welcome our viewers in the united states and all around the world f cnn newsroom from los angeles johns vause. >> and isha sesses issa. where the votes with being counted in the special election for the u.s. house of represents testifies. >> the jar kushner now a focus of the fbi investigation into the trump campaign ties to russia. a lot more on that bombshell

development later in the hours. first to montana right now greg gianforte is opening aup lead over exact rob quist on the jean. gianforte with 49.9% on rob quist with 44.2%. 56% of the vote counted >> this election has taken on a life of its own and after a reporter accused gianforte of body slamming. the republican was heavily favored to win and now facing misdemeanor assault charges we have a full house for newsroom from missoula montana. and here in los angeles senior reporter for media and plkts be cnn political reporter and form los angeles city council william. cnn political comment and trump support erin joni phillips. kyung lah we see the lead opening up for gianforte what are folks saying where you are.

>> reporter: well just spoke to a member of the campaign. and the word out of them is they are concerned. they do not like being the name with the smaller number. but they're pointing out that missoula county has not come in yet. missoula is liberal county. they anticipate that will help them but certainly as the night goes and the number gross vote spread goes they are getting more concerned. but here is what they're pointing out. this was already an unpredictable race thp petitioned no idea what idea to expect the audio made it more unpredictable. they're not going out and saying this is over or they think that they're waiting for all of the votes to come in. at this point they say, they're just going to wait. they don't know what to expect. the audio, they keep pointing to has made all of this a tossup in this campaign's opinion when you go out and talk to voters we're certainly hearing from gop voters who say this inspired

them to go out to vote that gianforte is their guy. john, isha. >> kyung very quickly has there been any backlash to that altercation between gianforte and the reporter from "the guardian" newspaper? >> it's a little hard to hear you i think you were asking if there's been backlash on gianforte. what we've been hearing from gop voters we went to a number of apology pleases gop voters feel more entrefrmgd because of the audio. it's surprising because the audio is so surprising you can hear them falling to the ground. you can hear the rage in the candidate's voice. and they find that encouraging that they think the at least the voters we spoke with this is what they want to send to washington, that they are viewing the reporter and the mainstream media in general as somewhat of the enemy and we've heard it from the white house that is something we keep hearing from the voters we've

spoken to. >> and kyung as we're pointing tout to viewers this has been a costly race in montana, perhaps the most expensive ever really compared to the last one in this regard. talk to us about how this race has been run to date before we had that explosive tape that came out on wednesday? >> the interesting thing about montana is that it has certainly been expensive. both sides have had a lot of money come in. what you've been hearing from both sides is that they keep pointing to each other saying it's outside money. that's actually true. outside money has come in from the national party, from superpacs and also from donors around the country. this is -- in many people's mind -- this will tell the country what people think about the trump administration. if gianforte wins by a small margin they're looking for single digit win if he wins by the small margin the democrats

and national democrats still consider this a victory because it tells them in a state where trump won by more than 20 percentage points that it's not looking good for them around the country. that is the democratic viewpoint. >> all right kyung lah joining us there. at the rob quist campaign we'll check in with you in a little while. >> dillon starts with you. if this came down a choice fween party loyalty and behavior it seems party loyalty is winning out. >> it's abilitily winning out process reminds me of the famous biggy bush access hollywood tape with donald trump. there is the enormous blowup in the media effectively says yet in audio, video proves this candidate does not have the terperment to lead what does it as you do to votes? you see voters only feeling emboldened. the shi for voter at home is

clearly not a question of does this man respect women in the case of donald trump? does this man know how to control his outrage in the case of gianforte? it's bigger than that. those should be considerations one could argue. but it's a question about party loyalty. people have other voter -- voters are other things on their mind, economy, jobs. pan so things like that that sort of we in the media think are going to be a big deal are not. >> but in this race in particular health care was such a huge issue. >> that's right. >> because you know the republican bill came out as this was all being fought out in montana. and you know there was some criticism on the part of republicans that -- that you know that the republican candidate was a a little bit too -- wishy washy about the bill and could have been more strongly supportive of it. but those were the kinds of issues that really became

important and i think the most important thing also is that so much of the vote came in early. >> that's right two thirds of it. >> before this altercation. and so it's going to be very hard to tell what the final end. >> we are. >> latest numbers just come 62% of the voters sorry to zbrupt. 43.8 force quist. that lead is expanding for gianforte. 62% counted. >> it is pointed out the talking about the whole question of party loyalty neither of the candidates were particularly loved, if you will by the electorate their in mt. they were flawed candidates in both cases. >> we're not in an environment where you necessarily have to support the candidate you just have to the hate the. >> the other one. >> the opposition. in this case the opposition is not just democrats it is the media. we are living in environment you can't ignore it where media -- it's not just a lack of trust in media it's a real and tip timothy towards the media upon a emotional level, the visceral

level the fact that gynecological fort as keening youening law. >> let's listen to the altercation between ben jacobs and gianforte happened about 24 hours ago now. this is the audio of the confrontation let's listen to what happened at his -- >> yes. >> cbo score because you know you were waiting to make decision about the healthcare until you saw the bill and it just came out. >> i'll talk to you about that later. >> there is not going to be time i'm curacao. >> speak with shane blez. >> just -- i'm sick and tired of you guys the last guy came in here you did the same thing get the hell out of here. >> jesus. >> get the hell out of here last guy did the same thing you with the guardian. >> you just broke my glasses. >> the last guy did the same danl thing. >> you just body slammed me and broke my glasses. >> you'd like me to get the hell out of here i'd also like to

call the police. >> can you get you guy's names i just body slammed me. >> all right so john phillips if gianforte wins and looking likely is that the type of representative republicans want in congress. >> the rock said on saturday night life he is thinking about running for presidentgy. >> i fwes gianforte might have to brush up on body slams. >> i'm of the belief you should never put your hands on someone he should have apologized but if you're going to body slam someone he picked the right target because people particularly on the gop side of the aisle hate the media right now. the only people more unpopular are politicians and lobbyists i go back to what tip o'neill said which is all politics are local. the democrats ran a horrible candidate whenever you have a media market oversaturated a lot of money spent in a small state like montana people tune out

when you have early voting people tuning out you end wup a result like what woe saw tonight. >> where do you stand on the issue you hear what john is saying the fact there hasn't been the blanket condemnation of what gianforte did. >> it's shocking to me as a formally elected official i can't even imagine you would get so frustrated by a question by a reporter that you would body slam them. this is unfortunately looking like a pattern going to washington. and i wouldn't want to be a congress member today knowing this guy was coming there and be part of a discussion. port of what you do as an elected official is you are engaging with public with the press, and they have the freedom to ask you that question. you can answer it or not answer it. but to do anything that is of a violent nature sends the wrong message about what you are. you're a public servant. >> well you mentioned the response that we're hearing from republican leaders and democrat leaders. let's listen to nancy pelosi from the democrats and from the

house speaker paul ryan. >> there is no time where a physical altercation should occur with the press, or with just between human beings. should the gentleman aapologize yeah i think he should aapologize. >> this person who wants to be the one representative into the house of represent he was from montana be sort of a wanna be trump. use language like that treat people harshly like that, that's his model trump is his model. >> the republican seems to be head -- why are the republicans hedge attention they say he should aapologize you but that's as strong as it. >> nancy pelosi want the stage in week where jut burton said f trump she stood there kind of cheering him on saying that. cynthia mckinney punched a police officer and she remained in good standing in the democratic caucus.

jim moran attacked a teenager. nancy pelosi is perfectly fine with in sort of thing when it's going on on her side of the aisle. >> i don't know -- i don't know of every tlrgs that has occurred on both sides and whether we could actually you know do a comparison of that nature. but i mean what is -- what is just unquestionable is that this is a pattern that began you know last year with hostility toward the press. and a a lot of you know supporters getting very angry at trump rally's et cetera and shouting and threatening reporters, sara murray her producer was followed to his car. and the car was later keyed. just a lot of really unsettling things happening to reporters. and a lot of people that are not thinking about you know protecting the role that the

media does. and i think that -- that you know this altercation in montana maybe has started a good conversation about it. but you know the fact that paul ryan was repeatedly asked in that press conference this report will well you seat him? will you go farther than that he said that's something for the people of montana. >> he punted basically. >> then we're talking about you know a potential recall. >> yeah. >> and people in montana feel strongly enough about it. >> i think -- i think that's an important response from ryan because at the end of the day we can talk about what's right or wrong but the question sup to the voters. clearly you look at the 2016 campaign and trump rallies you look at what happened here and gianforte's lead right now -- this is something sort of john wayne brafd o something they're willing to tolerate. i would add quickly what perhaps the greater offense is that his campaign then came out and lied through their teeth about what actually happened. >> which by the way is not something a john wayne or gary

cooper might do. >> let's pause and take a quick break. still to come all eyes on the state of montana where we'll soon learn if voters elect a congressional candidate charged with assaulting a reporter a day ago. stay with us for continuing election coverage. >> also ahead the fbi probe into russian meddling looking at those within the president trump's inner most circle. that would be his family. back in a moment. t-shift transmission. a meticulously crafted interior. all of these are feats of engineering. combining them with near-perfect weight distribution... ...is a feat of amazing. experience the first-ever 471-horsepower lexus lc 500 or the multistage hybrid lc 500h. experience amazing.

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welcome back everybody watching cnn newsroom live from los angeles john vause. >> isha sesay following the breaking news out of montana where fine fort is widening the lead in the check out the numbers on the screen gianforte has a -- 50% of the vote. democrat rob quist, 44.1%. with that that's 72% of the vote counted. >> it looks like it's narrowed that lead a little bit but we'll see. >> 17618 votes ahead. >> the election took a busy czar twist. listen to the audio recorder that came from ben jaks obsess interaction with gianforte. >> speak with shane please.

just -- i'm tick sick and tired of you guys the last guy came fl here did the same thing. get the hell out of here. >> jesus. >> get the hell out of here. >> and ben jacobs "the guardian" journalist joins us. necessary bosseman, montana ben good to see you safe and sound. it appears the incident the alleged assault by gianforte has impacted the race but in some ways do you think make it's helped him. >> it's hard for me to -- hard for me to tell that part of the issue it's hard to tell in general because so many of the votes in montana were cast before election day that roughly two-thirds of the votes had been cast in advance. and he -- his assault on me happened you know on the day before the election. at about 5:00 in the evening. >> ben, listening to the audio, the situation seemed to escalate so quickly. can you walk us through what was going through your mind as it unfolded? >> what was going through my

mind was it all happened very suddenly he grabbed my recorder i looked on and kuchzed while he was grabbing the recorder and thinking how unprecedented for a politician to start grabbing a reporter he is a recorder. which is don't -- i've reported on campaigns on capitol hill. the news rule. i noticed that i noticed how weird it was. i suddenly went from being vertical to horizontal. and mr. gianforte on top of me. >> you know many with the gop leadership remained silent on what happened or hedged what happened i didn't know what happened eye i'm not entirely sure what went down. has that surprised you? >> look it's a complicated political situation. and this is a very weird situation that i think this is -- i certainly know how weird it's been in surreal it's been for me to deal with it. i'm certain everyone else it's been something where there is no

play book, no guide for candidate body slamming a rohrer a day before police cast. >> i i was struck by something in the audio where gianforte says the last time you came in here you did the same thing. had you had a run in with him before? >> no. that was the first one-on-one interaction. i've been at several campaign stops and seem seen him sbrkt with the voters the understand i gotty from the campaign from separate reporting trip several weeks ago i had no personal interaction with gianforte before that. i've been at events but sort of been holding back and not -- not -- i wanted to ask in question now because it was the cbo score was so important as we got to on the eve of the election. >> some within the republican party from the house speaker paul ryan have called for gianforte to apologize to you

for what happened. i'm assuming that hasn't happened yet and are you expecting that apology? >> i haven't heard from them yet. but i would -- i would assume that you know that -- it would be the civilized things to do when one adult acts in a physically assaults someone else an apology would be in order because that's not something -- i mean when you go beyond the issues between how politicians interact with journalists it's not an appropriate way for human beings to interact with each other. >> ben jacobs joining us there from montana. ben we really appreciate you joining us. just to give us a little bit more insight into what happened and how this all played out. thank you so much. stay safe. >> thanks for having me. >> back with us once again cnn dillon and may have reston. dylan have drawn -- this direct line from what fwien fort did last night and president trump and his war with reporters. let's listen to some of the rhetoric from the president when he was on the campaign trail.

>> you a few days ago i called the fake news the enemy of the people. they are. they are the enemy of the people. >> i have a running war with the media. they are among the most dishonest human beings on earth. >> and this crooked media, you talk about crooked hillary they're worse than she is. i'm telling you. they are so dishonest. >> and the first sound bites were when he was president not just candidates. it seems that those who disagree with that connection between the gianforte's axes and donald trump they seem to be trump supporters. >> absolutely. and look at the reporting on the ground from colleagues keen kyung lah and lawyer enfox. some of are saying they like what they gianforte did. others are saying we didn't listen to it we knew it was out there but we didn't care because it's just the liberal media. there is this conversation that's happening among people who follow the news industry

which is how can we bridge the sort of gap between all of those -- conservatives who don't trust the media and get them to start knowing that you know we're acting in good faith with good intentions. maybe you can't because they're not even listening. from the second that -- it's not as if they're reading the recall a and considering it or listening the audio and considering it they're not paying togs it because they don't trust it. and this by the way -- you look at the tapes of trump there -- two things have happened. one over the course of several decades the conservatives have done a masterful job at capitalizing the waning trust in media among kevgts and using it to advantage. second thing happened too is that on oxycodne more than the media would like to admit we have not told the story of conservative americans, dissent frafrpzed americans believing they are losing the country.

the story we have been telling is a story more or less in step with the arc of history as defined by barack obama and hillary clinton. that doesn't mean they that we favor them to win that vision of the progressive future and global future that does not resonate with so many american voters. there is this chasm and no one exploited as donald trump and no one made it as violent and aggressive and sinister as donald trump did. and that laid the foundation for the sorts of incidents that happened last night. >> maybe you saw in that statement put out by gianforte's campaign that they -- they specifically and idlibly referred to ben jacobs as a liberal journalist. that's code, signal. >> definitely, i think that you know the idea or the -- the case that trump has framed is that there is this liberal media machine that's out there and is trying to take him down, is not reporting the real news and so

clearly those kinds of statements play off of that. i will say that it's difficult in this situation to generalize. and it will be even as we look at the results, because we also are are reporters on the ground also got other data which was that there were people going in saying they wanted to change votes. and telling you know election officials that. and they weren't -- can't change. >> you can do that in some states you can't do it in montana. >> you can't to it in montana. i think there are a lot of republicans out there and trump supporters would not condone this kind of violence. but certainly some of the people who went to his rallies were you know far -- far out on the extreme really encouraging and shout -- you know that clip you showed with trump saying these are the most dishonest people and you'd be standing up there on the press riser and everyone in the crowd would turn around and point and shout at you and

you know. >> sinister. >> that's the culture. >> to your point about the conservative media because what happened last night in montana played out differently on the trump plane part on the entertain for instance in in montana tv they didn't play the audio in montana. we have a couple of tweets as well. brent boezle founder of news bufrt he is jacobs is a obnoxious dishonest first class jurisdiction that's theme number one the guy deserved it. theme two is they dispute it happened. a conservative blogger wheated this "the guardian" is fake news i need videos simply will not take anyone there at his word. lied to countless times for me if it happened all the conservative pundit there is no video in all caps which is strange but audio of the conference was up loaded on youtube tonight. wow. all of those could be completely wrong. but if this is where conservative are actually getting news from, sources, no

wonder they hate the media. the mainstream media. >> some conservatives right. >> some conservatives. >> by the way this -- it's a top ilk for another day. but who -- conservatives versus republicans versus populace. first of all look to respond to some of the tweets specifically brent bosle, ben jacobs is not obnoxious, not a jerk he is a good guy, well intentioned reporter. he is not peen a liberal reporter. the -- sort the gall to use a plafrm if you're brent boezle and make add whom nim attacking on the reputation of a journalist when there is audio. when the police did an investigation. >> and the witnesses are from fox news. >> then you have a team from fox news which is a conservative media outlet, three reporters and producers there on the ground who say look he grabbed him, both hands, threw to the ground ben jacobs never did

anything wrong. it is so -- i understand that there are some people in this country who are going to believe in conspiracy theories. but for someone like brent boezle to go out there and maki the disingenuous add whom nim attacking on a well intentioned reporter. there is such a decline of civility in this country right now. and i understand it. i get where it comes from it's so disappointing. >> detectives, determined probable cause existed to issue a citation. for misdemeanor assault. it's not like this was you know something that just is going to go way. >> he is going to appear in court. >> yes. you know. >> okay. >> there's facts. >> i do wonder where it all ends up. i find myself wondering that this chiemt what's the next step in all of this. >> time to squeeze in another break mp thanks for staying with us we have a lot more to get to the donald trump's son-in-law and close adviser being looked

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hello everyone you're watching cnn newsroom live from los angeles. >> isha sesay. >> john vause. 9:33 on the west coast. republican greg gianforte is opening a sizable leafed in the special election in montana. right now he is leading democrat rob quist 50.1% to 44%. 73% of the vote is in. >> a bit of context gianforte was the overwhelming favor. he is there on the right. the screen. on wednesday night gianforte allegedly assaulted a reporter from "the guardian" fup .the democrat is a popular he can folk singer. officials sail tell cnn that jared kushner is under skrut fwhi by the fbi that means the investigation into russian election meddle has reached the inner circle of mr. trump. it's important to note kushner

has not been accuse fd of any wrongdoing zboo of particular interests are a pair of meetings kushner held with rush russian ambassador and a head of a russian bank sacksed by the u.s. the his attorney says he is willing to talk to investigators or testify before congress if asked. back with us once again cnn dylan. and city council woman wendy cruel and john phillips. john first to you. this seems to be a significant moment in the investigation not only does the investigation move into the white house it moves into the trump family. >> it's another story without attribute using, meant to damage politicly the white house. he hasn't been accused of breaking a law. hasn't been accused of committing a crime. yet the brockricy at war with the white house the bureaucracy is trying to destroy the white house. thevtd find the leakfers they're breaking the law they need to throw them in prison if they're

breaking department protocol they need to love jobs abpensions. >> wendy how much of a distraction. i hear everything john is saying how much of is a distraction is this for the administration having jared kushner the president's trusted adviser so son-in-law. >> every day there is a new refrlgs of some kind of controversy at a time when on the foreign trip and kushner was front and center this takes away from what they wanted to have as a successful trip in not only for nato but also of course the saudi arabia ands others. i think it is a big distraction because every day many people think i need a lawyer to protect myself. this is a serious investigation with the fbi, with a special prosecutor, special counsel. and many committees within the congress. so they should be worried. >> may to you in can oh could be tension how serious this for jared kushner. >> we don't have enough facts

honestly. what's so interesting about his role is that he has been involved in every aspect of the campaign. and has an extremely broad portfolio within the white house. you're evan perez was reporting earlier tonight that beyond the two meetings you mentioned this also has something to do with the fact that he huss had oversight within the campaign of the data operation, which was run out of -- out of texas. so there -- there is a lot more things that we need to learn about this, whether or not you know these contacts he had beyond the meetings we know about were you know -- whether the campaign contacts were unwaiting or people didn't know who they were contacting, if there was a situation that way. there is a lot more to explore.

we were clear today in saying while he is a focus of this investigation that he is not a target of this investigation. >> he hasn't done anything wrong. >> right. i mean -- i just don't think that we know enough in part because we're getting a series of leaks to put the whole puzzle together. >> dylan let me ask you this we have seen in the past from the administration when individuals have become a headline in the russia probes, paul manafort, carl page, michael flynn that they've taken a huge step away from the individuals. what's the play here? well that's a good question because jared kushner is of course so close to the president. for that reason with all due respect to john and i do understand the sort of larger problem of leaks in washington -- it is extraordinarily relevant that this investigation is getting so close to the president himself. no one is closer to the president than his family, his daughter son-in-law jared

kushner. so that matters that's significant [ maeve is also right we should proceed with caution. the there is enough conspiracy theory. media doesn't need to be a part of that. this puts the white house more on its heels than it it was. >>s it will be interesting to see how jared kushner at as some guy who dated the president's daughter. >> some dmokt lawmakers are calling for security clearance to be pulled from kushner. >> i go back to saying that until everyone says there is something illegal or kbrofr. but there is smoke on these things you have to be judicious but also cautious. >> jupt now on the election in mt. cnn can predict the republican gianforte will actually win the special election okay. we'll have a lot of more that stoo. a lot more of the reaction.

>> still with jared kushner a little long. >> i wanted to ask, i mean, john we have seen this president take a tone that is harsh. critical of these russia probes he has tweeted, publicly criticized them, calling them a witch hasn't, a taxpayer funded char aid. now that his son-in-law is under scrutiny, does that change? in terms of just the general picture, we're not argentina he is not perrin. i wish he wouldn't hire his family. i'm generally against that have been from the beginning. i still it's not clear what he did that was wrong. if you're a senior adviser to the campaign you're talking to a lot of different people. he has not been accuse of committing a crime hasn't been accuse of breaking a law. when accused of breaking a law committing a crime then to me it's something relevant. but until then it's just more noise. >> okay i want to let everybody know we are expecting to hear from a victory speech any moment if we have to bail out on a conversation i want to let you know that's what we're doing.

heading back to montana a moment obviously now dylan the republicans a another win that means that they have had wins in kansas, georgia, nebraska, and now montana. they haven't gone a win on the board the democrats. >> which is significant because donald trump's approval rating are so lo. everyone's eyes are on 2018 thinking about what is possible -- how much can house specific. each candidate is specific. maybe quist was not the the strongest candidate in montana. that said it's a question of money. houchl money will the democrats be able to raise? the better a case they can make to donors that says we can can do this. >> but they raised a ton of

money in georgia and still didn't. >> that's what i mean. at a certain point if you're a donor you're thinking okay the democrats as a whole you need to exercise better leadership you need to get together and figure out how to win because you're giving a ton of money. >> i was just going to say i think i had been talking to republican don'ters about the mid-terms this weekend. i think that you know there is a conversation happening on the republican side about this too. you know there is a lot of people saying we don't know what the heck is going on in the white house right now. you know, is this a good investment or are we going to have potentially you know donald trump and jared kushner and everyone else you know under investigation through the entire year? how is that changing the climate? i think it's very difficult right now for anyone to predict how the mid-terms are going to go or really read too much shall did shall did i know we all love to read the tea leaves out of races. but there is so much turmoil so

many don't know what to think about the investigations under way. >> just to reminder we are waiting for greg gianforte to come up and address his supporters there in montana. that's happening any moment. the margin here though wendy do you see this as good news, six% closer >> this is an unusual circumstance situation. there is a short period of time and a lot of money was raised on both sides. unusual situation. but we talked earlier that six% in a district, a state that went for donald trump in a much larger percentage than that six%, 2023%. >> 23%. so there -- you know i guess probably picking away at being able to get some of the seats back i'll have to say, the democrats are enthusiastic. they are gifting their money. they are going out and here in california going to the districts right now knocking on doors talking to people about taking those seats back. >> but does have a democratic governor and. >> senator. >> and they tend to have the

lishltarian streak this this guy lost stayedwide last time i ran to governor f. there was a run i don't have for the u.s. senate seat oem in that state. if you look at the map and you look at the seats that the democrats need to win to take back the house of represent he was, the targeted seats, it's people like walters, dana reporter backer, ed royce if they can't win in montana there is no way they win in nurpt beach no way they win in huntington beach. >> you're looking at night also in daryl icea both of which we could take those back. those are ones could go democrat. >> just in coming back pulling back the larger question is 2018 a referendum on donald trump the way 2011 was a referendum on barack obama? right now, despite the relatively cat chris mick donald trump has had. yet incrementally democrats are making gains but end of the day

one team wins another team loses >> another question to ask the importance of health care in the race as we saw pivot altleefrt in the race rob quist ran. and we know obviously greg gianforte about feelings about hshlg when he was asked about it. does this lead to a sigh of relief for republicans who are going to have to vote on the facing midterm elections in 2018. >> i don't believe so yet. i mean again we're 120 days whatever the numbers are that since president trump. >> is that all? >> seems a lot longer. >> a lot longer. >> a lot more ahead. >> again, you know we have another year -- over year and a half before we get to the november elections. the congressional budget office came out with their report which space 23 million people will go without health care, that -- the people have that health care will have less of it and the premiums go occupy sometimes until that hits you in the face until people see is gakts them they may not vote for a

democratic saying i want to keep obamacare. there is oochlt time between now and then. >> running against obamacare has been good for republicans in 2010 and 2014 and again in 2016. eve we've seen oin the special elections whenever the subject of health care the republicans have been able to win process. democrats have moral vikts but not putting anything in the scored board. >> trump wasn't the focus 69 campaign. >> okay. okay gianforte has just ee mrjd at the campaign rally. he is basking in the glory of victory right now. latest numbers we have 77% of the vote is counted. gien foirt 50.4% appearen let's listen to him speak. >> thank you. thank you. [ chanting ].

>> thank you. thank you, montana. tonight is all about you. tonight is your victory. over the last two years you've made tens of thousands of phone calls. you've knocked on hundreds of thousands of doors. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] >> susan and i have had the geat pleasure of driving over 80,000 miles all over this great state. everyone of our 56 counties multiple times. and we stayed in your homes. and together, tonight, we won a victory for our treasured state.

[ cheers and applause ] >> tonight we won a victory for all montanans. tonight we won a victory for our coal and timber families. [ cheers and applause ] >> we won a victory for our farmers and ranchers. [ cheers and applause ] >> and we won a victory for our men and women in uniform and for our veterans. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] >> we won a victory for our montana seniors. [ cheers and applause ] >> and we won a victory for our second amendment.

[ cheers and applause ] >> we also won a victory to keep our public lands in our public hands. [ cheers and applause ] >> we won a victory for every hard-working montana family, because their voice hasn't been heard. and for montanans who have been left behind. tonight montanans are sending a wakeup call to washington, d.c. establishment. [ cheers and applause ] >> montanans said bernie sanders and nancy pelosi can't call the shots here in montana.

montanans said, we're going to drain the swamp. [ cheers and applause ] >> and we have a lot of work to do. and hard work is the way we get borne out of hard lessons. last night i learned a lesson. and, no, please i need to share something from my heart here. and i just ask you to bear with me. when you make a mistake, you have to own up to it. that's the montana way. last night i made a mistake. and i took an action that i can't take back.

and i'm not proud of what happened. i should have not responded in the way that i did. and for that i'm sorry. >> and you're forgiven. >> please -- i should not have treated that reporter that way. and for that i'm sorry mr. ben jacobs. [ applause ] i also want to apologize to the fox news team that was there, and i'm sorry to each one of you that we had to go through this. that's not the person that i am, and it's not the way i'll lead in this state. rest assured our work is just beginning. but it does begin with me taking

responsibility for my own actions. you deserve a congressman who stays out of the limelight and just gets the job done. i promise to work hard to protect our precious way of life. i promise to be open and assessable. and based on your input, i'll be your strong voice back in washington, d.c. [ applause ] i've always considered myself more of a workhorse than a show horse, and that's my promise to you. i'm going to washington to get things done, to drain the swamp and fight for montana families.

i will bring accountability to washington, d.c. i'll support term limits and -- and banning members of congress from becoming lobbyists. and i'll hold the politicians accountable. if they can't balance the budget, they shouldn't get paid. no balanced budget, no paycheck. [ applause ] washington won't like it, but it's time for america and montana to come first again. it just seems when people go to d.c. they drink the water and

just kind of slither into the swamp. that's why we're not moving to d. c. i'll commute and be back here traveling to every corner of the state as much as i can. i'll be in there 56 counties so that your voice is heard. you've always been on my side, and i pledge that i'll always be on your side. montana sent a strong message tonight that we want a congressman who will work with president trump to make america and montana great again. [ applause ]

thank you. now i feel a deep sense of obligation and duty to this great state where susan and i raised our family and built our business. thank you for your support and this opportunity to serve. [ applause ] good night, god bless montana and this great united states of america. [ applause ] >> a triumphant greg gianforte

there. >> and also offering an apology to ben jacobs, the reporter who he had that altercation with just 24 hours ago. he said i made a mistake, i'll own up to it. it's not the montana way, and i'm sorry and i want to appall jsz to ben jacobs. so to john, didn't expect the apology. what did you think? >> i think it's the right thing to do. i said at the top of the show you should never put your hands on someone. if he can stick to that and the republicans in the heartland can stick to that message, it'll be just fine. >> i think it was a good thing to be able to say he was sorry and do it publicly and do it right away. but we're going to watch if he can be effective about the comments he made about balancing the budget. >> draining the swamp. >> draining the swamp. there's a lot of work to do to make that happen. >> stay with us. a lot more on our covage here on

cnn. >> indeed. president donald trump met macron on thursday. and we'll have more on the awkward nato summit next. stay with us. hy. yet up 90% fall short in getting key nutrients from food alone. let's do more. add one a day women's complete with key nutrients we may need. plus it supports bone health with calcium and vitamin d. one a day women's in gummies and tablets.

dale! oh, hey, rob. what's with the minivan? it's not mine. i don't -- dale, honey, is your tummy still hurting, or are you feeling better to ride in the front seat? oh! is this one of your motorcycling friends? hey, chin up there, dale. lots of bikers also drive cars.

in fact, you can save big if you bundle them both with progressive. i'd like that. great. whoo. you've got soft hands. he uses my moisturizer. see you, dale. bye, rob.