Don Lemon Thanks Ohio Dems for Watching CNN at Candidate's HQ

August 8th, 2018 12:22 AM

Tuesday’s special election for Ohio’s 12th Congressional District was a nail-biter, and as of this blog's publication, Republican candidate Troy Balderson was ahead by 0.9 percent of the vote with 100 percent reporting. And in the midst of the exhausting election night coverage, host Don Lemon took a few seconds of their CNN Tonight analysis to thank the Democrats gathered at candidate Danny O’Connor’s HQ for watching his network.

Lemon’s praise came after those gathered at the election night event began cheering during a live shot with political reporter Rebecca Berg. “Democrats not, you know, giving up on this race certainly but they would like to see Danny O’Connor right now leading. They’re defying expectations as it is. This is his district.,” she touted. “They're cheering for us. We have CNN on in the room, as you can see.

As Berg gave her report, the rowdy crowd grew even louder as they blasted “Born in the USA” and the excitement of being on national TV swept over them. “They’re — see they’re pumped! They’re still very pumped here at Danny O’Connor’s election night event,” Berg boasted.

After cutting away from the Democratic event Lemon opined about the feeling of being in such a crowd. “You guys know how it is when you’re out there,” he said to his panel. “And then there’s a delay, right? And so all of sudden, ‘why are people cheering?’ And you turn around and you realize that they’re watching the monitor.”

 

 

So, hello to everyone. Can we say hello to everyone in Ohio tonight? Thank so much for watching CNN’s coverage,” he joyously said while waving at the camera. And it’s no wonder the Democrats would be watching CNN because the news outlet was sending them good vides the whole night.

Towards the top of the 10 o’clock Eastern hour, CNN chief national correspondent John King declared that no matter the outcome (even a victory for Republicans), it was a terrible night for Republicans. “But obviously, if you're a Republican from Ohio, if you're a Republican keeping track, you want to win this one tonight, you’ll worry about rest later,” he argued. “This is bad news for the Republicans when you look forward to November either way.”

About 18 minutes later and with Balderson in the lead by 1,685 votes and 99 percent reporting, King wrote off any idea that they would know who the winner was any time soon. “The local TV stations and radio station have been happy up to today because of all the ad spending. The lawyers will be involved tomorrow,” he joked. “When it’s this close, we're not going to have a definitive winner tonight I can tell you even if we get all the votes counted.

And while he did say that the Democrats would be better off with an actual victory, he made the pathetic argument that the Democrats won the “moral victory” over the GOP. “This is a moral victory for the Democrats. The fact that they’re this close, it's a moral victory for the Democrats,” he gushed.

And in the wee hours of Wednesday morning and Balderson still ahead, Lemon appeared to ascribe an apparent GOP win to gerrymandering. “So whatever reason, are these districts so safe because of gerrymandering, or whatever, that they can withstand a ‘blue wave’ come November,” he wondered to his panel. Ah, yes. It's clear CNN knows their market all too well.

The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:

 

 

CNN Tonight
August 7, 2018
10:02:38 p.m. Eastern

(…)

JOHN KING: This is, when you come back to the full Congressional district. Now you look at the county, 201 vote difference in what should be, Don let’s be clear, a solid Republican race. We should not be covering this race tonight, this Republican special election should be a Republican win, the fact that it's so close tells you this is a very steep hill for Republicans this year. But obviously, if you're a Republican from Ohio, if you're a Republican keeping track, you want to win this one tonight, you’ll worry about rest later. This is bad news for the Republicans when you look forward to November either way. The question is, we got more votes to count, we’re at 91 percent, what’s going to happen tonight? We’ll stay with the count.

(…)

10:19:59 p.m. Eastern

KING: We are down to the tiny percentage here and here. Delaware County, this is where the President's rally was, has helped Troy Balderson, is that enough? And what's left down here? We have a ways to go yet. I just want to make this point as we go back to the full Congressional district. We’re dancing now in the ballpark, it's in a district-wide race 0.5 is the automatic recount. So, we’re dancing that, but guess what. Even if we're just outside of that—The local TV stations and radio station have been happy up to today because of all the ad spending. The lawyers will be involved tomorrow. When it’s this close, we're not going to have a definitive winner tonight I can tell you even if we get all the votes counted.

(…)

KING: This is a moral victory for the Democrats. The fact that they’re this close, it's a moral victory for the Democrats. You want a real victory. You don't get a participation trophy.

(…)

10:35:07:

REBECCA BERG: Good evening. Well, we knew this race would be close and, of course, it is. Democrats not, you know, giving up on this race certainly but they would like to see Danny O’Connor right now leading. They’re defying expectations as it is. This is his district.

[Crowd cheering]

They're cheering for us. We have CNN on in the room, as you can see. But this is a Republican district -- I wanted to make sure Danny O’Connor wasn't coming on stage.

(…)

[Crowd still cheering]

BERG: They’re—See they’re pumped! They’re still very pumped here at Danny O’Connor’s Election Night event.

DON LEMON: [Laughing] Rebecca Berg, thank you very much. I appreciate that. You guys know how it is when you’re out there.

DANA BASH: Oh, yeah.

LEMON: And then there’s a delay, right? And so all of sudden, “why are people cheering?” And you turn around and you realize that they’re watching the monitor. So, hello to everyone. Can we say hello to everyone in Ohio tonight? Thank so much for watching CNN’s coverage. As a matter of fact, our special coverage will continue in just a moment.

(…)