Show: On The Town Station: KNCO File: 11:2.mp3 Air date: 2026-11-02 Source: OpenAI whisper-1 · shrunk from 25.5 MB to 5.1 MB --- transcript --- It's the weekend and the political spotlight is big and bright. We start here. Deep in the heart of Texas, President Trump makes a last ditch appeal. Did he make America great? No, he made it worse. But the voters that once propelled him to victory might not be riding with him here. Reports that Democrats helped a chaos agent in Alaska infuriate Republicans. Dan J. Sullivan, a candidate with almost the exact same name as the incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan. Meanwhile, a right-wing provocateur has been arrested for tampering with a polling place in Minnesota. And Spanish officials say this high-speed rail crash is inexplicable. But that doesn't explain why it's not the only one. The latest in a deadly trend. From ABC News, this is Start Here Weekend. I'm Brad Milkey. President Trump has visited a lot of states ahead of next Tuesday's midterm elections. But you can tell he's placed a special attention on Texas. It's an incredible state, which I won all three times with more votes than any candidate in history, all three times. His rally in Lubbock was his third visit to the Lone Star State in the last month. And while he's certainly trying to help Attorney General Ken Paxton get over the line in the Senate race against Democrat James Tallarico. We are the underdogs. It's David versus Goliath. It's the powers that be versus the powers that ought to be. There are lots of races that seem very much in flux here. In lopsided states, incumbent governors usually would have an advantage. Well, Republican Greg Abbott is in a dogfight against Democrat Gina Hinojosa. And in House race after House race, candidates who might have thought that they were Texas toast are now dusting off their good boots for election night. Let's take you there right now. ABC's Capitol Hill correspondent Jay O'Brien is on the ground in Fort Worth, Texas. Jay, what is the vibe there? Because just looking by the early vote, at least, it's just huge numbers. You're exactly right. Upwards of 4.5 million Texans have already voted early. That's upwards of 20 percent of registered voters in the state. It's one of several states that's broken early vote records in these midterms. And an analysis by ABC has shown that this is one of the states where you can see the early vote giving Democrats an edge. Look, it's still early, but that is a trend that Democrats like at the polls. I can tell you just in terms of like registered Democrats are voting early. So then you assume they'll vote Democrat here. That's the idea. Exactly right. Because remember, midterms are a turnout game. You do not see the same kind of turnout in the midterm that you do in a general election. And so it's about both trying to convince those swingish voters that I talked about, but largely it's about getting your reliable voters out to the polls. And Democrats feel that they are doing that. And they also feel that they have the issue profile on their side. We had to deal with tariffs and that put a big blow in our system. I live in this economy and it is survival mode for me. Really? Every day. There are so many voters that we've talked to across the country, but in Texas, too, who say the economy is their top issue and they are just not feeling the economic benefits that the president says that he's brought. Well, and then zooming in specifically on perhaps the biggest race, they're really one of the biggest races in the country. Talk about James Tallarico against Ken Paxson. Where does that stand? Tallarico would not have been given a chance, you know, this time six months ago. Yeah, look, this is one of those Senate races, Brad, as you know, that could decide control of that chamber. And it's in a red state that Republicans knew they were going to have to play defense in, but probably not to this degree. If he's nominated, there's a high risk that Paxton would lose the Senate seat. John Cornyn spent around 100 million trying to buy this seat. Think back to the primary, right? It's John Cornyn, the incumbent Republican senator up against Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has had a tumultuous political career. He's had a very close relationship with President Trump. So he said something to me as we were arriving in Lubbock. He said, you know, I don't usually do two rallies for anybody. They said, I must really like you. And there were a number of Republicans who were concerned about Ken Paxton's viability as a statewide candidate. Well, ultimately, after dragging his feet, the president throws his arm around. Ken Paxton says he's got his endorsement, and that propels him to victory in the primary. And there were a number of Republicans who broke with the president after that and said that they like the president, but they just cannot support Ken Paxton. That's the situation Ken Paxton is in now. This race is tight between him and James Tallarico, who's tried to make inroads with what you'd call typically Trump voters, some in the MAGA base, but certainly he's tried to make outreach to those moderate Republicans who do not like Ken Paxton. Whether you're a little more conservative, a little more progressive, whether you're rural, suburban, urban, whether you're black, white, brown, we're all getting screwed by this broken system, by the people at the top. And it's proved successful because this race is so close. Also, there's been tons of money dumped into this race, including from Elon Musk, who's got a big footprint in Texas and has obviously a vested interest in the outcome politically of what happens in this state. But here's the thing, Jay. I feel like I'm always hearing how close Texas is to turning purple. Like for a decade, people have been describing more Latinos live in Texas, which that theoretically should make it easier for Democrats. Well, guess what? In 2024, a lot of Latinos swung toward President Trump and Republicans. So what, if anything, is changing? Look, first and foremost, you're exactly right. All of these Texas flipping blue narratives, you should always take them with a grain of salt. Take it from someone who was a reporter who covered the Beto O'Rourke campaign, if anyone can remember that, against Ted Cruz. So yes, always take it with a grain of salt. But there is a phenomenon here that is different than years past. Remember, President Trump ran on this platform of mass deportation. And when he got into office, he started those mass deportations across the country. And they particularly hit Hispanic communities hard. And one of the things we've heard from some Hispanics, some who identify themselves as conservative, some who identify themselves as swing voters, is that they are concerned about what they've seen out of the president's immigration policy. You were wearing hats and make America great. Did he make America great? No, he made it worse. Our Martha Raddatz was along the border in the Rio Grande Valley with the president campaigned and she talked to some of them. What he told us he was going for the criminals, for those that truly do not deserve to be in our country. But the way he's doing it now, breaking up families, breaking up communities, people have died. He's heartless. And we've also seen that when you go down to the granular level of congressional districts. If you go along the Texas-Mexico border, there are a number of typically Republican districts where you've got Republicans who have tried to kind of walk this balance of saying they support the president so it's not alienate his base, but also saying that they do have some concerns about the tactics of ICE and the scope of these deportations. And we've seen that in communities across the country. Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far. Think about Congresswoman Maria Salazar in Florida, who put out that ad, if you'll recall, saying that the president had essentially gone too far with his immigration policy and had lost the trust of some Latino voters. All right, we're up against a break right now, but when we come back, we'll find how much of that trust is impacting the polls. It's after the break. Hello, Nevada County. I'm Heidi Wingo, Executive Director of Foothills Compassionate Care. For the last 46 years, Hospice of the Foothills has been a trusted provider of compassionate end-of-life care. As our community has grown and their needs have evolved, we too have grown to include other services. Foothills Compassionate Care is now the umbrella under which Hospice of the Foothills, Sierra Community Palliative Care, Foothills Gift and Thrift, and our other programs reside. While the heart of our care is still hospice, we offer palliative care, bereavement support, caregiver resources, community education, and other services that guide you during life's most challenging chapters. As this region's only non-profit hospice provider, we are very proud to place our community at the heart of all we do. We couldn't be more grateful to have the support of donors, volunteers, staff, and community partners as we continue to bring high-quality care to western Nevada County. Call us at 530-272-5739 or visit foothills-cares.org to learn how we can be there to help you live your best life every step of the way. Welcome back to Start Here Weekend from ABC News. I'm Brad Milkey. Before the break, we'll be talking with ABC's Jay O'Brien about the race in Texas, the temperature of Latino voters right now compared to 2024. We heard from Texas voters and pushback from some Republicans on these immigration policies, but will that actually have an impact on Republicans at the polls in the midterms? What are we seeing? That is showing up in some of the voting data that we've seen. The question is, is it a big enough trend to flip Texas or to flip some of those districts I was talking about along the border come Election Day? And one more thing to keep an eye on, Brad, keep an eye on the governor's race. Greg Abbott has a stronger-than-expected challenge from Gina Hinojosa you were just talking about, and one of the central issues that's emerged in that race, curiously enough, is not immigration, it's not the economy, it's data centers and the concerns from rural Texans about data centers being built in their communities. Jay O'Brien in Texas right now. Thank you. Thank you, Brad. There are lots of ways to influence an election. One of the simplest, campaigning. We are seeing a lot of that this week. Michigan, you and I have proved before it's hard to stop change. So let's go out and do what we do best, and that's win on November 3rd. We gotta win. President Trump won Florida by double digits two years ago. Well, now a New York Times Siena poll shows Republican Ashley Moody leading Democrat Angie Nixon by just six points. You can also influence election by governing. That's why it's easier to win as an incumbent, and that is why Darlene Graham had a huge boost by taking over her late brother, Lindsey Graham, Senate seat in South Carolina. But now in this deep red state. Darlene Graham has repeatedly said we have to have data centers. She finds herself in a dead heat with Democrat Annie Andrews. But there are also other ways to influence elections. Some wondered if Wednesday's decision to keep interest rates where they were, keeping stocks from plunging, was kind of Fed Chairman Kevin Wars throwing Republican candidates a bone for the next week. And then there are even less reputable ways. Some refer to them as the political dark arts. Well, this week, each party accused the other of working in the shadows to subvert the other. And in one of these cases, there were even arrests. I want to bring in two reporters who've been following these stories closely. Lucian Brueggemann is our senior investigative producer. Emily Chang is one of our campaign embeds studying each of these races up close. Emily, you specifically have been covering Alaska for months now. There were four people there running for Senate. There's Mary Peltola, Gerald Hikes, Dan Sullivan, and Dan Sullivan. There's two guys named Dan Sullivan. So I get why it would be confusing. But now Democrats are being accused of almost helping create the confusion. That's right, Brad. So there are two Dan Sullivans on the four-way ballot for the Alaska Senate race. So before the primary election, Republicans sounded the alarm on this other Republican named Dan J. Sullivan, a candidate with almost the exact same name as the incumbent senator, Dan S. Sullivan. Republicans claimed that the lesser known Sullivan was this Democratic plant that intended to siphon votes away from the incumbent and confuse voters. But he and the Democratic candidate's campaign, Mary Peltola, as you mentioned, they have claimed no involvement. I feel like this is yet another diversion from the issue that Alaskans want to talk about, which is affordability. Then a bunch of legal action took place. Republicans, they attempted to get the newcomer Sullivan off the ballot, citing voter confusion. But the Alaska Supreme Court eventually sided with the new Dan Sullivan, Dan J. Sullivan, to keep him on the ballot. Looking historically, Senator Lisa Murkowski, the Republican senator for Alaska who's currently serving right now, she was elected in 2010 as a write-in candidate. So she wasn't even listed on the ballot, and she won a statewide election. And the current ballot has both Dan Sullivans listed, but the incumbent is listed with the term incumbent as well as Republican, while the other Dan Sullivan does not have those categories listed. And the New York Times reported that top aides to Peltola instructed a staffer in the summer of 2025 to find as many people in the state of Alaska named Dan Sullivan in order to compete with the incumbent. Wait, OK, so that is exactly what Republicans had been warning was happening. They were like on rooftops being like, this is the Democrats, you guys, clearly trying to stoke confusion. Am I getting this right? The New York Times says that's almost exactly what happened. The Democrats were involved. Yeah, so according to the Times, the aides on Peltola's campaign had reviewed voting records for the Dan Sullivans in the state and found this retired teacher named Dan J. Sullivan. Allegedly, the effort included lawyers for Peltola's campaign and the Democratic National Senatorial Committee. The Times said the effort was to find a spoiler candidate that was internally referred to as the ballot composition project, according to the New York Times. However, Mary Peltola's campaign told ABC that the campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign and the DSCC also claims to have had no involvement. Wow. OK, so then that's a huge story. Again, this is the New York Times reporting this. ABC News has not independently verified this, but shady, perhaps Republicans certainly say it is. But let's turn to Lucian Brueggemann, because, Luke, there was this incident in Minnesota where people were charged criminally with tampering with the vote there. What do we know about that? Yeah, Brett, and in contrast, I mean, none of this happened behind the scenes. This is election hijinks that nobody is trying to hide. Prosecutors in Minnesota filed these felony charges against James O'Keefe. You might recognize the name. He's a famous or maybe infamous right wing provocateur. He specializes in these undercover videos. Prosecutors in Minneapolis are accusing him and Cam Higby, another political content creator, of violating state law. Brett, they showed up at a polling place in August wearing burqas and using fake accents. Mr. O'Keefe and Mr. Higby entered polling places in multiple instances, identified themselves using names of registered voters in those precincts without those voters' knowledge or permission. They filmed everything. They're promoting it on social media. They said it was part of a video investigation to expose a state law that allows registered voters to vouch for the identity of other voters. And county prosecutors said it was a crime. Well, it makes me wonder, Luke, they're being charged by state prosecutors, right? So does it create a tension with federal prosecutors or the Trump DOJ? Because the Trump White House has been insistent that there is voter fraud happening. And that seems to be what James O'Keefe claimed he was trying to uncover somehow. In a roundabout way, yeah, Brad. You know, to be clear, there's no evidence that there's widespread voter fraud in the United States. And Minnesota election officials were very quick to say that their elections are safe, they're secure. But yeah, this all comes sort of as the Trump administration seems increasingly fixated on voter fraud, specifically this concept that non-citizens are voting en masse. To be clear, again, there's very scant evidence that widespread non-citizen voting exists in the U.S., certainly not enough to tilt the scales in an election. But that hasn't stopped the Trump administration from suing states for access to sensitive voter information, threatening to throw election workers in jail, generally seeking to impose themselves on state-run elections in really, really unprecedented ways. Right, in fact, voting experts who have said all the time that there is not widespread voter fraud are pointing to this now being like, yeah, the people who do try this stuff do get caught since they don't try very often. Which all brings me back, Emily, to the question of Minnesota, people are being charged with crimes, Alaska people aren't being charged with crimes. Is that the case though? Could the DOJ get involved in what the New York Times is claiming happened there? So the DOJ actually is already involved. They have an active criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding Dan J. Sullivan's candidacy dating back several months. And last week, the Trump administration preemptively filed this lawsuit to block the certification of the Alaska Senate race if the incumbent Dan Sullivan loses the race and they are citing name confusion among the candidates. But I feel that it's interference. I feel very much that it's interference. But as a reminder, Dan J. Sullivan, the lesser known Sullivan, he's been on the ballot since before the primary election. And the Alaska courts already looked at this case and they determined that, you know, nothing was illegal about his candidacy, even if the effort was not in good faith, as the president and Republicans are alleging. But Attorney General Todd Blanche, he teased potentially more action from the DOJ in the wake of this New York Times article. So only time will tell. Really wild stuff here. All right, Emily Chang, Luke Brueggemann, thank you both so much. You got it. Thanks, Brad. If you've ever ridden the New York City subway before, you know, they have these emergency brakes that any passenger can throw at any time in case of an emergency, like if someone's coat is caught in the door as the train starts leaving the station. One time I was on a train where that brake was pulled and several people fell over. It was really dangerous. And this train was going five miles an hour. Well, Wednesday in Spain, a high speed train was traveling between Madrid and Seville, going more than a hundred miles an hour. More than 120 miles per hour when it slammed into another train sitting on the tracks. It might as well have been a brick wall. In total, 500 people were on board. Dozens are now dead. And this wasn't even the only deadly incident on these rails recently. So let's take you to the city of Toledo right now. ABC's foreign correspondent, Marcus Moore, is on the scene. Marcus, can you just break down what happened here? Well, Brad, first, it is just, it is really just a horrendous scene. We are here about two hours south of Madrid. And this is where crews have been working to lift the debris from these crashed trains and try to find any victims who might still be trapped inside. We know that on Wednesday morning, the trains collided just before nine o'clock in the morning. We heard from officials about the death toll and it was expected to rise. And we've also heard from witnesses, people who were on board these trains, and really just described how, in a moment, they found themselves in the midst of a catastrophe. Suddenly, everything started falling apart. Bad. We fell down. People talked about how they heard the sound of the crash. Obviously, people felt it as well. Some people were fine and others were really bad. Really, really bad. And we had them in front of us and you could see them dying and you could do nothing. Wow. All right. We are coming up on another break right here, but when we come back, we'll get more details on this deadly collision. Everest has been summited over 13,000 times, but only five people have ever climbed the direct north face and no one in the world has ever skied it. Prime Cinema presents movies on the big screen as they were meant to be seen at Del Oro and Sutton Cinemas, showing through November 5th at your Prime Cinemas at the Del Oro, Everest, the other side, rated PG-13, You Can See Everything, rated R, and Clayface, also rated R. Now, let's check on the Sutton. Wildwood, rated PG-13, Sense and Sensibility, rated PG, and Hocus Pocus, also rated PG, playing through November 5th at your local theaters. Now you know what's showing. Be sure to enjoy a movie on the big screen at Nevada County's two Prime Cinema theaters, the Sutton and the Del Oro. Zill, Verve, any action to show love to your mind on good, bad, or whatever days. How do you zill? I zill by baking my grandma's famous carrot cake. The secret is pineapple. I zill by touching grass. Literally, my sister and I lay in the backyard and count clouds. Lately, I've been zilling by listening to albums all the way through. I mean, the artist chose that order for a reason. How about you? Find what works for you at zill.org. Brought to you by the Arthur M. Blank family. zill.org --- end of transcript ---