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CNN Live Event/Special
Awaiting Victory Speeches In New York, New Jersey After Democrats Sweep Major Races; Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) Speaks After Winning New Jersey Governor Race; First Electoral Tests Of Trump's Second Term End In Democratic Sweep; New Yorkers Elects Zohran Mamdani; California's Prop 50 In Voters' Hands. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired November 04, 2025 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: They really want to see that number go as high as it can be tonight. They are looking for a mandate on the central issue that he ran on, which is affordability in this city. New York is obviously one of the most expensive places in this country to live, and Mamdani from the very beginning had a laser focus on that issue.
And because of that, I think there are actually very sky high expectations for what he ought to deliver for Americans. He's promised free buses and fast buses. He's promised free pre-K and childcare. He's promised government-run grocery stores, government-subsidized grocery stores. It's a long list of things that he has promised to New York voters. And the question is, will he be able to deliver?
Again, I'm here with Gloria Pazmino. Gloria, first of all, this room is really filling up. People are getting extremely excited. I've seen people in tears, hugging each other. There is a feeling of catharsis about every election night, I think, for people who worked on campaigns. But for Mamdani supporters --
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Now, we're going to go to East Brunswick, New Jersey, now to listen to the victory speech of Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, the newly elected governor of New Jersey.
REP. MIKIE SHERRILL (D-NJ): -- but, man, with this vote, you guys just screamed from the rooftops. and people around the country have heard you. I hear you too.
This was a tough fight and this is a tough state, but I know you're New Jersey, and I love you. I fought for you. I've spoken with thousands of you over this last year. I know your struggles. I know your hopes. I know your dreams. So, serving you is worth any tough fight I have to take on, and I am incredibly honored to be your next governor.
When I was 18, I raised my hand and I swore to defend the Constitution, and that moment defines me. It taught me that leadership means carrying the weight of other people's hope, standing firm when it's easier to bend and always putting the common good above personal gain.
And I know how hard it can be to serve in these times. And I just got a call from Jack Ciattarelli, and I want to recognize him for stepping up.
And all of you know, I love our history and our state motto has always stuck with me. In 1777, New Jersey was one of the first states to choose a motto. Anybody? Liberty and prosperity.
I'm going to get some more civics education going. We'll get that known by all. But it was a demand for freedom from oppression and a commitment to creating better opportunity and a better future. That idea has defined us for almost 250 years. We fought for liberty at the crossroads of the American Revolution, turning the tide for our young nation at the battles of Trenton, in Princeton.
We offered prosperity as we built the nation during the industrial revolution. We've been the cradle of scientific discovery, inventing everything, from the light bulb to the laser, liberty and prosperity. I've seen the genius in that motto over the last year because both are essential in our democracy.
And as the president is backing away from this ideal, cutting SNAP, ripping away healthcare, terminating gateway, we here in New Jersey are bound to fight for a different future for our children. We see how clearly important liberty is. We know that no one in our great state is safe when our neighbors are targeted, ignoring the law and the Constitution.
But prosperity is equally essential. Liberty alone is not enough if the government makes it impossible for you to feed your family, to get a good education or to get a good job.
So, in this country, that shouldn't be too much to ask.
[22:05:02]
But right now all of it seems at risk. Governors have never mattered more.
And in this state, I am determined to build prosperity for all of our citizens. And I've heard from thousands of you about what liberty and prosperity mean to you, what it's going to take for your family to thrive. So, I hear you, Newark. I'm going to work with communities from the ground up so all of our neighbors thrive.
I hear Evesham, so I'm going to declare a state of emergency on day one to drive down your utility costs.
I hear you Westfield, so I'm going to make sure our kids are safe online and schools have the resources they need to address the mental health crisis.
I hear you, Jersey City. So I'm going to hold government accountable, balancing individual liberty with collective responsibility, ensuring people are safe, healthy, educated, and free to pursue their dreams.
I hear you, New Jersey. Good government doesn't just manage problems. It solves them. So, I'm going to continue to listen and work with you to move our state forward because I have learned so much as I've traveled our state. Our innovations, our businesses, our inventors and entrepreneurs have amazed me. But it's the people, the people that have left the biggest mark, especially those who are fighting for prosperity for their entire communities.
I was moved during my block walk in Trenton with Shanika (ph). She spoke so passionately about the promise of her city and her neighbors despite the challenges. I love the group of young men from Monroe who've been hurt at work on this campaign. They want to seat at the table and they're ready to fight for their future. The little girls who come up to me to say that they're going to be a governor, or they're going to be a president, it reminds me of my own belief that anything was possible.
Akeem's (ph) team, who worked their butts off, knocked over 60,000 doors, Akeem told me these are not the kids who will succeed in Trump's vision of this country, but they will in mine.
The men and women in labor, at a union job, at a time when our economy is set up to make it harder and harder for working people, you know what, they don't just fight for their brothers and sisters and labor, they fight for all of us, for working families everywhere so everyone has a shot.
So, thank you. Thank you to each and every person here tonight and across the state who's worked hard over the last year, thanks to the thousands of volunteers who made millions of calls, text and canvases, to everyone who's ready to stand and demand a better future for our kids and our families.
To my running mate, Dr. Dale Caldwell, you've already served our state so well, and I'm proud to have you by my side as we embark upon this new chapter for New Jersey.
To my team who put together a campaign the likes of this team has never seen and helped in our efforts to create a great future for New Jersey.
And thanks to my family who put up with missed soccer games, lacrosse games, football games, volleyball games, swim meets and rugby games, all to put up with this. So, thank you.
And a special thanks to my husband, Jason, through four kids, two dogs, a hamster, numerous goldfish, five campaigns, an insurrection and two impeachments, you have been a truly amazing partner.
[22:10:01]
So, thank you to everyone who's joined me in fighting for a better future. I know these are tough times. I know not everyone voted for me, but I'm working for everyone, every single one of you. When we all do better, we all do better.
So, tomorrow begins a new day, and at each new day in New Jersey, the sun rises over the Statue of Liberty, a daily reminder of her promise, give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
She declares that her lamp lights the path to the golden door. That golden door is New Jersey. It always has been. And that expectation is well deserved, especially after this election where we chose we're going to follow Lady Liberty's beacon.
We're not going to give in to our darker impulses. Here in New Jersey, we know that this nation has not ever been, nor will it ever be ruled by kings. We take oath to a Constitution, not a king. We've chosen liberty, the very foundation of democracy, and we've chosen prosperity necessary to create opportunity for all. So, New Jersey, to quote the boss, the future is now, roll up your sleeves, let your passion flow, the country we carry in our hearts is waiting.
Thank you. New Jersey.
TAPPER: You are just listening to New Jersey Democratic Congresswoman turned-New Jersey Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins is at the White House, and, Kaitlan, a big night for Democrats, many Democratic victories. President Trump just released a statement reacting to the results so far. Tell us what he had to say.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake, this is the first time the president has weighed in tonight since these races have happened and since they have all been called to major ones, at least this evening, for Democrats. And as Mikie Sherrill was on stage addressing her supporters in the crowd the president weighed in and he quoted some unnamed pollsters here, Jake, and said for the first time that Trump wasn't on the ballot and the shutdown were the two reasons that Republicans lost the election tonight.
Now, obviously, Jake, that stands out because the president is basically laying out two reasons that he believes there were these Republican losses tonight in New Jersey and in Virginia, and obviously in the New York City mayor's race that no one was expecting the Republican candidate in that race to win, though, of course. But the president is saying that he wasn't on the ballot, Jake. He's not going to be on the ballot again. He cannot run again, something that he has acknowledged recently after touting and putting this idea out there of a third term. So, he is acknowledging that his party has a problem when his name is not on the ballot to help turn voters out.
But, secondly, Jake, he also seems to be implying that the government shutdown is hurting Republicans in this case. And the question of course is going to be what the president believes the plan forward on that should be. And he is hosting Republican senators here at the White House for breakfast tomorrow. So, that could be a really telling moment, Jake, as the president is saying that he does not bear responsibility for these losses in Virginia, in New Jersey or in New York City tonight. TAPPER: Of course, when President Obama was president, Donald Trump said that he was responsible for that shutdown because he's the president, and it's up to him to negotiate an end to it. He feels quite differently now, though, of course, now that he's president.
Kaitlan Collins, thanks so much.
We have with us at the table the House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, still the minority leader, although perhaps you feel good tonight about your party's chances when it comes to 2026. What is your reaction? Well, I'll just give you the give me. Tell us what you think about these results that are coming in.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Well, I congratulate all of the candidates. These are candidates like Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, who, of course, I've served with in the United States Congress. They're incredible public servants. They've run great campaigns focused on driving down the high cost of living and turning things around in the United States of America, because under Donald Trump and Republican policies, it's been a complete and total disaster. And the American people understand that, and they've made that very clear in Virginia, in New Jersey, in Pennsylvania, in Georgia, and in state and local elections down ballot, all across America.
[22:15:11]
And so I think from our point of view, we're going to continue. We to make clear to the American people, we want to drive down the high cost of living. We want to fix our broken healthcare system. We want America to be the best version of herself, not continue to experience the extremism that has been unleashed on the American people. And, of course, we've got to clean up corruption to deliver a country of the people, by the people, and for the people.
TAPPER: So, what is your response to what President Trump had to say there, saying that the reason that Democrats had such a good night is because, A, he wasn't on the ballot, and, B, the government shut down?
JEFFRIES: Well, Donald Trump and Republicans shut the government down and refused to reopen it. Donald Trump has spent the last 35 days more time on the golf course, more time talking to Hamas, and more time talking to the Chinese Communist Party than to Democrats on Capitol Hill who represent half the country. And they continue to stubbornly refuse to address the healthcare crisis that they've created. And the American people clearly have a problem with that. We want to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits and Republicans refused to spend a dime on that. And this is the same group of people that could find $40 billion to bail out some right wing wannabe dictator in Argentina. It's too much for the American people. The Republicans have gone too far.
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Mr. Leader, you guys are voting no on opening the government, not Republicans. I know you're asking for specific things and it's much more complicated than that. We'll get to that in one second. JEFFRIES: Hold on. Hold on a second, Dana, because let's just be clear about that.
BASH: Okay.
JEFFRIES: The American people clearly understand who's responsible for shutting down the government.
BASH: Yes, but you said they shut down the government.
JEFFRIES: They did shut down the government. They have the House, the Senate, and the presidency, and Donald Trump has spent the last few days saying to Republicans in the Senate, you have the power to reopen the government. They refuse to do it.
BASH: I want to talk about tonight, New York City, your hometown, Mamdani won. You endorsed him the last possible moment, right, as early voting was starting. What does this now tell you this overwhelming win? What does this now tell you about what your party is about?
JEFFRIES: Well, in New York City, of course I congratulate Zohran, and he ran a campaign relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis that the people in New York City are experiencing. He did that in the primary and he stayed on message throughout the general election. And now it's incumbent upon everyone in New York City, those that supported the next mayor, the mayor-elect, and those that didn't, to make sure that he's as successful as he can possibly be on all the things, including, perhaps most importantly, affordability and on the issue of public safety.
BASH: And you know the Republicans, I'm sorry, are already -- it's basically like remember the Giuliani noun verb 9/11, now it's noun verb, Mamdani is a communist, and that's where the Democrats are right now.
JEFFRIES: So these people got crushed all across the country, and this is the best that they can come up with? The American people are saying, you have failed us. You've promised to lower the high cost of living. Affordability was on the ballot today, and Democrats have won all across the country. They promised to lower the high cost of living on day one.
Costs aren't going down. Costs are going up, inflation through the roof, housing costs up, childcare costs up, grocery costs up, electricity prices out of control, and now Republicans refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. And as a result of that, tens of millions of people are about to experience dramatically increased premiums, copays and deductibles.
Republicans can bury their heads in the sand. They tried this effort in New Jersey already, across the Hudson River from New York City. It failed. Mikie Sherrill blew out all expectations literally in the same media market.
So, you know, I think we are going to stay the course, stay focused on the issues that matter for the American people. We still have more victories to come tonight because they're going to get blown out in California. And we're going to take back control of the House of Representative next year.
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes. Mr. Leader, is Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York going to make it easier or harder for you to become speaker of the House?
JEFFRIES: No. I think that we have to all make sure that he's successful as mayor on the things that he's talked about, which include affordability --
HUNT: But if he does some of the things he talks about, is that going to make it harder for you to win Congressional seats?
JEFFRIES: So, Democrats -- No. We are going to win control of the House of Representatives. I've said that from the beginning. And if you actually want to assess the landscape, despite all the premature obituaries that were written about Democrats a year ago from today, and there were lessons to be learned, but what we're seeing is that Latino community moving decisively in our direction, working class Americans, moving decisively in our just direction.
[22:20:02]
HUNT: Is it enough to just run against Trump to win the House?
JEFFRIES: Do you think that Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill just ran against Trump?
HUNT: I didn't say that. I asked if --
JEFFRIES: Of course not. So, what we've said is that we're going to lean in to the issues that matter. And as House Democrats, we've been very clear, lower the high cost of living, fix our broken healthcare system, clean up corruption, and that the American people deserve better than what they're getting from the extremism that has been released on the American people.
And in this country, you work hard, you play by the rules, you should be able to live the good life. But for far too many Americans, they're doing the first two things. They're working hard and they're playing by the rules, but they can't get to the third part, the American dream. It's been broken for far too long and Donald Trump is making it worse, and Democrats are going to try to find that path forward so that everyone can experience that good life, good paying job, good housing, good healthcare, good education for their children, and a good retirement.
TAPPER: President Trump threatened to withhold federal funding for New York City, your home city if Mamdani wins. I don't know if he can legally do that but I am confident that he will try. What do you expect will happen?
JEFFRIES: Well, listen. I mean, I think that Donald Trump, has been unpresidential, unconventional, and un-American, and he is certainly unhinged and out of control. And we've seen that over the last few days and it's gotten worse since he's got back into the country.
And, you know, he's not helping his case by engaging in these punitive actions. How about doing what you said you were going to do? This is a guy who promised to love and cherish Medicaid. One of the reasons why Republicans are in trouble right now is because instead of loving and cherishing Medicaid, they enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Hospitals, nursing homes, and community-based health centers are closing all across America. That's part of the healthcare crisis that Democrats are talking about right now. And they did all of this, Jake, why? So, they could provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors that they made permanent.
And so, you know. It seems like there needs to be a course correction by Republicans to actually deal with the issues that they allegedly claim they were going to work on. The so-called Republican mandate that Mike Johnson, you know, who basically works for Donald Trump talks about all the time, that's gone, red wave, gone, you know, the ability to actually continue to try to jam extremism down the throat to the American people, all of that is gone.
Now, as Democrats, our view is we want to find bipartisan common ground. We are elected to solve problems on behalf of the American people. And, hopefully, Republicans will now realize that it's something that they need to do to find the common ground necessary. Let's reopen the government. Let's pass the spending agreement that makes life better for the American people and let's address the healthcare crisis and the cost of living crisis that Republicans are making worse.
TAPPER: Leader Jeffries, thank you so much. Congratulations on a great night for your party.
JEFFRIES: Thank you.
TAPPER: I appreciate it.
We're standing by to hear from New York City's mayor-elect, Democrat Zohran Mamdani, after his big win. We're also going to speak soon with New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Plus, we're less than an hour away from the poll closings in California, where Democrats hope to secure their fourth key win of the night and pave the way for Speaker Hakeem Jeffries.
We're continuing to monitor long voting lines in Orange County, California. Stay here on CNN.
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[22:25:00]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back. A live look at Mamdani campaign headquarters. Democratic Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani is expected any minute. Obviously, we'll bring you his comments live.
We want to go to CNN's Manu Raju, who is at Andrew Cuomo's campaign headquarters in Midtown. Manu, how did his supporters react when the race was called for Mamdani?
MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the moment that it actually happened, there was not much of a reaction in the room when it was called for Zohran Mamdani. But just moments ago, we heard a group of Cuomo supporters getting a bit restless, in fact, CH chanting, shame on Sliwa, shame on Sliwa. They said repeatedly. And, of course, that's referring to Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate in this race, who is now a distant third, and the view among a lot of Cuomo supporters that he is a spoiler of sorts in the race.
Now, we'll ultimately see what the final margin is and if Sliwa were out of the race, if it would have made any difference in the ultimate outcome here. But it was Cuomo's push in the late campaign to try to embrace Donald Trump's late endorsement, tried to win over those Republican voters who supported Curtis Sliwa, hoping that'd be enough to offset Zohran Mamdani's margin of victory. We'll see the ultimate outcome here.
But we do expect Cuomo to address this crowd in a matter of moments. And the question is going to be, has he conceded yet in the race? We do not have word yet about whether he actually conceded this race to Zohran Mamdani, but he, as we now know, is expected to lose this race rather decisively from Zohran Mamdani, in what has been a historically large turnout election for New York City mayor. Anderson?
COOPER: All right. Manu, thanks very much.
CNN's David Chalian has new exit poll data, looking at some of the key motivations for voters tonight. David, what do you see?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Anderson inside this New York City electorate, we see something really interesting, which is the power of the vote when you're voting for your candidate as opposed to just voting against his opponent.
So, look here. Among Mamdani voters, this is his coalition, his voters, 86 percent of Mamdani voters told us they cast their vote in support of their candidate. It was a very positive vote.
[22:30:00]
Only 12 percent of Mamdani voters cast their ballot in opposition to his opponent. Look at the difference with Andrew Cuomo supporters. Among Cuomo supporters, 46 percent voted positively for their candidate, but more, the plurality here, 49 percent of Cuomo voters voted against Cuomo's opponent. It was like a negative motivation vote.
We also see this on the candidate qualities. Among Mamdani voters, the most important candidate quality, 41 percent, they were looking for someone who brings needed change. Another 29 percent, somebody who worked for people like me. So, change agent and an empathetic figure.
Compare that to the Cuomo coalition. Cuomo's voters overwhelmingly, 50 percent said they were looking for someone with the right experience or 18 percent said a strong leader. But clearly what you see here is that a change agent, somebody who had empathy that voters responded to that trumped this issue of experience and a strong leader.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: All right David Chalian, thanks very much. Our Abby Phillip is standing by with a special guest. Abby?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN HOST: Anderson, I'm going to pick up right where David left off because I have with me here a New York congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a strong supporter of Zohran Mamdani in this race.
And David Chalian was just explaining that Mamdani's voters wanted a change agent. They wanted somebody who felt like they understood voters like them. What message should the Democratic Party take away from not just that exit polling, but this resounding victory tonight?
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): Well, I think one important part is that it's not so bad to lean into a diverse working-class electorate and to make sure that we send our strongest messengers and lean in to the promise of our party and that we don't have to be afraid of the future, we don't have to be afraid of our young.
PHILLIP: What do you think it also says that the Democratic Party across the board tonight and all of these major races in Virginia and New Jersey down ballot, up ballot, had these victories. I mean, is there room in the Democratic Party for both moderates like Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, and also, a Zohran Mamdani?
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Well, I think it's not just a message about Democrats. It's a message about our entire country. I think that Americans are appalled by what they are seeing coming out of this administration. They are appalled by the cowardice of Congress, by these Republican majorities in the House and in the Senate.
I think that they are -- they see Donald Trump now for who he is, which is a handmaiden to billionaires and a handmaiden to corporate interests that are making working class life impossible in America. And I think that they want to send fighters in every single pocket of this country to fight for working people to make life affordable and safe for all.
PHILLIP: When Trump promised, as he has in recent days, that he will give only the bare minimum to New York as a result of this election, what do you say to that?
OCASIO-CORTEZ: I think he should be careful about the threats that he issues and what cities he threatens because New York City is not a city as we see from this electorate. These are not people and our people are not people who easily back down, who take well to threats.
And I just don't think that Americans take well to leaders who try to coerce them through hostile messaging. I think they want public servants who work for them and not against them. And I think that the results that we've seen in Georgia, in Virginia, in New Jersey and in New York City demonstrate that.
PHILLIP: What should Democrats do going forward? Because there is a lot of data now, both what happened tonight, but also some polling that shows a deep dissatisfaction with the Trump administration. The government is still shut down as we speak. What's the next step?
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Well, as we know, Mike Johnson has refused to call the House of Representatives back into session. It's been about a month now, and we have federal workers that have been laid off. We have federal workers that are not taking paychecks. We have SNAP recipients that this administration has essentially indicated, and this president has indicated that he is willing to starve them in order to coerce them into supporting him. And this is a very grave and dangerous moment.
PHILLIP: So, you think that the party should continue to hold out? No negotiations?
OCASIO-CORTEZ: I mean, I think this Republican leadership refuses to even seriously engage in any sort of negotiation or attempt to reopen the government. I think that Democrats stand at the ready to do so, but the Republican majority simply isn't even calling on Hakeem Jeffries or in any of the Democratic Party for a serious negotiation to make this happen.
[22:35:06]
PHILLIP: So, the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, did not endorse in this race. He did not endorse Mamdani and wouldn't say how he voted. What's your response to that?
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Well, what I think is so impressive about what Zohran Mamdani accomplished tonight, as well as the entire movement of New Yorkers that came out to vote for him, is that he had to not just defeat a Republican, he had to defeat a Republican and the old guard of the Democratic Party at the same time. He was fighting a war on two fronts and not just one, and he still won resoundingly.
And I think the message that that sends is that the Democratic Party cannot last much longer by denying the future by trying to undercut our young, by trying to undercut a next generation of diverse and upcoming Democrats that have the parties, the actual party that are actual electorate and voters' support.
PHILLIP: All right. We have to go but I have to ask you, because Republicans are saying that Chuck Schumer is afraid of you. Is he?
OCASIO-CORTEZ: I don't think so. I think that, you know, Senator Schumer and I have worked together. I think that Republicans are afraid of me. I'll tell you that much. And I think that they project their fear of me onto him. So, I think that they're just telling on themselves when they say that.
PHILLIP: All right, Congresswoman, thank you very much for joining us.
Back to you, Jake, in Washington.
COOPER: Actually, I'll take it. We're standing by to hear from New York City's mayor-elect Democrat Zohran Mamdani. After his big win Democrats already celebrating tonight, but can they keep their momentum in the weeks and months ahead. All eyes now in California in Governor Gavin Newsom's redistricting proposition. We watch long lines outside polling places there which is just minutes left until the polls closed.
[22:40:00]
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COOPER: On the lines in Orange County as Californians cast their final ballots in the redistricting race, Democrats hoping to pull off their fourth big victory of the night. Standing by for Zohran Mamdani's victory speech after his big win in New York City. We'll obviously bring that to you right away.
CNN's anchor Elex Michaelson is with us tonight in Sacramento. What are you hearing tonight?
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Well Anderson, we are not seeing a big party here like what you're seeing in New York City. Governor Newsom is very suspicious, or should say superstitious about election nights. So what we see the setup behind us is the exact same setup that he did when he was facing a potential recall back in 2021, which essentially come out here, make a statement to the press, walk away, don't have a big party.
And in 2021, that worked well. So, he brought back the entire band. Basically, the campaign team is back and they were able to put together a very fast campaign, just 59 days. They created the largest field operation for a non-presidential election ever in California, reaching millions of people. Their main message was basically, this is a way to send a message that you don't like Donald Trump.
The folks on the no side are trying to make it about California issues, make it about the issue of redistricting itself. We'll see which one prevails. Newsom team feeling pretty confident tonight, Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Elex, thanks very much. We're going to Veronica Miracle at a polling place in Santa Ana. Veronica, it looks like there's still people waiting.
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are a ton of people. Actually, Anderson, I'm going to show you the full length of this line. Well, this line actually goes all the way wraps around the building to get inside. But then as we look behind me, we're just going to have Chris follow me this way. This line actually goes all the way to the end of the street.
And I just spoke with election officials who tell me that this is incredibly atypical for a special election. They can see that there's a lot of interest around Proposition 50 as Elex was talking about. This is the only measure on this ballot.
And tonight, we've spoken to many first-time voters, young voters, people who are 18 to 21 who either couldn't or didn't vote in the last presidential election but said that they needed to come out today to vote. And we've also, I also spoke to a 54-year-old who was a first- time voter who said he just wasn't drawn to vote in any of the past elections except for this one.
Many people saying the state of the country and immigration policies, Trump administration immigration policies, how that's impacting California and all of the chaos that it has brought to this area as one of the key reasons why they're out here to vote on Proposition 50. Anderson?
COOPER: All right. Veronica Miracle, thanks very much.
I want to go to CNN's David Chalian on how Democrats have done with young male voters tonight. David, what do you see in the numbers?
CHALIAN: Yes, Anderson, this is one of those key demographic groups, young men, age 18 to 29, where we saw Donald Trump, a year ago make big progress nationally. He actually won them by one point against Kamala Harris.
[22:44:57]
Take a look at young men tonight. In Virginia, Spanberger wins them 57 percent to 43 percent. They're not a huge share of the electorate. They're 7 percent, but still significant to look at. Take a look in New Jersey. Five percent of the electorate are young men. Sherrill wins them by 10 percentage points, 54 percent to Ciattarelli's 44 percent. And in New York City, where they also make up 5 percent of electorate, Mamdani wins young men 64 percent to almost 23 percent to Sliwa's 9 percent.
Now, a year ago, Donald Trump nationally made real gains with this group. Democrats, perhaps tonight, are starting to make a little bit of progress winning back some of these votes.
COOPER: All right. David Chalian, thanks very much. We'll come back to you shortly. Obviously, where we are awaiting the mayor-elect of New York, Zohran Mamdani. His victory speech we'll obviously bring that to you live. Back with the team here.
DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, that point that David Chalian just made, there really is a connection between that and this broader discussion of the economy. Young people are struggling in this economy and in it being exacerbated by A.I. and some of the opportunities that used to be done by entry-level folks.
COOPER: Yes.
AXELROD: And the Hispanic community, I mean the shift among Hispanic men, in particular, in 2024 had a lot to do with economic issues. It's a community, a lot of small business people, it's a community that's very sensitive to these economic issues. It's a working-class community and you saw a tremendous erosion for Democrats.
But in polling recently, not just in these races, but generally, these groups are drifting away from the Republican Party. And you know, this will be interesting next year when you get into some of these races in places like Texas where Republicans think just by a stroke of a pen, they can change the map and they'll win these districts. I wouldn't be so sure of that.
COOPER: It's also interesting you hear from Dario Amodei of Anthropic who says there could be, you know, half of all entry-level white- collar jobs could be eliminated in the next one to five years.
AXELROD: It's a huge issue for the country. It's something that our leaders should be talking about.
(CROSSTALK)
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And there's a generational lag where it feels like leaders aren't focusing on it but young people are hyper aware of it and it's motivating for.
VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And I think that, you know, for a lot of people they look at someone like Mamdani and they don't like the socialist tag. They don't like his positions on Israel, so they want to dismiss him and his voters. That's a big mistake. Democrats made the same mistake with Trump voters. What are these white guys complaining about? Screw them. We're going to call them racists and fascists and that'll be enough.
I'm going to tell you something. These young people are not what they're being characterized as. Lazy kids who just want free stuff. That is not who they are. These are some hardworking folks. Many of them have gone to college. Sometimes they have two degrees. They're working one, two, or three gig jobs and they cannot get anywhere and nobody's listening to their pain.
And so I think what you're seeing is when you say, well, socialism doesn't work anywhere. These kids say, well, capitalism is not working for me. Somebody has got to do something to help me. And so, I think that what's happening is the Trump phenomenon went in this direction. There's another phenomenon going in this other direction, but it's all about the economic pain that's not being addressed by the establishment.
As long as the establishment doesn't have an answer for these young people and these working-class people, they're going to be going other places.
GRIFFIN: But the question is going to be can Mamdani actually deliver on affordability? And Cuomo just did not hit this hard enough. I asked him about it on the view and he just simply couldn't articulate the message of why his policies may in fact not work. But I'm hearing from Republicans who feel like this is a bleak night. But the one bright spot is that they think Mamdani is what they need going into the midterms to tie every vulnerable Democrat House member to him, to say to time to the most offensive remarks that he's made.
I asked him recently about his comments where he described the NYPD as racist anti-queer and a threat to public safety. He then walked it back. He's met with the commissioner. But these are things that are going to dog him in the same way that Kamala Harris spent the entire election running away from our 2020 states.
(CROSSTALK)
AXELROD: They will dog him if he doesn't. It depends on the way he governs. If he governs in a way that embraces public safety and people feel that, that embraces fundamental delivery of services, and that prioritizes the affordability issue, even if it isn't the precise proposals that he made but people know every day that he's working on that issue and he's making advances, I think that the caricatures may not say. I think that is a bad recipe for Republicans. Let's take a look at (inaudible). He will save us.
(CROSSTALK)
GRIFFIN: Listen, 2020 wasn't that long ago. It was the same thing with Kamala Harris. You can distance yourself from remarks she made a few years ago, but the public doesn't have that short of a memory.
(CROSSTALK)
AXELROD: He's not running for president of the United States. He just got elected mayor of New York. You may want to assign that to him.
[22:50:02]
COOPER: Yes.
AXELROD: But I think that every candidate out there is going to run on their own by their own might.
(CROSSTALK)
JONES: But I'm just curious here what you think, some of these candidates are anti-fragile. The more that people beat up on Donald Trump, the bigger and stronger he got. The dogpiling of Mamdani, of Zohran actually made him stronger. There was a bunch of oligarchs put a bunch of money against him.
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.
JONES: It actually made people rally more to his cause. How do you see it?
JENNINGS: Well, I wonder how Mamdani would have done against better opposition.
JONES: Well, that's good.
JENNINGS: I mean, let's be honest. Cuomo it can now be said, you know, even though Trump was for him or what. This guy is terrible. Terrible at the end of his term.
(CROSSTALK)
AXELROD: Well, this is just a pause Trump said that before.
JENNINGS: He's awful.
AXELROD: And he said it to Donald Trump.
JENNINGS: Honestly.
AXELROD: Which is part of what makes people cynical about (inaudible).
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: And he didn't do, you know, he needed some Republican votes, a sleeve would did burn off a few of those but he didn't do anything to talk Republicans. He had Trump at the last but Mamdani got to run against him twice.
JONES: Yes.
GRIFFIN: Yes.
JENNINGS: And I wonder, you know, I wonder how he would have done against more legitimate opposition. On the part about the young voters, I agree with you. I wouldn't write off their concerns. I just would ask, what's Mamdani going to do for them He's fixing to run a bunch of businesses out of this city. People who create jobs are going to be run out of the city, the kinds of jobs that they might need or they might want. Those business people are probably going to go elsewhere now if he implements some of the programming that he has talked about and things will get even more bleak. Things do not get better under socialism. They do not.
JONES: Populists always point to the right problem. Some of them they don't have the right solution, and so that's a question. But I'm going to tell you, if the establishment in both parties does not deal with the economic pain of this generation, you're to see more of this type of candidate for better or for worse.
COOPER: Any minute now, Democrat New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is about to speak and we're just minutes away from polls closing in California, as well as voters are still casting ballots on whether to accept those newly drawn U.S. House maps.
We'll be right back.
[22:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: Welcome back to Election Night in America. We're standing by to take New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's victory speech as we're watching these long lines of voters on the West Coast still looking to cast their ballots in that California redistricting fight.
CNN's David Chalian is looking at the redistricting fight going on all across the country. David.
CHALIAN: Jake, as you know, Democrats are very eager to see what will happen in California tonight because this is where they've mounted a comeback to what Republicans have been doing nationwide about redrawing districts in the middle of decade to try to get an advantage in the battle for the House.
Look at this. This is the current House of Representatives as it occurred in last year's election. Democrats are only, that's the magic number, three, three seats away from winning the majority. But what has happened since last year? Republicans have started redrawing the districts.
First, in Texas, where they added potentially five seats. Look at that. That magic number is now eight. Where did Republicans go next? They went to Missouri and they did redistricting there in the middle of the decade and squeezed an extra potential seat there. In North Carolina, see that number keep going up? Now Democrats are 10 seats away from the majority.
Then in Ohio, with a court ordered redistricting, you see that Republicans could squeeze out two additional seats there. They're up to 12 seats. They moved the Democratic number that they need, three, up to 12. They made it a much taller mountain to climb for Democrats to win the House. So, what are Democrats looking for in California tonight? Well, if they are successful, see that magic number? It just dropped to seven.
Democrats, if they win Prop 50 tonight, would potentially get five seats out of California. Seven puts the House majority much closer again to what Democrats need in order to get the majority, Jake.
TAPPER: All right, fascinating stuff. David Chalian, thanks so much.
And you know, I have to say, we're looking at some of these down ballot races in Virginia where candidates very, very well entrenched Republican members of the House of Delegates are just getting bumped off by Democrats one after the other after the other. And this does feel like a very significant election in terms of the Democratic gains?
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I mean to think coming into -- the answer is yes. It's very significant. Coming into this night one of the questions was whether or not like Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey, if she won, would she win by a couple of points? Would it be under five? And would that be considered a decisive win?
I mean, that is so not even close to the conversation right now. The wins by Democrats are big, they are decisive, they are wide within the states. And obviously the city of New York, and we're probably going to see a big win in California with that ballot measure, but they go deep, deep down ballot.
KASIE HUNT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Really under the radar, which I think is so interesting, I mean these statewide races in Georgia for a power commission, right? It's about electricity rates and some of the big issues that we're seeing here, but they're really far off people's radar.
[22:59:52]
I heard from one source about the county council in a county in Pennsylvania, Lucerne County that had been not certifying the elections, right, as part of Donald Trump's effort. They think that they've flipped it for Democrats tonight, which is critical. And those are just a couple of examples.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Maine rejected a voter ID law.
