Trump’s economy ahead of midterms — Katie Pavlich Tonight Full Show

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Katie is here. [00:00:01] Katie Pavlis: I am here. Six days. Got lots of reading to do before next Tuesday. It's going to be a fun night. [00:00:05] Speaker 1: Yeah, those are the best. [00:00:06] Katie Pavlis: Yes, indeed. See you tomorrow. [00:00:07] Speaker 1: See ya. [00:00:14] Katie Pavlis: Hello, and welcome to Katie Pavlis. Tonight we begin with the ballot scandal bombshell rocking the Alaska U.S. Senate race between Mary Pelotola and Dan Sullivan, just six days out from the midterms. Today, the New York Times confirmed that Democratic operatives tied to Pelotola's campaign recruited another Alaskan named Dan Sullivan to enter the race to confuse voters and defeat the incumbent Republican. Pelotola's campaign denies the reporting and has for months, saying it had, quote, no involvement with either Sullivan campaign and did not recruit any candidates. Democrats have been desperate to recruit candidates before, but as we saw with Graham Plattner in Maine, the process is not an exact science. Today's report on the ballot scheme in Alaska is another brazen contradiction of Democrats' supposed commitment to defend our democracy, and it's put their media allies in a bit of a bind watch. Tonight on the campaign trail in Ohio, President Trump waited on the scandal. [00:01:14] Speaker 3: This is voter fraud at the highest level, and the Democrat candidate who was involved in the scheme, Mary Pelotola, who said she didn't know anything about it in court. She should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted, and so should the fake Dan Sullivan. [00:01:35] Katie Pavlis: Meanwhile, these are the states that Democrats are focused on flipping, Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas. But even though Georgia isn't on the list, former President Obama was sent to the Peach State to rally with Senator John Ossoff tonight. [00:01:51] Speaker 4: After two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence, the likes of which this country has not seen in modern times, you get to say enough is enough. I am old enough to remember when a president wearing a tan suit was a major national controversy. They were very upset. And I know I look good in that suit. [00:02:18] Katie Pavlis: Joining us now is South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Thank you so much for joining us. It's great to see you. I know you're very busy. We appreciate the time. [00:02:28] Tim Scott: Absolutely, Katie. Hope you're doing well. [00:02:30] Katie Pavlis: I'm doing great. Thank you so much. So let's first start with this crazy news about Democratic efforts in Alaska to stack the ballots. The New York Times is out with this bombshell of report talking about how there was this very intense effort to get a Dan Sullivan on the ballot specifically to confuse voters about the Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan going so far as, you know, reaching out to people in far places in Alaska. The campaign for the person running against Dan Sullivan, the Petoli campaign, has denied any interaction with this. But the New York Times says that details and text messages show that lawyers from her campaign and from the Democratic Senatorial Committee were involved in this. So what are your thoughts about this reporting that we're seeing today? [00:03:21] Tim Scott: Well, Mary, Katie, there's no doubt that Mary Patola has been, at least her campaign and the Democrat apparatus, they are involved in collusion. They've been colluding together in a coordinated effort to deceive the voters. That, in my opinion, is a criminal offense. And I'm hoping that the DOJ will take a serious look at all of the evidence that leads in that direction. And factually speaking, when you have the receipt, so to speak, it leads you somewhere. I hope that the DOJ takes all the time necessary to prosecute and investigate this situation. But the truth is, Katie, all across the country, we're seeing Democrats deceiving voters, pretending to be what they're not, in order to try to win states around this country. Whether it's James Tallarico and the things that he has said that he's now trying to hide, or here at home in South Carolina, Annie Andrews, a Democrat who was for defunding the police. She wants to limit your Second Amendment. She wants men playing in girls' sports. She wants to open the borders. But now, as a candidate on TV, you would think that she's something else. And so having the facts are really important. But in Alaska, that's criminal. And I think that there should be a serious investigation into that. [00:04:35] Katie Pavlis: Can you explain a little bit the DOJ's efforts on the front end to issue this lawsuit? Attorney General Todd Blanche has got a lot of heat for issuing that lawsuit preemptively about the Sullivan-Sullivan issue. Why do you believe, as the head of the Republican Senatorial Committee, that that was necessary? [00:04:53] Tim Scott: Well, thank God for President Trump taking a strike in Alaska necessarily so. What we've learned is, listen, our efforts at the NRSC was unsuccessful in state courts. We knew and had heard for a long time that there was some nefarious things happening in Alaska. The more we looked at it, the more we could see a trail. We couldn't figure out where it went. President Trump had the wisdom to file in court preemptively, bringing more attention to this. And as the attention continued to rise, I think it was reinforced by the New York Times and their investigation over the last several weeks, as I understand it, not just bringing up one or two texts, but dozens of texts from lawyers within her campaign, within the Democrat apparatus. And the question is, does it go to Democrat senators? Where does it stop? I don't know the information or the evidence. We should not assume anything, but follow the facts. [00:05:51] Katie Pavlis: Well, Mary Patola has denied being involved in any of this. And yet the evidence and documentation laid out in this New York Times reporting shows that at least her campaign was deeply involved. I should say the DSCC denies any wrongdoing, so we will continue to follow that. But you mentioned these other states, of course, across the country, which you were focused on keeping. There are seven states that Democrats are targeting to try and take control of the Senate. We've already talked about Alaska, but Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas are big targets for them. Where are you focused? Where do you think the winds are, where the vulnerabilities are, just less than a week out from the election? [00:06:29] Tim Scott: Well, let me run you through the map. Let's not forget, by the way, Katie, we also have Michigan, New Hampshire, and Minnesota. They're all within striking distance. So we have an opportunity to pick up states that we do not have. Well, in Maine, we have Susan Collins, one of the most disciplined candidates, running against someone who said he would have run as a communist. I believe we win in Maine. You look at Iowa, where we have Ashley Henson, a strong, powerful force for good, against Josh Turek, who's never seen a tax increase he didn't like. I believe Iowa, I was just in Iowa last week, is heading in our direction. I would say in Ohio, this is a very competitive race. John Husted, the incumbent, running against Sherrod Brown, the former senator. I believe in Ohio. You start watching the trends in Ohio. They're heading in our direction. Great news for Ohioans across that great state. And then I turn some attention, frankly, to Alaska, where, as we've just talked about it, I believe our Dan Sullivan, the real Dan Sullivan, will be successful. But then you have to go to places like Texas, a very competitive state right now. The good news for us, the more people learn about James Tallarico, the less they like them, like him in Texas. I believe Ken Paxton will be the senator there. Ohio, then I say South Carolina, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, four lower tier races that have brought a lot of attention. The good news in all four of those states, once again, we are either tied or leading by a little bit. I'm looking forward to a lot of it by the time we get to Tuesday. [00:08:00] Katie Pavlis: So you say that. So what is that based on? Because, you know, there's a lot of skepticism right now about polling and whether it's accurate. Most of the polling is saying that Democrats are winning by six-plus points, basically saying Republicans have no chance. You know, maybe some of the Senate polls are more competitive. But you say that everything is very close. So is that internal polling? Is that based on you traveling the country and talking to people on the ground? Of course, you're talking to candidates. But talking to constituents in states like South Carolina, talking to people in Iowa, what are you hearing about why things are tied? [00:08:33] Tim Scott: Well, I'll tell you this. I've been at three or four events in the last 24 to 36 hours here in South Carolina. And I can tell you that the energy, it is palpable. And the good news is it's heading in our direction. Most of the polls show us either tied or with a slight lead here in South Carolina. I believe that South Carolina Republicans are still coming home. We had a bruising primary just a couple of months ago. More folks are coming home now. And the more I travel the state, the more excited I get. I was in North Carolina doing a Zoom last night with Michael Watley. Tough state for us right now. But the good news is Michael Watley will never give up. He will never surrender. It is within the margin of error. I would think people have written that state off. Bad decision on their part. I was in Iowa or North Carolina. I was in Maine earlier this year. I'm just saying what I've felt on the ground and what I'm seeing in the polling shows a shift towards the Republican Party. There was, Katie, to be honest, an enthusiasm gap about two months ago. But every single week, that gap has closed. Really good news that our voters are coming home. If Republican voters and independents who lean conservative vote their hearts and vote their futures, they're voting for Republicans. [00:09:47] Katie Pavlis: So you're confident the base is going to turn out? [00:09:50] Tim Scott: I am. Listen, the biggest weapon we have for that, by the way, is Donald J. Trump has done like party. He's been everywhere. The man doesn't sleep at 80 years old. He has more energy now than he did 10 years ago. And I'm not joking. I've been on the campus. I did four events with him last week. And every single event was like 90 minutes. And then he's done two days. [00:10:11] Katie Pavlis: I mean, he was in Texas this week twice for two dollars a day. And then he came back to Washington. And then he was off again. So he's busy. You're busy. We are less than a week out. American elections are very exciting. As you said, they're close. So we'll be watching and covering it all on election night. Senator Tim Scott, thank you so much for your time. Great to see you. [00:10:27] Tim Scott: Look forward to coming back, Katie. God bless. [00:10:29] Katie Pavlis: Thank you so much. Staying with the scandal in Alaska, a pro-Peltola consultant named Jared Kurtz reportedly tried to recruit independents to run in the Senate race to split the GOP vote even more. A former Republican congressional candidate tells NewsNation that Kurtz approached him to run as an independent in the Senate race. NewsNation reached out to Kurtz for a statement, and we haven't gotten a response yet. But Kurtz has also deleted his Instagram page. Misleading voters, of course, is wrong. And I think Peltola said it best herself just a couple of months ago. Listen. [00:11:04] Speaker 6: It should be a criminal offense to lie or mislead in the electorate. Yes. Yes. Let's work for that. [00:11:12] Katie Pavlis: Joining us now is former Alaska congressional candidate Matthew Salisbury, the man claiming he was asked to run as an independent in this Senate race for this election cycle. Thank you so much for joining us. Great to see you. So first, can you just tell us how you were approached and what the person trying to recruit you said to you? [00:11:30] Speaker 7: Yeah, absolutely. So like the article mentioned, it was out of the blue, and it was back in December. A man named Zane with a spoof number from Google Voice called me and talked to me about the upcoming race. And he had found my prior campaign when I ran as a Republican in the United States House race, and we wanted to talk about it. So we met, and he approached me with somewhat of a proposition. And that was that he represents several, I guess, wealthy donors who look to de... I would say that they... What they do is they... He said that he would try to go against the two-party system. And so when he was approaching me, he was essentially giving me a bunch of ammunition on why he would support me as an independent in an attempt to break the two-party system. [00:12:30] Katie Pavlis: Okay. [00:12:31] Speaker 7: He mentioned several other candidates that he had... Or people that he had spoken with, including independent Bill Hill, who went on for the U.S. House race, and would never tell me where the money was coming from or who he actually represented. He just ended up kind of slyly alluding to the fact that he had resources to help me. [00:12:50] Katie Pavlis: So did he ever give you his last name or who he was working for? So how did you trust to meet with this person, given that he had this weird Google number? And he would only give you his first name, which was Zayn, which wasn't even his real name? [00:13:04] Speaker 7: Correct, yeah. We met at my favorite place. So I met in a very public, open, smart place where I have plenty of friends and plenty of watchful eyes who can help me in defense something happened. You know, I was interested because there are several things that I advocate for, and I, based on what he was telling me, thought that this was a way to amplify those messaging. Ultimately, I decided against it because I could never verify who this person was. And the second time we met, we actually went to a different event here in Anchorage with him that's also involved in just local, I guess, advocacy causes, just to see and feel if he was actually, I guess, who he said he was. [00:13:49] Katie Pavlis: Did he ever say he was tied to the Democrats? I mean, did he ever disclose he was specifically working? No, absolutely not. So he came to you and said, we're trying to break the two-party system. Can you help, you know, get on the ballot without disclosing he was working for Democrats? [00:14:02] Speaker 7: Without a doubt. Without a doubt, that's what he did. Because when we spoke about Bill Hill specifically, who's running as an independent, I think he kept calling him Democrat light. That was his exact terms. An attempt to make me feel more at ease that he was not some undercover operative, is a way to put it. So the way that he approached it is that he wanted to split the two parties. And ultimately, I left the Republican Party as an undeclared nonpartisan representative now, just a voter. And so, to me, it made sense that I could potentially leverage this to amplify some of the causes that I had. I had the ability to meet with former candidate, now congressional representative. [00:14:46] Katie Pavlis: Yeah, I mean, that's a worthy cause. And anybody, you know, should run for office if it's on legitimate terms. But what do you think about this, you know, play, this ploy, this scheme to try to recruit people like you to stack the ballot in a way that was to benefit the Democrats without disclosing that? I mean, the details in this New York Times story, where your story is, it talks about how you were courted by this guy who called himself Zane. What do you think about the way that they went about this and essentially lied to Alaskans and the entire country for months on end? [00:15:19] Speaker 7: Well, exactly. The way you opened your segment today was how I've been feeling all day. To be honest, I had no idea the extent of this strategy, I would say, or scheme even, until I read the article this morning. I contributed what I did to the reporter when he called me to verify some of the facts. The reality is, I had no idea that they had a full year-long process of this, maybe even longer. And I think it really goes to show exactly what you mentioned at the beginning of your segment, is that plenty of crying afoul and saying that democracy is under attack, when the reality is a national party is hand-selecting candidates and attempting to manipulate who actually makes the ballot. In that article, it mentions David Leslie being pressured out and him congratulating him for withdrawing. I would be, I suspect, and it just brings a question to my mind, if they did the same with Reverend Matthew Schultz, who was also a popular Democrat, was going to be in the top four, but they would not provide him any backing. And he was a Democrat for Bill Hill. And I think that because he kept mentioning Bill Hill's name to me, even though he just said he was a Democrat-like. The reality is, he was part of the Democrat Party. So I have a suspicion that he was part of that. [00:16:34] Katie Pavlis: Well, this certainly is a bombshell just six days ahead of the election. And there may be some big legal issues here, especially since DOJ preemptively sued over this tactic. Under suspicion, this was coordinated and not just a coincidence that Dan Sullivan was recruited to be on the ballot with the incumbent, Dan Sullivan. Matthew Salisbury, thank you very much for telling us your story tonight. It is wild. We appreciate your time. [00:16:58] Speaker 7: Thank you. [00:16:59] Katie Pavlis: Thank you. Well, turning now to the multi-state manhunt for an escaped killer who has been on the run since Sunday. Details coming up. Plus, we played you some of that last night. Kamala Harris warning Democrats not to repeat their mistakes, but Republicans are gearing up for defense from an impeachment blitz anyway, especially in the House. The House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is here next. Well, the race to determine Israel's next prime minister is still too close to call a day after polls have closed. But one look at the results could put a dent in the Democrats' ambition to paint the Jewish state as committing apartheid. Take a look at these current vote totals. Incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu's party maintains a slight lead. The opposition bloc led by former IDF officer Gadi Eisenkot trails in second. While the Arab parties are projected to win a record 19 seats. But wait a minute. How could a country accused of segregation against Palestinians allow that bloc to vote? Could it all be that this talk of Israel being an evil country might not be accurate? For a political party that's celebrating elections in Brazil, including the attempt to jail political opponents, it sure seems odd Democrats are accusing Israel of apartheid, even though Arab-Israeli citizens can vote. And now back to elections at home. What happens if the Democrats do take the House? Well, election day isn't here yet. But Democrats are already obsessing over impeachment efforts. Some, like Kamala Harris, are warning Democrats not to go the impeachment route again. But others, like Hillary Clinton, say skip Trump and impeach his inner circle instead. Take a listen. Now let's bring in House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Thank you so much for being here. Great to see you, sir. [00:18:53] Speaker 8: Thanks for having me, Katie. [00:18:54] Katie Pavlis: Anytime. So we are just six days out from the midterm elections. Democrats, according to polling, could take the House. There's some dispute about that. However, are you prepping for a potential probe into the Trump White House, the Trump family, or another impeachment? [00:19:11] Speaker 8: Katie, we know this. And that is number one. There are a lot of close races right now. And if good people stay home, socialists can absolutely win some of these seats. And that's why the biggest thing we're doing right now is encouraging people to turn out and vote. Because if folks that normally sit out a midterm actually show up and vote this time around, we can hold the House. But if good people stay at home, you're seeing these crazy far-left socialist candidates. They hate President Trump. They vowed retribution. They want to go after the president, go after his family. And then, of course, go look at their agenda after you get through the first week of impeachments. [00:19:48] Katie Pavlis: So you're in House leadership, and I know that you're talking to others like Speaker Johnson about what they're seeing when they're all traveling around the country, campaigning, raising money. Where are you guys specifically focused? I know that the margins right now, of course, are razor thin. But there's about two dozen seats that are really the ones that are the toss-ups here. What are you hearing from voters, and where specifically are you focused? [00:20:11] Speaker 8: Right. It's a narrow playing field, but we know the seats. There's about 20 Republican seats that are truly toss-ups. And, by the way, there's about 15 Democrat seats that we have a chance to flip. And I've been in all of those. I just left Philadelphia with Brian Fitzpatrick. Very close race. I just landed in Michigan doing an event for Tom Barrett. This race broke the $60 million mark, Katie. That's how much money has been spent here. There's other races that have been to that are over $30 million. Jen Kiggins in Virginia. Juan Siskamani in Arizona. All very close. All races that we can win if people show up. And then, again, we have seats that we can flip. I was in Nevada recently. There's two seats right outside of Las Vegas we can flip. New Mexico, same thing. Over in the Northeast, I mean, we've got a seat in New Hampshire and in Maine that we have a great chance to flip. So if folks show up, we can win those seats and hold the House and keep working to make life more affordable for working families, get this country back on track, and, most importantly, stop socialists from getting power. [00:21:15] Katie Pavlis: So let's talk about the war with Iran. You know, we've heard from some Democrats and that this may be the strategy is to not necessarily go after another impeachment of President Trump, but to impeach his Cabinet officials, they've accused Secretary of War P Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanors, despite not saying what those high crimes and misdemeanors actually are. It's very clear that they've been trying to sabotage the president's war against the IRGC, which, of course, has killed hundreds, even thousands of Americans over the years. So what happens if Democrats win the House and President Trump wants to finish this war against Iran while they're also trying to impeach his Secretary of War? [00:21:56] Speaker 8: Well, Katie, they've told you. I mean, impeachment of President Trump is front and center. Let's be clear about that. But then go look, impeachment of Secretary Hegseth, they already have the bill filed right now. You know, you haven't seen it move in the House because they're not in the majority. They would move that. You know, what's the charge they have against him? Is that he stood up to Iran and stopped him from getting a nuclear weapon. When they're chanting in the streets, their far-left crazy leaders are chanting death to America. And as you mentioned, they've already killed thousands of Americans over decades. 47 years they've been declaring war against America. And finally, President Trump said he's had enough. He's going to protect America. [00:22:36] Katie Pavlis: Let's get to Alaska real quickly before we let you go. Of course, this news came out today from The New York Times, of all places, exposing that the Mary Pelotola campaign, the Democrat running against Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan, some of her operatives, including her lawyers, were involved in this campaign to get another Dan Sullivan on the ballot specifically to confuse voters. They have denied all of this. They continue to deny it. However, they said in a recent filing, a federal filing, that her counsel, that there was nothing to the accusations that they were involved in this. So that could be a legal issue for them. But just generally with the politics that we're seeing, what is your response? [00:23:18] Speaker 8: Does anybody believe them, by the way, Katie, when they say that they had no involvement? I mean, Pelotola, she has disdain for the people of Alaska. When she was in the House, she was in Congress. She got voted out by Congressman Begich because she was voting against the people of Alaska. Remember that? It's just a few years ago. She would not support opening up ANWR. This is production of energy. It's jobs for the people of Alaska. By the way, it's checks in the pockets of Alaskans. They actually get royalty payments to each individual Alaskan, and she voted against that. So is it any shock that she would be involved with trying to find another Dan Sullivan, somebody with the same name as the incumbent senator? Because they have disdain for voters, Katie. They just want power. They supported all the corruption. Look, I'm in Michigan. Al Syed's the candidate up here in the Senate. Remember in Next Door in Minnesota, when we stopped the leering centers, we've rooted out that fraud, almost every Democrat is still standing in the way saying they want us to bring that money back. They want to give the, that was $20 billion that was going to Somali terrorist organizations in many cases, and they want to restore that money, your tax dollars, that was going to blatant fraud because Democrats just want power. They want to give it to their friends. This is who they are. They have disdain for voters. I hope people are paying attention and go out and vote, most importantly. [00:24:42] Katie Pavlis: Well, that Minnesota Senate race is very interesting, and fraud is at the center of the topic there. So we'll see how that plays out. House Majority Leader Steve Sklase, great to see you. Thank you so much for taking the time. [00:24:54] Speaker 8: Thanks a lot, Katie. [00:24:56] Katie Pavlis: Coming up, the latest on the manhunt for a killer who escaped a Tennessee prison on Sunday. The public has warned he will likely kill again, and it's another black eye for Tennessee's embattled prison system. The district attorney, who's investigating the prison break, joins us next. Well, the manhunt for a Tennessee murderer has reached its third day, and it's leaving nearby residents worried for their safety. 28-year-old Jacob Morley escaped the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tippinville on Sunday, where he was serving a life sentence for murdering his co-worker in 2022. Joining us now is district attorney Danny Goodman Jr., whose office serves Lake County, Tennessee, and where the prison is located. Thank you, sir, for coming on tonight. So let's start with this. A former guard at the prison told one of our News Nation affiliate stations that this correctional facility has had major issues in the past before this escape, including understaffing and employees being underpaid. So what's going on here, and did that impact his ability to get out? [00:26:18] Speaker 9: Yeah, thank you for having me this evening, Katie. There are issues in the prison. I don't think that it's just unique to the prison that Mr. Morley escaped from. I think these are issues that are statewide in Tennessee right now. And it's just a shortage of staff. The Department of Corrections, the state, has recently increased the salary, trying to make it a more lucrative position for people. But it's just severely understaffed right now. [00:26:52] Katie Pavlis: What kind of accountability can the local community look forward to, given that they are in danger at this moment? [00:27:01] Speaker 9: Well, the individual that we're looking for at this point is out of the state. So the community here where the prison is located actually is not in any danger at all. [00:27:12] Katie Pavlis: Well, as long as no one else escapes, right? [00:27:15] Speaker 9: But yes, yes, that's true. And it is a concern because of the staff issues. And that's an issue not just with escapes, but it's also an issue there with crimes that occur within the prison, violence in the prison. And those are things that are happening more than we want. [00:27:33] Katie Pavlis: So you mentioned he's out of state. You know, communities that are out of state as well are seeing this on the news. And they're very scared about this escaped convict, especially because he was in prison for murdering a co-worker. What can be done to get him back in custody? What kind of law enforcement are you working with, whether it be federal or local law enforcement in different states, to look for him? [00:27:55] Speaker 9: Yeah, we're actually working with all of those, local and state, as well as federal. U.S. Marshals are actually in control at this point. They've taken the lead on the investigation because he is out of state now. It initially started with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Department of Corrections. U.S. Marshals, they were all involved from the beginning. And once they realized that he was out of state, then obviously jurisdiction for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation ended at that point. So U.S. Marshals are actually in control of the apprehension at this point. [00:28:28] Katie Pavlis: Do you know where he is, which state they potentially think he's in? [00:28:32] Speaker 9: Yeah, the last information we have was Marion, Illinois. We've had meetings today, as late as this afternoon. There have been no new developments showing that he's anywhere other than there. [00:28:45] Speaker 3: Yeah. [00:28:46] Speaker 9: You know, you would expect maybe once he got rid of this vehicle, maybe there will be another vehicle stolen or something like that. Nothing's been reported at this point. So, you know, we have no indication that he's where he may be at this point. [00:28:59] Katie Pavlis: So we see photos of him on the screen. But just real quickly, what do you want people to know about someone like this who is dangerous, potentially could be armed, and what they should do if they do spot him, whether it's in Illinois or somewhere else? [00:29:13] Speaker 9: Right. Absolutely. The fine, I'm sorry, the reward has been increased to $15,000 late this evening. The best thing that a person can do is just call 9-1-1, do not approach this individual. He is extremely dangerous. If he's seen out, don't go near this guy. Just get to law enforcement, get to 9-1-1, and try to get someone else there as soon as possible. [00:29:44] Katie Pavlis: Well, District Attorney Danny Goodman, Jr., thank you for joining us, and we hope that he is found as soon as possible. [00:29:50] Speaker 9: Yes, ma'am. Thank you for having me. [00:29:51] Katie Pavlis: Thank you. Well, they're two of the biggest midterm races, but voters in Michigan and Texas are voting against their own party. We'll speak with two of them to find out why. And our team also hit the streets of D.C. to find out if voters are ready for Election Day. It's all coming up next. [00:30:08] Speaker 6: Are you voting red or blue? [00:30:10] Speaker 10: Blue. True blue. I'll probably vote red. All of the seats really need to be reviewed for people who are going to do something to help us. [00:30:19] Speaker ?: All of the seats really need to be reviewed for people who are going to do something to help us. We are just days away from the midterms, and the Katy Palvich Tonight team hit the streets of D.C. to ask voters what issues matter most, and how they feel about the midterms. [00:30:27] Katie Pavlis: We are just days away from the midterms, and the Katy Palvich Tonight team hit the streets of D.C. to ask voters what issues matter most, and how they feel about the country's potential shift towards socialism. Watch. [00:30:55] Speaker 6: Are you voting red or blue? [00:30:57] Speaker 10: Blue. True blue. I'll probably vote red. [00:31:00] Speaker 11: Vote blue for sure. Red. [00:31:02] Speaker 6: I'm blue. Blue. [00:31:03] Speaker 11: Yeah. It's also a protest vote. Protests against what's going on in this country. [00:31:07] Speaker 1: I'm going to say not Roy Cooper. He's had 40 years to do something, and he hasn't. And he refused to sign the bill for voter ID. And I think that our crime rate is astronomical. The girl that got killed in Charlotte. Right, right. Right. [00:31:20] Speaker 12: On the train, yeah. I'm a big fan of Mayor Mamdani in New York City. Being a very people-first leader. Like, I trust him. [00:31:28] Speaker 10: All of the seats really need to be reviewed for people who are going to do something to help us. [00:31:33] Speaker 13: We need to have people that are actually going to do things. What are some of your biggest issues? Definitely the economy. [00:31:41] Speaker 10: We should be worried about the economy. We've got like $40 trillion in debt. [00:31:44] Speaker 12: Democrats are trying to make everyone believe that the economy is worse than it was under Biden. And I don't think that's true. [00:31:51] Speaker 14: The cost of gas, the cost of groceries. I'm supposed to be having fun with friends going out and all this, and I can't, because everything's too expensive. [00:31:58] Speaker 12: Boys and women's or girls' sports. [00:32:01] Speaker 13: Well, we can start with them not releasing the Epstein files. [00:32:04] Speaker 11: If the GOP keep the House and the Senate, Trump is going to push the button before he leaves office. If he does. [00:32:12] Speaker 14: By that you mean? [00:32:14] Speaker 11: News. [00:32:15] Speaker 14: It's not fun. It's not free anymore. There's nothing is easy. It's supposed to be an easy life to grow up with. Figure yourself out. How do you guys feel about the DSA, Democrat Socialism? [00:32:27] Speaker 1: I don't like socialism. I'm not for that at all. [00:32:30] Speaker 13: Socialism isn't necessarily bad if it's all done in the right way. [00:32:33] Speaker 10: I got my degree in Russian studies, spent time over there studying, and I would say anything that led to communism wasn't bad. [00:32:42] Speaker 11: The United States has been a country for over 250 years, and we have not become a socialist nation yet. We're a capitalist nation, and we're going to be that way, even if the Democrats get in. [00:32:54] Katie Pavlis: Well, two of the biggest races are the Michigan and Texas Senate races, and some voters in those states are leaving their ballots blank. Joining me now is John Huffman, a Republican from Texas who is not voting for Ken Paxson, and Lon Johnson, a Michigan Democrat who is not voting for Abdul El-Sayed. Gentlemen, thank you so much for being here. So, John, first to you. You already voted. You left your ballot blank for the Senate race. Tell us why. [00:33:16] Speaker 15: Yeah, well, thanks, first of all, for having me, Katie. Appreciate you discussing these races. Yeah, this was a really tough decision for me. My wife and I really voted last week, and we're Christian conservatives. I'm a former officeholder here in Texas, and we have no interest in progressives governing the state or the country. But ultimately, I decided to leave that race blank. And simply put, I don't believe that Ken Paxson has the character that I can trust with my vote and to hold high office. And I don't say that lightly. I was an officeholder. I governed as mayor, as a conservative. And I know how much character matters to exercising your duties in public office. And Ken Paxson has a list of personal failings and professional scandals as long as my arm. And ultimately, it just came down to I can't trust him with my vote to hold high office. [00:34:03] Katie Pavlis: All right. Fair enough. So, Lon, you have not voted yet, but you plan to leave your ballot blank as well. Why won't you be voting for Rodgers or El-Sayed? Rodgers is the Republican. El-Sayed is the Democrat. [00:34:14] Speaker 16: Well, indeed. And like John, this is not something I do lightly as a lifelong Democrat. But twice now, Abdul has brought in Sink Younger and Hassan Piker to format hate and anger among his supporters. And he sits by and does not disavow that. And, you know, he's shown us how he thinks and how he'll govern. And, frankly, I think it's sickening. And, you know, if hate is how you are going to win or accept that, you know, I and thousands of other Democrats here will leave that ballot blank. [00:34:50] Katie Pavlis: Lon, just as a follow-up to that, I mean, you're hearing this from your other Democrat friends as well, that they're, you know, they're not going to vote for Rodgers, but they're not going to vote for El-Sayed either? [00:35:00] Speaker 16: Thousands. You know, we're hearing that repeatedly from various communities here. Abdul has done nothing since the primary to bring this party together. And as a consequence, people will just start leaving this blank because they can't, you know, look, they're not interested in voting for Mike Rodgers. But at the same time, they're not willing to put up the hate that they're seeing out of their own candidate. [00:35:20] Katie Pavlis: John, you know, you talked about the moral issues with Ken Paxton. In terms of the election generally and the other issues or candidates maybe on the ballot in Texas, what's the biggest issue for you when it comes to this midterm election? In terms of the issues rather than the candidate necessarily. [00:35:38] Speaker 15: Yeah, that's a great question. So, you know, and it's interesting to hear Lon kind of echo the same things we're going through in Texas. At the end of the day, I want every party, every candidate to not feel entitled to any votes, but to feel like they have to earn our votes. I mean, the franchise is one of the most sacred rights we have as citizens of this great country. And so every candidate should have to feel like they have to earn votes. And for me, it's simple. I want to vote for men and women of character, of high competence and conservative values. And so that's how I judged every candidate on the ballot this time around. And if they didn't have those three, they didn't get my vote. [00:36:13] Katie Pavlis: So, Lon, the economy, of course, seems to be a top issue for most voters, whether it's in Michigan or whether it's in Texas or any other state that has a tight Senate race or House races across the country. Democrats, of course, have been making the pitch they can fix it if they win. I know you're not voting for El-Sayed, but what would be your pitch for people to vote for Democrats if they weren't voting for – if they were voting for someone else maybe on their ballot? [00:36:36] Speaker 16: Well, you know, look, we need to straighten out this economy. You know, we've had a president that has started a disastrous trade war that's affected Michigan here very hard. We need to put a check on some of these foreign entanglements that he's put us into. And we actually have to put a stop to this corruption. This is unparalleled corruption that we've – you know, that we're witnessing here in our government. And that's got to be – that's got to put us – that's got to be put to a stop. [00:37:02] Katie Pavlis: So, John, if someone's undecided in the midterms and they have the opportunity to vote for a candidate who is not Ken Paxton but a Republican, what would be your pitch to them as to why they should maybe vote red? [00:37:13] Speaker 15: Well, listen, I'm a conservative because I think conservative values and conservative governance lead to greater human flourishing, whether it's low taxes and strong economy and strong support for small businesses. I think those conservative values that we as a Republican Party hold to lead to greater human flourishing can fix the economic malaise we're in. And so that's the pitch, I would say, for Republicans in general. And in Texas, we have a miracle. It's a great state. It's a great state to live. And it's a great state because conservatives have been in charge. I would want to keep conservatives in charge. There's just a couple that didn't get my vote this time. [00:37:45] Katie Pavlis: Yeah, fair enough. Lon, there's an interesting development today in Michigan. El-Sayed's former opponent, Haley Stevens, she barely lost the primary to him over the summer. Her fiancé, he's a prominent Jewish lawyer in Michigan, he said that he will vote for Mike Rogers. So what difference is that there, that he could vote for Mike Rogers, but maybe you can't get over the finish line? [00:38:09] Speaker 16: Look, I just can't bring myself to vote for Mike Rogers. You know, I see many of the same parallels of the hate and anger out of him that I see out of Abdul. And I'm not willing to put up with that. And certain people may be willing to do that, but I'm not. And look, that's why I'm urging Democrats, look, you don't have to, you don't, you can take a, there's dignity in leaving this blank. And perhaps at the end of this election, whoever wins the next Senate race will look at those undervotes, those thousands of undervotes, and maybe think that maybe, you know what, there's maybe a third way here that we can, we can govern with civility and respect for each other. [00:38:47] Katie Pavlis: I like the enthusiasm and the positivity on that. John, last word to you. [00:38:52] Speaker 15: Yeah, I totally agree. I mean, ultimately, to me, this is about keeping conservative governance here in Texas. And we do that by nominating excellent men and women of good character, of competence, and of conservative values. I want us as a party to have a wake-up call. I want us to rededicate ourselves to nominating those great people so that Texas can remain free and prosperous for my kids and my grandkids. [00:39:13] Katie Pavlis: All right. Well, this was a wonderful discussion. Very interesting. John Huffman and Lon Johnson, thank you so much for joining me tonight. [00:39:19] Speaker 15: Thanks, Katie. [00:39:20] Katie Pavlis: Thank you. All right. No, this isn't AI. This is really an 11-foot-long fish. We'll share the backstory after this. Well, talk about a catch of a lifetime. In Canada, a fishing crew called the Sturgeon Slayers nabbed an 11-foot, 4-inch white sturgeon, which is believed to be the biggest ever in freshwater. A photo shared by the team showed the fish weighing over 1,200 pounds. The team, which is focused on conservation, released the fish and tagged it to add valuable information for the scientific community in the area, monitoring the sturgeon population. Jesse Weber joins me now. Jesse, that would take a lot of effort to reel that sucker in all day long. [00:40:08] Speaker 17: I love that they call themselves the sturgeon slayers, but they're not actually slayers, are they? No. They could have taken that fed a whole village. They didn't. They didn't. [00:40:16] Katie Pavlis: That's true. They're not very selfish, are they? [00:40:18] Speaker 17: That thing is massive. That thing, how much weight do you think? I mean, like, how much do you think it would take to- 1,200 pounds, it's said. That's insane. That's insane. [00:40:27] Katie Pavlis: How do you, like, what kind of rod and reel do you reel it in? Also, I can't believe these things are in freshwater. Like, we assume the big fish are in the ocean, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. A little scary. [00:40:37] Speaker 17: Nobody really knows what's in the water, Katie. Nobody really knows. [00:40:40] Katie Pavlis: It's true. All right, well, we'll have to look next time. Have a great show, Jesse. Good to see you. [00:40:44] Speaker 17: Good seeing you.