thank you, everybody. thank you. >> that wraps up president trump's signing of veterans heah careegislation. we'll have more from the white house coming up in about 13 minutes with a briefing on the upcoming g7 meeting. larry kudlow will talk with

reporters, and we'll have that for you live when it starts. it is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. eastern, unless there's a change, which w let you know about. in the meantime, we'll have live coverage here on c-span3. until we wait for tha more from this morning's "washington jourl." >> she serves as a reporter and analyst. good morning. >> good morning. >> on the overall scheme of things, looking at what happened yesterday, what does it tell us or at least suggt about november? >> starting with california as probably the bit race of the evening, we now know that there's going to be a republican at the top of the ballot in the governor's race in california. that's important not becase we ct republican to win. i think we can expect gavin n newsome, the lieutenant governor, to pull that through in november. but it affects turnout down the ballot when you have a republican at the top. >> so a little more about the republican, john cox. tell us about him.

>> he has support from president trump who has tweeted about him several times in the last couple weeks, which is important because the president is basically tweeting about somebody who probably won't win in november, and that shows you how important that is to the turnou down ballot. he's not originally from california. he's a real estate investigator. and he's a little further right than we'd imagine the state of california to be at this moment in time. >> according to "the los ans times," 706,000 votes, 26% of total votes is what he got compared to gavin newsom. >> exactly. that kind of tells you what you need to know about what's going to happen in november. if you look at those numbers also in the senate race, diane feinstein is going to be -- s won the most votes in a top two

primary in california. so we expect her to go on and have a relatively successful run in novemr as well justbe she did so much bettethan her democratic opponent, the state senator from california. so there will be two democrats at the top of the ballot in this senate as well. we know that the next senator from california will be a democrat, but it is important that you have two democrats at the top of the ballot of a senate race that could also affect turnout for house races, which will determine the majority. >> we'll continue on with california and other politics from yesterday's primaries, but if you want to ask our guest questions on not only what happened in these tates, 202-748-8001 for republicans. 202-7488002 for democrats. you may want to explain how california does its election system, particularly this top two idea.

explain that. >> exactly. so it's not like most states where you have your democratic nominee and your republican nomin nominee on two separate ballots. it's whoever gets the most votes, the top two vote getts in adirict or in a district or race are the ones who progress to the november election. which creates a kind of tricky dynamic because that means that you can end up with two democrats or two repns at the top of the ballot, which is something that especially democrats were concerned about this cycle. there are seven really competitive seats in californi where republicans are representing seats that hillary clinton carried in 2016. and there are a few where it looked possible that democrats would be completely lockedout. it's looking less likely this morning. votes are still being counted. last i checked, in the tenth district, which is not something that was totally expected, a candidate who was kind of under

the radar seems to -- a republican might make it to the top two against jeff denham, republican incumbent, but again, it's looking less likely, and democrats avoided a bit of a disaster there because orange county seats and california republicans, those takeover opportunities are so key to the democratic majority come november. >> we didn't focus on it a lot, but lieutenant governor gavin newsom noat the top of the ticket, looks or the democrats whenit comes to the governors' race. tell us, how does he compare to jerry brown, the current governor? >> so, gavin newsom has been around democratic politics in california for a while. lieutenant governor, former mayor of san francisco. it's no surprise that he's decided to run for this seat. he's been raising money for quite a while now. and he's been leading the polls. so, there was some -- there was a chance that the mayor of los angeles, democrat, would end up

being the second most -- would get the second most votes in last night's -- >> antonio villaraigosa. >> exactly, and tt didot end up happening, so it looks like gavin newsom is going to be facing the republican. >> and to the senate race, just to focus on that little bit. you mentioned itwa senator dianne feinstein handily beating kevin de leon, but going into it, there were questions aut how wel sdo. what were the questions surrounding that? w'sunfr so kevin de leon is a the left. i mean, dianne feinstein has created kind of what's perceived as arettyerate democratic record, and there is a lot of naldressive energy following mp win lastye, also following bernie sanders' performance in the democratic presidential primary, so there was a lot of talk about whether or not we'd see this insurgencet you'd see in, you know, the tea party a few cycles back.

but we're just not seeing evidence of that this cycle. there is not enough money on that kind of far left kind of candidates, and it's just unclear if those kind of insurgent left candidates are going to make a difference here. >> just to give you a sense of the numbers, 1,048,000-plus votes for dianne feinstein, 284,158 for kevin de leon. >> right, and you'll hear that voters are looking for a sense of stability. feinstein has been there sin the 1990s, and especially in a prey volatile political climate, she's kinof the candidate that a lot of votersa >> n only in california, but these other primaries, was this about politics when it comes to issues or was this about politics when it comes to president trump? >> so, i would argue more on the side of president trump at this point, in these elections.so, w path thef democrati

majority, are a bunch of districts that demographically, based on recent voting history, should be trending in the democratic zone. and so, you would think that especially given enthusiasm from president trump's win, enthusiasm from the left, that you would see kind of an raion but you do have a lot of really strong republican incumbents coming into these races, nene walters and a few others. i mean, in colorado, we have, you know, kaufman. there are just so many who have had difficult races before and are prepared for the challenge of a lifetime. so, i think it's a combination of kind of making sure voters know that you are separate from the president, that you are your ownerho's parate fm party. >> we'll talk about other races. we started with california. our first call from california, robert from marina del rey, republican line. you're on with our guest. go ahead. >> caller: yeah, i wanted to

make a couple of comments. first was, i think it's a good sign for the republicans that cox finished second. it will help those house seats where the democrats are doubling down on picking up congressiona county. the republicans were also able to recall the state senator, knight, in orange county, which is another good sign for the republicans. the other comment, i'm curious as to what will happen with de leon polling so badly but finishing second, regardless. will he pull out of the race and endorse feinstein, or would he continue as the second-place finisher? >> leah askanam. >> so, your first point about finishing, about john cox finishing second and that helping turnout down ballot, that's basically the reason why t' not necessarily because john cox is going to be the next

governor from california, but rather, because in a race where, especially in orange county, these races could be determined by a couple thousan votes, maybe even less than that. so, if you have somebody at the top of the ballot churning out at least some enthusiasm, who's paying for ads to turn out republicans, that's a big deal for congressmen further down th. as for de leon pulling out of the race, i mean, i haven't heard any reporting that would suggest he would do that. a lot of these candidates, especially if you look in, for example, the new york governors' race with cynthia kaufman -- i'm sorry, yeah -- >> cynthia nixon. >> cynthia nixon. thank you. a lot of it is about pushing policy to the left by being a stae in those races. so, by just participating, by paying for ads, by being in debates, you dome influence over the way policy

plays out, because voters' preferences will change accordingly. >> is it possible that mr. de leon might end up endorsing senator feinstein in the end? >> i mean, i wouldn't rule anything out, but i hen heard any reporting that would suggest that. >> 202-748-8000, 8001 and 8002. for republicans, james. you're on the line. >> caller: with the state of california having such a large amount of illegals in the state and illegals now being able to have driver's licenses, how does the state of california verify that everyone thatotes eligible and legal to vote? how do you do that in the state of california? >> well, i think one of the issues that you're pointing to is -- i mean, especially in california, the idea of illegal immigration and i.c.e. and the rder wall, these are all really prominent issues there, and it affects a lot of people

personally. you'll see reporting about families feeling personally that they are at risk of being deported. and so, that is something where you can see that as a motating factor for people to get out and vot it's unclear kind of how that will affect turnout, which i think is part of your question. but i do think it's important to kind of draw attention to the fact that immigration and deportations and i.c.e. are all major issues in california this cycle. >> there was also a story from "the hill" reporting, the "los angeles times" saying 2.3% of registered voters in los angeles county, 118,000-plus, were missing on the list for tuesday's primaries. >> right. i mean, we still have a lot of, kind of -- things are still early in california right now, so i think we need to follow up on that as more votes come in. >> from placenta, california,

susan on our republican line. good morning. you're next. >> caller: yes, i'm going to change my thing a little bit my son and two others were one of those people when we went to vote yesterday, two other republicans and my son did not have their names on the ballot -- on the register. they had to get a provisional vote. and also, i'm glad we have cox in there. and i am a strong, strong republican, and it's not that the republicans are against immigration. we are against illegal immigration. and we are f the law. >> so, leah askarinam, homuch did immigration play into these elections, whether it be john cox's positioning or others? how much did it play into it? >> so, as i mentioned bere, in california, immigration is a big deal, especially with a growing hispanic population and with the president's comments on a border

wall and just immigration policy in general. what you're seeing across the country, though, is democrats kind of taking viety of positions on immigration. i spoke with one democrat a ceethe border orange county tricts, i spoke with a republican who said that messaging the way trump has been -- the words he has been using has been what's turning off voters and that his policies themlves an't the problem. it's more the term, border wall. so, i thinke seeing a lot of wrestling on both sides of the aisle, republicans trying to figure out how best to message something -- how to message a policy about immigration, whereas democrats are trying to figure out what their policy is across the board. >> let's turn to the senate race in montana. tell us what was at play yesterday. >> so, jon tester is going to be running. he's the democrat running in a state that president trump

carried in 2016. it's going to be a tough race for him, and now we know he'll be facing state auditora rosendale. he has support from club for gr, omenator ted cruz. but he was in a pretty competitive primary. we didn't know the results until late last night, early this morning, against a district judge inmontana. and that's going to be one of the key races starting in november that we'll all be paying attention to. there are ten states where democratic incumbents are seeking re-election that trump carried in 2016. that's one of those. and all of those states are going to be seeing democrats with pretty populist messages, saying that they will protect the state interests from the federal government and from kind of outside forces. and so, we're going to start seeing those messages, and a pretty conservative one from matt rosendale, prettyn. >> so, about senator tester, why is he not doing so well? >> so, i wouldn't say he's necessarily not doing very well,

but the national environment is not on his side, the same way it's not on heidi heitkamp's side in north dakota or on manchin's side in west virginia. there is just a lot of -- in order for these democratic incumbents to get re-elected, they need to have trump supporters vote for a democrat on their 2018 ballot, and that's something that's hard to do. that said, a lot of these cuens have done this before. they've outperformed barack obama in previous elections, and so, they have to basically tell voters, hey, i'm the same person i was 6, 12 years ago, even though the national environment has changed. >> tell us about matt rosendale. >> he is the state auditor who actually lost the primary for the open seat in montana a couple cycles back. he's going to kind of stake his ground as the conservative in the race. he'll probably bring in some

pretty high-profile figures -- rand paul, ted cruz. he'll have funding from club for growth, so you can imagine if you litanain for a lot of candidates, but especially rosendale. >> will he have support directly from president trump or one of his ser gaturrogates? >> i'm sure he will. president trump has been very vocal that he will be getting involved in the general elections, and there's no reason why trump wouldn't support rosendale in particular. >> let's go to baltimore, maryland. john, you're next. >> caller: hi. shawn? >> go ahead. youn. call: a previous caller had asked about what's california doing to ensure illegals are not able to vote when they have driver's license, and you completely deflected. so, i'd like the actual answer. >> so, i mean, if you're going to talk about the actual policy of who's allowed to go to the voting booth, i mean, that's

probably not -- you're probably going to want to talk to an expert on that. what i can tell you is that based on the research, there's not a lot ev that people who are t documented or people who are not allowed to vote have been voting in these elections. it's obviously a concern that the president has brought up several times and that people across the country have been bringing up, but there's just not evidence of that at this point. >> one other senate race to look at, that in new jersey, only because senator bob menendez was at the center because of his experiences before and the controversy surrounding him. tell us about, remind our viewers, what surrounded him? how did he do? >> yeah, so, bob menendez was trialcently for bribery, and it ended up being a mistrial. so, it's hard -- it's not great about you're running for office and you're facing charges for something, especially something like bribery. so, menendez was runng against a candidate who actually had

very little campaign structure, very little name i.d., somebody an fec report and only got 60% of the vote at the end. so, usually, if you win aprimare would kind of -- we wouldn't notice. if you erunninga big deal. somebody who has absolutely no campaign structure, what that tells you is that voters likely went to the voting booths and just picked the democrat who wasn't bob menendez, and that's what we saw happen last night. >> what s do you get that senator menendez is trying to at least change the script, so to speak, about what happened to him, particularly as you go to a general election? >> yeah, so, menendez has been very clear thathe does not that the charges were fair, and he's been very clear that he wants to remain public, active in public office. so, i think we're going to see him continue to stay strong, but you also have a ptty strong machine in new jersey, so if there's any chance that a demoatould not win that

senate race, i'm sure there woule a replacement somehow pulled out so that democrats could keep that seat in november. >> so, the republican that's running, that will eventually run against bob menendez, how much ofachinedoes he have? you talked about a structure, but not a great one -- >> so, that's the democrat running against benendez. so, the republican is -- i mean, just does not have the funding to get it done. so, a republican is -- i mean, unless something drastic changes in the next few months, a republican is not going to win the senate seat in new jersey. what it does tell you is that if bob menendez does win, peopl en'toing to be that excited ut >> again, our guest, leah askarinam of inside elections, a reporter and analyst here to break down some of the primary elections that took place yesterday, eight overall. we'll look at some other states as we go along. here's a map of some of the states that took place yesterday. if you want to ask our questions about what happened in specific states or the larger political aspects at play, 202-748-8001

for republicans, 202-748-8000 for democrats, independents 2048a little bit about insde elections. wh i>> so, we rate and analyze a gubernatorial elections. and you can take a look at our ratings at insideelections.com. we meet with candidates and experts and try to get a sense of how these individual districts and states are trending and what that means for november. goorracelked about lifo let's fcu on new mexico a bit, what will happen and the key players there. >> so, the republican is termire which there's an open seat. two congressmen from new mexico will be running, steve pearce and michelle lieu hann grisham. and looks like considering hillary clinton's performance in the state in 2016, the democrat will come in with an advantage.

i think we can expect that a woman will be holding that governorship, which is a big deal because there are so few women governors, but there will be money spent there by the republican as well. re, because one of the he house questionwill if the house mai likelihood? >> so, i don't know how much yesterday really changed the dynamic for november. i think we know the house is still in play. california could have changed things if democrats had been blocked off the ballot in those top two primaries, but they weren't. in new jersey, one of the picks for the republican opseat, e lonegan, a republican who's run for office before, who has carried the district he's running in before, did not win his primary nomination, so i'll definitely be re-evaluating that and seeing what the kind of unexpected republican who won, john mccann, how he could fair

in that election but his funding didn't indicate he could run as strong of an election as steve lo>>n. couploeraces, a lot of them in california by virtue of the size of the state. ed royce is retiring in california 39. it's an open seat. what happened? >> so, yung kim used to work with ed royce, former assemblywoman, and she will be the republican nominee there, and it looks like she'll be facing gill cisneros, a democrat who the cc in washington, d.c., is really excited about. he's hispanic. he won the lottery, so he has money for his own campaign. so, when you're looking for a candidate who you know can kind ofa his or her own, that's an example, having won the lottery. and so, that's going to be one that we're definitely watching. it's a seat that hillary clinton carri carried. ed royce was a strong incumbent, and not having that incumbent advantage there could really hurt democrats. that said, ed royce hasotten

behind yung kim. she's won an election before, but not whe president trump was also on the ballot. >> lhe ra as a toss-up in california, darrell issa, cif >>atnother one of the republican women, diane harkey, board of equalization member in california, is going to be running as the republican candidate there. last ichecked, there were a few different democrats who are kind of neck and neck w other, i'mot sure which of those will end up getting the ere wi a republican does look e and a democrat race, which was unclear 24 hours ago, so that's good news for democrats. >> a toss-up race there in california 49. another cifornia calling this morning, this one fr a go a hhead. hi, everybody. i'm larry kudlow. so, some brief stuff on the g7 eting in charlevoix. my high school