This is a rush transcript of ‘Fox News Sunday’ on November 6, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SHANNON BREAM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I'm Shannon Bream.
Election Day is two days away with balance of power in play and many races well within the margin of error.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Democracy is on the ballot for all of us.
BREAM (voice-over): Candidates crisscrossing their states deploying their biggest names as both parties fight for control of the House and Senate.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT: I'm here to ask you to vote.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: You're going to elect the incredible slate of Trump America First Republicans up and down the ballot.
BREAM: We'll bring you live reports on the closing arguments in the tightest match ups.
DR. MEHMET OZ (R), PENNSYLVANIA SENATE CANDIDATE: John Fetterman, he keeps getting wrong with extreme, radical ideas.
JOHN FETTERMAN (D), PENNSYLVANIA: If you never had any experience of actually living in Pennsylvania, how can you ever effectively fight for Pennsylvania?
BREAM: And ask our Sunday panel whether either side can move the needle this late in the game.
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: If I live in Pennsylvania, I would already cast my vote for John Fetterman for many reasons.
BREAM: Then, a warning from a leading House Democrat about the stakes on Tuesday.
REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): Losing this democracy could very well be the end of the world.
BREAM: Congressman Jim Clyburn joins us on his stark comments and what his party will do if they come up short.
And Oklahoma's race for governor heats up with surprising surge by a Democratic challenger in a very red state.
JOY HOFMEISTER (D), OKLAHOMA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm critical frankly of this governor.
GOV. KEVIN STITT (R), OKLAHOMA: My opponent, she couldn't see a path forward for herself as a Republican, so she switched parties.
BREAM: We'll sit down exclusively with Governor Kevin Stitt on his tougher than expected re-election bid.
Plus, pollsters from both sides of the aisle, and our all-star election anchor team tell us what to look for as votes are being counted.
All, right now, on "FOX News Sunday".
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BREAM (on camera): Hello from FOX News election headquarters in New York.
After months of predictions and uncertainty, midterms are finally here and much of the focus is on the balance of power on Capitol Hill.
So, let's take a look at where things right now. Democrats hold an eight- seat advantage in the House and Senate remains in 50/50 split with vice president giving Democrats the deciding vote when necessary.
Now, all of this could change. Right now, FOX News power rankings predict voters will give 47 Senate seats to the Democrats and 49 to the Republicans. That leaves four toss-up races to decide control, meaning the Senate could go either way.
This hour, we will break it all down for you with guests from both parties, as well as a team of pollsters and "FOX News Sunday" senior political analysts.
Btu we begin with team coverage from states with must-watch Senate and gubernatorial races. Aishah Hasnie live in Atlanta.
But, first, Bryan Llenas is live in Philly on what has become the biggest Senate race -- Bryan.
BRYAN LLENAS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Shannon, with Pennsylvania Senate race essentially tied, former President Obama, former President Trump and President Biden made their closing arguments in the commonwealth on behalf of Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Democrats up and down the ballot, we need to elect them. We need them badly.
OBAMA: John's stroke did not change who he is. It didn't change what he cares about. It didn't his values, his heart, his fight.
TRUMP: Pennsylvania desperately needs Dr. Oz in the U.S. Senate. He could very well be the tie-breaking vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LLENAS: Fetterman has made this race a referendum on Dr. Oz's personality and character while promising to fight for abortion rights and raise the minimum wage.
Oz has made it a referendum on Biden while promising to lower crime and inflation.
This race could be decided in Philadelphia suburbs where gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano's far right politics could hurt Oz, control of the U.S. Senate is at stake, but it could take days before we know the winner, thanks to Pennsylvania's mail-in ballot process and the threat of looming legal battles -- Shannon.
BREAM: All right. We'll track it all. Bryan Llenas reporting from Pennsylvania, thank you very much.
Let's turn to Aishah Hasnie live in Atlanta.
Hello, Ayesha.
AISHAH HASNIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hello there. Good morning to you, Shannon.
Well, both of these big races in Georgia could be headed for a runoff. Let's start with the race for U.S. Senate. Now, according to the latest FOX News polling out there, Republican Herschel Walker has momentum going into election day. He has now closed gap with incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock with inflation at the top of mind for voters. Walker has been able to shore up his base despite some serious allegations about forcing two women to get an abortion, he denies that.
Now, Senator Warnock still has the advantage among independents and he's been courting those voters, campaigning on bipartisanship. Neither candidate is polling over 50 percent.
NRSC chairman Rick Scott tells me voter turnout is imperative to avoid a runoff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HASNIE: Are you ready for a runoff?
SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): We're ready for a runoff, but I believe we're not going to have a runoff. He's going to touch everybody he can touch, get everybody out to vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HASNIE: The race for governor is rematch between two big names and Democrat Stacey Abrams, who made voter suppression her signature issue, may once again lose to Governor Brian Kemp.
Kemp is up six points in the latest FOX News poll and, again, Shannon, neither is polling over 50 percent, which means this race could also be headed for a runoff -- Shannon.
BREAM: Take us into December.
Aishah Hasnie, thank you so much. Reporting from Georgia, good to see you.
It is time now for our Sunday group, FOX News senior political analyst Brit Hume, "America's Newsroom" co-anchor Dana Perino, and Juan Williams, also a FOX News senior political analyst.
Great to have you with us in person today.
DANA PERINO, AMERICA'S NEWSROOM CO-ANCHOR: Good to be here.
BREAM: So, let's start with some of what Aishah talked about there, which was enthusiasm, the turnout, because these polls are close, that has to happen. Polling looks at enthusiasm gaps in key states. Georgia, Republicans have six-point advantage and Arizona eight-point advantage there.
But when you look at Pennsylvania, Brit, you spent a lot of time there, it's basically a dead heat.
BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it seems to be. If I had to happen in Pennsylvania race and things were the way they used to be, where there not nearly the number of polls we have now, as a political journalist, you kind of assess the landscape, you look at the issues, you look at the candidates and you try to figure out now who looks like a winner.
John Fetterman does not look to me like a winner. However, the polls say otherwise. So, we'll see.
You know, Oz I think is a candidate, there's been some controversy about him, whether he lives in Pennsylvania and all that. But he is competent, was competent in the debate, he's competent on the stuff. Meanwhile his opponent is, you know, struggling in stumbling and having trouble understanding and needs closed captioning and so on. You wouldn't think it would be that close, but the polls say it is.
BREAM: Well, Dana, we're warned by the secretary of state there, be patient, because this is going to take days, the way that they count ballots there. We'll talk about that a little bit later in the show. It's going to take some time before we actually know what's happened there.
PERINO: And what's interesting is the Republicans have said that Pennsylvania is their O.K. Corral, like if they can keep that seat, and a Republican seat, the path to a majority is much clearer, because they've got lots of other states that the can play with. If it doesn't happen, then that might be more difficult, although some of those races are pretty good in other places.
The thing about Pennsylvania in terms of pack your patience Tuesday night, is you might be able to know quickly the House what that is going to look like, but the Senate side, if we don't have results from Pennsylvania and if Georgia is going to runoff, you still might not know possibly until early December who's going to control the chamber.
BREAM: It keeps us busy and also well-fed.
OK. So, all of the big guns are coming out in Pennsylvania. You got the current president, two former presidents, celebrity endorsements, everybody is coming out in this Pennsylvania race. But it's interesting that the "Washington Post" has this headline, Obama in demand as Biden struggles to energize crowds. They say he's been flooded, the former president, with requests from various campaigns and many of the same candidates who kept their distance from Biden were eager to have Obama.
So, Juan, why is he still the biggest draw years after he's been out of office?
JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, he has ability as a former president to really take shots that, you know, I think President Biden does not have as the president. Now, he does say some wild things, President Biden.
But I think also President Obama has a little bit of a celebrity quotient, if you want to factor that in now. He's somewhat of an icon. I think he is the most popular political figure in the Democratic ranks.
But the point of our whole conversation this morning is about turnout, and I think we've already set a record for turnout in these midterm elections.
Now, the numbers on the board indicated a very high level of enthusiasm, Shannon. It's high, I think among Democrats. Look down, you say same as before, Democrats were really enthusiastic in 2020 to vote against Trump and what they say as extremism.
I think Republicans have now come back and are highly enthusiastic to vote in part because they decided to come home, they have come home to candidates which McConnell called them questionable quality. I think a lot of Republicans are going to say, yeah, but I'm going to vote Republican. I really don't like Democrats, I'm voting Republican and I think that's what we've seen in this last phase of this campaign and I think it's why it is so, so close.
BREAM: One of the things that happened during this primary contests was that Democrats spent a lot of money to get people they feel were more extreme, more MAGA, they would say, out of the Republican primaries, thinking they would be easier targets in the general election. "Wall Street Journal Opinion" reporting on this, on that New Hampshire race that has gotten surprisingly tight.
They said: Ms. Hassan's campaign and the national Democratic Party were so sure that they wanted to face Mr. Bolduc, her Republican opponent, that the Democrats' Senate Majority PAC spent more than $3.2 million in the primary, Republican primary, to attack his leading opponent.
Brit, does some of this come back to bite them at some of those candidates win?
(CROSSTALK)
HUME: Well, it does -- it could, Shannon, if some candidates that they so enthusiastically promoted end up winning, but what you don't know is how well another candidate would have done, in other words, if they -- more conventional candidates that Republicans offered had won the primaries, they might be doing even better.
So, you don't know that. I think basically the idea of trying to promote candidates you want to run against in the other party is cynical and it's not good for -- it's not good, as they say, for democracy.
(LAUGHTER)
BREAM: Well, speaking of that, though, Juan, there's one report out, I think it was in "Newsweek", that said more than $40 million Democrats have spent on people that they now call election deniers. So, if they are the ones who are out there backing these folks, are they not responsible in part for that?
WILLIAMS: Well, no, I think, look, if you get into a fight, Shannon, you want to go up against the weakest opponent so you can win. And for Democrats, the idea and I think you hear this later when you interview Congressman Clyburn, Democrats view a lot of the Republicans, Trump-backed Republicans as extremist, as a threat to democracy. I think it's 70 percent think there is a threat for different reasons to democracy.
That argument has been part of the closing message coming from Democrats, and in terms of the strategy, they want those candidates because they think it makes it harder for suburbanites, for moderates, for independents to say, oh, yeah, I'll vote for that so-called extremist.
BREAM: OK. Well, let's talk about this because, also, as we mentioned, the former president is out on the campaign trail, President Trump in Florida, now has -- we know he likes nicknames. He's got a new nickname for the governor there, calling him Ron Desanctimonious.
So, there's a lot of speculation about those two in 2004.
Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state under President Trump, says this in a tweet: Not tired of winning. Governor Ron DeSantis, you've proven conservative policies work. Florida is better for it. Vote for Governor Ron DeSantis.
Shades of 2024 and taking sides there, Dana.
PERINO: Yeah, and I think that you'll -- I think all if this midterm, you have had some people thinking, well, if this in 2022, then what in 2024? Presidential election will get underway right after this midterm. President Trump might not want to wait and who knows? I don't know if Ron DeSantis is going to throw his hat in the ring. We don't -- we haven't heard from him yet.
A lot of Republicans have had to figure out a way to get back to unity after really tough primaries. That certainly was the case in Pennsylvania, where Oz and Dave McCormick battled it out in that primary, and Oz got beaten up and he had to crawl his way back and he's done that now. He's basically tied if not one point ahead of Fetterman.
In Florida, of course, Ron DeSantis likely to win that gubernatorial seat next Tuesday, but that election hasn't been held yet. Everyone gets a choice for what they want to say, but Republican unity is what a lot of these Republican voters want right now, because they would like to push back against what they see as the Biden administration has a bad thing for their livelihoods, their safety, the worries about the border, all of those things fall into a desire to see some Republican unity going forward.
BREAM: All right. Panel, thank you very much.
Stay with us. Quick break here.
Up next, President Biden delivered a dire warning about democracy this week ahead of the midterms. We're going to sit down with third ranking House Democrat, Congressman Jim Clyburn, who is also raising eyebrows with his comments about what happens if Republicans win big.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BREAM: The nation is watching to see which party will win control of the Senate, since right now, it's a jump ball.
But as you'll see from our FOX News power rankings, the House is looking a bit more certain. Right now, our power rankings have 26 House races as toss-ups, either party could win.
Now, take a look at FOX projecting best case scenario for Democrats this, that they could win 212 seats. That still would give Republicans a majority, but a slim one.
In this potential best case scenario for Republicans, they could win 249 seats, leaving Democrats with very little leverage for the second half of President Biden's term.
My next guest says this could be disastrous for the country.
Joining me now, South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn, the third ranking Democrat in the House.
Congressman, welcome back to "FOX News Sunday".
REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): Thank you very much for having me back.
BREAM: I want to start here with some comments you made just a couple of days ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLYBURN: This is what happens in a country that follows what happened in Germany in the early '30s. This country is on track to repeat what happened in Germany when it was the greatest democracy going, elected a chancellor who then co-opted their media, and that's what's going on in this country. That is what will lead to the destruction of this democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BREAM: Congressman, you've repeatedly made comments about Hitler, about Nazism, about Germany in the 1930s in recent years. You've gotten a lot of pushback from that from Jewish organizations and others who say it belittles the suffering of the Holocaust, of the millions who were lost.
Your response?
CLYBURN: I've talked to many Jews. We have many Jews in my congressional district, and they are very -- supporters of mine. They note that this is a stuff that causes those kinds of deterioration in democracy. This is not anything about whether -- how difficult it was, I talk about slavery and how difficult it was.
But that -- to discuss the facts of what's going on here, election deniers setting up positions (ph) by which little (ph) committees by governors can overturn the results of election, to call the press the enemy of the people, to co-op evangelicals -- and I grew up in a Christian faith, in a parsonage, born and raised in a parsonage.
I know a whole lot about religion, and I know there's always an attempt to co-op religions and that is going on here.
BREAM: OK, Congressman --
CLYBURN: And people want to deny it, that's fine.
BREAM: OK, but --
CLYBURN: But the facts are very clear. I studied history all of my life.
BREAM: OK.
CLYBURN: I taught history and I'm telling you what I see here are parallels to what the history was --
BREAM: OK.
CLYBURN: -- in this world back in the 1930s --
BREAM: So, Congressman, then --
CLYBURN: -- in Germany, in Italy.
BREAM: Okay. Are voters, though, out there listening to this message to infer from what you're saying that if they don't vote for Democrats in this election, that they are somehow supporting something akin to the rise of Hitler?
CLYBURN: No, if they don't vote against election deniers, if they don't vote against liars, people who will lie, know full well they're lying, we all know they are lying.
This was cleanest election in the history of the country, Donald Trump's own appointee said it was the cleanest in the history of the country.
So, if they are lying, they're denying, they're trying to delete, they're trying to nullify our votes, vote against that foolishness.
BREAM: Okay. So, Congressman, to look back on some conversations about election deniers, we've talked about on the show that Democrats have spent more than $40 million making sure that some of those people got through primary -- GOP primaries so that they then could face off in the general election. Do Democrats bear some responsibility for putting those people now on the ballot?
CLYBURN: No, we didn't put them up. Those people --
(CROSSTALK)
BREAM: But you spent millions to get them there.
CLYBURN: I'm sorry?
BREAM: But you spent millions to get many of them there, where they are in the general election ballot.
CLYBURN: Well, you know, I read about that. I believe that you should always try to best position yourself to win in the general election. I'm not a proponent of that process. I understand it takes place on both sides. But I'm just not a proponent of it, but I can understand it.
BREAM: OK. So, I want to play a little bit more language over the last week from Democrats about what is at stake in this election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT: Democracy as we know it may not survive in Arizona, that's not an exaggeration. That is a fact.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But, there is something else at stake, democracy itself.
CLYBURN: But losing this democracy could very well be the end of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BREAM: OK. So, were you asking voters to set aside what they feel about the economy?
Because "The Wall Street Journal's" Kimberley Strassel has this piece: Voters have sat through this apocalyptic movie many times now, and know its anticlimactic ending. Besides they're busy searching for spare change to cover their rising grocery bills.
So, set aside economy and worries about crime which are at the top of all of voter polls about what they're worried about, and instead vote for you where the world is ending?
CLYBURN: Nobody is saying the world is ending. The world did not end --
(CROSSTALK)
BREAM: You did say there, though, that it could be the end of the world.
CLYBURN: No, democracy will be ending. The world will continue to exist. The world was here before Hitler and the world was here after Hitler. That's what we're saying.
No, the world will not end. The kind of world we have, the kind of country we have. We've got to decide how do we want to exist in this world, and that's what we're talking about.
This hyperbole is not part of what we're saying here. We're talking about what kind of country we have and what kind of world we have.
BREAM: OK. Congressman, just to be clear, though, I want to read your quote. It says: But losing this democracy could very well be the end of the world. That's a direct quote from you.
CLYBURN: End of the world, come on.
(CROSSTALK)
BREAM: Well, a lot of voters feel that way, when you say that. They think -- they have the same reaction.
CLYBURN: Well, if that's a quote from me, it -- I misspoke. It won't end the world.
BREAM: OK.
CLYBURN: No, I have no idea --
(CROSSTALK)
BREAM: OK. Well, that's good news for everyone heading to the ballot boxes on Tuesday. Finally --
CLYBURN: But having (AUDIO GAP) one to teach history, we live in worlds that we do not like. My forbearers lived through slavery. They did not like that existence for 250 years. But it was not the end of the world, it may be the end the world as they would have it, but it will not end the world.
BREAM: All right. Well, we are reassured to hear you say that, sir. We thank you for making time for us, Congressman Clyburn. Always good to talk with you.
CLYBURN: Thank you very much for having me.
BREAM: OK, back now with our Sunday group.
All right. Brit, reaction to Mr. Clyburn's remarks there?
HUME: You know, I've always liked Jim Clyburn.
BREAM: Yeah, he's very likeable.
HUME: Very nice man. He came through as he was saying goodbye to you today.
But what he is saying is utter nonsense.
BREAM: Well, even he now says it's utter nonsense.
HUME: Well, let's just set aside this silly remark about the end of the world, but the whole thing about the end of democracy, and this continually refrain we hear that says democracy is on the ballot -- no, democracy is the ballot and what you're basically arguing is that an exercise of democracy in which people go out and vote for candidates is the end of democracy? It's utter nonsense.
BREAM: Juan, that's the language. You heard it from multiple Democrats who are out there saying it, including the president who gave the last final speech, kind of his closing remarks, that's what he spent the time focusing on.
WILLIAMS: Again, I think -- you know, we're talking about turnout and we're talking about energizing people and maybe shifting some persuadable, Shannon. And in the aftermath of something like the attack on Paul Pelosi, I think I've seen numbers, polls that indicates close to half of Americans think there is a probability of real violence post-election if people say I don't like the outcome or I think the outcome was a result of fraudulent voting.
And when you understand that the tensions are that high, that people in both party are saying, oh, there is potential for violence or there's a real attack on politicians and we know about increasing threats to politicians in the country, I think that that's why you are hearing that message loud and clear from Democrats as they try to persuade people to say, hey, you know what, there is something going on here, this is not your ordinary election.
I agree with Brit. I don't -- and I also agree with correction from Congressman Clyburn, this isn't the end much the world. But do people think something different is in the water? Yes.
BREAM: OK. Look, Juan and Brit, we've gotten them to agree.
WILLIAMS: That's unbelievable.
(CROSSTALK)
HUME: We've been friends forever.
BREAM: Yes, you have. You guys are both great guys.
OK. Now, Dana, I want to ask you about this because Republicans could be the dog that catches the car, especially over on the House side, they're going to have to govern, based on what kind of margin they end up with on all the projections. "Washington Post" says this: The new class of combative MAGA candidates are poised to roil the House GOP. It says: Hard- line Republican gains in Congress could elevate demands for impeachment, investigations and a debt ceiling showdown.
So, how does potential Speaker McConnell handle this?
PERINO: I think that "The Washington Post" missed opportunity to also talk about how McCarthy has recruited the most diverse class of candidates that the Republican Party has ever seen -- women, African-Americans, Indian- Americans, you have Hispanic, Latino. I mean, you have all these different faces and voices and experiences that are about to win.
So, let's just see what the margin is before we start thinking that there are three people who are going to ruin democracy.
The other thing is that the Democrats knew on January 21st, 2021 that they were going to -- likely to lose the House and maybe the Senate in the midterm. That is how democracy works and I think the hyperbole obviously has to be taken back. Sometimes you say things in the campaign that you wouldn't necessarily want to say.
The voters are going to get to finally have their chance to have their voices heard. My last point is this, that the effectiveness of the democracy, the end of democracy has been so weak, when you look at the numbers, the most effective messaging has been that, for example, Maggie Hassan, the senator of New Hampshire, voted with Joe Biden, 96.4 percent of the time. That message has stuck with the voters up there, and that's why the Democrats are now whining that they might end with an election denier in the United States Senate that they helped elect.
BREAM: Yeah, we talked about that. Millions poured into that race in New Hampshire by Democrats trying to get Bolduc through the primary which they successfully did.
PERINO: Yeah.
BREAM: And we'll see how that turns out.
OK. Panel, thank you very much. We'll see you next week.
Up next, Arizona is emerging as one of Tuesday's biggest battlegrounds with toss-ups, and the races for Senate and governor. We got a live report from there.
Plus, my one-on-one with Governor Stitt of Oklahoma. He finds himself in a very tight race there.
We're going to bring up pollsters from both parties on what to make of the data. He's with us. It's all in the final stretch, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BREAM: Well, much of the national focus has been on fight for the balance of power in the Senate and the House. Voters in 36 states will also pick their governors on Tuesday. And we're seeing some surprises in these races, including in Oklahoma, where a Republicans switched party is to run against the sitting Republican governor.
In a minute we're going to speak with that governor, Republican Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, about his fight to stay in office.
But first, Alicia Acuna live in Tucson, Arizona, where the fight for the open governor's seat is also generating plenty of headlines there.
Alicia.
ALICIA ACUNA, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Good morning, Shannon.
The two candidates for governor here could not be more different. Democrat Katie Hobbs, and current Secretary of State, certified President Biden's Arizona win in 2020. A victory Republican and former local news anchor Kari Lake denies even happened. Democrats have brought in big names, like former President Obama, to help out. Not only for Hobbs, but incumbent Senator Mark Kelly, who watched a comfortable lead over Republican Blake Masters disappear in the final weeks. An argument could be made, Masters' surge came from more appearances with Lake.
Former President Trump has rallied here too, but the combative Lake has proven to be a headlining draw in her own right.
Now, Shannon, all of this is happening as incumbent governors nationwide are finding themselves in tighter races than expected. Inflation and frustration that voters have over it has reached a fever pitch. So, making the argument for another go at the job is proving to be quite difficult.
Shannon.
BREAM: Alicia Acuna, in Arizona.
Thank you so much, Alicia.
Joining us now Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt.
Welcome back to FOX NEWS SUNDAY. And I have to warn our viewers, there's a little bit of a delay between the two of us But good to have you back.
GOV. KEVIN STITT, (R-OK): Hey, great to be back with you guys.
BREAM: OK, so, Governor, first of all, I want to ask how folks are doing down in southeast Oklahoma. I know you had some horrible storms, a massive tornado roll through there.
STITT: Yes, I actually was down in southeast Oklahoma yesterday visiting the folks on the ground, getting all of our generators, getting all of our state resources. I had a call with the FEMA director yesterday, and Homeland Security. So, we're doing everything we can to make sure our locals have all the support that they need and just on the ground.
But it's the Oklahoma standard that I saw firsthand. They were helping each other out. They were already out there with chainsaws and - and clearing the debris. We were working with our utilities to bet that back on.
And it could have been a lot worse. We -- we had one fatality, a 90-year- old man. And - and so we're obviously praying for him and his family.
BREAM: And we'll be praying for your state as well. The pictures are just heartbreaking to see the devastation. But as we said - as you said, I know the good folks there rally around each other to help out.
Let's get to your race now. "The Oklahoman" saying this, in theory, Stitt should skate to a second term on November 8th after Trump won Oklahoma by 33 points in the 2020 presidential election. Which begs the question, why is this such a tight race?
STITT: Well, first off, we think the silent majority are going to come out and we're going to have a great night on Tuesday night. But the reason it's a tight race is because there's been unprecedented dollars spent against me, the tune of $50 million to spread lies and chaos. And just to make that equivalent for the nation, that would be like $600 million being spent in the state of Virginia. And so I'll tell you this, the - the - the -- the disinformation is just unbelievable. They're literally sending out fliers to people in rural parts of our state saying that I'm going to close the rural schools. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I actually put more money in education than any other governor before me. We're proud of our record. I have the largest savings account in state history. We cut taxes for every single Oklahoman. We've been deregulating. And right now we're number 11 in the country in people moving to the great state of Oklahoma. So, the economy is - is - is going well here But they're conflating the issue and they're - and some of those lies and that chaos that's being spread is making it tighter than it should be.
BREAM: Let's talk about your opponent, Joy Hofmeister. Until last year, she was a Republican. She switched to the Democratic Party. And here's her explanation for that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOY HOFMEISTER (D), OKLAHOMA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Our governor hijacked the Republican Party. He's driving our state into the ground. I am aggressively moderate. Always has been.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BREAM: She says that you've pulled the party too far to the right and others have made the Republican Party a place she couldn't stay anymore.
Your response?
STITT: Well, listen, if - if believing in traditional family values and not having men compete in girl sports is - is - is pulling for -- too far to the right, I don't see it. Oklahomans overwhelmingly agree with us on traditional family values. If believing in smaller government, lower taxes and deregulation is pulling us to the right, I'll gladly stand for that.
But, you know, those parties that attacking the oil and gas industry, our jobs in Oklahoma, and not having an honest conversation about what the American people need to be energy independent, that's the real, you know, extreme party. And they are the ones causing 40-year highs inflation at the gas pump and at the grocery store. And it's really all about the Democratic Party, which my opponent, when she couldn't see a path forward for herself, she ended up flipping parties. And I think Oklahoma can see right through that.
BREAM: OK, let's talk about one of the most well-loved, well-known Oklahomans out there, former Republican congressman, football star, J.C. Watts. He made an ad endorsing - he's a Republican - your Democratic opponent. Here's a bit of that ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.C. WATTS (R), FORMER OKLAHOMA CONGRESSMAN: I was a Republican then and I'm a Republican now. And, friends, I'm voting for Joy Hofmeister. And this scandal and corruption is just too much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BREAM: OK, Governor, I want to give you a chance to respond to some of these accusations of corruption and scandal. A federal audit that found the state had mishandled $31 million in Covid money, a criminal investigation into millions of state contracts with a barbecue restaurant, and also, on her website, your opponent accuses you of funneling taxpayer subsidy benefits to your own businesses. I want to get you to respond to those accusations.
STITT: Well, again, Oklahomans are too smart. This is an election season with $50 million in special interests trying to buy this election for my opponent. Of course they're going to be coming out with that stuff.
J.C. Watts, it's disappointing. He's actually on the board of Paycom (Ph). And that -- those are part of the folks that are trying to buy the election. It's - it's like the George Soros company of Oklahoma right now. So, he's on the board, makes millions of dollars. He's also a contractor with some of the other Democratic operatives. And so no surprise there.
But Oklahomans can see through that. And I think that's why Americans are so disappointed with the lies and the chaos and the distrust of some of the polls and some of the things that are going on because anybody can say anything. It depends on who's funding that person to make those.
BREAM: OK. But, Governor, and I'm sorry, it will take a second, I need to - I need to interrupt you hear because I - I want to make sure that you answer those. That was a federal audit. There's a state investigation. And then the accusations about your business. If you could quickly give us specific responses to those accusations.
STITT: Yes, here's the deal. I mean I'm so proud. I started my company with $1,000 and a computer shortly after college. And we've grown that. We have over 1,000 employees today.
So, long before I became governor, you know, we have some quality jobs programs with 600, 700 other companies. And so that was put in place long before I even ran for governor. And so twisting the truth with something that our company and the private sector got in place long before I was governor, along with every other company - or every other company that qualifies in the state of Oklahoma is just nonsense and Oklahomans can see right through it.
BREAM: All right, Governor, it's definitely one of the most unusual races to watch. And we will be, come Tuesday night.
Thank you, Governor Stitt, for making time for us. Good to see you.
STITT: Thank you so much.
BREAM: OK, I want to bring in now a couple of pollsters to talk about this race and many others.
Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway and Democratic pollster Mark Penn.
Great to have you with us.
Which of the governors races to you all is the most interesting?
Kellyanne, let's start with you.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, POLLSTER AND FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: What's most interesting to me, Shannon, is that when voters go to chose a chief executive, they don't always align with their parties. So, you see Lee Zeldin in a state, New York, where we have not had a Republican governor in 20 some years, keeping it tight with Kathy Hochul. You see out in Oregon, a real fight. And that's a place - Oregon is a deep blue state where we haven't had a Republican governor in 40 years.
I'm watching Nevada. There has been outsized attention to Adam Laxalt taking on Catherine Cortez-Masto. There's been outsized attention to Kari Lake and the Senate race there.
Governor Sisolak, a Democrat, has presided over this state losing over ten -- tens of thousands of businesses that are never coming back after the Covid lockdown. He got a D for economic development after those lockdowns. And people are very concerned about the education system there.
A guy named Joe Lombardo, the Republican nominee, is challenging him. He's a veteran. He was a sheriff for Clark County since 2014, so he's got the law enforcement and military background. And he's doing a really good job holding Sisolak responsible for many of the failings in Vegas.
Our latest poll shows both of them under 50, but Lombardo gaining. So that's one I'm watching.
BREAM: What about you, Mark?
MARK PENN, DEMOCRAT POLLSTER AND FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, there are half a dozen fascinating governor's races. But I zoomed in really on New York because here Joe Biden won by 23 points. Hochul was substantially well ahead. And Zeldin has really focused on a single issue, crime. And I think it's a good demonstration of, can this issue of crime really change politics as we know it, particularly in New York.
And, look, even if he comes within single digits, I think it will send a message to Democrat, you can't ignore crime, immigration and inflation, the core issues that people see in their daily lives.
BREAM: So, we've talked about some polls that have shown some really substantial swings. And whether it's the methodology of the poll, if it's spot on, I don't know. But let's talk about one that showed up in "The Wall Street Journal" this week. It finds that white women living in suburban areas who make up 20 percent of the electorate now favor Republicans for Congress by 15 percentage points, moving 27 percentage points away from Democrats since "The Journal's" August poll.
Mark, is it outlier? Is it accurate? Whether you want to believe it or not.
PENN: No. You see, actually most people don't realization that those voters, say in the Romney election, or most presidential elections, voted solidly Republican. And the impression was that they didn't. And when actually the Democrats made headway on them, you know, in the last midterm, that actually was the story. The fact that they've bounced back and they typically are more interested in how do - how do we protect our kids, crime, inflation, economic sues, how am I going to put food on the table, the fact they've bounced back, that's a very, very significant finding. I believe it's probably true. And it probably will make the biggest difference in this upcoming election.
BREAM: Yes, they also say that group is one of the most motivated to get out and vote.
Now, something that makes your life tough as pollsters. "The Washington Post" had a piece that said 95 percent of Americans do not pick up these calls when they get them. I don't know about you guys, but if I don't recognize the number I don't pick up these calls either.
But "The New York Times" had this piece this week that said this idea of non-responsive bias. They said, in 2000, white registered Democrats were more than 20 percent likelier to respond to surveys than white registered Republicans. That hallmark of non-response bias looks as if it's back. Overall, white registered Democrats were 28 percent likelier to respond to our Senate polls than Republicans.
How tough, Kellyanne, does this make it for you guys to do your jobs?
CONWAY: It's been tough, but I think that's overstated. And, respectfully, I think "The New York Times" is trying to do a little CYA here. They said Donald Trump had an 8 percent chance of winning Michigan in 2016.
BREAM: That's true.
CONWAY: A 15 percent chance of being the president overall. He won Michigan and became the president. So, they - they're doing this in a way that they can't be wrong.
But, look, I think there's a way to make people feel comfortable to speak to you. Many Americans do want to express themselves and feel like they're participating and that their voice matters way ahead of the election. I find it to be very dangerous and disappointing to hear a current and a former president, the Democrats out there basically scaring people away from voting.
You know, they're all out there saying, election deniers, and Americans are looking at them and saying, you're inflation deniers, you're recession deniers, you're rising crime deniers, you're education loss learning and reduced test score deniers. That's why a lot of those women that you talked about are willing to talk to pollsters, are willing to come to the polls and say, look, I'm swinging over and the issue set is uncomplicated and is straightforward. It's inflation, the economy, it's crime, it's immigration, but it's also education. Parents, a year after Glenn Youngkin won that Virginia race and Jack Cittarelli came close in New Jersey, Shannon and Mark, parents are still parents. They're still upset about what they see as a hangover from all of the lost learning and test scores and they don't understand why even though kids are back on campus and in the classroom, that the left seems to be attacking the curriculum instead of attacking the lost learning issues.
BREAM: And, Mark, you wrote a piece a week or two ago on foxnews.com that talked about inflation and those vote who care about the economy the most. You - you warn that it's going to come back to bite the Democrats?
PENN: Well, absolutely. I mean it's the - it's the number one issue in the country. And the fascinating thing to me is that the Democrats have said threat to democracy is really what they're running this campaign on. You know, I think the Biden administration did threat to democracy, they did student loans, they did marijuana pardons, right, and they did a million dollars of gas out of the petroleum reserve. They did not confront these issues directly in any meaningful way. They became inflation deniers. And - and that really, I think, is a stupid strategy. We're going to see whether or not I'm right. And that was probably one of the worst strategies I've ever seen in a midterm. Or they were right, they had some tough issues and they decided to completely avoid them.
BREAM: The president's final speech, if we think - you know, if we look at, you know, prime time, big speeches, where he's calling the nation to pay attention, it wasn't about the economy. I mean the closing argument was much more about the divisive issues. And it sounded like it was - it was aimed at people that were probably already going to vote Democrats anyway. A missed opportunity?
CONWAY: Or may actually have voted in early voting. I think that the Democrats have an advantage in early voting. They banked some of those early votes. Probably a lot of pro-choice voters went out early. And - and it's just the wrong message for this country.
And even as the Democrats, in those closing days, Shannon, expand the number of messengers, they never got to the core message, that is animating and motivating Americans to the polls. People feel like they're drowning economically and they're looking for pockets of air. This is why you're going to have a good Republican night on Tuesday. And I think it's going to be a governing majority and a realignment for Hispanic voters and female voters who say, I gave the Democrats a chance. They've just ignored me. Ignoring the will of the voters and insulting half of the country is no way.
I think - look, I think that the Democrats have enraged people. That's their strategy. Republicans have engaged people. They've had 100 million voter contacts, 1 million volunteers and they've opened 38 community centers through the RNC where you can go into your community and find out what the difference between a Republican and Democrats is. I'd rather engage and enrage people. I think enraging is a failed strategy.
BREAM: We'll see what works on Tuesday night and in the probably days and weeks and maybe months to follow.
CONWAY: Yes, that's right.
BREAM: Thank you, both. Great to have you there.
CONWAY: Thank you.
BREAM: Kellyanne and Mark Penn, thank you.
Up next, the team that will lead our coverage Tuesday joins us. We're going to take a deep dive into election night and the weeks to come and how it could all play out. They're next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BREAM: Political junkies are preparing for some uncertainty on Tuesday, given the real possibility that we may not know the outcome in all the races by the time we go to bed. It's due to a combination of factors, like the differences between how states run their own election and how quickly those mail-in and absentee ballots are actually counted. So, what should we expect?
Here to break it down for us, our team is going to lead us, "FOX NEWS ELECTION NIGHT" co-anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.
Good to see you guys.
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS CHIEF POLITICAL ANCHOR, ANCHOR, "SPECIAL REPORT": Hey, Shannon.
MARTHA MACCALLUM, ANCHOR AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR OF "THE STORY": Hello, Shannon.
BREAM: OK. So, Bret, preparing people to be a little bit patient.
BAIER: Yes. Listen, it's very possible that we've seen an evolution on how these states have dealt with elections. But a couple of them are already warning us.
BREAM: Right.
BAIER: When the secretary of state gets out and says, listen, we might not have it, depending on how close it is. The other side of it is that we may see this wave develop and we could make calls earlier. But we're going to be cautious. We're going to try to get the vote totals. We have a system in place that is really accurate. We're trying to be first, but we're going to be right.
BREAM: Exactly.
So, if we don't know, if the dust has not settled in places like Pennsylvania or in Georgia going to a runoff, I mean, Martha, we're looking at what we all love to do, but is continuing election coverage.
MACCALLUM: Yes. In Georgia you haven't seen either candidate really get over 50. And that's the threshold in Georgia. So we may be hitting the rewind button and going into a situation where you're going to see a runoff in December for those Senate candidates. So that's going to be something to watch.
Also, just going through state by state and looking at when they count - when they start counting. Some of them don't start counting until 2:00 in the afternoon on Election Day.
BREAM: Right.
MACCALLUM: And some allow absentee ballots until November 18th. So, if a wave develops, we may be able to see where this whole thing is going in terms of majorities in the House and potentially in the Senate. But there may be races that are kicking around for quite some time that we can't call yet.
BREAM: So, we're all digging into the data day after day. We love this stuff.
MACCALLUM: We do.
BREAM: It's like so many of these key races are within the margin of error. So, a sense of how things are closing?
BAIER: So, it does seem like Republicans had just a great past three weeks or so. Democrats had a great summer. And now it is all coming to Tuesday. The interesting part is we have so many polls that are tracking roughly the same. If they are way off, we've got major issues with polling. And we'll see. I think we'll know early in the night how the night starts to unfold with those early closings.
BREAM: And "The Atlantic" had an interesting piece talking about the people who are superstar losers. They say Beto O'Rourke and Stacey Abrams. It doesn't even matter in some cases if they win on Tuesday night because they've developed a different kind of celebrity within the party.
MACCALLUM: Well, I don't know. We'll see if that lasts.
BREAM: Yes.
MACCALLUM: I mean that may be the case going into Tuesday. But at some point, as a politician, you have to win, right? You have to win to have that kind of gravatas to stick around. It's very interesting to me what's happening in that Kemp/Abrams race and how it has sort of separated from the Senate race in terms of what people want from their governor.
I mean Brian Kemp has done a very interesting job in terms of, you know, threading the needle with his disputes that he had with former President Trump and his ability to speak to the people of Georgia. You know, when you think back to what he did during Covid, he opened up the schools very early. He found ways to give people tax rebates. So, you know, it's - there's such an interesting dynamic out there and Stacey Abrams continues to talk about voter suppression, which resonates with some voters no doubt in Georgia. But if you look at the polls, it looks like Kemp's argument appears to be winning at this point and we'll see what happens.
BAIER: I will say, we are considering the Congressman Clyburn Hawaiian shirts. I mean -
BREAM: We like that.
BAIER: We like that. It was a good look.
BREAM: Maybe it's a Sunday show thing. We're going to start doing Hawaiian shirts.
BAIER: Yes.
BREAM: OK, while we're talking about control of the Senate, the name that comes to mind so often these days in Washington is Joe Manchin. Quickly, Bret, some back and forth with him and President Biden now.
BAIER: Well, President Biden's comments about coal plants being shut down is not the message - the closing message for Ohio or Pennsylvania in particular. And Manchin's statement about the president was really stunning. And then the White House walked it back saying he's misunderstood. It was not what he meant to say.
Three days before the election, that's a big dust-up in coal country. And we'll see how it play out.
BREAM: All right, if they wind up with a Senate that is still tied, but Senator Manchin is part of that, does he - you know, where does he go with that vote? Because he's played ball on some really big things for the president but he feels a little burned based on that statement.
MACCALLUM: Yes, I mean it just reminds me of Hillary Clinton sitting around the table with coal miners in West Virginia and, you know, them talking about, you know, you basically took away our livelihood. This is very sensitive territory for Democrats and it seems to be a very tone-deaf statement on the part of the president this close to the election. And, once again, we have a walk back.
So, it's just really a question about how in tune Democrats are with where voters are in their hearts and minds right now and whether or not that sync-up is happening and - and Joe Manchin has been, I think, so far better at figuring out where his voters lie for sure.
BAIER: We know what the administration wants to do. The transition. It's just not today. And so saying what he said raises some eyebrows in those states in particular.
BREAM: Yes. And like you said, Martha, another walk back by the White House.
OK, guys, thank you very much.
MACCALLUM: Thanks, Shannon.
BAIER: Thanks, Shannon.
BREAM: Good to see you.
MACCALLUM: Good to be with you.
BREAM: We'll see you a lot the next few days.
MACCALLUM: Look forward to it.
BREAM: A reminder, you can join Bret and Martha tonight also on Fox News Channel for "Democracy 2022: Countdown to the Midterm." They're going to break down the races that could make the difference in the battle for control of the Senate and the House.
My colleague, Bill Hemmer, and I are going to join you as well, 10:00 Eastern tonight, Fox News Channel.
Up next, a look ahead to our Tuesday night election special. I've got all the details, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BREAM: And a quick programing note before we leave you this morning. Join us for "Democracy 2022" special coverage this Tuesday night on Fox News Channel. Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum lead our coverage starting at 6 p.m. Eastern. We have reporters on the grounds in states all across the country to bring you the very latest news in what could be a long and historic night.
And you can join me here Tuesday night right on your local Fox station for top of the hour updates on all the biggest stories.
That is it for today. I'm Shannon Bream. Have a great week and we will see you right back here next FOX NEWS SUNDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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