Democrats make midterms all about race
Are Democrats protecting minority groups or taking back political power? Reaction from Fox News contributor Kimberly Strassel, civil rights activist Niger Innis and liberal analyst Jonathan Harris.
This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," November 1, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
LAURA INGRAHAM, HOST: I'm Laura Ingraham and this is "The Ingraham Angle" live from the border state of Arizona tonight. We have so much to get through. I don't think an hour is going to do it, but we have to fit it into an hour so stay right there. States like this are not just front and center ahead of next Tuesday's mid-terms because of a close senate race. They resonate nationally because the issue of immigration has come to the fore once again.
Since President Trump has refocused attention on the issue, of course he is being labeled a racist. You just heard him refer to that in his speech tonight in Missouri. And tonight, Hispanic border patrol agent and a family member of a victim of illegal immigrant crime will be here to react.
Plus, where the polls stand now and what ads are actually working the most with voters. The men who know the answer is Tom Bevin, Doug Shawn and Frank Luntz are all here. I cannot wit to talk to them. Everything you need to know in this raining days of this midterms.
And Democrats, by the way, have long decried dark money and dirty tricks and politics. They are always bemoaning that. Well we're going to layout tonight how they are shamelessly engaging in both this mid-term season. It's off the charts. But first, race to the bottom. That's the focus of tonight's ANGLE.
The better Donald Trump does among African-American voters, the more race obsessed the Democrats and their shameless media enablers become. When young African-Americans leaders were recently invited to the White House by the president, they were instantly derided by the left.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL SHARPTON, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK: It was not a summit. It was a make America great rally. The use of young blacks as props which really is an insult to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Oh, insult to them Al? Really? Aren't those racist sentiments by the way? Isn't it wrong to lump people into political camps based on their skin color or believe that only authentic African-Americans are the ones who despise Donald Trump?
And I thought stereotyping people based on their skin color was the definition of racism. And why should a reverend be speaking on these terms at all by the way? I think what's going on here is they are worried about their prospects. And so now the left are engaged in a coordinated effort to brand Donald Trump as a racist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a white nationalist president who is a threat to American democracy.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: People know when you say nationalist and smart people know what that is a dog whistle for. That's a wink and nod to white nationalism.
EDDIE GLAUDE CHAIR, CENTER FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES: But this man doubled down after 11 beautiful people were shot and killed while worshipping. For what? Some ideal of whiteness that Donald Trump represents and spews out of his mouth every single day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Yes, and that's what Donald Trump thinks about every morning when he wakes up. Whiteness, come on. You are better than that. And then there is this tiresome claim.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH SILVERMAN, COMEDIAN: Trump knows the only way that they can energize their base is through fear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: I thought Sarah Silverman was supposed to be funny. Oh, well, really? Talk about fear, fear mongering. What was Oprah Winfrey doing in Atlanta today if not fear mongering?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, CELEBRITY: I am here today because of the men and because of the women who were lynched, who were humiliated, who were discriminated against, who were suppressed, who were repressed and oppressed. And I refuse to let their sacrifices be in vain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Got to hand it to Oprah. She is a great speaker, but I kind of I liked her better when she was giving way Toyotas and refrigerators. To try to tie the candidacy of the Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp to the scourge of racism and even lynchings? Come on, Oprah. It's dehumanizing.
It's completely baseless. It's totally cruel and again, I say, you are much better than that and you are much bigger than that. And I'll also say this to Oprah Winfrey, how is this living our best life now?
This kind of broad brush race baiting desensitizes us to the real racists out there who should be condemned and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law when they commit heinous crimes and use violence to hurt and maim people of a different race.
By the way, what did Kemp ever do aside from running against a black opponent? Nothing. For a taste of true racial obsession and outright racism, hear what a few prominent Democrats said this week that didn't get all that much attention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARA SWISHER, JOURNALIST: What do you think of Cory Booker and his comment, and fell free --
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I adore him.
SWISHER: No, what do you think about him saying kick them in the shins essentially -- start to get to that kind of political --
CLINTON: Well, that was Eric Holder.
SWISHER: Eric Holder, oh, Eric Holder, sorry.
CLINTON: I know they all look alike.
SWISHER: No they don't
SEN. JOE DONNELLY, D-IND.: Our state director is Indian-American, but he does an amazing job. Our director of all constituent services, she's African-American, but she does an even more incredible job than you could ever imagine.
(EN VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: I still can't believe that comment. All right, look, come on, it's all race all the time. And in Florida, Project Veritas caught a staffer of a Democratic candidate for governor, Andrew Gillum, saying that they are saying this about Gillum's promises and about the state itself.
OMAR SMITH, GILLUM CAMPAIGN STAFFER: Fairy tales in the modern day begin with once I am elected.
This is a (BLEEP) up ass state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
SMITH: It's a cracker state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: OK, now, imagine if a conservative staffer for Ron DeSantis were saying something similar. It would be a wall-to-wall news day and night and he and the candidate would be labeled as racist. And a pathetic and a transparent double standard is what we just showed you because you know they are really not going to cover that. That's just some fringe guy making a video.
Democrats like Gillum and Stacey Abrams in Georgia are featured in endless puff pieces across all media. And most of these pieces focus on their race as their biggest selling point for the candidacy. OK, I assume they are about more than that. They have views and they have ideas. But it's always about race and race for the most part alone.
But black Republicans like John James running for senate I Michigan or Omar Qudrat, a Muslim Republican running for congress for California's 52nd district, they are hardly covered at all. So I guess race doesn't matter if you are a Republican. It's not historic at all. The reason again for this leftist race baiting, Trump's policies are working for African-Americans and the results are now beginning to come in.
Democrats sense it. They are losing their grip on the black community. Black unemployment is down. Black entrepreneurism is up. And the polls are moving. Check out this new Harvard Harris poll. A year ago, President Trump's approval rating among black Americans was a paltry 10 percent.
Today, it's almost triple at 29 percent. And look at this, a year ago, only 17 percent of African-Americans approve of the president's handling of the economy. Today, 40 percent approve of his economic prowess. And this may be the most revealing number of all. On the issue of immigration, 15 percent of black Americans like Trump's approach last year, not great.
This year, again, it's almost doubled, 29 percent approve of Trump's immigration stance. My friends, you might not like everything he tweets, I get that. But Donald Trump is standing up for all Americans. He doesn't care about your skin color. He doesn't care about your ethnicity or what religion you practice.
He is about America and that is a good thing. And back to Obama for a moment because he is campaigning all across the country. Aside from his incredible example of being -- he's a great father and himself a historic figure. You have to ask this question, what did Obama actually do, substantively do for black America?
African-American wages during his eight years were flat. Obamacare was a complete and total disaster. And he did little to protect the black community from the competition of cheap, illegal labor. Hardly talked about it.
Do not let the race hucksters convince you to embrace the failure of the past. For the Democrats, this is not about protecting minorities. It's about regaining raw political power even if it means turning American against American and stopping the economic revival we've seen, the best I think we've seen in decades across all races and all ethnicities. And that's THE ANGLE.
Joining me to discuss, Kimberley Strassel is a Fox News contributor and editorial board member of the "Wall Street Journal" and Niger Innis is a civil rights activist and leader of the Congress for Racial Equality and Jonathan Harris is a liberal analyst.
Niger, let's start with you. How effective do you see these strategies in winning over African-American voters in the midterms? Let's start with what the Democrats are doing. Trump's a white nationalist. He cares about whiteness. He's a racist, embracing racist policies. The drum beat across all media today.
NIGER INNIS, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Well, in the past it's been what they go to in their playbook. They can't talk about the economy and the record low black and brown unemployment. I mean, historic lows since we have been recording these numbers. So, they go to their dirty bag of tricks and they pull out the race card.
You know, I've been calling it for close to a couple of decades and my father, the great Roy Innis, before me. You know, he called it racial hustling. And the problem is and the reason we take this posture is we come from a civil rights organization, the Congress of Racial Equality where, you know, you want to talk about real voter suppression.
You know, three of our boys, (inaudible) and Goodman, they became (inaudible) to the civil rights revolution, were murdered. They lost their lives. They didn't have to show an I.D. They lost their lives. They were murdered by the Klan in Mississippi for registering people to vote. After reconstruction --
INGRAHAM: But Nigel, right here what's happening today, Nigel, we have made no progress.
INNIS: That's nonsense.
INGRAHAM: There's almost no progress because Donald Trump is president.
INNIS: That's an absurdity and it spits on the grave of all of those brave whites and blacks that gave their lives for the civil rights revolution, for the civil war 100 years before then. And it really sends the wrong message to young blacks, young whites, Hispanics, Asian-Americans that they actually live in a country because of our constitution and because of the passage of 14th amendment, that is the freest liberty embracing country not only in the world but in the history of the world.
INGRAHAM: Jonathan, we have some interesting races across the country. I know you disagree with what Nigel just said.
JONATHAN HARRIS, LIBERAL ANALYTST: Right.
INGRAHAM: But Stacey Abrams maybe elected the next governor of Georgia. You have Andrew Gillum in Florida. Barack Obama a two-term president, very popular, went out very popular. So, for Oprah to come to Georgia and she's a larger than life figure and she's an incredible person.
Done a lot for a lot of people, then she comes to Georgia and she basically acts like no progress has been made and we are on the verge of having this guy, Brian Kemp oversee mass lynchings of African-Americans. How is that a positive engagement on politics?
HARRIS: Laura, I think what she is doing is acknowledging the fact that Brian Kemp is suppressing over 53,000 votes and that's according to the AP in Georgia. And that this is a long history of suppressing votes in the south by conservatives, by Republicans.
In 2005, the head of the RNC actually apologized for embracing what he called the southern (inaudible) the southern strategy where the Republican Party embraced racism from white people to get votes. That was what the Republican Party tried to do. That's where this all comes from because that was their strategy, and though he apologized for it in 2005, there is no proof that they've stopped doing it. Cue Donald Trump calling Mexicans murderers and rapists.
INGRAHAM: OK, well, we're not -- let's stay in Georgia for a moment because I think this is really important for people to understand what did happen in Georgia. When voter registrations and Kim I know you know about this, you have written about this, the integrity of the vote does need to be maintained.
And duplicate registrations, people registered in multiple counties, registration whose names are not quite matching. States all across the country end up cleaning up their rolls. They do it, they've always done it. But this has turned into a racial football in Georgia, Kimberley.
And, you know, you heard what Jonathan said, 53,000 have been purged from the rolls or have been suppressed. Is that really what has been happening and is Brian Kemp the culprit?
KIMBERLEY STRASSEL, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: No, because we've been cleaning up the voter rolls. It's a routine thing that happens out in states year after year and you are not seeing it happen just minorities. People of all races and all distinctions occasionally are pulled off and sometimes it's an error. Often it's just to update the list.
But look, the rhetoric here has changed so much this election, Laura. We used to talk of -- the complaint used to be well tougher voter I.D. laws. Let's not move to claims of outright suppression. We used to claim that Republicans have latent racism, now you are outright calling them white nationalist.
And there is an electoral strategy behind this and it is the speck. Look, you cited that poll, Democrats continue to argue every time there is a poll that says that African-Americans are supporting Donald Trump in greater numbers. But even they will admit that it has shifted a little bit.
And in a race this close where two or three points could be the deciding factor, to have African-Americans come out and vote for Republicans or worse in their mind, simply not come out and vote for Democrats, stay home because they are not animated against Donald Trump. That could be the difference between victory and defeat and that is why you see this rhetoric reaching such extraordinary levels.
INGRAHAM: Yes, both side are accusing the other of ramping up rhetoric for political reasons. Niger, I want to go to what Vice President Pence said today, kind of reacting to what Oprah did in Georgia. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT: I would like to remind Stacey and Oprah and Will Farrell, I'm kind of a big deal too. This ain't Hollywood. This is Georgia.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: How much star power, I mean, Oprah did have an effect in 2008. She really turned out some voters for Barack Obama, there's no doubt about it. She is still very popular. But the economy now is doing well. The economy in 2008 wasn't doing all that great.
But now the economy in Georgia has picked up, wages have gone up, the great economic statistics that just came out yesterday with rising wages. So Niger, does the celebrity factor work here even using the race card?
INNIS: I suppose there will be some degree of an impact. There is no doubt that Oprah is very popular, but I actually think that come next Tuesday, there is actually going to be a surprise. I don't know that Republicans are going to hold on to the House, but I think they are going to do a lot better particularly in the minority community than people are polling right now.
I think, you often hear of like there's a hidden trump vote that could move the polls 3 to 5 percent. It's not just whites, you know, that are afraid to tell their pollster that they are voting for Donald Trump. You know, there is a reign of terror in minority precincts and among sometimes when an activist, you know, that punish people that are supposed to vote Democrat if you are black, Hispanic or Asian.
INGRAHAM: Yes, people are afraid. Jonathan -- I ask Jonathan, we're out of time, but Jonathan, don't you agree that it's not a good thing if people are afraid to wear a t-shirt supporting whether it's the Democrat or the Republicans? And now you have people who are literally afraid to wear a MAGA hat. They are afraid because they are going to be called a racist. Is that a good thing?
HARRIS: I don't think they should be afraid. They should be embarrassed however.
INGRAHAM: OK, well, they are afraid because, you know, the charge of racism is potent.
HARRIS: They should definitely be embarrassed. No, there should be no fear from expressing your political opinions, but when you are embracing a person and a party who openly advocates for racism, calling themselves a nationalist and things like that, you should be embarrassed to embrace that absolutely. Be not afraid.
INNIS: Everything is racism (inaudible)
HARRIS: Not everything is racism.
INNIS: -- says, you can't throw out the racism card forever.
HARRIS: It's not a racism card.
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: When someone is being racist, calling them a racist is not pulling the race card. That's not what that is.
INGRAHAM: Well, the record low unemployment for African-Americans, that's definitely not racist. I'll tell you that.
HARRIS: Obama cut it in half.
INGRAHAM: Kimberley, we're almost out of time, but progressive -- well, wages have finally gone up, didn't under Obama. Kimberley, real quick because we're almost out of time, progressivism, does it -- even if they take the house, do progressive policies end up showing us something new this time? Georgia, maybe Florida, new economic boom under a liberal policy?
STRASSEL: Yes, it's not been noticed, but actually there are very few real progressive candidates out there who are likely to win. Democrats have in fact been keeping a lid on them. Most of the races we've seen have been Democrats trying to position themselves as centrist or moderates. Look out in Arizona, and to the extent that the progressive had all the air time in the Kavanaugh hearing. They are the ones that actually blew the potential for a blue wave so that is not what's winning it for Democrats this year.
INGRAHAM: I don't think most of them want to talk about the caravan. They don't want to talk about that issue at all because they know it doesn't pull well amongst some constituents. It's a great conversation guys. Thank you so much.
The reaction by the way to Trump's moves on immigration over the last week have resulted in a common refrain from the left. Oh, what is it? Racist! A Hispanic border agent and the aunt of a police officer killed by twice deported illegal alien tells us why they are offended. Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: Tonight we broadcast from the border state of Arizona where immigration will play front and center in the senate race. Very tight tonight between Republican Martha McSally and the Democrat Kyrsten Sinema.
Now, according to DHS, there are approximately 370,000 illegal immigrants already in the state and thousands more are in mobile mobs barreling towards the U.S. border ready to claim asylum. The so-called caravan. Now the president throwing a wrench into their plans by announcing today a big change to the process. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Illegal aliens will no longer get a free pass into our country by lodging meritless claims in seeking asylum. Those who chose to break our laws and enter illegally will no longer be able to use meritless claims to gain automatic admission into our country. We will hold them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Fantastic! I love it. Joining us now with reaction is Art Del Cueto, vice-president of the National Border Patrol Council and host of the Green Line radio show and an old friend of mine, and Pam Owens whose nephew, Detective Michael Davis Jr. was murdered in 2014 by an illegal immigrant who was already twice deported. And Art, first to you, is this going to make a difference in the number of illegals crossing the border especially with this caravan approaching?
ART DEL CUETO, VICE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BORDER PATROL COUNCIL: I think we have a situation where we have a president that actually cares and I think that's what's important. We have somebody -- he is actually making a bigger deal out of it. He's keeping us in the limelight. He's showing that he cares about illegal immigration and that's a huge deal because we haven't seen that before and that's very, very welcome. I hope it stops them from coming across, but the reality is unless you stop the catch and release, it will not stop.
INGRAHAM: He said we're going to catch, yes, we're going to catch but we're not going to release. He said that today which a lot of people are questioning. I want to play something for you and for Pamela. This was Jake Tapper of CNN earlier today discussing what the president said. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: We were told by the White House that President Trump would be introducing a new proposal, a new policy when it came to asylum. That's not actually what happened. I don't know of a national security expert who says there's actually crisis at the border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: He doesn't know of a national security expert who considers it a crisis at the border. You deal with this day in and out. Is this a crisis with the number of people now crossing the border?
DEL CUETO: It's been a crisis for quite some time. It was a huge crisis during the Obama administration. When we started under President Trump the numbers lowered dramatically on his rhetoric alone. I think we missed the mark, the leaders of our agency, but now we are seeing a president that is going to enforce the law. He is not bringing anything new to the table. He is just saying you need to protect our borders. I mean, what a crazy idea, right.
INGRAHAM: But it's racist and you are Hispanic yourself. How does it feel to you to have the president called racist, anti-Latino, xenophobe, nativist. Every time he talks tough on the border wants to do something all those names, we just did a whole segment on it, all those names come out.
DEL CUETO: You know, when you don't have an argument anymore and you realize that you are wrong, that's what you have to say, racist. I myself, I've been called an Uncle Juan so many times, a race traitor, why don't you try, you know, stand up for your own race. It's not a racial thing. Border security has nothing to do with race.
The security of a country has nothing to do with race. I owe everything to this country and the only flag that I will fly, the only flag that I support and the only country that I support is the United States of America. It has nothing to do with race.
INGRAHAM: A lot of blue flags in that caravan, the Honduran flag, other flags. I don't see a lot of American flags but --
DEL CUETO: Well, if you are escaping a country because they have oppressed you so badly, would you be really flying the flag of that country that oppressed you?
INGRAHAM: That's a great point which I have not thought of. Thank you for raising it. Pamela, I want to go to you because the president has been vilified, Pamela, for raising the issue of illegal immigrant crime. Outrage all day long because he discussed cases such as that of your nephew, a police officer in California.
Gunned down in cold blood by Luis (inaudible) Montes who was twice deported and yet came back and killed and then laughed about it in court when he was being sentenced. I've got to get your take on the vilification of this president and his concern about illegal immigrant crime, Pamela.
PAMELA OWENS, AUNT OF OFFICER KILLED BY ILLEGAL: I support everything this president is doing and has done. Our entire family are so grateful for everything that he's done. I get so angry when I listen to what people do say about him because he is not a villain. He is doing what he was hired to do, which is protect our nation and protect our people. That's what he is there for. That's what he is supposed to do.
And finally, we have a president who is doing it and Democrats just can't stand it. They have blood on their hands. They should be ashamed of themselves. Listening to the last guest talking about we should be embarrassed. No, they should be embarrassed. And shame on them, all of them. And thank you, President Trump.
INGRAHAM: I have to say Pamela, I am so stunned when I see people -- I should not be after all of these years. I should just not be surprised at all, but I am stunned. When you have someone standing up for victims, victims who are trafficked, victims of gun crime, guns coming across the border. I know you deal with the fentanyl, Art, as well, coming across the border, and in this case a California police officer, two gunned down. And for him to bring this up is somehow racist? He doesn't care if it's black, white, Asian, gay, straight. It's an American killed.
OWENS: Exactly.
INGRAHAM: And that's racist? If you could speak directly to the American people watching this right now, Pamela, about this toxic charge of racism that we heard all day long on CNN and MSNBC, all day long.
OWENS: Well, I can tell you that, take a walk in our shoes and see what it feels like, you would understand. It has nothing to do with race. I don't care what race Mr. Bracamontes was. He murdered two officers as well as I believe the man that he carjacked was a black man. So let's not talk race. It has nothing to do with race. He was a criminal. An illegal alien. He was not an illegal immigrant. He was an illegal alien in our country numerous times illegally. And shame on those who get on the president for doing what he should do.
INGRAHAM: They used the charge because they do not have an answer and they know this is a potent issue. As the president said today, if we have time to play it, women want to be safe too, Art. Let's watch that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: There's nothing political about a caravan of thousands of people and now others forming pouring up into our country. We have no idea who they are. I don't want them in our country. And women don't want them in our country. Women want security. Men don't want them in our country. But the women do not want them. Women want security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Safety is very important, home, homeland. Those concepts for women, as a woman, you want to be safe. Not everybody is a criminal. A lot of people just want to come and work. We all know that. But sadly, that hasn't been the case. Even right near here, Mesa, Arizona, we've had a big problem in Mesa, Arizona, Grant Ronnebeck, shot in the face.
DEL: But you don't know. That's the thing. If you don't vet these people properly, you don't know. You are here in Arizona. Close to 40 percent of all of the drugs that enter this country legally come through here. And we are coming up on elections. And I think it's very important that people are going to realize when you go to that poll, do you want border security? Forty percent of drugs come through Arizona. Do you want border security or do you want somebody that doesn't care about our borders?
INGRAHAM: Sinema is not good on the border. She is terrible on the border. McSally is the only person.
DEL CUETO: You've got to think about it.
INGRAHAM: Absolutely. Thank you so much to both of you. Pamela, and Art, great to you have on, as always. Pam, thanks for being brave, and brave enough to share that story tonight. We will never forget.
And when we come back, the pollsters, they have it all covered for us. You do not want to miss this next segment. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: Only five days to go until the midterm elections, and tonight we highlight some of the races that Democrats once thought were sure bets. Now it's anyone's guess. Joining me to discuss is Tom Bevan. He's the cofounder of publisher of Real Clear Politics, and Doug Schoen, a Democratic pollster.
All right, guys, Tom, let's start with you. John Tester out in Montana. He was sailing to reelection. But tell us about some of the dirty tricks that have his challenger, Republican Matt Rosendale, back in the hunt tonight.
TOM BEVAN, REAL CLEAR POLITICS CO-FOUNDER: Well, we did have this situation where the libertarian candidate, he didn't drop out of the race, but he endorsed Rosendale, and threw his support behind Rosendale. But, the Libertarian wasn't get a lot necessarily support in the polls, but even a small shift in this race. We have got Tester up about four points in our Real Clear Politics average. The problem is we've only had one poll, two polls in October. One of them was completed two weeks ago, so we literally have almost no data in Montana to tell us what's going on there. It seems like it's a close race. Trump has obviously been there. And this could be one of those surprises on election night purely because we don't have really good data on what's going on. It hasn't been polled very heavily at all.
INGRAHAM: Doug, I want to go to you. Down in Florida, things are interesting there, because it looked like Gillum was beginning to build this big momentum. Then we started hearing more about this corruption, getting bribes potentially, the FBI investigation, now stuff with anti- Israel group. And now his lead has been cut in half, and obviously Trump is spending a lot of time there as well. What's going on?
DOUG SCHOEN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Look, Florida is a very close, toss up state in both the governor's race, Laura, and the Senate race. And you're absolutely right. Gillum had opened a double-digit lead. Since then we've heard a lot more about a corruption scandal potentially during his administration, travel gifts. And there is also the issue of the role of the president trying to mobilize voters for DeSantis who had been slipping until recently. I see this as a very close race, slight advantage to Gillum, but no more.
INGRAHAM: I want to go now Missouri where Claire McCaskill, guys, is a very interesting place. She made a comment is Donald Trump's border security policy, specifically talking about I think the wall and other things. Let's watch what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL, D-MO.: The impression he is giving Missourians that somehow the Democrats are in favor of our border being overrun. I am not. I support the president 100 percent doing what he needs to do to secure the border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Tom, McCaskill is like a border hawk. She's going to be wearing a MAGA hat soon, riding the border. What's going on there?
BEVAN: So McCaskill is the Lucy with the football for Republicans. Every cycle they think they can get her and remove her and kick her out of office, and she always survives. This year seems a little bit different. And that comment is one of the reasons why. She is also running ads saying, look, with people on camera saying, look, she is not one of those crazy Democrats like Bernie and the others. If this race definitely has a different feel to it. The polls are very, very close. Our Real Clear Politics average has Josh Hawley up two points. But this race is definitely close. You can't really count out McCaskill. She is a hard campaigner, she's a good campaigner. She's obviously doing what she needs to do to try and win this race. But this one feels different. I think she might be end up on the short side five days from now.
INGRAHAM: We just saw that graphic come up on Trump's approval rating for the economy. Great news for him on the economy, 51 percent approval rating. And his numbers in both Florida and in Tennessee with Marsha Blackburn very good. But I want to move up to New Jersey for a moment, Doug, because Bob Menendez is another person who has been just mired in various scandals. But he's still holding on to a lead over Bob Hugin. Could that perhaps change?
SCHOEN: It could. And Laura, the only thing that is tethering Bob Menendez up at this point is the fact that the state is so very, very Democratic, and as long as I can remember going back over 20 years it's been represented by Democrats in the Senate. That being said, the lead in the polls that I have seen is down to somewhere between four and six points. So it's a tossup according to Charlie Cook. It could go either way. But the democratic nature of the state make Bob Menendez ever so slightly a favorite.
INGRAHAM: Tom, we are out of time. But a quick question. Could it be that in some of these polls people are actually afraid to say they will vote for the Republican? You find that sometimes in workplaces, they've afraid to say I'm a conservative. Is there something about pollsters that people might not always be truthful, or are or they pretty straight with the pollsters?
BEVAN: There was an effect that we found in 2016 where Trump's numbers were higher actually when the poll was conducted with the robo-call, was an IBF poll, which means that instead of talking to a live pollster, if it was press one if you support Donald Trump. Trump actually got higher slight higher rates in those types of polls as opposed to talking to live pollsters. So there is a big of that effect. We may see it come back here in 2018. But it's very hard to quantify by each individual poll.
SCHOEN: Laura, Democrats like polls more than Republicans and answer them in slightly higher numbers, which effects the ultimate results as well.
INGRAHAM: Can't wait. Guys, thank you very much. Great insights.
Now, we have been reviewing the hottest and most effective ads this election cycle. But we want to bring in someone, an advertising guru. You know old Frank Luntz. He's going to break them down for us. Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: A good campaign ad can completely change the course of an entire race. And there is one man who studied their effectiveness for years. Joining us now is Republican pollster and ad guru Frank Luntz. Frank, great to see you. I know you are in Georgia. I am here in Arizona. And I want to start with an ad from President Trump. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I look at the way things are, it reminds me how far we have come.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These numbers, they are depressingly --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The economy is growing even more slowly than we thought.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Things are starting to change. There is more opportunity and security to I have invest in the ones that matter. But this could all go away if we don't remember what we came from and choose the right future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Frank, what do you think about that one?
FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER: It's clearly a partisan ad, but to my surprise in the testing that we just completed, that ad was celebrated. Democrats responded almost as favorably as Republicans because it dealt with an emotional appeal that the public wants. A mom and her daughter desperate for things to get better. And people actually do -- Democrats even give Trump credit for improving the economy. So that was right on the mark. It's one of those rare partisan ads that are effective.
INGRAHAM: I want to play an ad from Brian Kemp in Georgia. Stacey Abrams getting some help from Oprah today and Will Ferrell earlier this week. But let's watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN KEMP, R-GEORGIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm Brian kemp. I am so conservative, I blow up government spending. I own guns that no one is taking away. My chainsaw is ready to rip up some regulations.
I've got a big truck just in case I need to roundup criminal illegals and take them home myself. Yep, I just said that.
You want a politically incorrect conservative, that's me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: OK, How did that do? How does that one do.
LUNTZ: Fantastic among Republicans, awful among Democrats. And actually people who are independent wonder is this guy serious or is he a good old boy. All of these ads are going to be shown Monday night on HBO and Vice News. We have tested over 250 of the political ads, and that one among Republicans is in the top 10. But Democrats when they look at it, they say no way.
INGRAHAM: OK, let's move on to Bob Hugin, because I'm going to stake it on Hugin beating Menendez. I might be wrong, but I have hope for New Jersey. I love the state of New Jersey. It's corrupt, but it's a beautiful state in many ways. I want it to get better, so I want Hugin to win. So let's watch this ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are difficult times. Things are better for us than they were for our mothers, grandmothers. Now we are going through another change, and it will make life better for her.
Reading this sworn FBI affidavit containing allegations bob Menendez traveled abroad to have sex with underage prostitutes, one thing became clear. We'll never be able to explain a vote for him to her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LUNTZ: Brilliant. Brilliant.
INGRAHAM: What do you think about that one?
LUNTZ: There is no other word to describe it. It is brilliant because there is a special relationship between a mother and a daughter, and this is one of those places where the Me Too movement is alive, and it's alive on behalf of the Republicans or against the Democrats. I believe that there are a series of ads right now that may cost Bob Menendez the election, and that is one of them right there.
INGRAHAM: Thanks so much, Frank. Fantastic.
Democrats used to claim, by the way, that when it comes to dark money and dirty tricks, they are totally above board. It's all the Republicans who do that stuff. But tonight we have information showing that they are intently engaged in both this election season, and we're going to show you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: Don't you love it when Democrats, or frankly anyone is claiming moral superiority on an issue, then they end up doing it, like we're not going to use dark money in politics or dirty tricks. But tonight we have information that the Democrats are heavily utilizing both. First the tricks. Anonymous and potentially illegal mailers targeting Republican voters in Montana, Indiana, and Missouri attempting to scare them into staying home. And then there is the dark money. The "New York Times" reporting on a group called the Hub Project. It's run by Obama alums match with a stated goal of funding progressive candidates to the tune of $30 million this cycle, mostly through anonymous sources.
Joining us to discuss is Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. Victor, I thought the Democrats were against these practices. They abhor them. They abjure them.
(LAUGHTER)
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON, HOOVER INSTITUTION: No, the parties have switched, Laura. The wealthy and the poor are in the Democratic Party and the middle-class has fled. You can see that in the 2008 and 12 and 16 campaigns. They vastly outraised Republicans. Obama was the first president to refuse public financing of campaigns. He paid a $375,000 penalty for fines.
And then you look at the wealthiest 20 counties in the United States, 15 of the 20 are Democratic. The great wealth, Laura, in this country is no longer mining or agriculture or steel. It's high-tech. It's media, it's high finance. So Apple, Google, Amazon, Bloomberg, Facebook. That's why we have $1 billion coming into this race.
And I'll just end by thinking that it's not always logical how you spend that money when you have so much of it. Some of it is very sloppy on their part. They feel that Ted Cruz is public enemy number one, maybe Devin Nunes is public enemy number two. And they are pouring $75 million into a Senate race they are probably not going to win that could have been used a lot better elsewhere. But Nunes here where I am in central California, he's sort of Emmanuel Goldstein of "1984." They have two minutes of hate and they're not distributing the funds to candidates that would have a far better chance than his opponent.
But you're right about the malfeasance. It's sort of like the ends are so justified, that they are so noble, redistribution, identity politics, equality, that any means necessary to obtain them are considered OK.
INGRAHAM: Victor, can I get you to weigh in on the race baiting that we started the show with tonight. We're here in Arizona, immigration ground zero, 40 percent of all illegal drugs come in through Arizona, as you know. It's a really important state. But the race card being played all day long, and frankly for most of this election cycle against supporters of president and his agenda and so forth. Your final thoughts on that?
HANSON: It's the same idea, though. It's flipped. So the civil rights people that were in large part in the north, at least, Democratic, now they believe that your superficial appearance is essential rather than incidental to your character. And it's conservatives who are live and let live. It's just incidental what a person looks like. They flipped just like the money question that we discussed earlier.
INGRAHAM: Well, I think people are getting tired of it. I really do. I think it's an insult to true racism and epitomizes true racism. Victor Davis Hanson, thank you so much.
And everyone, I want you to stay there for a preview of a very important "Ingraham Angle" from Arizona tonight. We're going to continue right when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: You just heard from Art Del Cueto from Border Patrol who just told us how important this state of Arizona is to the entire immigration debate. Tomorrow we'll bring you a special focus group of Arizonans of every political stripe to discuss this pressing issue. We'll also talk with Senate candidate Martha McSally as she looks to close the deal versus Kyrsten Sinema.
So be sure to turn in. It's going to be a very important "Ingraham Angle" tomorrow night.
That is all the time we have tonight here. Shannon Bream and the "Fox News @ Night" team is there in Washington to take it away. Shannon.
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