Transcripts For KGO Nightline 20240712

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And setting the standard by which all who follow, will be measured. Tequila herradura, the worlds most gold medal awarded tequila. Good evening. Thank you for joining us. Tonight, coming out in droves to polling sites. Young americans casting their ballots in this years president ial election. Early voting numbers suggesting they are a force to be reckoned with. Why are so many of them making a move this time around . Heres nightlines ashan singh. Im going to vote, im so excited, whoohoo reporter its 50 degrees right outside of philly, and it is nasty out. But a little bit of bad weather wasnt going to stop Cameron Davis and her grandmother from celebrating the 20yearolds birthday. So what are we doing to celebrate . Im going to vote. How do you feel . You feel excited . Im ready to get it. Im excited. Reporter spending your birthday at a polling location may not seem like the coolest way to celebrate. But for millions of young people this year, voting is actually the hip thing to do. Look at me. Im doing my civic duty. Reporter this election, somethings in the air. From celebrities like snoop dogg your Voter Registration is now cleat. Reporter to tyler the creator admitting that this will be their first time voting. A lot of yall are going to be like, ahh, my vote doesnt matter, theyre going to pick who they want. Reporter not to mention aoc gaming to get out the vote to the tune of nearly 500,000 viewers. You can call me aoc, mike pence can call me aoc. Reporter organizations both grass roots and National Driving young people to the polls both literally and figuratively. Hosting covidsafe block parties and engaging in social media, public art, even streetwear. With more than 6 million young people already voting in this years election, is this the year the youth vote finally shows up . Just voted. Reporter either way, its clear that now more than ever, its not cool to not care anymore. How important do you think the youth vote is in this years election . Because the youth vote is usually so low, a lot of enthusiasm from young voters can make a really big difference. And i think the difference could be especially big in a couple of key swing states. Reporter nightline traveled to three battleground states to look at how and why young people across the country are hoping to move the needle on november 3rd. We did it i know reporter back in pennsylvania, cameron and her grandmother are teaching me a vote dance she made up to celebrate her ballot. For almost 20 years, camerons home state has gone to the democrats. Until trump flipped the state red in 2016. While fivethirtyeights election forecast has joe biden favored at the moment, voters like cameron, who have been concerned with the president s handling of the pandemic and racial justice, arent taking their vote for granted. You think theres a lot at stake . There is a lot. I dont believe that we will progress as a country, as a nation, if we continue to go in the direction that were going. And with the president that were going with. Reporter for cameron, the power of social media has made the act of voting that much more exciting. Vote its limited to do things in person right now. I wanted to get peoples attention about voting, but make it fun. As long as it catches their attention, theyre going to listen to the message thats behind it. One, two, three reporter the influence of tiktok and instagram on this years election is something that organizations small and large are banking on to drive up registration numbers. Early votings open in atlanta. At the urban leagues pull up to the polls event, its part policy and part, well, party. 24yearold Community Organizer Julius Thomas is just one of the many who help put this together. This is the election of a lifetime. This is so important to get young people excited and energized to vote and find new and creative ways. Keep people engaged. Reporter his home state of georgia is changing largely due to shifting demographics of atlanta and its surrounding area. The state has been solidly republican for almost 25 years. But Hillary Clintons performance in 2016 surprised everyone. Now fivethirtyeights got the peach state as a true tossup. I think its important to say for our forecast that its not a crystal ball, but yeah, georgias very close right now. After the passing of john lewis and c. T. Vivian, this city does not want their work to go in vain. We want to show them were ready to torch and were doing it in a cool, fun, exciting, hip way that only atlanta can do. Reporter focused on getting firsttime voters registered and to the polls. At 25, hes voting in his first president ial election. I was too young when obama was in there the last time, then the next time, i was kind of discouraged. So i didnt vote. So this is my first time to vote. Whats going through your mind as youre about to vote for the first time . Im excited. Reporter in any given lex, 35 to 60 of eligible voters dont vote. Young people are a big part of the problem. Fivethirtyeights amelia thompsondevoe has been studying what keeps people from the polls. A lot of people we talked to may have been eligible in 2016, but for whatever reason, just decided not to vote. Now theyre not only registering early, theyre voting early. Why do you think that is . Sometimes its a sense that politics just isnt worth it, that they dont think it matters, they didnt like the candidates. Sometimes its kind of a mix of the two. So i think what were seeing this year is that people really think its important to vote. Reporter for marcus, it took the outcome of the 2016 race for him to wake up. After 2016, did you feel guilty for not having voted at all . Definitely. Because its people that cant vote, people that arent old enough, they cant vote, and i can vote and im not voting. What does it mean to you to see your communities get activated . Both being a person of color and being a young person . It means a lot. Because its setting a good example for the younger generation. So we dont get discouraged again to not vote and feel our vote doesnt count. We did it. It went well. Quick, easy. How do you feel . I feel good. Feels good . You got the sticker. Reporter 300 miles away, the race in the tar heel state is heating up. Were driving through North Carolina right now. Political scientists are calling this the swingiest of swing states. On top of the president ial election, a republican senator and democratic governor both fighting for reelection. This is the definition of a purple state in 2020. 24yearold republican and aspiring politician katherine whitebird is working hard to people the president and her party in office. I hope you consider voting for representative john hardester. Weve done 500,000 contacts to try to make sure not only do we win the presidency but down ballot, because down ballot is also important. Reporter shes canvassing for her friend, state rep john hardester, outside the polls. Whats your plan . Talking to the voters, trying to convince them to vote for him and the republican ticket. Reporter cautious optimism is the name of the game for republicans in North Carolina. Trump took the state in 2016. But this time, fivethirtyeight has biden ahead, but just barely. I think in North Carolina and in states across the country, were seeing people really concerned about the pandemic and about the economy, just the state of the world right now. And trump has not gotten good marks on his handling of the pandemic in particular. Its a real weak spot for him. How do you think President Trump has handled the pandemic . I think that under the circumstances, they tried to handle it as best they could. We see that biden is trying to propose a lot of what trump has already been doing. Youre first generation chineseamerican. Does it bother you, some of the rhetoric thats come across about the virus from the Republican Party and President Trump . Kung flu, china virus . There have been increasing attacks on people of asian descent since coronavirus has impacted this country. Does that bother you at all . I cant really speak to Chinese People being targeted per se, just because i havent personally seen that. But as far as calling it the china virus, i mean, from all that we know currently, it probably did come from china. And they didnt handle it well. And they were probably trying to suppress a lot of information. I think that its fair to call it the china virus. I dont personally feel insulted by it. How about kung through . That im not as comfortable with. But, i mean, the china virus is a fair statement. Reporter a week before election day and catherine couldnt be busier. But she was kind enough to take a break from her day to try a greensboro institution, yum yums. Talk to me about this place. Theres a lot going on leading up to november 3rd. It is a swingy swing state. I think a lot of people have said North Carolina is a red state. I dont think thats true. Especially weve seen in 2018, that wasnt true. But i think theres still the opportunity for republicans to win in North Carolina. Do you worry the state could flip this year . Im definitely worried about it. But im trying to do everything that i can to make sure that doesnt happen. This is absolutely delicious. This is why i got the cup. I knew what i was doing. Im not making a mess eating ice cream. Reporter its no secret the candidates are noticing the energy coming from young people this year. Heres how you can spot a zombie. Reporter both trump he absolutely has an issue with the truth. Reporter and biden appealing to the youth vote with goofy ads and memes across social media and youtube. No matter what side of the aisle you sit on, or if you dont sit on one at all. Whetr youve done it before or if its your first time. This november 3rd, the choice is ours. What issues are most important to you in this years election . I want to see how our preside president s handled the Race Relations in this country and the seriousness of this pandemic. Its not a matter of do you want biden or trump . Its a matter of, do you want socialism or do you want a free society . I feel like theres a lot of people who feel like me. Do you think now, in 2020, in the middle of a racial reckoning in this country, in the middle of a pandemic in this country, that its cool to actually vote . Yes. I believe its actually been cool to vote. Do you think your vote matters . Yes. Why . My vote matters. It has the power to sway elections. It also has the power to influence a bunch of other people to make their voices heard. I can post about it, i can dance while im doing it, i can tell the world that im doing it. Look at me, im voting. Our thanks to ashan. Want to brain better . Unlike ordinary memory supplements neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. Memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. Try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference. Introducing new best foods drizzle sauce craveworthy flavors you can drizzle, dip and dress to make home the best restaurant around new drizzle sauces from best foods were on the side of food. Were five days away from election day. So how are donald trump and joe biden faring in the home stretch . A carcinogen pe yak University Poll just out today showing biden leading in three battleground states, florida, pennsylvania, ohio. President trump is up 1 point in iowa. To further down the state of the race, earlier i spoke with abc news contributor tara setmyer and sara fagen, ceo of deep root analytics. Thanks for joining us. First question, sara, weve seen consistent polling across the battleground states for several weeks showing President Trump behind. Is time running out for him to move the needle in his favor . It is starting to run out. There arent enough days yet to really close the gap. I think the big xfactor, though, is what is turnout going to be . If you look at the polling, certainly it does not look promising for the president. But that assumes that every one of those polls has a turnout projection that fits the poll. It is possible that you could see an incredible number of people show up on election day. Its possible for the president to win the tied states and perhaps pick up pennsylvania or michigan. I dont know that that scenario is likely, but i do think its possible. Tara, with the surge of voters mailing in ballots this year, many crucial swing states wont have an official tally until days after the election. Do you think well have a winner on tuesday . I think that depends on which states we find out about. If we see that theres a biden win in florida or georgia or that its even close in texas, i think that well have a sense of the momentum of this race. A state like pennsylvania, a little bit more challenging, since they cannot begin counting the vote until the day of election day or after. And it may take a little while. So folks neat to be patient, but well get a sense of where things are depending on who wins what states early. Sara, trump is trailing biden in several battleground states where covid is rising, like wisconsin, a 16 increase in hospitalizations in the past week. How big an issue will covid be on tuesday . I think theres sort of two factors here. And the impact is both among seniors, which are significant populations in states like wisconsin and iowa, which also has an unfortunately high case load right now. So thats been persistent. I think thats why youve seen a state like iowa be tied for most of this fall, or maybe at best the president s up a couple of points. Then, of course, the rise in covid cases in the last week i think have really kept those states tight or him behind, in the case of wisconsin. Tara, with the covid factor, with big crowd gatherings to see President Trump, many folks maskless, is this strategy working where he needs it most . I think that the president s irresponsibility and cavalier attitude toward covid will be the ultimate demise of his reelection. Covid is raging across the country. 41 states have an increase in covid cases. Wisconsin is setting up field hospitals. Their hospitals are overrun. El paso is overrun in texas. So it is clear that the president , no matter how much he wishes it away, cannot get away from the impact of covid because it impacts americans everyday lives, between the economy and losing their loved ones. They live it and its real for them. Lets talk about the senate races that are up for grabs next week. Lindsey graham, susan collins, some of the biggest names in the Republican Party are in jeopardy of losing. Do you think the senate will flip on tuesday . I think theres a real possibility the democrats take back the senate. Lindsey graham has been begging for money, hes been outspent 21. Susan collins has been fighting for her political life as well. Her unwillingness to involve herself or take a solid position during this administration or on trump is hurting her in maine. But the momentum is certainly on the side of the democrats, and its more of an uphill battle nor the republicans at this point. Sara, same question. Herein say graham is royalty in south carolina. Is his seat really in jeopardy . As tara pointed out, hes being outspent, which is stunning. But i think at the end of the day, Lindsey Grahams going to get reelected. I do think his handling of the Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court hearings i think helped him in south carolina. And so i think hell be okay. But i believe the senate is likely to go the way of the presidency. Final question to you both. Almost 7 million young folks have early voted already. Which candidate is more likely to benefit from the youth vote . Well, i think over the course of the last 20some years, young people have tended democratic by higher numbers. So that will benefit biden. I think that is a longterm problem that the Republican Party has to address. Tara, the last word. Saras absolutely right. Traditionally, 18 to 29yearolds have a lower propensity to vote, but this time around were looking at a lot of firsttime voters, voters who have grown up in the era of parkland and school shootings, and they are motivated, and theyre out there voting in exponentially larger numbers than they have in the past, particularly in places like florida, michigan, and texas. So its definitely advantage biden. Ladies, thank you both so much. Rest up. Its going to be a long few days. All right, thank you. Sofi made it so easy to pay off my student loan debt. They were able to give me a personal loan so i could pay off all of my credit cards. I got my mortgage through sofi and the whole process was so easy. Choosing sofi was literally one of the best decisions i could have ever made because it gave me peace of mind. But what about afoods creamy chicken sautee . I could have ever made salad, sure, but what about a pasta bake . 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Now roomba vacuums exactly where you need it. Hey google, tell roomba to vacuum the kitchen counter. And offers personalized cleaning suggestions for a clean unique to you and your home. Roomba and the irobot home app. Only from irobot. A reminder, abc news will be on the air on Election Night next week. Live coverage with our Powerhouse Political Team starting at 7 00 eastern, 6 00 central, 4 00 p. M. Out west tuesday. Thats nightline for this evening. See you right back here tomorrow, same time. Thanks for the company, america. Good night