and wemby now just the third teenager in league history to put up those kind of numbers joining lebron and kevin durant. finally last night's match-up between tcu and texas tech interrupted by a possum on the field. did not go quietly. it was hanging on to the turf with those sharp claws as he was dragged out of the stadium. 7-7 when the possum took the field. tech went on to win. so maybe they need to keep it in the stadium off to the side or something. >> it is the new mascot. oh, my god, i love this. he is like i want to watch the game too. what are you doing with me. that is a great way to start the weekend. thank you very much for being with us this morning. and thanks to all of you for joining us. i'm kasie hunt. "cnn this morning" starts right now.

. this is cnn breaking news. good morning, everyone, and welcome, i'm phil mattingly with erica hill in new york. poppy is off today. right now, secretary antony blinken back in the war zone in israel. we are expecting blinken to speak in just moments after meeting with prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his war cabinet. >> blinken's trip comes as one of the most intense nights. we watched rockets and missiles rain down live on cnn as flares list up the night sky. blinken, president biden and his top advisers are warning israel that the human suffering in gaza is eroding public support for the war and the outcry for a cease-fire could reach a tipping point. the israeli military says its troops are completely surrounded gaza city. the latest video in this morning from those ground operations, casualties are rising on both

sides, the idf now says 23 israeli soldiers have been killed since that ground assault was launched in gaza. >> this morning the red crescent says israeli strikes near a hospital blew out the windows and parts of the ceiling came down and injured at least 21 civilians, including women and children sheltering inside. we're starting with jim sciutto live for us in northern israel. with the secretary of state back on the ground clearly the ground operation advancing at a level that some israelis would say is faster than expected. this is a huge moment. what are the stakes today? >> reporter: i think you could call this a mission of moderation from the u.s. secretary of state as you said meeting with with israeli political leaders benjamin netanyahu but also the war cabinet. part of the message and, and he said this before he took off from the states, encouraging israel to take steps to protect civilians in gaza as u.s. concern grows about the fate of civilians there, particularly

with air strikes we've seen this week, including on the jabalia refugee camp where israeli forces targeted, but many civilians died in the attack as well. in addition to the message he's delivering here he's going to follow this trip with a visit to amann. president biden was meant to go there and meet with arab leaders after his stop here in israel. that trip was cancelled following the attack on the hospital in gaza, initially blamed on israel, of course u.s. intel has since assessed that was a palestinian rocket. regardless we have the u.s. secretary of state the top diplomat going to amann to meet with jordanian leaders and others to bring them on board to some degree for a way forward, not just about the israeli military in gaza, but efforts to prevent this war from expanding to the northern front here where we are facing lebanon and syria,

as well as the attacks we're seeing coming from as far afield as yemen, the rebels there. >> jim, when you talk about the fears and concerns related to expansion, there is no more important marker than what we're going to hear today from the leader of hezbollah for the first time really in a tangible manner since the war began, you and i have been talking about this all week. what uh listening for? what we expect to be an hours-long speech. >> reporter: it's listening to what he say to say but more importantly what the fighters loyal to him do. we got a sense of that yesterday when there was a real uptick, a spike in rocket attacks across the border from southern lebanon here in the northern israel, at least a couple of dozen. our team was out and we saw israel's missile defense system catch two rockets in the air. it was a definite uptick. will his words today signal that that's just a taste of what's to

come? i mean, he can certainly be expected to express solidarity with his brothers in arms, hamas, which he's done already, but to come out and make this public speech, not just to his supporters but to the world, a lot of anticipation, and hezbollah always media savvy, social media savvy and releasing these videos portending a major statement. we'll see what he has to say. but more importantly i'll tell you israeli forces up here as well as u.s. intelligence is watching more closely as to what those hezbollah fighters do in response to his statements. >> words, but also actions. jim sciutto, we'll be with you all show, thank you. joining us now from tel aviv, idf international spokeswoman major libby wise, good to have you with us this morning, taking a look at what we saw overnight, the escalation, the intensity in gaza, the fact that gaza city is now encircled, there is a note that idf forces were engaging in face to face combat.

give us a better sense, is this a few soldiers, or is this more widespread? >> reporter: we are continuing to expand our ground operations in gaza with a very clear focus, and that is to dismantle hamas, and we know that hamas is deeply entrenched in that area. they've invested millions and millions of dollars over the years to be as entrenched as possible. but we are facing them, and we are dismantling them man by man. >> it's more than just a few soldiers to clarify dealing with face to face combat, essentially? >> for obvious reasons i won't expand on specific troop numbers but the ground operations are expanding and we are facing the threat that hamas exposed to our people, and going after them the best we can. >> there are multiple outlets saying the u.s. is actually flying drones over gaza as part of this search for hostages, can you confirm that? >> i can't confirm that. it would be best to direct that

to the west but of course we understand that many countries are deeply concerned about the fate of the hostages being held by hamas right now, and the fastest way for them to come home would be for hamas to release them immediately, to release civilians immediately, have them come home. what they did was a war crime, and these hostages shouldn't be held there. much of the world is deeply distressed, as we are about their well-being. >> as this continues, being there, having gaza city surrounded, is there encircled, rather, has there been anymore evidence that's been found of hostages in that area? >> well, i can't elaborate on the specifics, we want to make sure that we are being as cautious as possible to allow our soldiers to continue with their efforts, and we hope that they are going to be rescued and that they -- again, the fastest with for them to come home would be for hamas to release them immediately. >> hamas warned yesterday the israeli bombing is endangering the lives of the hostages, i

recognize that's coming from hamas, but we are also hearing from humanitarian aid organizations and from families who share a similar concern. what is the idf's level of concern when it comes to the location of those hostages and their safety at this point? >> their safety is a top priority for us, we are a small country, we all feel deeply and personally connected to every single one of those hostages, they're not strangers to us, and we are thinking about them at all times. and having them come home safely is a top priority, that goes hand in hand with our mission of dismantling hamas, it's a complicated operational reality. that is the nature of this war that hamas launched, but of course the well-being of those hostages is a top priority for us, and it goes hand in hand with our goal of dismantling hamas. >> as you know secretary blinken is in israel today where he has said he will be urging israel to take, quote, concrete steps to protect civilians, this morning

13 democratic senators in the u.s. release add letter calling for a short-term cessation of hostilities in gaza, urging israel to allow humanitarian aid in. is a pause or a break in conflict on the table? >> that is something that on the political level would have to be decided and we will of course in the idf facilitate whatever decision is made. it's important for me to say that we are listening to our american counterparts and are very grateful for their support and in the meantime we are continuing to facilitate the entrance of humanitarian goods into the gaza strip, more than 300 trucks have gone in with humanitarian goods, specifically, food, medicine and water for the civilians in gaza. they are not our target in any capacity, and we will continue to dismantle hamas, and to do that until we get any other directive. >> i do want to get your take on this quickly before we let you go. one of the 13 senators who signed that letter, senator chris murphy of connecticut released a separate statement yesterday in which he called the

civilian death toll unsustainable. went on to write, i urge israel to immediately reconsider its approach and shift to a more deliberate and proportionate counterterrorism campaign, surgically targeting hamas, how do you respond to that criticism and that request? >> i won't comment specifically on the exact complaint that he expressed. what i can say is that more than two weeks ago we instructed civilians in the northern part of the gaza strip to move to the southern part of the strip, we provided them this warning, we know that more than 800,000 of them have moved to a safer part of the gaza strip and i'd like to say that we did this despite the fact that on october 7th, nearly a month ago, hamas had no warning to the civilians in this country. they went after them deliberately and intentionally. that is not what we are trying to do in the gaza strip. we are providing a warning in advance to our operational detriment, and we're doing this because we want to minimize the impact on civilians.

at the end of the day hamas is responsible for the well-being of the civilians in the gaza strip. they should be facilitating the movement of civilians to safer areas, within the gaza strip. and effectively we should not be the only party in this conflict concerned with the well-being of the civilians, also the responsible of hamas in the gaza strip. >> major libby weiss we have to leave it there this morning, thank you. >> thank you. secretary of state antony blinken is back in the war zone this morning showing support for israel but warning about the growing humanitarian crisis in gaza. and new this morning, president biden facing mounting pressure at home to deal with the suffering. as we mentioned 13 democrats in the senate calling for a short-term cessation of hostilities to allow for more aid. the impact ahead.

the republican-led house has passed a $14.5 billion aid package, aid for israel alone. does in the include funding for ukraine. the bill is doa in the senate. chuck schumer already said he won't take up the house bill. the white house for its part says president biden will veto any aid package that does not include assistance for ukraine. new this morning 13 senate democrats are pushing for a pause in military activity in gaza. in a joint letter released this morning which calls for a short-term cessation of hostilities to provide humanitarian aid.

dick durbin was the first member of the caucus to call for a cease-fire during his appearance on this show yesterday. >> is a cease-fire needed now? >> i think it is, at least under -- in the context of both sides agreeing, for example, the release of those who have been kidnapped should be part of this, immediate release, that should be the beginning of it. efforts should be made to engage in conversation between the israelis and the palestinians. we need to have a resolution in the middle east that gives some promise for the future. >> it is a tangible shift from some of the white house closest allies, happening at the exact same time secretary of state antony blinken is back in israel meeting with prime minister benjamin netanyahu to press them on the ongoing offensive in gaza. before leaving washington blinken said he planned to be clear how the u.s. feels about the growing loss of civilian life. >> how israel does this matters. we will focus as well on steps

that need to be taken to protect civilians who are in a crossfire of hamas's making, and we want to look at concrete steps that can be taken to better protect them. >> cnn's natasha bertrand joins us now live. this is a delicate diplomatic dance ongoing, not just for the secretary of state but for all u.s. officials. can you take us behind the public statements, what are the kind of goals that the secretary of state has with this visit? what does he hope to secure from the israelis? >> reporter: well, look, phil, i think first it's very important to note that the administration is getting increasingly concerned by the death toll, the rising death toll of civilians inside gaza, and so one of the key priorities for blinken is going to be to get an update on the military operation inside the gaza strip, as well as to discuss concrete steps that the israelis can take to minimize those civilian casualties, that's a key part of his message here because the administration believes that it is going to get increasingly difficult for

israel to continue prosecuting this war as long as the images keep emerging of children and women being pulled from the rubble of these air strikes, and so that's going to be a key priority here, but another one, of course, is going to be getting sustained aid into gaza, he said that there are about 50 to 60 trucks of aid per day going into the gaza strip but he wants to see that get up to 100, if not more, and so that sustained aid is going to be key. but then, a third priority for him is going to be the day two question, what happens if and when israel manages to degrade hamas to the point where they no longer govern the gaza strip? who then can be responsible for governing this very large population of palestinians? that is something that he is going to be discussing because while many people say it is premature at this point to talk about what comes after this military operation ends, the administration does not want to see israel becoming occupying force inside gaza. the question then becomes, who can take that on?

so that's going to be part of his discussions, and then in relation to that when he visits the jordanians, he wants to reassure them that palestinians are not going to be expelled en masse from gaza because that is not something that the jordanians or other regional partners want to see either, phil. >> it's been notable in the president's calls with king abdullah, and president -- notable inclusion in the readout of the white house calls. i have to ask, every day i'm struck by the convergence of so many complicating factors, another one, syria sending a missile system to hezbollah. what do we know here? >> syrian president bashar al assad has agreed to provide hezbollah with a russian air defense system. it is apparently going to be delivered by the wagner group, that russian mercenary organization. these are all connected because they all really operate inside syria. so hezbollah is backed by iran,

iran supports assad, russia also supports assad, and all of this is coming together, of course, at a very, very delicate moment when there are serious concerns across the u.s. government that hezbollah could join the conflict on that northern border with israel. having a missile defense system that's being delivered by wagner potentially, we don't know yet if it has been delivered or the status of that. that could really, you know, intensify this conflict in a way that the administration has been urging the iranians and hezbollah and other iranian proxy groups not to do. it is definitely a concern, but it just shows just how many actors there are who could potentially join this conflict and make it even worse. >> that's such an important point, natasha bertrand, thank you. eric, trump will be back on the stand today in the trump family's civil fraud trial. financial statements at the trump organization, next. and former crypto king sam bankman-fried found guilty last

night of fraud and conspiracy. what that convictition couldld for the future of the cryptocurrency market, we'll have more.

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on the stand today in the new york civil fraud trial against the family business. he and his brother don jr. are accused of knowingly participating in a scheme to inflate their father's net worth. cnn's brynn gingras is at the -- what is the contention so for far eric? >> erica, good morning, there's a couple things to keep in mind. these financial statements are at the core of the case. the brothers took over the family business when their father took over the oval office so the state's attorney wants to know what their role was in preparing these financial statements which showed an inflation of assets of the family company. so, they want to know how much they knew about them, did they play a role in preparing them? when states attorneys were questioning eric trump about this it got a little contentious, he was distancing himself. the attorney general's office brought up emails, brought up his prior deposition, phone

calls, evidence showing he had knowledge and that he had possibly a role to play in this. it got a little heated on the stand for eric trump, but he still, along with his brother don jr., denies any direct involvement in preparing those financial statements. and don jr. spent about three hours doing just that, and then he came outside this courthouse and he spoke to the cameras about this civil fraud trial as a whole. take a listen. >> before even having a day in court i'm apparently guilty of fraud for relying on my accountant to do -- wait for it -- accounting. i mean, think about that. what does that do for literally any other business? >> reporter: and, yeah, he said this was a political persecution by the attorney general's office, something that we, of course, heard from his father as well, as he's taken to the micr microphone throughout this trial.

anger comings from brothers as it pertains to the trial. we will see eric trump back on the stand, court ends about 1:00 today. >> we may hear from ivanka trump, what happens next here? >> reporter: this judge ordered she has to come to testify. that is set to happen next wednesday after her father goes under oath on monday, the expected date. and the court -- a higher court basically said they don't accept her attempt, her appeal to put a stay, not only on her testimony, but this entire trial as a whole. so as of now, they are expecting her to be in court next week, so it's going to be another eventful week here in downtown manhattan, guys. >> it certainly will, and i have a feeling you'll be there with a front row seat to all of it, brynn, appreciate it, thank you. attorneys for samuel bankman freed are beginning their -- the

exchange he created ftx. sbf as he's become known could be looking at spending more than 100 years in prison. cnn's jason carroll is live with more, i was struck when the jury started deliberating, only four hours. >> should have been a sign. i'm sure that it was. he clearly, even before the verdict came down, looked uncomfortable, he was tapping his foot, he clearly looked shaken, though, as the decision came down. each guilty verdict that was read when bankman basically sunk his head deeper and deeper into his lap, his parents also in the courtroom, they appeared devastated, the jury found him guilty on all seven counts, including wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud, and guilty of money laundering. the verdict not a surprise to many who had been following the trial, the prosecution presented an overwhelming amount of evidence, incoming financial documents, phony balance sheets which showed lenders that they had money that simply did not

exist, incriminating conversations between b bankman-fried and executives, and also damning testimony from former executives who said they knew he was taking this money, told him he should not be doing it and that he went on and did it anyway. throughout the trial prosecutors portrayed him as greedy and ambitious. they say he secretly used ftx, the cryptocurrency exchange, that he founded as his own personal piggy bank, he used customer funds for whatever he wanted, whether it be political campaigns, buying luxury property and also to fund that financially-strapped trading business he founded alameda research. one of the prosecution's star witnesses, his former girlfriend and former alameda ceo carolyn allison, she had already pleaded guilty to fraud and cooperated with the prosecution. she said they lied to investors, lied to auditors about taking customers' money from ftx. last night after the verdict was

read, the prosecution weighed in on the jury's decision. >> the players like sam bankman-fried might be new, but this kind of fraud, this kind of corruption is as old as time, and we have no patience for it. it's a warning, this case, to every single fraudster out there who thinks they're untouchable. i promise we'll have enough handcuffs for all of them. >> reporter: bankman-fried's attorney also released a statement last night saying the following, we respect the jury's decision but we are very disappointed with the result. mr. bankman-fried maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him. bankman-fried also testified during this trial in his own defense, that just simply did not go well. under cross-examination he was asked repeatedly about specifics about the business, he said i can't recall, i can't remember, said that more than 100 times. and i think it's important for people to remember that at the end of the day here, $8 billion

gone, gone, this is money that could have been a retirement for someone, an investment for someone else, all that money gone, attorney general merrick garland said the following, this was a man who thought he was above the law, he simply was is not, the jury proved that, sentenced on march 28th. >> jason, appreciate it, thank you. a jewish cemetery in austria was set on fire, swastikas sprayed on the walls. the same room was burned down in 1938 by the nazis. >> i think it takes us back to times where the books were burned, and it is an attack on the spiritual values of the religion and of humanity. >> we are seeing something we have not seen yet ever in

history. >> a speaker pushed out. >> i it's the biggest f-u to republican voters i've ever seen. >> very emotional right now. >> will this ever, ever be over. >> minutes from now there could be a new house speaker. >> mike johnson, the new speaker of the u.s. house of representatives just elected. >> republicans say they are finally ready to move ahead and put aside e the ugly c chance.

>> we cannot help but feel hopeless and abandoned given it's been 18 days and no concrete help from the state department. >> that was a few days ago when he and his family were still stuck. good morning, good news, he, his wife, their von have made it out. they safely crossed into egypt early thursday morning. they're a palestinian american family from massachusetts visiting family in gaza when the war broke out. we have been tracking their story on our show since the beginning. their attorney telling cnn, their family is overwhelmed with the love and support they have received from home and abroad but they are also exhausted, fmlfm physically and emotionally drained and have a long journey ahead of them. they asked for prayers for

civilians who remain in gaza. today, nearly 100 foreign nationals have crossed through the rafah crossing from gaza and are now in egypt, according to an egyptian border official. additionally, 20 ambulances were seen passing through that crossing to bring back wounded palestinians. salma abdel aziz joins us now. what more do we know about those ambulances? >> reporter: the steady stream of foreign nationals continues to seep out of gaza, very important diplomatic negotiations went on for weeks to make this happen. of course qatar being the key mediator, but coordinating with israel, hamas and the united states. we continue to see those foreign nationals as you mentioned, our latest information just an hour ago, 99 foreign nationals allowed out this morning of gaza through the rafah border crossing. this is a very complex process. they have to get out of gaza, passport checks, security checks and they cross into the egyptian

side, more checks there, imagine going through airport security essentially but on a land border, and one, of course, where there is a war zone on the other side. so huge relief for the families, also tracking as you mentioned, the americans coming out. so unclear how many of those 99 are american citizens. there's been other foreign nationals that have been evacuated as well as of yesterday. our reporting shows that about 20 to 25 americans had been evacuated, and yesterday there was a total of 341, according to egyptian officials, 341 foreign nationals that were able to cross out of gaza into egypt, meaning that that 100 doesn't mean that the day's over yet. we could continue to see more people seep out. very important that this is happening while secretary of state antony blinken is on the ground, this is absolutely, when you look at it, a test. hostages are absolutely not included in these negotiations, but the fact that these four countries, qatar, the u.s.,

israel and of course hamas and egypt, can coordinate and come to an agreement, that's important. that's the test. that's something that secretary of state antony blinken is going to point to as a success. you also mentioned the ambulances, we continue to see wounded people coming out, but you have to remember that's a tiny trickle of the thousands of palestinians who have been injured in this conflict so far, erica. >> salma, appreciate it, thank you. you may not realize it but election day 2023 fast approaching. may not be the midterms but there are some key governor's races and very key ballot measures like abortion access at stake. we're going to break it down for you. happening now, moderating protests in the west bank, folks taking to the streets to voice their opposition to israel's war with hamamas.

as we continue to follow the breaking news out of the middle east you are looking at live pictures of a group gathered in ramallah after friday prayers have been a series of significant protests over the

course of the last several weeks. we will continue to monitor what's happening here as well. at the same time there has been a significant increase of anti-semitic acts in both the united states and around the world since that october 7th attack by hamas on israel. fbi director chris wray said this week that anti-semitism is reaching, quote, historic levels in the u.s. in austria, the jewish community has been targeted in an incident that carries disturbing reminders of the past. frederik pleitgen joins us. this holds extra significance, the room where you stand was burned down last in 1938 by the nazis. >> reporter: yeah, it certainly was, and it's definitely something that's extremely troubling to the jewish community here in austria, and vienna. i'm inside that ceremonial hall that was set on fire. you can see that the windows there that have been destroyed to then obviously put fire here into the room but those have been sort of patched up a little

bit but everything that was inside, including very valuable scriptures for the jewish community here in vienna was destroyed. this is an incident that happened here in vienna, but it's also part of what many jews in europe are seeing as a huge, steep rise in anti semitic incidents that has a lot of folks here on the continent very worried. here's what we're seeing. valuable scrolls and prayer books reduced to ashes after an arson attack on this serceremon hall. this last time this very hall was set on fire was almost to the day 85 years ago by the nazis, the chief rabbi tells me. how big is the damage, not just in terms of obviously the room itself, but spirit -- spirit yulely for you and the jewish community?

>> it takes us back to a time when the books were burned and an attack on the spiritual values of the religion and of humanity, which happened here. >> reporter: a swastika on the outer wall leaves few questions about the santi semitic nature f the attack. >> it should worry us in the free world about what's going on. the attacks are top of what's going on. >> reporter: since hamas's october 7th attack on southern israel murdering more than 1,400 people, and kidnapping hundreds -- and israel's military response in gaza which has also caused many casualties, anti semitic incidents have skyrocketed by about 300% in austria, the head of vienna's jewish community tells me. >> we are anxious. we are -- people are thinking

about the life, the first thinking is, is jewish life possible in austria, the second thinking is, is jewish life possible in europe, or in the world? >> reporter: with pro-palestinian anti-israel demos sweeping across the continent, groups say it's getting more prevalent and uglier. from plastering stars of david on jewish homes in paris what a molotov cocktail attack on one of the main synagogues in berlin, and near daily assaults and insults in various european countries. >> seen evidence of -- >> reporter: today, just hours after the cemetery attack, vienna's jewish community hosted hiss whose relatives were killed or or kidnapped by hamas. this family, four murdered, seven kidnapped.

he lives in europe, but while he's publicly advocating for the hostages in everyday life he feels he has to hide his jewish -- >> not to go to places considered jewish, like a synagogue or things like that. >> reporter: while many european leaders have come out strongly against the rising tide of anti-semitism, the head of the european jewish association says it's not enough. >> we know exactly when we are in danger, and we are now in danger. european leaders, we need you right now to act, never again is now, not tomorrow, not next week, it's now. >> reporter: but as much as there is fear, there's also a sense of defiance. rabbi engle meyer himself painting over the nazi slurs on the cemetery wall, eager to show his jewish community will not be intimidated by anti-semitic attacks. and, you know, phil, the jewish

community here in vienna got a boost also last night when there was a sea of light memorial that took place where thousands of people showed up to show solidarity with israel, but of course first and foremost also with the hostages that are still being held by hamas, guys. >> really important story, fred pleitgen, thank you. america's top diplomat is back in israel this morning, antony blinken, balancing support for israel's war with hamas, but protecting civilians in gaza. what can he achieve? that's next.

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in sports this morning steelers sending fans home happy with a win over the titans, not easy getting there, down by three, kenny pickett leading pittsburgh on a 92 yard drive ending on this touchdown, you see the touchdown pass to dionne day johnson was his first td catch since 2021, steelers taking the lead there but then a really carry moment for tennessee. wide receiver tray lon burkes trying to catch this pass, his head hits hard on that turf. he would remain down, a stretcher brought out to the field to take him off, burkes giving a thumbs up on his way out after the game the coach said he was alert and moving. pittsburgh held on to win 20-16. election day is almost here, you know that because the map is

gray, nothing's filled in yet, there's no blue, there's no red, but there will be votes and those votes will start coming in and be counted on tuesday. now, obviously, not 2024, not the presidential election, or the congressional races, but races across the country will give us a critical look into the issues animating voters ahead of the 2024 presidential primaries, at stake on tuesday two governorships in the south. this is what everybody's watching to some degree. kentucky and mississippi, there's also the virginia legislature that's up in the air, and abortion access in ohio. i want to bring in ron brownstein, senior political analyst and senior editor at the atlantic. i want to start with governor's races in particular, if you switch back to 2020 and you look at these two states in particular, what you're going to see is -- presidential notes early, donald trump winning in kentucky by almost 30 points, mississippi was even more significant. if you're looking around and saying why are these two races actually competitive right now,

tell me. >> well, you know, first of all, phil, good morning, the bottom line, first bottom line reason is that governor races have been able to separate more from the national trends than senate and house races. i mean, there have been more examples in recent years of democrats winning in republican-winning states and vice versa for the governorship than we see for the senate. in kentucky you've got a popular incumbent, and in mississippi you have an embattled incumbent, in mississippi you have an embattled incumbent republican. the reason the races are unfolding the way they are. i think the kentucky one is actually more tied into the big national question in this election next week, how does the abortion issue continue to reverberate through our politics after the supreme court overturned roe v. wade. >> i want to get into that in one second. stop you for one minute. right now i'm showing the 2019

results where andy bashir narrowly edged out bevin. they would acknowledge bashir is a good candidate. when you look at polling bashir in 2023 still seems like he's ahead despite being under water by 15, 20 points in the state. why? >> well, partially it's abortion, and partially it's the fact that, as i said, you can separate more easily in a governor's race attitudes about the president, even though it's becoming more correlated than it used to be. by the way, look at your map on kentucky. that is a really dramatic measure of what we are going to see again next week, which is that, you know, bashir won while winning only a handful of counties. democrat continue to -- we continue to see this geographic polarization in our politics with democrats running better in the biggest metro areas, and

republicans running better outside of the metro areas, and that's what we are seeing, you know, in not only kentucky, certainly that's going to be a big factor in virginia, it's going to be a big factor in ohio. in this ballot initiative on preserving and restoring abortion rights. >> i'm up on the '19 # map, in the areas where bashir ran up his vote, got destroyed most other counties around, but it's about minimizing how badly you lose counties that aren't yours and maximize your turnout. but i want to go specifically to the abortion issue. it's so critical, has been so critical, was in the midterms as well. what we've seen over the course of the last year and a half or so, you want to go down to the ballot initiatives, in places like kansas, in places like michigan, places where this issue, when it came to abortion rights advocates, they won resoundingly. just pull up kansas and look at it, no constitutional right to abortion, the noes, 59% in kansas a red state, saw similar results in michigan to some

degree in ohio as well, leading to the ballot initiative that's up this time around. what have you been seeing? >> well, the abortion issue, i think, is obviously -- i think that's the thing that's going to be the most important to watch on tuesday. we have seen, i think, an -- a nuanced pattern that is important to kind of untangle. in red states and blue alike, when given the chance to vote directly on abortion rights we have seen voters support those rights. whether it is kansas, or kentucky, or montana, or ohio, or michigan, and vermont, and california, the electoral impact on campaigns has been more nuanced. in 2022 we did not see significant backlash against republican governors in red-leaning states that actually banned abortion, places like florida, texas, iowa and so forth. but we did see, in blue and purple states, significant resistance to republican

candidates who carried in effect the threat of banning abortion, whether it was michigan or pennsylvania or wisconsin, and i think that is why virginia -- you know, in ohio, the direct vote on abortion rights, a red state, red-leaning state where mike dewine won a landslide reelection despite signing a six-week abortion ban that's probably going to be overturned, that's the direct democracy, virginia is, i think, the most telling test of all next week, because it's a state where republicans now have a big lead on who can handle the economy, a big lead on who can handle crime and normally would be in position to win that unified control of the state legislature of the governor glenn youngkin is seeking, but abortion rights are a huge hurdle and head wind for them and democrats are confident they'll at least hold the state senate and take back the state house almost entirely around that issue. >> it's been interesting to pick up on that confidence. ron brownstein as always, we appreciate it, thank you. cnn m