(inspiring music)

- Well, it's a toss up.

Republican Glenn Youngkinand Democrat Terry McAuliffe

are dead even in the race to become

Virginia's next governor.

Youngkin continues to gain ground

while McAuliffe's lead is still slipping.

- Well, Democrats arepulling out all the stops

with heavy hitters likeformer President Obama

on the campaign trail.

All eyes are on the outcome of this race,

which could foreshadow the 2022 midterms.

CBN's Tara Mergener has the latest

on this upcoming election.

- Democrats made huge gains in Virginia

when President Trump was in office.

Now, they're trying to weather the decline

in President Biden's approval rating.

Republican Glenn Youngkin gaining ground

with a new poll showing a 46, 46 split.

Whatever edge Democrat Terry McAuliffe had

at the start of thecampaign appears to be gone.

- Well, the idea that this is close,

should not shock anybody.

For 44 straight years,

the party that wins the White House,

the next year in Virginia,

the other party winsthe governor's mansion.

- The gubernatorial race

between Glenn Youngkin and TerryMcAuliffe is now dead even.

- [Tara] McAuliffe callingin big name Democrats

like former President Obama who joined him

in Richmond on Saturday.

- Well, I could not be happier that

Terry is back on the ticket.

He's persuasive.

Don't sit this one out.

- [Tara] The pressureis on, a Monmouth survey

showing McAuliffe droppingfive points since last month.

And this comment during a debate.

- I don't think parentsshould be telling schools

what they should teach.

- [Tara] McAuliffe thencut short an interview

with a local news reporter

because he didn't like the questions.

- All right, we're over,that's it, that's it.

- [Tara] The Youngkin camp on offense

with a new campaignslogan, "Parents Matter."

And he's demanding the LoudounCounty School Superintendent,

Scott Ziegler and the school board resign.

This, after a revelationthat Ziegler sent an email

to the board about an allegedassault by a male student

against a female studentin a high school bathroom,

one month before publicly declaring

he had no record of such an assault.

Youngkin telling Foxnews, "It's outrageous.

The email simply confirms what we know,

which is we had administratorsat a school board

who have been covering this up."

With the race of virtual tie,

both sides are campaigningto faith voters,

Kamala Harris endorsing the Democrat

in hundreds of churches across Virginia.

- I know that you willsend Terry McAuliffe

back to Richmond.

- [Tara] And conservativesdistributing voter guides

in others.

Pundits say the McAuliffe camp

is trying to drum up the enthusiasm

that appears to be lacking forhis second gubernatorial run.

The same Monmouth pollshowing Republican voters

are more motivated to voteby a seven point margin.

- The Democratic base in Virginia

appears to be a bit fatigued,

fatigued from the last electionamid the global pandemic.

Biden's approval ratings inVirginia have ticked down.

- [Tara] But by the numbers,

Youngkin's camp is gaining steam.

- This is our moment, right now.

- The biggest swing from independents

breaking for Youngkin 48 to 39%.

McAuliffe's advantage among women

also shrinking by 10points since last month

to a four point lead now.

Well, Joe Biden won Virginiain 2020 by 10 points,

but recently reportedlytold some supporters

that President Biden ishurting his campaign.

That would be McAuliffe saying that

about Joe Biden's impact on his campaign

here in Virginia, Gordon.

- Well, tell us, how hasthis race become a referendum

on President Biden's agenda?

And does this have any implications

for the midterms next year?

- Well, certainly there's a lot of talk

about those midterms right now.

It appears that Joe Biden couldliterally be dragging down

Terry McAuliffe with him

because this race is so nationalized

that everybody is paying attention to it.

So if you watch the polls,

you could almost see the direct line

between Joe Biden's pollingnumbers really slipping

and McAuliffe's goingdown little by little

along with him.

We've got a new USA pollthis morning that says

the race still is dead even.

We've got McAuliffe now at 45.6%

and we have Youngkin at 45.2.

So you've got the margin oferror at three or four points,

and who knows who'sgoing to win this race?

It's a total toss up.

And basically thereferendum, the issue is,

Joe Biden has so many problemsthat everybody knows about

and the Democrats at largeare probably gonna get

some of the blame,including Terry McAuliffe.

So the Southern border,you've got Afghanistan,

you've got inflation, you'vegot COVID mandates, whatever.

It's all become part of the same scene.

So, again, watching those polls,

it's probably going tohave a direct impact

on McAuliffe's campaign.

And you know that they're worried.

- Well, you can smell the worry

as Democrats are pulling out the big guns

to rally their voters.

Do you think that'sgonna make a difference?

- You know, it may or may not.

Again, President Biden is doingso poorly with the voters.

But what they're hoping isthe power of the presidency

can help save the day.

So you have Joe Biden,he'll be in Virginia

campaigning with Terry McAuliffe today.

Hard to understand the calculus here

because if Joe Biden right nowis not a popular president,

he's not popular in Virginia

and he's not popular in the country

if you look at the numbers.

He's had President Obama here,a rally over the weekend.

He's had Kamala Harris here and she also,

Kamala has a video runningnow in about 300 churches

targeting the Black vote,

trying to get them enthusiasticabout this campaign,

because that's the key issue here.

Nobody is enthusiastic.

Well, I won't say nobody,but a lot of Democrat pundits

are saying are not enthusiastic

because Joe Biden doesn't, they say,

have a lot of successes ifany, to point to right now

in the first part of his presidency.

So their fear is that a lot of people

are gonna stay home.

But President Obama himselfgot a lot of backlash

over the weekend becausewe've got education

here in Virginia that's a key issue.

We've heard a lot about Loudoun County.

I've reported on it myself extensively.

And President Obama gotup and basically said

conservatives are sortof feigning outrage,

particularly after two alleged rapes

at two Loudoun County schools.

So that's getting a lot of blow back

on social media and elsewhere.

So whether or not they'reactually gonna help

Terry McAuliffe remains to be seen,

but I don't know what the calculus is.

- I can tell you, it'snot feigned outrage,

it's actual outrage.

I mean, it's up therewith, I can't imagine

allowing a predator tocome back into schools.

It just makes no sense to me.

And definitely, people shouldbe accountable for that.

And I expect we're justhearing the beginning of that.

It's going to play outwell beyond this campaign.

The McAuliffe campaign is nowtaking fire from Doug Wilder,

the only Black governor inthe history of Virginia.

Tell us what Wilder is saying.

- Well, he's not very happywith McAuliffe either.

It's clear he is not impressed.

He kind of had a laundry list of things

in a surprise attack over the weekend.

He says that Terry McAuliffe and Democrats

are taking the Black vote for granted.

He says he's upset thatthey're not paying attention

to Black universities and Black colleges,

that it's not a priorityfor Terry McAuliffe,

while Glenn Youngkin hasactually made that promise

that it will be a priority.

He accuses TerryMcAuliffe of flip-flopping

on Governor Northam.

You recall in 2019, a photo surfaced

that had blackface in it.

People said it was Governor Northam,

he never admitted to it.

But Terry McAuliffecalled on Governor Northam

to resign back in 2019.

And here in 2021, he says he is honored

to have his endorsement.

So yeah, I don't think that campaign

expected this attack from Doug Wilder,

but it's certainly notgonna help his cause

with the race so tight.

- All right, well, Tara,thanks for joining us.

You can get the latest newsand we're going to have

special election coverageon election night

where you can have county by county totals

for both Virginia and New Jersey.

These are off year elections,

but they obviously havenational implication.

How do you get that coverage?

Just download the CBN Newsapp, do it today, Terry.

- Well, up next, in a sticky situation,

what's this Padre's go-to pitch?

And what words does healways repeat on the mound

right before the inning starts?

MLB pitcher Craig Stammenwill tell you himself

right after this.

(inspiring music)

Anxiety and fear of failure,

they go hand in glove withprofessional baseball.

So what's the antidote forMLB pitcher Craig Stammen

when he takes the mound?

Craig shared his secret and much more

with Sports Reporter, TomBuehring, take a look.

- [Tom] At center stage of the infield,

Craig Stammen finds a rare perspective

with a lasting pitch.

- To be able to challengeyourself out on the mound

and be able to take on thebest players in the world,

you're out to prove yourself,out to prove that you belong.

Whatever happens on the baseball field,

it's not going to matter

knowing that Jesus saysyes to you in heaven.

- The San Diego Padres' middle reliever

and spot starter shouldersa heavy load of innings

as the team's durable, effectiveand savvy 12-year veteran.

What is the one pitch thatserved you well over the years?

- It's my sinker, my two speed fastball.

When I get in a stickysituation, nine times out of 10,

that's what I'm going to,

not necessarily always for the strikeout,

but I know it's an effectivepitch that I can locate.

It gets a lot of outs for me.

I've been blessed to be ableto have a lot of movement.

It just comes and tailsand drops five, six inches,

right at the last end.

And they usually beat it intothe ground for a ground ball.

- [Tom] Is it difficult foryou to surrender the ball

and release its results?

- I think that's the only way to pitch

or to be sane while pitching.

Really the only thing that Ican control is got the grip,

got our mindset on, throwing that pitch

exactly where we want to atthat time and we let it go.

You got to throw everyone like it's the last

out of the World Series.

- [Tom] A performance-based business,

where did your affirmation come from?

- Good question.

You know, I like havingsuccess on the mound.

I'm working hard to have that success,

but I know the results aren't determining

whether or not I'm a love child of God.

So I think remembering thaton a constant daily basis,

being strong in the Word andunderstanding the real truth,

it gives you a wholelot more peace and joy

when you're out therebeing able to do something

that God has blessed you to do.

- You come alongside young pitchers

to help them mute that voice of doubt.

What do you do to reaffirmthat voice of belief?

- Yeah, it's probably the hardestthing to do with baseball.

We all think it's physicalout there on the mound,

but most of it's in our head.

And to get rid of that doubt is basically

how you find success andknowing that you can trust

the abilities that youwork on on a daily basis.

It's fun to just go out there and use them

and see if they're good enough.

- What does this small town Ohio guy

like best about playing in San Diego?

- It's different andboth worlds are the best.

I can go back to Ohio andlive in that small town

and be in the middle of nowhere,

have nothing but a cornfield in of me.

Or I can come back to San Diego,

get to play in the sunshine, the beach,

anything at your disposal,

play golf whenever you want

and be at this beautiful park, Petco park.

You realize the vastblessings this world provides.

- [Tom] The ultimate professionalin a clubhouse setting

to be a leader there.

What is it?

- I think authenticityis the number one trait

that I like to have within the clubhouse

and my friends and family.

I hope that who I was whenI was 21 personality wise,

is the same guy I am after so many seasons

in the major leagues.

I am who I am, and I want to be authentic.

And that attribute hasdefinitely helped me

be a leader amongst mypeers and helped them feel

more comfortable when they're around me.

- [Tom] What is it aboutJesus Christ, Craig,

that has impacted your life?

- It's turned into my whole entire life.

When you're younger,

you think of it as an aspect of your life.

And I think when I trulybecame a follower of Christ

is when it became a partof every part of my life.

Anything that I did, do, will do, ever do,

centered around Jesus andhis unconditional love.

The importance of howI grew up in the faith,

Jesus being at the top of everything,

a part of everything that we did,

how my parents raised mehas been the greatest gift

that I've ever been given.

- [Tom] 2 Timothy 1:7.

- "God did not give us a spirit of fear."

That verse, I say to myselfright before the inning starts

on the mound.

There's a lot of anxiety,there's a lot of fear of failure

that goes along with baseball.

Timothy, he was known for being timid

and he had to be stronger in his faith

to be able to proclaim the good news

to the new Christians of that time.

And so my little piece of thatis out there on the mound.

I've got to have that faiththat I know who my savior is.

- You know, sometimes we lookat these world-class athletes

and we think, boy, they'vejust got everything

so wonderfully puttogether in their lives.

But every time they stepup to perform, the anxiety,

the fear of failure,and just that self doubt

that comes into all of that.

Where do you get set free from that?

Only in Jesus Christ.

And Craig outlined that sobeautifully in what he shared.

It changes everything and itchanges the impact we have

on other people when weget our own lives in order.

So it's interesting,isn't it, to hear someone

who's had such success talkabout how Jesus is the one

who's made the difference in his life.

Fascinating.

- Well, up next words that parents

never want to hear from doctors,

"There's nothing morewe can do for your son."

How did this young teen survive

after being given less than a day to live?

We'll find out right after this.

(inspiring music)

Traden's nickname was Big Shot.

His golf coach started callinghim that because of his knack

for coming through in the clutch.

Well, after a terriblecar crash left Traden

with a crushed skull, BigShot was going to have to

beat the odds one more time.

(car tires screeching)(siren wailing)

- [Narrator] The impact was deafening.

A truck failing to yield the right of way

broadsided the van carrying Jerry Higgins

and his two grandchildren,Cey and Traden Karch.

- [Jerry] I heard Ceysay, "Traden, wake up.

Traden, wake up."

- [Narrator] Jerry and hisgranddaughter were okay.

Thirteen year old Traden, however...

- His skull had been crushed.

And then it wasn't very longand the paramedics were there.

That's when I called Manda.

- He was unconscious

and he said there wasjust blood everywhere

and that he kind of had a few seizures.

I just cried out to God.

And I said, "God, you knewthis was gonna happen.

It didn't catch you by surprise.

And so I trust you.

I know that he's in your hands

and you're in complete control.'

- [Narrator] Manda arrivedat St. Francis Hospital

in Tulsa, Oklahoma, shortly after Traden.

He was barely alive.

- And then I just startedtexting everyone I knew

and just saying, "We need you to pray."

- [Narrator] Traden'sdad, Chris, got to the ER

moments before his sonwas taken to surgery.

- There was a lot of blood

and I definitely was not expecting to see

all the blood.

It made it very real, theseverity of the situation.

- [Manda] The doctors andthe nurses had all told us

that they thought hewould live maybe 24 hours.

- [Narrator] As the hours passed,the waiting room filled up

with family and friendspraying for the teenager.

- So that was a blessing, you know,

to have just so many peopleautomatically praying for him.

- [Narrator] As for Chris andManda, memories flooded in

of the fun-loving seventh grader,

who less than a year earlier,sunk the winning putt

for his team at theJunior PGA Regional Final.

(audience clapping)

- [Chris] That was really exciting for him

because he wasn't the bestby a long shot on their team.

- I said, "But look atwhat God did for you,"

I said, "how he let youmake that winning putt."

- [Announcer] Traden Karch.(audience clapping)

- [Narrator] Now they werebegging God for their son's life.

(audience clapping)

They also reached outthrough social media.

- [Chris] It was a desperateplea, basically just saying,

if you're a praying person, please pray.

I need as many people prayingto God as I possibly can.

- [Woman] Lord, be with Manda and Chris.

- [Narrator] Trade andsurvived the six hour surgery

and was placed in amedically induced coma.

- The doctors came in and said,

"We have done everything wecan possibly do for Traden.

There's nothing more medicallythat we can do for him.

The rest is up to Traden."

- [Chris] We really had noidea what was gonna happen,

or if he was gonna wake up.

- [Manda] Well, he'll never talk or walk.

He'll be kind of in a vegetative state.

- [Narrator] Prayers andencouragement came in

from everywhere on socialmedia, including the PGA.

In fact, one of Traden's favorite golfers,

Rory McIlroy sent him a personal message.

- And I wish you a really speedy recovery.

Golf and the PGA JuniorLeague really need you.

And when you're feeling better,

I want you to come to atournament and meet me

and we can hang out.

And hopefully, we'll see you soon.

- [Narrator] With Traden still in a coma,

the family clung to the outpouring of love

and their faith in God.

Then three weeks after surgery,

the swelling in his brainhad gone down and he woke up.

- [Manda] He starts sitting up on his own.

And then only a week later,

does he start walking aroundthe hospital with assistance.

Each day they would see his progress.

Every doctor would come in and just say

how he was a miracle.

- [Narrator] After onlyfive weeks in the hospital

Traden was released to go to rehab.

- [Manda] Traden actually walkedout of the hospital on his.

- [Narrator] Still, Tradenfaced major hurdles.

He couldn't speak and had lost his memory.

As he worked with the rehabstaff just to form sounds,

the family, again, turned to prayer.

Within a week, they sawmore signs of God's healing.

- Traden had spoke my namefor the very first time.

- Mom.

- [Manda] Yes, thank you.

He couldn't actually say words.

And so he was sounding outeach letter to my name,

just to Mom.

- [Narrator] And when Chris brought

Traden's putter to him...

- [Chris] That's whenI knew, I was like it,

that part has stayed because he gripped it

the exact same way.

And we were excited about that.

That's six in a row.

- [Narrator] Two monthsafter the accident,

Traden went home.

His speech and memorycontinued to improve,

as he had to relearn everything

he had learned since kindergarten.

By fall, he was back in school

and finished the seventh grade that year.

By then he had watchedRory McIlroy's message

dozens of times.

- Hey Traden.

- [Narrator] He also got to meet him.

- I remember he walked inand my mind was just like,

"Huh, is this really him?"

And sure enough, it was.

- [Narrator] At 17,Traden shows little sign

of speech or memory impairment.

And he looks forwardto graduating in 2022.

He's also back on the golfcourse and challenging his dad

whenever he can.

- [Chris] I was there.

I heard the prognosis and Iknew what we were looking at.

God healed Traden, there's no doubt.

- In my opinion, the onlyreason why I'm still alive

is people praying.

- There is so much power in prayer.

I mean, I believe thatwe have the same power.

We can call upon the same power

that raised Christ from the dead.

And so you have to call upon that power.

- Miracles that just make you go, wow.

What an incredible miracle of God.

The power of prayer to change things

in our physical universe,

that we get to reach up in heaven and say,

Lord, your will be done on earth.

Your will is for Tradento live and not die

and declare the glory of the Lord.

You'll find that scripture in Psalm 1:18.

You can pray it over yourselves.

You can pray it over your children.

You can pray it over anyonewho's suffering with disease.

I will not die, but live anddeclare the glory of the Lord.

Well, here's someencouraging answers to prayer

from our social media audience.

Coty on YouTube shared,

"Fortunately, I have nophysical pain, disease,

or anything that some might say

is a serious physical problem.

However, I did have a major sin problem.

I was addicted to porn and weed.

I would quit for a few days,

but then the temptationof sin would return.

And I gave in every single time.

I felt hopeless.

It wasn't until I picked up my Bible

and read the whole New Testament

that the chains of sin were broken.

His Word truly is a sword.

I am now free from my addictionsand following Christ."

Hallelujah.- [Terry] That's awesome.

Well, this is Marlenaon YouTube who wrote,

"God healed me from an irregular heartbeat

that I have had for over 15 years.

During that time, I could notdo much physical activity.

I was healed in February of 2017

and last year my husband and I

climbed our first fourteener in Colorado.

Never give up asking God for a miracle."

- Never give up, never give up.

That's why Jesus told us,and he was very specific.

When you seek, when youask, when you knock.

In the Greek it's seekand keep on seeking,

ask, keep on asking,knock, keep on knocking.

Don't just do it once and done.

Do it until you get the answer,

until you know in yourknower that you have that.

That's the key to prayer,that the importune widow

who would knock on the doorof the unrighteous judge.

We're not knocking on thedoor of an unrighteous judge.

We're knocking on the doorof a very righteous judge

who very much loves you

and very much wants toperform miracles for you.

You don't have to do a bargain with him.

You don't have to clean up first.

You don't have to live the perfect life.

Realize Jesus has done that for you.

And he willingly exchangesyour sin for his righteousness.

He willingly does that.

The bargain's been made

and it's been made with his blood.

So don't think, well,I haven't fasted enough

or I haven't prayed enough orI haven't been good enough.

Just look to Jesus, the author,the finisher of your faith.

Just look to him.

Look what he accomplished and say,

Jesus, I want that too.

I want to be with you for all eternity.

Come, come into my heart.

Free me from all my sins.

Free me from these patterns of behavior.

Free me from disease,from pain, from infirmity.

He'll do it.

All we have to do is believe.

Let's pray.

Lord, we lift everyone whohas any kind of infirmity.

We lift anyone who isbound by recurring sin.

You came to set captives free.

You came to be a friend of sinners.

You came to heal our disease.

You came to redeem our lives from the pit.

Lord, we thank you.

We receive you.

And when we receive you,

we receive the answer to every human need.

Come now, come now,

stretch forth your hand to domiracles, signs and wonders,

for we ask it in Jesus' name.

Terry, God's given you something.

- Yeah, there's someone, a young man.

You heard the testimonyof Coty who was set free

from porn and other addictions.

And God is healing youfrom that right now.

You have felt so hopeless,

so helpless and such low self-esteem.

But today, Jesus has heardthe cry of your heart

and you are being setfree in his name, we pray.

Amen.

- There's someone, youwere in a car accident

and you got hit on theleft side of the car.

And your whole left side of the face,

your ear went into the window.

God's able to restore hearing.

He is able to take awayall that pain in your jaw.

Everything is beinghealed for you right now,

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

If you have been healed,

give us a call.

1-800-700-7000.

Here's a word.

"And God will wipe awayevery tear from their eyes,

there shall be no more death,nor sorrow, nor crying.

There shall be no more pain,

for the former things have passed away."

(inspiring music)