Early voting in Western NC (10-31-2024--Hour1)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetekalinershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, right to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:28] I want to welcome to the program Jason Simmons. He is the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party. Jason, welcome to the show, sir. How are you?

[00:00:36] Good, Pete. Thank you for having me.

[00:00:38] Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So, all right. So let's let's start off with some of the early voting stuff. I've heard concerns from people up in Western North Carolina about whether or not they're going to be able to, you know, cast their votes, get to their early voting sites because of the washed out roads from Hurricane Helene.

[00:00:57] I've heard this concern also from people outside of Western North Carolina. Oh, no, we've lost them. And so, all right, we got him back. Jason, you're back.

[00:01:06] Yep. No, I heard your question about our good friends out in Western North Carolina and their ability to get out and vote. Right. I believe that's where you're going. Yes, sir.

[00:01:15] Yeah. So I've had the opportunity to go out now on a number of occasions and more importantly, talk with all of our leaders from across Western North Carolina.

[00:01:24] And I'll commend the Board of Elections across. They have done a great job making sure to stand up those early vote locations on time.

[00:01:32] And what we saw, especially on those first couple of days of early vote were record numbers of Republicans turning out to vote.

[00:01:39] They were already frustrated before the storm with what they've seen the last four years in this administration and the just cost of everything that's gone up and all of the frustration then pent up.

[00:01:54] And then with the lack of response, especially by the federal government, people were upset.

[00:01:59] They were angry. And that frustration was amplified. And you've seen it now with the result of the early vote in Western North Carolina.

[00:02:06] People are turning out in record numbers.

[00:02:09] So I don't know if you're like in the weeds on some of these numbers, but it seems like that there's an increase in turnout in a lot of the counties,

[00:02:21] but a decline in in the in-person and an increase in mail-in.

[00:02:28] Do I have that right? Or can you I don't know, can you can you give me some insight on that?

[00:02:33] Yeah. So what we've seen, especially across Western North Carolina, but across the state, the mail in ballots from 2020,

[00:02:42] where especially Democrats were very reliant upon those is way down.

[00:02:46] And what we've seen across the state is in person, especially for Republicans is up.

[00:02:53] Democrat in person and absentee is down.

[00:02:57] They are way down from where they were during the 2020 period.

[00:03:01] And Republican vote over Democrat right now is over 47,000 Republicans over the Democrats.

[00:03:09] So we're seeing the structural problem that they had going into this election cycle,

[00:03:14] where you've had their voter registration drop precipitously over the last four to eight years,

[00:03:20] is now playing out during early vote.

[00:03:22] And so, OK, so the overall number then it seems like is being impacted by mainly an erosion in the Democrat in-person early vote turnout.

[00:03:31] Is that accurate?

[00:03:33] Yes.

[00:03:34] Gotcha.

[00:03:34] So what you've seen is Republican vote is up from where we were in 2020.

[00:03:39] The Democrat vote is way down and even the unaffiliated vote is up.

[00:03:44] So the only vote that's down is Democrats because they continue to not have a candidate that they are excited to come out and vote for.

[00:03:51] Sure. And so I know I guess it was I mean, it was many years ago where the unaffiliated registered voters total surpassed Republicans.

[00:04:01] It I think last year finally surpassed the Democrats as well.

[00:04:06] Republicans were losing registered voters for years, but seem now to have reversed that trend while Democrats are now losing registered voters.

[00:04:16] Do you guys have any insight as to why that why that trend has sort of flipped?

[00:04:24] Well, if you go back to Election Day of 2016, Democrats had an advantage over Republicans by 640,000 voter registrations.

[00:04:36] Today, that number is only 110,000.

[00:04:39] Democrats have hemorrhaged registration.

[00:04:42] Republicans are up significantly.

[00:04:45] But yes, you've also had the unaffiliated registration up at the same time.

[00:04:49] So people are fleeing.

[00:04:51] They're rejecting that.

[00:04:52] The Democrat Party, the values that it stands for no longer represents what we are seeing across North Carolina, the values of the voters here in North Carolina.

[00:05:02] So I understand you you made a trip to Western North Carolina.

[00:05:07] I don't know how recently that was.

[00:05:09] Well, maybe just tell me, like, when did you get up there and what did you see?

[00:05:13] Yeah.

[00:05:14] So I had an occasion on a couple of times now to be in Western North Carolina.

[00:05:18] The first time was right before the start of early vote.

[00:05:21] Again, making sure that the locations were able to stand up.

[00:05:24] And the last time was just this week.

[00:05:26] I couldn't tell you what day because I'm not sure most days what the day is.

[00:05:31] I understand.

[00:05:32] Yes.

[00:05:32] You're running nonstop.

[00:05:33] But no, being able to be out there on Tuesday of this week and visiting five counties out there, especially two of them that stood up additional early vote locations.

[00:05:44] What you've seen is very real.

[00:05:47] The devastation is just tremendous.

[00:05:49] But the resolve, the strength of the people of Western North Carolina couldn't be stronger.

[00:05:55] How you've seen neighbor helping neighbor, community helping community, and especially the faith-based and the private relief organizations have stepped up in a tremendous way.

[00:06:06] And so we're continuing to make sure our friends across Western North Carolina continue to have what they need.

[00:06:15] But it's going to be a long road for recovery.

[00:06:17] And you see the frustration with what they've seen and really the lack of response by the federal government to date.

[00:06:24] And that's where you're also seeing especially the frustration being voiced at the ballot box.

[00:06:32] Right.

[00:06:33] Yeah.

[00:06:33] That sort of echoes similar assessments.

[00:06:37] I have heard from people on the ground up there as well that there's a lot of faith restored with the local groups, the neighbors, the community organizations, the faith-based charities.

[00:06:48] Even to some extent, you know, local government, state DOT.

[00:06:52] I've heard some good stuff about the work that they've been doing, you know, the power crews and all of those.

[00:06:59] But it seems like there's this – I guess there's a belief that the federal government can do – well, I was going to say, you know, more than they're doing, but I guess can do what they promise to do.

[00:07:10] And I don't know.

[00:07:11] I guess I just – I don't ever believe that.

[00:07:14] So I'm not disappointed because I never expect them to be able to fulfill those kinds of promises.

[00:07:21] So what else is – you mentioned the feds.

[00:07:24] What else is working and what is not?

[00:07:27] Well, what you're seeing, and it's like you'd identified, the strength and resolve, especially at the local government, when you're talking to county commissioners, law enforcement, people that have had just nonstop care and recovery efforts underway since the storm.

[00:07:46] It's absolutely impressive.

[00:07:48] And when you talk to them, it also breaks your heart to hear the stories and the impacts that they've had to deal with.

[00:07:55] And especially the road to recovery is going to be long.

[00:07:59] And that's where making sure that folks have the ability to get back on their feet and recover, especially when there's going to be significant holes that are going to have to be filled in many instances.

[00:08:15] I had heard – well, I saw actually on the Board of Elections website, and maybe you have some insight on this, the Buncombe County, their early voting hours, I think were 9 to 5, may still be 9 to 5.

[00:08:29] And I thought that all of the counties are supposed to have the same hours of operation for the early voting.

[00:08:37] So counties can put forward plans where the days, the hours will vary to a certain extent.

[00:08:43] The state board approves them.

[00:08:44] In the case of Buncombe, we've had some concerns about the hours.

[00:08:49] Initially, we understood a lot of that was due to some curfew and some restrictions, especially on folks being able to travel.

[00:08:56] But being there this week, what you continue to see are very long lines, and especially people that are working, it is hard for them to be able to get away and vote when the Board of Elections out there has only restricted the voting locations for being open from 9 to 5.

[00:09:15] So we've petitioned, and Democrats rejected the petition, to extend their hours by two hours each day to be able to allow folks from 8 to 6 to vote, so an hour on each side for folks that are having a hard time getting to those polling locations because of work and other restrictions.

[00:09:36] Anything in Henderson County?

[00:09:38] I think I saw something about Henderson County.

[00:09:40] Yeah.

[00:09:41] Yeah, so Henderson County and McDowell County, they both opened additional early vote locations and was out there in McDowell County when they opened up their location on that first day.

[00:09:53] And it was great to see people showing up early and steady trickle of folks coming in to go and vote.

[00:10:00] And then in Henderson County, they opened up the three additional sites, and you had really long lines as folks were able to have additional locations to go and vote besides just the one single location in all of Henderson.

[00:10:14] Yeah.

[00:10:15] That's good stuff.

[00:10:16] Good insight.

[00:10:16] Do you have anything you want to add that you think is important or interesting here before we let you run?

[00:10:22] Well, just to encourage people to continue to make a plan to vote.

[00:10:25] You have early voting open until Saturday at 3 p.m. when early vote will close and then Election Day.

[00:10:31] But for folks that are wondering where and how to go vote, you can go to nc.gop or go to vote.nc.gop for more information on hours and locations.

[00:10:43] Jason Simmons, chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party.

[00:10:46] Thanks for your time, sir.

[00:10:47] We appreciate it.

[00:10:48] Good luck on the campaign trails.

[00:10:50] Thank you.

[00:10:51] All right.

[00:10:52] Take care.

[00:10:52] That's Jason Simmons.

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[00:11:57] Thanks to everybody for coming out last night to the News and Brews.

[00:12:01] So if I seem a little bit punchy, it's because I was up very late last night.

[00:12:06] I always close the place down to make sure I talk with everybody that's hanging around and wanting to talk.

[00:12:13] And so I enjoyed it.

[00:12:14] And we're going to do it again.

[00:12:16] Obviously, we've been doing these News and Brews events for a while.

[00:12:20] And we sold the place out at Heist Brewery and Barrel Arts.

[00:12:25] A good time was had by all.

[00:12:27] And I want to thank Craft Body Scan for sponsoring all of the Talktoberfest events, the live streams, and everything else.

[00:12:36] So we appreciate that.

[00:12:37] We appreciate you guys.

[00:12:39] And we appreciate everybody that showed up.

[00:12:42] Some good questions.

[00:12:44] Some not-so-good questions.

[00:12:45] I'm not naming names.

[00:12:46] No, I'm kidding.

[00:12:47] No, it was good.

[00:12:47] We had a good time.

[00:12:49] And thanks also there to Jason Simmons from the North Carolina Republican Party.

[00:12:53] I had some questions there about what was going on up in the mountains, western North Carolina.

[00:12:58] Some people asked me last night at the News and Brews event about it.

[00:13:01] And so the timing worked out, so I figured I would ask Jason Simmons about some of those concerns.

[00:13:06] But it sounds like things are going pretty smoothly for, you know, the circumstances, obviously.

[00:13:13] Voter turnout in the 13 western North Carolina counties that were hit hardest by Helene has slightly exceeded the turnout in the rest of the state.

[00:13:29] That's pretty impressive.

[00:13:31] Right?

[00:13:32] That's pretty impressive.

[00:13:34] CarolinaJournal.com has the story.

[00:13:37] Western North Carolina voters show determination with turnout surpassing the rest of the state.

[00:13:43] Teresa Opeka is the reporter on the story.

[00:13:46] Despite the challenges that residents have faced after Hurricane Helene, voter turnout in the 13 western North Carolina counties hit hardest has slightly exceeded that in the rest of the state at this point in the election cycle.

[00:14:02] Data shows that 39.97% of the registered voters in the 13 counties have cast a vote.

[00:14:13] That is up 0.05 in comparison to the rest of the state.

[00:14:20] So it's a little bit higher.

[00:14:22] So state, all the other counties, it's 39.92%.

[00:14:27] And in the 13 counties hit hardest by Helene, the Helene 13, as they're being dubbed, 39.97%.

[00:14:37] So it's a little bit higher, but still, like, that's impressive.

[00:14:41] The counties, though, fall behind the rest of the state with in-person voting by about three percentage points, making voting by mail their primary choice.

[00:14:53] They have approximately 5% more mail-in ballots sent to out-of-state addresses than the rest of the state.

[00:15:03] So let me explain what I think is going on here.

[00:15:06] Right?

[00:15:07] There's 5% more mail ballots sent to out-of-state addresses than the rest of the state.

[00:15:14] Why would you see a lot of mail ballots going to out-of-state addresses?

[00:15:21] Because people have fled.

[00:15:24] Right?

[00:15:24] Their homes are gone, and so they are staying with friends or family in other states.

[00:15:30] So they are getting their ballots mailed to them and then sending them back in.

[00:15:34] That's one.

[00:15:36] The other is that a lot of people have homes in western North Carolina, but they don't live there year-round.

[00:15:45] So they may have left before or after the storm, and they haven't returned.

[00:15:53] So that's what I think is going on there.

[00:15:55] Over 3 million votes have been cast so far in North Carolina in the November 5th general election.

[00:16:01] All election boards in the affected counties are operating, which means if people can and want to vote, they can do so as they always have.

[00:16:10] And when early voting began on October 17th, election officials in the affected counties were operating 76 sites.

[00:16:18] They had originally planned for 80, and they opened 76 of them, which again, considering the circumstances,

[00:16:28] I think is pretty darn good.

[00:16:32] Mecklenburg County Democrat Party, they are flush with cash.

[00:16:36] They got a lot of money.

[00:16:37] They want you to know it.

[00:16:39] On Tuesday, the Mecklenburg County Democrat Party reported that it has raised more than $1.8 million

[00:16:46] in the third quarter of 2024 for a total reported this election cycle of just under $2.7 million.

[00:16:57] That shatters all the records for Democrat County Party fundraising in North Carolina.

[00:17:04] Mecklenburg Dems, Meck Dems, that's what they call themselves,

[00:17:07] has already raised almost seven times the existing cycle record for a county Democrat Party in the state.

[00:17:16] Okay, so they're not comparing themselves to the Republican Party here.

[00:17:21] They're comparing themselves to all of the other state or all of the other county parties in the Democrat tent.

[00:17:29] And they have a quote here from the Meck Dem chair, Drew Cromer, or Cromer.

[00:17:37] He says,

[00:17:38] Our entire team has worked hard to raise money to put organizers in the field and to build a professional party organization.

[00:17:47] Which, yeah, that's kind of scary.

[00:17:53] Permanent employees.

[00:17:58] He goes on to say, quote,

[00:18:00] From the initial seed money raised by All In for North Carolina to support,

[00:18:06] or to the support of community leaders like Hugh McCall,

[00:18:11] Erskine Bowles,

[00:18:12] and Michael Marcicano.

[00:18:15] To all the sustaining donors who contribute monthly,

[00:18:18] we are profoundly grateful to each and every one of the individuals who have put their trust in us this election cycle.

[00:18:22] The party has been able to hire and field

[00:18:24] a professional party operation

[00:18:26] of 25 staffers

[00:18:28] for the first time in its history.

[00:18:32] I don't know if these are permanent employees.

[00:18:34] They may just be like the equivalent of seasonal, right?

[00:18:37] They may

[00:18:38] cycle out after the election season is over,

[00:18:41] but

[00:18:41] that's not a small

[00:18:43] feat, right?

[00:18:46] 25 staffers

[00:18:48] that they've been able to hire.

[00:18:51] Now, you may not know those three names that I just gave you.

[00:18:54] Hugh McCall,

[00:18:54] Erskine Bowles,

[00:18:55] and Michael Marcicano.

[00:18:57] Hugh McCall,

[00:18:59] former

[00:19:00] Bank of Earth,

[00:19:02] you know,

[00:19:03] president,

[00:19:03] founder,

[00:19:04] I think he was the founder.

[00:19:05] Was he a founder?

[00:19:06] No,

[00:19:06] not a Bank of America,

[00:19:07] but

[00:19:08] what was it before?

[00:19:09] Nations?

[00:19:10] Was that right?

[00:19:11] Nations Bank?

[00:19:12] Is that what it was before here?

[00:19:15] No,

[00:19:16] they got bought.

[00:19:17] First Union bought,

[00:19:18] oh my gosh,

[00:19:20] there was well,

[00:19:21] right,

[00:19:21] there was South Carolina National Bank,

[00:19:23] they got bought by Walkalovia,

[00:19:26] and then Walkalovia got merged in,

[00:19:30] it's a merger of equals,

[00:19:32] uh-huh,

[00:19:33] with First Union,

[00:19:35] I think,

[00:19:35] and then Wells

[00:19:38] bought First Union,

[00:19:39] I think,

[00:19:43] yeah,

[00:19:43] it was Nations Bank,

[00:19:44] yeah,

[00:19:45] the Nations Tower,

[00:19:46] Nations Bank Tower,

[00:19:47] in Uptown Charlotte.

[00:19:49] So,

[00:19:49] Hugh McCall was Nations Bank,

[00:19:50] and then merged in with Bank of America.

[00:19:54] Erskine Bowles,

[00:19:56] is from the,

[00:19:57] uh,

[00:20:01] uh,

[00:20:02] what is it,

[00:20:02] the Springs family,

[00:20:03] I want to say?

[00:20:05] Isn't that right?

[00:20:06] Anyway,

[00:20:07] he ran for Senate,

[00:20:08] it's a wealthy family,

[00:20:09] and then the other one is Michael Marcecano.

[00:20:12] Michael Marcecano,

[00:20:14] uh,

[00:20:15] was the former,

[00:20:16] uh,

[00:20:17] president of the Foundation for the Carolinas,

[00:20:20] and if that last name rings a bell,

[00:20:23] maybe it's because,

[00:20:24] uh,

[00:20:25] Michael has a son,

[00:20:26] or daughter,

[00:20:27] daughter,

[00:20:28] at this point,

[00:20:29] I'm not sure,

[00:20:30] busted,

[00:20:31] for,

[00:20:32] participating in the anti-cop city protests,

[00:20:37] violence,

[00:20:38] and such,

[00:20:39] down around Atlanta,

[00:20:40] um,

[00:20:42] and I believe is a law school student at Chapel Hill,

[00:20:47] and is a member of,

[00:20:49] uh,

[00:20:51] well,

[00:20:51] I,

[00:20:52] I don't know if,

[00:20:52] I don't know if they do membership roles or something,

[00:20:54] but the,

[00:20:55] the allegation,

[00:20:56] let's say,

[00:20:56] is that he was part of Antifa,

[00:20:58] so that's Marcecano's kid,

[00:21:00] um,

[00:21:01] the party,

[00:21:01] as a kid,

[00:21:02] but he's like 25 or something,

[00:21:04] um,

[00:21:04] the party has been able to hire field and professional party operations,

[00:21:08] um,

[00:21:09] staffers,

[00:21:10] 25 of them for the first time in its history,

[00:21:12] I'm not aware of another political party that's got that kind of staff,

[00:21:15] um,

[00:21:17] on payroll,

[00:21:19] but look,

[00:21:20] Mecklenburg County needs to run up their Democrat numbers,

[00:21:24] because in order to win statewide races,

[00:21:28] they need big turnout in Mecklenburg among the Democrats,

[00:21:32] they need big turnout in Wake County,

[00:21:34] right,

[00:21:34] they need big turnout in Durham,

[00:21:37] and,

[00:21:37] um,

[00:21:38] and Asheville,

[00:21:40] right,

[00:21:41] they are an,

[00:21:41] uh,

[00:21:41] an urban-centric party,

[00:21:43] so they need a lot of staffers here in Mecklenburg County,

[00:21:46] so it,

[00:21:47] it makes sense,

[00:21:47] and they've got a lot of money,

[00:21:48] and I don't know if this is going to be the beginning of,

[00:21:51] uh,

[00:21:51] sort of a political machine that they are building here in Mecklenburg,

[00:21:54] but that's what it looks like to me,

[00:21:56] um,

[00:21:57] Dr. Chris Cooper from Western Carolina,

[00:21:59] I need to get him back on,

[00:22:00] I haven't had him on in a while,

[00:22:01] um,

[00:22:02] but he put out some,

[00:22:04] uh,

[00:22:04] early voting data,

[00:22:05] this would have been as,

[00:22:08] uh,

[00:22:08] well,

[00:22:09] through yesterday,

[00:22:11] over 3 million votes cast,

[00:22:13] about 9.5% of them are by mail,

[00:22:17] uh,

[00:22:18] so that would be,

[00:22:19] you know,

[00:22:19] 90% plus,

[00:22:22] um,

[00:22:23] you know,

[00:22:23] in person,

[00:22:24] we're pushing 40% turnout,

[00:22:28] so far,

[00:22:29] if you look at the breakdown,

[00:22:31] uh,

[00:22:34] uh,

[00:22:34] uh,

[00:22:34] according to party identification,

[00:22:37] 1.02 million Democrats voted,

[00:22:41] which is about 42% of registered Democrats,

[00:22:44] 1.06% of Republicans,

[00:22:49] or sorry,

[00:22:50] 1.06 million Republicans voted,

[00:22:53] that is 46% of registered Republicans,

[00:22:58] so your comparison there is that you've got about,

[00:23:00] uh,

[00:23:01] 40,000 more Republican votes than Democrat votes,

[00:23:05] which is virtually unheard of,

[00:23:07] um,

[00:23:08] in early voting,

[00:23:09] you've got a 46% turnout for Republicans versus 42 for Democrats versus 40 for unaffiliated.

[00:23:18] 40% of unaffiliateds have voted,

[00:23:21] they're at about 1 million at this point.

[00:23:23] So Republicans are outperforming Democrats in terms of turnout thus far,

[00:23:29] but it's not true in every county.

[00:23:31] In six counties,

[00:23:33] Democrat turnout exceeds Republican turnout by more than 5%,

[00:23:38] he says.

[00:23:40] Those counties would be Orange County,

[00:23:44] uh,

[00:23:45] 11%,

[00:23:46] that's a plus 11% for Democrats,

[00:23:50] Buncombe County,

[00:23:51] plus 9%,

[00:23:52] Gates County,

[00:23:53] plus 8%,

[00:23:54] Chatham,

[00:23:54] plus 7%,

[00:23:56] Transylvania,

[00:23:57] plus 5%,

[00:23:58] and Watauga,

[00:23:59] plus 5%.

[00:24:01] So Democrat turnout is exceeding Republican turnout in those six counties.

[00:24:06] Not listed.

[00:24:08] Mecklenburg.

[00:24:09] Kind of surprising.

[00:24:12] Republican turnout exceeds Democrat turnout by over 5% in,

[00:24:17] not six counties,

[00:24:20] 43 counties.

[00:24:22] Republican turnout is exceeding Democrats by more than 5%.

[00:24:26] The biggest Republican advantages are in Randolph,

[00:24:30] 12%,

[00:24:31] Stanley County,

[00:24:32] 12%,

[00:24:33] Rowan County,

[00:24:34] 12%,

[00:24:35] Yadkin County,

[00:24:36] 11%,

[00:24:37] and Davidson at 10%.

[00:24:40] He then,

[00:24:41] uh,

[00:24:41] mentions the,

[00:24:42] uh,

[00:24:43] the 13 Helene counties,

[00:24:45] um,

[00:24:46] that have,

[00:24:47] uh,

[00:24:47] higher turnout than the rest of the state.

[00:24:49] I just went over those numbers as well.

[00:24:52] Um,

[00:24:54] he says,

[00:24:55] uh,

[00:24:55] also that the Helene 13 have about 5% more mail-in ballots sent to out of state

[00:24:59] addresses,

[00:25:00] as I mentioned also,

[00:25:01] uh,

[00:25:02] as well.

[00:25:03] Um,

[00:25:04] I don't know why Mecklenburg Democrats have all of this money and are not

[00:25:11] turning out the vote.

[00:25:15] Don't know why.

[00:25:17] Cannot explain it.

[00:25:19] Um,

[00:25:19] also,

[00:25:21] uh,

[00:25:21] there is an explanation for something that happened up in Pennsylvania where an

[00:25:26] ABC station aired a graphic,

[00:25:29] a little crawl on the bottom that said Vice President Kamala Harris had won the

[00:25:33] state nine days before voting is done.

[00:25:37] During a Sunday evening broadcast of Formula One's Mexican Grand Prix,

[00:25:42] Scranton affiliate WNEP aired a bottom of the screen Chiron showing remarkably precise

[00:25:48] results,

[00:25:49] which the station said was a mistake,

[00:25:51] right?

[00:25:52] It says like,

[00:25:52] you know,

[00:25:52] a hundred percent of precincts reporting Harris defeats Trump 52,

[00:25:56] 47%.

[00:25:57] The station said it was a technical mistake that the numbers should not have appeared on

[00:26:02] the screen.

[00:26:02] It was an error.

[00:26:04] They said that these were randomly generated test results sent out to help news organizations

[00:26:10] make sure their equipment is working properly in advance of election night.

[00:26:15] So they sent this stuff down,

[00:26:16] I think maybe from the network or whatever,

[00:26:18] and the local affiliate broadcast it,

[00:26:20] but it was all just made up numbers.

[00:26:22] That's the official story.

[00:26:23] All right.

[00:26:24] That'll do it for this episode.

[00:26:25] Thank you so much for listening.

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[00:26:40] Again,

[00:26:41] thank you so much for listening and don't break anything while I'm gone.