All eyes on Georgia, Texas senate races as early voting ends

And let's turn our attention now to the midterm elections as we are now in the final day of early voting here in Georgia. The statewide races have been the main draw to the polls. And get this, just under 200,000 voters cast ballots in person yesterday, making it the busiest day of the soon to be completed early voting period. A total of 2.4 million early in-person votes have been cast and add in the 111,000 absentee ballots. number of Georgians who have already made their voices heard has topped 2.5 million. That works out to just over a third of the registered voters right here in our state. That equals the number who voted early in 2022, and we still have today. While early voting has hit a record for a midterm election, we still have a long way to go to reach the number seen during the 2024 presidential election when 4 million Georgians cast early ballots. And I do want to mention this in an effort to drive more young adults to the polls. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and Senator John Ossoff held a rally yesterday right here in Atlanta at Clark Atlanta University, urging students to get to the ballot box and let their voices be heard. Take a listen. John Ossoff back in the United States Senate to hold this administration accountable to the people. And while you pay more for everything, the president and his family are lining their pockets to be tune the billions of dollars. And meantime, a campaign stop in Carrollton, Ossoff's opponent, Republican Congressman Mike Collins, ended up slamming Harris's visit. Take a listen to what he had to say. That's all you have to say. He brought Kamala Harris in. You know, Kamala Harris was a failed candidate. She was a failed vice president. border czar who never went to the border. And in the gubernatorial race, Republican Rick Jackson campaigned yesterday in Monroe, Winder, and Gainesville. Today he'll be in Dawson, Bartow, and Cobb counties. His Democratic opponent, Keisha Lance Bottoms, is fresh off her rally with former President Barack Obama. She's slated to attend the campaign events today in Brunswick and Savannah. As we come back in the newsroom now, let's talk about this. So obviously we talked about the number of early voters going to the polls across the country. So we're up to more than 43.5 million people have already cast their ballots with just four days to go into the midterm elections. But today is the last day to vote in several states, including Georgia and Texas. And that's where Asher Redd is live at a voting center in Dallas. And Asher, Texas has become a high profile state What can you tell us? Yeah, good morning. There are six Senate races in states where it really all could come down to voter turnout, and that includes right here in Texas. And at this polling location in a residential area, we saw a rush this morning, and ever since then there's been like a steady stream of people coming in, but no long lines that we've seen. Now, Vice Senator J.D. Vance was in Texas yesterday to try to rally Republican voters to the polls. Take a listen. Ladies and gentlemen, Texas ain't surrendering. Texas is not becoming California. It's going to stay Texas, ain't that right? And the Associated Press says more than 21.5 million people nationally have already voted in person, while 19 million people mailed in their ballots. Here in Texas, more than 6 million people have voted so far, and the latest Fox News power ranking shows only 1%, of registered voters are still undecided. Here's what some of those last-minute early voters are looking for. I do believe that we do need safer borders, but I think the way that we've been going about it has been a little wrong. I think that the Democrats just want to spend our money. I think they want to promote socialism and spreading our money around, and I can't afford that. I think in the case of Ken Paxton, it was just a little bit too much as far as some of the scandals and something that's been going on. And the Texas Senate race has become one of the hottest races in the country, with Republican candidate and MAGA firebrand Ken Paxton trying to fend off Democrat James Talerico. Well, Talerico has a shot to flip a Texas Senate seat blue for the first time in more than 30 years, and both candidates are neck and neck right now. So down the home stretch, they've been pleading with their supporters to not sit this election out. Midterm elections are always tough for the party in power, and it's just been that way. I don't know what the explanation is. Look, we're going to win this race. Texas is not going to vote for a socialist. We are the underdogs in this race. This election is a battle between the powers that be and the powers that ought to be. A recent Fox News poll shows that only 64 percent of registered voters here in Texas are expected to turn out in this election. Back to you. Asher in Dallas, Texas. Asher Red in Dallas, Texas. Thanks so much for joining us and giving us that update. And as you come back into the newsroom now, let's talk about this. So obviously, a lot of people are turning out to vote. As Asher just mentioned, 43 million folks have already voted across the country. But People are going out for many different reasons, and in Maine, rising energy costs in the Northeast have become a big issue in this year's midterm elections on the East Coast. Heating oil prices are up more than, get this, 70% from this time last year, and it is a huge talking point in Maine's Senate contest between GOP Senator Susan Collins and her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson. And Kayleigh Schuyler joins us live from Maine now this morning. And Kayleigh, the price Mainers will pay to stay warm this winter has become a big Big, big deal this election cycle. Yeah, good morning, Tyler. Just like fuel prices, home heating oil prices are hitting record highs, and more than half of Maine households rely on home heating oil. I've been in the state for the better part of the last month talking to voters about this, and many of them tell me they could struggle to afford higher heating bills this winter. It's getting cold. It's not getting any cheaper. And I'm looking at $1,000 to fill a tank or more. You know, when our bill came through, our heating oil bill was so much more higher than it had ever, ever been. I think it affects everybody that we know. Heating oil prices on the East Coast are sitting at an average of $6.20 a gallon. Last year, it was $3.60. Specifically here in Maine, the average is $6.02 a gallon. That's $2.79 more from a year ago. The Maine Senate race could be key in deciding which party has control of the Senate. And Republican Senator Susan Collins is highlighting federal heating assistance that she's worked on in D.C. Meanwhile, Democrat Troy Jackson is criticizing Collins and the Trump administration, Rising energy costs on the war in Iran. 315,000 barrels of home heating oil will be released for New England. I'd be advocating to get out of Iran. I mean, you know, the LIHEAP program obviously is crucial for seniors, low-income people, but there's a lot of middle-class people that don't know how they're going to be able to heat their homes this year. The latest poll from Fox News shows this race is a dead heat with both Collins and Jackson polling at 49% among likely voters. Tyler? Kaylee, we're going to have to wait and see how all of this plays out. Election day on Tuesday. Thanks so much for the update from Maine this morning.