slandering and not stopping that madness and finding ways to bring people together to work together to find solutions. we've had enough of that in washington. his book tells you that. the title of it is "the case for polarized politics." we don't need more gridlock in washington. we need to work together and solve our problems. >> polarization is sometimes a public service because it enables voters to see the difference between two points of view. that's the sense in which i think polarization is sometimes good. >> let's go on to jonathan tamari for mr. bell. >> let's go on to jonathan tamari for mr. bell. >> governor christie said he's tired of hearing about the minimum wage and later said the focus should be on creating better and higher paying jobs. democrats have been saying they want to give a raise to 3.3 million people who earn the minimum wage or less. n the the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2009. should it be increased? >> it's a bad time to do that because the openings are so limited.

the young people here, particularly high school graduates, will be priced out of that market. just the other day, i read about mcdonald's which is having a significant decline in profitability because of the prospective minimum wage increase will go to technology to replace low wage workers. that's counterproductive in a very, very difficult job market. >> mr. booker. >> my opponent says a bad time to do what's right. i've talked to people in our state and i've heard from them. heard from a guy who lost his job, had a good minimum wage job, lost -- lost his job and now is working -- you had a good job and now lost the job working for a minimum wage job trying to support his family. it's a good time for him to raise the minimum wage now. talk to people at county college who are trying to go to school, work a full-time job and making the minimum wage and they can barely afford to make ends meet because they work a full-time job and are still under the poverty line. it's a good time to do it for that person. and what about that single mom

who's working double shifts because in new jersey, when you work a full-time job, at the minimum wage, it in no way is enough to meet the minimum basic needs of her family. it is a good time to raise the minimum wage. we are america. nobody should work full-time and find themselves under the poverty line, having to go to food banks and rely on public assistance just to make ends meet. it is a good time to do the right thing. in fact, it always is. >> that is typical of why we have a jobless recovery. the minimum wage, even if you like it, is redistribution. it takes money from one sector and gives it to another. it has nothing whatsoever to do with fixing the economy and creating new jobs. >> let's look at some statistics as long as we're talking about jobs. the jobless rate in new jersey is 6.5%. which is .6% higher than the national average. but newark's jobless rate is 1.3%, camden's is 14.3%.

and i think most experts, and you probably would agree, to say that the jobless rates are really much higher than that because of all the people who have stopped looking for work. economic recovery or not, jobs tops the list of most voters' lists of concerns. what kind of program would you support or for that matter create to bring jobs to new ersey? >> well, it's not what i would do but what i've been doing for last 11 months is working hard on that fundamental idea. is how do we get people back to work in new jersey? that's why i fought to support our community colleges with programs now bringing back millions of dollars to link them actually to industry and to jobs that exist. when i go around and talk to manufacturers, and other businesses here, one of the biggest things they tell me is hey, we don't have link -- links to qualified leadership. we need everything from machinists to other technical positions. and so bringing back resources to train our workers for today's jobs is so important. i've talked to businesses that sate biggest inhibitor to growth for them is often access to capital or making that happen.

i've talked to some of our major industries and they say one of the biggest problems we have is a tax rate that's not low and fair and puts them on competitive footing. and i've been working with others across the aisle to lower our corporate tax rate. and finally, we've been doing everything possible to make sure that we have a fair economic policy in this state. that means that a woman that works a full-time job and does a same job as a man gets the same way. these are things that would help drive our economy because when consumers have resources, we can grow our demand and grow our middle class from -- grow our economy from the middle class out. >> mr. bell. >> everything that was just mentioned involves an expansion of government programs. some of them may be good programs. but we've had six years of trying to stimulate the economy from 2008 to 2014 by increased spending, printing more money, the economy hasn't been stimulated. we don't have as many full-time jobs today as we had at the end of the recession. there's a few more part-time

jobs. this is not growth. this is not stimulus. it is failed. and he agrees with president obama's approach. spend more government money and print more money to fund that spending. and it hasn't worked. and if you want to try something different then you're going to have to vote for me. >> are you saying that we are not in the midst of an economic recovery? >> it's a jobless recovery. the g.d.p. has gone up lambert -- a little bit but it's the weakest recovery in american history, and the reason is that the small business hasn't been able to expand because of the federal reserve's zero interest rate policy which is going on for six years in which president obama wants tocontinue indefinitely along with the fed chairman. that is the single biggest reason why small business can't expand. the banks, the little banks that normally lend to them are on the sidelines because they can't make any money, even with a good loan. >> and my next question is for mr. bell. and piggybacking on jim's

question about jobs i want to turn our attention now to atlantic city. we know that a third of the casinos there have closed. many of them are nearly bankrupt. nearly 8,000 jobs have been lost. what will you do to create more jobs in southern new jersey and to make sure atlantic city thrives once again? >> the first thing we have to do is stop the hemorrhaging and i'm totally opposed to the idea of having a casino in northern new jersey. having another casino or a set of casinos will solve no problems and it will make everything in atlantic city worse. we need to have atlantic city remain at least for the state of new jersey a destination. that's why i don't favor sports gambling on the internet. if we're going to have sports gambling, if it's upheld in the courts it should be only in atlantic city and perhaps a few racetracks. we have to stop the hemorrhaging. i was in atlantic city two days ago at a forum that senator ooker chose not to attend. and the whole idea of starting businesses and diversifying,

there's a cup put on top of that, a cap that says you can't start a business without enormous problems of regulation, taxation, permits, and you can't get the bank loans, the lines of credit needed, especially for a new business. that's the first thing we have to solve. atlantic city and the rest of new jersey are suffering heavily from a national problem. >> mr. booker, what will you do to create more jobs? >> thank you. and i disagree with my opponent and the first thing we need to do is stop the hemorrhaging by opposing a casino in the north that's past discussion tages. help the people in atlantic city. months and months before the casino closes i sat down with the republican mayor of that town, born in the federal department of labor and others to say if these casinos should close let's be proactive. and make sure that we get grants to help those folks to bridge and train to other jobs. let's make sure we help our veterans that are involved in some of these layoffs. to get those special programs that veterans can get. you see, my opponent says he opposes federal government intervention. well, if that's the case, why is

he going to washington? i'm going to washington to bring back resources to help people like the folks in atlantic city. and i believe that some of the things that can help them are us investing in infrastructure again. that's why i support improvements to the atlantic city airport that will bring people there and make it more easily for people to travel. i've worked with republican governor christie on this. as well as the airlines. i believe in doing things for south jersey like expanding patco, light rail that will bring lots of business and economic growth. it's smart strategic solution that is always begin with first and foremost having a senator that's going to be there for people in trouble. >> it may be in the discussion phase, and only in the discussion phase, but will you support a casino in north jersey? >> under no condition will i support a casino in northern new jersey if it will undermines or hurts atlantic city. >> that's a subjective -- >> no. >> judgment. >> the reason i say it's not a judgment is there are some people that saying that atlantic city could share in some of that revenue. so before i make a universal

deck will racial against somethingthe key thing here is to help atlantic city. that city is a great new jersey city. >> one more time. will you support a casino in north jersey? >> i will not support a casino in northern new jersey if it hurts atlantic city period. >> do you support legalized sports gambling in new jersey? >> i'm with the governor on this. right now, it helps to bring revenue in the state. this is an illegal activity that's been going on for a long time. let's regulate it, tax it, and get the benefit here in new jersey. >> mariela saigado, a question for mr. booker. >> going back to immigration new york city announced a municipal i.d. card for undocumented residents, to bring them out of the shadows so they have a better relationship with police and they get some small benefits from the city. would you support a single federal i.d. card system for undocumented families? >> i do not like the idea of a universal i.d. card. the social security card is close to being that. but i think it's making a big mistake to go in that direction.

especially with the surveillance issues that we've had during the obama administration and earlier. i do think that that is an illustration of why we need to attack the whole problem at once. comprehensive immigration reform. that erects a legal system to replace the illegal system and the mess that we have now is the only way. those little steps like new york city, i wouldn't necessarily repeal it. but it isn't the answer. the answer has to be negotiation between republicans and democrats in a serious effort to achieve comprehensive immigration reform in the next congress. >> mr. booker. >> right now, we've driven undocumented immigrants into the shadows. and it hurts actually american citizens. i've talked to mayors from patterson to camden that have stories about immigrants being victimized by crime because criminals think let's prey on those people. because they're not going to go to the police and report it. we need to have a system that brings folks out of the shadows. that we know who they are. and can work with them on a pathway to citizenship. right now the system we have is

unacceptable. and so we need a comprehensive plan to do that. and in order to do that, that plan is going to have to come from washington, d.c. and voters are going to have to make a choice. who can best actually get into the trenches and negotiate and bring people together to bring about that kind of solution? with the tea party has proven time and time again that they are a block toward broad based coalitions for change. my tea party candidate, would make what's wrong with washington worse. i'm going down there to work with my colleagues to find a real solution that -- >> i thought all we needed was an executive order, sir. >> you don't have to interrupt me when i'm talking. we have to make sure that we have civility back in washington. not the kind of aggressive tea party attacks that we're seeing from my opponent. >> do you support giving them driver's licenses like other states have? >> i would support first and foremost finding a comprehensive system to doing this reform and i think we're on the verge of doing that if we can get the tea party in the house to step down. >> the executive order is what he said is his solution. yes, it is a solution that comes out of washington. but it's something that will

completely foul the move for getting this program, this problem out of the way. with a comprehensive solution. i'm a negotiator and worked with liberal democrats to try to achieve immigration reform in the bush years. we failed but it was a major good faith effort. he agrees with president obama that no negotiations are needed. just issue an executive order. that's not my idea of bipartisanship. >> let's move on. >> we have the next question that comes from matt friedman and it is for mr. bell. >> mr. bell, you've spoken out against guy marriage. -- gay marriage. we've had it for a year now. legal in new jersey. and it's about to be legal or is legal in the majority of states now. do you believe that any harm has come from this? and even though you do support a federal amendment to define arriage as between a man and a woman, do you think that gay marriage's expansion and universality in this country is inevitable given the way the political winds are blowing? >> i don't think anything is inevitable. in a democracy you have to have a debate.

new jersey denied that debate. because supreme court judges said this is a civil right, the founders wrote it into the constitution in 1789. that's a ridiculous thing to say. but even aside from that, i think it's -- if you're going to have social change, it's much better to debate it out and have an honest debate and have a vote on it. which governor christie favored. but he was overruled. every new gay marriage state has been imposed by either state or federal judges. i think that is one of the most unhealthy things i can imagine. and it sets up a repeat of roe v. wade which expanded the abortion issue, prolonged it for over 40 years. t's a terrible idea. and i've been very honest in saying that i believe it's a self-evident truth that marriage includes a husband and a wife. and that's my position. but even worse is the idea of imposing this by unelected judges.

>> but do you believe any harm has come out of it now that we've had at least a year -- >> taking the word husband out of the legal definition of marriage is a terrible mistake. especially at a time when we know that intact families, a mother, and a father and kids, that is the greatest income program there is. and it's the greatest anti-welfare program there is. it works. and taking the word husband out is going to just increase the breakup of the traditional family. >> my opponent clearly has different views, not only than me but the majority of new jerseyians. he wants to take us backwards to a time before roe v. wade and take away a woman's right to make her own medical decisions. he wants to take away the right for two people who love each other to get married and to be together. 'm telling you right now i would not be here right now if the rights of african-americans back in the 1960's were put up to votes for what's best and what's right. fundamental rights are just that. we have a constitution,

14th amendment, that says equal protection under the law. you can't have a law that discriminates against one group in favor of another or discriminates against anyone. we are a nation that is going to get so much further if we understand that we all are equal under the law and need each other to be successful. i'm not going to go to washington or new jersey and demean any group and deny them basic rights. we should let people who love each other have the right to get married. >> next question comes from jonathan tamari for mr. booker. >> mr. booker, the department of justice hags named 55 colleges under investigation for the way they've handled sexual assault complaints. that includes in new jersey princeton university, some of the stories have been shocking. that have come out. is this an area that congress can influence and should influence and how or is this best left to the institutions? >> well, obviously we have a problem. like we have right now in the nation. colleges and institutions are not doing enough.

and i'm tired in this country of us not taking sexual assault and domestic violence as seriously s we should. congress has an obligation to make sure we are seeing fairness and justice play out. and in this case it's not. as you said yourself, these stories are egregious. and so i for one have joined with other of my colleagues, many of whom are on both sides of the aisle, in saying that we must do something about this. and so i'm going to fight for -- against domestic violence and fight against sexual assault. and i'm going to find concrete ways to do it and one example of that is we have a system right now that while the nba and the -- and major league baseball don't have tax exempt status, a lot of other sports leagues do like the nfl, golf, and others. i want to eliminate that tax exempt stat us and take that savings and invest it in the kind of programs that protect and affirm women's rights. like domestic violence prevention. >> this is the obama-booker vision. which is if anything needs doing, it must be done in washington.

and after the last couple of years, when we've had the i.r.s., the c.d.c., the secret service, letting people into the white house, and the director having to resign, all of these institutions failing under president obama whom is senator booker supports in almost every area, and he thinks that even something as obscure as rules in the local colleges will be better handled by washington. of course there's a problem, senator. but don't you think that just once in a while you should let normal people and local government work it out to the best of their ability? they have a better track record than washington. >> may i answer that question? >> you can respond. >> look, when new jersey residents come to me with a crisis or a problem, i want to find a way to do something about that. it doesn't always mean legislative actions or things like that but it means having a senator to be there to stand up for people. college campuses have not been dealing with this problem. and so it really hurts me to think that there will be a

potentially senator going down to washington with extreme views on women and on gays and others when folks come to him for help to get him involved even if it's picking up a phone and letting the president of the college know this is wrong and we will be watching, i will be one of those united states senators when new jerseyians come to me with a problem, sexual assault, domestic violence, i will step up there and be there for them. >> as we mentioned earlier the candidates have agreed to one round in which they ask each other a question. and we're going to start with mr. booker's question to mr. bell. >> well, i want to stick with that subject and we keep coming back to. you consistently shown that you want to deny women the freedoms and rights to make their own health care decisions. even in the most extreme cases, somebody is raped or a victim of incest. i want to know and understand, why don't you trust women in those extreme cases when they're victims of such violence and rape to make their own decisions? why do you believe that men like

you should tell women what they can do with their bodies? >> certainly women have bodies and i respect that. they need to take care of them and have the right to preserve their bodies. but unborn babies have a body, too, senator. they have a full complement of d.n.a., the human genome, things that we have found out since 1973. cory booker was once a one-cell zygote and normally a one-cell zygote grows up to be a human being and even a u.s. senator which i give you credit for. but i would have a hard time looking a woman in the face and saying even though you became pregnant through a rape you should carry your child to term. because it has a body. it has its own life. but i would find it even harder to go to the most recent ms. pennsylvania who has worked for rape victims, but who herself was the product of a rape and tell her you don't deserve to live. >> all right.

now, mr. bell, you have a question for mr. booker. >> senator, the watershed authority's problems during your administration have been coming up a little more frequently lately. and i just like to ask you a simple question to clear things up. which is on channel five in new york, last week, you said -- this week actually on wednesday, you said that the $700,000 in six individual payments, $689,000 to be exact, came as a result of -- you took your ownership with you and it was a buyout and they didn't have the money all at once. i ask you, is there a document in writing that specifies what that arrangement is? >> so my opponent has spent a lot of time down in virginia the last 30 years and hasn't been taking attention much and that's

why i appreciate him playing catchup now. but he's a big supporter of businesses and so when i was a private citizen, i helped to grow and make a functioning business that actually had a lot of value in it. and so when i was growing to run for mayor i decided i would stem down from that business and take my ownership stake. i agree with my partners that my ownership value would be at a certain amount and it would be a lump sum and they didn't have the lump sum and agreed to pay it over the course of time of and it was verbally as well as a document. >> can you provide it to the public? >> that has private financial information on my partners. >> so you don't think the voters of new jersey have any right to see a document that gave you $700,000 in annual payments over six years, is there some kind of privilege that you have that the voters do not share? >> no. i think the privilege that i have is for you not to misconstrue the facts. $700,000 in annual payments

is not what happened. i had a determined amount which i made clear through nigh tax records and showed the public what i did. so what i simply say right now is, if we are looking at levels of transparency of the two men standing here, nobody is giving it. i exposed 16 years of my tax returns. i let people see my private financial documents. i'm not going to subject my law firm to that. you haven't matched my level of transparency with your own records. >> my tax returns are online. yours are no. >> three years of your tax returns, sir. three years. >> why are your most recent tax returns do you let the people see your first two pages. >> we have a level of transparency that has not been met by any candidate for the last 30 years. meet that level of transparency yourself. meet the same level of transparency. >> we have a lot of ground of to cover. let's move on. >> mr. bell, some disturbing statistics from the institute of justice.

you may be familiar with them. the united states represents 4% of the world population. it has 25% of the world's prison population. the united states spends six times as much on prisons as it does on education. and in message message new jersey, the state spends $18,00 per public school student, and $54,800 per inmate. is this fixable and if so how? >> jim, i'm just not an advocate of using dollar amounts to say how well the given problem is going. this country did have a big success story, which is the crime explosion we had in the 1960's and 1970's was checked. yes, an overuse of prison might have been a part of that, but i think we have to be very careful about letting people who are accused of violent crimes out. they may have pled to a nonviolent crime. most prosecutors don't go to court to get these convictions, but i'm very reluctant to see a

drug dealer or somebody who pled to a lesser charge, even though what he was accused of originally was a violent crime get out scot-free. >> mr. booker? >> i'm sorry. this is an utterly broken system, think about that. we have 4% of the globe's population, but 25% of the globe's imprisoned people. i believe like my opponent, violent people should be behind bars. please understand, over 70% of those people are nonviolent offenders. this is an incredible failed drug war. the over criminalization, it's so bad that only -- you go to jail drug addicted, only about 25% of those people actually get help. so what happens when they get released? they come right back. there are commonsense solutions that could relieve taxpayers of the extraordinary burden. we are spending a quarter of a trillion dollars a year running a broken system. money that should go to our schools, should be invested in our infrastructure. so commonsense reform -- that's

why when i went to washington, i went to file this problem by working across the aisle with rand paul and others to file slayings -- legislation that's agreed on to make our streets safer and better invest taxpayer dollars. guess what? or return it to taxpayers because all of us spend annually hundreds of dollars to support a broken system. >> what are the commonsense solutions? >> the commonsense solutions involve getting drug treatment to people that actually have addictions. helping them when they come out. to get connections to work. right now we have a system that has a recidivism rate, correction system doesn't correct. there are states like mississippi, the red state of mississippi, which has been dramatically lowering its prison population, guess what's happened to their crime? their crime has gone down. these are the solutions we can do if we work together across the aisle. i put forth a major piece of legislation endorsed by people on the right and left, with rand paul, to address these issues. save taxpayer dollars. create safer streets. and elevate human potential.

>> judging from his endorsement by normal, the pro legal marijuana group, one of those commonsense solutions in his coming term if he's re-elected, is going to be legalization of marijuana. >> i would love to talk about that if you're going to throw that out there. may i please. >> go ahead. >> my opponent doesn't support the commonsense thing here in new jersey of medical marijuana. we have sick people in new jersey who can't get access to a drug that would help their families and their children. i do support strongly re-examining pot laws. not to legalize marijuana, but to do things that will help families in new jersey that i have talked to, they are going through terrible trial because they can't even get medical marijuana. i'll add to that -- i did put -- it's being slowed down. slow walked by the administration. but i'll tell you -- >> by governor christie? >> yes. i'll tell you another piece of legislation. on marijuana with a republican, rand paul, to say that the

federal government in states that do have marijuana laws, like colorado and washington, that we shouldn't be using our federal dollars to prosecute people that are abiding by the laws of their state. so this is a chance for us in a bipartisan way to do commonsense things to make our streets safer, save taxpayer dollars. something i thought my opponent would like. and better invest in things. >> i have to cut you off because we have to move on. my next question goes to you, i'd like to pivot to the fatal shooting of michael brown in ferguson, missouri, as well as the chokehold death of eric garner in staten island. clearly these two cases reignited tensions between police and the minority community. and really just exposed deep mistrust with police. there is a recent gallup poll that shows 64% of blacks have very little or no confidence in police. what can you do to help bridge that divide? >> first of all, i want to express my sympathies to the families of both these men that

died. their deaths were tragedies. i know their families are mourning right now as people many in those communities. i stand here right now because our country has made a lot of progress on race. people understood that black or white we don't have different destinies in this country for different groups. we have one common destiny. i believe there are commonsense things we can do in criminal justice reform to actually repair that problem. take marijuana, what we were talking about, there are no differences in marijuana usage for blacks and whites in this contry. the last three presidents admitted to smoking marijuana. maybe the exception one did not inhale. the reality is is that blacks are almost four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana usage than whites are. these are things we have to have an honest conversation about. and work together to correct. we live in a nation that has an interwoven destiny. as your united states senator, i'm going to be working on those commonsense solutions to get beyond rhetoric to do things to make a fairer criminal justice system.

>> i have to say that i also mourn for those families for their losses. i do think that the police have to do a better job of reaching out to the community in communities where they are not doing that. but i also am worried about the mill tarization of police departments d.d. militarization of police departments. if that's the best we can do as a way of preventing or stopping crime, i think we have a problem. i believe that william braton, now the police commissioner of new york, revolutionized law enforcement with his community policing idea. being opposed to the broken windows, even though it's a small misdemeanor, it leads to much bigger consequences. a disrespect for the law. i believe that hands on policing is the way to go rather than tanks and things like that. belonging to police departments. >> we are going to tighten this up a little bit, please if you'll cooperate with us we can get a few more questions in.

>> i want to continue on education if you don't mind because we are on the topic. new york is one of the worst states when it comes to achievement gap, we are talking about minorities. a recent study showed that nearly 75% of black and latino students in new jersey are not proficient when it comes to math or reading. is there anything you plan to do to help minorities to close this gap? >> we have to get education back to the state and local level. washington got into this in something called the national defense education act. in 1957. when we enacted that, the first federal intervention in education supposedly to stop the missile gap or have our own sputnik. it really had nothing to do with that. washington just needed an excuse. in the entire period that we have had federal involvement in education, education standards have declined all over the country. now there's a common core program that is going to try to put everyone into a cookie

cutter. it doesn't let teachers teach. it stops spontaneity and dums down the entire curriculum. instead of that and instead of bribe programs, legal bribe programs like race to the top which is for example bribed massachusetts into dropping much higher standards than the common core had or will ever have, we need to centralize spending. we need to get the federal government -- yes, i would abolish the department of education. 60 years of a failed experiment is enough. this country developed the first universal education system. by means of popular control and experimentation at the state and local level. we need to get back to that vision. >> ok. thank you. our next question comes from matt -- mr. booker? >> i definitely want to respond to that. this is my opponent who wants to take us backwards. i'm looking to go forward. he doesn't think we should have the department of education. the strongest country in the globe should not have a federal department of education. and things like the e.p.a. and

other things. he wants to unmind investment in our kids, unwind protections for our families. i'm going to washington not to destroy government. i'm going to washington to solve the problems of people say we have in our communities. and this means things like investing in universal preschool because every kid, black or white -- >> how about the common core? >> sir, sir -- i finish my answer. i haven't interrupted you. if this is your sample of civility in washington it's not going to work. if i could finish my 60 seconds. we need to have a person down in washington that's going to fight for our kids and invest in things. especially things like affordable college. one of the biggest things i hear from folks is the expense of college education. so from universal preschool to getting our kids to college, this is something i'm going to washington not to destroy the department of education but to make sure we are investing in things that matter to new jersey. >> gentlemen, we are nearing the end of the debate, if we can keep our responses to about 30 seconds so we can get through a list of other questions. our next question comes from matt for mr. booker.

matt. >> senator, you weren't mayor of new york not too long ago i would like to go back to that time. federal authorities are investigating newark's watershed agency, probably for allegedly illegal payments, that happened during your time as mayor and chairman of the agentcy. you said you tried to eliminate the agency and reign rein it in. during this time you did not attend board meetings. i'm wondering if you feel any responsibility for letting this get out of hand. >> it was out of hand when i got into office and i took responsibility right away by trying to get rid of the agentcy. we tried to get rid of it legislatively. we tried in other ways and kept failing. we knew it was out of control. we knew it had problems. we wanted to correct them. and the mall feesance you're talking about, we discovered before the public or papers were writing about it and we turned it over to the authorities and say we should investigate this individual actor and if they have done something wrong they should be held accountable.

i've continue to work aggressively, whether i am i was mayor now u.s. senator, to root out the problems and solve them. >> how long did you know about the sanl before you disclosed it to the public -- scandal before you disclosed it to the public? >> may i answer that question. i knew about it for moments. as soon as we discovered. >> moments, ok. >> our next question comes from jonathan for mr. bell. >> we talked earlier in this debate about gun laws. you have talked about your support for the second amendment. last year the senate could not pass bills expand background checks or tighten other gun laws. there's opposition from republicans and democrats both. if these bills cannot pass and if you oppose them, what other steps can be taken to address gun violence? >> i think it should be addressed primarily with increased penalties for those who use firearms in the commission of a crime. i think that's been a much more successful approach. as to the gun show amendment

that was defeated, i think a big reason it was defeated is that a lot of veterans would be deterred and others would be deterred from seeing psychologists because having received psychlogical care was under some interpretations would have been made an inability to have weapons in the cause of self-defense. these things having washington more involved, more and more involved, they always have their hidden consequences and to turn people from seeing psychiatric or psychlogical help when they need it would have been one of the consequences. >> mr. booker? >> it's an insult to the veterans and cop-out on the question. over 90% of new jersey gun owners, 90% of the people in our state believe we should have comprehensive background checks to prevent people from illegal folks from getting their hands on weapons. yes, to prevent spousal abusers and people who are mentally unstable. the kind that have been causing so much violence in our country. my opponent who lives in

virginia has the state that has the most weapons coming into our streets. we need to stop this flow of illegal weapons. one of the ways of doing that is comprehensive background checks that the overwhelming majority of new jerseyans support. >> mr. booker, question for you. when your opponent ran against bill bradley in 1978, they debated 21 times. this is the overwhelm debate that you have agreed to. why so stingy? >> a couple things. one is debates are a good way to get out. i'm happy the viewers are tuning in. it's not the only way. you can run around the state like i have, north to south, east to west, doing town halls, community formums, meeting with business leaders and the like. that's what we want to do is get directly to the people. my opponent's playing catch-up. i'm not sure many people know he just moved back into the state like january or february and has been trying to run around the state pretending like he knows the problems of our communities. i'm going to continue having direct contact with the voters until the very last day because i think that's the best way to get the message out. >> mr. bell?

>> i hear a lot of specific questions for senator booker, and the way he usually responds is by saying he has meetings. he has meetings with sympathetic people, people he's trying to help. but you still don't know whether he favors a north jersey casino because he's had a lot of meetings in south jersey and listened to those concerns. apparently he thinks going to meetings with friendly audiences, he is a celebrity and people like him, don't blame them for liking him, is a substitute for actually debating the issues. i find that really disturbing. >> mr. bell, i want to get this question in because again we are close to the end of this debate. you have lived in virginia for the past 31 years, and just this st year you rented a home in leonia. how can you convince voters you, one, understand their issues, and fight for them? >> senator booker certainly reminded everyone i was away for 30 years. it's not exactly a gotcha point because i start every speech i give saying i have been away for

30 years and that it is presumptuous for me to come back and ask to represent the people of new jersey after that kind of an absence. the reason is i couldn't get anybody in congress or federal candidates for president and otherwise to take up this disastrous zero interest rate policy of the federal reserve and move to a different policy. the wheels have fallen off the system and the fed is so powerful, it's running our entire economy, retarding small business growth, retarding job growth, not letting people have returns on their savings, and i couldn't get anyone to do it. it was a last-minute decision -- >> i have to cut you off. >> 20 seconds. i agree it is presumptuous of him to come back a few months ago and run on a single vanity issue taking america back to the gold standard. something debunked in the 1900's that would gut jobs and hurt the middle class. >> i have to say -- >> i'm sorry -- >> that vanity issue is about the stagnation in our economy. hi a solution to it. your solution is keep doing what

we are doing under president obama. >> ok. gentlemen, thank you both. we have reached the end of our question and answer segment. now it's time for the candidates' closing statements. >> the order was determined by a random draw. we begin with mr. bell. >> i really want to thank the league of women voters and moderators and reporters. it's been a lively discussion. i want to thank senator booker his willingness to debate even this one time. i also above all i want to thank the voters of new jersey. yes, i did consider it somewhat presumptuous, but the voters in new jersey have shown they are open-minded and willing to listen to an idea that is off the charts and make their own decisions about it, not by taking a head count of the economists that senator booker has given as his only argument against the gold standard or saying that it's an old system. but by simply listening to the merits, making arguments for or against it, listening, having a reasoned debate. it happened to me before when i

ran on the tax cut. even though i didn't beat bill bradley, and and i wound up working together in a bipartisan fashion on the tax reform act of 1986. i'm proud of that record. i'm happy that i came back to the state of new jersey. and i really am incredibly grateful to the people of new jersey for hearing me out regardless of what happens on november 4. >> mr. booker. >> i want to thank the sponsors as well as the moderators. it is a very clear choice before the voters in new jersey. going back to programs that are broken and haven't worked, or going forward to growth and prosperity. my opponent wants to take us back on women's rights, restricting access to birth control, taking away a woman to make her own medical decisions. opposing things like equal work for equal pay. he wants to go back and take the federal government out of supporting our local schools and even doing commonsense things like mack -- things like making college more affordable. and making the government

stopping and investing in things that we in new jersey know we need investment in like infrastructure and new jersey transit being inadequate to meet the demands there. and yes, he wants to take us back to a 19th century idea that is defuncted and debunked universally. i want to take us forward and i don't want to be a tea party person that goes down and doesn't work with folks. i want to work with democrats and republicans together. all of us here in new jersey want destiny to bring ourselves forward as a state. i hope i get a chance to be your senator for a full term. >> gentlemen, thank you. that concludes today's debate. we'd like to thank the candidates for appearing today and thank you for watching. >> also thanks to our panelists, marietta of wxtz uni vision, matt friedman of the star ledger, and jonathan tamari of the "philadelphia enquirer." >> thanks again for watching. and we leave you with these final words from the league of

women voters of new jersey. >> tony zimmer, president of the legal women voters of new jersey. on behalf of the league, i would like to thank you for watching today's debate. by taking time to learn about the issues today, you are helping to preserve and protect our democracy. for more information on voting, please contact us at 800-792-vote. or visit us online at www.l. vmj.org. polls will open 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. >> senator minority leader mitch mcconnell may be pulling ahead. says the toughest race of his

political career nears its end. the latest poll finds mcconnell holds a five-point lead over grimes and support is growing. last week's poll from the same organization, weighs up by only one point. the poll by the way was conducted for october 25 through the 29th. the results are taken from the response of 597 likely voters ontacted by phone. this weekend on the c-span networks. tonight, starting at 8:00 eastern on c-span, our campaign 2014 debate coverage continues in prime time. on saturday night at 8:00, the funeral for former "washington post" editor ben bradley, and sunday evening at 8:00 on "q&a," author harold holeser. and tonight at 8:00 on c-span2, author chris tomlinson on the story of two families, one white, one black, and the slave plantation that bears their name. saturday night at 10:00 on boo. tv's afterwards.

sunday live at noon on in-depth, a three-hour conversation with the former editor in chief the simon shuster publishers. one of the first african-american labor unions, the brotherhood of sleeping car porters. and saturday night at 8:00 on lectures and history, prop ghana and america's -- propaganda and america's view of the japanese on world war ii. and at on reel america, a 1946 film on tuberculosis in america. find our television schedule at c-span.org and leapt us know what you think about the programs you're watching. call us at 202-626 - 3400. email us at comments@c-span.org or send us a tweet at c-span #comments. join the c-span conversation, like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. >> in a few minutes we'll show awe debate between illinois kemic governor pat quinn and his

republican challenger bruce rauner. governor quinn served since 2009 after rob blagojevich was impeached and removed from office. the political report lists this race a tossup. this took place in chicago. it comes to us courtesy of abc news 7. before we get to the debate itself, a look at some dwayne ads running in illinois. >> highest unemployment in 30 years. legal jobs for cronyism. >> jobs, governor. >> one of the worst unemployment rates in america. corruption or incompetence? pat quinn failed his job. now he wants four more years. >> do you know how many professionals work at billionaire republicanian bruce rauner's investment firm. 51 people. do you want to guess how many of those employees are african-american? none. zero. not a single african-american. why do you suppose that is? when abc news asked rauner, he said he couldn't find anyone.

>> we were finding the folks that weren't there. >> now you're running tv ads claiming how close you are to our community? did you really think no one would ever find out? >> i'm a lifelong democrat, and i'm for bruce rauner, i'm kind of bias, he's my husband. when he says he'll shake things up, i know he means it. bruce doesn't have a social agenda, he has an economic and education agenda. he'll be a warrior for our children and for taxpayers. i'm diana rauner, this isn't about democrat or republican. this is our state's future that's why i hope you'll vote for bruce, too. >> this is michelle obama, and i know pat quinn. i have seen that pat has the courage to do what's right. now pat's fighting to raise the minimum wage. he's working to create jobs here at home instead of shipping jobs overseas. and he'll never cut funding for

military families or veterans to give a tax break to the wealthy. so for this election, barack and i are casting our vote for our friend, pat quinn. >> abc seven news presents vote 2014, debate in the race for governor. > welcome to the debate. our candidates are governor pat quinn and mr. bruce rauner. uestioning our candidates, abc seven political analysts laura washington. you will be limited to 60 seconds for each question and 30 econds for each follow-up. you will have the opportunity to ask one question of each other. you will also have the

opportunity for an opening statement and by random draw to the opening statement goes to mr. quinn. >> thank you. the bureau of labor statistics issued its latest report on the illinois economy. it is a good report. jobs are up, unemployment is down, jobs in the last two months, 40,000 jobs. 00,000 jobs since the resomethings ended. our unemployment is at the lowest level in the last six years. the steepest decline of any state in the union. we had to make tough decisions to make that possible. we had to cut the budget since i have been governor. we understood the importance of fiscal reform. i have to suspend the pay of the legislatures to get those reform. because of that our economy is a lot better. we have been able to invest in education despite all these economies. we have invested $440 million in

our classroom education. investing in education is the best way to keep our economy moving forward and our jobs growing. so that's what i believe in. i think that's what the best way to go for our state of illinois. >> thank you to the league of women voters, eyewitness seven, and univision. i look forward to going to work or the people of illinois. i love illinois and what illinois to be the greatest state in the greatest nation on earth. i have worked hard to build hundreds of successful businesses on behalf of teachers and their pensions, and the success we have driven in that process my wife and i have given back because we love our community. we have donated tens of millions of dollars to public schools, to early childhood education, to veterans to support them. i'm running for governor as my opportunity to give back with my time and passion. we are going to get the state run right.

i am financially independent. i can stand up to special interest groups. i can't be bought, bribed, or intimidated. i'm not even going to take a salary or pension. i'm going to move to springfield, shake up that culture down there, and get the government running right for the families and the taxpayers of illinois. >> i would like to begin with something i am hopeful will set the tone for the debate. a question about the last debate. which you each had a chance to question the other. in my view i'm not sure we got an answer that would satisfy either one of you. i would like to quickly ask you, n the last debate, the proposals make the temporary tax increase permanent after the next election. if bruce rauner is elected, would you as a lame duck governor still attempt to make that temporary increase permanent? please answer yes or no to begin and then explain for me. >> laid out a budget, the bugged called for the income tax rates to be maintained in order to fund our schools properly, to

maintain our health care, to have public safety. so i'm in favor of making sure we maintain our income tax level, but at the same time provide solid property tax relief every year to every homeowner in this state. that's what i proposed in my budget. in addition, more tax relief for working families raising children. i think we cannot have a budget that slashes our education as my opponent suggests by $4 billion. laying off one out of six teachers in our state. that is the wrong way to go if we are going to have a strong economy. we've got to make sure that we invest in education and properly pay for t my opponent's been going around illinois telling a lot of tall tales about the budgets. the bottom loin is we have to pay our bills, invest in education. the best way to do is is with an income tax based on the ability to pay. that's the best way i think to go. >> the question for you from the last debate, mr. quinn asked about a threat you reportedly

made to a female employee who was suing. you were quoted i will bury her and bankrupt her with legal fees. you said it was a disgruntled employee. you pointed out the judge ruled in your favor. i didn't hear your answer about whether you actually said those things. >> i think i was very clear and i'll be clear again tonight. i absolutely did not ever say those things. that was false accusations in a frivolous lawsuit that was dismissed in court in summary judgment by a judge. there's no truth to that. unfortunately, that story came out in the media, encouraged by pat quinn's support staff because they wanted to be able to write another false attack ad. i have been the subject of an unbelievable number of false and vicious attacks that are not based upon facts. they are based upon innuendo and distortions. the i'm the subject of these false attacks because i'm going to shake up the system.

i scare the status quo. pat quinn will do or significant anything to hold his power. he'll resort to any distortion or exaggeration or lie. i'm out to change the system. i'm nobody that nobody sent. i can't be bought, bribed or intimidated. i will stand up and fight. it's hard to deal with these distortions, but you know what? home is worth fighting for and sacrificing for. that's why i'm running. >> thank you. now the question and follow-up from erica. -- good -- goonk evening. according to the illinois board of elections, this is third quarter of 2014 alone, your campaigns combined has amount to $35 million in advertising. most of the ads we have seen and hear are very negative, attacking to each other on your previous work, your moral character. at this point in time many voters in our state are actually wondering why either of you is

qualified to run the state. how can you change that perception, mr. rafment. uner? >> i have been a leader my whole life. i have been a business builder my whole life and i've worked hard to give back in the community. i have driven great success. we need success in springfield. i'm not running for office because i need a job. i'm not looking for a political career. i'm doing this because i love illinois. simple fact. you know what the tragedy is? we have the greatest state in america. the best people. the best location. the most fertile farms. the capital of the heart of america in chicago, but we are the worst run state in america. jobs are leaving. companies are leaving. families are leaving. the latest survey has 50% of families in illinois thinking they should leave the state -- they would leave if they could. we are the worst run state in america, and we deserve so much better. i can change the system. i'm financially independent. i have been a driver of results my whole life. i know how to grow the economy

because i have been a business builder. my opponent, pat quinn, does not know anything about business. i will grow the economy, create jobs, and cut or taxes to a reasonable level. >> mr. quinn? >> i think ford motor company knows about business, and i worked with ford to create lots of jobs right here in illinois, the same way with chrysler and many, many more companies. my opponent doesn't understand facts. he thinks his money can buy facts. the facts are the illinois economy is growing. we have more work to do. but we have worked with ford to take the company that had one shift when i began as governor, they now have three. chrysler had 200 jobs, they now have 4,500 jobs. that's getting the job done. when my opponent talks about being a business builder, he's a person who built a business teaching other businesses to outsource jobs, american jobs to foreign lands. that's not building jobs in illinois. my opponent is a job eliminator. i'm a job creator. the record shows for that. my opponent has made a fortune,

a fortune out of the misfortune of many other people. and i think it's important that the record show that. our ads are very positive when we talk about what we have done with ford and lots of other workers across illinois. >> irka, a follow-up? >> mr. rauner, can you give us specific examples, maybe one or two of successful companies owned by you that actually have created jobs in the state of illinois? and how you are going to use that experience to attract businesses into the state and actually create jobs in illinois. >> we built one of the most respected, most successful investment companies in america at my firm. we have helped create hundreds of successful businesses. that's why we are able to generate 25% annual returns for our teachers in their pensions so they could have a better retirement. the simple fact is, pat quinn is a miserable failure on jobs. illinois someone of the lowest job creating states in america. we have lost over 48,000

manufacturing jobs during pat quinn's tenure in office. and we have lost 2,500 manufacturing jobs just last month here in illinois. he's a failure. i'll get results. >> mr. quinn? >> well, let's take a look at the record. those are the facts. my opponent has had 12 companies go bankrupt under his watch. he has six of his former executives in jail, two are under indictment. 150 lawsuits against him for the nursing home chain that treated people so poorly, including causing death, that's not good business record. if that's his business record for the people of illinois, no thank you. we don't need that kind of business at all in our state. we need to have a governor who understands everyday people. the need to invest in education. and skills and training. >> question, follow-up from charles. >> governor, if the illinois supreme court should strike down the pension reform bill passed last year as many credible legal

experts predict, what is your plan b to resolve the state's growing pension debt? i have heard you say many times in the past that you don't take an aspirin until you get a headache. but the voters of this state want and need to know what will you do if the courts say that headache never went away? >> my father taught me about never taking an aspirin before you get a head ate. that's sound advice before a case is even argued before the supreme court. i do believe the law is constitutional. it's a bipartisan measure. my opponent tried to sabotage it and wreck it. >> what would you do? >> i would work again with the members of the legislature, both parties, both houses, on a plan that the supreme court outlines as constitutional. that's what you do when you build a majority. that's how we passed marriage equality in illinois. my opponent wanted me to veto that bill. and i signed it because it was the right thing to do. we also passed the bill this year to make sure that we protect pregnant women on the

workplace. they were being discriminated against and hassled and harassed. i got the legislature to pass that bill. i signed it into law. any time there's a need to get a law passed, i know how to work with the legislature. i have a record. my opponent demonizes legislators and public employees, public health workers. that isn't a way to get anything done. >> mr. rauner, what would you do if elected should the courts say it's unconstitutional? >> pension issue is one of the biggest challenges we face as a state. governor quinn has failed completely on it. he dumped it in the lap of the general assembly when the reality it's the governor's job to lead on this issue. i believe the pension change made last november is unconstitution. i oppose them at the time. i do not believe it's fair to reduce the pension benefits for people already retired. i also don't people it's fair to reduce the benefits that have been paid and accrued by today's honest hardworking folks. the right answer i believe is

both fair and constitutional is to create a second pension plan for future work that's different, it's more of a defined contribution style plan. -- privatized as quinn has tried to spin. it is more affordable. it will allow our economy to grow. he is desperate to bring up social issues because he can't run on financial issues. he has failed on what matters. >> i have a follow-up to eric is question. you didn't give us a company where you created any jobs. >> i would encourage you to go to the website for my old firm. there are hundreds of companies there. >> you don't remember. >> there are so many. we couldn't have been the most successful investment company,

for 32 years, among the top performers. we are one of the top investment companies, generating great returns. for governor workers, teachers, employees in illinois. there are hundreds of companies with great performance. >> any thoughts on that? >> his company laid off 1100 workers and gave a huge bonus to an executive who was running the company, and gave gift cards to the laid off workers. he has a record of laying off workers, outsourcing jobs, and running around illinois 22 cut -- wanting to cut the minimum wage. this is not the way to treat people. he has no record of doing the right thing when it comes to jobs. >> laura washington, a question

and following. >> since you didn't specifically answer that last question about how many jobs you have created i'm going to try another one. you said you will increase education spending. how much do you increase spending by in the next budget, and where will those support come from? >> this is the most important topic we can discuss. education is the key to the american dream. education is the most important thing we do together as a community. i have a proven record over 25 years of being an education reformer and advocate. i have donated tens of millions of dollars to improve public education. teacher training. scholarship for low income kids. bonuses for teachers. i have been dedicated to education. we have a $36 billion state budget. there is money the budget for education if leaders make education the priority. pat quinn has been a disaster. it has been nowhere on his agenda.

except as governor, he increased our taxes by cut into education funding by half $1 billion. i will increase it by half a billion dollars. i will have it increasing every year going forward. it is the number one priority we should have for our taxpayer dollars. >> money cannot buy facts. that is what my opponent is trying to do. we have increased classroom spending. every fact checker has said that. my opponent would cut it by $4 billion laying off one out of every six teachers. he has demonized teachers. i believe in teachers. it is important we invest in education. that is why we would give the biggest investment in early childhood education in the history of illinois and increase

the budget for classroom education in the history of our state. and increase scholarships for students to go to college. my opponent would wreck that. he has a plan that will give himself a $1 million tax cut while slashing the education budget. savage cuts to education so he and his millionaire friends can get tax cuts. i'm against giving tax cut to the wealthy. and hurting our schools. >> you say you will increase the budget by half a billion dollars. you think you can find the money somewhere the budget. where will you cut? >> cutting wasteful spending and having a growth economy. we are one of the bottom growing states under pat quinn. pat quinn has a massive wasteful spending. corruption and cronyism. experts of estimated illinois taxpayers pay half a billion dollars in taxes. he has had a patronage hiring going on. he has been under two federal

investigations for illegal use of taxpayer we have rampant dollars. corruption under pat quinn. we do not have a growing economy. his only answer is to raise taxes. i will get our economy growing. >> i want to pay our bills and make sure we are true to our kids. and to the next generation. it means investing in public health. we always have to make sure we have good health for everyone, especially in the us times. my opponent would have savaged cut across the board and public safety, public health, and schools. i have the courage to tell people what they need to know. in illinois, we have to use our income tax revenues in a proper way to make sure we have good schools rid. that we have students or graduates -- who graduate from college. >> thank you. next question is pensions. many private businesses do use, what is wrong with that? >> i don't think a 401(k) plan is the way to go in illinois.

the best way is to reform the system we have. that is what i got done. if we had a liability that i did not create, although as governor every day i have paid the proper amount into the pension system. that is why we had the liability. we enacted reforms in a bipartisan way. my opponent was trying to hurt that. now it will go forward and make illinois a better state. i believe it is constitutional. and it will be held away by the courts. the bottom line is you have to take on hard things on behalf of the common good. my opponent is about easy street. he wants to get himself a tax cut and hurt our children and workers all across illinois. i do not think that is the way to have a better state. i think the minimum wage is a good way to help hard-working people live from paycheck to paycheck.

>> we have a massive economic failure in illinois. governor quinn is running on scare tactics. i will increase education funding. he is saying up things -- he is saying false things and making up numbers. he can't run on the truth. the truth is illinois is failing on jobs and failing on taxes. his only answers to raise more taxes. he wants to take away another one weeks paycheck out of every working family. that is what his tax hike does. every working family loses one more week of pay. that is not fair. illinois basically tied for the highest property taxes in america. while pat quinn has been governor, real estate taxes have gone up 30%. his only answer is more taxes. that is not the right answer. the answer is growth and cutting wasteful spending. pat quinn has been governor for six years. he and mike madigan have controlled the system and failed.

we need to go in a another direction. we need a two-party system. we need a leader that can stand up to special interests. i will get that job done. >> the state treasurer has $6 billion in unpaid bills. the state doesn't have the money to pay them. that means social service agencies and hospitals, and not profits not only don't get paid, they have to borrow the money, and lay people off. that is embarrassing. >> our state has made progress at paying the bills. we have paid down the bills. now they are closer to a 30 day cycle, which is what most businesses do. we have more work to do. if we adopt the plan of my opponent we will go back to where we were. with huge deficits in unpaid bills. we have been able to pay down those bills to service agencies. keep in mind my opponent says he doesn't want the income tax. he wants the bruce rauner, a tax

on services of everyday people across illinois, including garbage collection. that's what billionaires do. shift the burden onto ordinary people. >> pat quinn has failed. on jobs, taxes, school, and corruption. he keeps making up stories, false attacks. it's outrageous, because he can't run on the truth. here is a fact. we are losing jobs. taxes are crushing our economy. he has taken away one week's paycheck from the families of the state. he has not solved any problem in his six years as governor. we are at the bottom of economic growth. we have lost 48,000 manufacturing jobs. we are of the lowest job creation states in america. all he criticizes is my success, which i am proud of. springfield need success. i drive that. >> >> what is your opinion on right to work laws as they apply in other states, and would

illinois be better off as a right to work state? >> as i have indicated, right to work could be a local control issue. i am not advocating for that. that is not a priority. there are other priorities. bringing down wasteful spending, bringing down the taxes on corporations and growing our economy. i have been a business builder, and i will get that done. pat quinn has been a disaster on job creation. it's the number one priority. he has taken the time, his answer is i'm a millionaire and very successful, therefore, i am bad. you don't judge a person's heart by the size of the wallet. the roosevelt family was very rich. the kennedy family was very rich. he doesn't criticize them. but he criticizes me for being a self-made guy. i didn't inherit a nickel. my grandparents lived in a double wide trailer. i made my way through school and work hard, build a lot of successful companies, make great money for the teachers and police officers of illinois.

with the money i've made, my wife and i have given back tremendously. we love chicago and the state of illinois. i will drive success, and we have got to have success down in springfield. >> look at his business record. he made all that money, and when around illinois and advocated the elimination of the minimum wage. people who work very hard, making $8.25 an hour. he wants to cut and eliminate their minimum wage. i think that's wrong. i think we should raise the minimum wage. it is not right that my opponent started a company to show other companies how to outsource jobs. that's not creating jobs where country. he has laid off thousands of people, giving them little or nothing. i don't think that is a way to grow the illinois economy. the facts are clear. look to the bureau of labor statistics. thenois jobs were up and last month.

those are good jobs to be a decent wage. instead of trying to cut the minimum wage you ought to try and keep illinois people working. >> the question was about right to work laws. you said you favored right to work zones. what is that? >> they are opportunity zones is what i call them. we have brutally high unemployment. >> you have a website that called them a right to work zone earlier this year. >> i don't know the website, but i believe in creating opportunity zones. governor quinn has led huge unemployment problems in so many communities. >> with that be a place where unions would not have any power, jurisdiction? works years what i have recommended. -- >> here is what i recommended. we create areas where the taxes are extremely low and the business regulations are extremely -- so we can grow jobs there. we have brutally high and a plum

-- unemployment in african-american communities of 30%. pat quinn has failed. >> could you address? >> my opponent wants to bust unions and harm the ability to have a decent wage, these conditions, benefits. that's with this right to work for less is about. these are code words. when he says less regulation, it means billionaires like him can grow their own bank account at the expense of everyday people. i believe in the right to organize a union, be in a union. my opponent demonizing teachers, one of the most important vocations on the planet. let teachers have a union so they can organize and speak their minds. >> laura washington. >> on the subject of wages, your opponent in the last debate made a point about the minimum wage which you have been pushing for, and he said he wondered why you hadn't done anything about being

a minimum wage passing in springfield. you have been governor for a long time. why haven't you taken action? >> i have worked on raising the minimum wage on many occasions. the best way we passed the citizen utility board, we put on the ballot. people voted for it. they convince legislators this is the right way to go. we're going to raise the minimum wage. we have people with a chance to vote at the ballot box on an important economic issue. my opponent is advocating the elimination of the minimum wage. he wants to cut the minimum wage on people doing the hardest job in society. i know how to build a majority we are going to get it done. i was able to raise the value of

the income tax credit, tax relief for working families. we did that by building a majority. the same way we will do with the minimum wage. there is a principle as old as the bible. if you are working hard, you shouldn't have to live in poverty. when president obama was here last night he said raise the wage and i agree with him. >> pat quinn has been a failure on the minimum wage. just like he has been a failure on our economy, schools, and taxes. he has had six years to be governor. he could have led a minimum wage increase. he has not. he is a phony on the minimum wage. he is playing political football to make it a political issue in the campaign. i will get a minimum wage increase. i will do more than that. i will make it so the families of illinois are out for maximum opportunities. not just the minimum wage. we shouldn't be a high unemployment states like we are, where people are hoping to get to the minimum wage. we should have an economy where people are stuck at the minimum wage.

i will get a booming economy. i will become pro-business and pro-growth. theeople can rise past minimum wage and be all they can be. pat quinn is a phony on the minimum wage and on term limits. he used to say he was for term limits until he got power. now that he has power, he doesn't want to give it up. he has been in office for six years, he wants 10 years. that would be a disaster for us. as governor, i will drive that. he has had six years to get term limits, he is not even shown up at all. >> what would you do the day after your elected? say the minimum wage referendum passes with flying colors. what specific types -- steps will you take to actually get something done? >> we will build a majority in the months of november and december. we will have a minimum wage of at least $10 an hour. i just heard my opponent. he is a champion in color.

the way to get ahead is to call the other guy different names. i have been for term limits since 1994. i have 5000 signatures for that. he wasn't around at all. this year he says he's for term limits. i think a record of sticking to issues -- i was able to get recall adopted in our constitution by sticking to it or it that is how i will get the minimum wage done. because we stick to it, and convince the legislators, using the power of referendum, the voice of the people, to get the job done. >> we need leadership. pat quinn has failed. term limits will get done. i will also drive redistricting reform. politicians aren't taking their voters. voters are picking the politicians. there is a reason i have been endorsed by eight of the prominent newspapers here in illinois. they know i'm a leader, they know i drive results. pat quinn has had no endorsements from any of the newspapers in the state. i've also been endorsed i the

illinois chamber of commerce. by the national federation of independent business. they know i will drive economic growth and job creation. they know i am a leader who will get things done. each ask a-- you may question of each other. mr. quinn has the first question. >> you talked about your company and the fact you made so much money with recovery. you have 51 executives in the company. latino, and no african-americans. not one executive of your company is african-american. when channel seven asked you about this, you said you couldn't find any. my question to you is -- where did you look? is, i hired african american members in our firm, i've hired latino members in our firm. asian-americans, and many other minorities. as governor, i will drive results, helping minorities, members of families in every communities get results. you have been a failure.

african-americans are suffering brutally in illinois under you as governor. , low wages,h crime no jobs, deteriorating schools and a lack of social services. i will get it done. i will retain -- i will have the first latina government in illinois history. i will work for hispanic families, more jobs, better schools. and you been a failure, were taking the african american vote for failure. you had a superstar, stephanie nearly comes to the -- who could have been your running partner. i will ask her to join our ministry should. i what women in our administration. -- i want women in our administration. i will get african-american leaders turning our state around in delivering results. i didn't hear anything about where he was looking for executives and his firm. 51 executives, all of them making that big money.

but not one african-american did he have in that firm. i asked him where he looked, because he said he couldn't find any. withnk here in this day, 13 million people, one of the largest dates in the union, we have a lot of talented men and women. he couldn't find an african-american executive to serve in his firm. i think that says a lot about the kind of hiring he is going to do in government. the kind of hiring he has done in this private life. >> you have the opportunity to question mr. quinn. the most back to important issue of the campaign. pat quinn has not reformed our government. we still have wasteful spending, corruption, and cronyism. his only answer is to raise taxes. i will ask you one more time. please answer the question, yes or no. 4,n you lose on november after the election, if you lose, will you commit to not raising the income tax, not getting that income tax hike while you were

still governor until january? >> i will commit to making sure we have a proper government for education, public health, in a time of crisis to make sure we have public safety. and we will pay our bills. and it would need to have proper revenue. i will work with the legislature on that. that is the only proper way to go. has a tax all right. it's his tax on services of everyday people. like having your garbage collected, or getting a will. you will have to pay his tax. if you want to adopt a child, you will have to pay his tax. that is what billionaires do. i take huge tax for them -- they take huge tax cuts for themselves and then take savage cuts in education. i will not go along with that. and of the gets right. >> he is avoiding the question. we can't allow this to happen. pat quinn got the income tax hike through last time in the lame-duck session with legislators who were leaving office after that vote.

then he turned around and gave sweetheart government deals, jobs and special deals to some of the legislators who voted for that income tax hike. when he is a lame-duck governor for two months after he loses in november, it's not right that he might put an income tax hike on the families of illinois. taxes are already too high. i have talked to families around the state who taking that when we do pay away from them is crushing them. i talked to families who are having to sell their homes because the real estate taxes are too punishingly high. he is a tax hiker, he has no the solution. >> thank you. the next question from erica. the following question comes from the students involved in a fellowship from the mccormick foundation. because there is no conclusive evidence on charter schools, that they work better the neighborhood schools, they are well-funded, students want to know why does the state in chicago seem to be an impasse to

create more charter schools. while neighborhood schools funding has been slashed, and even facing closings. if that is the case, would you support the moratorium collected if elected governor to support turner schools? -- charter schools? most important thing we can do is to have high-quality schools and allow option so parents can choose the best school that fits their child. charter schools aren't perfect. they are not the ideal answer. not every charter school does a great job. those that fail should close. but charter schools should be an option. we should also have standard public schools, we should allow various options. we should have scholarship programs which i've helped fund personally. we shall voucher programs which i helped fund. innovative ideas, use of technology, so that classes could be offered from

remote locations. we should bring vocational training back into the public school system so our young people can be trained for the jobs available. >> would you support a moratorium? >> i would not support a moratorium. we options for parents. we are failing in illinois because pat quinn has cut school funding. the national center for education data has said per-pupil funding in illinois has gone down roughly 10% under pat quinn. he is failing on schools. asi do support a moratorium, recommended -- at least a three-year moratorium on new charter schools. we need to see if they are even working. he is a big sanitary schools, i'm not. i think it is important to understand that public education is the heart and soul of illinois economy. we have to invest in that education. i'm running against a billionaire the wants to give himself a $1 million tax cut and have savage cuts in our public schools. he wrote an op-ed in one of the papers saying teachers are paid

too much. 23% to much, said he. i think that is just plain wrong. i think we should properly pay our teachers. our teachers deserve our praise, it's one of the most important vocations we have here it i think we need to invest in savage radical extreme cuts in our public education, as advocated by my opponent, will never make it as long as i'm governor. i don't think it is right at all. i think it's important to make sure we have early childhood education. , and we also invest in scholarships for college students. >> can you talk about scholarships for higher education. whattudents want to know you are going to do if you are elected governor, to actually make hirer dictation more affordable -- fire -- higher education more affordable.

>> we have a program that has been around for 50 years called the monetary assistance program. map for short. i invest in that program, i believe in the program, i proposed a budget that will dub her -- double the amount of scholarships offered. there's about three and at $75 million with of scholarships. the problem is there are 150,000 students qualified to go to college, been admitted to college, but the money runs out. i want to increase those scholarships, double the amount of money for scholarships. my opponent wants to the map program. that is what his budget is all about. -- wouldm in different you do something different? >> one of the reasons we have high tuition is that pat quinn has been cutting hair education funding, just like he cut k-12 funding. is making up false statements

because he can't run on the truth. he has failed. we need increased support for hirer dictation. we also need to cut wasteful spending out of the bureaucracy, the overhead in the public universities. compared to other states, we have much waste. iscould have tuition that affordable for families in illinois. governor, you certainly made the point about mr. round or not having any african-americans in his firm. at least in the executive ranks. but for the last 12 years, democrats of had majorities in illinois houses on it. a democrat has been governor. it's arguable that the party's most loyal constituency is african-american. how do you, as governor, explain the chronic unemployment, lack of business development, underperforming schools, and other deteriorating conditions in the black community? mywith respect unemployment, opponent is a job eliminate or,

as i said earlier. he has started firms to teach other firms how to outsource. are talking about the african-american community. >> that hurts the african-american community and everyone in illinois. if you of someone who is aspiring to be governor was to outsource american jobs to foreign lands, that is the wrong way to go. if his record is one of laying off workers, that is how he is made all this money. he has made a fortune out of the misfortune of laying off people. i think the best way to create jobs what i'm doing. investing in education, excellent education for everyone. i think it is important to have a public construction program that puts people to work. i insisted on a program called employ illinois. minority workers get a chance for these trade jobs on the road, building bridges, building schools. i was at the urban league for the kickoff of one of the turning sessions. to helpone of the ways everyday people, including

raising the minimum wage, that will help us get people a decent wage. >> governor quinn has been the outsourcer in chief for the state of illinois. he has pushed jobs out of illinois on a massive scale. we are one of the lowest job creating states in america. we have lost over 48,000 manufacturing jobs under pat quinn. that is a fact. we are not creating jobs. that is crushing all families, especially african american families. pat quinn has been a disaster for african-americans. he has been brutally high unemployment, high crime, deteriorating schools, lack of social services. he is taking the african-american vote for granted. you can see it every day. when he threw stephanie neely office ticket as a running mate. have an african american superstar. instead, he assumes he has the african-american vote and throws her off. 20 years ago, i endowed a full faster ship in georgia to

educate african american leaders. i have donated tens of millions of dollars to public schools in african american neighborhoods. i helped fund bonuses for african american teachers. do tot are you going to create jobs for young african american males? what are you going to do? >> need to focus in the local communities. majoritywith the program. as governor, i will create a minority enterprise program for illinois. that will make subordinated loans and equity investments in minority enterprises. african american owned businesses, because we need local businesses in the community is hiring local students. a young person having to travel two hours to get to a job, that's not a real job. i have a real plan a detailed health grow afghan american jobs >> he couldn't even

higher one african-american as an executive. not one african american. in our administration, -- i believecans in diversity. he doesn't. i think it's important when he talks about bonuses. he gives bonuses to corporate executives who lay people off and commit accounting fraud. that's a fact. my opponent has been giving bonuses to those who are laying off american workers and moving crimes. severalw you have things you talked about when it comes to attempts to reduce violence in urban committees. would yout with -- support a ban on assault weapons, yes or no, and explain. >> we are not enforcing existing gun laws. we have tough gun laws in illinois. pat quinn is not enforcing them.

the most important thing we can do with guns is to keep them with incredible's -- keep them away from criminals. we have police officers who aren't properly equipped. we have police forces that aren't properly staffed under pat quinn. the other real driver of violent crime is lack of opportunity. that is what really drives violent crime. young people are so desperate and income for themselves in the future that they resort to joining gangs. i will bring mentoring programs into a public high school so the most vulnerable students can get role models to help them stay in school and given advice on jobs. i will increase education funding to our schools, pat quinn has cut it. i will bring vocational training to high school so many young people are trained for chops that are available. -- for the jobs that are available. >> with respect to increasing education funding, which he cannot do with his budget, i

hope he doesn't bring those executives who had to go to jail who had committed accounting fraud for him. as far as the assault weapons ban, i am for banning assault weapons. my opponent is afraid of the lobby that protects assault weapons. i think we need a governor strong enough to say to that lobby that we are going to get the law passed to protect public safety. i have signed many laws that have put stronger penalties on those who commit crimes with guns, including one this year dealing with lost and stolen guns. i want to thank a senator for his leadership -- i was with him when we signed that bill. a great police officer shot down and i know his mom and i know his dad. i think it is important to have a governor who understands firsthand how important it is to protect everyone from violence, and i have. i understand how we need to make investments with summer jobs and afterschool jobs and weekend jobs to keep kids out of trouble.

>> separate follow-ups. why don't you want to say yes or no? >> i want to focus on what is going to get results. we can get results. pat quinn has been a disaster on crime. in his six years in office we have had terrible crime, violent crime, in chicago and rockford and decatur. violent crime is crushing the families of illinois. pat quinn has been a failure on police staffing, on enforcing existing gun laws, at creating opportunities for young people in the most impoverished neighborhoods. i have got a plan that we will grow the economy dramatically. i am a business builder. he knows nothing about grading jobs. >> what a you want to make the income tax permanent? >> i said we should maintain -- >> i don't understand -- >> that is my answer.

i laid out my budget six months ago very clearly. we need to maintain the income tax, and give and you will, -- annual direct property tax relief of $500 to every single homeowner in this state. that is a specific, concrete plan. it also includes tax relief for families. that is what i stand for. i'm going to keep doing it until we get it done. >> so you are saying yes, give the permanent tax increase. >> i said in my budget that the proper way is to invest in education, to make sure we have property tax relief that is specific, annual, that goes to people who need it the most. more than 2 million homeowners in illinois every year will get a $500 property tax refund. >> thank you. the next question, erica. >> the illinois slate

legislature approved temporary driver license for undocumented immigrants. there are many residents that cannot get an appointment due to the overflow of people. governor, it seems your administration has underestimated and underfunded this program. we want to know -- what are you going to do to solve this problem so they are safer? >> the program is actually under the secretary of state's office. the secretary of state needs more budget money in order to properly handle this particular issue. i am very open-minded to that. i think it is important that there have been plenty of appointments for people who have come to take their test and prove they are capable of driving. >> then why haven't you given them the assistance? >> i maintained the revenue necessary to help the secretary of state to help our state police.

i think it is important that we not have radical and extreme cuts in our budget. my opponent wants that. he doesn't want to deal with the consequences of that which is often agencies like our department of public health that has got to be on the front lines to protect all of us from contagious diseases. it is important that we properly invest in that. just to give a billionaire a million dollar tax cut -- that is what he is all about. he wants to give cuts to his fellow millionaires and billionaires at the expense of our public health, secretary of state -- it is important we have proper investment in those agencies. >> what initiatives do you propose to improve the life of immigrants? >> i'm very pro-immigrant and pro-immigration reform. i support the dream act and, hence of immigration reform. and i want to make illinois a welcoming state for immigrants

all over the world. you raise an important issue in the travers license of ministration process. -- administration process. pat quinn has been a disaster in administering the government. we waste billions of dollars under pat quinn and he wants to initiate further tax hikes. his corruption and his cronyism -- even pat quinn's own people have said that there is over half $1 billion in wasted spending. the bureaucracy that runs the state. pat quinn has not touched it because that is where his patronage is. that is where his campaign cash comes from. it is corruption, it is wrong, and it takes money out of our schools and out of our social services. >> let's go to laura washington. >> you once said that you would veto the same-sex marriage bill in illinois. the bill is now law. it recently opened the door for

the law going through in other states. what would you do to a short -- assure lgbt families and couples that you would uphold the marriage law and illinois, and ensure other protections for lgbt families? >> i have been very clear on this -- i want everyone at home to understand my position. marriage equality is the law in illinois. i support the law. i am comfortable with the law. i do not support ever-changing it or appealing it, period. while we need to focus on now -- other important issues that really matter. we have got to focus on jobs, taxes, schools, ending the corruption. i will get results. pat quinn has been a failure and he is desperate for other issues to come up. he and i are largely aligned on women's rights. to choose, reproductive rights. he keeps trying to bring it up

and make it an issue. he keeps trying to bring up the marriage equality act. it is the lawn now, and i'm comfortable with the law. we need to move past it and protect it. we need to focus on what we can do now to grow jobs and reduce the tax burden and improve our schools. i will get that done. pat quinn has six years of failure on that. >> this issue was a lot like the assault weapons. my opponent wants to have everyone have a right to have an assault weapon of military style. i want them banned. i have the courage to say it. when it came to marriage equality i advocated for it. the night it past my opponent said he would veto the marriage equality law. now he is a supporter. we have to understand that there are people in the government who have to lead the legislature to do something important for the future of our state. that is what i did with respect to marriage equality. on the issue of corruption -- my opponent has a lot of explaining to do. one of his nursing home operations was found by the

state of georgia to have to pay a $13 million fine for cheating medicaid. they took the money for themselves and let vulnerable people -- left vulnerable people helpless. that is what my opponent is all about. he doesn't take any responsibility when things go wrong. he just takes the money and runs. >> we are dropping follow-ups in the interest of time. >> governor, how are you getting along with the speaker? -- house speaker michael madigan ? he was conspicuously absent from governors day in springfield. is he the most powerful person in the state, and what have you done or will you do to restore the governor's power and prestige? >> i think i have a lot of power and have used it wisely. i was able to get the earned income tax credit, i disagree

from time to time with the speaker of the house. i have suspended legislative pay including his own and my own in in order to get an important reform pass. sometimes you have to get along with legislators of both parties in order to get important laws passed. that is what i have done. i think it is important to have a governor who can get reform laws passed. i have gotten ethics laws passed. including campaign-finance reform that my opponent wrote. >> how are you going to get along with him if you are elected? >> i will get results because i have the ability to lead. pat quinn has been a failure. i have gotten to know every member of the general assembly. i've spent time with the speeder, the president, many of the democrats, all of the republicans. >> you are calling them corrupt. >> there is corruption in springfield, everybody knows it. when it comes to working and getting legislation drafted, i will use my leadership ability to get things done.

pat quinn is a failure with the general assembly. even the president was quoted saying he is irrelevant to most of the governing process down there, and leaders in the general assembly say they need someone like me. a leader who will take the arrows and get tough things done. >> do you really think -- >> we are out of time for questions and it is time for closing statements. we begin with mr. quinn. >> we have a stark choice. i think it is important that we keep our economy moving and state moving forward and that is what i am all about. my opponent wants to take us back. he has a budget plan that will sabotage our education. if for billion dollar cut. -- a $4 billion hat. it will cut other parts with radical cuts. it is important that we maintain our investment in education. that is what i have proposed in our budget. some early childhood educational the way to college, improving our scholarships. my opponent wants to cut that back. i don't think that is the right way to go. i believe in raising the minimum wage.

my opponent is adamantly against the minimum wage. i have fought for everyday people all my life in government and outside of government. i organized a petition drive for a referendum that set up the citizen utility board. illinois largest consumer group. that is getting the job done. i fight hard for our veterans and all of our public servants who are out there sacrificing for us. they know they have a friend in pat quinn. i have been endorsed by firefighters, police officers and all kinds of public servants who know it will get the job done. >> i love illinois. this is home. i raise my six children here. home i can't stand to see our beautiful state is deteriorating under governor pat quinn. we have become the worst run state in america. debt, deficits unemployment, , crime. deteriorating schools, shredding social services. we can do so much better.

i will drive results. i have been a problem solver my whole life. we will get more jobs in the economy and get the government efficient. we will invest in education so we have the best schools in america. i have dedicated 25 years to that goal. we will deal with the corruption under pat quinn. we will rip the system out at its roots. we will get term limits done, and get redistricting done. >> thank you. we have time only to say good night and please vote. >> our campaign 2014 coverage will continue tonight starting at 8:00 eastern with the alaska senate debate where the incumbent faces republican dan sullivan, the former alaska attorney general. he most recently headed the state department of natural resources. coming up at 10:00, the virginia debates.

brat defeated eric cantor in the primary. earlier this week, the candidates in louisiana met a debate. between thoseange candidates about economic prosperity and standard of living. senator landrieu's answering first, followed by a look at some of the ads running in the race. part of the first generation of americans who may not achieve the same standard of living as their parents. that is a very frightening concept. government,role of if any, and ensuring economic prosperity for my generation and future generations? colonel, you are first. thought the senator was going go first. >> please note the first real

gaffe of the night came from the moderator. >> i think that is a legitimate concern. will work things that hardest on in washington is trying to lift the economic power of our country and as chair of the energy committee, i'm in a great position on behalf of the people of louisiana to help create millions of high-paying jobs so that your generation can benefit. at lsu,ted to be here where we have science, technology, engineering, and math for men, women, and minorities as well in the field of energy. i also think access to education is important. refusesent bill cassidy to sign on to a bill that i have to lower interest rates of student loans, which are $21,000 average, 11% interest. he has refused to do that. saidn't plan on my build double opportunities for poor students who are smart and want to work, but can't afford the

cost of education. man?ongress >> government doesn't create permanent jobs. americanness of our economy comes from the american people, not from the government. the government gets in the way. -- ifystone xl pipeline the president would allow it to itadmitted -- committed would create jobs. she said her first chart he -- priority was to get a vote on the keystone xl pipeline. she is not able to do so. she says she is done everything in her power, that is me she is not very powerful. president's health care law is a damper on the economy. if you look at those in the lowest fifth of income earners, the obamacare laws hammered them. pairs, 400 custodial and food service workers had their hours reduced from full part-time because they could not afford the obamacare law.

get government out of the way, get creativity going, you will have a better job. colonel? -- >> what we need to do is pull obamacare out by the roots. it is a job killer. i have been in all 64 parishes. people, and they all give the same message. you have got to do away with obamacare. we cannot afford the restrictions. we can't afford the new fees. we cannot afford the taxes, and we are not creating the jobs we could. we are cutting the jobs we had done a part-time job. economicurting the spectrum. that is exactly what obamacare was supposed to help. we need to unleash the energy sector in the state so we can lead america to energy independence. that is what we should be doing in indiana -- in louisiana.

drill baby drill. >> he promised to change america, but he is changing it for the worse. she votes with obama 97% of the time. for obamacare, for amnesty for illegals. over $700 billion in medicare cuts. bill cassidy stands up to barack obama, because he represents you. >> i approve this message. registered nurse who built nursing businesses in 12 states. we treat far too many women who are victims of directing violence. that is why i will never understand why congressman bill cassidy voted against the bipartisan violence against women act, and against affordable preventive care for women. bill cassidy is a doctor. he should know better. i mary landrieu, and i approve this message, because i will always stand up for the women of louisiana.

senator landrieu, i voted for you before. but when you voted for obamacare, i knew i had made a mistake. plans, bigls health rate increases, and still you refused to repeal it. >> you just try to scare us with nonsense about social security, medicare, and veterans. >> we are voting for bill cassidy. >> he will stand up to barack obama. this message because i'm with you, and i am fighting for you. >> i mary landrieu, and i approve this message. >>we all build companies that employ thousands of louisiana and's. america am a louisiana got billions. >> to rebuild after katrina and rita. >> we got over 50 deepwater drilling works. chairman of the energy committee. >> we can't afford to leave that.

>> that's why we are all with mary. >> in louisiana, you will learn to be tough. one moment of weakness, the alligators could he will live. when i get to washington, i will stand up to big spenders. i will fight to repeal obama care and protect our gun rights. approve this message, because louisiana needs a senator that will stand up to the current politicians and the alligators. >> an update on that race -- a litigant was article on the website saying republicans are seizing on louisiana senators obama's comments about popularity is his racial background. i'll be very honest you come of the south has not always been the friendliest place for african-americans. foras been a difficult time

the president to present himself in a positive light as a leader. the politico article goes on to closee finds herself in a reelection race against cassidy in the traditionally red states. the real clear politics polling average as of friday shows the republican with a lead of 4.5 points, but scoring below 50%, which would send the race to a runoff rid. throughout campaign 2014, c-span has brought you more than 130 candidate debates from across the country in races that will determine control over the next congress. this tuesday night, watch c-span's live election night coverage to see who wins, who loses, and which party will control the house and senate. our coverage begins at 8:00 eastern with results and analysis. you will also see candidate victory and concession speeches in some of the most closely watched senate races across the country. throughout the night and into the morning, we want to hear from you, with your calls,

facebook comments, and tweets. campaign 2014 election night coverage on c-span. >> now, the final televised debate for the u.s. senate seat in new hampshire between jeanne shaheen and scott brown. nowcook political report rates the race is a tossup. to go before the midterm elections, here are some of the at the massachusetts residents are watching. we have the nations highest electric rates. i'm definitely going to change. >> we have some of the highest energy cost in the nation. it will likely go up $.43. that will include 75,000 electric customers in new hampshire. >> $12.47 a month.

that's 83,000 homes and businesses in new hampshire. $50 a month, 50% more for your bill. 30,000 new himf for customers. -- new hampshire customers. >> and deftly going to change. >> i have never voted to outsource jobs. >> your involvement with the company, you were on the board, whose business plan includes shipping jobs overseas,

outsourcing. >> i never voted outsource jobs. it's interesting when you look at that. [laughter] >> anyone who turns on the tv these days knows we face challenges to our way of life. radical islamic terrorists are threatening to hurt our country. -- they seem confused about the threat. not me. i would restore america's leadership in the world. i'm scott brown, i approve this message, because protecting the homeland is the first step to making america strong again. >> they don't call us the granite state for nothing. we are tough here. i never back down from a fight for the people of new hampshire.

i don't work for the big oil companies with a big banks. i work for you. saving jobs of the shipyard, helping businesses competes. allowing families to refinance student loans and veterans get health care close to home. getting the job done for the hampshire. i'm jeanne shaheen, i approve this message. i didn't just move here, i have been here fighting for you. i would be honored to have your vote. >> tonight, a commitment way 14 special brought to you by wmur, in partnership with the new hampshire institute of politics. this evening, the u.s. senate candidates. >> good evening. welcome to the final night of the granite state debates. we will hear from the candidates for u.s. senate here in new hampshire. the podium by abc news chief anchor george

stephanopoulos. >> great to be back in new hampshire. this is one of the most closely watched senate races in the country. andnow there is big money big names have come into the state to try and influence the outcome. but it is you, the people of the hampshire, to get to make this decision. i'm excited to get you to know these candidates. >> euro the candidates. senator jeanne shaheen is serving her first term in washington. also a former governor. two lives in med berry with her husband and three daughters. she faces republican challenger scott brown, a former senator with 35 years in the national guard. tohave asked our audience hold their applause throughout the debate, except for right now. please welcome our candidates. [applause] >> before we get to the rules of the road, we do want to knowledge that -- the death of

the former mayor. he passed earlier today with condolences coming in from across the region in the white house. on to business. here are the guidelines for tonight to meet. you get one minute to respond to questions, we allow 32nd rebuttals. there will be one round of candidate to candidate questions, and maybe a question or two will come from voters. mostly the questions come from myself, george, or our panel. with all of the introductions now out of the way, let's go to george stephanopoulos for the first set of questions. the greatest threat facing america today, and what can you do a senator specifically to address it? >> the greatest threat is radical islamic jihad us. -- jihadists. they are looking to plant a flag in the white house. to disrupt the middle

east and other parts of the world, export terrorism around the region of the world. it is something that israel and serious. obviously we have boko haram in africa, we have isis, al qaeda elements till. -- elements still. the number one goal is to dismantle site -- society as we know it. i call it a very rational fear. what we can do is to create a consistency because right now, there has been hesitation and half steps as evidenced by secretary panetta. he wanted to leave troops in iraq during the pullout. he made very clear that he wanted to do that. the president did not listen to him and as result we are having more and more trouble in that region. >> do you agree that is the greatest threat? looks i certainly agree that isis is a threat. bigger threat is not having the commitment and gumption here