Erin Burnett: “countdown to election night, the breaking news, another texas republican breaking with his party in the state’s all-important u.s. senate race. now, texas already seeing nearly four and a half million early votes cast since voting began there a week ago, four and a half million. thomas phillips, the former republican chief justice of the texas supreme court, endorsing the democratic senate candidate, james talarico. you heard me right, the republican. now, phillips explained why he can’t support republican ken paxton. he said, quote, in part, paxton’s longstanding reputation will embarrass texas in ways our state simply cannot afford. even the most fervent republican would do well this year to remember president john kennedy’s warning that sometimes party loyalty demands too much. out front now, two republicans who have not shied away from speaking out against their party and putting country over party, as they see it, more important in this moment than loyalty. dade phelan, texas state representative and former texas house speaker, and also with me, former kansas governor, bill graves. representative phelan, i just wanna start with you, if i may here, because we hear this from texas, you know, judge, supreme court justice. how widespread is that sentiment among texas republicans?” Dade Phelan: “it’s something we didn’t hear. let’s just frame it this way. in 2018, when several statewide barely won by less than three points, no one was talking about not voting for ted cruz. ted cruz is a fierce campaigner, debater, fundraiser, campaigns across the state. no one was talking about not voting for ted cruz. the fact that you’re hearing very prominent republicans, lifelong republicans coming out, not just saying they’re skipping the race or they have hesitations about voting for ken paxton, and they’re actually endorsing and voting for the democrat is pretty telling. and i think it, that’s why the polls are where they are. you know, you can say the polls are wrong and that, you know, it’s fake polls and they’re undercounting republicans, which i don’t think they undercount republicans in midterms. i think in midterms, the polls are more accurate than presidential years. and so, yes, i think that people are splitting their tickets this cycle more than ever. and we’re kind of seeing that in the turnout at the polls right now. so i’m not surprised that some of these more prominent republicans, lifelong republicans are turning their back on some of these high-ticket republicans.” Erin Burnett: “so, you know, governor graves, it’s obviously, you hear what representative phelan’s saying about texas, but it’s happening in south carolina. the democratic senate candidate there, annie andrews, just got endorsed by the former south carolina republican governor, david beasley, who put out a video talking about andrews alongside a former democratic governor of the state, jim hodges. here they are.” David Beasley: “we may have served as your governor from different political parties, but we agree south carolina deserves better than more of the same political fighting.” Erin Burnett: “and so they’re endorsing the democrat. i mean, governor, you were one of the first republicans to do this, this cycle, to break ranks and come out when it was a very lonely thing to do. you endorsed the democrat. what do you think is driving republicans from very different states, right? here we’re now talking about kansas, texas, south carolina, republicans endorsing democrats in these elections.” Bill Graves: “yeah, and i should mention someone formerly of the bush administration who’s endorsed in montana. i mean, there are a number beyond that. first of all, i want to say, erin, i served with david beasley, so i know him well. he is a standup guy, very conservative. and this came as even a surprise to me, but i’m very proud of david for doing it. and i think he feels like gabe and i feel. the republican party, we’re still republicans, and we want our party to be vibrant and strong, but this isn’t the party that we know. and we’re left with very few options. you either sit it out or you figure out a different strategy to engage. and in this case, the only other partner to dance with happens to be a democratic candidate. and in my case, a very, very fine one. adam hamilton makes no bones about the fact that he runs right in the middle of the road, which is where kansans are. and i think he’s the kind of guy that can possibly make a difference in washington.” Erin Burnett: “yeah, i mean, some of these candidates that you’re talking about are people who have focused on pragmatism when you’re talking about people like annie andrews or james talarico, at least in terms of the political message we’ve heard from them and data. i know you’ve worked with mr. talarico, obviously, in the texas house. the justice department said today that it’s sending 1,000 election monitors, which is a 150 percent increase from the 2022 election, right? so two and a half times. it comes amid the situation in the alaska senate race where trump’s already directed the doj to file a lawsuit to block the certification of the election if the republican loses, because they’re both named dan sullivan, even though it’s clearly labeled incumbent and all the reasons that lisa murkowski said that this didn’t add up on the ballot. here’s what attorney general todd blanche told my colleague, dana bash, this weekend.” Todd Blanche: “we are not doing anything improper. we’re not doing anything we’re not allowed to do. and we have to let the process play out. but i do think it’s important for the american people to understand that we are not, president trump is not trying to take over a state election in any way, shape or form.” Erin Burnett: “representative phelan, what do you make of blanche’s explanation?” Dade Phelan: “you know, 1,000 election monitors across the u.s. is really not that many people. in the state of texas, that was sand on the beach. we’ve got thousands and thousands and thousands of polling locations. i don’t know what the purpose of this is. i don’t know what one person standing in the room watching people vote will do or not do. i don’t know what message they’re trying to send here. but we have counties where there’s hundreds of polling locations in the state of texas. so a thousand across the state of texas, i really don’t know what the purpose of it is.” Erin Burnett: “so you think even though it’s a two and a half times increase, you’re saying it’s still not enough to make a difference. so what are they really trying to do?” Dade Phelan: “yes, you would need hundreds of thousands of, maybe i’m wrong, governor, you’re telling me, but you would need hundreds and hundreds of thousands of poll watchers if you’re trying to make an impact because there are so many locations just in the state of texas alone that i don’t know what the purpose of this initiative is.” Erin Burnett: “governor, you’ve certified elections. what do you read into this?” Bill Graves: “well, i mean, obviously i do have a concern about it. in those locations where these individuals show up, it causing some, let’s call it discomfort amongst well-established election officials that have been doing this for years, volunteers, paid workers that have been doing this for years. but i have to tell you, erin, i look at it maybe a little differently in that i have so much confidence in the people running our elections. i actually like the fact that i think all these people are gonna show up and there’s not gonna be anything for them to find. i mean, the political parties have been able to send poll watchers to every polling place forever, and they normally do. so this is just another layer that will make it that much more difficult for this president to argue that there was some sort of irregularity in this election.” Erin Burnett: “all right, well, i appreciate both of you and thank you so much, as always, for being with me.”