'The excitement is unbelievable': North Carolina's AG predicts Harris will win state

ADRIENNE ELROD, THANKS. ALWAYS GREAT TO HAVE YOU WITH US. >> THANKS, WILLIE. >>> ABSENTEE BALLOTS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GOING OUT TODAY IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA TO MORE THAN 146,000 VOTERS WHO REQUESTED THEM. NOW, THOSE VOTERS WILL HAVE TO WAIT SEVERAL MORE WEEKS BECAUSE THE NORTH CAROLINA SUPREME COURT RULED ON MONDAY THE STATE MUST REMOVE ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.'S NAME FROM THE MILLIONS OF BALLOTS ALREADY PRINTED. RFK JR. SUED TO HAVE HIS NAME REMOVED AFTER ENDING HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN AND ENDORSED DONALD TRUMP. NOW, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ACROSS THE STATE WILL HAVE TO SPEND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO REPRINT THOSE BALLOTS WITHOUT RFK JR.'S NAME. LET'S BRING IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S NOMINEE FOR GOVERNOR IN NORTH CAROLINA AND THE STATE'S ATTORNEY GENERAL, JOSH STEIN. MR. STEIN, THANKS FOR BEING WITH US THIS MORNING. CAN YOU HELP OUR VIEWERS UNDERSTAND WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED WITH THE BALLOTS THERE AND HOW IT MAY IMPACT THE VOTING IN YOUR STATE? >> YEAH. THE CANDIDATE, RFK JR., WANTED TO BE ON THE BALLOT. THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS CONCLUDED THAT HE DIDN'T MEET THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS. THEN HE FOUGHT TO GET ON AND SUCCESSFULLY DID GET ON THE BALLOT. THEN, LATER, DECIDES THAT IT'S IN THE INTEREST OF DONALD TRUMP FOR HIM TO REMOVE HIMSELF FROM THE BALLOT, AFTER THE BALLOTS HAD ALREADY BEEN PRINTED AND WERE BEING READY TO SHIP. WE MAIL OUR BALLOTS OUT EARLIER THAN ALMOST ANY OTHER STATE IN THE COUNTRY BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE IT EASY FOR PEOPLE TO VOTE BY MAIL IF THAT'S HOW THEY CHOOSE TO CAST THEIR BALLOTS. THE STATE HAS TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF REPRINTING ALL THESE BALLOTS. IT'S GOING TO SLOW THINGS DOWN. WE WILL, I'M SURE, COMPLY WITH FEDERAL LAW, THE BALLOTS BE MAILED OUT 45 DAYS IN ADVANCE TO HELP OUR MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN SERVICE MEMBERS BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR ELECTIONS, AS WELL. >> THIS IS EFFECTIVELY RFK JR. IN SERVICE OF DONALD TRUMP, WHO HE'S NOW SUPPORTING. DOESN'T WANT TO PEEL VOTES AWAY FROM HIM. NOW THE BALLOTS HAVE TO BE REPRINTED. WE'LL KEEP AN EYE ON THAT. >>> I WANT TO ASK ABOUT THE EVENTS YOU SPOKE AND ATTENDED YESTERDAY, TWO IN YOUR STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA YESTERDAY, FOR VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS. IF YOU CAN SPEAK TO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING ON THE GROUND IN NORTH CAROLINA IN TERMS OF ENTHUSIASM AND THE SIZE OF CROWDS, AND ALSO HOW YOU THINK THE DYNAMIC OF THIS RACE IN NORTH CAROLINA HAS CHANGED SINCE PRESIDENT BIDEN STEPPED ASIDE AND VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS MOVED TO THE TOP OF THE TICKET. >> THE ENERGY, THE ENTHUSIASM, THE EXCITEMENT, IT IS REAL. I'VE DONE TOWN HALLS IN SMALL TOWNS, GOLDSBORO, LEYLAND, AND THE CROWDS ARE VERY IMPRESSIVE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. PEOPLE ARE EXCITED. AND THEN YESTERDAY, IT WAS THE SAME THING JUST WRIT LARGE. I THINK THERE WERE 25,000 PEOPLE CHARLOTTE AND GREENSBORO WHO SHOWED UP. I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK AT BOTH RALLIES. THE EXCITEMENT IS UNBELIEVABLE. I THINK VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS IS GOING TO WIN NORTH CAROLINA. BUT, OF COURSE, I'M LASER FOCUSED ON MAKING SURE WE HAVE A DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA, AND I'M LOCKED IN A TIGHT BATTLE AGAINST ONE OF THE MOST RADICAL STATEWIDE ELECTED EXTREMISTS IN THE COUNTRY. AND THE VOTERS HAVE AN INCREDIBLY CLEAR CHOICE IN MY GOVERNOR'S RACE, JUST AS THEY DO AT THE PRESIDENTIAL. I HAVE TO KEEP WORKING HARD TO MAKE SURE VOTERS HAVE THE INFORMATION THEY NEED ABOUT MY FIGHTING FOR THEM, MY FOCUSING ON ISSUES LIKE STRONG SCHOOLS, SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS, AND AN ECONOMY THAT'S GROWING AND WORKS FOR EVERYONE, AND WHERE THEIR PERSONAL FREEDOMS ARE PROTECTED. WOMEN'S RIGHT TO AN ABORTION. IF WE DO OUR JOBS WELL, IF WE EDUCATE VOTERS, I AM CONVINCED THEY WILL MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE. SO IF FOLKS OUT THERE WANT TO LEARN MORE, HELP, MAKE PHONE CALLS, CONTRIBUTE, JOSHSTEIN.ORG. >> GENERAL, MICHAEL STEELE HERE. GOOD TO SEE YOU THIS MORNING. >> THANK YOU. >> YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR GUBERNATORIAL OPPONENT IN THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, ROBINSON. TO SAY HE IS A LITTLE BIT OF A GAS FLY WOULD BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT. BUT THE RACE IS ONE THAT HAS A LOT OF DYNAMICS TO IT. ONE OF THE MORE INTERESTING DYNAMICS THAT I TOOK NOTE OF WAS A RECENT POLL THAT WAS OUT BY WRAL, NEWS POLL OF 676 LIKELY VOTERS. THAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE. NORTH CAROLINA VOTERS. WHAT STRUCK ME ABOUT THE POLL IS NOT THE FACT YOU'RE AT 51%, WHICH IS GOOD FOR YOU. BUT WHAT WAS INTERESTING WAS YOU'RE PULLING CONSERVATIVES, CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS TO YOUR SIDE OF THE EQUATION. TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DYNAMICS OF YOUR RACE AND WHY YOU'RE SEEING THE KIND OF SHIFT AMONG THE LIKELY VOTERS, THE VOTING POPULATION THERE, TOWARDS YOUR BRAND OF LEADERSHIP VERSUS WHAT THEY HAVE WITH THE CURRENT LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR. >> FIRST OF ALL, POLLS GO UP AND POLLS GO DOWN. WE EXPECT THIS RACE TO TIGHTEN UP IN THE END. NORTH CAROLINA RACES, THEY'RE JUST ALWAYS CLOSE. I THINK THIS ONE IS GOING TO BE, AS WELL. BUT IF YOU TALK ABOUT ISSUES THAT MATTER TO PEOPLE'S LIVES, WHETHER IT'S GOOD SCHOOLS OR SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS, A HEALTH CARE SYSTEM THAT'S ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE, THESE ARE ISSUES THAT ARE NOT DEMOCRATIC ISSUES. THEY ARE NOT REPUBLICAN ISSUES. THEY ARE NORTH CAROLINA ISSUES. IF YOU FOCUS ON THAT, INSTEAD OF WHAT MARK ROBINSON DOES, WHICH IS FOCUS ON JOB-KILLING CULTURE WARS, WHERE HE SAYS AWFUL THINGS ABOUT PEOPLE, CALLS PUBLIC SCHOOLTEACHERS WICKED. HE SAID GAY PEOPLE ARE FILTH. JUST A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, RECENTLY IN THE SUMMER, HE SAID FROM A CHURCH PULPIT THAT SOME FOLKS NEED KILLING. THAT KIND OF LANGUAGE, THAT KIND OF ORIENTATION WILL BE DEATH TO OUR ECONOMIC GROWTH HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA. AND PEOPLE KNOW THAT. THEY WANT TO HAVE A FUTURE WHERE THEIR KIDS HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF A BETTER LIFE. MARK ROBINSON DOESN'T PROVIDE THAT FOR THEM. OUR CAMPAIGN IS ABOUT SERVING ALL IN NORTH CAROLINA. IT'S A CAMPAIGN FOR DEMOCRATS, OF COURSE, BUT ALSO INDEPENDENTS AND REPUBLICANS. >> NORTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY GENERAL AND DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR