eastern time and polls are openi opening in eight states right now. and in more than $3.5 billion, this is actually the most expensive midterm campaign ever, polls are showing that voters could literally clean house by tossing out democratic majorities in the house, majorities in the house, possibly doing the same in the senate. a lot to focus on this morning. we have tom foreman, he's focusing on the top 100 races to watch. good morning. good to see you this morning. walk us through where we should be keeping our eyes this morning. >> you just walked us through the place you want to watch right now. where those polls are opening. because i'm telling you, all of this buildup for all of these months is building up to this. the knife's edge that we think could change. and look, we have some in the areas you're talking about here. this is the class of 2008. these are people who came in with barack obama when he became president.

here in connecticut, the '04 district, that district went for barack obama, 60/40, now we'll see if that holds up with the president having a hard time. move into new york here, new jersey open here, new jersey '03, that's got john adler and john runyan running against each other. the question is, will that hold up? new york down here in new york's 13, new york 25, new york 29. >> those will be interesting to watch. new york a blue state. >> all day long if you watch this wall up here, you'll be watching to see what happens. when you look at this, we've got somewhere around the -- 39, that's the magic number up here. 39. if 39 of these change, that means that the republicans have taken control. so watch those states as they open up, we've got about 16 seats in our magic 100 that are now in the polls open, as you said. people are deciding. >> the top three races we're keeping an eye on? >> more on the senate side. we're going to pay a lot of

attention to what's happening on the senate side. you're going to watch what happens in delaware because of christine o'donnell. you're going to look at nevada closely. see what happens in harry reid's state, and colorado's an unusual state. strong democratic areas, strong republican areas, strong middle areas. >> and both in colorado and nevada, we've seen the polls within the margin of error they're so tight. delaware, not so much right now, but she's closed the gap as the last few days have gone on. >> whether she wins or not, you want to see the performance. you were talking earlier about the independent vote and how people responded. that's not really the independent vote with christine o'donnell, but it is sort of a rogue vote, if you want to call it that and you want to see what it does as an early indicator of what might happen elsewhere. >> let's go over to john. couple minutes after the hour now. with the economy clearly issue number one, candidates spent $3.5 billion to win your vote this campaign season. that's a record for a midterm election. but when all is said and done

tonight, this day will really come down to a referendum on president obama's policies in his first two years in office. dan lothian live at the white house this morning. and dan, in a cnn poll, a slight majority of americans say they plan to vote for the candidate who is most opposed to the president's policies. so definitely this to some degree is a referendum on what the president has done for the last couple of years? >> it really is. because there's so much frustration across the country. and everyone acknowledges that. even here at the white house. as republicans like to point out, this is an administration that came into power under that banner hope and change, but there's been that lot of disappointment. even among some of those in the president's own party because they don't believe he's moved quickly enough in delivering on some of his campaign promises. don't ask, don't tell, for example, or closing guantanamo. but the most important issue at the top of the list for americans is the economy. the president promised during the campaign that he was going to turn things around, and yet the economy is still struggling. this administration, the

president in particular likes to point out out on the campaign trail that this was an economy that was in a much more difficult spot than they even anticipated. and so it's going to take time to turn things around. but as voters head to the polls today, there's that frustration. many of them are out of work or know someone who is out of work or struggling to hang on to their homes. they are not necessarily happy with the alternative, but they're certainly not pleased with where they are right now, john. >> so the president did spend the weekend out on the campaign trail trying to get those votes out for democrats at the last minute. what's he planning on doing in these next few hours as the polls begin to open? >> he's going to be on the radio, first of all. yesterday he taped some nationally syndicated radio shows, including ryan seacrest's of "american idol." that will roll out this morning and then he'll be doing live interviews. in key states like florida,

california, nevada, and illinois, try to reach out to as many voters as possible. we heard the president over the weekend when he was in cleveland say how if he can get people energized, if they can turn out in the numbers they did in 2008 that brought the president to power and other democrats, as well, he believes that they can also win in this midterm election, but it's a tall order, john. >> dan lothian for us live at the white house this morning. thanks so much. after you vote, turn on cnn, the best political team on television brings you up to the minute results and analysis. our live coverage begins tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern. and "american morning" picks up coverage bright and early, beginning at 3:00 a.m. eastern tomorrow morning. keep it on cnn for the most comprehensive coverage on television and online. >> we'll have adrenaline carry us through as we see. a lot of those races won't be decided by 3:00 a.m. well, also new this morning, she says she sees all the hallmarks of a plot by al qaeda

in the arabian peninsula. that coming from janet napolitano. talking about mail bombs that were found on planes coming from yemen late last week. she also told us that the u.s. is now extending a cargo ban on shipments from yemen and that security teams from the u.s. are already in that country working with officials there. six months after the worst oil spill in u.s. history, bp is profitable again. the oil giant says it still can't estimate the full cost of the deepwater horizon disaster, but the company just posted a $1.7 billion third quarter profit after taking a $17 billion loss in the second quarter. and the long wait is over. the san francisco giants have won their first world series title since 1954. they beat the rangers 3-1 last night taking the series four games to one. and they celebrated on the field in arlington. that must have hurt. poor rangers. and on the streets of san francisco. the giants will be honored with the, of course, ticker tape parade that's going to take

place on wednesday. >> that didn't take long, did it? >> no. quick work of the rangers, unfortunately. >> let's get a quick check of the weather headlines. rob marciano is in atlanta. your yankees weren't in the series, it probably wasn't all that interesting to you? >> no, it's always interesting. it was interesting that texas pretty much laid down after giving them quite the sha lacking offensively. congrats to the giants, it's been a long wait there in san francisco and i'm happy to see them win, as well. san francisco's going to be dry today, los angeles, as well. if you're going to the polls across parts of the south including texas, it's raining now. a pretty strong system that's not moving very quickly. that's a problem when you're near the gulf of mexico. that means it's going to rain and rain heavily. and it's doing that right now in houston. beaumont, port arthur, lafayette, heading towards baton rouge. and this will be with you, i think, for a good chunk of the day today.

localized street flooding, the severe thunderstorm watches have been allowed to expire for now, i think. thunder and lightning and some of the cells did have hail with them earlier today and last night. sunny in denver, 71, getting to the polls in d.c. and new york, into the upper 40s lower 50s. so a chilly start definitely a jacket, might bring the gloves, maybe even a scarf, but no rain to deter you from getting to the polls. john and kiran, back up to you. we'll talk more about tropical storm tomas later on. >> no excuses today as you said. bring a scarf and head to the polls. well, the stakes are so high they actually sent in the closer as she's called first lady michelle obama campaigning for harry reid in nevada saying her husband can't do it alone. a closer look at the race and what is on the line in nevada coming up. it's eight minutes past the hour. big deal, persuade him. is it wise to allow a perishable item to spoil?

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policy for under $14 a month. call this number or go to selectquote dot com. 11 minutes after the hour now. and voting in ten states already underway this morning. the ambulance of power balance line. even if democrats can't hang on to the senate, they could lead the senate leader. harry reid fighting for his political life in nevada against sharron angle. one of the closest, most watched, nastiest races in the country. and the white house sent michelle obama to las vegas to

make one last pitch for the the man who fought for the president's agenda in the senate saying my husband can't do this alone. jim acosta up this morning for us, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, john. and you're right. you can place your bets at this point. because nobody really knows how this race is going to turn out. it's all going to depend on who can get out the vote between the senate majority leader harry reid and the tea party favorite in this race, republican sharron angle. and as you mentioned, harry reid, his job on the line here. this race has been neck-and-neck for the last several months and he brought in the closer, as you put it. michelle obama, the first lady firing up the democratic base here in las vegas yesterday telling the crowd that harry reid needs another six years here in nevada. now, senator reid is a former boxer and he framed his final argument to voters yesterday as one more fight he'd like to

finish. >> thanks to insurance company and oil companies take advantage of us, we've got to keep fighting to stop it. and i'm not finished fighting for you. i want you to join me in this fight. i ask for your vote. >> reporter: and for her part, sharron angle, former state lawmaker, former teacher, grandmother, she has surprised the entire republican establishment by winning the primary here earlier this year by beating well-known republican in this state. she has for the most part avoided the media during this campaign. she's done a few interviews with the traditional media over the last several months, but she went back to conservative talk radio host shawn henny last night on fox news to make her final argument on the economy. >> when he went in the senate

majority leader, we were at 4.4% unemployment, and now as you point out we're at 14.4% unemployment. but when you put in the underemployed and those who have quit looking for jobs, we're really at 22.3% unemployment. and we lay those squarely at harry reid's doorstep. he's the one that pushed, promoted, and made deals for those poor public policies that have absolutely crushed our economy here in nevada. >> reporter: and john, you mentioned how nasty it's gotten on the air waves here. you can't turn on the television in las vegas without seeing a negative attack ad coming from one of these candidates aimed at each other or from these outside groups that we've talked so much about. they've also come here and dumped a lot of money on to the air waves, trying to knock harry reid out of this race. i was watching the world series last night, john, it was sort of like watching a three-hour

negative campaign attack ad occasionally interrupted by a baseball game. the polls open here in about 3 1/2 hours from now. they'll close at 7:00 at night tonight, and this race is so tight we may not find out the winner until well into tomorrow east coast time, john. >> we'll be here covering it all. jim, thanks so much. kiran? >> john, thanks. i want to let everyone know going to take a quick break. when we come back, we'll be talking to a panel of experts from both sides of the aisle about the big issues, key races to watch. the polls have been open for 15 minutes in eight states.

18 minutes past the hour, welcome back to a special edition of "american morning" on this election day. as we said, voting's underway in many states across the country, and we have the best political team on television with us this morning. we have ed rollins, as well as leslie sanchez and then separating them, of course, from the democrats, we have john avalon -- just kidding. we have cnn political contributor hilary rosen. thank you, all, for being with us. what are the big races we're going the be looking out for today? we're about 3 1/2 hours from the polls opening in nevada. but that's a big race. >> i care a lot. there's been a lot of talk about the house and senate in control of the legislature. but i have gubernatorial crushes. because those are ceos, that's where you see innovation from both sides come to play. obviously there's been a lot of coverage of the california race with meg whitman.

a woman democrat running for governor, great credentials on economic issues, that would be a big win for us for all kinds of reasons in the future with florida. and then obviously you've got a big race in new york. you have a lot of voters who could be living under democratic governors after today. but the most important thing this morning is before we get into the analysis is everybody's got to go vote. so if you're up right now, if you don't have a way to get there, pick up the phone and call somebody. if you've got a car, take somebody with you to the polls today. >> looking at the governors is also very important because of the redistricting that's coming out. and i think we're going to see a lot of republicans take the governorship in a lot of states actually. could possibly have 35 republican governors in office very soon. and with states with texas poised to gain four congressional districts, pennsylvania set to lose a congressional district, these are huge things. >> and that's why the parties are doubling down so hard on ohio in particular. that's a presidential bellwet r

bellwether. rhode island has been edging ahead in the polls, raese. that's exciting. two other races i'm looking at. illinois senate race, kirk vers vers vers versus ginoulias. some call pat toomey the original tea party candidate. >> definitely generated a lot of support. and this point the midwest the resurgence of the republicans in the midwest, very important just like 1978. we won nine governorships, that set the framework for reagan coming in in 1980. i think you're going to see a lot of that in the midwest. and some of these kind of rust belt states that are critical for the party moving forward. >> when you're worried about economic issues, the economy is the number one issues on voters' minds. is it just the party in power? or does that tend at least in

the minds of independents favor the republican? >> no, i think people in power sometimes get credit for things they don't do and sometimes get blame for things they're not responsible for. the amazing thing for me was the comebacks of two people. jerry brown and i were altar boys together. i lived through his eight years way back when. >> that was a great commercial he ran. >> and terry branstad. the race i have great affection for is ohio. john casic came into office when i was a political director. we lost 26 seats, he said i want you to support me. i said i can't support you, i'm going to be a member. he was the only candidate who beat the democratic incumbent in 1982. never underestimate him. >> we'll see if he can do it again. hilary, you brought up an

interesting point about the issue of fresh blood. no offense to you, ed, but -- in california, an altar boy with jerry brown, what does that tell you? >> and it's still flowing. >> what does that tell you that when we talk about needing new ideas and innovation and that california may be looking to go back to somebody from three decades ago to lead to see their way out of this deep fiscal hole they're in. >> in part, i think that's a byproduct of how this election has gotten nationalized. because in many respects, it ends up being more of an anti-washington election, not an anti-republican or anti-democratic election. more to lose. so jerry brown as ironic as it is is seen by an outsider by many people in california because he hasn't been -- he's been attorney general, which is not particularly a political job. he hasn't been in office in that sort of political way. and so he was able to capture that outsider view.

and i think in one respect, you know, we see with some of the failed republican candidates, like i think meg whitman and like in florida hopefully candidates where business people come in and think well, this is the year you want experience and business leadership and that. in many respects, what voters are going to respond to is the sense of do you understand my frustration, my anger? have you been there? or have you been part of the system that has put us down. >> we're going to take a quick break. we're going to continue that conversation in just a moment. 24 minutes after the hour. we'll be right back. ♪

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we're just about to cross the half hour. 6:30 here in new york, and the polls are open in eight states across the country on this election day. we're back with our panel chewing over some of the big issues today. we have ed rollins as well as -- i'm sorry, as well as leslie sanchez, john avalon. we have with us accord jefferson with the root.com, hilary rosen and kiki maclane. >> you did it. >> i want to first start off by asking something that perhaps that late in the game attack on the president by some in the republican party. it was a quote he gave when he was talking about immigration reform. he was talking to univision. you can be an opponent, but you don't have to view people who disagree with you as enemies. >> i think that's absolutely the wrong message. there are no americans that should be considered his enemies and there are no americans that should be considered regardless of whether you're a republican or democrat, you are not my

enemy. >> the president apologized right away after he said this. and after a 24-hour, you know, straight campaign spell. tired, people make those mistakes. >> he's a human being. >> but i don't -- this is not his sentiment and he's already apologized. this is such a non-issue. >> there's an interesting thing here i don't know if you heard a lot about, is what these candidates say when they speak to different audiences. univision, spanish language, there used to be a lot of times candidates would say things that they don't think will get picked up. latinos all vote together, we're mon -- >> i don't think it was -- >> absolutely. he didn't say it on mainstream. >> it was not intentional in context, and clearly this wasn't something that was a good idea. and i'm glad to see republicans jumping on it because maybe they'll start applying the same standard to themselves. we've gotten in the point in politics where we refer to our

opponents enemies, we call the opposition evil. and let's draw that clear bright line, and let's say that unacceptable for anyone who does it. >> i think we've seen it more in the ads out there. >> this is a negative campaign we've all been around a long time. and every element of negative out there today, and normally used to do mostly positive, some negative in the end. this has been all negative from the get go. and i think the president has set a tone to a certain extent has not worked. he's gone out, gone out to the campaign mode. if you look at the follow-up polls, he hasn't necessarily benefitted. >> you heard about the ads, you're right. there are dirty hands from california to north carolina in this campaign this cycle. but i have to say out of clever, funny ads, biting ads, not every negative ad is a bad ad. draws comparisons that are important. but sharron angle ran an ad that was so deliberate in nevada that

i thought was the top of the heap. for crossing the line. >> for me, the worst out of the season. >> uh know you're going to say alan grayson's taliban dan was probably equal to outrage. >> yes. look at the backlash. they >> you brought up an interesting point. you said sometimes you say things to one group of people. i mean, the interesting thing is, candidates have closed-door meetings all the time. you talk to different groups and talk differently. but nowadays with 24/7 news, anything you say is going to be out there. >> any smart candidates today. and i think bill clinton was the first national candidate who demonstrated this. and he caught beans for it, man. he went in front of one audience and told them the same thing he told anyone else. as chairman of the democratic leadership council, that is what

made him presidential because he told the truth in every place he went. >> one of the things i think president obama has tried to do as he has gone out and in a large measure it has energized democrats and some independents. but it has reminded people of the choices. and i think what we have seen is a frustrated president not about sort of the communication problem or other things people ascribe to it. but a frustration about the level of choices that people have. there is not a big disagreement in the fact that everything that happened this year got no republican support. even that when republican ideas were put into the health care or put into the tax bills that the republicans voted against it anyway. and i think what you saw out there was a frustrated president saying you want me to be bipartisan, i have tried to come up with ideas that were combined. and we didn't get there. now you have a choice. and so compare and contrast. >> quickly -- >> in the name of --

>> one republican crossed the line, louisiana, the congressman from there. he gave a vote, the president cut a spot against him. when we had democratic support reagan in the early '80s, we gave them all a pass. >> he didn't ask the president to -- >> no, they cut with the opponent. >> we'll be talking until 9:00 a.m. and beyond. >> breaks are just for everybody else. >> coffee break. thanks so much to ed rollins, leslie, john, hilary, and kiki. 33 minutes past the hour. let's go over to john. >> thanks so much. half past the hour. 6:30 eastern on the east coast. and as we're crossing the bottom of the hour, polls opening in three more states. opening in ohio, west virginia, and north carolina, which looks a little bit like south carolina if you read the bottom. after a long and nasty and expensive campaign, voters deciding the balance of power in this country. balance of power, of course, on

the line. we're looking at all the big races this morning. in the is that the, 19 democrat seats, obviously 51 seats needed for a majority in the senate. and the big picture. our tom foreman is over at the data wall for us this morning as tom is checking in on a couple of races where the tea party had a big influence. and just think, tom, 18 months ago, nobody knew who the tea party was. huge, huge change. >> look at delaware over here, this is one of the races that absolutely you know a lot of people are going to watch today. christine o'donnell has not been doing particularly well in the polls. but this whole business of her defeating the republican, being the candidate of tea party. sarah palin behind her. everyone wants to see how strongly she does against chris coons. >> particularly because before the primary, before the republican primary at least, this was considered probably a republican pick-up if mike

castle -- >> they were saying mike castle's in, one of the luckiest guy in delaware right now is chris coons because he had an opportunity. the real question here will be palin power to some degree. you can look at it that way because she came out and said she'd like to help here. this will be some indication of whether or not that's going to work. another race we should be looking at today is one mentioned a minute ago. kentucky out here. the question of jack conway and rand paul. it's one of the stranger political ads i've seen. if you look at the state, it's all red. but i want to switch over. touch the house races button over there. and you can see the big clusters of the blue here. and if you move in somewhere like louisville and change it back. you want me to pull it back out. pull it back to the senate if you would. if you move into louisville, look at that 17% of the population. out here at frankfourt. those are deep in the blue area.

jack conway's got to do well if he wants this state. >> rand paul is about 10 points ahead. what's really fascinating is in the republican primary, mitch mcconnell, the senate minority leader was heavily against rand paul, now the two of them are working together like this. we'll see if rand paul sees himself -- >> strange bedfellows as they say. >> kiran? now to one of the most important governors' races in the nation right now in the battleground state of ohio. ted strickland is locked in a close battle with former congressman john kasich. president obama, vice president biden, and former president bill clinton all went there to campaign for strickland. yesterday, though, kasich says he has no doubt he will win the election. meanwhile john boehner in line to become the speaker of the house if republicans capture that chamber is pouncing on something that president obama said last week. our carol costello is live in west chester, ohio.

carol, we talked a little bit about that conversation that the president had where he used the term enemies to describe his political opponents. >> reporter: kiran, i'm sorry, i can't hear you. i just took my ear piece out of my ear. hopefully you can hear me. i'm in butler county at a polling station. and there was a line of people waiting to get in. there are about 20 people to preparing to vote right now. voter turnout is expected to be about 52% here in ohio. democrats are hoping that percentage increases because, of course, they say that will help them. but here in butler county, it's very much republican territory. it's john boehner country. there was a big republican pep rally last night. and you're right, kiran, john boehner did bring up those remarks by president obama, calling his republican opponents enemies. john boehner brought that up. he went on the attack against president obama. and the crowd loved it.

>> well, mr. president, i have a word to describe those people. those people who have the audacity to speak up against the big government. the people who have the audacity to go out and support our constitution. the people who are out there every day fighting for a limited government that has served our country so well for 200 years. mr. president, that word isn't enemies, they're patriots. >> reporter: there are a couple of hundred people at that rally. and while they embrace those remarks by john boehner, make no mistake, if he becomes speaker of the house, they want action. they want him to evoke change. they want him to bring jobs to the state of ohio. doesn't matter if he's republican. listen to one of the voters i talked with. >> john boehner may become speaker of the house, do you think that'll make a difference? >> i'm hoping so.

again, we have -- we have a lot to change. and it's going to be a challenge. we're going to be holding john boehner accountable, as well. >> reporter: the goal here is to get the republicans in the job in the house of representatives, in the senate, and maybe in 2012. but the voters still want something to happen. they want republicans to reach across the aisle and work with democrats, something that has not happened as you know in the past two years. again, here in butler county, the polls are now open. as you can see behind me, people are coming in to vote. of course, it's early, the polls will be open until 7:30. the other important race here in the state of ohio, the governor's race, it's very close. who knows who will win. some results should be pouring in, kiran. about 8:00, 8:30 tonight. but that governor's race -- those results may come in later because the race is so darn close. back to you. >> yeah, we might still be

trying to figure out who won in many of these states like ohio into the night, into the wee hours of the morning. carol costello, thanks so much. 39 minutes after the hour. still to come on "american morning." check out what else is happening today. we've got new details after the break on just how cargo is really checked for bombs before it gets on an airplane. and it's going to be expensive, it's going to be crowded. thanksgiving travel expected to surge, why you may want to leave early if you're flying. stay with us. [ female announcer ] introducing splenda®

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42 minutes after the hour. welcome back to the special edition of "american morning" today. of course, it's election day. we're going to give you a look at top stories. we're going to get back to talking politics in a moment. first a federal appeals court ruled the don't ask, don't the tell policy can be enforced. while the obama administration appeals a lower court ruling which found the policy unconstitutional. the gay rights group that filed the suit may now make an emergency appeal directly to the support. the yemen mail bomb plot uncovering gaping holes in airline security. according to "usa today," only about 20% of the 9 billion pounds of air cargo that comes from overseas every year is physically checked for bombs. homeland security secretary janet napolitano told us that the u.s. is extending a cargo ban on shipments from yemen. gary condit testifying. condit allegedly had an affair

with a washington intern but refused to tell the court if they were intimate. he did say he didn't commit any crimes. in the me phone service is back up across new england today after a robo call overload. several democratic and republican field offices in new hampshire lost phone service last night. comcast which provides phone service in the area as all of the last-minute political calling maxed out the network. they contacted authorities because of the history there. several new england gop leaders were sentenced for jamming phone lines back in 2002. more americans will be flying to their thanksgiving holiday destination this year. the air transport association says about 24 million people are expected to be in the air up 3.5% from last year. the increased travel demand is a good sign for the economy, bad news, however, if you are traveling, the fares will also be higher.

>> good news. that always takes more out of your pocket somehow. more states opening their polls in just 15 minutes time. we're breaking down all of the races to watch coming up at the top of the hour. also, there's no debate that when it comes to the number one issue of concern for voters, it's the economy. our christine romans is going to break it down for us coming up. >> and after you vote, be sure to turn on cnn, the best political team on television will bring you up-to-the minute results and analysis from this critical midterm election. our live coverage of all of the returns begins tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern. of course we'll be on the election all day today. and you are watching a special election edition of "american morning." we're cracking down on medicare fraud.

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48 minutes past the hour. time to get a quick check on the weather headlines as people head out to the polls this morning. rob marciano in the extreme weather center for us. hey, rob. >> no rain in the forecast. check out some of these numbers if you are heading out. 32 degrees in philadelphia, 36 right now in new york city, and 34 degrees up in central connecticut, 34, as well, in our nation's capital.

so certainly feeling like fall on this second day of november. thunderstorms rumbling across parts of the lower texas coastline into southern louisiana. these are slow-movers. they'll be dumping heavy rain throughout the rest of the morning and in through the afternoon. and this will cause localized street flooding. this will be an area slow-going for sure. pick up your elderly neighbors and get them out of the house and put the umbrellas over them and take them to the polls today. this will be a spot that will slow down that process. pacific northwest, little bit of rain. warm across portions of southern california. temperatures there near record-breaking in some cases. folks may very well be on the beach. go pluck your neighbors off the beach and take them to the polls there. tomas, 50-mile-an-hour winds. this forecast track has not changed very much over the past couple of days. we are still looking at the potentially hispaniola and haiti over the weekend as potentially a category one hurricane. we'll keep you updated on that.

back up to you. >> rob, thanks so much. still ahead on your special edition of "american morning," election day, our christine romans breaks down issues weighing heavily on the mind of many americans today. this midterm election has become a referendum on the first two years of barack obama's presidency. we'll examine that and the issues surrounding it at the top of the hour. again, you're watching a special edition of "american morning." r] in the event of a collision, the smartest thing you could do is cut the fuel supply, unlock the doors, and turn on the hazards. or get a car that does it for you. ♪ no calorie sweetener granulated with fiber. sweet! [ female announcer ] tastes like sugar and has 3 grams of fiber per tablespoon. use it almost anywhere you use sugar. even in cooking and baking. sweet! [ female announcer ] splenda® granulated with fiber. i've been looking at the numbers, and i think our campus

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welcome back to the most politics in the morning. the economy, issue number one in today's election. and no surprise with unemployment running at 9.6%

nationally and much worse state to state. our christine romans joins us with a look at issue number one. >> we're test driving new technology to show you exactly -- so you can visualize what this means and we'll use this for exit polling after the polls close tomorrow so you can see what people really did in the voting booth instead of what they said they were going to do. i want to talk about the top issues here. no surprise, issue number one is the economy. and 52%, when you take a look at how big that -- watch this. look at this, 52%. there's nothing else that comes close. 8% health care, all that talk on the campaign trail, that health care, 8% of people say health care's our top priority. illegal immigration, including stock market, everything, altogether, that's just 32%. it gives you a sense of how dramatic the 9.6% unemployment number will be here in this election today. now, let's talk about when asked how things are going. if things are going well. and comparing that with other midterm election years.

how does this midterm stack up in terms of the number of people who say things are going well? take a look at this. today, 25% say things are going well. compare that with 49% in 2006. 50% in 1994, and in 1982, 40% said things are going well. in 1982, you'll recall, that's when you had a popular president whose approval ratings were starting to slip whose party lost 26 seats in the midterm elections, that was ronald reagan. and it's fascinating because a lot of people are drawing parallels to the unemployment back in 1982 and today. and what that could mean next year for the general election. of course, reagan was reelected. >> i love the new technology, the polling you're standing behind. >> i feel you're trying to test drive a brand new car you're trying to figure out where the gas is. >> for the last decade, i guess, democrats have won on the issue of the economy.

when asked who do you trust more, democrats have won that poll. what's it looking like this year? >> let me show you this one. we've asked this question, who can handle the economy better and democrats are not. who can handle the economy issue number one better? you've got, yes, competent republican parties, 57%, competent democratic party abilities just 45%. so that's how that one played out. >> that's amazing. you had that at your fingertips. do you know where the heated seats are? >> you could have stumped me, but i had it right here. we can do it. wait until tomorrow. >> well, done. that's fabulous. love the technology. thanks, christine. top stories coming your way right after the break. he's been endorsed by the tea party and sarah palin, but can they ride coat tails to the victory in the senate race? that's the chipotle and cilantro. it's one of our new mexican soups. it reminds me of guadalajara.

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just before 7:00 here on the east coast, and that means a whole lot of other states' polls are opening this very minute. some others have been open an hour now. welcome back to a special edition of "american morning" on this tuesday, november 2nd. >> i'm john roberts. americans across the country heading to the polls, the power in washington up for grabs this morning. let's get you oriented with where we're going this election day 2010. all right. we're covering today's midterm elections like no other network possibly can. we've got correspondents fanned out coast to coast. following the race is big and small from our drew griffin in anchorage, alaska, to our david matingly in florida all part of the best political team on television. and as we cross over at the top of the hour now, 13 more states and the district of columbia now opening their polls.

delaware, florida, georgia, up to illinois and out west of missouri all starting to vote now. the balance of power on the line. we're looking at all the big races. 18 republican seats are at stake, 19 democrat seats. we're looking at all the big issues and looking at the big picture, as well. our tom foreman is here, introducing us to a brand new technology that helps us tell the election story throughout the day. we're calling it the cnn 100. and tom, this is pretty amazing thing you've got here. exactly what is it? what are we following? >> this is the 100 races that are most on the knife edge in the house side. in the house of representatives. these are the ones that threw a variety of met rings. they're polling and basically whether or not their district was normally a republican or democratic district. this decided whether or not these guys got in. 2008, these are the people who came in. largely democrats. these are democrats who came in on the coat tails of barack obama. 2006, this was the big democratic surge. so watch very closely what happens as those and as you move

back through time we've done it by classes. this is when these people came in. as you move back, you're going to see people who got into office some time ago and have proven they can stay in office. if these start falling, this will tell you that more of a landslide is in effect here. so this is going to be the wall where everything else you watch today. if you want to know what's happening, keep an eye -- whenever we watch over here, turn up the sound, sit down and pay attention, because as the results come in, these will start flipping and you'll get a sense of what's happening. 39 of these flipped, and republicans are taken control of the house. >> so we've got 435 races on the house. on the senate side, it's 37 races we're watching, and how are we following those? >> over here. and on our data wall. if you look at these races here, our data wall. >> the formally known as magic wall now data wall. >> now it's the magic data wall. >> some big ones to watch, you know this, colorado. a lot going on between ken buck and michael bennett. people are going to pay

attention to that, a lot of people are going to watch illinois because it's the president's familiar place. keep an eye on nevada out here. oh, my gosh, sharron angle and harry reid, here's the senate majority leader. this is one of the things you know is hugely symbolic. people pay a whole lot of attention. 39, 10 over here. and i think if you pick any state you want at this point, 39-10, nevada. watch those and see what happens. that will tell you the story of this election. >> the race here in nevada sort of emblematic of the nastiness of the 2010 campaign. you found something that is actually bringing people together. what, pr is that? >> it's not going to make you feel better. this is one of the things bringing us together. take a look at this map over here. you see all that orange over there? >> yep. >> first of all, look here. this is up in vermont.

this is through crimson hexagon. twitter -- they're monitoring twitter flow here. up in vermont, 33% of the people are voting for a person or a policy according to what they're saying on twitter. down here in tiny, tiny rhode island, 36% of the people are going out because they want to get out the vote. the nation, however, is united in voting against a person or a policy. that's all that orange says, that tells you the overall story of this election even before the results. >> and i can see you're wearing an orange tie, as well. so solidarity. tom, thanks so much. and we'll be checking in with tom throughout the morning. our fascinating new technology, through which we're bringing you the results of the election 2010 as well as what's happening -- >> 39-10, nevada. >> hike it over to kiran. we talked about how it's been a brutal, bitterly fought campaign season and an expensive one too.

candidates, in fact, spending $3.5 billion to win your vote. that's a record. an all-time record for a non-presidential year. when the final vote is tallied, this comes down to a referendum on president obama and his first two years in the white house. and dan, we have an opinion research corporation poll out finding many americans plan to vote against the president and not for any particular candidate. so in their own district, which candidate opposed the president more? >> reporter: that's right. and i think the reason for that is that one word you've been hearing now for quite some time is that a lot of americans are simply frustrated. even within the president's own party, there's a lot of disappointment, especially among latino groups there has been no movement on immigration reforms. republicans like to point out this is an administration that came into power under the banner of hope and change, but there has been disappointment. and the one big issue is the fact that the economy two years in has not turned around.

the president has been pointing out on the campaign trail that things are much more difficult. the situation was much more grave than anticipated. so it will take time to turn things around, but nonetheless as people head into the polls, they might be out of work or they'll know someone out of a job or simply trying to hang on to their home. so that is in the front of their mind. they may not be happy with the alternative. the republicans, at least that's what the polls are showing. but nonetheless, they're not happy with their current place either, kiran. >> it's interesting, you hear some people say i may be voting republican, but i'm holding them to the same standard and if they don't change in two years, they're out too. what else is the president, by the way, dan, doing in the final hours today? >> well, he's all across the air waves. yesterday he recorded three syndicated radio shows rolling out this morning. in fact, i just listened about 20 minutes or so ago to the steve harvey show. obviously a friendly audience and urban audience. the president was really pleading with the listeners to go out to the polls if they've voted already that they should encourage their family members and their friends or their

co-workers, anyone to get out to the polls, as well. the president laying out what's at stake here. pointing out it would be difficult for him to get anything done over the next two years if republicans have big gains. and ending that with the biggest thanks anyone can give me is to go to the polls. and in addition to the taped interviews this morning, the president also doing some live radio interviews across the country in some key states like florida, california, and nevada, obviously trying to get every last vote down to the wire, kiran. >> thanks so much. also, how will it play out today? and what will the president do next if the republicans indeed take control of the congress? we have the best political team on television joining us in ten minutes. insight and analysis from all of them coming up. also at 7:30 eastern, we'll be joined by former virginia governor tim kaine. we're going to talk to him about how he feels about the prospects heading into today, election day. john? we're watching key races in several states. up after the break, we're going to go live to anchorage and

check in on the race for senator there. joe miller, lisa murkowski and scott mcadams vying for your vote. and then we'll go live to nevada, that all-important race between harry reid and sharron angle. it could not get any uglier. this special edition of "american morning" continues after the break. [ female announcer ] kids who don't eat breakfast may not be getting the nutrition they need to keep their bodies strong. carnation instant breakfast essentials supplies the nutrients of a balanced breakfast to help build strong muscles and healthy bones. carnation instant breakfast essentials. good nutrition from the start.

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ten minutes after the hour now. phone service back up across new england after robocall overload. several democratic and republican field offices in new hampshire lost phone service last night. comcast, which provides phone service in the area blamed a late flood of political calls saying "comcast and we believe other phone carriers in new hampshire and massachusetts are experiencing severe call volumes due to auto dialing activity. we're working hard to identify the carrier that owns the

original telephone numbers generating these unusual traffic volumes." they're on the case, kiran. >> all right. now to the senate battle in alaska. it is two republicans against a democrat after tea party-backed republican joe miller defeated incumbent lisa murkowski in the primary in that state. so she launched a write-in campaign. the democrat in the race is hoping to benefit from this gop split. miller, you may know has the support of sarah palin. drew griffin is covering the race for us. he's live in anchorage this morning. and this race as we know is going to be a close one. the polling literally between murkowski and joe miller has it tied up at this point. >> yeah, and it's all over the map, kiran. several polls out over the weekend wildly different in how this race is going to end up. but they both show this is really -- really the only place in the country, i think, where you have the old republican guard going against the potential new republican party, the tea party. tea party candidate joe miller, the republican who is on the ballot versus lisa murkowski,

the sitting republican senator who is not on the ballot and staging this write-in campaign. scott mcadams is the democrat, the mayor who thinks there's a wedge where he can potentially move in. but as i'm reading the tea leaves of the various polls, it looks like lisa murkowski and mcadams are trying to split the same vote and that miller with his strong conservative backing is really potentially benefitting from having a three-way race here. what's interesting is it's all going to come out to turnout, right? turnout is what it's all about. and in this election already, 17,000 alaskans have placed their ballots in early voting. that may not sound like a lot, but that's twice as many as -- that have participated in early voting in 2006 in the last non-presidential election. so i think turnout is going to be very high here, look for a late, late night. and i really believe this is going to be a test between the tea party, palin-backed

candidate joe miller against the old republican, old alaskan political name lisa murkowski. >> and there were a couple of other interesting elements. one, a reporting over the last couple of days that perhaps the gop establishment was quietly turning toward murkowski, whether or not she's getting some of their support as they look at the polls, but also the issue, that it is very difficult to win as a write-in candidate. we haven't seen that in the senate since strom thurman in 1954. >> reporter: that's right. number one, there was a report by abc, anonymous source saying that the republicans were pulling out of joe miller's campaign. well, the national center republicans went on the record, no, that is absolutely not true. that report was absolutely false. we talked about it with joe miller. he said no, they still support me and are running ads in this state for me. murkowski, you're right, she's got a difficult write-in campaign. you actually have to go to the

ballot, you have to fill in the little dot and then write in her name. so that's going to be a test. the other thing that came up over the weekend, kiran. we did some reporting with lisa murkowski in which she said in an interview she felt liberated from the republican party. joe miller and conservatives ran with that saying lisa murkowski is now threatening to caucus with democrats and to become a conservative. she had to do a little -- a liberal, she had to do some back pedalling on that. say this morning that she is a republican and will vote with the republicans if she gets back into the white house, into the washington, d.c. so you can see where she has to run this narrow path between still being a republican but yet attracting enough liberals or democrats in this state to try to defeat the tea party candidates. it's going to be a very interesting dynamic to watch. >> it will, and we'll be watching throughout the day and into the early morning hours, as well. thanks so much. got us in a holiday spirit with

your live shot. we love it. thanks so much. >> i'll get a dog with jingle bells running around. >> somehow thing, though, he's the only guy up at 2:00 a.m. in alaska. well, polls are open, about half states up for grabs. 37 governorships. the best political minds on television up next with the insights and analysis that you've come to expect from cnn. we're back right after a break. stay with us.

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18 minutes past the hour. "american morning" will be on at a special time tomorrow. yes, it's very special, it's 3:00 a.m. eastern time. the breaking election results and analysis, we're taking you through noon. interesting enough, john, we might be finding some of the results, especially on alaska. >> yeah, alaska and nevada,

maybe a couple other races, as well. 3:00 a.m., there's something really special about that. 18 1/2 minutes past the hour. joining us now kiki maclane, john avalon who we point out wins no matter who wins because independents always do. "new york times" national correspondent kate zurnicky. i want to throw out another jump ball. issue number one, almost 50% of people say that's the number one issue. and all of the issues that used to fair high are down below 10%. so who can better turn this economy around? when the republicans are in power, the democrats say trust us, we can do it. when the democrats are in power, the republicans say no, we're the ones that can do it. is anyone more capable than another, andy, of doing this? >> well, i think if the republicans take control of the house, they will control the debate over taxes. >> will they do anything about

it? >> oh, yes, i think they will do something about it. the great uncertainty right now even if the irs, they're supposed to be sending out forms right now to employers, how much do you withhold from pay on january 1st. and that isn't being done because congress hasn't worked. the administration hasn't worked. what's going to happen with the bush tax cuts? are they going to take place? there will be a debate about taxes right after this election is over. >> but john raises the question. the choice is really about the economy. historically, people have had great confidence so one side or the other could control it. that would make for an easy campaign year. this is more complicated because this is not your average recession. so people's confidence at one side or the other can fix it is not there and that's where the choice comes in. from my point of view president obama and democrats stopped us from going over the cliff. and the most important thing is somebody go out and vote on it. >> well, you know, independents

thought the economy was issue number one going back to 2007. when republicans were focused on terrorism, the democrats were focused on health care. this has been a long standing issue. clearly they've swung towards republicans on this. republicans embrace a pro-growth tax-cutting philosophy, which some folks said didn't pan out as well in the late bush era. democrats have been embracing a more spending keynesian philosophy, but independent voters being very motivated about that. >> i don't think it's that complicated. i think it's throw the bums out mentality. >> and then there's that. >> a very eloquent argument. >> no, and the situation is that for a decade now, people have felt stagnant. they haven't felt their incomes growing for a while, we had the housing bubble, that's gone now. and neither party has been able to offer. democrats will say spend, democrats will say cut taxes, but neither of the solutions are solving the underlying problem. and until that's solved, we'll keep getting thrown out. >> i think something important

to throw out, people don't know that much about the economy. it shows that most of the electorate believes that president obama raises taxes. that's not true. as much as people are concerned about all of these financial issues, they really don't know that much about -- >> but who can create jobs? because that's the important point here. from all of the analysis that you've done, all the coverage you've done, is there one side or the other that has a better plan for actually creating jobs? who should voters believe? >> well, i think voters are trending toward believing republicans now. but i don't think either side has monopoly on this. this is why i'm so curious about the vote in nevada where voters have the option to choose none of the above. and i think voters in other states have that option, a lot of them will be choosing it. they don't trust democrats or republicans. >> hold that thought and we can come back. we've got to take a quick break and we'll be back. we'll do with you what we did with ed rollins. >> stay with us.

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26 minutes after the hour. let's bring our panel back in. kiki mclean was the one earlier this morning dubbed ed rollins the cute one. >> i did. i did. and so is andy. it's all about moving america forward. >> we're the old ones. >> we? all right. >> ed rollins and i are the old ones. >> this has gone severely off track. >> would you like my foot to put in your mouth? >> i'm going to bring this back and disagree with a couple of my green room buddies. and point out that number one, democrats do believe in tax cuts, we want to do it in the

right place, the middle class. i agree not everybody may recognize the value of what happened with t.a.r.p. in fact, we finally made some money, but the americans do know what's going on with this economy. and this is not just soft talk over here. they know it when they're losing their homes and they don't have a job. but the question is, not necessarily who you think is going to fix it by themselves, but who is going to put ideas that move that forward. >> you would think what this country needs is a manhattan-style approach to, let's drop the partisanship, the zero sum game in washington. let's all get together and do something before the unemployment rate goes higher, before more people lose their homes, before more people run out of unemployment benefits and before america loses its position in the world. >> and that's what we needed on energy independence. that's exactly what we need. >> why can't people expect that?

>> but hyperpartisanship stopping our country from solving problems, bottom line. >> do you agree? >> government has got to work, but we've got to make sure that we take away the uncertainty at this time in the economy. and the uncertainty over regulation is stifling opportunity to grow. >> the middle class has been feeling squeezed for a long, long time. they felt the pain of the economy from before the great recession began and any great american recovery begins with the middle class. >> we're caught in a vicious loop here. anger, the ideological extremes. we connect electing more partisan congresses, and maybe even the president of the united states feel they have a mandate from an ideological point of view. i don't know how we get out of that loop. but it's sort of a self-reinforcing -- >> i think one way to get out of

it and i think what will be great is when some of these tea party republicans take a lot of these house seats, they're going to be forced into action. because guess what, you can no longer finger-point at the democrats. now you have to act and govern. >> i think they're interpreting as gridlock. i think they're interpreting it as a mandate as no, we're not going to go forward. we're going to stop this, block this. >> this election is more about getting rid of arrogance than it is about any other policy or any policy. washington has been too arrogant. and the american people are sick and tired of it. >> would you include both parties in that? >> i include both parties, i include the president right at the top of the list. he came across very arrogant over the last two years. and it was his way or the highway. and i think that is -- >> no more so than bush prior to him and carl rove and -- >> i've got to say -- >> that is so not true. you're living a myth. i'm talking reality. >> john, before this table goes crazy. >> no, i like it.

>> to your point about what is it that's going to make people move forward? and how do they if they haven't before? part of it's going to be with governors who get elected today because they don't have a choice. the state budgets are in shambles, they don't have the leeway to goof around. but this is also where you see governors who become president, right? because they have to make these things happen. and i think that you can turn around today and you can look up. and everybody's talked about the congressional races today being when you walk into to vote at your polling place. i say when you walk into your polling place, think really hard about those gubernatorial races that are out. >> thanks very much for being with us this morning. great to talk to you all. andy card, kiki mclean, good of you to come in this morning. kiran? >> thanks. well, in any midterm election, it's common for the party in power to lose seats. but polling by us here at cnn, gallup, all suggest that the

republicans will likely win more than the 39 seats needed to give them the majority in the house. that's still a little bit unclear about what will happen in the senate. but democratic leaders are certainly not throwing in the towel yet. and joining me this morning is national committee chair and former virginia governor tim kaine. good morning. i know you've been asked about this over and over again, whether or not democrats will lose the house. you have said as late as last night with wolf blitzer, you believe it will hold. are you changing your mind this morning? >> the other guys say they're going to take both houses back, we say we're going to hold both houses. we feel quite good in the senate, although we're not taking any race for granted. we're out working as hard as we can. it is going to be tougher. here's the path for us. the republicans are going to pick up a number of seats, no doubt about it. as you know, there are 49 democratic house members who represent districts that voted for john mccain two years ago.

that's natural territory where the republicans are going to run strong races. however, what a lot of folks don't count on is that there are also a number of seats in the country where we're going to win republican seats. we feel good about seats in delaware, florida, louisiana, illinois, hawaii. there's some other seats out there on the bubble that we think we can pick up. every republican seat we win makes it harder for the republicans. it increases their numbers they have to win. so while i think we've got the head wind we're runni inning ag, we're encouraging everyone to vote. and we are seeing positive signs in early voting that is taking place in the states that allow it. >> do you think the notion of a republican wave is being overplayed? >> i think it's been overplayed kind of throughout the cycle. and, again, you do see republicans starting to back off now. they were going to take both houses as of late summer. they're starting to back off of that. and i think, kiran, actually what you're going to see. however the numbers are, the margins will be closer. we didn't believe on

inauguration day 2009 that america was 59% democratic and 41% republican. that was the essential margin in both houses, we're more closely divided nation than that. and the margins in the two houses, i think, are going to reflect that after today. >> well, even if you don't lose big in the house -- lose the senate, and let's say you do lose the house. how will democrats interpret that message from the voters moving forward? >> well, i think we're going to see it as, look, the margins will reset back to where the american population is. none of us believe that the population was 59-41 democratic. and so then the issue is, look, we've made strong progress over the last two years in turning a shrinking economy into a growing one. but now we have to accelerate that rate of growth. and that is imperative that we work together in congress whatever the party to continue to move forward in the economy in other key areas. and so it's going to be up to everybody to come to the table with constructive ideas about

how to move forward. >> now, i know you enjoy a close relationship with the president. does it bother you personally to see democrats who are running by distancing themselves, in cases running ads distancing themselves from the president and his policies? or you think that's how it goes in these tight races? >> kiran, it does bother me, and partly because i think the president is doing a spectacular job. also because the historical precedent suggests when you do that, it doesn't help you. the democrats did that with truman in 1946, and it didn't help them. they lost both houses when they did that. but the good news is, kiran, i have now been in 40 plus states as dnc chair. the overwhelming majority of democrats run proud to be democrats, proud of the party's accomplishments, and proud of president obama. >> right. >> it's kind of a notable few that distance themselves from the president. but when they do, that's newsworthy. a democrat standing up and saying i support the president

isn't newsworthy. >> no, i totally get what you're saying. and that is going to be played because it's curious, of course. when you look at a president who was wildly popular when he was elected in 2008. you said something interesting. you said you think the president's doing a spectacular job. >> i do. >> is it about the message? our latest poll has about 75% of country when asked say going in the wrong direction. >> it's partly about the message. but look, you can always improve. this job has the steepest learning curve in the world and nobody just jumps into it at the top of the learning curve. like you're going to get better every day. you ought to be trueing to ini to be better the last day. we stopped combat operations in iraq. an economy that was shrinking on inauguration day for the first time since the 1930s is growing again. women are entitled to equal pay for equal work. we've done historic health care reform to curb insurance company abuses, save the auto industry.

i could go on. these are accomplishments that are big and notable accomplishments that are going to be very well regarded. but look, the economy's tough, people are still hurting. that means there's anxieties out there. and we all -- all of us in public life of either party -- we've got to speak directly to those anxieties. >> you talked about the learning curve, as well, for the president that you can always do better. what do you think the president could've done better specifically over the past 22 months? >> you know, i'm not going to get into that. i can tell you that i think some things you're going to start to see. the president had to save the financial system. which the previous administration put us into a position where we were on the verge of a complete collapse of the financial system and the president and his team have done a remarkable job of saving the financial system and shoring it up with the administration of the t.a.r.p. bill and also the important wall street reform. now what you see is the white house turning with the small business lending bill and other policies to focusing on the kind of start-ups, entrepreneurs, mom

and pop businesses. and you're going to see much more focus on that going forward. but the most important thing at the start was to save the financial system from collapse. and so just as time evolves, there's different issues you now have the ability to focus on. and i think the small business success, which the president has talked about often is going to now take center stage now that the financial system has stabilized. >> all right. well, i know you have a busy day ahead of you. thanks for your time. great to talk you as always. >> you bet, kiran. kiran, kentucky's u.s. senate race has been one of the ugliest in the country this morning we're going to talk to rand paul. he joins us at 8:10 eastern with what he would like to get done if he's elected. coming up, he began as an underdog, but now tea party republican marco rubio is now an underdog in the florida senate race. live report just ahead. 37 minutes after the hour. [ k. tyrone ] i'm an engineer.

my kids say i speak a different language. but i love math and math and science develop new ideas. we've used hydrogen in our plants for decades. the old hydrogen units were very large. recently, we've been able to reduce that. then our scientists said "what if we could make it small enough to produce and use hydrogen right on board a car, as part of a hydrogen system." this could significantly reduce emissions and increase fuel economy by as much as 80%. this could significantly reduce emissions being a leader means moving fast. across the country when the economy tumbled, jpmorgan chase set up new offices to work one-on-one with homeowners. since 2009, we've helped over 200,000 americans keep their homes. and we're reaching out to small businesses too,

increasing our lending commitment this year to $10 billion and giving businesses the opportunity to ask for a second review if they feel their loan should have been approved. this is how recoveries happen. everyone doing their part. this is the way forward.

many americans expect this to be a big change election. the balance of power in washington and in dozens of state races, including in

florida. the polls there are open now, all eyes on the three-way senate race. republican marco rubio has been leading charlie crist, republican turn independent. democrat alex sink and rick scott have been running neck-and-neck. live in planation, florida, this morning. and what are voters looking for? >> reporter: voters are looking for some relief as they go to the polls right now, john. just look at the numbers that really count. and that's the numbers dealing with the economy. florida's unemployment rate at 11.9%. that's 2 percentage points above the national average. also, state of florida is second in the nation for foreclosure rates. look at these numbers, 1 out of every 148 homes in florida in some stage of foreclosure. so you have a lot of voters going to the polls today that are very worried about their immediate future.

two years ago, barack obama took florida, independents going toward the democrats two years ago. those same voters not expected to be so kind to democrats this time around, john. >> how has voter dissatisfaction surfaced throughout this campaign, david? >> reporter: well, you see it in every campaign, virtually, as the message of jobs, jobs, jobs keeps coming up. the republicans running very strong and key races. marco rubio very strong in that race, so strong that there was talk that the democrats might even try to talk their guy kendrick meek into getting out of the race. but last night, we saw former president bill clinton campaigning with meek to put that question to rest. but again, marco rubio running very strong in that race. also, rick scott conservative republican running very strong in the race for governor. that race expected to go to the wire. a lot of drama as we go into the polls today. >> and david mattingly for us,

thanks so much. kiran? well, 42 minutes past the hour right now. coming up, the san francisco giants giving their fans something to celebrate. a world series title, their first in 56 years. the giants finishing off the texas rangers in just five games. a lot of celebrating going on around, at least the california area. and a dry election day for much of the country. rob's going to have the forecast right after the break. 43 minutes past the hour. [ male announcer ] in the event of a collision,

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well, continuing our special election day coverage in just a moment. but first, other stories that

we're following this morning. the cost to go brown is about to go up. u.p.s. announcing it's raising rates for ground and air express shipments by 4.9%. those will take effect in january. so you can still ship all your stuff for christmas at the usual cost. well, federal appeals court ruled that the military's don't ask, don't tell policy can, indeed, be enforced while the obama administration appeals a lower-court ruling that found the policy unconstitutional. the gay rights group that filed that suit may make an emergency appeal directly to the supreme court. former congressman gary condit testified in the chandra levy trial. he refused to tell the court if they were intimate but did say he "didn't commit any crimes." a man is on trial for allegedly attacking and killing levy while she was jogging. charlie sheen filing for divorce from his third wife brooke muller.

the divorce was first reported yesterday by "people" magazine's website. they have twin sons together. sheen is seeking joint custody. court documents showed they separated a year ago. they had a fight that led to assault charges against the actor. and a real san francisco treat. the giants winning their first world series championship since 1954. they beat the texas rangers in five games. and the city will honor the new champs with a ticker tape parade on wednesday. >> congrats to them. well, it is 47 minutes past the hour. a check of this morning's weather headlines. not only the baseball team hot, but southern california looking at 90 degrees today. >> yeah, they didn't really have a summer, guys. temperatures were in the 50s and 60s all summer long and they'll be in the lower 90s today. not so warm across the northeast. that's for sure. 35 in new york right now, 34 degrees in bristol, connecticut, 31 in philadelphia. so temperatures pretty chilly. out the door, pretty much what you wore yesterday, maybe even another layer because it feels like it's a little bit cooler than that.

down to the south we go where it's raining heavily. boy, big time drought in southeast texas. one of the fifth driest octobers, they're making up for it in a hurry. but you will get street flooding across the i-10 corridor. this is a slow-moving system. so heavier rain at times today and it will make a slow go if you're getting out to work, to school, or to the polls, but don't be, you know, get out there and do it anyway. bring along the rain gear for sure. the rest of the country looks to be dry. couple of showers across the pacific northwest as mentioned out in california, southern california will be very, very warm, san francisco, they're celebrating san francisco treats abound out there. temperatures will be a little warmer than they have been this summer, 75 degrees in san francisco. 62 in kansas city, 49 degrees in new york city. how about that? that is on the chilly side for sure. all right, but you know what? it's still hurricane season. tropical storm tomas continues to meander through the central

caribbean. it has winds of about 50 miles an hour right now, westerly moving at 12. we do expect to see in some intensification. we've seen that here in the past 12 hours. and the forecast is for it to hit an area of weakness in the ridge that's been keeping it down to the south kind of run into parts of that low in texas and that front moving across parts of the east coast. and as it does so, it'll pick it up and turn it to the north. here's the forecast track from the national hurricane center, bringing it to category one strength over the next few days and turns it a little bit to the north and brings it over either cuba or the island of hispani a hispaniola. right now the track is right over haiti. and the big deal is the rainfall. it'll be a fairly fast-mover, we hope, but the rainfall will be the huge issue when you're talking about a nation that is still trying to get over that earthquake and dealing with the that, as well. so john and kiran, back to you. >> so many people will have to ride out that hurricane in

tents. bad situation. rob, thanks. >> thanks, rob. well, the stakes are so high, they sent in the closer. at least that's what first lady michelle obama is known as when she's out campaigning. she was campaigning for harry reid saying her husband can't do it alone. a closer look at this race and what's on the line in nevada coming up next. it's 50 minutes past the hour. we asked people all over america where the best potatoes come from. the best potatoes? idaho. idaho! idaho. and how do you know you're getting idaho potatoes? well...uh... uhm... heh.. (sighs) not all potatoes come from idaho. so if you want the best, you have to do one important thing. always look for the grown in idaho seal.

i knew that. i knew that. look for the grown in idaho seal.

video just in to cnn this morning. 53 minutes past the hour. there's a look at delaware senate candidate republican christine o'donnell.

she is leaving the polling booth after casting her ballot in wilmington, delaware, earlier this morning. she had been doing some interviews last night and on her twitter page which is at christineod, vp biden comes to delawa delaware. draws a crowd of only 200. oh, this race is so winnable. well, we have to wait and see. chris coons, the democrat had more than double digit lead over her in some of the latest polling, but of course, today's the day that we find out who will be the senator from delaware. the balance of power, of course, on the line this morning. very wig names with jobs in jeopardy and even if the democrats hold on to the senate, they could lose their leader. harry reid is fighting for his political life in nevada against tea party favorite sharron angle. it is one of the closest and watched and nastiest races in the country. with so much at stake, the white house sent first lady michelle

obama to las vegas to make one last pitch for the man that fought for the president's yaend in the senate saying my husband can't do this alone. jim acosta is live for us in las vegas this morning. this is possibly one of the most races in the country because of how it affects the leadership in the senate. >> reporter: that's right. if the republicans can take down harry reid, that will perhaps be the biggest scalp of the night for the gop and sharron angle comes into the election day with a slight lead in all of the polls. democrats caution, though, they feel like they're doing very well looking at the early balloting, the early voting that's been going on in this state. and so place your bets a the this point. this is anybody's contest at this point and that's why in the last 24 hours you've seen the senate majority leader harry reid and the tea party favorite in the race sharron angle trying to excite and fire up the bases. as you mentioned, harry reid has michelle obama. well, sharron angle, she had fox news. >> banks, insurance companies

and -- they have to keep fighting to stop it. and i'm not finished fighting for you. i want you to join me in this fight. >> harry! harry! >> i ask for your vote. >> he went in as senate majority leader, we were at 4.4% unemployment. and now, as you point out, we are at 14.4% unemployment. but when you put in the underemployed and those that quit looking for jobs, we are really at 22.3% unemployment and we lay those squarely at harry reid's doorstep. he pushed, promoted and made deals for the poor public policies that crushed our economy here in nevada. >> reporter: and harry reid is not just battling sharron angle. he is battling the economy in nevada. holding the dual distinction of the highest unemployment rate

and the highest foreclosure rate. don't count out harry reid just yet. back in 1998, kiran, he won a senate race in the state by less than 500 votes. kiran? >> that's why they're not kidding when they say every vote counts, especially today on election day. jim acosta, thanks so much. a special edition of "american morning" continues. your top stories coming your way. it is now three minutes until the top of the hour.

good morning. thanks so much for joining us on this tuesday, november 2nd. it is election day. midterms. 2010. >> that's right. in many states the polls have been open either for an hour or two hours. many voters heading out to the polls. let's take a look. we want to let you know that we have a lot going on for you in this hour. we have our correspondents across the country. today is the day after all of the campaigning, some of the nasty and extremely expensive campaigns out there. it comes down to who gets out to the polls today and not only has

it been nasty at times, it's been quite expensive. $3.5 billion, most expensive midterm campaign ever. and at this hour, ten more states are now casting their polls. polls open in alabama, texas, iowa, north dakota, oklahoma, south dakota, texas and wisconsin. there's the map right now of the polls open. who will be in control after tonight? we're looking at the big races and all the big issues and of course the big picture, as well. for that we're joined by tom foreman here to walk us through the key races with cool technology. you have upgraded. >> we have. of all the things to watch today, this is the thing that you have to pay attention to all day long. this and our other wall over here. pay attention to nothing else, watch this and you'll get the story of this election because what we have done here, kiran, we picked out the 100 races in the house that are most on the knife edge. these are races where you think

there's a real chance they could change for a whole variety of reasons. polling and exactly what the nature of it was before. for example, in colorado here, a democrat that won in the 4th district, betsy markey and won substantially back in '08. colorado can go democratic or republican. you can say this very well, could be connected to the whole wave of barack obama. so the question is how much will it hold up now that his approval, more importantly, the disapproval rating, is so high. we'll look at each class, 2008. the congress members back then. 2006, the ones that came in when the democrats really took control and then we go further back to some in for a long, long time. watch these 100. all day long and these will tell you what's happening on the house side of the equation. it's very important, kiran. >> also tracking the senate races as you mentioned colorado. another nail biter for senate there. >> absolutely. the senate races are over here on the other wall. this is the one that everybody's going to wonder about. there's very much a sense on the

house side there may be a change happening. the senate not so sure. over there, 39 changes for the republicans to take charge. over here, ten of the state that is are blue have to have a change and they pick up a red for them to take so 39 and 10. some of the races over here watching closely, pennsylvania has been a big stirring point. this is important for the presidential election because it's so important there what happens. so the question will be whether or not pat toomey pulls it out against joe sestak and then over here in colorado which we mentioned before. this is interesting. the district we mentioned before is all up in here. that's an area that can easily end up going the other way. you can see that right now if you look in the senate race now, this is one where you have got michael bennett and ken buck running neck and neck out there. ken buck's had tea party support. see what happens with that. the last one i keep talking about and a lot of us are in nevada. important state.

symbolically, here you have the bitter fight between angle and reid. you were talking about it earlier on. look, if harry reid gets knocked off here, this is the majority leader on the senate side. boy, does that symbolize something for the democrats. i keep saying it comes down to this. 39, 10, november november. 39, 10, nevada. watch those three and that will tell you the story of this race today. >> it is going to -- we might know by the end of today or tomorrow. >> we'll find out. >> it will be interesting to see alaska, as well, with a write-in candidate. that will be the first time since strom thurman did it in 1934. >> that's it. 39, 10, nevada. >> i got it. it's cool technology to see it here and go back in the dates to 2004 and beyond. very interesting stuff. >> oh my gosh. and always look at this. switch over here. we go back and look at the population centers that matter.

las vegas, 68% of the vote. running a state-wide race here, you better do well in las vegas. you have the strong power there for the democrats. we'll see. >> all right. tom foreman, thanks so much. john? republicans hoping in 24 hours' time the house will be their house and that means ohio republican john boehner likely replace nancy pelosi as speaker. how likely is it, candy, going into today and people just beginning to vote but sort of according to the polls nancy pelosi may lose the job? >> it's certainly quite likely. but let me tell you the number of people i have heard of since 9:00 p.m. last night. democrats. seven. you all are underestimating the get out the vote operation. okay. and that may be. i mean, this is sort of a last refuge here. if the turnout machine is not good, democrats don't have much of a chance but they insist they've got in these key races real turnout machines and they

think it will make a difference. they say some of the things you look and they're very close. well, we know that if you eve got a turnout operation, you can tip the vote two, three, four points and what they're clinging to but some races are beyond their reach. it's going to be a republican. we have known that since when? january? we don't know how big of a republican night. >> could this really be considered a referendum on the president? is it an anti-incumbent mood across the country? how would it be viewed? >> listen. is there some anti-incumbency? there is. there's a throw out the bums sort of feel but more bums will be returned than thrown out i can assure you because, you know, by and large, 100 races maybe in the house. a third of the senate. and many of those are already assured. so, you're not looking at that many races that are up. so more incumbents than not will return to capitol hill. and every single election is about the party in power.

yes, it is a referendum on the obama administration and the economy. >> no question a large slice of the electorate is upset at the administration and members of the president's party are, as well. well, there will be pressure on the administration to sort of remake the hierarchy, the structure of the white house to hope for a better couple of years before 2012? >> yes. and there already is the short answer. i think the most pressure is about pivoting and it's not just change, you know, move the deck chairs here. it's about you need to take a different direction. and how do you do that symbolically in you change the folks around you. you know, but it takes presidents a while. a president that likes a people around him. that's where the comfort zone is. all presidents are like this. i don't expect him to come out saying the eight people come in. somebody pointed out the other day when president bill clinton got clocked in the midterms, he

had to come out say i'm still relevant. but it's kind of took him a year to begin that kind of try angulation. >> asked that question, are you still relevant? >> exactly. yes, i'm relevant. >> turned several shades of red, too. thanks so much. >> thanks. after you vote today, turn on cnn, the best political team in television with up to the minute results and analysis of the critical midterm election. live coverage at 7:00 p.m. eastern and stay up all night with cnn. "american morning" bright and early 3:00 a.m. eastern wednesday morning. on television and online. kiran? >> looks like a beautiful day to head out to the polls. rob marciano's in the extreme weather center for us. not much extreme weather today, though, right? >> a couple of spots but you are right. the majority of the u.s. with tranquil, fall weather heading to the polls. you better be. with the exception of southeast

texas and parts of louisiana where it's raining for a good 12 hours in many spots and continues to come down hard. the good news is that this is a huge drought relief. southeast texas, houston notably, less an an inch of rain all of october and received that in the last 12 hours. inch and a half of rain in southwest louisiana. and a lost 24 hours and more coming. it is moving very, very slowly so it will push over toward baton huge and louisiana and the southeast. maybe a sprinkle in atlanta. that's about it. the real rains tomorrow. 62. but down right dry and nippy this morning d.c. to new york city. temperatures struggle to 50 degrees. meanwhile, out in los angeles, 91 degrees a. year without a summer. followed up by a very warm fallen colluding san francisco celebrating 75 degrees expected there and showers in portland but, you know, good 80% of the u.s. enjoying the dry weather so get out there and do your civic

duty. kiran, back up to you. >> can't blame the weatherman today. rob martian yeciano today, than >> thank you. no rain in kentucky. democrat jack conway and tea party favorite rand paul are both vying to become the state's new u.s. senator and rand paul opened up a commanding lead. we'll talk to him live next about what's ahead for the tea party and how he intends to downsize government. plus, the waiting is over. giants brought the first world series title to the bay and we'll show you the celebrations in the streets of san francisco coming up next.

coming up on 13 minutes after the hour. the polls are open in kentucky this morning mr. republican senate candidate rand paul up against democrat jack conway. paul is a tea party favorite that beat the establishment candidate if the primary and joins us live from bowling green, kentucky. rand paul, thank you for being with us. >> good to be with you, john. >> when you look at the public opinion polls going into today, you stand a pretty good chance of becoming the next senator of kentucky. should you prevail today, should you win, when you get to washington, are you going to work to try to change the republican establishment leadership? >> well, what i'm going to work to try to change is the whole government. i think government's broken from top to bottom. and i think both sides, not just

republicans, not just democrats, that both shown themselves to be untrustworthy. what we need to do is balance the budget and i don't think they'll step up and do it unless we force them to do it by law. you know, they tried pay as you go but both sides evaded immediately so i think need a constitutional amendment to balance the budget and then they'd step up and be legislators and decide the priorities of where we spend the money. >> he opposed you but you've become close to senate republican leader mitch mcconnell who is as establishment as they get. when you get to washington, what's that relationship going to be like with mitch mcconnell? are you going to walk in lock step with him? >> i think we'll challenge him day-to-day and areas we agree. the thing is i think most republicans feel like we're spending too much, the deficit's too high but sometimes that when we've gotten in power, we have

gone along and not really stayed the course. i will be one who say to the republicans in my party, we need to stay the course and we need to go aheads and balance our budget. this isn't about individuals or one personality. it is not about me. it's about changing the law. and the law has to be reformed to make them balance the budget. and really, we need to do a lot of structural things. for example, we have bureaucrats now writhing laws. i think we should sunset all regulations unless approved by congress. that doesn't mean we won't have regulations but congress should be approving the regulations and shouldn't have unelected bureaucrats making regulations so i see these at big governmental reform issues aenl not just who's in charge of this or that and i think government's broken and that's why it's out of control. >> on the subject of getting things done, if you look at the projections that a lot of the

political analysis came up with, republicans may take control of congress in today's election which would most likely put john boehner in as the speaker of the house. he has vowed should republicans take the house to dismantle president obama's agenda and that may leave many people wondering, is anything going to get done or is this just a recipe for gridlock in the next two years? >> i think what i'm most concerned with and what we need to do in congress is i'm concerned that we have 10% unemployment. we have a significant recession. probably the worst recession since the great depression and my fear is it's not just president obama's policies, obama care and the new banking regulations, i don't care who proposed them but i think they're a disaster for our economy and i'm fearful that this recession we have may make a second dip because of all the new regulations. really that's my point. i don't care whether president obama proposed the programs or who did but we need to repeal the things preventing us from

getting out of this recession. >> understood but is that going to be a recipe for cooperation or a recipe for gridlock? >> well, i think there'll have to be some cooperation but i think the american people want a debate over this and i think we debate it and decide how do we get out of the recession and the thing is people primarily want results. results would be jobs being formed, get out of this recession. i think you do it by believing in the people, individual entrepreneurs, business men and women and not adding regulation on business. the banking regulation bill is not talked about enough. my biggest fear for getting out of the recession is that all these new regulations are heaped on community banks. what our small businesses in kentucky are telling us is it's difficult to get a loan even when you have a good track record, a good credit record because of all the new regulations. >> not just in kentucky either.

you ran on a platform of down sizing government. should you get to washington, what's the first thing you cut? >> i think the first thing is a rule and that would be a balanced budget amendment and then a compromise. the compromise between republicans and democrats, conservatives and liberals has to be that conservatives have always said we'll cut domestic spending and won't touch military spending. some liberals that believe the deficit is a problem says we'll cut military spending but not domestic spending. you have to look at the length and width and breadth of the budget and say there's waste everywhere. i believe national defense is the most important thing the federal government does and i think there's waste in the military budget and i'll be one of those to reach across the aisle to the democrats and say, we'll tackle waste throughout the length and breadth of the budget but the only compromise to find enough money to balance the budget. >> rand paul, good to see you this morning and we'll be

watching the results there in the important state of kentucky. thank you very much. >> thank you, john. >> kiran? >> john, thanks. we have the best political team on television exploring the gop's next move, how democrats regroup if they lose the house and also looking ahead to 2012 when the white house will be up for grabs. he was stuck underground for 69 days with 32 of his fellow miners. he ran every day. down in the mine shaft. he says to keep his mind sharp and body fit. this morning, rumors swirling that edison pena will accept an invitation to the new york city marathon this weekend. we'll talk about that coming up. 19 minutes past the hour. !e!e!ee

welcome back. 22 minutes past the hour. we have new information on the yemen mail bomb plot. official says that the u.s. intercepted a shipment of packages headed for chicago a few weeks ago and that that indeed may have been a dry run for al qaeda to test this plot.

they were no explosives but the official says terrorists may have been trying to learn about how the shipping system worked. >> they say they can't wait to hear their sons voices again. iran is allowing two jailed hikers to speak to their parents of tn telephone. they have been held for 15 months now. iran claims they wandered over the border and are spies. a third hiker was released in september. the trial was set to begin on saturday. the chilean miner that earned the nickname the runner is set to run again. edison pena will be traveling to new york as a special guest of honor for sunday's race. pena reportedly listened to elvis on the ipod. well, listened to elvis and requested the music sent down and listened to it on the ipod running three to six miles every day to keep fit and to clear his mind. remember, they had an active workout regimen. a doctor above ground was trying to advise them to keep in the

best shape possible. >> can you running three to six miles in a mine every day? >> no. >> my gosh. san francisco giants' fans have been up all night celebrating the bay area. and who could blame them? they're on top of the baseball world. the giants defeated the texas rangers last night to take the world series in five games. the team's first world series title in 56 years. >> all right. congratulations. americans are voting right now in three different -- in several states across the country. in three minutes we'll have the best political team on television with insight, analysis you have come to expect from cnn, exploring the next step for democrats if they lose the house and key races to watch today that could swing the balance of power in this country. we'll take a quick break. 24 minutes past the hour. we asked people all over america where the best potatoes come from. the best potatoes? idaho. idaho! idaho. and how do you know you're getting idaho potatoes?

well...uh... uhm... heh.. (sighs) not all potatoes come from idaho. so if you want the best, you have to do one important thing. always look for the grown in idaho seal. i knew that. i knew that. look for the grown in idaho seal. i just wish that all of the important information was gathered together in one place. [ printer whirs ] done.

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♪ well, the only way the two parties coming together to get out to the polls and try to get the voters out there voting today. 27 minutes past the hour. we have the senate, the house. 37 governor jobs all in play this morning as americans head to the polls. and we have the best political team on television with us right now bringing you the kind of insight and analysis you have come to expect from cnn. we have former white house chief of staff for president bush andy card and kiki charm and core jefferson from the root.com, the washington reporter and "the new york times" national correspondent kate zi herniki and michael scherr.

great to have you all with us this morning. it is almost be careful what you wish for with control of the house. what do you next? >> i think first of all this election is a redundant frustration reaction from the american voters. and the republicans and the tea party activists are going to be the people that bring that frustration to washington and try to address it. i think they understand that they have a responsibility to transfer from being frustrated to being constructive. and they've got to be part of the solution but it can't be a one-way street. it is not just about the republicans a ten tea party you. this is also about the president. the president has to demonstrate he gets the message, heard the phone call and he'll change. and be ready to work with the other side. if he doesn't do it, i think we are in for gridlock. this is 8:00 in the morning, not kl at night. we might be a little ahead of ourselves about what the republicans' plan is for leadership. there's room for people to vote this morning and well they

should. but regardless of who wins at 8:00 tonight when races start getting called, there is a measurement of ending hyper partisanship that must happen. two more years of stall it, to set up for a presidential campaign or to assume a larger majority is complete and utter failure regardless of who's in charge. >> that's right. if candidates think they're content demagoguing the deficit and debt, no. they need to work with it. if they play politics, that's where america gets in serious, long-term problem. >> i think the republicans are of two minds. you have mitch mcconnell saying we want barack obama to be a one-term president. on the other hand, eric cantor looking to be a powerful force in the republican party saying that this weekend in "the wall street journal" he understands the mistakes of the republicans in the past and i think aligning the two and making them work

together is going to be a difficult next move. >> can people agree on the consensus issues? where do we cut the budget? complete repeal of the obama care as tea party people like to call it. i think they would not agree with many republicans about the agenda. >> i just don't see harmony breaking out in washington. the fighting fact -- >> no singing? >> political scene is everybody's underwater. the president, the republican party's worse off than the president. the tea party as bad as the republican party and as soon as this election is over, there's a fight to try to convince the american people that they're the one you should choose. >> i heard a voter refer to it as whoever i vote for, they're still on probation with me but the interesting thing is are they playing politics or stick to the issues? there's different opinions and heard tim caine saying people tout the stimulus and wall street saved from the brink and

the very issues that made the tea party movement rise. >> yeah, but here's this. i spent my career as a press secretary and my best work as the story nobody ever saw. right? the reporters at the end of the day blink twice at me for that. there's a little bit of that going on for president obama and the democrats. some 0of the great stuff is the work that we didn't see. republicans and democrats work together. they agreed it was the right vote to make. the same true with what has to happen today on election day. to move cooperation, people have to stand up and use their voice. that's why you have to stand up today and vote. you have to hold people accountable once they're in office. that's the difference between -- excuse me. that's the one thing consistent between an election and governing, people. not on the backs of the people we elect but the people that vote and elect them have some responsibility in this. >> this is the most exciting day of our democracy. election day. >> it is awesome. >> the people that answered the invitation to run for office are

significant. >> yeah. >> the people that answer the call to vote is exciting. we really should be celebrating that but ultimately after the votes are cast, the government has to work. and it's up to the president to demonstrate that he wants it to work because so far he hasn't been doing that during the course of the campaign. >> well, and too often we forget that it's a preamble to governing and today's the day for everyone to stand up and don't accept word it's over until it's over but begin apply pressure to see solutions coming out of washington. not just more of this, you know, play to the base point. >> when there's not any type of consensus on what the solution is, i think everyone agrees on we need more jobs. right? hiring work again in a way, shape or form but after that, a major difference of opinion that we haven't seen in recent years of what the solutions are. >> absolutely. and i think that, again, as i said earlier, i think that it's going to be up to the republicans to sort of show those solutions. i think that the democrats have

tried to show the solutions an we have seen major obstructionism. the senate has been at a standstill for the past 20 months and i think that's it's going to be incumbent upon the republicans demanding give us the ball, let us run with it, it is up to them to show it. mr. card keeps saying it's going to be up to obama but i think it really lies in the republicans. >> no one will control the senate. someone may control the agenda of the senate but they won't control the votes. >> absolutely. >> so it takes the president to provide the leadership for congress, the house and senate to get things done. >> we have a role in this. the reality is, when lyndon johnson and the famous republican senator of illinois looked at civil rights, they didn't look we're in complete agreement. they had to go to the table and work through it. and they had to have voters who didn't threaten them at the beginning of the process but who said, you know what? go in there and don't come out until we see it. they did it at great political

cost to their careers. they spent their own political capital to make that happen so when i look up abe say voter haves to own this thing. the dnc did a ton of work to get the vote out and i'll sure republicans will demonstrate what they have done to get it out but we have to say when graham and kerry try to figure out climate change, stay in the room. don't walk out. work through it. >> i think what you will see after the election is the white house pivoting to the theatrics of the republican party meeting with the president. working together. and the question is, on the big things not going to agree and it's not just going to happen. on smaller things like can you have a piecemeal energy bill and something the white house is thinking of and taking out a carbon tax the republicans could support and working on a stimulus, tax heavy to get the economy going, that's where the rubber meet it is road. >> all right. thanks to all of you for your insight.

let's go over to john. >> thanks very much. one of the big races we are watching is in the state of alaska. polls open in about two and a half hours' time. people choosing a new senator joe miller up against lisa murkowski that launched a write-in campaign and scott mcadams the democrat in the race. cnn's drew griffin is live for us in anchorage. i don't know if you're up early or late but looking wintry there. a lot of people have their eye on alaska this time around. >> reporter: that's right. and it's interesting coming off that conversation that kiran was just having because, really, john, in this state right now, it looks to be a battle between the republican party itself. a lot of conflicting polls over the weekend and just yesterday, too, but it looks like if you look at all these different polls, coming down to a difference between the tea party candidate joe miller backed by sarah palin and on the ballot

versus lisa murkowski, the sitting republican senator who's trying to stage this write-in campaign. it's a rematch of their primary battle which lisa murkowski lost. a lot of it, of course, will come down to turnout. the turnout i can tell you has already been high here in the state of alaska. more than 17,000 people casting their votes early. that's twice as many as who voted early in 2006. the last time that there was a non-presidential election here. so, it is a tight, tight race between these two candidates, scott mcadams, the democrat, he has told me over the weekend he's surging in his own polls but only his own polls showing that and it does look like, john, a showdown between the old republican guard and the tea party candidate here in alaska. >> lisa murkowski in recent days defending the fact she is a republican. why does she feel the need to do that?

>> based on an interview she gave cnn, she gave me over the weekend. i asked her, senator murkowski, should you go back to washington? should you go back to the senate? are you going to go back as a republican? her answer was, i feel very liberated not running as a republican in this race. and i'm going to go back representing the people of alaska. well, that was jumped upon by her opponent joe miller who said that, you know, that just shows you she might vote with the democrats. she said, no, no, no. i'm conservative, i'm a republican. that was an interesting turn. >> it is going to be an interesting race there in a long, long day in alaska. maybe some days to come. drew, didn't mom ever tell you to wear a hat out in a snowstorm? >> reporter: not on tv, john. come on. i can't wear a hat. i have beautiful hair. >> drew griffin for us this morning in anchor raj, thanks so much. what's the most important issue facing the country? we asked, you answered.

the economy. which political party can best tackle it? christine romans breaks down the tough questions with a fascinating demonstration here in the election center. plus, "american idol" known for drawing votes, perhaps that's why president obama is doing an interview with "idol" host ryan seacrest. we have a live report from the white house. [ j. weissman ] it was 1975. my professor at berkeley asked me if i wanted to change the world. i said "sure." "well, let's grow some algae." and that's what started it. exxonmobil and synthetic genomics have built a new facility to identify the most productive strains of algae. algae are amazing little critters. they secrete oil, which we could turn into biofuels. they also absorb co2. we're hoping to supplement the fuels that we use in our vehicles, and to do this at a large enough scale to someday help meet the world's energy demands.

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♪ 40 minutes past the hour right now. far and away the economy is issue number one. no surprise with unemployment at 9.6%. christine romans joining us with more. good morning, christine. >> a long time ago it's been in the 4%. 9.6% is why you're seeing the economy at the top issue here for this election. we asked people, what are the top issues facing you? 52% said the economy. if you guys look at this visual representation, you can see nothing else comes close. health care at 8%. you are hearing about that on the campaign trail and something firing up the tea party candidates but 8% of the number one problem for people that we polled. the economy overall still number one here. now, we also asked people how things have been going.

how well are things going in the economy? they told us 25% of them said things are going well. that's a low number overall. compare it to other midterm election years and you can see how that pans out. you have best comparison back to 1982 when 40% said things were going well. that is 1982 a time with 10.4% unemployment and reagan's party in power, republicans lost 26 seats in that midterm election. with 40% of the people saying it's going well, it's a that lacking and what republicans are watching. >> interesting thing is many historians said the difference is not as much dissatisfaction with the party out of power, as well. in some cases a race for who's most unpopular. >> people telling me it's a vote against the economy, not a vote for or against a kand date is what you're seeing in the polling place. and then one last one here. how well they can handle the economy, the different parties. take a look at this. looks as though 57% are

confident in republican party's ability to handle the economy. 45% are confident of democrats' ability to handle the economy and thinking coming in here using these gadgets so awesome. kiran, we'll use this all day today. ali velshi using it today and tonight. i'll use it in the wee hours of the morning back for "american morning" to see what people did, not necessarily just what they were saying in the months and weeks ahead of election. >> it will be fascinating. places where unemployment's in more than double digits like the state of nevada. >> 14.4%. a big issue for anybody, somebody there knows somebody who's lost a job and what they're concerned about. >> thanks so much. most of the country dry for election day. not so, though, for parts of the south, especially parts of texas, we're getting the latest from rob marciano tracking stormy weather for us next. [ female announcer ] the healing power of touch

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♪ check the legal y'all. >>offer applies with enrollment in triple advantage.® ah, yes, the waiting is always the hardest part and can't wait until the election results come in. are we getting ahead of ourselves or what? cloudy, 39 degrees. partly cloudy, 55. we have got a whole day of

voting ahead of us before we get to the results. >> that's right. >> that's what it's all about. >> absolutely. and balance of power could change in the beautiful building. perfect day weatherwise for most of the country to get out there and vote on this election day. rob marciano joins us from atlanta. some parts of the south, texas, rained on but free and clear most other places. >> big cities, north especially, chicago 37, new york. warming up and a chilly start to the day. no rain expected for the most part across the northeastern -- well, pretty much across the entire northeastern third. southeastern third, not so much. new orleans back through houston, heavy rain falling here. houston under an extreme drought as well as parts of louisiana and helping. moving out of the houston area, beaumont, jennings, louisiana, the red stick, as well, this will be coming down heavy at times. already an inch and a half of

rain across lake charles with more on the way. here you go. slow mover right here. but everywhere else with the exception of the northwest, a couple of showers, we should be okay. warm in some cases record breaking in parts of southern california. at least 86. some parts easily get into the 90s. 53 degrees expected in new york city. want to give you an update of tropical storm to mass. 50-mile-a-hour winds and forecast is still to turn it north as a hurricane. as we get closer to the weekend. eastern cuba, jamaica and the island of hispaniola including haiti could be under the guns, at least feeling the affects. and heavy rainfall is all they need to make things worse as that nation continues to recover. today, by the way, is the tenth anniversary of the international space station. ten years ago, residents started to arrive there. flies at 17,000 miles an hour. 220 miles up.

yeah. space shuttle guys launch tomorrow at 3:50 in the afternoon. right now, it is about 70% chance to be a go for this thing as far as the weather's concerned. beautiful shot there. of the space shuttle set to launch tomorrow afternoon. john and kiran, back up to you. >> final ride? >> no. i think there's one, maybe two more. for "discovery," yes. retiring it and use it for spare parts. >> spare parts for what? >> next couple of months. >> thanks, rob. >> see you, guys. voters may hear president obama on the radio driving to the polls. mr. obama sat down with "american idol" host ryan seacrest and other radio hosts in a media blitz. we have a live report from the white house. great! at progress, you can compare rates side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. wow! that is huge!

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♪ election coverage before.

who could forget the decision of "american idol"? ryan seacrest is interviewing president obama. he's continuing the last-minute bid to reach out to younger voters today hitting very targeted audiences. dan lothian live at the white house this morning, and this is a move that we haven't seen before from a sitting president but shows just how important the democratic party thinks it is to try to get those young voters who aren't so motivated right now out to the polls. >> reporter: that's right. robert gibbs last week asked about this. any police the president wouldn't go to push for votes? he said the traditional ways that most presidents reached out to americans no longer hold true because the marketplace is so fractured. most people aren't watching the nightly newscast like in the past. some people get their news online and younger voters, of course, splintered all over the place. reaching out to voters who helped the president get in power in 2008 and the democrats and as you pointed out on the

morning show with ryan seacrest, of course, the host of "american idol," he was also on the tom joyner morning show, taped yesterday. an urban, friendly audience but the president was imploring the listeners to get out and vote. if they've voted already, to encourage family members, friends and co-workers to also get out and vote. and the president laid out in very clear terms what's at stake here. >> the fact of the matter is even though my name is not on the ballot, you know, viability, work on behalf of middle class families is going to be hampered if i don't have people in congress who want to cooperate. and frankly, the other side, what they have said is their whole agenda is to spend the next two years trying to defeat me. as opposed to trying to move the country forward. >> reporter: tom joyner said

that his listeners really supported the president. the president said the biggest thanks anyone can give me is to go to the polls. in addition to the shows taped yesterday, he's also doing live radio today in key states like california, nevada, florida and illinois. john? >> dan, is the president also using these interviews to clarify certain language that he used in describing the loyal opposition? >> reporter: that's right. he did that yesterday where he referred to republicans last week in a radio interview, he referred to republicans as enemies. the context of this is that the president was talking about latino voters who some of them may be thinking about staying away from the polls because they're not happy with the progress the administration or lack thereof on immigration reform so the president was saying that the way to punish, quote, punish our enemies is to go and vote. well, yesterday the president was walking that back sayinging it was the wrong word choice and

instead of word enemies he should have referred to republicans as opponents but republicans jumped on this right away. john boehner saying that the people the president was referring to as enemies are patriots that care about america. john? >> right word, wrong word. >> reporter: that's right. >> i guess it was the wrong one. dan lothian this morning, thanks so much. it is now -- oh, about four minutes to the top of the hour. we'll be right back. ♪

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♪ all right. polls open in florida for nearly two hours. they're choosing a senator in the three-way race. tea party backed marco rubio just cast the vote in west miami. there he is at the polling station shaking hands. giving a thumb's up. heading out. up against governor charlie crist and kendrick meek. we are covering the midterm elections like no other network can. after you vote, turn on cnn as the best political team on television brings you analysis