This is a rush transcript from “Special Report ” November 4, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR:: Good evening, welcome to AMERICA'S ELECTION HEADQUARTERS. Animals

are great and I'm Bret Baier.

MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: That's about where we are right now,

right? I'm Martha MacCallum.

Breaking tonight, everybody America watches and waits the fate of the

presidency rests not with candidates or consultants but with counters at

this point, with calculators and perhaps ultimately in the courts.

BAIER: All right, here's the most important set of numbers, the electoral

college count. Right now, former Vice President Joe Biden has 264, that is

six shy of the 270 needed. So far, getting Wisconsin and Michigan added to

his win column today. President Trump has 214. The winner again needs 270.

MACCALLUM: So, they're counting ballots continuing to count ballots

throughout this evening. They're going to determine the outcome in a

handful of these battleground states. Those electoral college votes will

decide ultimately who occupies the highest office in our land.

Now, a short time ago, Joe Biden came before the microphones. He said that

he expects that he will be the winner when this count is finished. But he

said he's not declaring his victory until he hits 270. President Trump has

yet to speak since very early this morning when he did declare victory.

Both sides are deploying armies of attorneys, they are ready to go to court

over any perceived in irregularity in this counting process, so that's

where we are.

BAIER: We should put an asterisk on this because the Trump campaign is

already saying that they are filing lawsuits or joining lawsuits they're

calling for recounts in a number of different states.

We have journalists and experts ready to help you understand all that is

happening and where things are headed, but we begin with Bill Hemmer at the

Billboard to bring us up to date. Good evening, Bill.

BILL HEMMER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: Good evening, guys. Bret, Martha, 24

hours ago, we were standing in this very studio and we told the audience

that this was an election unlike any other because of the massive amount of

mail-in ballots in. The initial impression may not be the final conclusion,

remember that the twists and the turns as we go.

We might be in for a few more tonight. Let's see, OK. So, here is what is

on the board at the moment. Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia and

Nevada. I can tell you after talking to the Trump campaign tonight, a lot

of people want to know why can't you call Georgia?

You got a four percent of the vote outstanding, the president has about 1.2

advantage percentage point here. A lot of the vote here in Atlanta is in,

that's Fulton County. A lot of the vote here in the cabinet, it appeared to

be in as well and that's really the Democratic heartbeat of the state of

Georgia.

The Trump campaign believes it's closer than they would like however they

feel they're going to win. They also believe they are "confident" about

keeping North Carolina. Again, a race at the moment that's just about a

point plus out of reach.

Nevada, what's happening out there? (INAUDIBLE) the Pennsylvania that will

Let's go to Nevada and see what's happening here. What we're hearing from

the Trump -- you got about 8,000 advantage for Joe Biden over Donald Trump.

So, why can't you call the state? They started counting again late today

that was a little quicker than we thought. We went to bed earlier this

morning. We thought that wasn't going to happen on Thursday.

The Trump campaign is saying they can start making up some of these

ballots. This is Las Vegas down where Clark County. Reno was up here.

There's a big rally here in Douglas County just about a week ago.

And you can see the votes here that are coming in. You're about 80 percent

of the ballots that have come in from Douglas County. Same down here in

Mineral County about -- well, about 80 percent of.

So, the -- clearly there's more numbers that come in here. Just pop on down

here, it's the same situation. If you look at, it's 80-85 percent, so

there's more votes coming in. And that's where -- they believe they can

make up ground.

This however is that -- this is the coin of the realm, this is Clark

County, this is Las Vegas, this is a lot of ways where you determine

winners and losers and the state of Nevada.

Joe Biden at 53 percent, Donald Trump 45. How was that four years ago? Just

on a percentage basis. Well, Hillary Clinton 55, almost 56. On a percentage

basis, Donald Trump is doing better in Clark County as of tonight.

Here's the catch though, this is up here, this is Reno, he was down here,

Washoe County here. This was Hillary Clinton's tab from four years ago and

now we see where we are tonight.

On a percentage basis anyway, Joe Biden is doing better than Donald Trump,

so that gives us the hesitation in Nevada. They're counting them as we

speak and as we go through the night tonight, we'll see whether or not we

can make a call on Nevada or whether were cast into another sphere in this

election in 2020 guys, back to you.

BAIER: It is 2020. Bill, thank you.

MACCALLUM: Yes, in every -- in every possible way. So, the ultimate

battleground might not be a particular state but a collection of courtrooms

around this country. President Trump is already putting his legal team to

work. Chief White House correspondent John Roberts following all of this

for us by the president's campaign. Good evening to you, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Martha,

Bret, good evening to you. As was more and more states slowly fall into the

win column for Joe Biden, President Trump's path to victory does really

start to narrow. But his campaign is banking that a push to count legal

votes and exclude others will ultimately net him another four years in the

building behind me.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: The Trump campaign today filing a lawsuit in Michigan claiming it

has not been given meaningful access to the opening and counting of mail-in

ballots. Demanding to halt counting until meaningful access has been

granted.

The Trump campaign also moving to do the same thing in Pennsylvania and

join a Supreme Court case challenging the extension to count mail-in

ballots in the keystone state.

The campaign will also demand a recount in Wisconsin where this afternoon

the race was called for Joe Biden. In a statement Trump campaign manager

Bill Stepien saying, there had been reports of irregularities in several

Wisconsin counties which raise serious doubts about the validity of the

results.

In Arizona, the Trump campaign predicting day of votes yet to be counted

will break for the president. Giving him a victory there by Friday and

boldly declaring Pennsylvania is a lock.

BILL STEPIEN, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN MANAGER: We are declaring a victory in

Pennsylvania. This is not based on gut or feel, this is based on math.

ROBERTS: As the vote counting ground to a halt in several states early this

morning, President Trump entering the East Room of the White House to claim

victory.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We were getting ready to win

this election. Frankly, we did win.

ROBERTS: The declaration drew criticism from some of the president's

Republican colleagues. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie calling it a bad

decision. The re-elected Senate Majority Leader more charitable.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): It's not unusual for people to claim they won

the election. Claiming he win the election is different from finishing the

counting.

ROBERTS: As the counting now continues, the Trump campaign fundraising for

legal action to challenge mail-in ballots. President Trump firing the

starting gun to that early this morning.

TRUMP: So, we'll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to

stop. We don't want them to find any ballots at 4:00 in the morning and add

them to the list.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: The president certainly though would like to find some more

ballots in the state of Wisconsin. In 2016 there was a recount in Wisconsin

requested by Green Party candidate Jill Stein that added to the president's

vote total by 131 votes which this year would leave him 3,379 votes short

of an overturn. But back in 2016, there was not the mass mail-in balloting

that we saw this year. Will that make a difference? We'll see, Bret,

Martha.

MACCALLUM: Thank you, John.

BAIER: Joe Biden says he will be the winner when the vote is fully counted

but he's not ready to declare himself the winner just yet. Democratic

nominee making those comments a short time ago. Correspondent Peter Doocy

is with the Biden campaign in Wilmington, Delaware tonight. Good evening,

Peter.

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. Joe Biden

is back home here in Wilmington about 15 minutes away. Nothing else on the

schedule today or tomorrow, but the campaign still has not touched the

elaborate election night set they built behind me. So, there may be

something coming up if this changes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not here to declare that we won.

DOOCY: But his team is doing that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're winning the election; we've won the election and

we're going to defend that election.

DOOCY: Even though they warned Trump not to talk like that unless he

reached 270.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you do tonight if he prematurely declares

victory?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it just doesn't work that way.

DOOCY: Biden himself admits they're not there yet.

BIDEN: Now, after a long night of counting, it's clear that we're winning

enough states to reach 270 electoral votes.

DOOCY: Now, Democrats are preparing for fights in court.

BIDEN: We the people will not surrender.

DOOCY: And the campaign is asking for cash to hire Democratic lawyers. An

e-mail to donors explains, the Biden Fight Fund will fund election

protection efforts for Joe Biden and the Democrats up and down the ballot.

They're ready to go all the way up to the Supreme Court.

BOB BAUER, BIDEN CAMPAIGN ADVISER: If they want to put it up for something

up to the Supreme Court one way or the other, presumably they can do that.

We're not worried about it.

DOOCY: In very brief remarks early this morning, Biden warned supporters

they may have to wait.

BIDEN: We knew this is going to go wrong, but who knew we're going to go

into maybe tomorrow morning, maybe even longer.

DOOCY: Kamala Harris stood by his side in silence.

BIDEN: Indeed, Senator Harris and I are on track to win more votes than any

ticket in the history of this country than have ever won for presidency and

vice presidency, over 70 million votes.

DOOCY: Even without clarity, Biden sees himself as a history maker already.

BIDEN: Only three presidential campaigns in the past have defeated an

incumbent president. When it's finished, God willing, we'll be the fourth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOOCY: The Biden team is telling us there still has not been any kind of

formal communication with the Trump campaign, that's the kind of thing that

would happen if one side or the other was planning to concede so it does

not seem like that is happening anytime soon. Which means the next time

reps for both sides might communicate with each other could be in court,

Bret.

BAIER: Peter Doocy in a familiar parking lot in Wilmington, Delaware.

Peter, thanks. Obviously --

MACCALLUM: He knows all the stripes.

BAIER: Yes, that's right.

MACCALLUM: Every spot.

BAIER: DNC Convention spot.

MACCALLUM: Exactly.

BAIER: Peter, thanks.

MACCALLUM: All right, let's get the Trump team perspective tonight. Tim

Murtaugh is the communications director of the campaign. Tim, good to have

you with us this evening

Obviously, today we heard from Rudy Giuliani and Eric Trump and others

about the potential push back in Pennsylvania, the desire of the Trump

campaign to watch and observe the counting of these votes, Arizona also in

the middle of this mix. Which one do you want to jump in on first? What's

most important to you guys right now?

TIM MURTAUGH, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: I think Arizona is

clearly the most important. And I think what you guys are going to see

tonight, we expect some more votes to be dumped-in in Arizona a little bit

later tonight and then again after midnight. And you're going to see the

tightening of that race because we know what these votes are. These are

what are called late early votes or Election Day drop off votes.

These are the Election Day voters that the president was getting from

Maricopa County and elsewhere at the rate of 62 percent. So, in order for

the president to close the gap and he only trails by 93,000 votes. He only

has to get 57 percent, so that's less than what he was already getting. And

there are 605 out -- 605,000 outstanding ballots right now.

So, as this narrows, there is going to be great pressure on you guys, to be

honest with you. Fox News to rescind your call. It was -- it was a

premature call. You know, we were livid about the fact that you and then

the A.P. made that call. There are seven organizations that call states on

election night from time to time, seven. Five of those seven did not make

that call.

BAIER: OK, we got it.

(CROSSTALK)

MURTAUGH: We don't want to be in a position --

BAIER: Thank you.

MURTAUGH: This is going to lead Joe Biden to falsely declare himself the

president elected some point.

BAIER: Understood, we are going to have (INAUDIBLE) Michigan back here. And

we're going to talk about this. We did in the early morning hours. We went

through all of the different stats and we're going to go through them

again. Appreciate it and we're going to --

MURTAUGH: Well, soon we won't be talking about stats. This is a -- this is

actual math and you'll see --

BAIER: No, I understand.

MACCALLUM: And if that's the case, Tim, we'll be the first ones to point

that out. You know, it's all about counting the votes and our decision team

looks at the remaining vote that you look at and they get different

percentages in terms of where those votes are likely to come from.

But if there's any need to change it and the numbers reflect something

different, you know, it is what it is. We'll see what happens.

BAIER: Yes, of course. All right, so, let me talk to you about the legal

fights. The lawsuits that have been filed with that you all will join are

in what states?

MURTAUGH: Well, we filed one in Michigan today because we want to -- we

need to have meaningful access according to state law. We're allowed to

observe when ballots are being opened and counted and they were preventing

us from doing that. So, we want that.

We also are joining the case in Pennsylvania to have the Supreme Court

address what Pennsylvania did. They actually effectively moved Election

Day. They moved it back three days and allow the receipt of ballots beyond

what the state legislature had set. We're also asking for meaningful access

in Pennsylvania so that our poll watchers can see what is actually

happening. We don't know why these Democrat operatives in these election

locations are blocking us from watching that.

And again, when we go back to Arizona, Pennsylvania follows Arizona. The

president is also going to win Pennsylvania. And when that occurs, he will

be in fact re-elected so --

BAIER: Mayor Giuliani today --

MURTAUGH: Arizona and then Pennsylvania and then the president's re-elect.

BAIER: Mayor Giuliani today said that Philadelphia is a history of tapping

into voters who are dead people, of fraud. Have you seen or been briefed on

one instance of fraud in any of these states as of yet?

MURTAUGH: Well, look, let's talk about Philadelphia which is by the way my

hometown, so I feel OK in saying this. Philadelphia has actually a very

sordid history in election fraud. In 2012 --

BAIER: I mean, this year.

MURTAUGH: There were fifth -- there were 50. Well, sure, in lots of

different states. In Michigan for example, there you have people who have

been filling out -- I'm sorry, I mean in Wisconsin what's called curing

ballots which is where you have poll workers actually correcting mistakes

in filling in gaps on ballots filed -- voted by other people and having the

poll workers do it.

You had people who had voted in the wrong precinct and had the poll workers

and a giant stack of ballots correcting that, filling in the correct

precinct number, and then, casting those votes on behalf of the voters.

That's against the law. You can't do things like that.

You have people boarding up the windows of polling locations so that our

poll watchers can't get in. Republican poll watchers being kicked out. You

have cases where ballots were damaged and they had people coming in to

actually hand transcribe the filled-out ballots onto blank ballots on

behalf of voters who had already gone away and were outside of the polling

location and gone about their day. You can't do things like that. There are

all sorts of irregularities.

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: Right. So, Tim, let me just ask you this final thing. The remedy

that you're seeking is to kick out all of those votes, let's say in

Wisconsin. And then, you're going to get to the number --

(CROSSTALK)

MURTAUGH: No, we want the opportunity to -- we want the opportunity to

examine that.

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: And then, you're going to get the number, the 20,000 that's going to

make up the difference in Wisconsin?

MURTAUGH: Well, we want the opportunity to be able to examine all of these

things. That is the purpose of having people getting access to the polling

locations. That is the purpose. It's absolutely legal. And under Michigan

law and other state laws, we are allowed to have meaningful access, and we

have been prevented from having that.

All we want to do is to ensure that these elections are free and fair. The

president wants every eligible voter to be able to vote, vote once, and

have that vote counted. And what we have encountered in state after state,

in city after city, and they're largely in cities run by Democrat

politicians, they have prevented access and the transparency that is

required under the law to allow people to see what is happening there.

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: Well, Tim --

MACCALLUM: Tim.

MURTAUGH: And I want to go back to what's happening. In Arizona, when the

president wins Arizona --

BAIER: Yes.

MURTAUGH: And then, Pennsylvania, the president is going to be re-elected.

And you guys will see later tonight the gap in Arizona is going to close,

(INAUDIBLE).

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: OK. But we're going to be transparent here.

MACCALLUM: We'll be watching.

BAIER: We're going to be transparent here. Thank you very much.

MACCALLUM: Thank you, Tim Murtaugh. Let's go to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

right now where Democratic Governor Tom Wolf is speaking. Let's hear what

he has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. TOM WOLF (D-PA): That's exactly what Pennsylvania is doing right now.

It's not surprising, as I've said before, that this election, the returns

are taken a little longer than we're used to, but that's actually a good

sign. Part of the reason for that is because so many more people have

voted.

And it does met -- mean that, that votes in Pennsylvania are actually being

counted. We're taking the time to make sure that in this new system that

went into place the end of last year that all the votes are being counted.

Again, the vote is central to our democracy. It's how we all choose the

people to be our public servants. This is the hiring process, the election.

We have to have fair elections, and those elections have to be free of

external influences. We need to have confidence that people are choosing

their leaders and that the leaders are not choosing the people who vote for

them. We need to make sure that the voters are choosing the leaders, not

the other way around.

Elections are the bedrock of our democracy, and our commonwealth and our

country thrive when people freely exercise this franchise. And that's why

it's essential that every eligible vote -- every eligible vote is counted

in this election and in every election.

We've seen efforts across the country to undermine this election and to

block -- to block the counting of votes. This afternoon, the Trump campaign

filed a lawsuit to stop the counting of ballots in Pennsylvania. That is

simply wrong.

It goes against the most basic principles of our democracy. It takes away

the right of every American citizen to cast their vote and to choose our

leaders. Our election officials at the state and local level should be free

to do their jobs without fear, without intimidation, without attacks.

These attempts to subvert the democratic process are simply disgraceful.

We're going to fight every single attempt to disenfranchise voters. We will

continue to administer free and fair elections in Pennsylvania.

Let me be clear, in Pennsylvania, every vote is going to count. I'm going

to fight like hell to protect the vote of every Pennsylvanian. I'm going to

do everything in my power to make sure that every vote counts because in

Pennsylvania, every voice matters, every vote matters. Thank you.

Now, I'm going to turn it over to secretary of state who's done a

phenomenal job of making this election, I think as smooth as any election

I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot of elections in Pennsylvania.

Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar.

KATHY BOOCKVAR, SECRETARY OF STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA: Hi, everybody. We've

got to stop meeting like this. Please soon.

So, thank you all for coming. And it was another really good day in

Pennsylvania. Our amazing county election directors and personnel across

the commonwealth once again just put in incredible hours and time and

energy and patience and attention to detail to make sure that they could

proceed with counting hundreds and hundreds of thousands of ballots.

They've made excellent progress, they're still working. Department of State

are still working all back at our operations center. I'm going to be going

back there after this and we will be continuing to work into the night, all

of us to support the counties to get this done.

So, I expect you know hundreds of thousands more probably to be counted

still tonight. So, you could keep watch on the election night. Returns web

site, and you know, at this point, I think we're actually probably a little

bit ahead of where I thought we would be, which is great. So, stay tuned.

But still thinking, you know, we're talking about a matter of days before

the overwhelming majority of ballots are counted in.

You know, I was thinking the other day, just a couple of days ago was the

100th anniversary -- you know, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the

19th Amendment this year. And so, just a couple of days ago, November 2nd,

was the 100th anniversary of the first election that those suffragists got

to vote in and how -- and I think when Governor Wolf was talking about how

much we cherish and will fight for every voter's right to vote, I think

about the suffragists, and it's really been an inspiration all year long to

be in this position and to be working to make sure that every single voter

of all backgrounds.

And I should say, you know, we had -- 100 years ago, it was 19th Amendment,

and then, of course, there were decades longer that voters of color were

still denied the right to vote, and it took, you know, civil rights

activists the -- you know, incredible struggles and tragedies, and triumphs

that led to President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

And I just -- I take all of this with me every day in this job to make sure

that we ensure that every single qualified and eligible voter has the

opportunity to vote. And I'm so thankful to work for Governor Wolf, who is

incredibly dedicated to that mission as well.

So, we will continue to fight for every Pennsylvanian for their vote to be

counted. And thank you all for being here and we're happy to take

questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the law --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BAIER: The secretary of state and the governor of Pennsylvania, talking

about the count in Pennsylvania, saying they are making progress slowly,

and it is not completed there as of yet.

We're going to bring in the other side, we talked to the Trump campaign

representative Tim Murtaugh. Now, to Delaware Senator Chris Coons, a member

of the Biden's campaign team.

Senator, first of all, congratulations on your re-election. I want to ask

you about where you think this campaign is.

(CROSSTALK)

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Thank you, Bret. Great to be on here.

BAIER: Obviously, we have it at 264. Last night in the early morning hours,

I should say, President Trump said that he had won this campaign. Frankly,

he had won this campaign and they were going to fight for all of these

votes. Did you have a problem with that speech?

COONS: Well, Bret, earlier this evening, Joe Biden came out and said that

he fully expects, when all the votes are counted that ultimately, he will

have 270 or more electoral votes. And as we both know, President Trump made

that announcement very early this morning. Joe Biden came out and made that

announcement.

The key difference is that Joe is asking for every vote to be counted. He's

not seeking to stop any of these counts. And by your own estimates, at this

point, Joe only needs to win one of four states, either Georgia or North

Carolina, or Nevada, or Pennsylvania, and Joe Biden has more than 270

electoral votes.

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: Sure, we've got the math, but --

(CROSSTALK)

COONS: In order for Donald Trump to be re-elected, he's going to have to

win all four. And it's striking to me that the Trump campaign is going into

court to try and stop counts that are ongoing in states where he's

projected to lose, and to try and restart counts or to recount in a state

Wisconsin where he's been already projected to lose. But the counting has

stopped.

BAIER: Yes. Senator, what's the difference --

(CROSSTALK)

COONS: What we should all be standing for together, Bret, is that every

vote gets counted. We may have to be patient, but in the end, I'm convinced

that will lead to Joe Biden being our next president.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

BAIER: What's the difference between what President Trump said in

projecting, saying, we've frankly already won this election. And what Bob

Bauer, the vice president's attorney said, we're winning the election,

we've won the election, and we're going to defend the election?

I mean, he hadn't won it yet.

COONS: Well, I think, the key difference is that at 2:00 in the morning,

without several of these key states having been called yet, having release

their vote totals yet, Donald Trump declared himself the victor.

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: But he hasn't won it yet.

COONS: Earlier this evening, Joe Biden came out and said, I believe I will

when all the votes are counted be determined to be the next president.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Well, Bret's quoting the attorney for the campaign.

COONS: And I'm going to govern for the interest of all Americans.

MACCALLUM: Yes, Bret's quoting the attorney for the campaign, and who said,

we have won this election, which clearly hasn't happened.

You know, I just want to talk to you about Pennsylvania for a second, and

this, this issue of stopping the vote. You know, digging into what's going

on there a little bit, there's a dispute going on between the state

legislature in Pennsylvania, and the secretary of state, and the people who

are running that vote.

They never liked this whole construct of being able to have these ballots

come in after November 3rd and to continue to count them. So, they're

having sort of interesting warfare in Pennsylvania over how this should be

conducted.

So, it's not that they -- that the campaigns don't want them to be counted,

is that they want the opportunity for that to play out. And then after they

have, you know, you also heard they want to have the observation rights

that, that would all be able to go forward.

It's not that they want it to stop forever, it's just that they want to

pause it, and let that play out. Do you believe that it is fair and right

for both sides to be able to observe the vote? To be able to stand there

and see what's going on?

COONS: Yes.

MACCALLUM: Do you have any problem with that?

COONS: No.

MACCALLUM: So, then, you would say that they should stop until they can do

that, until they can pull that off there in Michigan, if that's their

right, and that's what they want to do? Should they be stopped until they

can actually do that?

COONS: Well, Martha, I'm not fully briefed on what the allegations are that

the campaign -- the Trump campaign is making about a lack of transparency

and access. But I've watched on television today. As vote counting has

proceeded in a number of different states.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: But you can't see anything on the actual ballots. That's what

they're saying.

COONS: My expectation is that the vote-counting process will be fair and

open and transparent.

MACCALLUM: That's fine. But you know, I mean that their argument is that

they can't actually see what's happening. They're asking these people this

-- the guy that they had on today, they're asking them to stand so far away

that they can't actually observe anything that's happening. There's paper

ballots and they're 25 feet away from them.

So, do you agree that they should have the opportunity to get in there and

to watch? Because that way, no one can say that they weren't given every

opportunity and that it wasn't fair across the board.

COONS: Right. Martha, I just said, yes. The counting process should be fair

and appropriate and follow the law. And I haven't read the filings in court

from the Trump campaign.

But I'll tell you that, frankly, when I listen to Rudy Giuliani and when I

listen to some of the claims that are being advanced, they smack of

desperation. We need to allow the counting to proceed. And to the extent,

there is disputes for them to be resolved appropriately by the courts.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Yes.

BAIER: I think --

MACCALLUM: I think, if you let that play out, then both sides feel like

they got what they needed.

COONS: One campaign is asking for all ballots to be counted. And in the

end, I'm confident that we're going to see Joe Biden elected freely and

fairly as the next president of the United States.

BAIER: Senator, I just want one quick question. You know, we look at the

election and how this country is really split. Democrats were thinking this

was going to be a blue wave. You obviously won in your race, however,

Senate races on the Democratic side, hundreds of millions of dollars spent.

Eight of the top 10 Senate races ever were this year in 2020. And right

now, you stand at a net gain of one in the Senate.

In the House, Democrats are losing seven seats. What message do you think

that sends to Democrats?

COONS: I do think that we're a sharply divided country. And that we hear

and see and respond to what's going on in our country differently. Today,

the United States had 100,000 new COVID-19 cases. Many of us think that

this ongoing pandemic is a significant public health problem, and it is

largely the result of President Trump's bundled mishandling of the

pandemic.

There are many others who think the number one issue is reopening and

reviving the economy, and they don't ascribe any blame to the president for

the pandemic, and its impact on the economy.

Joe Biden, earlier today, gave a speech about being a president for all

Americans, for fighting hard for those who voted for him and who voted

against him, for trying to bring our country together, to deal with both

the pandemic and the recession, and to try and heal some of the divisions

in our country.

I do think that the results of these elections, presidential and

congressional, point to a very sharply divided country, and that's why I've

always supported Joe Biden, someone who sees our divisions and tries to

heal them, rather than our president, who I think tries to sharpen them.

MACCALLUM: All right, Senator, thank you very much and congratulations on

your election -- your re-election last night.

COONS: Thank you.

MACCALLUM: Always good to have you with us.

BAIER: Let's recap where things stand tonight in some of the key

battleground states, starting in Nevada. Joe Biden is leading President

Trump by a half percentage point there. That counting is continuing

tonight, we're told.

MACCALLUM: Votes are still being counted in the state of Georgia as well,

very close race there. The president has a lead of 50 percent to about 49.

BAIER: In North Carolina President Trump has an edge of about 1.5

percentage points there. We should point out that all of these states have

not matched the polls going in, the average of polls.

MACCALLUM: That's for sure. And in Pennsylvania, the president has the

lead of about four points at this point.

BAIER: So let's get an update now from Arnon Mishkin of the FOX News

Decision Desk. Arnon, thanks for being here.

ARNON MISHKIN, FOX NEWS ANALYST: Thank you for having me.

BAIER: You heard the Trump campaign spokesperson Tim Murtaugh calling on

the Decision Desk to pull back the Arizona call, saying that there is a

vote coming in tonight from Maricopa County that will change the dynamic.

Can you address that, and are you pulling back that call?

MISHKIN: We are not pulling back that call. There is vote, additional vote

that will be reported in Maricopa County. We do not believe that this will

change the tenor or the texture of the race, and we strongly believe that

our call will stand. And that's why we're not pulling back the call.

BAIER: But explain why, because the percentage of the vote that you think

is out there, and how much the president has to make up to get the balance

of that separation.

MISHKIN: There appears somewhere, about 550,000 votes outstanding. Nobody

knows the exact number. We think it's a little less than 550,000, maybe

it's a little more than 550,000. The president needs to make up the deficit

of roughly 100,000 votes. It primarily from Maricopa County. Maricopa

County is a county where Biden is doing well. The president needs to get

basically 60 percent of that outstanding vote in order to overtake or tie

Joe Biden. We don't believe he is going to get more than 45, 46 percent of

that vote.

What you have to appreciate is that voters in Maricopa County tended to be

more Biden voters than Trump voters. Voters who voted by mail, and the bulk

of this vote is the mail-in vote, tended to be even stronger for Biden than

the Election Day in-person vote. I do not ascribe any significance to his

point that they mailed it on Election Day, therefore they are Election Day

voters.

BAIER: Or they walked it in.

MISHKIN: Or they walked it in.

MACCALLUM: He is saying these late early voters, which is a difficult

term, but people who did not vote in the voting booth but showed up on the

last day to either turn in their ballot or put it in the ballot drop box,

they are saying that the outstanding vote is over 600,000, and that the

president is on schedule in terms of what they see to be an over a 60

something percent. If that were the case, would that state move?

MISHKIN: If a frog had wings. What we believe fairly strongly that the

vote is going to come in, it's going to confirm our call. Others will then

call Arizona for the former vice president. We're confident in our call,

and we'll see when the data comes in. But we're confident that the data

will basically look like the data that we have noticed throughout the count

in Arizona, and therefore, we are not pulling back our call.

BAIER: Quick answer here. Why can we not call North Carolina, but we could

call Arizona?

MISHKIN: Because in North Carolina we are waiting for a different flavor

of votes than is reported so far. What we're waiting for is the last

remnants of the mail-in votes. And we know in places like North Carolina,

the mail-in vote was strongly for Biden, a much stronger than you generally

see in terms of the difference between mail-in and in-person vote. And so

there is a possibility, a sufficient possibility to prevent a call that

actually Vice President Biden might catch up some to the president. North

Carolina is probably the president's best chance of winning a state that's

outstanding.

MACCALLUM: What do you say -- obviously you have heard that people were

outraged by how early that call was made, that it was only one percent of

the vote in. How do you justify calling it when it was at one percent so

early in the night?

MISHKIN: Where does the one percent come from?

MACCALLUM: What was the percentage?

MISHKIN: It was made at 11:20. It was made at 11:20. There had been a huge

dump of vote. It was roughly 80 some percent of the vote was in when we

made the call. We felt confident in the call. We had been sitting and

watching it for about a half-hour, an hour, and we said it's time to pull

the trigger. We felt we made the correct call at the correct time, and

that's why we made it.

BAIER: When we make the 270 call, is Nevada going to be called tonight?

MISHKIN: We do not know when Nevada is going to report its latest tranche

of vote. We expect it to be more likely tomorrow than tonight. We thought

that there might be a drop of vote today. By drop, I mean additional vote

put into the system today. It looks like it's going to be tomorrow.

BAIER: OK, Arnon Mishkin, we appreciate your time. Thank you for taking

our questions.

MACCALLUM: Thank you very much.

BAIER: We are just getting started, tonight's expanded election coverage.

Still to come, the panel analyzes what has happened so far and tells us

where things are going. And up next, we'll go live to Wisconsin where a

recount may be brewing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: The Trump campaign is already talking about requesting a recount in

Wisconsin. Mike Tobin reports tonight from Milwaukee. Good evening, Mike.

MIKE TOBIN, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. The

canvassing will begin here in Milwaukee at the county courthouse. That

finalizes the vote which needs to happen for the request for the recount to

become official. The margin still needs to stay within one percent as well.

Meantime, Meagan Wolfe, the administrator for the Wisconsin board of

elections, is pushing back at the president's late-night criticism of the

election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEAGAN WOLFE, WISCONSIN ELECTIONS COMMISSION: I think that it's insulting

to our local election officials to say that anything -- yesterday's

election was anything but an incredible success that was a result of years

of preparation and meticulously, carefully following the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TOBIN: And the president went into Wednesday morning 100,000 votes up.

However, there were more than 160,000 early and absentee votes in the city

of Milwaukee, a Democratic stronghold. Those were totaled, loaded onto a

flash drive. City Clerk Claire Woodall-Vogg with a police escort hand-

delivered the drive to Milwaukee county. As expected, Milwaukee voters

favored Biden. Green Bay early votes also favored Biden. By sunrise, the

president's 100,000 vote lead had dwindled to a 20,000 vote deficit to Joe

Biden.

Late in the afternoon, Little Willow, Wisconsin, became the final township

to post their results. When that was done, Richland County, Wisconsin,

showed a 949 vote favor to President Trump, not enough to make a

difference. Bret, back to you.

BAIER: Mike, thank you.

MACCALLUM: All right, let's bring in George Washington University law

professor John Turley. Jonathan, great to have you back with us tonight. I

have a feeling we're going to see quite a bit of you in the coming weeks.

JONATHAN TURLEY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Thank God.

MACCALLUM: I want to start -- Rudy Giuliani came out this afternoon

representing the president, making a lot of charges about corruption in

Philadelphia. And I want to play a little soundbite from him, and we'll

start there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: Not a single Republican has

been able to look at any of these mailed ballots. They could be from Mars

as far as we are concerned. We have no idea if they're signed, if they're

postmarked properly, if it isn't just the same person that submitted

100,000 ballots, and they all got counted. This is the way they intend to

win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So this is obviously the president's argument since early on,

that because you have this enormous amount of mail-in ballot that has never

really happen before in the history of the country, that it needs to be

watched extremely closely by both sides to ensure transparency. Is that a

decent argument? What do you say?

TURLEY: Well, there is merit to being allowed to observe this process. I

should note that there is a Mars, Pennsylvania. I have relatives who live

there. But the fact is that he is making the valid objections to the

process, but they really need to tamp down this rhetoric. We don't evidence

of widespread fraud in Pennsylvania. We do have irregularities in various

states. We do have laws that were changed shortly before the election.

Pennsylvania has a serious issue in terms of those laws being changed

shortly before the election that went to the Supreme Court, and Chief

Justice John Roberts sided with the liberal justices in a tied vote. And it

sort of kick that can down the road. That can may come rattling back to the

Supreme Court as these legislators say that we want a ruling on the merits.

We wrote the law one way, and then suddenly it was changed by judicial

fiat.

BAIER: And Jonathan, very quickly, recounts, there may be multiple, not

just in Wisconsin. There may be one in Georgia, maybe Nevada if they call

for them. The last recount in Wisconsin according to the former governor,

Scott Walker, changed the numbers by 131 in 2016. The one before that

changed it 300 votes. The deficit in Wisconsin is 20,000.

TURLEY: Yes, presidential challenges are measured in inches, not yards.

It's by aggregates, by attacking a lot of little pockets of votes. We don't

really see anything right now that would materially change that type of

sizable vote deficit.

BAIER: OK.

MACCALLUM: Jonathan Turley, thank you very much, law professor at George

Washington University.

So what some predicted would be a blue wave last night that would overwhelm

Republicans and carry Democrats to control the United States Senate has so

far not materialized. Let's find out where things stand right now with

Chief Congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel who joins us with the story

from Washington tonight. Hey, Mike.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS, (R-ME): I feel that this is an affirmation of the work

that I'm doing in Washington.

MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A huge hold in

Maine with Republican Susan Collins defeating Democrat Sarah Gideon in a

critical race for the balance of power in the Senate. In South Carolina,

Senator Lindsey Graham had the fight of his political life, but held on

against Democrat Jaime Harrison.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R-SC): I have wanted my job more than I do now. I

never appreciated my job more than I do now.

EMANUEL: Republicans also picking up a seat in Alabama with Tommy

Tuberville defeating Democrat Doug Jones. Senator Mitch McConnell

expressing hope today he will continue leading the Senate.

MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY) SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I don't know whether I'm

going to be the majority leader or the minority leader. As I've told you,

I've been both. Majority is better.

EMANUEL: Two pickups for Democrats so far in Colorado with John

Hickenlooper defeating Republican Cory Gardner.

JOHN HICKENLOOPER, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's time to put the

poisonous politics of this era is behind us, and come together to move

forward.

EMANUEL: And in Arizona with Mark Kelly defeating Republican Martha

McSally.

MARK KELLY, (D) ARIZONA SENATOR-ELECT: Our state doesn't need a Democrat

senator or a Republican senator. We need an Arizona senator, a senator like

John McCain.

EMANUEL: In the House, Democrats lost numerous seats, many that they won

two years ago in Iowa, New Mexico, and Florida. Donna Shalala and Debbie

Mucarsel-Powell, in Oklahoma, Kendra Horn, and in South Carolina, Joe

Cunningham. And it wasn't just freshman. House Agriculture Committee

Chairman Collin Peterson of Minnesota lost his 15-term seat. Democrats

could still lose seats in New York, Michigan, and California. House

Republican leader Kevin McCarthy celebrated beating expectations so far.

KEVIN MCCARTHY, (R-CA) HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: As our numbers continue to

grow, I think at the end of the day, no matter where we end up, that we'll

be able to have a very big say or even run the floor when it comes to

policy.

EMANUEL: Last night, Speaker Nancy Pelosi downplayed her losses.

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA) HOUSE SPEAKER: It's not just about the quantity.

It is about the quality of leadership.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

EMANUEL: There could be quite a bloodbath ahead among Democrats. In the

House the expectation was they would gain seats, including in places like

Texas. And in the Senate, this was the cycle that was supposed to be the

opportunity to regain the majority with Republicans defending tough seats.

So far Democrats in Congress have not lived up to the hype. Martha, Bret?

BAIER: Mike, Thanks.

MACCALLUM: Mike, thank you.

So back with the panel after a quick break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a fraud on the

American public. This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting

ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election.

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: After a long night of counting, it's

clear that we're winning enough states to reach 270 electoral votes needed

to win the presidency. I'm not here to declare that we've won. But I am

here to report when the count is finished, we believe we will be the

winners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Let's bring in our panel, Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at "The

Federalist," Byron York, chief political correspondent for the "Washington

Examiner," and former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. Byron, let's

start with you. Where we are right now, where we may be going here with the

challenges that the Trump campaign is bringing forward?

BRYON YORK, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER": First of

all, it looks pretty tough for the Trump campaign right now. He needs to

win some states. Georgia and North Carolina are not in the bag yet. He

needs to win both of those, then he needs to win Pennsylvania, then he

still need something else. They think they have a good chance in Arizona,

perhaps in Nevada. They need one of those. So that's an uphill fight right

there.

As far as these challenges are concerned, the Trump campaign has every

right to demand what they call meaningful access to the process of vote

counting. That is really something they should have. They have every right

to file for a recount. But in the next few days, at the same time, they are

going to need to produce some examples of irregularities, of problems in

the counting, of significant issues in this vote count that could possibly

affect the election. They are going to need to produce those maybe in a

court document or maybe just in a news conference, but to give us some

examples of what they see going on.

MACCALLUM: Absolutely, great point. Harold Ford Jr., Michigan and

Wisconsin in Joe Biden's column this afternoon. Your thoughts on how it is

shaping up on the Democrats' side?

HAROLD FORD JR. (D) FORMER TENNESSEE REPRESENTATIVE: First, thanks for

having me on. It puts him at 264 electoral votes. Obviously, Nevada,

Pennsylvania, I agree with Byron's reaction to whether or not we should

have counting. I think every vote should be counted. We should even try to

recover votes that have been lost or fraud or intentional negligence.

But if you are the Biden campaign, you have to feel good. So let's assume

he wins, and I want all of them to be counted, and we'll see what happens.

The great thing about last night was that the country spoke in a loud, loud

way. There was a lot of noise in the campaign, some of it contentious, some

of it really harmonious, most of it not harmonious. But the American people

spoke and gave the Democrats fewer seats in the majority of the House, gave

Republicans maybe on less seat in the Senate in their majority. And it

looks like they have replaced their president. And you're replaced the

president with a guy whose strength, his greatest strength in politics has

always been working across the aisle.

If we're going to accomplish much in the nation in the next few years with

a divided Congress, a narrowly divided Congress, and a different person in

the White House, a different party, this might be the set up that the

country needs in order to unleash perhaps an era of compromise and problem-

solving. So I'm relieved and I'm encouraged tonight as I listen and watch

these numbers unfold.

BAIER: Mollie, your thoughts? The president is obviously not stopping. He

is not fighting - he's giving up as of yet. And Joe Biden has not gotten

270 as of yet.

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE FEDERALIST": Right, the Biden

campaign wants stats to be called in their favor so they can start

declaring that they have won the Electoral College vote, which will be in

December. The Trump campaign, for its part, feels very confident that it

has won Pennsylvania, and they also feel confident about Arizona. And they

have a rational case for why that may be, and we will see as those votes

are counted.

The reason why it's important to actually have those votes be counted is

because, prior to yesterday, we were told that Biden would win in a

blowout, that Democrats had an extremely strong case for taking over

control of the Senate, that Democrats would gain and strengthen their

majority in the House. And when votes were counted, what we saw was that

Florida went overwhelmingly for President Trump, contrary to what we were

told, that not only did the senators in Maine and Iowa and North Carolina

not lose their seats, but that the Republicans kept their majority in the

Senate. Susan Collins did not lose by 12 points, but in fact is winning by

eight point. And that Republicans are actually gaining seats in the House,

including 11 new women elected to Congress.

We are learning that in states not just in Florida, but Texas and other

states, that Donald Trump seriously increased the Republican share of the

minority vote. Donald Trump through this enthusiastic campaign he ran and

reaching out to minority voters is on track to get the largest percentage

of minority votes of any Republican in 60 years. And so what we were told

by the media and by Democratic activists versus the reality of what is

happening in the field is different. And so I think people need to wait and

just see how these votes play out before rushing to any judgment.

BAIER: And just one quick thing, and people at home should know, and I

just saw it on social media, that when a network or a news association

calls a state, that does not mean any of the counting stops in any place.

And the real vote is what determines the real election in that state.

MACCALLUM: And that is all still coming in.

Just quickly, before we let you go, Byron. You talked about the rhetoric.

How important is it how the president handles this going forward in the

next few days? Just a couple of seconds here.

YORK: The facts of the matter are going to drive this. The facts of the

matter are going to drive this. And so when people see that the votes are

against them --

BAIER: Byron, I have got to cut you off. We'll be right back after this.

herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be

reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast

without the prior written permission of ASC Services II Media, LLC. You may

not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of

the content.