Washington just doesn't get it.

CHALIAN: And I don't think it's particularly new to this election, right? This is -- I think since COVID and since we -- like which just disrupted society so much and have come out of that, the record high inflation that we saw in the Biden administration, this has now been a period of years of real concern about costs and affordability. I know it's been a central theme in the campaigns this year, perhaps in a way that it wasn't before, but I don't think it's new for the American people.

So, you know, it's interesting that -- so four years ago, Glenn Youngkin, the governor -- the current governor who was elected four years ago, he won on in a large part talking about education. And he was criticized, I remember, by Democrats who were like, well, he wasn't talking about that at the beginning of his campaign. And it's true, he wasn't. And then he campaigned and he heard people were talking about it. So --

HUNT: Imagine that. He listened to voters.

TAPPER: So, he changed --

HUNT: Politics.

TAPPER: He changed what he was talking about, and the same. So, Mamdani started out, he came out with that viral video like last December, and it was about affordability. So, I'm not saying that it's the same exact thing, but the idea of, well, this is what people care about, therefore I'm going to talk about it seems like a pretty basic one, but I have to turn to some breaking news right now.

Sources tell CNN that a UPS plane crashed near the Louisville, Kentucky, airport this evening. There is a massive fume of black smoke and fire rising not far from the tarmac. This information is just coming in.

Let's turn now to CNN's Pete Muntean, who's in the newsroom. Pete, what do we know right now?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, the images are sad and they're sobering, Jake. We've just confirmed from the Federal Aviation Administration that UPS Flight 2976 crashed shortly after takeoff from the Louisville Airport. the Muhammad Ali International Airport. That is the main hub for UPS. It's known as Worldport.

This plane, an MD-11F, that's a trijet, a wide body airliner, three engines, not a small airplane. When they were in passenger service, though, no airlines use them anymore. They could hold anywhere between 270 and up to 400 people. You can see the images that show exactly why the fire department in the area has put in place a shelter in place order near the Louisville airport.

Initial report said the shelter in place was for a five-mile radius. Investigators really now have their work cut out for them because it does not seem like the images show any apparent parts of airplane. It seems like the National Transportation Safety Board will launch to this investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration also investigating.

This flight was bound for Honolulu. This is a large cargo airplane, not a small aircraft, as we are just getting in new details.

[18:15:06]

This is developing all the time. It has been a tough year for aviation. Not only are there -- there are the incidents right now with air traffic controller staffing shortages around the country, there was the midair collision over the Potomac River back in January, and now this.

Friends I've been talking to, sources say, this is so hard to see, and the image is popping up online. So, a very sobering struggle for this plane to get into the air right on takeoff from Louisville, Muhammad Ali International Airport. Very, very sad story developing right now.

TAPPER: Very sad, indeed. Pete Muntean, thanks so much. We're going to keep following the story.

We're going to squeeze in a quick break. We'll be much -- we'll bring back, go pump. We'll come back with much more in our Election Night 2025.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:00] ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: A live look at a polling station in Aldie, Virginia. That is home to some of the most closely watched races of the night, Virginia voting for the next governor and attorney general, both of those crucial as we're approaching closing polls. It doesn't look as if there are lines there, so we'll see what happens.

But in New York, there have been lines and hours-long lines for some of the early voting. Here we are though, in the final hours. Omar Jimenez is at a voting site in Queens, New York. That, of course, is where Mamdani lives and represents that borough as an assembly member right now.

So, Omar, long lines obviously for days in New York. What are you seeing now? And I know you're there with a voter right now.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We have seen a lot of extremely high turnout, even leading up to Election Day itself, and we're continuing to track that enthusiasm over the course of today, and some of it we've seen in voter conversations. I've got one here, Alec. You've lived here in Queens for a while now. You just voted here a little bit earlier. Can you tell me who you voted for and why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. So, I ended up voting for Mamdani. The reason why is, you know, I've never -- I've always been a Democrat my whole life but I've been kind of frustrated with the direction that some of the more mainstream or establishment Democrats have taken. I feel like they struggle to really articulate a vision for the society that they'd like to see. But that's not the case with Zohran. I feel like with him, he has a clear vision for the kind of New York that he imagines. And that's the one that I believe in too, one that's more equitable, one where, you know, yes, the rich just don't dominate everything in the city, like I feel like they're so used to doing.

JIMENEZ: You've lived here a while now. What do you think is the biggest issue that New Yorkers are facing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely affordability. I mean, that's where Mamdani really just nailed that one. Just everything in the city is so outrageously expensive. The city's really been in a state of decline for a while. And I like that I think Mamdani's going to bring us back to being the greatest city in the world.

JIMENEZ: Yes. All right, Alec, I appreciate the time.

This is just some of what we've heard from many of the Mamdani supporters, but we've heard a wide range of opinions over the many voters we've spoken to here in Queens, Erin. We'll see if that translates to results.

BURNETT: All right, Omar, thank you very much.

Mayor de Blasio, it's interesting what that voter there was saying, right, that they knew what Mamdani stood for. And we see that. We were all just talking about it when we were off-camera, right? The people who were voting for Mamdani, 90 percent of them wanted to vote for Mamdani. They were voting for that reason. AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: And understood him as not a Democrat. He made that distinction.

BURNETT: And makes and made that distinction. Cuomo, only half of the people voting for him actually were voting for him. Others were maybe voting against Mamdani. But what does that say, just that there's -- you have to articulate a plan? And Mamdani has successfully done that to the people who are voting for him, affordability, right? Right there, you hear affordability, affordability.

BILL DE BLASIO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, the voter said something really powerful, I thought, about a vision of where we are going. This is so amazing how rare it is in politics, in elections, to actually have a candidate vividly give you a sense of where we need to go as a society, as a city, as a country.

And Mamdani talked, I think, in very moral terms about how the unaffordability was unacceptable, that people literally were struggling to make ends meet all the time, including, again, folks who used to think they were middle class. And that's not the society we signed up for. We need something different and it's within our reach. When he talks about things like fast free buses, when he talks about things like universal childcare, those are the kind of aspirations that help people see a society they could live more comfortably.

CORNISH: And also acknowledging the pain that they're going through.

DE BLASIO: That's right.

CORNISH: I think is a big thing. And then context matters. You know, if you have almost two dozen billionaires put in money into the race against Mamdani, that also --

BURNETT: Last week, right?

CORNISH: That also sends a message to the voters. It's whose side are you on? And I think for a generation that'll use terms like late stage capitalism, they're very much going to -- you've heard it. They're very much going to say, well, wait a second, whose side are you on? And I think one of the things we're underestimating is what does it mean to say you're on someone's side? Even though Spanberger and Mamdani are totally different people, they both talk about affordability. They both talk about being on the side of their constituents in a way that is far more identifiable in some ways. We'll know by the end of the night.

RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: The telling lesson between now and 2024, Democrats were all about identity politics and cultural issues. Today, it's about opportunity. Affordability is another word for opportunity, whether it's pre-K, that both of us as mayors worked on and making it universal or daycare or access to free community college if you're going to be average, this is about opportunity and making it what used to be you achieve a middle class status today is a struggle to maintain.

[18:25:01] And people do not want an economics or a politics where it's a struggle just to stand in place.

REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): If you look at the end of the day, it goes back to what your old friend James Carville said. It's the economy, stupid. If people don't feel like they can afford where they live, they're not going to be happy and they're not going to be in a position to provide for their families.

Donald Trump spoke about that in 2024. Zohran Mamdani spoke about it in 2025. It's a big part of the reason why he won the Democratic primary. But I think there's a bigger issue here, okay? Look at New York City. You were mayor for eight years, Eric Adams for four. Democrats have controlled New York City for decades.

That controlled the city council a long time, yet rents continue to skyrocket, utility costs continue to skyrocket, taxes keep going up, spending is out of control, tens of billions of dollars since you took over as mayor and through Eric Adams, New York State has increased state spending by a hundred billion dollars.

So, yes, there's an affordability crisis in New York, but it is primarily driven by the policies that have been enacted. You look at the energy policies in New York, we've shut down natural gas, shut down Indian Point. Utility rates have skyrocketed. The grid has gotten dirtier. These are policy --

BURNETT: One point you say, though, is last night Zohran Mamdani was here and he said that he and Trump have both identified the same problem, affordability, okay, that he put it on, but that they have identified the same problem. It's the solutions that are different. But he's the first Democrat that I've heard and that's come out and said it that way, that he -- that the two agree on the problem specifically and explicitly, and are going to talk about a different solution.

KEN CUCCINELLI, FORMER ACTING DEPUTY SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: I would agree that probably in the last five years he has done a better job than any other Democrat in the country of prioritizing that approach to his campaign. And I'm reminded 25 years ago of Jim Gilmore running. You ask him any question in the world, and his answer was, I'm going to get rid of the car tax. It was message discipline combined with focusing on the priority of ordinary voters.

Now, I don't agree with Mamdani's solutions, and it is that I don't think they'll work. I wish -- you know, I wish it was as simple as he'd like to think, but, nonetheless, his focus on optimistic outcomes that create opportunity and focus on what people are concerned about. We were talking about paycheck-to-paycheck, you know, off camera, and that is a focus. I don't care what party you're in, Republican, libertarian, vegetarian, whatever that is --

BURNETT: By the way, I'm going to hit pause on this for one second, one second but we got to come back to this later, because you said something really important. You used the word optimism. So few people feel and that is important. We'll come back to that. But we do have live voting right now, a look at a center in Santa Ana, California. Democrats are hoping to pull off a big win. There's a redistricting issue going on, Prop 90 in California, and you can see the lines there. When we come back, Senator Bernie Sanders will join to discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

TAPPER: It's election night in America and we're back with a live look at Aldie, Virginia, as the final voters cast their ballots as polls prepare to close in less than 30 minutes in Virginia.

Here to discuss Democrats hope for a big night tonight, I want to bring Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Senator Sanders, always a pleasure to have you. Thank you so much.

If Democrats sweep the big races tonight, Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York, more moderate Democrats, Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill, in Virginia, New Jersey, and then also obviously the redistricting measure in California, is -- what is the message for Democrats there? Is it all good? Is there a mixed message because Mamdani and Spanberger or Sherrill are kind of different?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Very different. But I think that the common message, if all of that happens, if Democrats do well, is that there is a lot of dissatisfaction with Trump's policies, a trillion dollars in tax breaks for the 1 percent. At the same time, you cut Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act by a trillion dollars. You throw 15 million people off the healthcare they have. You double premiums for 20 million people in the Affordable Care Act. Those are not policies that the American people are supportive of. And I think tonight's election votes may reflect that.

TAPPER: But, obviously, the Mikie Sherrills and Abigail Spanbergers of the world would probably look at the healthcare challenges facing the United States differently than Zohran Mamdani is. In terms of policy direction, what do you think it would suggest?

SANDERS: Well, look, I have not been involved in the races in New Jersey or Virginia. I have been heavily involved in the race for Mamdani in New York. And the reason for that is that I think what Zohran understands is that we are living in a moment in American history where we have never seen the people on top doing so very well. Billionaires are doing better than they have ever done while 60 percent of the people in this country are living paycheck-to-paycheck.

They can't afford housing, which is a major part of what Mamdani is talking about.

[18:35:01]

They can't afford decent quality food at the grocery store. They can't afford healthcare. They can't afford to send their kids to college. And what Zohran is doing in New York is putting his race in that context and saying that maybe, just maybe, we should have a government that works for all of us, not just wealthy campaign contributors.

And, by the way, if he pulls that off in New York City, and I think he will, it will be one of the great political upsets in the modern history of this country. He has taken on the oligarchs in New York who have spent millions and millions of dollars trying to defeat him. He's taken on Donald Trump, who has endorsed Cuomo. He's taking on the Republican establishment.

He has taken on the Democratic establishment. And what he has done is created an incredible grassroots movement, Jake. He has some 90,000 volunteers, an enormous amount of enthusiasm. So, I think this young man deserves an enormous amount of credit for running a brilliant campaign.

TAPPER: And what do you make of the fact that -- I mean, I hear everything you're saying and the idea that he was laser-focused on the message of affordability in New York obviously worked to his advantage. I have to say he ran a rather Sanders-esque campaign in many ways, but Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader from New York City, did not endorse him, did not endorse anyone. What does that say?

SANDERS: Well, I think it suggests that there is a strong rift between establishment Democrats who collect a whole lot of money from wealthy campaign contributors and people like Zohran who are prepared to run a grassroots campaign. I think that's true in New York City, and I think that's true all over the country.

Needless to say, what I believe is at a time when this country faces so many crises above and beyond Trump, before Trump's effort to throw 15 million people off of healthcare and double premiums for the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare system in America is completely broken. Everybody knows it. And that is why, and Zohran believes, I believe that we need to move to a Medicare for all single payer system. Healthcare is a human right.

We are in a competitive global economy. You know what? We got to make sure that all of our kids, regardless of income, get the higher education they need. Our childcare system is a disaster. We got to make sure that to do what Iran is doing, making childcare free all over this country, invest in the future generation of America.

So, I think that the vision is that there are some of us who believe that we need a party, Democratic Party, that stands with the working class, that is prepared to take on the oligarchs. Needless to say, the establishment does not necessarily agree with that assessment.

TAPPER: Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, thank you so much. It's always great to have you, sir.

SANDERS: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: Coast-to-coast voting centers are still full of Americans casting their ballots. We have new exit poll numbers to bring you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BURNETT: And we're back with a look at a voting center on the upper west side of Manhattan, Zohran Mamdani is looking to make history as the first Muslim mayor of the largest city in America.

I want to go straight now though to Brian Todd, as we're watching these races coast to coast. He's in Aldie, Virginia, where polls are set to close in less than 20 minutes. Brian, what have you seen in terms of turnout as the day's gone on here? And we're about at closing time, as I know you're with a voter.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Erin. It's been a big day at this precinct, a lot of turnout here despite a lot of early and mail-in voting here in Virginia. There's been a lot of foot traffic here. And we do have a Republican voter here. We haven't encountered too many Republican voters at this precinct, but we have one here. His name is Roger Rockhill.

I've been talking to Roger. One of the big issues that drove him and one of the big issues here in Virginia is the candidacy of Jay Jones, the Democrat running for attorney general, and the violent text that he sent three years ago. That's been a big issue in the campaign. Republicans saying that he's not fit for office. He's apologized for it. Abigail Spanberger has not rescinded her endorsement of him, even though she's condemned the text. Roger is here.

Roger, you talked about this and how this was kind of a driving factor. How did that candidacy of Jay Jones and the whole issue of political violence influenced your vote tonight?

ROGER ROCKHILL, VIRGINIA VOTER: Yes. I mean, it made me not want to look at any of the Democratic candidates, especially the governor, the person running for governor. So, I think that anybody that does it in writing and the person running for governor isn't going to denounce that and ask him to suspend his candidacy is wrong.

TODD: All right. Roger, thank you for talking to us. We really appreciate it. Good luck. Thank you.

So, sampling of one of the big issues here, the government shut down also, Erin, a huge issue that's been on the minds of many of the voters driving kind of their anger and angst as they come to the polls tonight. Erin?

BURNETT: All right, just minutes away from closing there. Brian, thank you very much.

And let's go back to Jake in Washington. Jake?

TAPPER: Thanks, Erin. And let's talk with my panel. And, Kasie, you have a text chain where you talk to various sources and folks about issues. What did you make about the comment that the voter made about Jay Jones and the attorney general candidate in Virginia? He had sent several years ago some violent text messages talking about harm coming to a fellow member of the House of Delegates, harm to his family. It's really -- the Republicans have tried to use this to tarnish the entire Democratic ticket.

[18:45:07]

HUNT: Yeah, they have, and we have been texting with I've been texting throughout the night with sources who've agreed to kind of talk to us, give us their perspective. And Brad Todd, Republican consultant, is actually in Virginia. He's working with Jason Miyares, the attorney general candidate. And he says this in Virginia. I'm watching for split ticket voting. He says the Spanberger Miyares voter is the most interesting voter anywhere tonight.

And Kristen Soltis Anderson chimes in to say that her polling does show that there actually is likely to be a fair amount of this ticket splitting. You know, the question here is really about the nature of our politics, right? And how are voters feeling about that? And that has come up repeatedly also among my sources.

It was Congresswoman Debbie Dingell has also joined us and given us some of her insights. And she's someone who's really thought a lot about the Democratic Party, their future. She's been on the leading edge sometimes, and she points out that voters are really not inspired by politicians right now. She says they're tired of excuses, negative hits, attacks on their opponents.

And, you know, that plays into kind of the big picture question we've talked about, too, with Zohran Mamdani and the type of candidate that he is, right? I mean, there's -- obviously, Republicans are hitting him on policies, but he's running as a candidate who is inspiring people.

He's at clubs, right? People are cheering. They're excited to see him. It is a very different vibe, so to speak. And certainly, that also plays into to circle back around -- Jay Jones, the Democrat who was on track to win the attorney general's race.

TAPPER: The guy who wrote the text message.

HUNT: Who wrote these text messages about political violence is really the opposite I think of what people are looking for.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Virginia has a long history, with only a couple of exceptions of voting against the party in the White House and its governor's race. So, Spanberger has a head start right there.

Costs are up. You're in the of government shutdown, 150,000 federal workers in Virginia. So, you think the dynamic goes her way. But to the point that Debbie Dingell makes and others make is that, you know, how does Trump win after January 6th? How is Mamdani creating a movement? People are looking for people who do things differently, who challenge, kick the can, kick the establishment.

And so, I do think it's an interesting question. I get it, she might be the next governor. She doesn't want a Republican attorney general who's a friend of Trump, who's allied with conservatives on many of these issues. When states are constantly suing the federal government and so on and so forth. I get the politics of it.

But I think voters would find it refreshing if you looked up and said, that is reprehensible, and that person does not belong in our politics, because that's reprehensible. I have children and I have to go home to my children and say, never do these things or you will be held accountable.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: But it goes back to that right and wrong. You will be held accountable versus what we've been talking about. And we will continue to talk about, which is that people can't afford groceries. They can't afford to buy a house. Never mind that, they can't afford rent.

And that is the number one thing that is on people's mind, even when you think about democracy or other issues like.

KING: But this idea that I don't have to address it because I'm going to win anyway, it's going to be fascinating. If she wins and if he squeaks in -- the attorney general squeaks in.

TAPPER: Yeah.

KING: There's going to be a lot of pressure on him.

TAPPER: There's another part of this, though, when it comes to Democrats, which is Democrats perceiving themselves as having always taken the high road. I'm not saying they do, but there is this perception among Democrats that they do and saying no more, we're not going to do this anymore.

Then for that, you have Newsom when it comes to the redistricting in California, and we've had Democrats on my show say, okay, he sent some nasty texts. What about what Donald Trump tweets or posts on Truth Social every day of the week? Like, why do Democrats have to be held to this standard?

So, I mean, I think -- I think it works both ways when it comes to that.

We're just minutes away from our first poll closing of the night. Virginians are set to elect the commonwealth's very first woman governor, whether the Democrat or the Republican wins.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:53:29]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: And we have a live look at Aldie, Virginia, where voters are counting their final ballots in Virginia's high stakes governor's race. And we are here for it. I'm Erin Burnett in New York.

TAPPER: And I'm Jake Tapper in Washington, D.C. We're just minutes away from polls closing across the river in Virginia.

The outcome of the commonwealth's governor's race could give us the very first gauge of the political headwinds of the night. In Virginia, former Democratic Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger and Virginia sitting lieutenant governor, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears are both vying to become Virginia's very first woman governor.

Our reporters are covering every aspect of the story across the commonwealth.

Let's go to CNN's Jeff Zeleny, who is at Spanberger campaign headquarters in Richmond, Virginia -- Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, Abigail Spanberger is looking to spark a Democratic revival here in Virginia. There are just a few more moments before the polls close. But for the last two hours since people have gotten out of work, the campaign has been focusing intently on those suburban voters that are so key to her driving up the turnout in northern Virginia, here in Richmond and in southeast Virginia as well.

The campaign, Jake, is confident. It is as confident as any Democrat that we have talked to for the last year. The question is the margin. In the final hours of this campaign, Abigail Spanberger was talking about wanting to crush victory, look for a decisive victory.

The translation to that is, Jake, they're looking for a double-digit victory. That would be more than the victory in 2017 that Ralph Northam got.

[18:55:00]

He got about 9 percent. Of course, that was the year after Donald Trump was elected. We shall see about that margin.

But one thing is clear that Democrats believe that Abigail Spanberger, who, of course, was part of that blue Democratic wave back in 2018, the CIA case officer who ran for office there as Democrats swept to their House majority. They believe that she is the type of Democrat who can win here in Virginia.

But voters also say they have the federal government shut down well on their minds. Of course, so key here in the Commonwealth of Virginia, so many workers, we've talked to, military members we've talked to.

And the Trump effect is also hanging on this race, even though Abigail Spanberger has talked about it very little. And, Jake, as you said, history will be made here. Virginia is one of only 18 states in the whole country that has never elected a woman to be governor. That will change tonight.

Abigail Spanberger hopes she's the one.

TAPPER: All right. Jeff Zeleny in Richmond.

CNN's Eva McKend is in Leesburg, Virginia, at the Winsome Earle-Sears campaign headquarters.

And, Eva, you have some new reporting about how the Earle-Sears campaign feels in these closing minutes.

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, they remain clear eyed about the difficult environment right now for Republicans in Virginia. But they are standing by how they ran this race. So, core to the lieutenant governor's election argument was leaning into a debate that President Donald Trump very much did in 2024, and that is the policies that govern transgender children in public schools, when it comes to bathroom policies, when it comes to sports teams.

And in asking them about it, they maintain that it was an important messaging tool, especially to reach nonwhite voters in northern Virginia. And when you speak to them, they say that it wasn't the only issue that they focused on, but a key component of their strategy. Now, as for the lieutenant governor, she never really entertained defeat. She continued campaigning throughout the day, praying with supporters, going to diners.

She'll watch the returns tonight. Jake with her two adult daughters and her husband here in Leesburg -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Polls close in three minutes and 15 seconds.

I want to go to CNN's John King, who is here at the magic wall with me.

When the vote starts to come in from Virginia in literally just minutes, what are you going to be looking for?

KING: Every vote matters, of course, but if Winsome Earle-Sears is to have a chance in this state, it's going to be right here. That's in northern Virginia. Those are the Washington, D.C. suburbs, plus anywhere between a third and 40 percent of the vote. By the time we count them up, it's going to come from the more populated D.C. suburbs.

Now, can it be done? Can it be done? Well, Glenn Youngkin proved four years ago it can be done. Now, you look at these D.C. suburbs and they're all blue, right? They're all blue.

You can win. You can win as a Republican and lose the suburbs. But you have to get closer.

Look at Prince William County. He's at 42 percent in Prince William County. This county is very important to me tonight for a couple of reasons. Number one, it's one of the farther out suburbs. Number two, it has the highest percentage of Latino voters in Virginia by county, who are -- who are -- who have moved toward Trump, trending toward conservatives. Can she sell that message here?

But look at Youngkin at 42 percent. Now, come back to the presidential race in 2020. Donald Trump lost Virginia in 2020 and 2024. But look, in 2020, Trump gets 36. If you round that up and then in '24, Donald Trump's number goes up to 39.

Trump's support among Latinos, especially among Latino men, is growing. It was not enough in Virginia, not in 2024. You know, Harris still won, but she wins by five or six if you round that up. When Joe Biden won, if you go back here, he won by 10.

So, there is a trend in Virginia, especially among men of color like we've seen nationally, like will matter a lot in the next midterm elections next year, by the way. So you're looking at these states tonight, Virginia, is it a blue state or purple state? New York, New Jersey, a lot of the country is probably saying, why do I care? It's not like my state.

The voters tonight in these key places are the same kind of voters. They're going to settle the battle for control of the House. They're going to settle the big governors races on the ballot in the midterm election. You're going to settle whether Donald Trump has a Democratic speaker for the last two years of his term.

So, as you watch this come out right up in here, and then you come here, Fairfax is the number one. It's the most populous county in the state. And again this year, Glenn Youngkin, we were talking about this off camera. Glenn Youngkin talked a lot about education, giving parents more say over school committees, more say over local politicians, right?

Winsome sears has done the same thing, but her tone has been very different. Her tone has been more harsh. It has been more Trumpy. So, this is the largest county in the state. It is a huge D.C. suburb. And again, Glenn Youngkin got -- he lost, right, 35 percent of the vote. If you round that up, he only got 35 percent of the vote.

But remember, in elections that are settled by such close margins, sometimes your margin, even where you lose matters. Winsome Earle- Sears like Glenn Youngkin, has to perform in the 40s, in the high 30s, in the D.C. suburbs to have any chance, because that's where the people live.

And then, Jake, another big question tonight is this you have all these other Republican candidates who are trying to run like Donald Trump. Remember what Donald Trump does in rural America, right? Can they not only win those counties with the percentages that they need, but can they get voters to come out of the woodwork in rural America, including rural Virginia, like Donald Trump does?