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CNN Live Event/Special
Abigail Spanberger Speaks After Winning VA Gov. Race; Moments Away: Polls Close In Contentious Race For NYC Mayor. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired November 04, 2025 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: And now, of course, the question is going to be how does she govern? And also, how does she -- how does the party embrace her as they continue to try to fight back against Donald Trump -- Jake.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Well, polls are about to close in New Jersey, and we're about to get our first results in the high stakes to call in the race between Democrat, Mikie Sherrill and Republican, Jack Ciattarelli.
Both candidates campaigned on opposing viewpoints of President Trump's second term. Who is going to pull off a victory? Well, we a key race alert and with the polls closing, not a surprise, it is too early to call in the race between Democrat, Mikie Sherrill and Republican, Jack Ciattarelli. Too early to call right now. I want to hand things over to CNN's Anderson Cooper in New York -- Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Jake, Thanks very much. Here with the team in New York, I want to talk, obviously, about the results we have just called for the Virginia governorship. Congresswoman, are you surprised at all?
REP. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS (R-NY): I'm actually not surprised and I said this before, that Abigail Spanberger is a moderate Democrat. I served with her in the Problem Solvers Caucus. I mean, she was always very reasonable. I think she's very personable.
It's unfortunate for Republicans that we lost this because four years ago, we were so excited. But, you know, honestly, we didn't know how long -- we didn't think we were going to really hold on to Virginia. How long could you hold on to a state like Virginia, particularly where you have so many government workers in that area.
COOPER: There's also like a 50-year history of Virginia electing a governor who is not from the party that is in power in The White House. I think the only exception was Terry McAuliffe under Obama?
MALLIOTAKIS: Yes, I mean, I think that's true. I mean, you're looking at those trends, and I think that really what we saw was Glenn Youngkin break that trend. And it was shocking. And it was a shock that needed to be -- it was a message that needed to be sent at the time to the Democrats.
And now, we're seeing the reverse and it probably is in many ways a referendum that these federal workers in Virginia are not happy with the direction of the Trump administration. I think New Jersey will be a lot more telling for the country. But even that, you know, Republican -- the fact that Republicans are so close in New Jersey really says something good about the Republican Party and the message and what we're doing giving the largest tax cut to the middle class that we've seen in decades.
And we are delivering when it comes down to reducing energy costs, inflation is coming down. The interest rates are coming down, mortgage rates are coming down. Things are getting slowly better, and we are cleaning up President Biden's mess.
COOPER: Rahm, what did she do right in Virginia? I mean, Glenn Youngkin previously when he won, he ran on school, you know, on parents and schools.
RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, Terry McAuliffe made a mistake in a debate about schools and Youngkin grabbed on it and said, what do you mean parents don't have a voice here? I think the lesson -- there's a couple lessons here. One is the President of United States and the Republicans, by shutting the government down and looking callous and firing or laying off 100,000 people, set a condition. Abigail is exactly the right candidate at exactly the right moment, and caught the Zeitgeist of the election.
In that sense, I think what's also going to be telling is you have nine Republicans in the House of Delegates that are districts that Kamala won. The Speaker of the House in Virginia is a really powerful speaker. If that goes from a 51-49 to 58-42, you're going to be able to really enact an agenda that I think speaks to the future.
The second thing I would say is, it is true that Virginia will follow history. If Mikie wins in New Jersey, she will be making history, a totally different place because no Democrat since the 60's in use, or rather, no party in use in this case, wins in a third term on the party. So if she does this after two terms of Governor Murphy, that is making history and that is an indictment of what I say on President Trump. And in this case, I would say if 2024 was an election about bathrooms, 2025 and 2026 is a verdict on ballrooms, and they are done with what the President has done about kind of looking like basically Marie Antoinette.
COOPER: Do you think that issue of I mean, the ballroom --
EMANUEL: No but I think But I think the -- we were talking about this slightly earlier by being callous about SNAP and food for people and then being so self-indulgent about both bathrooms and ballrooms for himself. Yes, I do think it has resonance that he has lost touch with the very people that gave him his vote and stabbed him in the back.
MALLIOTAKIS: Again, Congress member Spanberger and Sherrill are the ones who actually voted to shut down the government. And with that said, the President did move money to WIC to ensure that women and children were -- no, no, no that SNAP is saying legally he can move money now, but there's still not enough money unless you reopen the government. That's number one, but what he did do is move money for the WIC program early on to help women, infant, children. So he's doing what he can, remember, the Democrats are the one that
shut down the government. I voted to keep the government open. I'm proud of my vote.
COOPER: Audie.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN HOST, "THE ASSIGNMENT WITH AUDIE CORNISH PODCAST": I was going to say the reason why we care so much about these votes are also because they are a proxy for the Democratic primary that wasn't. Everyone is going to look at a win here or win there and say, look, maybe it's better to be more progressive. Look, maybe it's better to be more moderate. And so, there's a reason why everyone is so focused on this, even though the local politics at play are overwhelming.
In New Jersey, property taxes really rough, energy prices are really rough. In Virginia, you've got the government shutdown. But what these things have in common is a moment for Democrats to look and say what is the message that works?
[20:05:31]
COOPER: I've got to go quickly to Jake for a key race alert. We'll come back. We only have like four hours, so let's go.
TAPPER: Thanks, Anderson, let's get to key race alert. Right now, in New Jersey, Democrat Mikie Sherrill with 54.1 percent of the vote and Republican Jack Ciattarelli with 45.3 percent of the vote. Sherrill, the Democrat is roughly 17,900 votes ahead of the Republican. This is only six percent of the estimated vote, but let's find out at the magic wall where these votes, these actual votes of actual New Jersey voters are coming in from -- John.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Democracy in play here. The bulk of them come from the Jersey City area, right up here, Hudson County again, Manhattan, you come across the bridge or the tunnel, the ferry, there you go -- 78 percent to 20 percent right here. This is an interesting one because Jack Ciattarelli was the nominee against Governor Murphy four years ago.
So, when we say sometimes were making historical comparisons, how did they do against the Republican candidate or the Democratic candidate four years ago? Well, the Republican candidate was him.
This is about 40 percent of the vote. So what you get early voting, right. You get a big early voting reported early.
TAPPER: Tends to lean Democrat.
KING: Tends to lean Democratic, now we count more. So Mikie Sherrill is getting 78 percent. The Republican Jack Ciattarelli 21 percent if you round that up, he got 25 percent four years ago in the final vote. So just watch. It is not there yet. But again, if she's over performing Phil Murphy won four years ago in what was, let's come back to this and come out to the whole state. Let's go back to this one here. This is a close race, right? TAPPER: Yes.
KING: Jack -- the reason Republicans rallied around him this time is because he ran a close race there, 3.3 --
TAPPER: Three points, only 84,000 votes.
KING: A three-point race, now, one of the big questions is he was not as Trumpy then as he has been this time. He's tried probably he has no choice. Maybe he thought to embrace Trump. So, we'll see how it fills in. But that's then and this is now, as these votes start to come in and we just got more votes as were having the conversation, which is the best part about being live on election night.
So now, were up. She's at 59 to 40. That's a big lead, don't expect it to stay that wide because the votes that we're seeing coming in so far are in the blue urban Democratic areas. So we'll watch.
TAPPER: Except for that one.
KING: You have to count them all. This is that Ocean County right down here. Its sixth of the 21 counties in terms of population. So, it's a decent chunk of votes. Again, we're comparing, right? Ciattarelli at 63 percent right now with about four in ten votes in. He was a little higher last time.
So, this is something to keep an eye on, right. Is he underperforming himself if you will?
TAPPER: That expensive oceanfront property.
KING: He lost last time. That's a nice real estate. So, let's come up here Essex County, this is your third most populous. This is Newark here. Then you're moving out this way around it. She's running at 79 percent, if you round up there, he's at 21 again, third of the vote, third of the vote, that's significant.
You go back in time again. She is at the moment in every place we've looked over performing the Democrat who won the election four years ago. So you can do the math at home. I just want so, if you're looking at this early, you're encouraged. But I want to emphasize the early part because as were going to say this over and over and over again, early votes, we've learned, especially in the COVID age and now the post-COVID age, tend to be Democrats are more comfortable.
It doesn't always happen that way. It doesn't always happen that way. But let's just take a look at it here one more time, Bergen County. Again, this is a suburb, A lot of people work in New York, it's a huge -- this is the most populous county in the state of New Jersey, 20 percent of the vote in. She's at 52 percent, he's at 48. You come back to it here. again, this is about the same, right? This is about the same, he's down a little bit in the early vote. So, we'll see how this plays out.
This is where we talk about the Northern Virginia suburbs. All the population. New Jersey is a little different because you have the Philadelphia suburbs down here. The New York suburbs up here. New jersey has two giant suburban bases even, and then some here. But at the moment, if you're a Democrat, you're saying, okay, but there's a long way to go.
TAPPER: So, the last time a Republican won statewide in New Jersey, I think, was Chris Christie's reelection was that 2014, when was that?
KING: Goes back, let's go back.
TAPPER: I just want to see what does it look like if a Republican pulls off what does it look like?
KING: What year was that? That's a good question, 2013.
TAPPER: There you go, okay. 2013.
KING: There you go.
TAPPER: I mean, that was and that was a slide. We can't really I guess, the point we can't really take any lessons from here because this was such a slaughter.
KING: And the strength of candidate, there's people talk a lot about strength of candidates also in the moment and stuff. And plus we live in a very different age right now because you got to remember, as we go through the age now and again, Jack Ciattarelli has tried to navigate this. We'll see if he navigates it successfully. There are some places where in the primaries you have to get closer to Trump or else.
TAPPER: Right.
KING: And then in a state like New Jersey, which is largely suburban, you then try to get your way back to the middle. He has tried. He is again, one of the places where going to look in a little while, Passaic County, plurality, not majority, but plurality Latino here. He's a guy who's gotten a lot of credit.
Everyone says he shows up to parades. He shows up the ribbon cutting. He's like a mayor out in campaigning. This is a place Trump flipped before.
So, as we look at the early results and you say, wow, I would just caution everyone, number one, we expect this race to be closer. And number two, but we do have right now and lets come down here because these came in as we were here, Camden County again, very Democratic.
[20:10:40]
TAPPER: Yes.
KING: She's getting about half the vote counted, half projected, vote counted. She's at 75, if you round that up here and let's just go here again. This is another place. Every place we've looked right now so far we're not to the final. But in the early vote count she is over performing Governor Murphy, who won the race narrowly four years ago. So, if you're in the Mikie Sherrill headquarters, you know there's a
long way to go. But what you're seeing early on makes you optimistic.
TAPPER: So, I don't know if now is the time to have this conversation, but I would love to know, because I'm just trying to game out if a Republican were to have a really good night tonight, what would that look like? The best thing that we have that is in reasonable recent history is Ciattarelli four years ago, even though he lost, what can we look at from that night that we think, well this is what he would have to do this time in order to win.
KING: It's very much like the Youngkin victory in Virginia four years ago, where we were looking in Northern Virginia and all those suburban counties were blue. And you say, why are you looking there? You're describing Youngkin's win, he just didn't lose by as much -- margins matter.
So, to your point about that, you come into Essex County. You know, Ciattarelli only got 25 percent of the vote, right? Just remember that. Well, let's just do it one at a time, 25 percent in Essex County, this is an overwhelmingly Democratic county. He lost this race by three points statewide, right. So 25 percent right now he's only getting 21 percent.
If that holds up, that four percent matters hugely. It matters hugely, I give you Donald Trump winning Pennsylvania and Arizona and Georgia and Michigan and Wisconsin and so on. You know, we live in an age where the close ones tend to be, you know, that where your margins matter.
And so, let's come back to another one. Let's come back to 2021 again. Come out statewide. All right, how did he do in Bergen County again, the most populous county in the state, right?
So you can -- he needed -- if that had been 49, you have a different race. But it was it was 47, which is impressive. So, a Republican candidate in the suburbs --
TAPPER: What is it this year?
KING: Where are we right now -- 48.
TAPPER: So, he's over performing a teeny bit and with early vote, its only 20 percent right.
KING: Right, he's over performing a little teeny bit with early vote there. So, you want to watch that? I just want to come down one more. That's where I was. I want to come over here to Hudson County. Again, you got 40 percent of the vote in. He's at 21, if you round up and he was at 25, four years ago.
This is the place I told you where Democrats were a little nervous this morning about turnout. But they by nightfall, nightfall, they felt better. That's what they say anecdotally, we have a lot of votes to count. TAPPER: So, this map, before we go, on the matter of New Jersey, David
Chalian has some new exit polling on how Independent voters in New Jersey are feeling tonight. Independent voters, very, very important in New Jersey -- David.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, Jake, tonight, independent voters make up about 31 percent. Nearly a third of the electorate in New Jersey. Look how they're splitting their vote in this election according to these exit polls. Sherrill is winning 52 percent to 45 percent, a seven-point advantage for Sherrill among Independent voters.
There's also something interesting about the Trump and Murphy factors. You just heard Rahm Emanuel talking about this. So, among those that say they disapprove of the job Trump is doing, which is 54 percent, a slim majority of New Jerseyans disapprove. Sherrill wins them overwhelmingly. Ciattarelli is only winning seven percent of those Trump disapprovers. What about Murphy disapprovers. Murphy's a slight uptick more popular than Trump in New Jersey. But he's a two-term governor, and he's still more unpopular than popular.
Look at this, Ciattarelli is winning 79 percent of the Trump disapprovers, but Sherrill differently than Ciattarelli's doing with Trump disapprovers, Sherrill winning one out of every five Murphy disapprovers, the governor of her own party. That's going to be a key number to watch as the night goes on.
TAPPER: That's fascinating, David Chalian, thanks so much. Those Independent voters and also just the idea that one out of five of people who disapprove of the two-term Democratic governor, incumbent Governor Phil Murphy, who barely won four years ago, one out of five are still going and voting for a Democrat.
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Because for those people, it's not about Phil Murphy. It's about Donald Trump. It's about them being able to pay their taxes. It's about the fact that they're angry about the President stopping work on the tunnel. I mean, name your issue, but it's about something forward looking or their current state of affairs and what they think Abigail Spanberger can do that's different from Jack Ciattarelli.
And perhaps that is an indicator that the notion of nationalizing the election the way Mikie Sherrill has and every Democrat has and will continue to do, and making it about Donald Trump is working with those voters.
TAPPER: Although you also mentioned, Kasie, that Mikie Sherrill started off her campaign by talking about the high cost of utility bills in New Jersey.
[20:15:20]
HUNT: Yes, she did, and she clearly capitalized on that. They've started calling him. I think its high tax Jack is the way they've tried to tag Ciattarelli in this race. But you know, I think the Trump piece of this canceling that tunnel a month out from election day was, you know, local issue, right? I don't know if any of you have ever tried to drive into New York City from New Jersey, but if you have to do it a few time, there is a massive issue, a massive issue for me.
TAPPER: I can't even honestly, I can't believe people live like that, 100 percent honest.
HUNT: One other point that one of my sources in our text chain was making was that Republican voters are also a different group now than they were pre-Trump, right. They're more likely to be working two jobs than they are to be like hyper engaged and working from home, getting those people out in an election cycle like this one is a little bit harder than it used to be, and that can play a role as well. And I think those Independent voters that David Chalian was talking about, Chris Christie won Independent voters by 30 points and only won that election by four points.
TAPPER: Yes, votes are pouring in from New Jersey and John King is going to break them all down at the magic wall next.
Plus, the final voters are casting their ballots in New York City as polls are set to close there in less than an hour. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:20:57]
TAPPER: And were back with the key race alert in the Garden State of New Jersey and the race for governor. Democrat Mikie Sherrill is in the lead with 64 percent of the vote, and Republican Jack Ciattarelli is in the rear with 35.5 percent of the vote. Sherrill right now with 22 percent of the vote in, is up by about 204,000 votes.
But John King, just a reality check for our viewers, this is not really indicative of where we expect this race to be. Even if Sherrill wins, she's not going to win by 30 points.
KING: We need to do the NASCAR equivalent of the caution flag here, in the sense that, look, every vote counts, every vote counts. And so, if you're in Sherrill campaign headquarters, you're happy right now. But we also want to make clear these are early votes that are turned in. People vote early. And again, this may not be true forever, but it has been true for the last five or six years of our life since the COVID and all that, that Democrats tend to dominate early voting, mail-in voting, early voting.
TAPPER: Especially in Democratic counties.
KING: And so, but, that still being said, you're in this and you wait. Does anyone expect -- does anyone in Mikie Sherrill campaign headquarters -- let's put it this way, expect her to win by 28 points tonight, 26, 28 points tonight? The answer to that question is, no. Still, every vote does matter and the early votes do give you a little breathing space in your campaign headquarters, whether you're relaxed or whether you're working the phones furiously to see what was your turnout. And that's what they're doing right now. Trust me, in the Ciattarelli
headquarters saying, wait a minute, how did it go? And so again, you just go where the votes are and that's where we start. Bergen County, by far the most populous of the counties, and we're at a third of the vote. But again, sometimes, you see the key is when does this number change, right? When does this number change?
We've been at this for a little bit. That means they reported their early votes and now they're tabulating the today' votes.
And they may have some more early votes too. They may have more early votes. But they reported a pretty large chunk of votes and if you're Mikie Sherrill, you're thinking, that's fantastic. You have 61 percent there, because Phil Murphy won the race, a close race, but he won the Democratic incumbent with just 53 percent. So, if that's his number then, that's your number now, you're thinking that's a good start.
I just want to remind you, 100 percent is what matters, not 35 percent. So we have ways to go. But you're confident at the moment.
So then you just come down again. These are the Democratic areas. Now, you're in Essex which has Newark, so an urban center and then you're moving out to the suburbs out here, same 35 percent of the vote. So a long way to go, 79 percent if you round that up, Phil Murphy got 74 percent.
So, in the early you know, her percentages now are over performing Murphy. Just the question is, does that stand up as we get more votes? And again, doesn't mean what happened in the last few cycles happens in this cycle. But we've all watched Republicans tend to vote the day of the election. So, when you get that, that vote tends to come in and is counted later. So, you see that right now and you're thrilled at the same time, I want to say we're early.
One thing I will say to keep an eye on, right. So, we'll show you some counties, Donald Trump lost New Jersey last time, but he also came a lot closer than people thought and he flipped one, two, three, four, five counties. We only have results so far in two of them at the moment.
At the moment, Mikie Sherrill is leading in two of the counties Donald Trump flipped from blue to red four years ago. Now three, that just came in right there. That's the wonder of live election night television.
Now again, I just want to say 21 percent of the vote. So let's be careful again. These are early votes that are coming in. So there's Cumberland County, there's Gloucester County, there's Atlantic County, right. These are counties that Donald Trump flipped four years ago as he got close in New Jersey, didn't win, but he got close.
Let's see if they stay blue, two out of three stay blue and then the ones in the north, then she's going to be the next governor of New Jersey but we're not there yet, we're not there yet. And these ones up here, you know, Passaic, we talked about this earlier, this is a plurality Latino county. We'll see when -- TAPPER: We're keeping a close eye on that.
KING: Because drop down to Morris County there because of other -- because of other trends important in the state of New Jersey tonight. Also, important as you look out to the midterm elections and what message voters are sending tonight. But we do have ways to go, again, you always want to be the candidate -- you'd rather be the candidate with 62 than 38, but we have a long way to go.
TAPPER: Yes, just about just about a quarter of the votes in right now. CNN's Omar Jimenez is at a voting site in Queens, New York, which is the home borough of Zohran Mamdani. They are seeing massive voter turnout in Queens and Omar, polls are set to close in New York at just over 30 minutes. Are they going to be able to have everybody who's in line vote?
[20:25:37]
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's what it appears to be the case. At this point, they've handled a lot of people coming through this particular location over the course of today. And you talk about voter turnout. This is what it's looking like at the end. It's kind of emptied out. But over the total totality of today, from what we've heard from the board of election --
TAPPER: All right, I think we lost Omar's audio there. Let's hand things over to CNN's Anderson Cooper in New York.
COOPER: Jake, thanks very much. I want to talk about what's going on in New Jersey with the governor's race. The top issues there, Mayor de Blasio, taxes, that's number one at 36 percent, economy at 34 percent, immigration crime back in single digits. Trump approval in New Jersey at 43 percent.
I mean, it makes sense that taxes I mean, that's not really a surprise, especially to your point earlier, which I think you made maybe during the commercial break. I mean, the issue on the border is not an issue right now.
BILL DE BLASIO (D), FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Look, and I would also say, despite Trump's effort to force crime into the national discussion, people are not experiencing what he's saying. They're really focused on the economy. They're focused on the kitchen table issues. What's interesting is we're seeing kind of the Bidenification of Trump here.
Trump is saying, look, the economy is thriving. Look, it's going to be great but people are living a different reality. Biden used to talk about Bidenomics. It was insane, honestly, it was a disconnect from the people claiming big economic statistics were great while folks could not make ends meet.
Now, we see Trump doing the exact same thing. Biden could not go out on the campaign trail in 2024, even after he left the Presidential race. You couldn't take him to a swing state. No one would dare have put, even in The White House, would have dared sent Trump to New Jersey or Pennsylvania, where the judicial races are tonight, or Virginia. It would have backfired.
So, I think this is a big frame going into 2026, that the President's lack of popularity, but also the inability to deliver on the number one promise, bringing down prices is going to haunt the Republicans, we're seeing the evidence, tonight.
CORNISH: Context to this, though. Trump swung the district, the counties that had Latino populations by significant amounts. And this was the reason people were looking at this kind of incursion into blue areas and saying, look, is there a new coalition being built? But what Democrats learned is what Republicans are learning now, which is those Latino voters were interested in the economy. They're not feeling good about the economy and were going to -- this is the thing I'm most looking forward other than independence, is the Latino vote in some of these major counties of New Jersey.
COOPER: Ken, what are you looking at?
KEN CUCCINELLI, FORMER ACTING DEPUTY SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Yes, well, I agree with that point. In terms of is Donald Trump's performance really major improvement in New Jersey last year -- a trend? did he does he does he change turn a page politically for the next few years or was it Donald Trump specific and 2024 specific?
CORNISH: Or have they changed their minds about immigration after watching how he actually carried out those policies?
CUCCINELLI: Well, but he was pretty blunt in the campaign. I will say, whatever you think of Donald Trump, he does what he says he's going to do, and he has shut down the border. And I would also note that Donald Trump's scoreboard for Donald Trump is the economy. It's how people are doing economically. And that takes a while to accomplish. But that's his number one priority.
MALLIOTAKIS: The President did secure the border and he is deporting the criminals. But the issue, I believe, with the Latino vote and somebody who's half-Hispanic and also a member of the Republican Hispanic Caucus, we've been sounding the alarm that we need to make sure that were focused on the criminals, not people who have been here a long time.
COOPER: But the definition of the President, "60 Minutes" criminals, is anybody across the border, not through proper entry points. So, by that definition, according to the President, they are all criminals. And therefore, I mean, you're saying, you know, he ran on the worst of the worst and there was a lot of support for that. Do you think some of that has eroded because some of the images you see of mothers being ripped away from children?
MALLIOTAKIS: I think that the pendulum cannot go too far, or else you're going to lose that Hispanic vote. I think that's exactly what you're seeing happening, perhaps tonight, I think you need to be reasonable. Focus on the people who are here. They're gang members, drug traffickers, the people. By the way, when I did a foil for New York City, 16,000 crimes committed where the individuals traced back to the migrant shelter, none of that is happening anymore in New York City because of President Trump.
[20:30:01]
He's deporting those individuals, those shelters are closing, and that's good. But where you're seeing them go way too far, going after people who have no criminal history, that have been here for decades, they're contributing to society, they're paying taxes, they have American citizen children, I think that's going to hurt and backfire on the Latino --
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I mean, they're picking up targets of opportunity, anybody who passes by an ICE agent in a hallway at a court.
RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: No, listen, I mean, a block down from my house are picking up mothers who are picking up kids from school. That is not anybody's view of what is a crisis in immigration.
I want to say one thing. When you look at the vote here and picking up on the Hispanic swing, the coalition that elected Donald Trump in 2024 is a coalition that's giving him a repudiation in 2025, it's going to tell you in 2026 why he's in trouble, and he knows it, which is why he's trying to build a wall around the redistricting.
COOPER: I got to go to Jake for a projection. Jake?
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Anderson. Thanks so much.
And we can now make a projection in the Virginia lieutenant governor's race. CNN projects that Democrat Ghazala Hashmi will be elected the lieutenant governor of Virginia, defeating Republican John Reid. Hashmi will be the very first Muslim and first Indian-American to ever hold the job. She's also the first Muslim woman elected statewide in the country.
Again, CNN projects that Democrat Ghazala Hashmi will be elected lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Anderson?
COOPER: Thanks very much.
Ken, you know Virginia, the Commonwealth well?
KEN CUCCINELLI, FORMER ACTING DEPUTY SECY. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Yes, this was -- obviously whenever you're down ticket, down ticket is a long way down from governor. And early in this race, Governor Youngkin called for the Republican to get out. And that was after everybody else in the primary dropped out. He refused to do that.
And so this whole race was run on a very fractured basis. I happen to think the governor was doing the right thing or at least trying to. But it doesn't help you win the race if the candidate doesn't accommodate you.
And, you know, this is one of those races, I think, that's where the environment tends to dictate the outcome. You're not at the top of the ticket. There isn't a lot of money spent on this race.
Lieutenant governor of Virginia does not have a lot of power. They just break ties in the Senate. That's really a stepping stone to run for governor, as Winsome Sears did.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
CUCCINELLI: So, this is a -- this is more about the environment, I think. And it's not a surprise to see this out.
EMANUEL: Anderson, you're going to have an election possibly winning in California, winning in Virginia, winning in New Jersey, winning in Pennsylvania, a Supreme Court. You're winning also the House of Delegates, as I said, in Virginia. And you look across the board, this is -- and I've been in the White House -- this is a shot at your solar plex.
They're going to have them now. They may want to ignore this at their own peril. This nobody in the White House is walking around high fiving each other, spiking the ball.
Do not kid yourself. I don't care what they said in the president. And the White House had no strategy with 100,000 employees in the federal government in Virginia, cutting the Gateway Project in New Jersey. But it's across Pennsylvania, California. This is an absolute 100 percent USDA top choice repudiation. That is what this in (INAUDIBLE).
COOPER: And by the way, we're about to hear, we believe, from former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who we've called the race for governor. We'll obviously be taking her comments live.
Do you think this is, Congresswoman, repudiation across the board?
MALLIOTAKIS: Well, I think, first of all, again, some of these issues have been taken off the table because the president did secure the border. You are seeing inflation come down, interest rates and coming down. But with that said, I do agree that Republicans need to take note of what happens tonight, because I always have said that the pendulum went so far to the left under Joe Biden.
People did not like the open borders. They didn't like 9 percent inflation. And now the pendulum has swung to the right. They don't want to see it move so far to the right. I think we need to move a little more in the middle.
And I think that that is something we need to learn from tonight and make sure the messaging of what we have accomplished, that not only do we secure the border, but that we actually delivered tax cuts for seniors, for middle class families, for working Americans. And people will see that benefit next year when they file their tax return.
EMANUEL: There's two economies, he's focusing on the wrong one. He's talking about AI and technology and the pocketbook (ph) issues. Our -- people are struggling and they're in a recession.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, right. BILL DE BLASIO (D), FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR: It's not -- this is the thing. I understand the tax break point, but you pay your rent, you pay for gas, you pay for food constantly. This is the challenge that Donald Trump that you can -- he could say inflation is down. No one's feeling that. They're feeling like they're back against the wall.
And this is why I think actually Mamdani is providing a very helpful example to Democrats of really focus in on that kitchen table and pound away at it. And then Republicans don't have an answer. They don't have an answer on health care. All they do on health care is put people in danger of losing the opportunity to be healthy.
There's never been a Republican health care vision. This is a massive vulnerability for Republicans in 2026.
COOPER: Let's just listen in to Abigail Spanberger, the next governor of Virginia.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
[20:35:51]
ABIGAIL SPANBERGER, VIRGINIA GOVERNOR-ELECT: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
CROWD: Abby (ph)! Abby! Abby! Abby! Abby! Abby! Abby! Abby! Abby! Abby! Abby! Abby! Abby! Abby! Abby!
SPANBERGER: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you all so much.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: My fellow Virginians, tonight, we sent a message.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
CROWD: Yes, we did! Yes, we did!
SPANBERGER: We sent a message to every corner of the Commonwealth. A message to our neighbors and our fellow Americans across the country.
We sent a message to the whole world, that in 2025, Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: We chose our Commonwealth over chaos.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: You all chose leadership that will focus relentlessly on what matters most. Lowering costs, keeping our communities safe and strengthening our economy for every Virginian.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: Leadership that will focus on problem solving, not stoking, division. You chose, we chose leadership that will always put Virginia first.
And Virginia, I cannot wait to get to work for you.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: Tonight, we turned a page. We turned that page by listening to our neighbors, focusing on practical results, laying out a clear agenda and leading with decency and determination.
To everyone who helped us achieve this win, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: I thank you for the trust that you have placed in me. And it is the honor of my lifetime to be elected the 75th governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
[20:40:08]
SPANBERGER: I would like to thank my opponent for a hard-fought race
The lieutenant governor's story, her military service, and her years of service here in Virginia deserve our respect and our gratitude. And I ask that you join me in wishing her and her family well.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: I also know that those who were supporting my opponent are disappointed today. And to those Virginians who did not vote for me, I want you to know that my goal and my intent is to serve all Virginians.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: And that means that I will listen to you, I will work for you, and with you. That is the approach that I've taken throughout my entire career. I have worked with anyone and everyone, regardless of political party, to deliver results for the people that I serve.
And that's because I believe in this idea, that there is so much more that unites us as Virginians and as Americans than divides us.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: And I know, I know in my heart that we can unite for Virginia's future, and we can set an example for the rest of the nation. (CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: Our founders understood this from the very beginning. They didn't choose to call Virginia a commonwealth by accident. They chose it to signify that our government would be based on the power of the people united for a common good. Not for a political party, not for a president, not for a monarch, but for a common good together.
And tonight, Virginia proved that that tradition is alive and well. We are still a commonwealth in every sense of the word.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: We are built on the things we share, not the things that pull us apart. And I am proud that our campaign earned votes from Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and everyone in between.
That's the Virginia I know, that's the Virginia I love, and that's the Virginia I will have the honor of serving as your next governor.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
SPANBERGER: I want to thank so many people for the support that they have given to our campaign. Thank you for your work. Thank you for your support. To our tireless volunteers, to those who believed in me, thank you.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: Thank you for devoting your time, your energy, and your conviction to this campaign. Thank you for braving the weather, the heat, and then the cold, and then the rain, and then the sun. It's Virginia after all. Thank you.
Thank you for talking to your neighbors about the importance of this race. Thank you for recognizing that when we went person-to-person, engaging, that we could bring people not just into supporting our campaign, but into engaging in our democracy. Thank you. We won this race because of you.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: To our campaign team, you're the best in the country.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: Every single member of our team, every single one of you, you worked tirelessly for the change, the progress, the policies, the connection, and the respect that you want to see in our communities.
[20:45:03]
Thank you for working so hard. Thank you for giving people hope. Thank you for knocking on doors in the sweltering heat. Thank you for showing kindness. Thank you for showing up in every corner of Virginia. Thank you for diving deep on policy.
Thank you for capturing moments and the essence of our campaign. Thank you for reaching voters everywhere. And thank you for believing that Virginia could and would send a hopeful and joyful message tonight.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: Thank you for giving everything, everything to this campaign and then some. And thank you to my family.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: To my husband, Adam. My partner in everything, I love you with my whole heart. I am grateful for you. And it is very strange to declare my love for you in front of millions of people.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: But every adventure we have ever been on has been worth it because you have been by my side. I love you. I'm grateful for you. And I cannot wait to see what the next couple of years bring.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: To my daughters, Claire, Charlotte, and Catherine, you inspire me and motivate me every single day.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: Everything I do, I do to build a better future for you and for all of Virginia's children. And I am so proud of you every single day. I am lucky to be your mother. And Catherine, you did not clean your room today as you promised me.
(LAUGHTER)
CATHERINE SPANBERGER, DAUGHTER OF ABIGAIL: I'm working on it.
SPANBERGER: She's working on it. If I was working on it, we wouldn't have won this election, OK?
(LAUGHTER)
SPANBERGER: To my sisters, my dearest and earliest friends, I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. To my friends who have traveled from around the world to be here with me today, thank you for making me who I am and thank you for always believing in me.
And to my parents, I love you. Thank you for leading by example every day. And I know that today is a day that you all could have never imagined. But you taught me the importance of service to others and relentless hard work.
And, Mama, when I think about your life and the time spent in foster care to putting yourself through nursing school and the challenges along the way, you made clear to us that to whom much is given, much is expected.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: And you have given me so much, born of your own struggles and your own challenges, and I know much is expected. And, Dad, thank you for your example of service and tireless devotion to family and country. Nothing has made me prouder than to follow in your footsteps, so many steps along the way. I love you.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: I've talked a lot throughout this campaign about the importance of service and how it's shaped my life and my approach to public office, and that all came from my parents. But this commitment to service, it is not unique to my family. It's ingrained in so many of Virginia's families. It is part of Virginia's story.
[20:50:04]
Here in Virginia, this is where American democracy was born and where we are still working to perfect it today, where James Madison built the framework for our Constitution to protect us from tyranny, where Washington and Jefferson fought to establish a government of, by, and for the people.
It is also the place where Barbara Johns, a 16-year-old student from Farmville, led a walkout of students that became part of the Brown versus the Board of Education case to integrate public schools.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: Barbara Johns never gave up, and she showed us that no matter your age, you can be part of the change and the progress that you want to see here in Virginia and across the nation. We are a nation founded on ideas, but we are a country where it is up to us, the citizens, who must put those ideas into action.
It is us, the citizens, who work to make the change and progress and build upon the foundations laid out over so many years. And Virginia, now it is our time to lead. Tonight, it's hard not to reflect on the nearly two-year journey that we've taken together on this campaign.
And just a few minutes ago, Adam said to our daughters, your mom's going to be the governor of Virginia.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: And I can guarantee those words have never been spoken in Virginia ever before.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: It's a big deal that the girls and the young women I have met along the campaign trail now know with certainty that they can achieve anything. It's a big deal to the women older than I am who forged the path in dreams, hard work, and in a belief that change and progress would be possible, so that so many of us could follow in their footsteps, in any career, in any role, in any challenge.
The history Virginia is making tonight, it is yours. And I thank those who have come before me, and Mary Sue Terry in particular.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: She was the first woman elected statewide in Virginia. And because of her and the continued work of so many, there will be many more women to come for generations to come.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: So now that the campaign is over, the real work begins. Because this was never about just winning an election, it was about what comes next. It's about the governing.
Virginia voters made our choice tonight, and that choice was loud and clear. We are going to work to lower costs of renting, buying, or staying in your home. We are going to cut red tape and build homes families can actually afford.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: We're going to lower health care costs. We're going to crack down on predatory pharmaceutical practices and surprise billing.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: And we're going to produce more energy. And we are going to lower costs. And we're going to do it by producing more energy here in Virginia. And we're going to make sure that large utility users make sure that they pay their fair share.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
SPANBERGER: We're going to grow Virginia's economy by investing in apprenticeships and job training of the future. We're going to leverage AI and cutting-edge manufacturing to bring more capital investment into our commonwealth.
We are going to take politics out of our schools. We're going to make sure that teachers are well paid and well respected.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
[20:55:12]
COOPER: That was Virginia Democrat Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger speaking live in Richmond. She will become the commonwealth's first female governor. We're nearing 9:00 p.m. Eastern in New York City when voting ends in the most closely watched contest of the night, the New York City mayoral race.
So you're watching CNN's Election Night 2025. I'm Anderson Cooper in New York. TAPPER: And I'm Jake Tapper in Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. Democrat Zohran Mamdani seeks to make history as New York City's youngest mayor in a century, the first Democratic socialist mayor, and the very first Muslim mayor. He is facing off against former Democratic governor turned independent Andrew Cuomo and long-shot Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Our reporters are at campaign headquarters across the city awaiting the results. CNN's Abby Phillip is at Mamdani headquarters at the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, New York. And, Abby, we're hearing that excitement is building in the Mamdani headquarters. Polls close in five minutes. They're expecting a good night.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP: The energy is starting to build in this room, Jake. The DJ is playing. A lot of supporters, a lot of campaign staffers and volunteers are filling up the space behind me. This is a very large auditorium-style space. And the contrast between where Mamdani was just a few months ago when he basically catapulted from 1 percent in the polls to being the Democratic nominee could not be greater tonight.
This is a big party. There are hundreds of members of the media here. And as polls are about to close, I think there's a lot of anticipation among his staff who are walking around, smiling broadly, expecting a very good night. The anticipation is about how good of a night can they expect. And I think a lot of them do want to make a point, want to make a statement about what kind of mandate that Mamdani wants.
I want to bring in also I have my colleague Gloria Pazmino here with me. Gloria, I know you've been covering this campaign for a long time now. Where do you think the Mamdani campaign's head is at tonight as he, I think, expects to be elected mayor of New York and now has to look toward what governance is going to look like?
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and honestly, I mean, I think that that is very much the hard part. In some ways, the hardest part is yet to come. It's very hard to run a political campaign. It's very hard to do it in a city like New York for a year. But it's even harder to govern such a complex city like New York City.
I think many of the aides tonight are anxious. They're excited. They've been working for a long time. And I did just hear a few minutes ago that Zohran Mamdani --
PHILLIP: Yes.
PAZMINO: -- himself is actually putting the final touches on the victory speech that he is hoping to deliver here tonight. He's not yet in the building, but he is with his wife, Rama, right now, finishing up what he is hoping will be a victory speech tonight.
PHILLIP: All right, Jake, just seconds away or minutes away now from the top of the hour when polls are going to close, we also just heard from the New York Board of Elections that more than 2 million New Yorkers have voted. That is the most since 1969. So this city is seeing really a bonanza of excitement and interest in this election as it becomes a major national storyline for the rest of the country.
Jake?
TAPPER: All right. Let's go to CNN's Manu Raju now. He's at Andrew Cuomo's campaign headquarters in New York. And Manu, how is Cuomo's campaign reacting to the surge of voters that turned out today? With -- you heard Abby mention record turnout.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there are Cuomo allies who are very nervous, in fact, about this surge in turnout because they're very unclear about who these voters actually are. Are they people who did not vote in the Democratic primary, centrist voters, people who could be inclined to vote for Andrew Cuomo? Or are they the first time younger voters, people who could be brought into the campaign by Zohran Mamdani's campaign, his promises about reducing cost of living and affordability issues and the like?
That is the big question in Cuomo headquarters, where they are looking at this nervously. And there's some anger here in the room. One man, a -- who identified himself as a MAGA Republican just stood up and yelled out that Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate in this race is a spoiler. He had a whiteboard saying that Sliwa is a spoiler. And if you're the Cuomo campaign, you want to peel away those Republican voters to your side.
The question is, will they be able to do that? To pull off what would be a pretty monumental upset, Jake.
TAPPER: All right, Manu, thanks so much.
Let's go now to CNN's John King at the Magic Wall. John, what are you going to be looking for when the polls close in New York City in one minute?
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jake, it's an overwhelmingly democratic city, but the five boroughs are quite distinct. What do you look for? Number one, Brooklyn. This is where Mamdani needs to run it up. He won it big in the primary. It's a big part of his base.
Number two, Staten Island. The only borough Donald Trump carried it all three times. Do those voters stick with Sliwa, the Republican, or do they hold their nose and vote for Cuomo, as the President of the United States has asked them to do?
