On this "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" broadcast, moderated by Margaret Brennan:
- Attorney General Todd Blanche
- Rep. Jason Crow, Democrat of Colorado
- Anthony Salvanto, CBS News executive director of elections and surveys
- Sen. Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina
- Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa
Click here to browse full transcripts from 2026 of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."
MARGARET BRENNAN: I'm Margaret Brennan in Washington.
And this week on Face the Nation: With control of Congress on the line, closing arguments from Republicans and Democrats are coming into focus with just days to go until the midterm elections.
(Begin VT)
DONALD TRUMP (President of the United States): We're going to crush the radical left Democrats all across the country. We're going to win the Republican House and we're going to win the Republican Senate.
(End VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Two presidents with competing visions for America, neither on the ballot, delivering dueling messages in battleground states.
(Begin VT)
BARACK OBAMA (Former President of the United States): This election is our last, best chance to at least rein in some of the foolishness of this administration. Is the circuit breaker in the system.
(CHEERING)
(End VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: But President Trump's final push extends beyond the campaign trail. The Justice Department is stepping up its efforts to intervene with a series of legal challenges.
We will speak with U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche about the department's actions and what more could be ahead as the midterms near.
Will the Lone Star State turn blue? Texas' Democratic nominee for governor, Gina Hinojosa, will join us.
Plus, does Elon Musk wield too much control in space? Yesterday, he explained it was his decision to throttle Ukraine's SpaceX satellite access due to their drone strikes against Russia. We will ask Democratic Congressman Jason Crow and Republican Senator Thom Tillis what, if anything, Congress can do about the billionaire's influence over technology critical to the U.S. and its allies.
It's all just ahead on Face the Nation.
Good morning, and welcome to Face the Nation.
With just nine days until the final voting day of the midterm elections, our CBS News Battleground Tracker estimates Democrats are on pace to take control of the House with 229 seats. The Senate remains a toss-up.
And although President Trump isn't on the ballot this year, voters tell us he is a major factor in their decision at the ballot box. We will have much more on our new survey later in the broadcast.
But, first, we turn to a series of election-related actions by the Justice Department that are drawing new attention in the closing days of the campaign.
And we begin with U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche. Good morning to you, sir.
TODD BLANCHE (U.S. Attorney General): Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, we're nine days out. Your colleague Harmeet Dhillon, whose office would oversee election integrity cases, told my colleagues over at 60 Minutes that – quote – "absent some shocking contingency that's unexpected, there should be no interruption in the usual course of counting and certifying the results in the states."
Do you share that view?
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: Well, yes, of course, absent – absent some facts that require us to do otherwise.
President Trump, the Department of Justice, we don't want to have to get in elections, of course not. But that doesn't mean that at times any Justice Department doesn't do that and shouldn't do that if the facts and the law require it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, it seems you already are taking action up in Alaska.
Just for our audience to understand, there are two Dan Sullivans on the ballot there. There's the incumbent senator, a Republican, Dan S. Sullivan, and then there's a challenger there, Dan J. Sullivan. The Justice Department is suing Alaska preemptively to block the certification of the results if Senator Sullivan loses.
Now, President Trump was asked about this lawsuit. He said – quote – "I'm the one that said do it."
Who did he tell to do this? Did he tell you to do this?
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: Well, first of all, let me correct you, OK?
You described facts that were just simply either at best misleading, but were really a lie to your viewers. It is not two Dan Sullivans, one an incumbent and one running. That's not true.
The head of the Alaska Election Commission, not – not President Trump, not me, has said that the second Dan Sullivan is running solely to confuse voters, solely to pull votes away from the incumbent senator. OK, so that is something that we're dealing with. It's not just two Dan Sullivans running on the ballot in Alaska. That is not true.
And, second, President Trump has been talking about what a travesty this is for many, many, many months, and the Department of Justice has been looking at it for many, many, many months, as we should under federal law. And you saw what we did earlier this week, late last week.
And it was not – it's not to let the federal government take over the Alaska system of selecting their next senator or certifying who's going to be senator. It's asking the court to step in where the Alaska Supreme Court didn't, which is to look at federal law, and, if necessary, to allow a process for Alaska to decide who should be – who should be certified as a winner.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the Alaska Supreme Court did uphold lower courts' ruling on this matter. They found: "The assertion that Mr. Sullivan seeks to confuse or misguide voters is not supported by preponderance of evidence."
The Alaska Supreme Court did take on this matter. I also want to show our viewers what the ballot will look like. We have a picture of it.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: No, they didn't. They didn't. That's the state law. That's the state law.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Just to make clear here…
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: That's the state law.
MARGARET BRENNAN: … this is how the state – in this country, the states administer the elections. This is how the state came up with the issue and how to handle any confusion. Our viewers are seeing it right now. It's ranked-choice voting.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: I mean, you're not – you're not telling the truth. You're not being honest with the voters.
MARGARET BRENNAN: They can see that Dan – I'm showing the ballot to the viewers right now.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: You're not.
MARGARET BRENNAN: It's on the screen. It says Dan S. Sullivan is listed as the incumbent. Why is that – it says incumbent. Why is that not sufficient?
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: Well, listen. I don't know if it's sufficient, but I can tell you this, that the director of the Alaska election system has said that it will likely cause confusion.
And so you – you can continue to talk and continue to state facts as you want them to be, but that's different than the way that they actually are. The Alaska Supreme Court did not rule on the federal law that's implicated in every election, and it is true that it is not often that we have to get involved.
But just take a step back. Take a step back and understand what's happening here. There is no dispute that the only reason the second Dan Sullivan is running is to pull votes away in a confusing and inappropriate manner from the Dan Sullivan incumbent, OK?
And the Alaska Supreme Court, when they issued a ruling, they didn't issue a decision yet. We're waiting for that decision to be – to – the opinion to be issued. But, in the meantime, all that we are trying to do as the Department of Justice is make sure that federal law…
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: … is enforced and upheld if it needs to happen after the election.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the ballots are out. There's a lot of mail-in ballot voting in Alaska. The ballot's going to look like what we just showed our viewers. They are both on there.
In terms of the question I asked you, I asked if it was President Trump who told you to take this action. When the president said, "I'm the one that said do it," who did he tell to do it?
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: So, I don't – I will never, ever, ever talk about communications that I have with the president of the United States. I never have, and I never will.
MARGARET BRENNAN: No, the president of the United States actually said this on camera.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: But make sure that you understand that this was not the…
MARGARET BRENNAN: He said: "I told them to do it."
Did he tell that to you?
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: No, that wasn't your question. No. No, he didn't say it on camera.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes, he did.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: He said he told them to do that.
I said I will not talk ever about – no, that wasn't your question, I said. I said – what your question was to me is, did he tell me? And I said to you, I will not talk about communications I have with the president of the United States. I haven't ever, and I won't ever.
But I will tell you this. This is the Department of Justice doing our own research under the law, the Civil Rights Unit in the Department of Justice drafting this lawsuit, and then ultimately we filed the lawsuit. President Trump has been talking about this for months and months and months and months.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: This isn't something new that just came up last week. This is something that's been going on for a long time.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Why did he file it 11 days before the election?
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: Well, we were hopeful that – that the Supreme Court would actually issue an opinion and explain their reasoning. What we knew from their ruling is that they didn't consider federal law. And I'm not judging them for that. It's just a fact.
They didn't consider federal law. So we want a procedure in place that if there is litigation – there may not be, but if there is litigation brought by others after the election because of possible voter confusion, that the ballots are kept in a way that the Alaska state – that the Alaska state election system can determine who the accurate winner is, not the federal government, not President Trump, not me, but the Alaska system, as the law is required – as the law is set out for it to do.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So the DOJ lawsuit says the defendants, who are the state election board and the ballot-counting review board – quote – "not certify any election result that may be impacted by voter confusion."
The confusion is defined as Senator Sullivan not winning, and had all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan been cast as said for Senator Sullivan, then he would have won.
How do you…
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: That's not what it says, OK?
MARGARET BRENNAN: I'm quoting from it.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: What it says is, the way – the way that you can determine…
MARGARET BRENNAN: You are telling them not to certify it.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: No, no, but you – you – the way you started that…
MARGARET BRENNAN: What right does the federal government have…
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: No, no, we're not saying – we're saying…
MARGARET BRENNAN: … telling a state not to certify or how to certify?
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: We are not – we are – you know, if you talk the whole time, you're not going to get answers out of me. But if you let me answer your question, I can address your question, OK?
So the – exactly what we want is that there are ways – because of the way that Alaska ballots are set up, where – where voters can vote for more than one candidate, there is a way, potentially – we don't know what's going to happen yet – where it will be obvious from the results and from the ballots that voters were confused.
And that could be obvious from the way that they rank the Dan Sullivans or not including a Dan Sullivan on the ballot. I don't know yet because there hasn't been an election. But all we are doing is trying to put guardrails in place so that if that – this – that happens, there's a system allowed where the ballots are kept in a way so that we can determine whether there was confusion.
It's not saying, don't certify. It's saying, if a court ultimately determines that it was decided because of confusion and not the will of the voters, then we do not think the states should certify, and that's consistent with federal law and consistent with even Alaskan law, if that happens.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You've been clear in saying you won't talk about your conversations with the president. Who was he referring to when he said, "I'm the one that said do it"?
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: I have no idea who he was referring to. And even if I did have an idea, I would most certainly not talk about it.
He's not – what – what the president is saying, and what he clearly has said for the past four months, five months, is that this is a travesty, and this – in this country we should not have a system of elections where it's OK for somebody who is only running with the same name to pull votes away.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: And, by the way, how about we talk about that? I mean, do you disagree with that? Do you think that that's OK? You think that should be allowed in – in our system of government, someone that the – the head of the Alaskan system of voters has said that there is no scenario under which she can certify that voters will not be confused, and she lists a number of reasons why.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: That wasn't President Trump and that wasn't me. And the fact that the conversation is about this lawsuit we filed, and not the fact that there's a person running for Senate in the United States in Alaska…
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: … that – that the head of the elections has said is – is only running to confuse voters, that should be the conversation. And it's not.
And that's – that's unfortunate. But we're going to make it…
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: … the conversation.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the Supreme Court also talked about the fact that the good faith requirement does not appear in the Constitution. So whether it was intended to be confusing or not, they sort of put that aside. Anyway, let me…
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: Right. Correct.
And so – and that's – that – no, you're totally – you're totally right about that. But that's where they did not consider federal law. You're – you're right that what the Alaska Supreme Court said is even if it's bad faith…
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: … our laws in Alaska, for reasons that, you know, that – not up to them, don't – don't address that. But that's different than federal law, which is why we brought a federal lawsuit.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Let me ask you about other federal actions. CBS is reporting that DOJ is looking into allegations that Corey Lewandowski, the former adviser to then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, used his position for financial gain. President Trump said this:
(Begin VT)
DONALD TRUMP (President of the United States): All I know is, I want my people to be honest, and if they're not going to be honest, they have to be prosecuted. I don't know about specifically, but – because I view, if people are not honest, they're stealing from me. As president, they're stealing from me.
So I want my people to be honest, and if they're not honest, I will have my DOJ go and do whatever they have to do.
(End VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Have you briefed the president on any part of this investigation? Are you willing to go after corruption within the administration?
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: Your source for that, I don't know what it is. It's CBS's reporting. I don't – I will not comment on leaks and sources.
I very much agree with every word the president just said. And – but beyond that, I'm not commenting on some leak that several news outlets supposedly got last week about – about the former employee at DHS.
And whether I would – quote – "go after people in the administration." I agree with the president. Everybody in this administration, in any administration, should operate with integrity and honesty, and – and – and do the right thing. And if they don't, yes, of course, the Department of Justice will investigate.
MARGARET BRENNAN: OK.
Well, to that point, Democrats, if they do win in November, are talking about, when they are in control, investigating Trump officials. Vice President Vance was asked by my colleague Tony Dokoupil the other day about this scenario, and told him he will, of course abide by any congressional subpoenas he receives.
It is the Justice Department that ultimately would decide whether to charge someone for defying a congressional subpoena. Would you, as A.G., charge Trump officials for not adhering to them?
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: Wait. So you just say the vice president says, of course, we're going to comply with the subpoena, and then ask me if I was – if I'm going to prosecute…
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: … somebody who doesn't.
I have no idea what the facts are around that. I have no idea. I mean, you're talking about hypothetical after hypothetical. If a crime has been committed, yes, of course we will investigate it. I mean…
MARGARET BRENNAN: The vice president answered the question and said he would. But – but for – for those who defy congressional subpoenas, should the Democrats go ahead with some of these investigations?
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: Who's the those? Who's defying – who's defying a subpoena? Who's defying a subpoena?
MARGARET BRENNAN: I'm saying, would you be open to it?
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: I mean, you're literally making things up to try to get an answer out of me. Who?
MARGARET BRENNAN: The vice president was very clear in his remarks.
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: To who?
MARGARET BRENNAN: Would you like to be as clear as the vice president was?
ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: Yes, of course. Of course we comply with subpoenas. That we will comply with subpoenas, as we always have? Of course. Yes.
Is there any subpoena you can identify in this administration that we haven't complied with? Has there been any allegation or any contempt of Congress finding? No, no, of course not. So, I very much agree with the vice president, and we're not here to not defy subpoenas. Of course we comply with subpoenas.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Attorney General Todd Blanche, thank you for your time today.
Face the Nation will be back in one minute. Stay with us.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Democratic Congressman Jason Crow of Colorado, who is in Denver this morning.
Congressman, our CBS polling shows Democrats are on pace to have a narrow majority of about 11 seats and that for most voters who are backing Democrats, they tell us their motivation is more about stopping Trump and GOP policies than advancing other policies.
Is that how you think your party will govern the House in opposition?
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW (D-Colorado): You know – you know, politics is really interesting. There's a lot of weird things about politics in this job. But one of the weird things is when, you know, the political class comes out with polling and they're like, hey, Americans want to be able to pay their bills and afford health care and afford housing and – and groceries.
I mean, that – that's just – it always has been true, always will be true.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: It always will be the primary thing people are concerned about. It's actually what we're running on.
As the battleground chair for House Democrats, I have recruited and mentored this battlefield of candidates. It's what they're running on. It's what we're going to win on, and it's what we're going to address when we get into power in January.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I take your point on polling, but, at the same time, our poll shows 57 percent of voters don't think Democrats have a clear plan to do all the things that you just laid out.
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: Yes. Yes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: In Ohio yesterday, former President Barack Obama put the challenge this way. Take a listen.
(Begin VT)
BARACK OBAMA (Former President of the United States): We can't just be against something. We got to be for something.
(CHEERING)
FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We got to start showing what a future on the other side of this administration can look like.
(End VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Excuse me. That was Michigan, not Ohio.
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: Yes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But the point he's diagnosing there or the issue he's diagnosing there, you would acknowledge, and how, if you do win the House…
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: Yes, absolutely.
MARGARET BRENNAN: … how do you move any of the affordability platforms if Republicans control the Senate?
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: Yes, absolutely.
And here's the honest – here's the honest truth. We're running against Donald Trump. We're running against MAGA extremism. We're running against corruption. But we are also running against our own history, to some degree, right?
It is true – I mean, I couldn't sit here in front of you and tell you otherwise. It is true that we have not addressed the issues that we needed to address in years past and in cycles past, and that's why we've lost, right? We've lost 90 percent of U.S. counties in fall of 2024.
That is not a governing coalition. And we have to prove otherwise. We have to go to Americans, we have to go to working class and rural folks in particular, who haven't voted for us in cycles and said, hey, we have learned our lesson. We get it. We're going to be relentless about addressing your issues, rebuilding America's middle class.
That is our charge and our responsibility, and it's our candidates that I am working with who are going to come in and they're going to lead that charge for us, and that's how we're going to have to govern.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I know you have also spoken about the possibility of investigating corruption should Democrats win.
Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan recently spoke out at the University of Chicago. She spoke about investigations Democrats will conduct. And then she said this.
(Begin VT)
SENATOR ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-Michigan): I want young people coming out of school to say, should I go work for the Trump administration? Like, that sounds fun. I might get an opportunity. I want them to be like, lord, that might be buying myself a ton of problems that I don't want. And so let me avoid participating in that. I want that deterrence message sent.
(End VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: So that remark was interpreted by many conservatives as a threat of persecution, if not prosecution. What do you make of what she was laying out?
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: Well, I didn't hear the full conversation, and I – I can tell you I'm very close friends with Elissa Slotkin.
She's a patriot. She's a public servant. She has spent most of her life in national security working for both Republicans and Democrats. So there's just no question in my mind that she is pro-public servant and pro public service, right?
So I think the – the key here is, is, we don't want people to want to go to work for a corrupt administration to try to line their pockets. Like, that is not servant leadership. If the message is being sent from Donald Trump is, hey, come to work for me and you'll get a lot out of it and you'll get rich doing it, that's actually not public servants.
That – that – that is the – that is antithetical to what Elissa and I served – when we served in the national security infrastructure and we served in the military, in my case, that is – that is the exact opposite of what public service should be about, that that is the message, right?
What we want is a next generation of leadership to step up, young folks who are going to lead the way and help us build something new. You know, we are not going back. We're not going to just rebuild what once was, and we're not going to try to rebuild a system that actually didn't deliver for most Americans.
We're building something new. That is America 2.0, the start-up.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: And we need young folks across this country, particularly in the middle of the country, the heartland, to step up and to serve.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about national security issues.
The director of national intelligence, Jay Clayton, reported the U.S. received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel. Lethal plotting efforts was how he put it in a memo by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages in the Middle East and other countries.
You sit on the Intelligence Committee. We know that the U.S. has drawn down from some military bases, some diplomatic posts. What, if anything, can you tell us about this plot?
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: Well, Iran remains a danger.
Pete Hegseth remains incompetent and is not doing what's necessary to protect our service members, which is why he's my priority number one if we retake the majority, to make sure we oust him from the Pentagon, because our service members actually deserve competent, serious, real leadership that will protect them and do the right thing. And they currently don't have that.
But what's more is, you know who is the primary supporter of Iran, who is providing intelligence and helping supply and provide targeting to Iran to kill Americans? Vladimir Putin and Russia. So, how about we talk about the fact that, in the last two weeks, you had Steve Witkoff go and sit across from Vladimir Putin and call him a humanitarian, and Donald Trump lifted and eased sanctions to provide tens of billions of dollars to the Russian war machine to try to kill Americans?
That is – that is just beyond the pale. And – and Donald Trump needs to stop because he is putting our service members at risk, and Americans should be just beside themselves what this administration is doing.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You talk about what has happened in the past few weeks with Russia and Ukraine policy. As of yesterday, Ukraine said that SpaceX satellite services have been fully restored as of yesterday. Elon Musk owns that entity.
Senator Blumenthal of Connecticut has said, the events, with this disruption, which has impacted the battlefield, show how a single point of control can be turned against the forces that depend on it, degrading service, disable missions across a military theater.
He wants to know who possesses the authority to alter these capabilities and safeguards. Is it truly the case that one man and his whim, an unelected official, can have such unilateral influence over our national security policy?
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: Yes, it appears to be the case, and it's beyond disturbing to me, which is why I also wrote a letter directly to President Trump, along with Adam Smith of the Armed Services Committee and Jim Himes of the Intelligence Committee, both of my colleagues on those committees, senior members, saying we – we deserve answers.
You know, it cannot and should not be the case that a tech oligarch, a private citizen, who has that much control over our national security, who is unaccountable, who is unelected, with zero transparency, is making life- and-death decisions on the battlefield…
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: … in systems that our service members and our partners and allies rely upon.
MARGARET BRENNAN: OK.
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: It should not be the case. And under this administration, they are allowing it to happen.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: And we're going to try to stop it…
MARGARET BRENNAN: We will watch…
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: Because Americans deserve accountability and they deserve leadership.
MARGARET BRENNAN: All right, we got to leave it there.
Congressman Crow, thank you for your time.
More Face the Nation in a moment.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Tune in to CBS News for complete coverage of the midterm elections, voting day, next Tuesday, November the 3rd, including our special America Decides broadcast, which begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: We will be right back with a lot more Face the Nation.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to "FACE THE NATION."
We're joined by CBS News elections and surveys executive director Anthony Salvanto.
Anthony, Speaker Johnson said last week that it is hilarious to see projections that Democrats will take a 230-seat majority. What does your polling show?
ANTHONY SALVANTO: Well, the model and the vote preference has been pretty stable at 229. There is a range around that. There is a narrow path for Republicans to still hold on to the House. Democrats could go a little bit higher. The big thing is, that does not describe a giant blue wave. That would be a fairly historically narrow House majority.
Number one, turnout is a big factor. It does favor Democrats. Right now more Democrats tell us that they are definitely going to vote or already have than Republicans do. But here's the thing about the Republican side. If you look at the voters who say, well, they're may be going to vote, more of them are Republicans. They're just planning to stay at home right now. If they get activated or motivated then, yes, this thing could shift or change a little.
This relates too because it's about voter attitudes. That explains this. Number one, Democrats are winning more of the voters who say that they are concerned about inflation. And that's pretty typical for a midterm, that pushback against the party in power. Number two is, look at gas prices. And you ask people, what do you think is going to happen to gas prices depending on who wins? And more of them think prices will go up if Republicans win.
MARGARET BRENNAN: How much is President Trump himself a factor?
ANTHONY SALVANTO: Look, he is on pace to be – to set his own record for being a factor in an election, which is to say when you ask voters, as we do for many past presidents, is the president a factor. Either to support him or oppose him you get this two-thirds majority saying that he is. And the opposition side is dominant there. There's more people saying they're voting to oppose his policies, even to the extent that people voting for Democrats say that they're mostly voting to try to block Trump's policies -
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.
ANTHONY SALVANTO: Even than to affirm Democratic ones.
On the Republican side there is a motivating factor for him. That's probably why you see him hitting the campaign trail. But that works mainly for MAGA voters, not the entire Republican Party.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, it's closing argument time. What is resonating?
ANTHONY SALVANTO: You look at – government corruption is a big deal for voters of both parties. Both of them say it's a very large factor. Finances, people's own, they told us, are an issue. They think that the president prioritizes his own over those of the country. That could be trouble for Republicans. But look, we've seen for a long time, in terms of general focus, people thinking the administration not putting enough on inflation.
And finally, look, cultural identity issues. A lot of Republicans think that Democrats would be a threat to their way of life and their culture. So, that partly explains some of the advertising that you'll see in these closing arguments. It's about inflation but it's not just about inflation.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Anthony Salvanto, thank you.
ANTHONY SALVANTO: Thanks.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who joins us from Charlotte this morning.
Good morning to you, sir.
REPRESENTATIVE THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you to be a bit of a pundit before we get into some policy. CBS polling shows voters see corruption as a major factor. Eighty-three percent see it as a concern in determining their vote. And they see it as more of an issue with Republicans. How does your party overcome this perception?
REPRESENTATIVE THOM TILLIS: Well, I think a part of what we have to do is be open about what we've done right and where we've kind of skated into the gray area.
I'll give you a good example of why I think maybe people feel that way. You can't have an oligarch pay tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for the president's son's wedding and not make it look odd, particularly when that oligarch is aligned with Putin and has gone on delegations with Putin to Beijing. That's just one example.
What we need to do is learn the rule of, figure out where the line is and take a step back. Our American people are already predisposed to assume Democrats and Republicans are corrupt.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
REPRESENTATIVE THOM TILLIS: We're just feeding that narrative when we let things like that happen. Whether it's legal or not, it's irrelevant.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
Well, it seems Democrats may be carrying out some scrutiny if they do win the majority.
You will not be in the Senate at that time. You're retiring. And you were deeply frustrated by Republicans when they passed this tax and spending bill on a party line vote that included cuts to Medicaid and will deeply affect rural hospitals. In your state, more than 25 percent of people rely on Medicaid. I know North Carolina has tried to patch things up here to plan ahead. Do you still expect devastating healthcare cuts in the new year?
REPRESENTATIVE THOM TILLIS: We're going to have significant headwinds. It's really a ten-year impact if you take a look at the original bill. And by the way, I supported the tax provisions of the bill. It was the healthcare provisions beyond what the House has proposed that are problematic. And it's going to take time.
What I was trying to do was not necessarily get rid of the cuts, but try to affect their timing. I think they're coming too soon. And I have a lot of experience with the state budget here in North Carolina, understanding Medicaid. I believe it's going to be very, very challenging. And we're going to have to get it – we've got our work cut out for us because some of those impacts could also feed right into the 2028 election.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So healthcare will be a big factor in that election is your prediction it sounds like. I want to ask you a bit –
REPRESENTATIVE THOM TILLIS: Absolutely.
MARGARET BRENNAN: A bit about what I engaged with the attorney general on. In recent weeks, the Justice Department filed this case up in Alaska to preemptively challenge the outcome there. Out in California, DOJ also told election officials they'll risk, quote, "legal consequences" if they continue to send vote by mail ballots to a list of voters they say are not confirmed citizens. And then there was, of course, this action taken against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, though she has not been charged with a crime.
Do you see a pattern here and are you comfortable with these actions this close to an election?
REPRESENTATIVE THOM TILLIS: Well, I think we have to be careful. First, you've got to take them separately. California has been guilty of ballot harvesting. They have a policy to do it. They have a system there that is ripe for abuse. And they need to be looked at.
Alaska has a candidate who just coincidentally happens to be the same name as my friend and colleague who came in with me in 2014. And they also have rank choice voting. So, I think it's appropriate to take a look at it. I'm not sure why they thought they had to file a lawsuit other than, as Todd said earlier, make sure that you have the ballots right so we can be certain that the Democrats were not successful in confusing candidates to vote for someone else to better position Peltola for being the winner.
And with respect to Omar, I've got to look at the details there, but I found it very concerning. You know, as a member of Congress, you better have a very, very high bar to issue a subpoena and a search warrant. And the facts better be there otherwise the DOJ needs to be held accountable. It's that simple. I'd say the same thing if it was a – and I have in the past, in a Biden administration, where I felt like they were moving a little bit out ahead of their skis. They'd better have the facts to substantiate their action.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I guess that gets to the timing of it all because the action itself draws attention and scrutiny of whether or not the cases actually have legs to them. But up in Alaska, your Republican colleague, Lisa Murkowski, the other Republican senator, said the DOJ should never have filed the lawsuit. She said when it came to the ballot, Alaskans don't need help picking a preferred candidate. The state already handled this by distinguishing the candidates on the ballot. And the Department of Justice should never have filed the lawsuit.
You sit on judiciary. I mean what are the consequences? Will there be any?
REPRESENTATIVE THOM TILLIS: Well, there are very few people that know Alaska better than Lisa. To be honest with you, Lisa Murkowski is a friend and an extraordinary member of the U.S. Senate. I agree that I think the lawsuit – I mean filing a lawsuit before anything that could be substantiated, it's a legal question, is suspicious to me. I'm on Judiciary, but I'm not an attorney.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Even before the election is held.
REPRESENTATIVE THOM TILLIS: Yes, that's what I mean. It's almost a preemptive, a presumptive posture versus simply telling the Alaska election officials, we're going to be watching this closely because clearly Democrats gamed the system by having a Dan Sullivan on the ballot. Either the Democrat Party, there's some evidence to suggest that Chuck Schumer may have even been involved. So, I don't mind looking at it, but I do mind the appearance of filing a lawsuit before we know if the facts that would substantiate a lawsuit actually occur.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that Dan – other Dan Sullivan claims he's not a Democrat but there has been reporting that a Democratic strategist may have helped him along the way. But that is something that is –
REPRESENTATIVE THOM TILLIS: It's a strange coincidence. We can all admit that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: It – no doubt. No doubt. But the state has handled it and clearly the senator thinks handled it well.
I want to get back to Vladimir Putin because you have been very vocal in recent days about your concern here with President Trump and his actions. Just yesterday Elon Musk said the SpaceX satellite services have been restored. And Senator Cramer of North Dakota, who was on this program last week, told us though he is concerned one person or one company just has too much control over America's ability to protect the domain of space.
You know, people might be confused over which service was switched on and off and to what degree, but the bigger picture issue here that your Republican colleagues seem concerned about is just how much control Elon Musk has over defense. Do you share that concern?
REPRESENTATIVE THOM TILLIS: Yes, I do. And I have a concern with the whole narrative that played out.
Elon Musk – I was trying to put pressure on everyone to own responsibility for this. Elon Musk originally said he didn't do it. Then we start focusing on the administration and now we hear Elon says that he did.
And also, to the American people, many members of Congress, this distinction between Starlink and Starshield, are you telling me – and I agree with Kevin Cramer, he's a great senator also, are you telling me that we don't know something as important as a tool that's being used by our western nations is subject to the whims of one CEO and that there's some other, the Star defense, is that controlled by him? Controlled by somebody in DOD? We need answers to this question. And I'm not satisfied. I'm glad that the capability is back up. Shame on whoever is responsible for it ever having elapsed. People died in that intervening time.
But what I want to know more importantly is, what – to what extent is the Department of Defense and the U.S. government involved in this? I get it's a private company, but they're playing into military space, geopolitical space, that there's got to be some guardrails and accountability, in my opinion.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I know you helped organize a call with Senator Blumenthal and President Zelenskyy this past week to try to get some clarity around this. From what you know, are all of the arrangements to expand access, to let Ukraine target inside of Russia? Is all of that on hold right now?
REPRESENTATIVE THOM TILLIS: You know, the best we could tell – when we're thankful for doing nothing more than reestablishing the current capabilities, I am concerned that we're not expanding it.
Look, there is a bad guy and there is a good country in the mix here. The bad guy is Vladimir Putin. The good country is Ukraine. We, like the other western European nations, need to support them, expand capabilities and defeat Putin. Putin is no friend. There is no such thing as a win- win when you're dealing with a despot, a totalitarian in the western world. So, we need to plus up that capability, not simply be thankful for getting something back that was working fine two weeks ago, was working OK when I was in Ukraine just a month ago.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, in the back and forth over exactly what was turned off and why Russia was able to hit inside of Ukraine so much over the past ten days, it came to light that there were also failures of the early warning system. Two, if not three, the BC3 systems did not detect incoming Russian ballistic missiles into Ukraine. Secretary Rubio was asked about this and he talked about technical issues. That sounds deeply concerning. I mean does this mean that Russia can subvert American early warning systems, or are we misunderstanding that?
REPRESENTATIVE THOM TILLIS: I think that's a legitimate question. That's why I think this whole timeline needs to be examined, probably in a – in a secure setting. Not necessarily in a public hearing. But we need to go through that entire timeline and say, seriously, guys, we're that vulnerable? I don't think we are.
And so, I'm beginning to think that maybe we're finessing around the reality that somebody needs to own the lapse in service and it became – it came at the same time the Starlink or Starshield capabilities went down.
Let's just map this out, folks. I don't mind – the American people don't mind people making mistake or maybe having a policy they decide they've to – they've got to reverse. But this sort of who's on first game being played with who actually called this, who's responsible for it is unacceptable. We're an great nation – we're an exceptional nation, greatest nation on earth. This is a simple question. We should have simple answers for it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we will continue to try to get answers.
Sir – thank you, Senator, for your time today.
REPRESENTATIVE THOM TILLIS: Thank you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And we will be right back.
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MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to the Texas governor's race and Democratic candidate Gina Hinojosa. She joins us from Austin.
Good to have you here.
GINA HINOJOSA (D, Texas Gubernatorial Candidate): It's great to be with you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, if you win, you would be the first Democratic governor and the first female governor in over 30 years. You're running in a state, though, that has more Republicans than Democrats. So, what is your message to get Republicans to cross over and vote for you?
GINA HINOJOSA: Well, right now, nobody wants politics as usual. Most of us see that it is broken. And so what we are seeing in Texas is because there is deep disappointment in both political parties, people are forging a new way forward. One that is post partisan in some ways. The data centers are a physical manifestation of a governor, Governor Abbott, and a government that's working for the moneyed interests and leaving the people of Texas to fend for themselves. Public schools are another issue where there has been a bipartisan coming together in support of our public schools.
And so, listen, this creates an opportunity for Texans to evaluate the candidate. I believe that's why we have now six or seven polls out of the last six weeks that show us winning. All polls show us within the margin of error. Turnout is high. Enthusiasm is high on our side. So, we feel really good about where we are.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You mention schools. I was surprised to see that 181 school districts in Texas are operating just four days a week. Some schools have shut down. How much of this is people just moving to more populated areas out of the rural ones and how much of it is funding?
GINA HINOJOSA: A lot of it is funding. Greg Abbott, in 2023, withheld funding our schools needed because we didn't pass vouchers. He said he would withhold it if we didn't pass it. And we didn't. We fought it. Myself and James Talarico led that fight to stop school vouchers. He passed it last year that took a billion dollars from our neighborhood public schools to take and put into unaccountable private schools. And so, school districts are really struggling. Our schools are shutting down. Teachers have left. And you should know that public schools are part of our identity as Texans. They are enshrined in our Texas constitution as being essential to our liberties. They are the largest employer in most or many of our counties. They are Friday night lights.
And so, there is bipartisan anger about what Greg Abbott has done to our public schools. And, listen, I'm running – my broad agenda is to secure the American dream and public schools are essential, are an essential part of the American dream because they provide the gateway and the opportunity to the American dream.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
GINA HINOJOSA: So, saving Texas public schools is a key part of my agenda. And that's why this campaign has resonated amongst Texans.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You've been campaigning on the issue of Texas having the highest uninsured rate and the highest number of uninsured children in this country. If you win, you're still going to have a Republican-controlled legislature and you're likely to have a Republican lieutenant governor. How do you work with them to improve healthcare?
GINA HINOJOSA: Well, I'll tell you that my agenda is not a Democratic agenda. It is a popular populist agenda. One that delivers for the people of Texas. So, my healthcare policy and platform and plan is to ensure every Texas child has quality healthcare because we have the most uninsured children of any state in America. We're one of the few states that hasn't expanded Medicaid. Expanding Medicaid is one way to get there. Democrats of the past have run on expanding Medicaid. I am not because most people don't understand what that means. They know what it means to provide quality healthcare to our children. So, that is what I am running on. I think there is bipartisan support to get there. There's also a big problem in Texas with those of us who have insurance paying more and it's harder to see the doctors we need and getting the medication we need. So, banning those bad faith denials is a key part of my agenda as well.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But you do want to expand Medicaid, just to be clear?
GINA HINOJOSA: Yes, but we're not running on that. That is just the process. It's kind of a geeky way to talk about insuring people. We're talking about insuring every Texas child has quality healthcare. And that's part of my secure the American dream agenda that can be found on my website at ginafortexas.com.
MARGARET BRENNAN: OK.
So, Governor Abbott gave hyperscale data centers, which you mentioned, a 20-year tax break and wanted to make your state the epicenter, he said, of A.I. development. You were calling for a moratorium, an immediate one, on building any data centers until a state legislature puts in place protections. Do you want to repeal the tax breaks? Like, what exactly are the protections you think you can get your republicans that you will deal with on board with?
GINA HINOJOSA: You know what's interesting is, nobody's pushing back against the data centers harder than MAGA because these data centers are mostly moving into our rural communities that are unincorporated. There are no zoning regulations. There are no rules or laws. And so this – these – this part of Texas is being taken advantage of by these data centers and the people of Texas and rural Texas are being taken advantage of. So, there's pressure on Republicans as well to put in place some laws to stop this data center takeover.
Yes, I would repeal those tax breaks. And most importantly, I would give Texans a seat at the table to decide if and how these data centers come into their community. There are big water concerns. There are big electricity cost concerns. Property rights concerns. And so, we need to visit all of it and make sure Texans are protected and first and foremost have a seat at the table.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You talk about repealing tax breaks. Someone who's a big investor whose companies are in Texas is Elon Musk. He's given about half a million dollars to Governor Abbott's campaign. You filed a lawsuit, as I understand it, to try to obtain e-mails between him and Governor Abbott. What are you trying to do with this? And isn't it dangerous, frankly, to go after someone who employs so many Texans?
GINA HINOJOSA: Well, listen, we can't be afraid to do what's right as leaders in Texas. And so, the right thing is to see, what are these e-mails about. We have had breaking news in the last few months. Just most recently we learned that Greg Abbott's parks and wildlife board plans to sell our beach, Boca Chica Beach, to Elon Musk, who has plans to launch 356 rockets from these sites.
I'm from this part of Texas. Every time these rockets launch, it feels like an earthquake happening. So, we need to know what is – exactly is going on. We know Elon Musk received $1.7 billion in tax breaks after he donated to Greg Abbott's campaign. We know that over the summer Greg Abbott intervened to redirect a $100 million broadband contract to Elon Musk. This was from testimony during a Senate hearing by the director of the broadband office.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
GINA HINOJOSA: So, there's a lot that we need to see. And as a legislator, I have a responsibility and a right to see what those e-mails are about.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We'll see what you get. We'll watch your campaign. Thank you for your time today.
We'll be back in a moment.
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MARGARET BRENNAN: That's it for us today. Thank you for watching. Until next week. For "FACE THE NATION," I'm Margaret Brennan.
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