Respect. And i think we could use a lot more of that spirit in washington these days. A lot to talk about over the next two hours. Lets go to our panel, jessica and mo, also shawn steele and ron brown. Ron, to you first, with The Big Picture here and the implications for the coming m midter midterms. Every special election, we say focus on the final margin, not who won. What does this say . This put a big you sharpie underline on everything thats been happening since Donald Trumps victory in 2016. On the one hand, there was an unmistakable move toward the democrats in this district. Oconnor won 65 of the vote
there. An unprecedented showing for a democrat. He gained as well in delaware county, and not as much. Thats what ultimately sank him, and republicans retaining very big margins with slightly disappointing turnout in the rural parts of the district. Thats what we saw in virginia, alabama, and in pennsylvania, the distribution of the district was a little different, which allowed republicans to maintain this narrow lead. The incumbent had never won by less than 64 . But it points towards a november election in which the democrats are in a strong position against republicans where donald trump is much less popular than a republican president usually is. And democrats facing a tougher
Chris Cuomo asks the tough questions to newsmakers in Washington and around the world. Outside groups came in, and we dont know the final amount. Over 100 unions put money into that race. Okay. This was a litmus test if you have a socalled Moderate Democrat, looked good, nice guy, divorce attorney. He had all the things going for him. Yet, the democrats couldnt do it in that district. Its a failure. Only a democrat could lose an election that has all this popularity behind it, and call it a victory. We need more victories than that. How can it be not be regarded as a victory for a democrat when its a republican district . Were talking facts here. With all due respect to shawn, the fact is, i will say this. It was more symbolic than substantive for the democrats. Yes, they had some gains, but ultimately, they did not win. That sounds good. Say it again. But the question is, whether donald trump took a safe race and put it in jeopardy, or put the republican candidate over the top. I think its the former more than the later. Balderson campaigned on the gop tax cut, and the strength of the economy. Then switched to negative campaigning against oconnor. Thats troy balderson, hes running for congress. Why do those people look so happy . Because balderson supports a massive tax break. And what will that mean for us . Baldersons plan could mean cuts to medicare and social security. So, what does it say when the republican tax cut doesnt
actually work as a Campaign Message in the wealthiest district in the state of ohio . It is striking, they ended up emphas em fa sizing the culturaltype themes of the president. Accusing him of being in favor of open borders and amnesty. And trump is strengthening their hand in rural areas, but driving away a lot of whitecollar voters. Not to mention, hes animating and alienating millennial and minority voters. This was an 86 white district, and you didnt have any kind of minority presence as part of the
equati equation. I think you draw a Straight Line from virginia, alabama, and pennsylvania, and it points towards significant risk for republicans in suburban areas everywhere. On the other hand, it shows how much of a headwind democrats still face in rural areas, and points towards democrats still having the overall advantage of winning the house. And the likelihood of this extreme division after the elections. And the reasons mopublicans mos uncomfortable with trumps policies are the ones most likely to lose. The tax cut is becoming
increasingly unpopular, down to 34 approval. By november, by the time the midterms come around, will the republicans even be talking about this tax plan . If they dont have other legislative wins to talk about, they will talk about the tax cuts. I think there will be a lot of the wedge issues. But the people talking most about the tax plan will be the people we saw in this election. And the democrats will say, do you like your social security, medicare, being able to eat and feed your kids . You may not like this tax cut that much. Democrats can show charts of the National Debt ballooning exponentially. And the other thing thats problematic, people arent feeling it in their pocketbook. Working people, even bluecollar, lower whitecollar
specifics of that district. Looking at the rallies that donald trump held during this campaign for ohio, a lot of people turned up there. And there are a lot of grievances. But the president never puts forward a lot of solutions. The grievances are real. But no solutions. Thats not true. For the longest time, the bluecollar class has been ignored by both parties. Flyover country, the working person, working with their hands. They were always in democrat control, they were loyal democrats. And donald trump introduced middle class republicans to this forgotten bluecollar class. You get the middle class with the working class, its unbeatable. What are the solutions, how about the best economy since clinton and reagan. The lowest unemployment in the
for Paul Manaforts former righthand man. Well talk about the trial, and how it ties to the Trump Campaign. Save 15 or more by. Harmonica Interrupts . By just calling or going online to geico. Com. Harmonica Interrupts sighs and chuckles sorry, are you gonna. Harmonica Interrupts everytime. Geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 or more on car insurance. Rewards me basically aeverywhere. Om so why am i sliding into this ski lodge with my mini horse . Because hotels. Com lets me do me. Sorry, the cold makes him a little horse. Hotels. Com. You do you and get rewarded. Sometimes a day at the ballpark is more than just a day at the ballpark. Stadium pa all military members stand and be recognized. Sometimes fans cheer for those who wear a different uniform. No matter where or when you served, tmobile stands ready to serve you. Thats why were providing half off family lines to all military. Sharper vision, without limits. Days that go from sun up to sun down. A whole world in all its beauty. Three Innovative Technologies for our ultimate in vision, clarity, and protection. Together in a single lens. Essilor ultimate lens package. Purchase the Essilor Ultimate Lens Package and get a second pair of qualifying lenses free. Essilor. Better sight. Better life. Welcome back. 18 minutes past 10 00 p. M. On the west coast. Our special coverage of Election Night in five u. S. States. Donald trumps choice for kansas governor may not make it to
november. Chr kris ckobach, predictions that colyer will face claire mccaskill. And in missouri, looks like whitmer will be the winner for the primary. Kobach, saying the president came just in time, it was a needed boost. Most recently, this happened in georgia. Look, the president is operating with extremely high Approval Ratings in theRepublican Party. The thrust of his policy is about consolidating that base. And in ohio 12, where the whitecolor suburban areas moved further away from the gop. The other cost was not relevant, the backlash among millennialmi and minorities, which wasnt a part of this race. And trump has been the architect of some of the most controversial policies, adding a question on citizenship to the 2020 census. So, whether kobach gets over the
top, and as i understand it, more of the votes are from affluent areas which may be tough for him. But the general trend is that trump is consolidating his control over it. And the people that feel out of place in the party have not figured out an effective strategy for trying to reverse a trade hes imposing on the gop. Trading as tom davis likes to say, the country club for the country. Lets look at the president s score card so far. Overwhelming success in backing winners in the republican primaries. 18 wins, 1 loss. When it comes to the general election, not so good. Kind of mixed. That seems to be the story with donald trump in general, what energizes the base, also can energize the democrats. Well, what ron is saying,
there are so many pieces out there that are important. Part of what were seeing, two different americas with democrats versus republicans, suburban voters versus rural voters, caucasian voters versus minority voters. And the Republican Party is becoming the party of president trump. And the rest of the Democratic Party and independents are increasingly put off by, i think, his dangerous and volatile behavior. In the kansas race, with kobach, endorsed by the president , who is someone who has peddled lies about voter fraud. Who said we need voter i. D. Laws, says fraud exists when none exists. And has been held in contempt of
court in areas dealing with voter i. D. Laws. This was president trumps pick, and this will continue to divide everyone who is a Moderate Democrat and others. And lets hear from kris kobach earlier in the year. Do you believe Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 3 to 5 million votes . We may never know the answer to that question. Yes, we do know the answer to that question. But im wondering trumps endorsement was simply repaying a debt. It was not only repaying a debt, its trump being trump. He likes people who like him,
and who espouse the same views as him. The president will probably celebrate, but its probably putting the race in jeopardy in terms of november. Which is what State Officials were worried about in that state. And the unpopular governor in kansas, who took a healthy economy and basically trashed it. But he raised more money than kobach, had the backing of the nra and bob dole. Did the president s endorsement carry more weight . I like kobach, but i dont care who wins the republican nomination. The republicans have 2 1 2 times the voters than democrats. Democrats are not going to get kansas. Theyll never get kansas. It had a major impact, but im
ambivalent on it. Dont say theres no voter fraud. Of course theres voter fraud. The democrat legislators have been jailed for voter fraud in pennsylvania. You cant say theres no voter fraud its 0. 00001 . 1,000 over the past 20 years. Thats from the heritage foundation. 1,000. 1,000 investigations or dont tell me theres no voter fraud. When has voter fraud ever changed the result of an election. In philadelphia we will take a break. Ron will be staying with us. When we come back, well look at
the admissions, the Prosecutions Star Witness Taking The Stand in Paul Manaforts trial. Well be back with that in just a minute. Gentlemen, i have just received word the louisiana purchase, is complete instant Purchase Notifications from capital one. So you wont miss a purchase large, small, or very large. Technology this helpful. Could make history. Whats in your wallet . Its so hard to believe but its all coming back me. Baby, baby, baby. All you can eat is back, baby. Applebees. Liberty mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. Switch and you could save 782 on home and auto insurance. Call for a free quote today. Liberty mutual insurance. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Im a small business, but i have. Big dreams. And big plans. So how do i make the efforts of 8 employees. Feel like 50 . How can i share new plans virtually . How can i download an efile . Virtual tours . Zipfile . Really big files . In seconds, not minutes. Just like that. Like everything. The answer is simple. Ill do what ive always done. Dream more, dream faster, and above all. Now, ill dream gig. Now more businesses, in more places, can afford to dream gig. Comcast, building americas largest gigspeed network. This is cnn Breaking News. Welcome back, everybody. Coming up to 10 30 p. M. On the west coast. Im john vause, youre watching cnn newsroonewsroom angeles. Rick gates, the former Trump Campaign chairmans righthand man, but he admitted embezzliin money, and said he helped manafort hide millions of dollars from russians to evade taxes. First, this was a brutal cro
crossexamination of gates. But the prosecutors put some evidence forward, emails from back in november. And basically, it was manafort who was no longer with the campaign, emailing gates, wanting some favors. He wanted help to get a job within the administration for a guy called steven, part of the email chain. We need to discuss sc for secretary of army. I hear the list is being considered this weekend. And heres what cnn reported last month. Prosecutors for Robert Mueller intend to present evidence at the trial for a man that helped manafort obtain millions of
dollars. And he went on to work as Economic Advisor for the campaign, didnt do it for the administration. This looks a lot like pay for play. This was the first time that Donald Trumps name really comes up from the trail. Its not with the context of collusion, but it is this pay for play scheme, where manafort is trying to get loans from this bank, and in exchange, hes going to help this Bank Executive get a job in the trump administration. We know the prosecutor has put into evidence that the documents that are being submitted to this bank for this loan are fraudulent documents. So, rick gates is walking the jury through his role and manaforts role in the scheme to defraud the bank, in exchange for the executive to be hired by the trump administration. This is the first time theTrump Campaign is being referred to by name. And manafort and gates manipulating administration appointments, it didnt happen, but it appears allegedly to be an attempt. Its not a good look for the president. No. And lets start with the foundational problem, his Campaign Chairman seems very much on track toward being convicted on a series of financial fraud charges relating to his work for foreign interests. Who were in a position to put him under enormous pressure. Someone who is vulnerable to being pressured by foreign interests, who would fit that description more than manafort . And im not a legal analyst, but for all of the fireworks over this testimony of gates and the
accou accountant, and the crossexamination, just the Documentary Evidence seems so powerful, and it brings you to the question, what is the reason manafort has chosen to go to trial . Why hasnt he made a deal, and could that change after a verdict is reached in this trial . If we look at what we know so far, manafort was not being paid as Trump Campaign chairman. Its starting to look like he was being paid by somebody else. Or he was anticipating there would be opportunities to make money off of that influence down the road. That clearly looks like the play here. But manafort, whatever happens to him, i think, is not of great moment to the future of the republic. The question really is, what does he do, if he is convicted . And so far, there has been no indication of him being willing to make a deal with mueller. But i think gates has shown himself to be a pretty effective witness, even with the flaws and blemishes. Prosecutors will tell you, very rarely are these guys choir boys. He has shown a lot of potential as a witness. And the mueller team has shown tremendous ability to piece together a case. And im sure it has not failed to catch the attention of the trump lawyers. And the point that ron was bringing up about gates, the stress is from manaforts lawyers to destroy gates credibility. Can they do that . Well, they want the narrative to be that gates was acting independently, and he was the one involved in the fraudulent schemes. He was hiding the money, he was the person in charge of the
finances. And manafort was not directing him. And really, its distancing manafort away from gates. Manaforts attorney walked out of trial and said, this is a good day for paul manafort. He did come under some pretty blistering crossexamination. He had to talk about this sexual affair he was having, and not just that he and manafort were stealing money and tax evasion, he was committing crimes against paul manafort. Hes not the witness jurors are going to like. And one part, manafort talking about paying too much tax, and he chastised gates for it. So, that seems to mean manafort was the guy in charge. And the Documentary Evidence,
you have this criminal rick gates, who is the star witness in some ways for the prosecution. But theyre not relying solely on rick gates. And theyve presented tremendous amounts of Documentary Evidences to corroborate their theory of this case. After gates is gone, after his testimony is concluded, we should expect other witnesses, emails, bank records, other financial documents to support the governments case. Jurors arent going to like rick gates. He was evasive today, combative, even. Juries dont like that. Theyll have to decide who was telling the truth between gates and manafort. Likely, manafort wont take the stand. Thank you so much. Come back next hour, please. And ron, thank you, we preer
appreciate you being with us. A Climate Change emergency, warning Global Warming may soon cross a Tipping Point, and theres nothing we can do to stop it. Thats next. Me or office. Panera. Food as it should be. But climbing 58,070 steps a year can be hard on her feet, knees, and lower back. Thats why she wears dr. Scholls orthotics. Theyre clinically proven to relieve pain and give you the comfort to move more. Dr. Scholls, born to move. Welcome back, everybody. It is 10 41 p. M. On the west coast. Were following Breaking News out of ohio, where a special el