in the state by three points, but, again, this is texas, and democrats are saying that a republican candidate by this point should be way ahead. again, they say this is another sign that things are changing in the state. erin? >> all right. thank you very much, jason. and thanks to all of you for joining us. anderson starts now. good evening. the country has just crossed yet another terrible threshold. according to the data team at john hopkins university, today is now the worst single day for covid cases in the country. the worst single day of the entire pandemic. 83,757 new cases so far, and that number will not be final for hours yet. 940 lives lost so far. and it's just 8:00. with that, as the horrible scene setter, we begin tonight with one state, two candidates and two very different ways of campaigning in a pandemic. one about as safe as you can make it, given the circumstances. the other about as reckless as you can be, packing maskless

people close together in a state with soaring numbers of people who are already infected. and at one of those stops in tampa, the president of the united states said something that we want to let you hear for yourselves because it is so shameless and cynical and is such a lie that even for this president it's remarkable. this is the president in a rally with large crowds, most of whom are, as always, not wearing masks. the people behind him, as you'll see, have been given masks because the campaign knows they're going to be on tv and they want you to think the president is being responsible but he's not. most in the actual crowd are not wearing masks and are crammed together as close adds possible. here's the president's new claim. >> we know the disease. we social distance. we do all of the things that you have to do. if you get close, wear a mask. always controversial. it's not controversial to me. you get close, you wear a mask. social distance. social distance. >> wow. i mean, this guy has no shame.

he's telling a crowd of largely unmasked people who as you see are standing shoulder to shoulder, shoulder often rubbing against shoulder. yeah, we social distance, he says. we do all the things that you have to do. and folks are nodding their heads and clapping, cheering, spreading droplets into the air and on to the people around them, packed in tight. you get close, the president says, you wear a mask. to a crowd of people who are close and not wearing masks. and he's saying it as if he's been saying this for months. social distance, social distance, he says. to, again, a crowd not social distanced. i got to say, it is painful to watch people who also cheered when he mocked masks and social distancing, they cheered when he mocked those very same things. now he's suddenly a convert. it's like he pulls the rug out from under them and they go along with it.

people in that crowd are going to contract covid. that is the sad reality. and some may die. cnn's dr. sanjay gupta and the cnn medical team investigated what happened after 17 trump rallies around the country. they found an 82% of the events, the rate of cases rose a month later. and after more than half the rallies, they rose faster than the overall rate for the states in which they were held. sanjay joins us shortly along with infection disease experts seeing it all up close in florida. in the meantime, think of all the times the president has mocked joe biden for his social distancing circles and drive-in events or reporters for wearing a mask as he did just last beak in the oval office. >> this is jeff mason. he's got a mask on that's the largest mask i think i've ever seen, so i don't know if you can hear him. >> so, no, the president hasn't always been a fan of mask-wearing and social distancing, and he isn't a fan of it now. here is the president in a recent abc news town hall. >> there are a lot of people think that masks are not good. and there are a lot of people

that, as an example -- >> who are those people? >> i'll tell you who those people are. waiters, they come over and serve you and they have a mask. i saw it the other day they were serving me. they're playing with a mask. i'm not blaming them, i'm just saying what happens. they're playing with the so the mask is over. they're touching it and then they're touching the plate. that can't be good. >> keeping them honest, researchers at the university of washington released a study projecting that 100,000 lives could be saved, american lives could be saved over just the next few months if everyone did what the president said is maybe not such a good thing, apparently because he's seen waiters touch their faces. and now he's saying he's always been for it, having spent months making it controversial, even when he announced the cdc guidelines on masks. he started to critique them as he announced them, saying he wouldn't do it. it's like an arsonist who is back at the scene giving fire fighting tips.

or sending his chief of staff on to "cbs this morning." i mean, this guy -- first, mark meadows, first he lies about the administration's stance on all of the above, then he pivots to his own restaurant experience, which we're dieing to hear, which apparently isn't shared by many these days about how icky they can be. >> the reason i want to jump in here -- >> i'm sorry. >> i just want to clarify. i'm glad to hear you say that you're using purrell and people should socially distance. that's not the example being set by the president. i believe it was asa hutchinson who said on "face the nation," it's a little confusing people. the vice president's office, they are not following their own guidelines. can you see how that's a problem for people? >> well, i can tell you that i'm following the guidelines and a number of us are following the guidelines. >> a number of us. >> as you look at it, obviously -- obviously a number of us continue to look at this particular environment.

and it's an unusual environment that we have. and so as we -- as we try to make sure that we come into contact with other people, making sure that we socially distance as much as possible. wearing those masks when -- when we can. we strongly encourage that. i also, for all of you that are watching this morning, is if you can carry a little container of purrell. just think about it in a restaurant environment. you're drinking from a drinking glass. well, that drinking glass probably has been filled by a waiter or waitress that has touched every other glass. so i'm hypervigilant as we look at that. we don't think about the ways we potentially can become infected. >> can you believe this guy? i mean, what is he talking about? i mean, that went on for, what, 30, 40 seconds. he's saying that, you know, he's

seen waiters in, you know -- i'm -- i'm really just stunned that the chief of staff for the president of the united states is encouraging mask-wearing and saying, oh, yeah, well, i -- when asked about the administration about the fact that the administration has become infected with covid because they haven't been following guidelines and the vice president and the people around the president are now currently infected. the chief of staff blows that off and just says, well, i do it. you know, and in fact, here's a little tip. bring some purrell with you. oh, thanks, dr. fauci. wow. i mean, wow, purell. who thought of that? i mean, this is incredible. that he is acting as if the fact that he personally does this somehow makes up for the fact that the man he represents and the man that he works for is not doing this, and right as he's speaking that very day, they're going to have a bunch of rallies

that are potentially superspreader events with thousands of people shoulder to shoulder cheering, spewing droplets on each other, and they're not telling those people to social distance. other than the president's one little line today. i mean -- i'm sorry, that -- he's somebody who's supposed to be responsible and that's his response. man. we are in trouble. we are in trouble. this -- this -- sure, you can catch covid from contaminated surfaces, but the primary mode of transportation is airborne. even the president knows this. >> and so that's a very tricky one. that's a very delicate one. it's also more deadly than your, you know, your -- even your strenuous flus. >> that was the 7th of february back when he was saying that privately to bob woodward but

publicly saying it would disappear with his buddies diamond and silk. where have they been recently, by the way? the memory was so vivid, it's almost as if he was saying it this afternoon. >> our vaccine will eradicate the virus, and by the way, we have it. whether we have it or not, it's rounding the turn. it's rounding the turn. >> he's almost bored of that phrase. it's rounding the turn. it's rounding the turn. it's not. it's not. the president's simply lying there. as we reported at the top, this has been the worst single day for new cases in the entire pandemic. more than 83,000 new cases and counting. and at least 940 people dead as of 8:00 p.m., nine minutes ago. maybe more have died just in the last nine minutes. a bit later in the program we're going to talk about new cnn reporting about president's influential but unqualified radiologist member of the task force. in fact, he seems to be the only member of the task force in any

good standing with the president, he's the president's whisperer. that guy, scott atlas, has been pushing states to not test so many people. one state reportedly listened. and guess where that is? yep, florida, where joe biden held a socially distanced event today, where the president held a potential superspreader event and where new cases are rising again, topping 4,000 today. so there's a lot to get to tonight. as we said, we'll be talking to an infectious disease expert in florida tonight. the political prognosis courtesy of phil mattingly at the magic wall. phil, where do things stand in florida as the path to 270 for the president. >> yeah, look, i'm not going to be breaking any news here, anderson, when i say it's going to be close. i think everybody agrees on that in both parties. everybody also agrees, the state of florida, this is the map back in 2016, president trump winning by about 100,000 votes. now, here's where things stand right now at this moment. a poll of polls shows joe biden with about a three-point lead. that's a little bit sizeable. probably going to end up being closer to that.

some democrats just hope. the reality, anderson, when you look at this map is it's not going to be much different in terms of the colors come tuesday night. democratic strongholds will remain democratic strongholds. same with republicans up top in the big fight for the i-4 corridor. the question is who can run up votes where they need it and who can hope to keep margins down in other places that are strong suits. i think right you you see the president and joe biden in the i-4 corridor fighting for the suburbs and retirees. everybody knows florida matters. perhaps more than anything. >> what about joe biden? today he told voters in broward county that florida holds the key. >> yeah, i think this is a really crucial point because for president trump there is no question about it. he can win without florida, but it would be extremely, extremely difficult. let's just look at this map as it stands right now. the gold states are toss-ups. as it stands, joe biden is already above 270 electoral votes in the current race

ratings. now, say you gave joe biden the state of florida. that puts him at 319. let's walk through what president trump could win and still not reach 270. he could win georgia, he could win north carolina, he could win ohio, then he could start digging into democratic territory. he could win nevada, go ahead and win arizona, too. in fact, he could win the state of pennsylvania. and look at this, joe biden is still above 270 electoral votes. are there pathways or is there a pathway that president trump can win 270 electoral votes without florida? yes. is it likely? i think both campaigns would acknowledge if they're being candid the answer is no. >> i mean, is there a sense of who is up in florida in terms of the polls? could florida send some signals relatively early in the night? >> everyone is trying to get an early read on the vote. take a look at this, 7.3 million votes have come in. 4.4 million in -- in mail-in

ballots alone. that is almost, almost to about 75% to the entire 2016 total. now, here's the news that i think the biden campaign and the trump campaign are willing to acknowledge at about what it might mean for election night. unlike a lot of the midwestern states, say the commonwealth of pennsylvania, florida knows how to vote by mail. they have the infrastructure to deal with it. they dealt with more than 3 million back in 2016. and florida is allowed to process ballots before election day. when you talk to the biden campaign and folks allied with the biden campaign, one of the reasons they also point to florida beyond the general electoral map is if florida goes to biden, they should know early, and if they know early, that will be a good sign for them for the remainder of the night. again, it is very unlikely that we will know the answers to where the midwestern states stand on election night. florida could give an actual idea of where the overall process stands before we even have to worry about those midwestern states, anderson. >> phil mattingly, appreciate it. thanks, phil. joining us now, former

democratic presidential candidate and massachusetts senator elizabeth warren. senator warren, thanks for being with us. with less than five days to go, how are you feeling about the biden/harris campaign right now and, frankly, the democrats' chances of taking the senate? >> well, look, i feel good, but you get out there and you fight for everything. what seems to me to be the issue that everybody has really gotten focused in on is health care, and part of it is around this pandemic. 225,000 people who have died eight months into a pandemic. and donald trump still doesn't have a plan. doesn't even have a clue in how he's going to deal with this pandemic. and if you can't deal with it be, you can't reopen the economy, you can't get this country back on track. but it's also the second part. and that is health care. access to health care. the republicans have tried repealing the affordable care act. they missed that by a single vote. and now donald trump will be in the united states supreme court one week after the election arguing to repeal the affordable care act, get rid of health care

coverage for tens of millions of americans and end protection for people with pre-existing conditions. for tens of millions more. that contrast couldn't be sharper than with joe biden. joe biden has a plan for dealing with the pandemic and he is going to expand health care coverage for everyone. >> it's also -- >> there it is. >> it's also never -- i mean, i've never seen a race for president in which one side does not actually have a health care plan. is promising a mysterious one that they're going to release, you know, i guess when the audit stops on trump's taxes -- i mean, you know, there's no plan, it seems. and this is presidential politics. i mean, has there been a race where the president of the united states and the person running does not have a plan? >> actually, i think that donald trump does have a plan. he's made it clear his plan is to take away health care from

tens of millions of americans in the middle of a pandemic. that is a plan. it's not a plan you and i might like. it's not a plan that human beings would support. it's not a plan that people who care about their families and their friends would support. but it is a plan. because they are actually out there executing on it. it's not just that they're kind of vaguely wandering around. they are actively working to repeal the affordable care act, forcing through a supreme court nominee, stealing a supreme court seat, so they can get that crucial fifth vote, which they now have, to take away health care from an estimated 23 million americans and take away protection from people who have pre-existing conditions. that is their plan. less health care for americans in the middle of a pandemic. >> i know, you know, everybody in this country, whether they support the president or not are

used to his lies. some might not call them lies but they are lies. today him telling a crowd that he likes masks, that they social distance, that they've always, you know, said if you -- you know, if you can't social distance, wear a mask. he's saying that to a crowd who is standing shoulder to shoulder not social distanced and not wearing masks. even for him, to me, i'm -- i was just stunned by that today, the level of i don't know if it's cynical or just shamelessness or i don't even have a question here. i just am stunned that this is the state that we are in right now. >> you mean he stands up there and says in effect, who you gonna believe? your lying eyes or your president? and just put it is right out there. you know one of the things that gives me the most assurance about having joe biden as president? he will listen to the scientists. he will listen to the epidemiologists. he's already talked about the importance of doubling down and

doubling down again on testing. and on contact tracing. and on masks. and on protective equipment. it's -- joe biden will be a reality-based president. someone who actually pays attention to what's going on. >> yeah. >> and helps make it better for all of us. >> i want to ask you about the breaking news tonight. a federal appeals court ruling regarding minnesota, saying ballots must be received by election day there, cutting off a week-long window where state officials had planned to receive ballots that had lingered in the mail. i'm wondering, are you concerned about what might happen in the courts after the election? and about the actual counting of votes? >> this is what interests me, is what's happened in minnesota, but it's happening everywhere. the lawsuits are everywhere. one major political party, the republicans, is doing their best to prevent american citizens from voting. and they've got 40 different

ways to do that, whether it's when they get -- when the ballots get counted or when they have to be in by or whether or not they could be mailed out to begin with. or standing out there trying to intimidate people who show up to vote. think about what that means. we have a major political party in this country that believes that the only way that they've got a shot at hanging on to power is to keep american citizens from voting. so it makes me say at this moment to everyone in this country, whether you're a democrat, republican, independent, libertarian, vegetarian, if you've got a ballot, drop it off at the site. if you can. if you can do that in your state. a ballot box or at your county clerk's office. you can go to iwillvote.com. punch in your state and it will tell you how to drop off your ballots. otherwise go and vote in person,

but vote. because this is democracy and our democracy depends on people voting. >> yeah. >> so that's what we got to do. >> senator elizabeth warren, i appreciate it. thanks very much. >> thank you. we're going to drill deeper on the medical realities in the state both candidates visited today. what florida really looks like as seen through the eyes of an expert there. we'll also talk about that reporting on new infections at the president's rallies and the president's favorite doctor or radiologist. later back to politics, and the early voting numbers that are already breaking records. we are the thrivers.

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the breaking news tonight, covid cases climbing to their highly daily total yet, more than 83,000 and still rising. earlier one former fda commissioner dr. scott gottlieb predicted 100,000 cases a day shortly. white house efforts to essentially blind ourselves to the problem. they're being led by task force member and radiologist, scott atlas. again, dr. atlas is not an infectious disease expert. he's not an epidemiologist. he doesn't treat covid patients and doesn't work on vaccines. he's good in you need an mri. he also has the president's ear. he also believes fewer nonsymptomatic people should be tested for covid. cnn has learned that he shared that view with florida governor ron desantis during a visit last august.

to focus less on universal testing and more on opening the economy and schools. according to a cnn analysis of official state numbers assembled by the covid tracking project, that push coincided with a dramatic drop in testing across the state. that as the background we're joined by cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta and an infectious disease expert at florida international university. dr. marty, today is the third consecutive day that florida reported more than 4,000 new covid cases in a single day. what is going on in the state? we are having another rise in cases. absolutely, there's no doubt about it. with more patients being -- coming to the hospital with covid symptoms and other respiratory systems and almost all proved to be covid and we're admitting more patients. our total case count is not as high, but that's only because we're able to manage the patients much better today than we were several months ago.

and so we're able to get them out, but that doesn't mean people aren't coming in and that doesn't mean that they aren't suffering for long, long periods at home. after this. so no question that we're in another uptick. >> sanjay, president trump was in florida earlier today having a large rally. you've actually looked at the data on the idea that these are potential superspreader events. what did you find? >> well, it was very interesting because we wanted to look at this data very carefully. it's very hard when you have 80,000 people being diagnosed every day to do effective contact tracing. i mean, it would be an entire sector of our society. so what we did is looked at the counties where the last 17 rallies have been and tried to see what happened in those counties in the weeks after these rallies and compare it to surrounding counties within the state to make sure it wasn't something that was just an artifact of the state, and 82% of the time out of these rallies, anderson, the numbers went up, and significantly

within a few weeks after these rallies, and they went up out of proportion to the rest of the state. so there's clearly something going on. again, it's very hard to draw cause and effect in a situation like this because the numbers are just so enormous, but, you know, getting a bunch of people together in a rally in the middle of a pandemic, it makes no sense, obviously, and if you look specifically at these locations and you say, what is the chance i'm going to encounter someone with covid based on how much virus there is in my location? right now in the country, you know, it's about a 95% to 99% chance once you start to aggregate a few hundred people that people are going to bring covid to those -- to those events. so it's -- it's really significant, what is happening in terms of spread, anderson. >> dr. marty, does that surprise you at all? >> well, when you have someone advising the president or the

governors with no -- with statements that are not backed by any science that are immoral, that are misrepresenting the safety of our citizens and particularly of our children, it's not surprising to see that people are confused. and this is actually absolutely shameful that we have this going on in our nation at this time when there are so many experts -- can you imagine -- i had this cons with a dear friend of mine, one of the top neuroradiologists in the united states, who is among other neuroradiologists wrote a letter condemning what dr. scott atlas has been saying because it is outrageous to consider that this -- these types of ideas that are being propagated -- can you imagine, he said to me, and i agree, if the united states had taken that attitude towards polio instead of waiting for a vaccine? if we hadn't been cautious. polio, if you think about it, had been around for 3,000 to

4,000 years without there ever being any kind of herd immunity. and then we were finally able to have it once we had good vaccines. and we're finally beginning to eradicate that disease using proper science and using proper vaccination. >> yeah. >> we can't let a wild virus go loose. >> sanjay, cnn's reporting that dr. deborah birx from the coronavirus task force has essentially ceded her influence inside the white house to the radiologist dr. atlas. she told a froeiend she decided she needs to sidestep the misleading messages coming from atlas and take her message directly to people, she's travelled to 40 states talking to officials about how to prevent the spread. how worrying is that? it says a lot. for a moment she was in the president's good graces and just like fauci, apparently it seems like she no longer has his ear. >> yeah, i mean, it's -- it's really just surreal. i mean, i spent time at the

white house with dr. birx, right when she got appointed. i was asked to go to a meeting there. the vice president was there. she was brought in. she just flown in from kenya the night before, jet lagged, but she's someone who is always on the front lines of these things and, you know, really wanted to take charge with the task force. but i remember it was in august, i think, mid, maybe even earlier when, you know, i had a conversation with dr. fauci and he basically said, look, -- he says deborah, ambassador birx is no longer in the oval office, you know? it is scott atlas who has the president's ear, and that's been going on for some time, as people know. but i think what is remarkable about ambassador birx is that she is going out and still trying to convey this message. i mean, i think it's really weighing on her. and, again, i've spent time with her. i've talked to her about these issues. i think she really does care about this. >> yeah. >> you know, the numbers, i think, anderson, speak for themselves. today as you mentioned earlier, the highest number of coronavirus cases in a single

day, and clearly the numbers are still going up. that's why she's out there. >> yeah, dr. marty, san yay, appreciate it. thanks very much. still to come tonight, the latest early voting totals which are breaking records across the country. also analysis of that new federal court decision from minnesota on late-arriving ballots. ampion for my own health. i talked with my doctor... and switched to... fewer medicines with... dovato. prescription dovato is for some adults who are starting hiv-1 treatment or replacing their current hiv-1 regimen. with...just 2 medicines... in 1 pill, dovato is as effective as a 3-drug regimen to help you reach and stay undetectable. research shows people who take hiv treatment as prescribed... and get to and stay undetectable... can no longer transmit hiv through sex. don't take dovato if you're allergic to any of its ingredients... or if you take dofetilide. hepatitis b can become harder to treat while taking dovato. do not stop dovato without talking to your doctor,... as your hepatitis b may worsen or become life-threatening. serious or life-threatening side effects can occur,

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we have more now on the breaking news that we mentioned earlier. another republican legal victory tonight that could potentially limit the window for mail-in ballots, this time in minnesota. a federal appeals court in a 2-1 decision says, quoting the decision now, there is no pandemic exception to the constitution. for inside i want to go to cnn's election law analyst rick hassan. so, rick, explain the court's

ruling and -- >> earlier on the secretary of state of minnesota entered into an agreement that said that any ballots that were postmarked by election day but arrived by november 10th would be counted. what the court said today is it might be unconstitutional for the secretary of state to have made that extension, and, therefore, all of the ballots that come in after election day are going to be set aside. they're going to be segregated and there could be future litigation that might cause those ballots not to be counted. >> and do you expect the ruling will be appealed to the supreme court? and is there any way to know how they might respond? >> well, it could be appealed to the supreme court. there's really not a lot of time left because it only involves the segregation of ballots, rather than just saying they won't be counted at this point. the court might not want to get involved. but one of the things the supreme court has been consistently saying to federal courts is don't change the rules just before the election. usually that was more of, you know, a liberal court doing something that helped count more ballots. this is a cut back.

and the eighth circuit said we don't care about this principle, this idea that we're close to the election because we're protecting the constitution. i think that's something that might really rankle some of the justices on the court. if it does go to the supreme court, it could be reversed. >> it's not just minnesota. there have also been big disputes over mail-in ballot deadlines in pennsylvania, north carolina, the supreme court weighed in to varying degrees. how would these resurface in possible post-election litigation? >> so you could imagine, say it's really close in minnesota, either for a presidential race or for a congressional race, someone might try to move that those ballots that are coming in late that are being set aside, now in minnesota and also in pennsylvania, that those ballots should not be counted. because the rule that allowed them to be counted took away the power of the state legislature. it's kind of the theory that the supreme court is hinting about but has never really embraced. >> and you may not know this, but if somebody has sent in a

ballot that they know is now too late, can they go and vote on election day? >> it depends on the state rules. i don't know the minnesota rules off the top of my head. what i can say is nobody anywhere in the united states right now should be mailing a ballot back. you should either be use a drop box if they're allowed, going to an official office or voting in person on election day or early. >> rick hassan, i appreciate it. thank you. recent court decisions have made the record-breaking early vote totals that much more important, particularly to democrats. more than 81 million total votes cast so far. 43 states plus washington, d.c. have now exceeded their early vote totals from four years ago. there is still one or more early voting days across the country including texas, georgia and florida, battleground states. phil mattingly has the latest on what all of this could mean on election night. so more than a third of all registered voters have already cast their ballots. which states are seeing particularly high turnout in the battleground states. >> look, anderson, we knew it would be a surge of early voting, but think the stunning

thing is 28 states and the district of columbia surpassed the total half cast back in 2016 and some of them are the most crucial states on the map. the state of north carolina, already over 80% of their 2016 total just through early vote. same with the state of georgia. state of florida, 79%. again, of the total early and election day, 79% is already in from 2016. you go over to arizona, they're at 72%. texas, anderson, texas is already at 98% of the entire 2016 total. it underscores, look, we knew that there was going to be a surge in early vote. we knew vote by mail was going to be crucial really for both parties but especially for democrats. but just the sheer amount that has come in over the course of the last several days and what still could come in over the next couple. >> wait. >> makes it very, very true this will be crucial to whoever wins. >> so, wait, texas, 98% of the number of total votes in 2016? >> yeah. >> that's -- have already been

voted -- have already voted? >> yeah, and, look, if you want to caveat it a little bit, it was down, total turnout was very down in texas. under 9 million. somewhere around 8.4, 8.5 million. they already have somewhere between 8.2 and 8.3 million votes cast already. >> that's incredible. >> between in-person and early vote. look, people want to vote. the enthusiasm, if we can say nothing else about what happens, the numbers we've seen from each of the states and states report differently, the enthusiasm in the middle of a pandemic is certainly there. >> people say it helps the democrats that all these people are voting early. do we know this? >> yeah. so it's hard to say. look, not every state breaks it down by party and you don't necessarily know exactly just because somebody registered as a republican or a democrat means that's going to be how they vote. there are two states in particular that i think people are paying close attention to and that starts with the state democrats i think at this point in time are most excited about. that's the state of north carolina. again, this is break down by party. doesn't necessarily mean that the democrat voted for joe biden, republican voted for donald trump. democrats right now in the state of north carolina, again, with a

surge of early voting, 39% of the vote came in with people that were registered as democrats to 31% of republican, and the no party or no party affiliation, north carolina, florida, other states is going to be what the big ballot battle is about, where everybody is paying very close attention because they've done this before. they do vote by mail. that's the state of florida. where do things stand right plow? democrats started with a big early lead. right now at 41%. republicans over the course of the last couple of days in-person early voting has kicked into gear have really started to close the gap. but, again, no party, pay attention to that as well. so, anderson, you can't draw any definitive conclusions by the data we're looking at right now other than it's big, it's surging and democrats believe that they've run up some good early vote numbers. it will depend on what republicans do not just in person early voting but election day. republicans, anderson, they acknowledge they have to win on election day and they have to win big. they think they can. democrats right now are trying to build that cushion. >> phil mattingly, thanks. perspective now from daktoc rod.

docs david axelrod and gloria borger. david, seeing more than 81 million votes cast. i guess the question is how confident are democrats about turnout? because just look at florida where republicans actually narrowed the early voting gap. so, you know, for days we've been talk about how close it is in these states. and i know you've said they're going to narrow -- it seems like they're narrowing. >> yeah. you know, i think that phil made an important point. the unaffiliated voters are 20% of the vote in florida. how they break is pretty important. the other thing is how many people actually vote early in all these places. 80 million nationally, staggering number. and the more people vote early, the more pressure it puts on the president to have a great day on -- on tuesday at the polling places. the cnn poll suggested that the people who are voting early were breaking 2 to 1 in favor of biden and that people voting for trump were breaking heavily his

way. but if more people vote early, that puts more pressure on trump to outperform. and i think we're -- people are going to be watching that and the -- and the thing that phil mentioned. where are these nonaffiliated voters going? if they break one way or the other, that can make a big difference. >> gloria, i mean, do you think the -- is the focus on florida even more heightened this year because it's so crucial to the president's path to 270 electoral votes? >> you know, as long as i've covered politics, the focus on florida -- >> yeah. >> -- is always pretty high. but i have to say this time it's incredibly high because it's so important to donald trump. if donald trump does not win florida he has a very narrow, narrow path to the presidency. if one at all. so he absolutely needs florida. biden would like to win florida, but if he loses florida, there are many roads to take him to 270. there's another reason it's so important this time. and it's about the timing of

florida. as you guys were talking before, they know how to count votes in florida. they've started counting votes in florida. so we might actually get the results in florida on election night and, for example, if biden were to win that, then his people would breathe a huge sigh of relief and they would say, okay, we really can see the way. and if trump were to win, his folks would say, all right, there's -- there's a way for us, and what does this mean in -- in other states like north carolina, for example? so it is important, but, of course, i was there in the year 2000 when florida was really important. and it was -- it was just over 500 votes that made the difference. >> yeah. david, i mean, former president obama won florida twice. trump won in 2016. both presidents had small margins. do you want to see the former president back there campaigning the next few days? he was there earlier this week. certainly got a lot of attention.

>> yeah, look, i think he's an effective surrogate and there's concern about minority voting in florida. not the pace of it, but how it's going to break. the republicans have done well in the last few elections among hispanics in florida, particularly that cuban population. the trump campaign has targeted young black voters. very heavily. and so, you know, and young voters generally are a target for democrats. so obama's helpful with these -- with some of these constituencies, non-cuban hispanics, younger black voters, young voters. and so they're going to dispatch him to work on that project, but he's going to michigan this weekend, to detroit where it's also important. and so, you know, you have to ration your resources. but florida -- just to emphasize something gloria said, anderson, florida is the difference between an election night where we think we have a verdict and a

long twilight struggle that might involve a lot of lawyers. >> yeah. >> disputing ballots in these northern states. >> gloria, i want to play something the first lady said on the campaign trail today. it was the first joint appearance in 2020. let's play that. >> in a time when hate, negativity and fear are the messages the media streams into our homes, and the large tech companies are protecting political censorship, we need to remember what is really important. my husband's administration is focused on the future. >> i mean, hate, negativity and fear are the main messages. it seems like of the president. >> yeah. it does -- i don't know, maybe this is part of the be best campaign. i have no idea. hate, negativity and fear in the same rally the president was full of hate and negativity. and the fear that this country

feels is not from the democrats or she blamed the media, but it's about covid. and so it's -- it's -- obviously she's on a campaign and the other day she talked about socialism and all the rest of it. you know, i think it sounds awfully hollow coming from melania trump. >> not to mention that the future -- not to mention the future that the president is forecasting out there if biden gets elected is an apocalypse. >> exactly. exactly. >> so fear is the tool he's using. >> david axelrod, gloria borger, thank you very much. we're going to continue the conversation next with the governor of pennsylvania. the site of intense voter suppression tactics like the legal battles we described earlier. what election day and the days after may look like when we continue. hair on the first stroke, while washing away dirt and oil. so you're ready for the day with a clean shave and a clean face.

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i want to focus on pennsylvania. it's a state that could be a tipping point in the election. it's the site of one of the most intense legal battles. one expected to extend past election day to determine which votes count. the supreme court allowed demands for an extended window to receive mail in ballot pps the court could still hear the case after election day. joining me now is the governor of pennsylvania, tom wolf. thanks for being with us. to the people of pennsylvania who have not voted yet but want to, what steps should they take so their vote is counted, democrat or republican? >> what we're encouraging and urging everybody to do is walk it in but do it in person. >> short of that, they should not mail in a ballot at this point? >> i think just to be safe.

the court has ruled that the state supreme court ruling that the bat lols can -- ballots can be counted by the end of friday. i wouldn't chance it. just walk it to the election office, take it in person to drop box. that's the safest way to do it. >> that's why it's so important to just walk it there or vote in person. we have always done that with our veterans and we'll continue

to do that. make sure it gets there. whatever the noise is out there, whatever the supreme court ultimately decides to do, if anything, just walk it to the election office. walk it to the drop box and make sure that you do this in person. >> in the wisconsin ballot case earlier this week justice kavanaugh wrote states want to avoid the chaos and suspicion of imp impropriety and those states want the announce the results on election night or as soon as possible thereafter. is that correct? does kavanaugh speak for you when he characterizes what states want? >> no. as i said, military ballots have been counted a week, seven days after the polls close. we've had military absentee ballots since the civil war in pennsylvania. i was in business before i was

governor so six years ago i was looking at postmarks and if somebody got a bill in that was postmarked on the date it was due and it took four or five days to get there, there was no late charge for that. i think this is the way the world works. again, we will segregate ballots that come in after 8:00 on election day for that three-day period, if any come in and so that if the supreme court changes its mind, they will be able to say these are the ballots that came in after 8:00 on election day and they can be disposed of. >> new york times is reporting in pennsylvania the trump campaign has a three prong strategy to suppress votes. the time said they quote ed of voting sites and pressed administrators to stop people from delivering more than one ballot to a drop box.

do you think the campaign has engaged in voter intimidation or suppression? >> voter intimidation is illegal in pennsylvania. i would not want to accuse anybody of breaking the law. they have taken a very aggressive stance legally, as you know. they have been suing the life out of local municipal governments, county, the state, the department of state in pennsylvania. they are doing everything they can. it almost looks to me like, i mean, when you played little league if you didn't like the outcome, you always argued about the rules and that's when you lost.

>> in pennsylvania, each of counties, we have 6 coun7 count. ta are t they are the ones that count the ballot. i think in most counties if on early election day, ballot comes in the wrong way, if someone drops it off without the credit si envelope or something like that or it's not signed, i think most of the candidates will say put your signature on here. the court has ruled if it's not done exactly right then it's not going to count. we have made a big effort to make sure that people understand there are two envelopes. one is the secrecy envelope inside the mailing envelope and you need to put the ballot inside the secrecy envelope. the secrecy envelope has to go inside the mail envelope and then send that off like that.

>> appreciate your time. thank you very much. >> there's no question wisconsin is another crucial state. joe biden as president trump are scheduled to kpanl campaign in state tomorrow. it's no question wisconsin has been hit. bill weir with the state of play on both fronts. >> what are you worried more about these days, covid-19 or the election? >> it would be a toss up. >> reporter: she's among the thousands pouring through this center where they knock out one free test every nine seconds. at current rates, the state's intensive care unit will overflow within weeks. an out rageous, preventible final straw for biden voters who see trump's mostly maskless wisconsin rallies as super spreader events. >> we're rounding the curve. we're rounding the corner.

>> i don't understand how he can down play the seriousness of this. it totally escapes me. >> it's wrong. >> i think biden will win this state. i think that has strongly affected the way that i would vote. >> reporter: in trump's wisconsin from farm country up north to the suburbs of mill u milwauk milwaukee, there's a very different level of covid concern. >> did it affect the way you think about this election? >> not at all. just stay safe. they have lots of hand sanitizer and have alcohol wipes. they have glass protection. it's very safe. my biggest reason for voting for trump, i don't believe biden will live that long. i'm not real comfortable with two females in office. i don't care for nancy. >> reporter: her fear of nancy pelosi and kamala harris makes her the exception. poll show joe biden holding a wide league among women. early turn out among younger voters is off the chart.

milwaukee's black voters have yet to show up in numbers that helped barack obama's first win. >> do you see that yourself? there's a different interest now than there was in 2016? >> for sure. a lot of things that occurred in the united states. >> you worried what happened in kenosha might inspire the other side to come out? >> yeah. it is what it is. >> reporter: wisconsin's democrats lost a supreme court plea for more time to gather pandemic mail in ballots. they are winning every recent pre-election poll. >> it's clear there's a lot more democrat voters voting early and more new voters who are likely voting for biden and harris than new voters voting republican. .

>> have you considered combining the two biggest stories and have ballot drop offs while getting your covid test. >> i think we want to concentrate on just testing here. health is held. i wish it weren't political. >> reporter: after testing a quarter million people, so far, not a single worker caught the virus. just more proof that prevention is the best medicine. >> on any given day one of our testers is probably exposed to 80 positive cases thaand they a wearing a mask and face shield. that's keeping them safe. i know the virus is going to spread in that community and i worry for them. i wish that people would just wear masks. >> reporter: bill weir, cnn, madison, wisconsin. >> join us for special live coverage from the first vote to the critical count. see kwhast happening in your state and across the country. our special coverage starts tuesday at 4:00 p.m. eastern.

the news continues right now. hand it over to chris. thank you. i'm chris cuomo. welcome to "primetime." here is the simple fact. today is the worst day of cases we have had in this pandemic. period. more than 85,000 infections recorded just today all across this country. the reality is it's likely to get much worse. that's it. there is no debate on the reality. we have had more pain today than ever. period. a new key model projects death rates may triple by mid-january. the reason they're able to say that is the same reason we had the most cases today. the same reason things are going to wrong way. we are not rounding the corner in our