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A rush transcript of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" airing on Sunday, November 2, 2025 on ABC News is below. This copy may not be in its final form, may be updated and may contain minor transcription errors. For previous show transcripts, visit the "This Week" transcript archive. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC “THIS WEEK” ANCHOR: Just two days until voters cast their final ballots in high-stakes elections, all in the shadow of a far-reaching government shutdown. A special edition of "THIS WEEK" starts right now. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): The money’s there. And Trump has said, don't spend a dime. DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But all the Democrats have to do is say, let's go. I mean, you know, they don't have to do anything. RADDATZ: Federal programs start running dry as the month-long shutdown hits home. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are one of the wealthiest countries in the world, yet we're willing to let people go hungry. RADDATZ: The impacts of the spending freeze cascading into American life. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY SEAN DUFFY: Our traffic will be snarled. But it will be a disaster in aviation. RADDATZ: As voters in several states prepare for the first major elections since President Trump's return to the White House. WINSOME EARLE-SEARS (R), VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: As we all know, this race, the world is watching! ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D), VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: The results on Tuesday will be a reflection of what it is that we are for. RADDATZ: We visit New Jersey, a blue stronghold that saw one of the hardest shifts to the right in 2024. JACK CIATTARELLI (R), NEW JERSEY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: The closeness in my race and the closeness in the president's race last year were real eye-openers. MIKIE SHERRILL (D), NEW JERSEY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to take on Donald Trump when it comes to our economy here in New Jersey. RADDATZ: This morning, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Democratic Senator Tim Kaine join us. We break down the latest results from our brand-new poll, two days before Election Day. And analysis from our powerhouse roundtable. (END VIDEO CLIP) ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of "THIS WEEK," “Your Voice, Your Vote 2025.” Here now, Martha Raddatz. RADDATZ: Good morning and welcome to "THIS WEEK." We are just two days away from key election in several states across the country. Elections that will give us a sense of the nation's mood and potentially an early signal of what could come next in 2026 as Democrats seek to regain power in Washington after Trump's tumultuous return to office. And our new ABC News/"Washington Post"/Ipsos poll out this morning finds that the mood of the country is decidedly negative, with two-thirds of Americans saying the country is on the wrong track under President Trump. But that is an improvement from this same time last year under President Biden. The economy is a major part of the current discontent, with more than six in ten Americans disapproving of how President Trump is handling the economy, as well as tariffs. And a similar share blaming him for the current rate of inflation. Overall, a majority of Americans disapproved of the president's handling of every issue we polled. As for the Democrats, more Americans say the Democratic Party is out of touch with the concerns of most people in the U.S. today, than say the same about Trump and the Republican Party. All of this comes as more Americans are starting to feel the fallout from the now month long government shutdown, which seems to have no end in sight. And that's where we start this morning with ABC's Jay O'Brien. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JAY O'BRIEN, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The government shutdown now on the brink of becoming the longest in U.S. history. MINORITY LEADER SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER: Republicans are living in fantasy, pretending as if the issue will fix itself. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE REP. MIKE JOHNSON: The blame for this lies 100 percent with the senators sitting over there on the Democrat Party. O’BRIEN (voice over): But Americans seem to be more critical of the GOP. ABC's new poll with "THE WASHINGTON POST" and Ipsos finds 45 percent of Americans blame President Donald Trump and Republicans for the shutdown, while 33 percent say the same about Democrats. No matter who is to blame, the pain is getting worse by the day. On Saturday, funding for SNAP federal food assistance drying up. The benefits halted for 42 million Americans. SYMONE WILKES, SNAP RECIPIENT: I'm already struggling. O’BRIEN (voice over): Simone Wilkes, a single working mother from Detroit, has two young boys and relies on SNAP. She's now looking at taking a second job. WILKES: It has been days where the kids will eat, and I'll just survive off water. O’BRIEN (voice over): The Trump administration reversing an earlier plan to use the Department of Agriculture's emergency funds to cover the program during a shutdown. BROOKE ROLLINS, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: It is a contingency fund that can only flow if the underlying appropriation is approved. O’BRIEN (voice over): But on Friday, a federal judge ordering the administration must continue funding SNAP during the shutdown. President Trump responding, writing, he's instructed government lawyers to “ask the court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.” But this worsening food crisis now on a collision course with the issue Democrats are holding firm to fix in this shutdown, looming, skyrocketing health care costs for some 20 million Americans insured through the Affordable Care Act. And with tax credits set to expire, enrollees, on average, set to see their premiums more than double. STACY COX, ACA MARKETPLACE ENROLLEE: It's devastating. Just that bill right there, that's more than our mortgage, our insurance, most of our food. O’BRIEN (voice over): A month into this shutdown, more than 1.4 million federal workers are going without pay, including air traffic controllers. And this week, airports across the country reporting more of those tasked with keeping the skies safe are calling out sick, leading to staffing shortages and delayed flights, expected to only get worse. PETE LEFEVRE, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: The prospect of going another pay period without pay is weighing on the minds of myself and all the people that I work with. (END VIDEOTAPE) O’BRIEN (on camera): And, Martha, several governors have now declared a state of emergency, trying to meet this surge in demand now that SNAP has been halted. Meantime, there's no end to this shutdown in sight. Democrats continue to withhold their votes on government funding, trying to compel Republicans to negotiate with them on health care. Republicans have said they won't do that while the government is shut down. RADDATZ: And for more on the impacts from this shutdown, including on air travel, I'm joined now by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. We're so pleased to have you here this morning, Mr. Secretary. Americans have experienced major delay. There's a ground stop this morning at Newark, all because air traffic controllers are calling in sick. The FAA is saying that “currently, nearly 50 percent of major air traffic control facilities are experienced staffing shortages, and nearly 80 percent of air traffic controllers are out at New York-area facilities.” We know that safety is your greatest concern, but at some point, might you have to shut down portions of the U.S. airspace, maybe even airports? What point are we at, at that possibility? TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY SEAN DUFFY: Well, so, first off, I've been traveling around talking to air traffic controllers and there really is frustration. The fact that there's a shutdown right now. The Democrats are focusing on illegal healthcare, and, you know, we've endangered the SNAP beneficiaries, and they don't get paid as air traffic controllers. There's a burning frustration like in the rest of the country. And so, you mentioned that safety is my top priority. And it is. We will delay, we will cancel any kind of flight across the national airspace to make sure people are safe. But there is a level of risk that gets injected into the system when we have a controller that's doing two jobs instead of one. We manage that. We look out for it. And safety is the priority. We'll take all steps necessary, though, to make sure that you get from point A to point B and you do it safely. RADDATZ: And just again, how close are we to this point where you might have to close airspace or airports as we watch air traffic controllers calling in sick? DUFFY: Well, so, first off, if you look at other shutdowns, our air traffic controllers, God bless them, they've been coming to work. They're frustrated, but by and large, they've come. They're not getting paid. And so, I can't predict, Martha, what's going to happen in the future. But as each day goes on, and again, it's not -- you miss a paycheck, but every day you have expenses, food and gas, and then bills come in. Whether it's Netflix or, you know, your YouTube TV, the expenses continue to roll, and the pressure continues to grow. And the problem is, these controllers, a lot of them are new controllers or they're trainee controllers. They don't make a lot of money. And so, they may be the only person that is bringing money into the household. They have to make a decision, do I go to work and not get a paycheck and not put food on the table, or do I drive for Uber or DoorDash or wait tables? Those are the real thoughts and conversations these controllers are having. So, as I look forward, I hope Democrats are going to come to their senses and open the government back up. But I would just tell you, as bad as it is, the numbers you just gave, this -- we will look back if -- if the government doesn't open in the next week or two, we'll look back as these were the good days, not the bad days. It's only going to get worse. And, Martha, just one other point on our controllers. We -- as I think you've reported, we have really old, antiquated air traffic control equipment. We have the most efficient and safe airspace, not because of the equipment, but because the great men and women who control the airspace, and we should treat them like the professionals that they are and pay them. RADDATZ: Well -- well, let's talk about that. The Trump administration this week paid service members by using $2.5 billion in housing funds from the so-called big, beautiful bill. Why haven't you done something similar with air traffic controllers? DUFFY: Yes, so we've looked throughout our -- our funding mechanisms to see how we could pull money in and -- and pay our controllers. We kept essential air service operational. We're paying our academy students at Oklahoma City. They get a stipend as they go through the academy. We're pulling in whatever dollar we can, but there -- there's real restrictions. When you don't fund the government, when you say there's no dollars available, it becomes really challenging to find dollars to pay the different components of really critical workforces that keep our country moving forward. And again, it's simple. Democrats, open up the government, negotiate a deal, have a conversation, introduce a bill, debate it, vote on it, but shutting the government down is not the pathway forward, I think, to make sure you get your way and you get your will. RADDATZ: And, Mr. Secretary, I want to read from our poll. ABC's new poll with “The Washington Post” and Ipsos finds 44 percent of Americans blame Donald Trump and the Republicans for the shutdown, while 33 percent say the same about Democrats. So, people are looking at this because the Republicans obviously have both houses of Congress and the White House and putting the blame on Republicans. So, what should Republicans be doing? DUFFY: Well, I think it's important to say in September, we -- Republicans said we should have the same funding levels in September as we do in October. We didn't change anything. Again, you don't use shutdowns to pass bills. You don't hold the American people hostage. You don't hurt the American people to get leverage. And that's exactly what Democrats are doing right now because people are getting hurt. And again, whether you're traveling home to see your family or go to a funeral or a wedding or you're on a business trip, the hours that people are spending in airports, Democrats see that as leverage. And, this not the -- this is not the pathway to get your way or get your will. And I would just note, Martha, Donald Trump had a historic election. He won the popular vote. He won the seven swing states. Democrats roundly lost. And so now to say, “I'm going to shut down the government to get my way, my will,” I -- listen, you can't cave to that. Otherwise, you're going to have a shutdown every -- every third month. And so again, the polling is one thing, but the process is another. RADDATZ: And let's talk about the process and President Trump's role. Demo -- you say Democrats have to come to the table. Republicans have not been negotiating. And Scott Bessent told me just a week ago he think -- he thinks it would be a waste of time for Donald Trump to hold another meeting. Back in 2011, when Donald Trump was considering a run for president, this is what he said about Barack Obama as a shutdown loomed. Let's listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, 2011) INTERVIEWER: So, how would you do it now? Now, you're in the Oval Office right now -- (CROSSTALK) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I would get everybody together and we'd have a budget -- INTERVIEWER: They've all gotten together. TRUMP: Well, that's because they don't have the right leader. You don't have the right leader. This is the president of the United States has to get this done. (END VIDEO CLIP) RADDATZ: And he went on to say, "The president is the one that has to get people together, and it would be a tremendously negative mark on the president if they couldn't get it done." What's your reaction to that? DUFFY: Well, I'll just tell you that Barack Obama said, "I'm not going to be blackmailed. I'm not going to be held hostage. This is not the way you negotiate a deal. You lost the election, Republicans,” that's what Barack Obama said. “Go through the process.” And I think that's the right philosophy right now. And again -- (CROSSTALK) RADDATZ: Should President Trump -- given what he said, should President Trump be meeting? Would you like to see him hold another meeting? DUFFY: So, here -- here's the problem -- Donald Trump has nothing to negotiate with. We passed a clean funding bill, right? So, what do you negotiate with when you -- again money in September, same as October. Democrats are trying to use this as leverage and again trying to change legislation that they don't like. But again, the changes they want to make want to fund healthcare for illegal migrants. That doesn't make sense to Republicans. If you want to have a conversation, let's have it. The healthcare funding doesn't end until the end of the year. So why are you shutting the government down in October when you could have a conversation for three months until the end of the year? I think this doesn't make any sense. I think Democrats are angry. They're playing to the left-wing side of their base. Most commonsense Democrats, I think, would say, "Open it up and negotiate, pass bills, debate it.” But this is not the approach on how you pass legislation. RADDATZ: Okay, thanks so much for joining us, and we'll let Tim Kaine respond to what you just said. Thanks so much. DUFFY: Thanks, Martha. RADDATZ: And I'm joined now by Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia. Good morning, Senator. I know you heard Secretary Duffy there talking about the onus is on the Democrats, and that you are fighting to get legal health care for immigrants. SEN. TIM KAINE, (D) VIRGINIA: Well, I just got to say, Martha, that’s a lie. The healthcare battle is not about healthcare for illegal immigrants, and Sean Duffy knows it. It’s about millions of Americans who, in the last few weeks, have gotten premium increase notices that tell them that Donald Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill is delivering them big, ugly health insurance bills within the next few weeks unless we can find a fix. And so, what we’re taking for is, let’s find a path to a fix and let’s also have President Trump finally engage in the negotiation and guarantee that a deal is a deal. If we shake hands on a deal for 30 days or for three months, he won’t immediately start firing more people, clawing back economic development projects, going after blue states or blue cities, and allowing funds to be used in red cities. So, look, we’re looking for a path to fix people’s health care costs, and we’re looking for the president to agree that a deal is a deal. Thus far he’s refused to engage, and we avoid shutdowns or get it out -- get out of shutdowns all the time when the president engages. RADDATZ: So -- so, Senator, it has been 33 days. Democrats chose not to support that short term CR, which would have kept the government open. You could have negotiated. Now there’s some pretty devastating impacts on -- on people looking at -- for SNAP, on air traffic controllers, on air travel. So, what have the Democrats gained from this? KAINE: Well, I don’t look at this as politics. I mean the president told the House, do a budget and, in his words, don’t deal with Democrats. So, Senate Democrats put an alternative on the table 12 days before September 30 that fixed the health care wreckage that the Republicans caused and that ensured that a deal would be honored, both by Congress and the White House. The president refused to meet until the day before the deadline. He had Democrats in the Oval Office. And as soon as they walked out, he put up an A.I.-generated video of them wearing sombreros and talking in A.I.-generated fake voices saying they didn’t say. The guy’s unserious. He’s willing to give $20 billion -- RADDATZ: But -- but serious -- KAINE: Hold on. He’s been willing to give $20 billion to the Argentinians and meet with them, wreck the White House, have a Great Gatsby party down at Mar-a-Lago. He has not done what he said needed to be done in 2011, sit down with Democratic leadership. If he (INAUDIBLE) -- RADDATZ: Senator, I just want to go back to the -- KAINE: Leadership, this thing (ph) will be resolved in a matter of hours. RADDATZ: OK. Excuse me. I just want to go back to what Democrats have gotten during this period. Not talking about politics. What have Democrats gained during this period? And how long can this last? KAINE: I -- you know, Martha, I'm a United States Senator. And I -- yes, I run as a Democrat, and I'm a Democrat, but I just don’t approach my work that way. So, when you ask what Democrats have gained, what we’re -- what we’re focused on is the American people. We want President Trump to stop firing people, canceling economic development projects. We want them to stop raising everybody’s costs. You know, health care costs, energy costs, housing costs. Halloween’s more expensive. Thanksgiving is more expensive. The holidays are going to be more expensive. So, we’re asking the president to simply sit down and do what all presidents do. We can find a budget deal that puts us on a path to a health care fix. I don’t need all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed. I just want to be on a path so that people’s bills don’t spike, and I want the president to agree, stop the wrecking ball. Stop the mass firings and the cancellations of projects you don’t like. And I think Americans understand that. And that’s why they look at Donald Trump’s lack of engagement and overwhelmingly say that he’s really more to blame for this. RADDATZ: We just have a couple of minutes here, but you recently said things are coming together. There are reportedly conversations among rank-and-file senators to try to reach -- to negotiate the reopening of the government for a few weeks. Is that going on right now? Are you part of those discussions? KAINE: I would say, Martha, I'm sort of at the edge of them. There is a group of people talking about these two issues, a path to fix the health care debacle and a guarantee that if we reopen government, I'm calling it a moratorium on mischief. If we agree to reopen, President Trump’s got to stop the firings. The FAA, we’re talking air traffic control, they’ve forced 2,400 people out of the FAA during Trump’s first year, when they were already short 3,000 air traffic controllers. Stop the firings, stop the games playing, stop going after blue cities and helping red cities. Let’s have a moratorium on mischief during whatever this period is. Get on a path to fix people’s health care. If the president engages, we will be -- we will find a deal, I think, within hours. RADDATZ: And, Senator, just quickly, if you can, you’re there in Virginia. Virginia holds key elections on Tuesday. Are you confident the Democrats can sweep this? KAINE: I feel really good about it, Martha. And here’s why. In Virginia, we are the best red to blue turnaround in the country in the last 25 years. And the way we’ve done it is by focusing on the economy. Abigail Spanberger, our candidate, three pillars to her campaign, affordability, jobs, and education, which is about kids, but also about our workforce. Her opponent is running ads on offbeat cultural issues that don't really matter to the most people. In Virginia, Democrats focus on the economy, winning the economic argument, delivering economic results. And that's why the state has moved from red to blue so dramatically since 2000. RADDATZ: OK. Thanks so much. Good to see you this morning, Senator. Appreciate your time. KAINE: Thanks, Martha. Good to be with you. RADDATZ: Up next, our report from New Jersey, looking at what's driving voters there ahead of Tuesday's critical elections. Plus, Rick Klein breaks down the races from New York City to Virginia to California. We're back in two minutes. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We need leaders who will tell the truth and who will take responsibility and tackle hard problems and bring people together instead of tearing them apart. We need leaders who won't serve bosses in Washington or big corporate donors, but instead will serve the people who put them there. (END VIDEO CLIP) RADDATZ: Former President Barack Obama hitting the campaign trail this weekend in Virginia and New Jersey. Tuesday's elections in several states will be a critical test of where the country stands one year after returning Donald Trump to the White House, and a potential signal on whether Democrats have a chance to re-take Congress one year from now. So ahead of Tuesday's final voting, we look at how both sides are making their closing arguments to voters. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D), VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Virginia, are you fired up? RADDATZ (voice-over): From the high-stakes gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, to the contentious mayor's race in New York City, and California's consequential redistricting measure that Governor Gavin Newsom is counting on -- GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: We're going to meet the moment not just with rhetoric, but through action. RADDATZ (voice-over): For Democrats, this will be their first try at redemption since President Donald Trump's re-election. In Virginia, moderate Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer and congresswoman, has maintained a modest lead over Republican nominee, Winsome Earle-Sears, the state's current lieutenant governor. ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: New York is not for sale. RADDATZ (voice-over): And in New York, progressive Zohran Mamdani holds a substantial lead over his opponent including former governor Andrew Cuomo running as an independent. But it is New Jersey that could hold the biggest challenge for Democrats, where moderate congresswoman and former Navy helicopter pilot, Mikie Sherrill's lead is anything but certain. We met up with her in Asbury Park between campaign events, where her message is clear. REP. MIKIE SHERRILL (D), NEW JERSEY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to fight incredibly hard for families, for kids to get costs down, and I'm going to take on Donald Trump when it comes to our economy here in New Jersey. RADDATZ (voice-over): But the historically blue state has moved to the right in recent years. Former vice president Kamala Harris won New Jersey by just six points last November, down 10 points from former President Joe Biden's lead in 2020. RADDATZ: What happened in New Jersey for that right turn in 2024 (ph)? SHERRILL: I think New Jersey is really representative of what's going on in America. We have a lot of middle class voters who are looking at their costs go up year after year after year, and who felt as if nobody was hearing them. And so, they decided to take a chance on a Trump administration because Trump promised to lower their cost. Unfortunately, he has done anything but. We've seen costs skyrocket here. RADDATZ (voice-over): Republican nominee and former assemblyman, Jack Ciattarelli, came close to the governor's mansion last election, losing to Governor Phil Murphy by just three points. JACK CIATTARELLI, (R) NEW JERSEY GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE: This is very different from 2021. I'm not running against an incumbent and there's a lot less indifference this time around, not only inside New Jersey, but around the country. The closeness of my race and the closeness of the president's race last year were real eye openers. RADDATZ (voice-over): The Trump administration's decision to withhold congressionally approved funds for the Gateway Tunnel Project, connecting New York to New Jersey, has faced major blowback. CIATTARELLLI: He's playing hard ball negotiation tactics with a very uncooperative Democratic Party. By the way, my opponent, if she feels that seriously about the Gateway Project, then vote yes and reopen up the government. RADDATZ (voice-over): Down in Pennsville Township, we met Bishop Kendon Gibson, a former Democrat-turned-independent who voted for Trump in 2024 because of the economy. BISHOP KENDON GIBSON, NEW JERSEY VOTER: I voted for policy, change, lowering taxes. RADDATZ (voice-over): But this election, he's voting blue. GIBSON: I think that Mikie Sherrill is more for the people, the working people. I think that the Democrats deserve another chance. RADDATZ (voice-over): When you look at the progressive side of the Democratic Party and the moderate side, what do you wish the Democrats would do? GIBSON: I think we could have gotten more aggressive with healthcare because now we're stuck with a shutdown and we have to use that as leverage when we could have, you know, really protected Obamacare. RADDATZ (voice-over): Not all New Jersey voters we spoke to felt the shutdown mattered in this race. KELSEY ANTHONY, NEW JERSEY VOTER: I think people's minds are sort of made up. Either you think it's a Republican's fault or you think it's a Democrat's fault. RADDATZ (voice-over): Born and raised in New Jersey, lawyer and Ciattarelli campaign volunteer Kelsey Anthony already cast her ballot. ANTHONY: I am a mom. I have two young children, and I believe that the public education system, specifically funding of the public education system, is broken in New Jersey. The school funding has been completely disproportionate around the state. And Jack has stated that he's going to fix that. RADDATZ (voice-over): And she knows this race is close. ANTHONY: Generally, New Jersey has many more Democrats than it does Republicans, but I think that right now, the state of the state is not good. And I think that the last eight years have been really telling. And the current administration has really done a number on a lot of New Jersey families. And I think that if there was ever a time for change, it's going to be now. RADDATZ (voice-over): Over in Princeton, New Jersey, Democrat Chris Johnson voted early for Sherrill but isn't very excited about her candidacy. CHRIS JOHNSON, NEW JERSEY VOTER: There really was only one option, which is to vote for the Democratic Party. But to be honest, it feels to me a little bit like picking the least worst option. And the fact that we did put so much effort into canvassing and getting the word out and making the phone calls and it was that close in the presidential election and then even in the prior gubernatorial election is worrisome. You know, I think New Jersey is much more purple than people realize. RADDATZ (voice-over): He says Democrats need to focus less on Trump. JOHNSON: There's been far too much of an emphasis on continuing to run against Trump and not focusing on what they are going to do with their own messaging, their own platform to improve the lives of people. You know, I think running an ad saying, "Hey, I'm a mom and I'm a helicopter pilot, so therefore vote for me", that's not a winning message. (END VIDEOTAPE) RADDATZ: And we'll see about that on Tuesday. But we want to drill down a little deeper right now. Our Washington Bureau chief Rick Klein is here now with the breakdown of what to look for around the country on Election Day. And, Rick, good morning. Let's start with those two marquee governor's races. RICK KLEIN, ABC NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Yeah. Good morning, Martha. Virginia and New Jersey, of course, both relatively blue states. So, Democrats losing either one of them would send a big message, but even if Democrats sweep on Tuesday, we're going to see how much the political winds have shifted since last year. If you look at the polls in New Jersey, where you just spent some time on the ground, the Democrat Mikie Sherrill with a narrow but pretty consistent lead over her opponent Jack Ciattarelli. As you mentioned, Ciattarelli came close to winning the governor's race back in 2021, but it is still a heavily Democratic state. It's worth noting nearly every part of the state has shifted to the right between 2020 and 2024, particularly, you see this trend in North Jersey where large numbers of Black and Hispanic voters in particular reflected a national trend of voting Republican a year ago, far more than they have in recent elections. The question Tuesday, Martha, is whether those voters show up again and vote Republican, or if Democrats have some momentum back with them now that Trump is in the White House again. RADDATZ: And what about Virginia, Rick? KLEIN: Yeah. In Virginia, the state has been trending Democratic over the last couple of decades. And if recent polls hold, the Democrat, Abigail Spanberger, is poised to defeat the Republican, Winsome Earle-Sears. She's the current Lieutenant Governor of the state. Now, that wouldn't come as a surprise. In governor's races, the state almost always votes against the party in the White House, including in 2021 when Governor Glenn Youngkin won just a year after President Biden was elected. RADDATZ: And Rick, let's not forget New York City, New York City's preparing for one of the most consequential elections in the city's history. KLEIN: Yeah, and this could easily be the biggest story coming out of Tuesday night. Polls show Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old self-described Democratic socialist, well ahead of his opponents. And what's striking here is how much interest has been in this election. Almost 600,000 New Yorkers have already cast their ballots in early voting. That has already smashed the record for a mayoral election in New York. Mamdani represents generational as well as ideological change. National Republicans are actually probably even more eager than Democrats to see him rise to prominence, given his calls for higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy, and his past calls which he has since reversed, to defund the police. RADDATZ: We certainly have seen him reverse those. And finally, Rick, Democrats are counting on California to approve new congressional maps on Tuesday. KLEIN: Yeah, Martha, we've seen this highly unusual redistricting nationwide, all of these states either considering or already have adopted new maps. This is Democrats' biggest chance to swing back at the Republican advantage. Until now, it has been all Republican. The new maps that have passed at President Trump's urgings in states, including Texas and Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, those moves could net Republicans as many as nine more seats in the midterms next year. But Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, he pushed through a new map that could net his party up to five additional seats. This is what the map would look like. The number of Republicans would go down potentially from nine to four. And if voters make that a reality on Tuesday, it's a big, big change. Although, even if it passes, it's worth noting, Republicans are likely to get a lot more out of redistricting than Democrats. It looks like they'll get a handful of seats at least, out of this in an election where the balance of power just could not be tighter next year, Martha. RADDATZ: And they will no doubt be trying to do that. Our Washington Bureau Chief, Rick Klein, thanks so much. Up next, our Business Correspondent, Elizabeth Schulze takes a deeper dive into how the economy could impact Tuesday's vote. And later, our Powerhouse Roundtable. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) RADDATZ: In our new ABC News/"Washington Post"/Ipsos poll, some 52 percent of Americans say the economy has gotten worse since Donald Trump took office. Nearly double the 27 percent who say it has improved. ABC’s Elizabeth Schulze takes a closer look at why the economy is front and center in voters' minds. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELIZABETH SCHULZE, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Nearly a year since Donald Trump's economic pitch to voters helped propel his return to the White House -- DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will rapidly drive prices down and make America affordable again. SCHULZE (voice over): A tale of two economies emerging. TRUMP: We're doing numbers that nobody's ever seen before. ZOHRAN MAMDANI, (D) NEW YORK MAYORAL NOMINEE: This is the most expensive city in the United States of America, and it's time to make it affordable. SCHULZE (voice over): On paper, the U.S. economy is humming along, growth is solid, unemployment remains near historic lows, and the stock market keeps hitting records. But prices are also increasing, and economists say President Trump's tariffs are a key reason why. JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR: There will be some additional increased inflation because it takes a while for tariffs to work their way through the -- through the production chain. SCHULZE (voice over): In the past year, prices are up for most basic essentials. The latest government inflation report shows utility bills are up 12 percent in one year. Electricity bills up 5 percent, day care costs up 5 percent, rent up 3.5 percent, and food prices up 3 percent. JULIE LUSENI, CLINICAL TECHNICIAN: Everything has gone up. Everything. SCHULZE (voice over): We spent an afternoon with Julie Luseni, a clinical technician at a hospital, and single mom of three in Virginia, who's struggling to keep food on the table. After paying for groceries, bills, and rent, Julie says she only has $100 left until she receives her next paycheck. LUSENI: It's really tough, to the point that like even when school is about to start, my kids will literally just have either two pair of shoes for like the whole year. (END VIDEOTAPE) SCHULZE (on camera): And, Martha, this really is a tale of two economies. The top 10 percent of households account for almost half of all consumer spending right now, in many ways propping up the broader economy. And those cost of living concerns don't appear to be going anywhere, with the typical household now spending $208 more per month on the same goods and services than they were at this time last year. RADDATZ: Thanks so much, Elizabeth Schulze. The roundtable takes on Tuesday's elections and the shutdown stalemate when we come back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) RADDATZ: And the roundtable's all here. Former DNC chair Donna Brazile, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and author and journalist, Molly Ball. Good to see all of you. And, Chris, I want to get right to you. Former governor of New Jersey, talk about this race in New Jersey and what you're seeing with Mikie Sherrill. CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R) FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR & ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Look, Martha, this is a really tough state for my party. Give you context. We've elected one Republican United States senator in the last 50 years, one Republican governor in the last 25 years. RADDATZ: And I think we know who that is. CHRISTIE: We do. And let me tell you, when I got -- when I ran, there was no road map for how to win New Jersey as a Republican in the 21st century. No one had done it. But we've laid the path for Jack Ciattarelli. This is what he's going to have to do to beat Mike Sherrill -- 70 percent of the white vote, 21 percent of the black vote. We won 51 percent of the Hispanic vote. We beat a female candidate, as he is running against this time, by 15 points. And we won 58 percent of independents. With 850,000 more Democrats than Republicans, that's what you need to do. So, the question for him on Tuesday night is, can he hit those numbers? Those are the numbers you have to hit to win in a state like New Jersey. The path has been laid out. We'll see what he can do. RADDATZ: You think he can do it? CHRISTIE: I -- look, I think it's possible because the one other thing that's going on here, Martha, is Democrat excitement is not way up there regarding Mikie Sherrill. What you see happening is there's anger towards Donald Trump among Democrats. Will that translate into votes for Mikie Sherrill? RADDATZ: And, Donna, let's talk about the Democrats and in Virginia as well. What are you seeing in both races? Do you see Mikie Sherrill taking this and Spanberger in Virginia? DONNA BRAZILE, FORMER DNC CHAIR & ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, New Jersey is seen as -- the electorate at least is seen as very -- is like elastic. Everybody thinks you can stretch it. Donald Trump came within six points. In 2020, Joe Biden beat Trump by 16 percentage points. Kamala Harris only beat him by six points. The Republicans made significant inroads in New Jersey, Chris. And I remember on election night a year ago, that at 10:45, I looked at him, and I said, "What the hell is going on in Passaic County?" I mean, I know New Jersey. And I was like, "Chris, what's happening?" Because Trump was shifting the electorate. Mikie Sherrill had two main challenges. One, she's dealing with a relatively unpopular governor, so she had to become her own candidate. I think she's done a fantastic job, you know, talking about her past in the Navy, talking about being a prosecutor. I think she has made up a lot of difference and the enthusiasm is there. In Virginia, there's no question. Early voting is really good for Democrats, but as you know, same day Republicans can make up a lot of ground. So, I'm optimistic on both sides. RADDATZ: You really think the enthusiasm is there for Sherrill? Because you -- I didn't get a sense of that up there from some of those voters. BRAZILE: Look, right now, people are not in love with politics. They're not in love with anybody. They're so angry about the affordability crisis. That's why I think what the congresswoman is doing and you know, “Drive Down the Cost” bus tour. She's really getting Democrats excited and I do believe that she has a slight chance of winning. RADDATZ: And, Molly, the other thing that Sherrill is doing is talking about Donald Trump nonstop. That -- she's obviously talking about the economy, a big deal, but Donald Trump, Donald Trump. She's running against Donald Trump. MOLLY BALL, POLITICAL REPORT AND AUTHOR & FORMER WALL STREET JOURNAL SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Because if there is any enthusiasm in the Democratic base, that is what it is for. It's the millions of people coming out for the “No Kings” protests. It's the people telling pollsters that they're excited to vote in the midterms next year. It's the overwhelming turnout we've seen in the special elections here and there over the past year. The enthusiasm in the Democratic base is an anti-Trump enthusiasm. And so, that's what I think you see both Sherrill and Spanberger trying to tap into in order to try to get their base out. It is, I think, though, a missed opportunity for both of these women, both of whom are sort of moderate, centrist, establishment Democrats. They've run very safe campaigns. And what they haven't done is really lay down a marker for their vision for the future of the Democratic Party -- a vision that is not the vision of a Zohran Mamdani, a vision that is much more I think they would say sort of unifying and centrist. And they haven't really articulated what that would mean for the party to go in that direction. RADDATZ: And, Chris, I want to get back to -- to the governor's races in particular. Donald Trump is not going to be out there on the campaign trail, and the base certainly wants to see Donald Trump and pulled out a lot of voters. When you look at the polling and you know how far New Jersey has lurched to the right, talk about that change and how that happened and what they do without a Donald Trump. CHRISTIE: Look, I think the move to the right in New Jersey was based on two things. One, it was a rejection of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. I think they came in arguing that they were going to make the country more civil, more centrist, and in fact, they went very far to the left. And that angered the most important voters in New Jersey, Martha, the independents. There are more independents than there are Democrats or Republicans in New Jersey, and you have to play to them. Secondly, it's affordability. And we've heard everybody talking about that, and that's a problem as well. The problem for Republicans is that Trump in New Jersey is anywhere right now from 12 to 15 points underwater. And Jack Ciattarelli has made his association with the president a big part of his campaign. So, those two things are in conflict, right? So what I'd say to you, Martha, is it's winnable for Jack Ciattarelli. Can he go out and mobilize the voters he needs to do it? If he does, he can win; if he doesn't, Mikie Sherrill will win. RADDATZ: And Molly talked about Mamdani. Donna, when you look at this race on Tuesday, if Mamdani wins, which he is projected to do, and Sherrill and Spanberger win, more moderates, what does that say about where the Democratic Party is and what does it say where you'll be next year with the midterms? BRAZILE: Well, first of all, in addition to the great city of New York, we have Detroit who will likely elect a female mayor. We also have Cleveland, Miami. So we have lots of elections, also in the state of Pennsylvania with Supreme Court Justice races and of course, California with that big redistricting bill. I think it is going to say to the Democrats, who have won a lot of special elections this year, that we have to be more organized, more focused, more organic. We have to speak in the now language, not the 20th century language. And if Democrats can engage voters year round, I think Democrats have a chance of coming back in 2026. CHRISTIE: Martha, can I just say? It will be generational. I think what's going on in New York is less about ideology than it is generational. BRAZILE: Yeah. CHRISTIE: In the Democratic primary, you ran, no disrespect to me, a lot of old white guys in the primary against Zohran Mamdani. He stood out in the way he communicated and how he appealed, less about his message I think than about that generational change. And I think Democrats need to look at that. RADDATZ: And Molly, I want to also talk about this shutdown and what effect that has. Nothing's going to happen until the government opens up again. And you heard everybody this morning, Senator Kaine and Duffy -- Secretary Duffy talk about this. Where is it? Senator Kaine mentioned kind of that there might be some progress. BALL: Well, the progress is all, as you said to Senator Kaine, it's all among the rank and file. The leaders still are not talking to each other. And nothing, as you know, happens in Congress until the leaders talk to one another. I do hear from my sources on Capitol Hill that they think there's a possibility for a breakthrough after the election on Tuesday. That that might be the impetus for people to try to come together in some way. But this has been the strangest shutdown because there is just no urgency there. It's gone on for so long. It's starting to affect people. We see in the polling, Americans are not happy with it. They don't like shutdowns. But it just has not been the sort of consuming story that would light a fire under people. And even in this new polling that we have, we see that the numbers haven't really budged. People blame the Republicans slightly more, but that's not changing. There's no momentum for one side or the other. And so, I just think you have two sides that are so dug in and neither of them really sees any reason to come to the table and resolve it. BRAZILE: No reason to come -- (CROSSTALK) RADDATZ: Very quickly, Donna, I got 10 seconds. BRAZILE: I miss the gangs. The Gang of Six, the Gang of Eight. They normally would come in at the last minute and pull things together. We need those gangs to come back, those gangs of leaders. RADDATZ: And maybe they will, because I think next week will be pretty bad, as Secretary Duffy pointed out, maybe that will be the catalyst. Thanks to all of you. Up next, President Trump says the U.S. will resume nuclear weapons testing. Senator Ed Markey warns that could lead to a new nuclear arms race. I'll speak with him when we come back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you talking about literally resuming underground nuclear detonation tests? DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You'll find out very soon, but we're going to do some testing. Yes. Other countries do it. If they're going to do it, we're going to do it. UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But can -- you can't clarify whether we'll resume -- TRUMP: I'm not going to say yet. I'm going to know exactly what we're doing, where we're doing it, but other countries are doing it and if other countries do it, we do it. (END VIDEO CLIP) RADDATZ: President Trump on Friday responding to questions about his call for the U.S. to resume nuclear testing. I'm joined now by Senator Ed Markey. He's the founder of the National Nuclear Freeze Movement and has been working to end proliferation of nuclear weapons since the beginning of his career. And he has introduced legislation to stop renewed nuclear testing. It's good to see you this morning, Senator Markey. The president was quite clear midweek that he wants to resume nuclear testing and to keep up with those who are doing it. The U.S. hasn't had a test since '92. North Korea was the last to test a nuclear weapon in 2017. What do you think he's talking about, and what will happen? SEN. ED MARKEY (D-MA): Well, first, he's wrong. Other countries are not engaging in nuclear testing. The Russians, the Chinese, they have not tested since at least 1996, when the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was put into effect. And it would be a gift to China, it would be a gift to Russia. Chinese have only tested 45 times. We've tested more than a thousand times. So it would give them an ability to catch up to us with the sophistication of their nuclear weapons technology. What I think he's responding to is the announcement by Putin that they are testing missile delivery systems for nuclear bombs. That's a different subject altogether. And the reason that Russia, the reason that China is developing new missile delivery systems is that the United States pulled out of the anti-ballistic missile system. It is because Donald Trump has announced that he is going to deploy a golden dome over our country. Thousands of satellites with interceptors on them to knock down incoming Russian or Chinese missiles, with nuclear bombs on them. And that has led those countries to develop more and more sophisticated nuclear missiles to circumvent the boondoggle, which will be the golden dome, which our own experts say will not work. It will be a golden sieve, which will allow ultimately for enough nuclear weapons to penetrate it to destroy cities across our country and kill at least 100 million people. So Donald Trump and Trumpatomics is going to make our country less safe, it's going to make the world less dangerous, and the only way to avoid it is to go to a negotiating table, for Donald Trump to accept the invitation from Putin, to extend the New START Treaty which expires in 100 days, and to then put all of these other weapons systems, offensive and defensive, on the table for negotiations. And that's the only way we're going to make our country and the world safer. RADDATZ: And Senator Markey, on the show last week, we talked about a new film called "A House of Dynamite" by Director Kathryn Bigelow, depicts what might happen if a nuclear missile came to the U.S. was launched toward the U.S. And there's a line in the movie that says, it's a coin toss, whether we could intercept it. The Pentagon apparently has some problems with that, saying we've been a hundred percent successful in a memo that was leaked to Bloomberg. Your response to that quickly, if you can. MARKEY: That's inaccurate. Our own missile defense system, our own missile defense agency says that we're only effective 50 percent of the time and that's in ideal conditions. That's not with decoys, that's not with other means that would try to misdirect our interceptors from knocking down incoming missiles with nuclear warheads on them. So that's completely erroneous. What the movie says -- what the movie "House of Dynamite" is giving us as a Cassandra-like warning is that defense systems do not work against offensive weapons with nuclear warheads on those delivery systems. And the only way to avoid that catastrophic moment, that Armageddon-like moment is to sit down at the negotiating table in order to get agreements with other countries on a verifiable basis to make sure that we do not make the world more dangerous. That's what Donald Trump's Golden Dome is doing. That's what the United States' pulling out of the ABM Treaty has done. RADDATZ: Senator, I'm going to have to stop you there, but we appreciate your time this morning. Thank you. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) RADDATZ: And thanks for sharing part of your Sunday with us. And be sure to tune in for full election coverage Tuesday night, streaming on "ABC News Live." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
