'This Week' Transcript 11-1-26: Vote 2026, a Special Edition of “This Week with George Stephanopoulos”

A rush transcript of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" airing on Sunday, November 1, 2026 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.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC “THIS WEEK” ANCHOR: “THIS WEEK” with George Stephanopoulos starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Final countdown.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We’re going to elect America First Republicans up and down the line.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We need to start bringing some accountability to this administration.

STEPHANOPOULOS: With two days to go, the Senate up for grabs.

SHERROD BROWN, (D) OHIO SENATE NOMINEE: These corporations, these billionaires may try to buy the election.

ASHLEY HINSON, (R) IOWA SENATE NOMINEE: This is about common sense versus crazy.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Could Texas turn blue?

JAMES TALARICO, (D) TEXAS SENATE NOMINEE: We are running against the embodiment of this corrupt system.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Martha Raddatz is there.

MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC “THIS WEEK” CO-ANCHOR: Did he make America great?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, he made it worse.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Will Michigan turn red?

MIKE ROGERS, (R) MICHIGAN SENATE NOMINEE: You have Democrats coming out almost on a daily basis now saying I can’t vote for Abdul El-Sayed.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Jon Karl is there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people in this city are angry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, your Jewish community is struggling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There’s a lot of hate being spewed.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And the surprising battlegrounds at the eleventh hour.

ANNIE ANDREWS, (D), SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE NOMINEE: I’m here because I deeply care about the people of South Carolina.

SEN. DARLINE GRAHAM, (R-SC) SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE NOMINEE: South Carolinians face a crystal clear choice between two very different candidates.

STEPHANOPOULOS: This morning, more than 50 million Americans have already voted. Our team is ready to break down the key races, the key issues and what to watch for as the results come in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: From ABC News, this is a special edition of “THIS WEEK VOTE 2026.” Here now, George Stephanopoulos.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Good morning and welcome to “THIS WEEK.”

Two days from the final votes in two years for the most consequential comeback in the history of American politics. Is the country poised for a backlash? With President Trump’s approval rating at an all-time low and Election Day gas prices approaching all-time highs, the Democrats appear to be on track for control of the House and the GOP Senate majority, which seemed rock solid at the start of this year, is now in play with seats in red states like Texas, North Carolina, even Kansas at risk.

But Democratic divisions, Republican money and razor-edge polling margins mean nothing is certain on this final weekend. President Trump’s campaign to cast doubt on the final outcome, backed by his Justice Department’s unprecedented moves to pressure election officials and litigate the counts, means that control of Congress may not be determined for days or even weeks.

And two days out, we are left with a question we never used to ask in American politics, will the losers accept the results?

This morning, our team of correspondents is fanned out across the country. We are in key swing states hearing from voters highlighting the issues driving the votes. And our roundtable is standing by with insights and analysis.

Senior political correspondent Rachel Scott starts us off with where things stand right now.

And, Rachel, tens of millions of Americans have already voted.

RACHEL SCOTT, ABC NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, George. Two days to go and nearly 54 million Americans have already voted early in this midterm election. That number outpacing where we were for the midterm election just four years ago. And the unexpected battleground of Texas, Democrats starting to see some encouraging signs. More Democrats have turned out to vote this year than Republicans. And that number for Democrats also outpacing where they were four years ago.

But in a purple state like Michigan, a state where Democrats really have to have huge voter turnout here, you’ll see here they’re really not at the number that they were just four years ago for the 2022 midterm elections. They’re just a little bit below that. And Republicans averaging about the same, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And, Rachel, the Senate is going to be determined by a series of states which are really toss-ups right now.

SCOTT: They are. And this is going to be a challenge for Democrats. And I’m going to tell you why. Thirty-five seats up for grabs. Here in yellow, we have highlighted the toss-ups. We’ve also been really tracking the latest polls. And so, right now, as it stands, two days going in, Democrats likely to keep that seat there in Georgia. They’re likely to flip this seat in North Carolina. We know they’re making a play here for Maine. This is a state that Vice President Kamala Harris won. But the Republican incumbent, Susan Collins, really putting up a tough fight there. Even if they net these two seats right here, North Carolina and Maine, they still have to flip at least two seats that President Trump won by double digits. The question is, can they do it in a state like Kansas and a state like Texas? We also know they’re making a play for South Carolina and Mississippi as well.

Now, I said, that’s going to be a challenge. And here is why. So, we went and looked at all the states that President Trump won by double digits that are at play in this midterm election. You see it here, the margins. And then we looked at the last time they sent a Democrat to the Senate. So, in Ohio, President Trump won by 11 points. 2018 was the last time they sent a Democrat to the Senate. In Kansas, it’s been nearly a century. And so, yes, on one hand this is a good sign for Democrats that these races and these red states are so close, but they’re also going to have to defy some political odds here, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And the Democrats would also, of course, have to also hold on to Michigan, which they have right now.

Let’s go to the House right now. The question there is really the margin for the Democrats.

SCOTT: It really is because Democrats are only going to have to flip three seats in order to take control of the House. We did a little bit of homework for you, and we went back in history to see how past presidents have fared during their midterm election year. You’re going to see that here on the left.

I want you to pay attention to the number here in the middle. This is the approval rating for all of those presidents. And then how many seats they lost in the House.

One thing you’re going to notice, President Trump’s approval rating at 33 percent, that record low, much lower than his predecessors.

Come on down with me to 2006. President Bush, at the time, 40 percent approval rating, lost 30 seats in the House. He called that a thumping. 2010, you may remember Barack Obama, 50 percent approval rating, lost a whopping 63 seats in the House. Called that a shellacking. And then take a look at 2018. President Trump’s approval rating much higher than it is now, 40 percent back then, he lost 40 seats over in the House. That triggered that blue wave. Of course, the question mark here is only going to be answered on election night.

But here’s what I can tell you. We’ve been closely following all the House races all across the country. And since Labor Day, about 65 races have shifted towards Democrats. And in the final weeks of this campaign, and the key battleground states, at least 17 races have moved towards Democrats just in the final days of this campaign. Again, they only got a net three, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: OK, Rachel, thanks very much.

Let’s go to Mary Bruce for the view from the White House right now.

And, Mary, the president’s going to make closing arguments in Kansas and Iowa today. That ends a remarkable string of rallies in red states.

MARY BRUCE, ABC NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, George, good morning.

By the end of the day, the president will have done 28 rallies just this month. He is, again, as you mentioned, in Iowa and Kansas today. And the president insists these rallies are having a big impact. The White House is dismissing much of the polling. But the reality is, he would not be spending so much time in these deep red states if he wasn’t worried.

And the president is putting himself front and center in these races. He is hoping his dominant presence in the party will help drive turnout and push Republicans in these competitive races over the finish line.

But behind the scenes, there is a sense of unease here at the White House. The president has been short-tempered, and he does have a lot at stake beyond just the control of Congress. The president wants to show that he still has command over his party, command over his base, and, of course, fend off enhanced investigations and oversight, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And, Mary, let’s talk about the president’s rhetoric at these rallies. He’s always been pretty freewheeling. But what we’ve seen this time around is more crude, more rambling and he’s had this fixation on men’s bodies.

BRUCE: Yes, George, it really has been something to watch. The president, in these speeches, they are quite lengthy and rambling. They usually go more than an hour, about 90 minutes. He goes off on these tangents. In fact, he -- more than once he has told the same story twice within the same speech. He always speaks at length about his White House construction projects. And you’re right, he has this fixation on bodies over and over again.

He has talked about Ohio Republican Jon Husted’s physique, and he’s also ramping up his personal Islamophobic attacks against other candidates and lawmakers. And it’s sparking another round of questions about the 80-year-old’s fitness, a point which the president is quite sensitive about. He often talks about his high IQ in these remarks.

But, George, all of this is time that the president is spending not talking about the issues that are top of mind for voters, the economy, the rising cost of living, the war with Iran. And it is yet another reason we will be watching closely on Tuesday to see just what impact these rallies have really had, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Mary Bruce, thanks.

Now to Texas, one of the surprise Senate battlegrounds. It’s already the most expensive non-presidential race on record. No state has gotten more visits from Trump. State officials redrew the congressional maps to give Republicans an edge, but high prices and a backlash against the president’s immigration tactics is fueling anger among Latino voters, which could shift the state towards Democrats for the first time in decades.

Martha Raddatz was on the scene this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC “THIS WEEK” CO-ANCHOR (voice over): It is here in ruby red Texas, which hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate in 38 years, where there are signs that this time around Democrats’ hopes could be realized.

JAMES TALARICO, (D) TEXAS SENATE NOMINEE: We are the underdogs. It's David versus Goliath. It’s the powers that be versus the powers that ought to be.

RADDATZ (voice over): Thirty-seven-year-old Democratic nominee, state representative, James Talarico is locked in a tight race with Texas Attorney General, Republican, Ken Paxton.

KEN PAXTON, (R) TEXAS SENATE NOMINEE: Mr. President, I am so grateful to have you here in Texas.

RADDATZ (voice over): President Trump won Texas by nearly 14 points in 2024, but he’s now playing defense.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On November 3rd we’ve got to win.

RADDATZ (voice over): Early vote in the Lone Star State surging. More than seven million people cast their ballots before it ended Friday.

RADDATZ: But it is here in the Rio Grande Valley, just north of the Mexican border, where

Hispanics caused a political earthquake in 2024. For the first time in modern history, Hispanics by majority voted Republican.

RADDATZ (voice-over):  McAllen, like much of the Rio Grande Valley, is more than 90 percent Hispanic. Mayor Javier Villalobos, a Republican, acknowledges the Trump administration's deportation tactics in particular have angered his constituents.

MAYOR JAVIER VILLALOBOS, (R) MCALLEN, TEXAS:  The president, when he secured the border, everybody was happy about it. When he started deporting bad people with the worst of the worst, everybody was happy about it. But when we start affecting our economy by getting people that are good and productive and deporting them, sometimes without opportunity, that's what's a little more difficult. And that's something that the Hispanic community is taking a look at.

RADDATZ:  And they're taking a look at it, and are Republicans going to have a rougher time this time, you think?

VILLALOBOS:  I don't think we'll go back to the way it was last presidential, but I don't think -- I think this area is still going to be competitive.

RADDATZ (voice-over):  The immigration crackdown has had major economic impacts here as well.

Ronnie Cavazos chairs the South Texas Builders Association and runs his own construction firm just north of McAllen. He says ICE raids have had a devastating impact on his bottom line.

RONNIE CAVAZOS, SOUTH TEXAS BUILDERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT:  It's been a one, two, three uppercut type of punch, right, ever since the administration came in. We had to deal with tariffs, and that put a big blow in our system or in the industry. And then right after that, we had ICE raids that were, you know, officials were actually going on site and tapping guys on the shoulder while pouring concrete and picking them up.

And then if they were still legal, they'd bring them back or let them go. If not, they'd deport them. And I think we all know that the construction industry is immigrant heavy.

RADDATZ:  Could you replace these workers?

CAVAZOS:  No. We need people to actually do the work. We need manual labor. We need labor hands. And there is nobody prepared to do that.

RADDATZ:  Cavazos, who doesn't identify with either party, says he's backing Democrats this cycle and thinks members of his community will follow suit.

CAVAZOS:  I think there's going to be a big backlash on the Trump administration. The way they handled this -- this issue, the immigration issue, was barbaric at best.

RADDATZ (voice-over):  Jessica Cantu Vuittonet runs a coffee shop in San Benito. She enthusiastically voted for Trump in 2024, her first time voting. She is now profoundly regretful.

RADDATZ:  You were wearing hats and “Make America Great”. Did he make America great?

JESSICA CANTU VUITTONET, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER:  No, he made it worse.

RADDATZ:  Why?

VUITTONET:  He literally made it worse because he's heartless, and he used a lot of us people of faith to vote for him. I didn't know any better.

RADDATZ (voice-over):  Vuittonet says she at first supported Trump's immigration crackdown, but then her own brother was deported.

VUITTONET:  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. If I could have him in front of me, I would tell him straight to his face, I'm not scared of him.

I feel used. I feel betrayed. He doesn't have any compassion for what he's doing.

RADDATZ (voice-over):  She is so disillusioned she says she's not going to vote at all this cycle.

VUITTONET:  These are tears not of sadness. These are tears of anger, of the betrayal.

RADDATZ (voice-over):  The Republicans and President Trump still have major support in the state, but if Latino voters like Jessica Vuittonet stay home or like Ronnie Cavazos turn to the Democrats, the Lone Star State's red wall may come tumbling down.

For “This Week”, Martha Raddatz, ABC News, in the Rio Grande Valley.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANOPOULOS:  Thanks to Martha for that. And while Democrats are cautiously optimistic on Texas, Republicans are hoping they can flip a Senate seat in Michigan.

Democrat Abdul Al-Sayed is starting to unify his party after a bitter primary, but Republican Mike Rogers faces the challenge of distancing himself from President Trump.

Jonathan Karl was there “This Week”.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN KARL, ABC “THIS WEEK” CO-ANCHOR (voice-over):  The showdown between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan may be the only Senate race where Democrats are playing defense, trying to save one of their own seats.

ABDUL EL-SAYED, (D) MICHIGAN SENATE NOMINEE:  It’s getting hot here, no? Are we fired up? We’re fired up.

MIKE ROGERS, (R) MICHIGAN SENATE NOMINEE:  We have a state to save. Let's get busy, Michigan!

KARL (voice-over):  Rogers is trying to put some distance between himself and Trump, especially on Iran.

ROGERS:  My argument is, and I made this to the administration, time to wrap this up.

KARL (voice-over):  And when Trump launched his latest trade war with Canada, Rogers ran an ad where he talked up Canadian trade and Canadian beer.

ROGERS:  Drinking a Labatt and watching the Red Wings, man, it just doesn't get any more Michigan than that.

KARL:  The president says this is an A-plus, plus, plus, plus, plus economy. Is that the way you see it here in Michigan?

ROGERS:  We have some improvement to do. You know, that’s why you have different teachers with different grades.

KARL:  Yeah. So, what’s your grade?

ROGERS:  So there are some fundamentals -- well, I don’t -- I’m not going to do the grade --

grade thing.

KARL (voice over): While the economy is the dominant issue here, Michigan’s Senate race could hinge on three key groups, black voters, Jewish voters and Arab Americans.

Trump and other Republicans have repeatedly made false and unfounded attacks against El-Sayed, who would be the first Muslim ever to serve in the U.S. Senate, going so far as to call him a jihadist and a terrorist.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you’re black or if you’re Jewish, and if you vote for Abdul, you’re crazy.

KARL (voice over): I asked Rogers, who has also accused El-Sayed of extremist ties, if the president’s attacks go too far.

ROGERS: I have never called him any of those things. And in a campaign, you should see the things that they’re talking about us. And so --

KARL: So, you think that does go too far?

ROGERS: Well, listen, I’ve never used it. And this campaign is about how I purport myself to the Michigan voters. I’m not saying those words.

KARL (voice over): Hassan Nehme is a Muslim and a Republican state house candidate who worked hard to get Arab Americans and Muslim voters to vote for Trump in 2024. The effort paid off. Trump actually beat Kamala Harris in Dearborn, Michigan, home to one of the largest Arab American communities in the U.S. Hassan is still a Republican, but he says he feels betrayed. Like the attacks on El-Sayed are attacks on all Muslims.

HASSAN NEHME, (R) STATE REPRESENTATIVE CANDIDATE: Before Trump, you know, flipped on his promises to our community. I was working very closely with the campaign. I mean, I went to the RNC. I was on the RNC national convention floor as a Muslim, you know? And now you look at it, and I'm being told, get out of this country. I’m a veteran as well, and I’m being told, get out of this country. You don’t belong here. No foreigners.

KARL (voice over): He says the Republicans are trying to use scare tactics to motivate voters, and it will ultimately backfire.

NEHME: Yes, you’re going to get out some of the crazy extremists to vote, but you’re closing the door on a lot of people, and it’s turning a lot of people off because our nation is found on diversity. It’s found on the freedom of religion.

KARL (voice over): But El-Sayed has struggled to win over Jewish voters. His opponent in the Democratic primary, Haley Stevens, has criticized him for refusing to condemn an ad by an outside group.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to set that $7 aside for killing Palestinians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?

KARL (voice over): It blames high prices on groceries on U.S. support for Israel. Late Saturday, El-Sayed said he does not agree with the contents of the ad.

The situation came to a head over the weekend when the first planned joint campaign appearance with El-Sayed and Stevens was canceled.

We spoke with Rabbi Asher Lopatin in Ann Arbor about a community that has traditionally voted Democrat.

RABBI ASHER LOPATIN, MICHIGAN VOTER: Jewish community is struggling because they have a lot of concerns about Abdul El-Sayed.

KARL: You don’t think he’s anti-Semitic or a jihadist or a terrorist or any of those things?

LOPATIN: I do not think he’s any of those things. I think many Jews have a lot of concerns about that. Some of his policies and some of his actions in the Senate might benefit jihadists and terrorists and anti-Semites.

KARL (voice over): The black community in Detroit is another big question for El-Sayed. In the primary, Reverend Wendell Anthony supported El-Sayed’s opponent. He acknowledges many black voters are still not sold on El-Sayed, but he says El-Sayed is much better for Detroit than his Republican opponent.

REV. WENDELL ANTHONY, NAACP DETROIT BRANCH PRESIDENT: This other guy is not going to help our community. Bottom line. You can be crazy if you want to. The reality is, go for those whose policies match what our communities need. And what he’s saying matches what our communities need.

KARL (voice over): Among some black voters here, there is still bitterness about 2024 when they believe El-Sayed and other Arab Americans didn’t do enough to support Kamala Harris.

Mary Waters, a Democratic member of the Detroit City Council, has pointedly not endorsed El-Sayed.

MARY WATERS, DETROIT CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: So some Detroiters have said, listen, if Kamala Harris walked down the street holding his hand, I still would not vote for him. Now, will she and PRESIDENT OBAMA be able to, you know, sway a few Detroiters? Sure. You know, and then --

KARL: But not you?

WATERS: I can think for myself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Thanks to Jon Karl for that.

Control of the Senate could come down to the state of Alaska. A state Trump won by more than ten points, where ranked-choice voting means the results may not be known for weeks.

Trevor Ault is in Anchorage.

Good morning, Trevor

TREVOR AULT, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, George.

Yes, this is a state that has suddenly had a lot of action. A state that President Trump won by 13 points in 2024. But we have this neck and neck Senate race between the Democrat, Mary Peltola, and the incumbent Republican, Dan Sullivan. And we also have this extra Dan Sullivan that’s also on the ballot. And that has been a lightning rod in recent days, as reporting by “The New York Times” allegedly claimed that the Peltola campaign recruited that second Dan Sullivan to get on the ballot to try to siphon some votes away from the incumbent.

Now not only did that prompt the Department of Justice to file another lawsuit a few days ago, but now federal officials say they have opened a criminal investigation to try to figure out if there's been any wrongdoing here.

Now, it isn't clear what law may have been broken in this criminal investigation. The process of ballot stacking has been happening for quite some time in Alaska by both parties, and pretty much all the legal experts that we spoke to said it would not be illegal to recruit another Dan Sullivan to join the ballot.

Now, Peltola's campaign has denied that they recruited the second Dan Sullivan. And we did finally hear from Mary Peltola. She says she has no idea if her campaign recruited this other Dan Sullivan. But she says if they did, she had no idea that it had happened. And she claims that she believes she can win entirely on her own merits, that she doesn't need any tricks, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Trevor, do you have a sense of how much this controversy is cutting in the final days?

AULT: I would say, based on the voters that I've talked to, George, it doesn't be -- it doesn't seem to really be swinging the needle a ton. I would definitely say the voters are not really buying the denials from the Peltola campaign. And they do think that the process, the practice of it is a little bit shady, but they're not really treating this as a massive scandal.

One of the main reasons is because this doesn't really seem new to them. The second Dan Sullivan has been on the ballot and they've known about it for months. He was on the ballot already in the primary. It was litigated in that instance.

I would also say that a lot of these voters that I'm talking to don't really think it's that clever of a scheme. They think it's pretty obvious which Dan Sullivan is the incumbent as it's labeled on the ballot.

Now I would vote for Republicans who are concerned about this practice, Alaska's ranked choice voting actually makes it even less likely that the second Dan Sullivan could serve as a spoiler, because in all likelihood, he'd get eliminated in an early round and we would eventually just go to that one-on-one, head-to-head Mary Peltola versus Dan Sullivan.

Maybe most importantly, though, George, it is possible that control of the Senate could come down to Alaska. And in that instance, Alaska's polls on election night don't close until 1:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and then they accept mail-in ballots going two weeks after election day. They historically take a very long time to call these races, including -- especially close ones like we're seeing here.

If the control of the Senate comes down to this, we could be in for an agonizing wait that could take weeks, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: No question about it. Trevor Ault, thanks very much.

Up next, our correspondents covering the issues that will drive voters on election day and what to expect in the days after. We're back in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's turn to our team of correspondents covering the issues driving the voters in the midterms. Economy, biggest one of all. I want to start with Elizabeth Schulze in Washington.

Cost of living overwhelming all other issues, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH SCHULZE, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: No question. Good morning, George. And the price of gas is on track to set an election day record. Gas right now averaging $4.14 a gallon. Diesel, the lifeblood of the economy, is at $6.30. And this has now

been the longest stretch on record with gas above $4 a gallon and it is dominating the midterms.

This new Reuters/Ipsos poll this week found 72 percent of Americans say the cost of living is on the wrong track. Three-quarters of voters, including half of Republicans, disapprove of President Trump's handling of inflation and prices.

And the reality is that the president's policies have fueled inflation. The spike in oil from the Iran War has driven up prices across the economy. Tariffs are contributing to higher costs for goods. And as a result of the president's signature tax and spending law, millions of lower-income Americans have lost access to federal benefits like food assistance and health care.

The overall big picture, George, is that consumer spending has been very resilient, but more people are dipping into their savings to cover these higher costs, and wages are no longer keeping up with prices, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS:  And, Elizabeth, so much of the economy right now is being driven by A.I. spending. It's also driving the stock market -- but a backlash developing on the campaign trail.

SCHULZE:  Yes, and this is really a litmus test from voters on how they view A.I., which has been propping up stocks and the broader economy. A new report out this week from the government showed that half of all of economic growth in the U.S. in the third quarter came from business investment fueled by spending on A.I.

We have seen tech companies pour hundreds of billions of dollars into building out data centers. So, there are new fears on Wall Street over how long it might take for that investment to pay off. And in town halls across the country, our team has seen this bipartisan, grassroots opposition to these data centers. Republicans have flipped on this issue, but President Trump has doubled down on them, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS:  Elizabeth Schulze, thanks.

I want to bring in our chief foreign correspondent, Ian Pannell.

And, Ian, the wars in Iran and Ukraine weighing on the president and Republicans as voters head to the polls.

IAN PANNELL, ABC NEWS CHIEF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT:  Yeah, that's right. Weighing on the president, but also weighing on voters.

I think not since 2004 presidential election have we seen this combination of war, national security, foreign policy playing such a pivotal role in the minds of voters. And the last few months has really seen the bringing together of so many seemingly disparate conflicts. We've had Iran and the Gulf, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine.

And as is so often the case, as Elizabeth noted, it's once again all about the economy and the cost of living. But it is these overseas conflicts that's driving so much of that. Iranian reprisals for Trump and Netanyahu's war, especially in the Strait of Hormuz, that sent this shockwave through the global economy. Ukraine's reciprocal targeting of Russia's oil and gas infrastructure and the Houthis targeting the Saudis are really adding fuel to this economic fire and that is giving U.S. voters sticker shock.

A 61 percent majority of Americans in the latest ABC/Post/Ipsos poll said that the Trump administration's decision to go to war against Iran was a mistake.

And I think looking ahead, there's probably little prospect of a peaceful or profitable resolution when Trump has realigned his rhetoric and policies closer to the Kremlin. And despite his latest prediction about the war there coming to an end in the not too distant future, I think there's little sign that Kyiv is going to stop hitting Putin in his pocket and that, of course, is going to impact gas and diesel prices.

But I think more worryingly, there are these increasing signs that Trump and Netanyahu may relaunch offensive operations against Iran. You've got Iran's supreme leader this weekend reportedly telling military commanders that any renewed attack on Iran, quote, must be met with an immediate and effective response without geographical limitations.

What does all this mean? It means that consumers probably shouldn't expect any short-term easing of economic pressures, which is likely to mean that the party president held responsible for all of this may face a backlash at the ballot box -- George.

STEPHANOPOULOS:  Tense week ahead. And, Ian, thanks very much.

The wars and the economy front center for the new Congress.

I want to bring -- bring in Jay O'Brien on what's the top of the agenda for the Democrats if they retake control -- Jay.

JAY O’BRIEN, ABC NEWS CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT:  George, House Democrats I talked to are already measuring the drapes. They are very confident in their chances. Senate Democrats are bullish, too.

I caught up on the campaign trail just days ago with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, poised to become the first Black speaker of the House in American history if return to power. He said his day one priorities are the cost of living -- in particular, health care and rising gas and grocery prices.

But Democrats and Jeffries are not just running on affordability, but accountability, too, and promising a string of investigations into President Trump and his administration if they return to power -- already preparing subpoenas in some cases, I'm told, in other investigative steps to zero in on President Trump, his administration, the president's family businesses and the president's family expanding cryptocurrency empire.

The White House is consistently denied any conflicts of interest.

Several House Democrats, though, over the last few months have openly talked about impeaching President Trump for a third time.

I asked Jeffries if that could backfire on his party. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES, (D) NEW YORK & HOUSE MINORITY LEADER:  We believe that it is important for Congress to function as a check and balance on an out-of-control Executive Branch.

O'BRIEN:  But would impeachment be a distraction from the work you're trying to do?

JEFFRIES:  Well, we haven't ruled anything in, and we haven't ruled anything out because we've made it clear that we are focused on addressing the affordability crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN:  I also caught up with House Speaker Mike Johnson, who told me he's confident his party will defy the polls and defy history. But I asked him, if Republicans lose, would that be a message from voters that they are dissatisfied with his party and were looking for a change?

Johnson told me he wouldn't view it as a message. He would view it as a fact that voters were misinformed. George?

STEPHANOPOULOS:  Jay O'Brien, thanks.

Chief Justice Correspondent, Pierre Thomas now. And, Pierre, the president has unleashed his Justice Department on these midterms in a way we've never seen before.

PIERRE THOMAS, ABC NEWS CHIEF JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT:  George, we're seeing DOJ involved in unprecedented ways down the stretch. Think about this. The day after the midterms, California election officials have been ordered to appear before a federal grand jury for testimony.

So rather than overseeing the counting of votes, those officials are facing the prospect of criminal prosecution. DOJ says if those officials knowingly allow non-citizens to vote, they will be prosecuted.

At issue, 20,000 ballots that DOJ has asked the state to set aside. California officials are skeptical and say flaws in the Trump administration's data could lead to U.S. citizens being blocked from voting. On Friday, a federal appeals court rejected DOJ's efforts to sequester those ballots, saying the government failed to meet its burden to show an emergency was necessary.

This, after a ruling by a federal judge rejecting DOJ's call to set aside those ballots, the judge said DOJ was making an unprecedented effort to intervene in elections that the Constitution states, states are responsible for it, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS:  And, Pierre, those are just a couple of examples on how the courts and state officials are really pushing back against these threats of prosecution.

THOMAS:  That's right, George. A lawsuit has been filed in California in a federal court to stop DOJ's threats to prosecute election officials. Those officials pushing back, calling DOJ's tactics sheer intimidation.

San Benito County Registrar, Francisco Diaz telling the court he felt fear and anxiety when Homeland Security officials recently threatened him, writing, "I did not know whether I might be arrested or what might happen next." He said he dreaded telling his parents and his wife he might go to jail.

And George, other states are potentially impacted by this non-citizen voter issue as well. Nevada, Washington State, Pennsylvania, New Jersey were all contacted by the Trump administration with lists of suspected non-citizen voters in recent months. Some critics are wondering out loud if there will be more challenges to come even after Election Day.

DOJ and Homeland Security officials have been unapologetic and say that the states should want to help keep non-citizens from voting. And George, we should underscore, no credible study has found widespread voter fraud in the U.S. and there's no evidence that non-citizen voting is at a scale to have a significant impact on elections, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS:  That's the bottom line. Pierre Thomas, thanks very much.

We're going to let the roundtables take ahead of Tuesday when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNIE ANDREWS, (D) SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE NOMINEE: Those election returns come in and you hear the news anchor say, we’re about to call that Senate race in South Carolina you’re going to look up at your television, and instead of Darline Graham’s face, you’re going to see my pretty face pop up on your TV.

SEN. DARLINE GRAHAM (R-SC): Staying home or voting for anyone other than the candidates on the Republican ticket is a vote for the radical Democrats looking to turn our conservative state liberal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Could South Carolina be in play? We’ll talk about it on our roundtable when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: We are back now with the roundtable joined by our regulars, Chris Christie and Donna Brazile, also the former speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, and former North Dakota senator, Democrat, Heidi Heitkamp.

Welcome to you all.

Chris, let’s just start out, where do you think things stand as we head into these final 48 hours?

CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R) FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR & ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: You know, I spent a lot of time on the phone yesterday, George, with friends of mine all over the country. And I haven’t heard Republicans this nervous and/or despondent probably since 2006. It’s bad everywhere.

I mean, I -- in Texas, the Abbott campaign is legitimately concerned about what’s going to happen there.

STEPHANOPOULOS: The governorship.

CHRISTIE: Yes, in the governor’s race there. You go to Iowa. They’ve written off the governor’s race in Iowa. And then you look at the Senate races. Look at Georgia. With Ossoff doing what he’s doing, the Georgia governorship is in real danger of flipping to the Democrats.

So, you know, you look at some of these things, and you look at South Carolina being in play, it may not all fall the Democrats’ way, but there is legitimate concern. And it all comes back

to three things. It comes back to affordability and inflation, and the president's numbers are 50-plus points underwater there. It comes back to the Iran war, which is affecting Republicans more than Democrats because they feel like he lied to them about it and didn't do it.

And lastly, it's just the president's demeanor, which for a lot of people right now, they're getting tired of.

STEPHANOPOULOS:  But, Donna, all these close -- all these Senate races, the key Senate races are still within the margin of error.

DONNA BRAZILE, FORMER DNC CHAIR & ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR:  That's right. That's why Democrats are going to keep their foot on the gas. We're not going to stop engaging voters. We're looking for independents, trying to move even young people at this late hour.

Look, you talk about hearing from some of your Republican friends. I'm hearing from Democrats and red states saying, “Send me money, send me volunteers. We're knocking on more doors.”

I mean, my home state of Louisiana, every member of my family, they've cast their ballots. If -- that's never happened, George, even before Halloween, before they got liquored up and was eating candy, they were voting -- kind of this, this moment --

(CROSSTALK)

CHRISTIE:  Liquored up, liquored up this morning.

(LAUGHTER)

STEPHANOPOULOS:  They’re talking about what's called a backlash across the South.

CHRISTIE:  It is true because look at Alabama two, Mr. Shomari. That seat, they -- they literally told Black voters that you don't matter. Your votes don't matter. Your voice don't matter.

You know what Black voters are saying? You doggone right, our vote matters.

So, in South Carolina one, Tennessee nine, which they split up into three districts. People are voting, so there's a chance there. Alabama two, we have -- even Arkansas two, you know, the country by a congressional district, because Black people are fed up and mad.

But it's not just Blacks. It's Hispanics who are turned out in record numbers in Texas and elsewhere.

STEPHANOPOULOS:  And, Heidi, across the Midwest, a real concern among farmers as well.

HEIDI HEITKAMP, (D) FORMER NORTH DAKOTA SENATOR:  Yep. I mean, when you look at everybody said really Kansas, really Iowa? They have negative state growth, and they can always point to and should point to policies of Donald Trump. And so, they're starting to either think I'm staying home or being very quiet.

You don't see the red hats. You don't see the big Trump signs out in rural America the way you used to.

And then if you're going to lose a race, if you were practicing to lose a race in Kansas, you take after a large employer in the aerospace industry, which is what he did. You would take after the meatpacking industry by basically removing their workforce. And then you tariff farmers.

And so, these -- the -- and then you put on top of that the quality of candidates, which we haven't really talked about.

Because of the president, I think the Democrats recruited, and people felt obligated to put their name on the ballot, really good people.

And so, you take Hamilton versus Marshall. Really amazing.

You take a look at the Senate -- the governor's race in Iowa. These are all places we can win.

And I wouldn't be surprised if you saw some Great Plains transitions in Montana, maybe win that district in Montana. And I think he's got a shot at -- at winning a Senate seat.

STEPHANOPOULOS:  Kevin, you know the House about as well as anybody, the Republican majority. How high do you see this blue wave going against Republicans?

KEVIN MCCARTHY, (R) FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE:  You know, at the beginning, I thought it would be very tough for the Democrats to get above 225. I think they could get into the 230s.

But, look, this is -- this is normally what happens, only two times in the history of the last hundred years that the party that had the White House actually gained seats. So let's not overplay this.

Democrats are not going to win the number of seats that Republicans won against Obama or against Clinton. OK? And Obama was sitting at 50 percent approval and we won 63 seats.

Are they going to have a good night? Yes. But you raised a very good point. A lot of these -- a lot of these plays in the Senate are in the margin of error. So we don't know. Who turns out is going to make a big difference.

And we all play off the Cook report. But remember, in the presidential year in ‘20, they said Democrats were going to win nine to 15 seats. Not one Republican in the House lost that year. And we beat 14 Democrats.

Now, I don't think they're going to get it wrong this year. But let's not overplay our hand here. I think that's one of the cases because the margin is there.

(CROSSTALK)

CHRISTIE:  The quality.

MCCARTHY:  Quality of candidates matters. And I will -- I will --

CHRISTIE:  Quality of candidates matters. And -- but Heidi missed a few of them, right?

(LAUGHTER)

HEITKAMP:  So I could go on.

CHRISTIE:  So like -- this is -- this is -- these races in -- Senate race in Maine and the Senate race in Michigan are competitive because the quality of candidate in those two races on the Democratic side is really pretty bad. And Troy Jackson is a bad candidate. He just is.

Now, Susan Collins’s approval ratings, as Kevin and I were talking about earlier, are lower than they've ever been in an election year. But if they had a good candidate in Maine, this race would have been over weeks ago. Same thing in Michigan.

So the thing that's keeping the Senate competitive, George, and why it's not a layup for the Democrats to take over the Senate is because in key states like Maine and Michigan, that should be deep blue, ready to go, they’re losing.

BRAZILE:  But, Chris, you miss -- you miss Ohio, right? Right? Vivek Ramaswamy --

(CROSSTALK)

CHRISTIE:  Right.

MCCARTHY:  Ashley Hinson is probably the best candidate in the country. And yet they will the governorship --

(CROSSTALK)

MCCARTHY:  But I think she'll win -- yes. There’s a margin of despair, but the governor's race is already gone and she's -- and she's overperforming, so she's got to get switched voters. Look, the Midwest, I think, will send us a message. I think the Midwest will send a message.

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE:  I agree with you. I think the Corn Belt, the Rust Belt, and, of course, the South. We will know by 9 o'clock if Democrats will take back the House as well as the Senate.

But you want to talk about the quality of candidates? I mean, Ohio. Ohio, which Donald Trump won by double digits. I mean, that ad is still having a ripple effect across the Ramaswamy --

(CROSSTALK)

CHRISTIE:  You're not going to get any argument from me about the quality of the gubernatorial candidate in Ohio. He's one of the worst political candidates our party has put forward for major positions.

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE:  Well, then keep going. Let's talk about Texas and why that state is --

(CROSSTALK)

CHRISTIE:  Well, that's fine. But, Donna, look, part of what's going on here is -- I don't want Heidi sitting here talking about all these fabulous Democratic candidates and how they're all so wonderful. They're not.

And by the way, I've never said all the Republican candidates are good. I've been on this air talking about Ramaswamy and talking about Paxton. So all I want is to try to bring a balanced approach to this.

Yes, it's a good Democratic night for the historic reasons that Kevin's talking about because of the president's lack of popularity. But they should be doing even better in some of those places because the candidates are bad.

HEITKAMP:  So, I want to make this point about polling because we're all like, oh, well, it's within the margin of error. When we look at the governors’ races in both Virginia and in New Jersey, that polling on those days -- so polling on those days had New Jersey up four. She won by almost 15.

That polling in Virginia had her up seven, and she won by almost 16. And so, I think when we're looking at the fundamentals, which is we've been organizing -- Democrats have been organizing in the No King rally, and I know you don't want to talk about that, but think about what an organizing opportunity that's been.

Think about all the things that have happened from the time President Trump was inaugurated to today. Their trends have been overwhelmingly favorable to the Democrats. And I think this is going to be, if not a wave, a tsunami election.

MCCARTHY:  If you want to do polling, then go through all the swing states that had Kamala Harris ahead, and she lost them all. I mean, the problem you're going to have here, the enthusiasm gap goes really to one side.

(CROSSTALK)

MCCARTHY:  Democrats are excited. The reason the president's out there and working so hard, we've got to get the Republicans excited. And Republicans aren't excited to answer a poll.

So when you go out -- I watched this in 2010. It takes three days to do a poll. We could get every Republican we needed in the first night. You get every Democrat to answer the poll in the first night. It's hard to get enough Republicans. So you won't know until Election Day.

It's really the Independents that are going to make a difference. You talk about the young people voting. In Kansas, they're turning out around the colleges. I don't see it as much in Texas and others. That makes a difference. In the last presidential, we had a -- how many Hispanics turned out really helped Republicans.

This time, it's playing against us.

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS:  One of the big questions is going to be what happens the day after. Does the president pursue all of these legal attacks? Does it keep on going? Will we have an outcome within days or even weeks?

CHRISTIE:  I think we will. And, look, I think that there will be some piecemeal fights. But if it goes in the direction that we're all talking about this morning, I think it will be very hard for the president to be able to do anything that makes a difference because it will look so decisive by the end of the night on Tuesday night.

I think we'll know by the end of the night, Tuesday night, a majority in the House. I think we'll know a majority in the Senate. And then it takes a lot of the edge away, I think, on that. Look, if I were the Democrats, the biggest thing I'd be concerned about is I got to get above 51 in the Senate.

Because if there are 51 in the Senate, I would bet every dollar I have in my pocket that John Fetterman is going to be a Republican. He is so unpopular in Pennsylvania among the Democrats in Pennsylvania, more popular with Republicans. If John Fetterman wants to get re-elected in 2028, his only path to re-election in 2028 is as a Republican.

STEPHANOPOULOS:  Donna, he keeps denying it.

BRAZILE:  He keeps -- look, I talked to Mr. Fetterman. I like John. I mean, I went up to Pennsylvania to campaign for him when he was sick and unable to campaign in 2022. John Fetterman is a solid Democrat, and we'll see what happens. Look, he has friends.

He will not --

CHRISTIE:  I'll bet you $3,000 (ph) on that one.

(CROSSTALK)

CHRISTIE:  Wait till he sees his poll numbers (inaudible) Democratic primary.

BRAZILE:  I'll worry about that later.

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE:  I don't want to hear (inaudible) pocket. But let me just say this. George, since Donald Trump walked back into the White House in 2025, Democrats have been on a roll. They have been fighting like hell. I've never seen this party fight so hard.

It's been scrappy. It's been tough. We had a tough primary season, but it has energized people. And that's something you cannot take away from the American electorate.

MCCARTHY:  But that happens to every minority party. Republicans fought real hard when Obama got -- the difference -- the mistake the Democrats are making, they have an opportunity here. But they have not laid out to the American public what they'll do if they win.

They didn't do -- no, they didn't do a contract with America. They're going to have a hard time governing because they're not winning this thing. Republicans are losing it.

(CROSSTALK)

MCCARTHY:  I'm going to tell you, having been in the position, I know exactly what Hakeem's going to do. He's slow to make a decision. Maybe with Pelosi gone, it'll be better for him. But he has not laid out an agenda. How are you --

BRAZILE: He has. He made --

(CROSSTALK)

MCCARTHY: How are you going to control that whole group?

BRAZILE: It's a song. You should hear it.

STEPHANOPOULOS: We'll be back with everyone's final forecast in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's look ahead now to Tuesday night. What are you watching as the night unfolds?

MCCARTHY: I'm watching Kentucky the first thing to understand where we end up in Andy Barr's old seat. That'll be a big indicator. I'll watch Lawler's district and Fitzpatrick.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Lynn Lawler's New York.

MCCARTHY: Yes, because the East Coast, where it breaks down, that will probably send an early indication of how the night is going. Look, there's close numbers right now in the House already, so, and if Republicans stay in the 200s, two years from now, we're going to have a really big night.

CHRISTIE: Texas, Kansas, Michigan, South Carolina. Those are the early ones I'm going to look at and see whether this is going to be a good night for Democrats or a great night for Democrats. Those are the four states I'll look at. In addition, I think Kevin is right on those House seats in New York and in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. If those go Democrat, then I think they'll definitely get into the 230s.

BRAZILE: Of course, I'm watching Georgia. Georgia is on my mind. I'm rooting for Keisha Lance Bottoms. I'm watching Florida, Angie Nixon, who's running a stellar campaign. Can she make up all of the distance? I don't know. I'm watching Mississippi, where my grandmother was born.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Is that real?

BRAZILE: It's real. It's real.

HEITKAMP: Yes, it's absolutely real.

BRAZILE: Come on, come on. I mean --

HEITKAMP: Come on, it's real.

BRAZILE: Trump went to Mississippi for a reason, and he's closing his campaign with a tele-rally in Louisiana. I'm watching my home state of Louisiana. Yes, these are deeply red states. I'm watching how Democrats are making inroads. And of course, I've had a soft spot for Talarico, so I'm watching Texas.

HEITKAMP: I'm watching Maine because if she doesn't survive in Maine, it's going to be a really good night for Democrats because, as you know, we have a candidate situation. But I'm also watching Mississippi. And there is where candidate quality matters. And he has been remarkable. He has done it with a flair that I think could carry Mississippi. And then we're back to African-American votes, thinking that you're trying to take away my vote, we're going to show up. And if the delta shows up, he's going to win.

STEPHANOPOULOS:  OK, then let's get the final forecast from everybody, House and Senate.

MCCARTHY:  I think the Democrats will win the House, and I think the Senate's up for a toss-up.

STEPHANOPOULOS:  Do you have a number?

MCCARTHY:  I think they're going to do quite well.

(LAUGH)

MCCARTHY:  I think they can reach up to 230.

BRAZILE:  Spill it out. Come on.

(LAUGH)

CHRISTIE:  I'll say 234 in the House for the Democrats, 52 in the Senate for the Democrats. And for the first time in 16 years, and this one really hurts me, 27 Democratic governors.

STEPHANOPOULOS:  27 Democratic governors?

CHRISTIE:  27 Democratic governors.

STEPHANOPOULOS:  They haven't won the majority of governors since 2010 (ph).

CHRISTIE:  2010.

BRAZILE:  18 new governors across the country, I agree with you. We're going to see Democratic governors in all of the key battleground states in 2028. I predict that the Democrats will pull between 225 and 234 in the House, and I think the Senate's going to be 52/48. And I'm not liquored up yet.

(LAUGH)

CHRISTIE:  225 to 234.

BRAZILE:  Come on, boy.

CHRISTIE:  Why don't we say 200 to 250?

(LAUGH)

CHRISTIE:  Come on. It's not a prediction. We're supposed to be experts here.

(CROSSTALK)

HEITKAMP:  OK, OK. I'm going to be the outlier. I think you're going to be closer to 240 than you are to 230, and I think that we're going to win the Senate seats by 54.

MCCARTHY:  I think Republicans beat the Senate. (Inaudible) 50/50, we're the majority. Watch Maine, Michigan, and Alaska.

(CROSSTALK)

MCCARTHY:  If Republicans win those, Democrats do not have a chance.

(CROSSTALK)

HEITKAMP:  Huge.

STEPHANOPOULOS:  We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANOPOULOS:  That is all for us today. Thanks for sharing part of your Sunday with us. Check out "World News Tonight," and I'll see you tomorrow on GMA.

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