the most closely watched senate races across the country. we want to hear from you with your calls for facebook comments, and tweets. campaign 2014 election night coverage on c-span. >> coverage continues over the next couple of hours. we will show you some of the debates in the senate races that could control the races next year. theext, a rebroadcast of final louisiana senate debate. some call that state the jungle primary. we will follow that up with your phone calls. ae independent is in competitive race against pat roberts. we will follow that up with the iowa u.s. senate debate.

join us on facebook. the question we are asking is which party should control congress. stories to read tonight, including this from alex earns from politico. theird that voters made final please on monday. he said that public polling and manypetitive races are in the tossup category. onublicans remain confident their prospects of extending their majority in the house of representatives. mitch mcconnell says that victory is in the air. tomorrow evening, our live coverage of the returns. we will go into the morning. results.ave the

you can follow our coverage online and we welcome our listeners. up next, we want to show you the louisiana senate race. maness is the republican candidate. runoff if no to a candidate receives 50% tomorrow. we want to thank all of our cable and broadcast partners who allowed us to share with you 100 debates during the season. days, voters enter the polls in a race that could decide the control of the senate. tonight, the major candidates face off in the race for the u.s. senate. .ow, live

here is your moderator. >> good evening evening. welcome to the debates tonight. speed. the order was predetermined by a random drawing. we will introduce our panel as we go along. >> good evening. americans are worried about a threat from isis. would you support american troops on the ground? we will start with you. >> thank you.

sponsoringu for this. colonel, thank you for showing up and it is good to see you facing the voters for this our and we look forward to talking about your record. i believe that isis is a serious threat and that we have to do everything we can to eliminate the threat. to take outtrikes the threat and i would be open to unsure -- two other measures to make sure we do that. i want to make sure that we make no mistake. >> with the other measures include ground troops? >> i have said before i would keep that option open. >> i have said before that i would keep that option open. we've got to be careful am a because we've already put a lot of troops on the ground in iraq

and afghanistan. what i would be open, and i think it is a mistake to take these options off the table, honestly. our enemies need to believe that we are serious and we will take what measures necessary to eliminate them. quick whether it is the goal or isis, he was told a year and a half ago that isis was on the rise. when they begin to make advances, he called them the jv team. it allowed isis to disburse those weapons across iraq and syria. if the commander in chief as opposed to keep us safe and secure, he has failed. he has not presented a strategy or a plan. >> i will reserve judgment as to whether i will commit our young men and women until i see a strategy. i don't trust this president. i think he is a terrible

commander-in-chief. i'm not about to commit our young men and women, when he presents a strategy that is edible, i will consider all options. until then, i will reserve judgment. >> senator, congressman am a both of you should be in washington right now, but you are both here. both of you are ducking responsibility for our new incremental and potentially endless war against isis. our president can't be trusted with national security, and it appears that neither can you. this president has failed in every job in national security that he has attempted and senator landrieu has been a rubber stamp for every one of his feckless polities. he needs a definition of success and an exit plan. congress has the responsibility, a valid responsibility to debate whether we should be at all out

war and how we are going to pay for it instead of putting this war on a credit card. the young and women that wear our uniforms, and their parents and families, deserves that our congress should be in session now. instead of giving the president a blank check. >> the question, would you support american ground troops on the ground? >> once the president brings a strategy and the definition of success and an exit plan and congress debates it and decides whether we can pay for it or not and how were going to pay for it, as a senator i will be able to entertain that option, but we would have to be looking at ground forces. >> if the joint chiefs came out and said this is necessary, with that move any of you? >> it's interesting for these two to claim great support of the military, and i have always been a strong supporter of the

military, i believe we need to listen to our generals. isis is a real threat. it is frightening to the people of our state and our country. i support our allies and i'm not going to take any options off the table. >> i will listen to the generals, but the commander-in-chief has been feckless, totally incompetent when it comes to keeping us safe and secure. it begs the question of why senator landrieu supports him 97% of the time. >> i need to respond to that, john. nobody is arguing that isis is not a threat. it is a threat, absolutely. and nobody is not listening to the joint chiefs except for one person and that is president obama and the democratic party. he's got to get his act together and start listening to the joint chiefs carried then maybe we can get the job done without extra

lives lost. >> the next round of questions a slightly different. pacific league for one candidate. let's go to cynthia from k plc. >> senator landrieu, you admitted you miss used $33,000 in taxpayer money for air travel for charter flights tom and you paid it back. but walk us through why you need charter flights in the first place for senate business. >> thank you, cynthia, for that question. first of all, i take full responsibility for that error. it was a bookkeeping error. we did a thorough and independent review and found the $33,000 and has been fully repaid. i used charter flights to move around the state more quickly and efficiently. others travel differently. sometimes i travel by car. sometimes i travel by plane. it was within the budget and within the rules.

i take full responsibility for the errors that were made in that. >> are you move at all by $17 trillion in debt? >> actually, john, the budget i receive every year, the 18 years i have been proud to serve the people of this state, i have returned money to the treasurer. every senator has discretion as to how to use money in their own budget, but i return money every year and have lived within the budget. >> this question for congressman cassidy. >> we begin first by thanking you for being here tonight. with that said, can you explain to us why you have declined several debates?

how would you respond to critics who say your strategy was to limit your exposure close to her runoff? >> i'm debating tonight. this is the second debate. how many times do we have to ask senator landrieu why she supports the president 97% of the time? the vast majority of people in louisiana have been punished i obamacare. why did she support a president who is hostile to our oil and gas jobs? there was a recent debate on the day you folks were preparing, i spoke to the verde rotary club, toured va hospital, that with pastors, veterans, went to a manufacturing plant, and then drove to rustin and was at a meet and greet the next morning. that would not have happened if one more time we were discussing senator landrieu's vote for obama care one more time. >> would you address the part of the question, there are people who believe your strategy has been to kind of coast toward a

runoff? >> people are always going to ascribe motives to you. my motive is to meet as many voters as possible. frankly reporters are the people i meet the most often. you actually meet people in different settings. we have limited time, and these debates have been great. i think it's adequate time to discuss the issues. >> a question for colonel maness. you say you only serve two terms. since there's no such limit across the country, louisiana would never gain the influence that comes with the majority. why would this be an issue? >> first of all, we don't need senators with the seniority and clout that enables you to have a staff that spends $33,000 in tax dollars to fly yourself to campaign events, breaking the law. that's not the kind of clout we

need. our first president was a military leader. if two terms were good enough for general washington, they are certainly good enough for a retired colonel. our government is designed to be run by citizen legislators, not the citizen class that we have allowed to be created over the last several decades. we need to eliminate it, and that is why i am the one conservative in this race, and that's why i am running. >> the part of the question that deals with, that may be a wonderful idea that would work for the country, that is the other 49 states don't do it, are we at a disadvantage? >> we are not at a disadvantage because i support and advocate putting term limits into law. that is why the issues i'm going to fight for. >> another round of questions

for all the candidates, beginning this time with congressman cassidy. >> the social security trustees say the trust funds will be so depleted that about 20 years that it will only be able to pay out about 75% of benefits. should congress and to restore that to 100%, or should people my age -- i'm 35 -- should we start planning for lower benefits? >> my commitment to the people of louisiana is that if you are on social security, nothing changes. the age of eligibility and your benefits remain the same. the problem is medicare and social security trust funds are going bankrupt. senator landrieu past obamacare that took $700 billion out of

the medicare trust fund to spend on obamacare. the social security disability trust fund is going bankrupt in two years. if this is personal. my mom is 91 and lives with us. the only thing we have is social and medicare. bankruptcy means an 85-year-old will see her benefits decreased by 25%. we can fix this. if you take someone who is 30, she would become eligible for benefits one-month later than she ordinarily would. by doing that we can fulfill the promise that if they are currently on social security nothing changes. the cost of doing nothing is that your security is destroyed. >> republicans make frequently what may be the valid argument that when it comes to increases in the budget, the cuts that democrats often complain about, is really a cut in the growth of spending. it is really money that was taken out of the growth in what medicare would have had otherwise. it wasn't a real cut. is it inconsistent for you to suggest that they cut $750 million, which would imply that they went and grabbed $750

million? >> anyone who's out of pocket is greater for their own medicare benefits is finding those cuts are real. it wasn't just a change in the growth of spending. it was actually taking money from the trust fund that we knew would be spent and instead has decided to spend it on obamacare. i can take it that's not the way to save medicare. >> your thoughts on social security, how do we fix it? >> the important thing to remember is that the issue with the social security trust fund dollars that are available gives us some time, about 15 years before anybody needs to look at a change in benefits. so we have some time to work and sit down and come to the table and find solutions that will work. we've got to stop politicizing this issue and scaring people have to death. that's what these two folks over here represent, that hyper

partisan extremism that doesn't get americans to the table to find solutions. we have the time to get that done. we need to find solutions. everything needs to be on the table. it's a valid proposal. >> simpson bowles has frequently pointed out that the longer we wait, the worst pain. -- worse the pain. i have heard to address this several times and i am not sure where you stand. are you willing to cut benefits? are you open to higher taxes down the road, lifting the income limit? >> i am open to any valid ideas to be put on the table, for us to come together to find solutions. the sooner the better.

we shouldn't wait that long. however we do have plenty of time to do that. >> what about anything specifically? >> we have to consider any specifics in a broader context. to get down to a specific, like health savings accounts, and considering that in isolation is the wrong thing to do. yes, that could be the fixing the issue, but it needs to be part of a larger issue. i want to work from a constitutional perspective. those are the principles that i will start with. >> the rules are you are not supposed to bring props but i don't know if anyone objects to the constitution. >> i really respect his work in service in the air force but he has no plan for social security. the greatest difference between my opponent and myself is on this issue. my opponent has voted four times to raise the social security age to 70. in man he doubled down and says he doesn't think it is going to hurt anybody in louisiana. i want to remind you, congressman, that the life expectancy of a person, an

african-american, is 70 years old. you expect them to work their whole life, pay into social security and earn benefits and get nothing back? that is not a solution and i will never vote to raise the age. there are solutions. let me offer one. people don't pay into social security after hundred $16,000. -- $116,000. people that earn over a million dollars per year could pay a little more. >> your time has expired but let me follow up. your argument has been that the congressman, if we follow his path, gets everybody 60% of the benefits unless they retire at age 70. explain to me, because right now

the trustees say that in 19 years everybody gets 75. everybody gets 75% of their benefits. one day a woman gets $.75 on the dollar out of nowhere. how is this past different from his? -- path different from his? >> there is a big difference in our policies and what he is voted for. i will not vote to raise the social security age to 70. i will vote to add money to fund. i will not vote to cut social security to 70 and i will note vote for coupons for medicare. he wants to change medicare as we know it and i don't think that is right. >> we will make it to medicare later -- a rebuttal? >> you can still retire at 62, that doesn't change. the difference between us is that her path doesn't work. if you look at the actuaries, it

doesn't work. your benefits will be cut by 25% because -- >> let me get a final word. >> thank you. senator, you are becoming like the president. you keep saying things that are just not true. we do have a plan but we want to talk visible in this discussion so people of louisiana and america can understand our principles. i will not talk from a legislative perspective. neither one of these planes work. neither one of these planes work. >> i am not sure what your plan is -- what is your plan? >> the plan needs to be that we come to the table and find solutions that will work because neither one of these plans work because the people sitting in this audience that have paid into social security deserve to get the benefits that they have paid for and neither one of those work. >> let's go back to our next

question. >> there are millions of illegal immigrants already in our country. outside of the debate on border defense and security what do we do with the folks that are already here? >> thanks for the question. i will say it again. secure the border, secure the border, secure the border. no amnesty and no pathway to citizenship. both of the folks to my left -- one of the folks agrees with amnesty and one think there should be a pathway to citizenship. my answer to that is not a pathway to citizenship but to go home.

they need to be repatriated. those dollars are in the federal budget. we need to take care of and respect the american citizens and the legal immigrants that are here going through the process now before we do anything else like give welfare housing to illegal aliens. >> send them home? >> we need to repatriate them. >> i support a strong border and have for many years. i have increased the number of border agents from 15,000 to 20,000. i have joined john mccain, friend of my opponent, and passing comprehensive immigration bills to double it from 20,000 to 40,000. i also support a fence 700 miles long. they can tell the difference between a dear or a person -- a dear and a person. those that say i'm not for secure border are false. for the people that are here, yes, i support a copper hands of bill supported by the catholic church, the chamber of commerce, voted on by 67 or 70 members. they do find a path forward. it is important to for our economy. after finds, after english,

getting to the back of the line. >> the president has responsibility is to keep -- the president is responsible he has clearly failed. if you come here legally there should not be a pathway to citizenship. by the way, the good thing about video -- she says she is all for the fence. we have a club for saying she will never again vote for a dumb fence. in terms of what we do with the folks that are here, it depends on how long it takes to secure the border. if it takes 30 years to secure the border they will have to dig some people up to move them out. if we can secure within three months it is a totally different situation. it depends on how long it takes. as long as obama is president he will not secure the border. as long as harry reid has the senate they were not secure the border. >> in the interest of time -- senator, you have tried and

failed. nobody is saying you didn't support border security measures. the evidence is clear. two deputies out on the west coast were killed in the last few days by an illegal alien that had been deported twice and the law is not being enforced. our border is not secure and they are dead. we need to respect the american citizens. the legal immigrants that are here going through the process and those are visiting legally. we must secure the border. >> senator, your response? >> i am for building a smart fence that can tell the difference between a deer and a person and so did taxpayers. they don't want to waste money on things that don't work. i have been to the border.

i have seen the tunnels. i have seen people crawl over them. we need to have a smart technology using everything. i would put my record up against securing the border. >> let me get a final word. have you been to the border? >> no. >> i have commanded the united states air force base -- >> on the border? >> north of the border. our primary concern was border security. >> let's go to the next question. >> how do you feel about governor bobby jindal's refusal to accept medicaid dollars when so many working poor could have benefited? >> thank you. both of my opponents agree with jindal that we should not expand medicaid.

i think it is tragic. 200 52,000 people that wake up and go to work every day could be benefiting from health insurance. they talk a lot about a workforce -- it is hard to have a strong workforce of it is not healthy. i believe that -- it would have brought $16 billion. this is three times the amount of jobs that will be brought here. i oppose the governor's actions. i sent letters and showed up, asking him to say yes to 250 2000 people in our state and that is part of why i am proud to run against them. >> a doctor who has been working for 25 years treating the uninsured -- you might ask, if it is so good, why does it go to a charity hospital?

it is so far beneath the dr.'s cost she cannot afford to receive a large number of medicaid patients. medicaid is the illusion of coverage without the power of access. and for this meant that it wouldn't -- for this myth that it went cost taxpayers anything. it would cost louisiana taxpayers $600 million. along the way, we find those states that have done medicaid expansion, there has been increased visits to emergency rooms, people dropping private insurance, and outcomes are no better than among the uninsured. it is a broken system and we should not expand it. >> governor jindal is right. we shouldn't accept the medicaid expansion because louisiana taxpayers get left holding the bag.

the costs are quite high. the other thing is that we need to the outcome based. if we want to help those that need it, we have to have outcomes that are better than what the medicaid system provides and that is the issue we need to address. >> any follow-up. -- let me follow up. >> the commonwealth funds $1.65 billion in the year 2022. it does cost, though, senator, $230 million. so everybody here walk me through, why do you think that is or isn't a good deal? there are those who argue take the money while it is available as some republican governors have. >> one of the big differences here, this is really stark to me. bill cassidy is a doctor that has been paid a salary from medicaid. and so he has earned a living

from medicaid, but it's not good enough for people that go to work to get health care, number one. number two, i didn't say it didn't cost anything. i said it didn't cost the state of louisiana for the first three years. and then it's the best investment we could make. >> seven years down the road it is $230 million. >> because the state would put up ten cents to get 90 cents back. if you were in business to put up ten cents to get a dollar back, that's a great investment. we need to support working people for health care. one more point, john. in these states where medicaid has been expanded, the cost of insurance has gone down for everyone. >> let me get the other two gentlemen to weigh in, please. >> she is arguing even if you don't like obamacare you take the money because it's offered. >> 60% of the people that join medicaid in the medicaid expansion dropped private insurance which means now the taxpayer is responsible for it. again, the urban institute

estimates that would cost $600 million to our taxpayers. by the way, the only place we get that $600 million is either raising taxes or taking it from institutions like lsu or other institutions of higher education. if working for lsu as a teacher for 25 years means medicaid has paid my salary, then proudly as an lsu faculty member, which i still am, i say, heck, that's what you paid me. so that said, there are better ways to do this. not expanding a broken system. not expanding a broken system. >> all right. we have to move on. colonel maness, you brought up obamacare. i have to say it's an abomination. we need to pull it out by the roots. it's a job killer, too. in addition to trying to fix a system that's already broken that is not going to work as congressman cassidy just pointed out twice. >> why not take the money as some republican governors have under the argument that, hey, it's a good investment. you get much more than you -- >> because the louisiana taxpayer is the person holding the bag, sir.

that's who we're responsible to when we're in elected office and who our bosses are and we owe it to them not to take their tax dollars without them wanting it. >> ask the university president if he wants his budget cut even more because more money is going to medicaid. it is not a free ride. that is a lie. that is what people are saying, which is not true. urban institute showed that is not the case. we need to be honest. >> i have to move on. doug werner from ksla. >> kind of keeping it in the medical arena and global concerns with the ebola virus. just today an american nurse who was quarantined against her will indicated she is not going to obey instructions to stay in her home. just today president obama spoke from the white house surrounded by medical members who just returned from west africa many still within their 21-day incubation period. given that health experts say people are contagious only when showing symptoms should americans exposed to ebola be forced into quarantine? >> again, the president fails

to keep us safe and secure. ebola is a great example. the way to control it is they issued travel restrictions. they taught nationals how to treat the disease. then they taught the people of the country how to avoid infection. they controlled the infection within a month. now, let me put it this way. if somebody gets on a plane and she doesn't have symptoms but it is a 36-hour flight and she develops symptoms halfway across the atlantic, developing diarrhea. i can't help it. i'm a gastro ent roll gist. she potentially infects an entire plane. now, i'm not making this up. this is how it works. now, the president may surround himself with people who are asymptomatic but the reality is one could be symptomatic the day they leave. they could go in a new york subway as the doctor did in new york and go bowling and potentially infect others. we need to restrict travel. we need to teach the nationals how to treat the disease. we need to teach infection control but keep the disease in africa. do not allow it to come to the

u.s. >> colonel maness? >> the disconnect between the c.d.c. and what thinks it knows and what is reality has really just become surreal, folks. our lives are in the hands of an agency full of politicized academics and nutty professors. no more of this, i'm a doctor and a scientist arrogance. we need some common sense applied in this situation. ebola, a doctor came from west africa that had been infected with ebola just last week, came home, went riding on the subway, went bowling, went out to dinner. what kind of arrogance is that? we've got to put a travel ban on the western african nations where these outbreaks have occurred. we've got to do screening in every port of entry. we've got to do quarantines where appropriate for folks who have been exposed to this dangerous and despicable disease. we've got to protect our medical folks, nurses and doctors, in the same way we protect them at emory university and other special

isolation units. most of all, the c.d.c. has to learn to admit when it doesn't know something so it can protect us from the unknown. >> your time is expired. thank you, sir. senator landrieu? >> i do support a 21-day quarantine. i know the president has said he will not but i do believe that this is very fearful for many people in america. i think a 21-day quarantine is a minimum we should do for doctors and nurses and health care professionals that are going to these three countries particularly and treating ebola patients. yes, it is an inconvenience. but i think it's necessary so this disease does not start breaking out in america even more than it has. but number two, john, let me say this. my opponent, congressman cassidy, voted to cut c.d.c. unding by $#00 million -- $600 million. you can't have it both ways. you can't criticize the c.d.c., cut the heck out of their

budget, and then when they fail to stand up criticize them as well. that is his approach and it's wrong. >> your response? >> "the washington post" has made it clear. let's be honest. "the washington post" has made it clear that the idea that the c.d.c. budget has been cut to where they cannot respond is false. that is "the washington post." the president's budget actually cut the c.d.c. because they were going to make it up from the affordable care act. let's be honest with the american people. that's not true. read it in "the washington post." it's a false narrative. >> all right. the congressman got a little less time on one question so if it's okay with everybody i'm going to move on. >> i'll get a chance to rebut what she said? >> i'll give you a chance. >> thank you very much. these two folks in washington here both voted for a continuing resolution not too long ago that gave this president the ability to deploy 4,000 americans into these ebola hot zones. they're wearing military uniforms. they're going to get infected. they need to start taking responsibility, both of them, and all of their colleagues do, for what this president is doing and holding him in check to keep him from hurting the

american people anymore than he already has. thank you. >> all right. let's move on then. our next question is from the lsu student body. >> i'm 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. what is the role of government, if any, in ensuring economic prosperity for my generation and future generations? colonel maness, you're first. >> i thought the congressman was first. >> actually, senator landrieu first. >> all right. >> please note the first real gaffe of the night came from the moderator. >> okay. first of all, i think that is a legitimate concern and one of the things i work hardest on in washington is trying to lift the economic power of our country. as chair of the energy committee i am in a particularly great position right now on behalf of the people of louisiana to help

create millions of high paying jobs so your generation can benefit. in addition, i'm excited to be here at lsu where we have science, technology, engineering, and math, for men, women, and minorities as well in the field of energy. number two, i also think access to education is important. my opponent, bill cassidy, refuses to sign on to a bill that i have to lower interest rates on student loans, which are 21,000 average, 11,000 -- i mean 11% interest. he has refused to do that and he won't sign on a bill to double the opportunity for pell grants for poor students who are smart and want to work but they come from families that simply can't afford the cost of education. >> congressman? >> yeah. i can tell you, the government doesn't create permanent jobs and if it does those jobs don't really happen. the greatness of our american economy comes from the american people not from government. but government gets in the way.

keystone pipeline, if the president would just allow it to be permitted, would create 40,000 better jobs with better benefits. bhy the way, senator landrieu speaks of her clout. she said her first priority in becoming chair of this energy committee was to get a senate floor vote on keystone xl pipeline. she ha not been able to do so. she said she has done everything in her power. that just means she is not very powerful. but there are other things. the president's healthcare law is a damper on the economy. if you look at those in the lowest income earners the obamacare law has hammered them. in lincoln parish for example 400 custodial and food service workers had their hours reduced from full to part-time because they could not afford the obamacare law. get government out of the way. get creativity going. you'll have better jobs. >> colonel maness snveragets the main thing senator landrieu has been able to accomplish on energy is push through all of president obama's antienergy appointees. we certainly in louisiana don't need that kind of clout. what we need to do is pull

obamacare out by the roots because it's a job killer. i've been in all 64 parishes and talked to small business owners and employees of those businesses all over that, through 85,000 miles on my pickup truck. every one of them give me the same message. sir, you have to do away with obamacare. we cannot afford the restrictions. we cannot afford the new fees. we cannot afford the taxes. we're not creating the jobs we could. we're cutting the jobs we had down to part-time jobs. that's hurting the economic spectrum. that's exactly what obamacare was supposed to help. we need to unleash our energy sector in this state so we can lead america to energy independence. that's what we should be doing here in louisiana across the board. drill, baby, drill. >> all right. let me revisit this subject just a little bit on this issue of clout. if you're not aware at home, if you don't live in southwestern louisiana, for example, the other day an $8 billion investment was announced. 1500 permanent jobs at a factory in the southwest.

there is, however, a threat, it is thought, by some people in the southwestern part of the state, from obama administration ozone rules that would threaten to damper down this explosion of growth. so what would you say, senator, to those who argue that whether your chairmanship is a good idea or not that the crowd you're hanging with, the barbara boxers and the others who are more pro environment, together with an administration that can be anti-energy and anti-fossil fuel, it isn't worth that, their argument is we need to get, you know, a republican majority in there. >> well, john, you know, this isn't a social. it's a senate. it's about voting. you can look at my record. i opposed the president's rule for air control. i support the keystone pipeline. i moved it out of my committee as quickly as i could after six years of stalling i got -- >> couldn't get a vote. >> okay. well, we are going to get a vote. we're going to continue to work on it.

i've built support from three democrats to 11. more importantly, i've already passed a bill that opened up 8.5 million acres, the largest opening for drilling in the gulf of mexico. i've worked with three presidents, i've worked with four majority leaders, i've worked with six governors. i've been able to move an energy agenda forward regardless of who is there. >> to congressman cassidy, this question. you spoke to the louisiana chemical association the other day. you acknowledged that many of the people in the room, including the head, on top of the shipyard owner in the bayou country are with your opponent. they must be with your opponent for some reason. they're not doing it just out of friendship are they? there must be some jobs at hand. >> yes. dan told me he knew her since he was a little girl. this is not about a personal relationship but the future of our country. the only thing that threatens prosperity in southwest

louisiana is the obama appointee who can regulate it to death. those appointees, whom senator landrieu has voted for, every single one, she might be for keystone xl pipeline. i'm sure she is. her first vote though as she said on msnbc will be for harry reid. harry reid is the senate majority leader and will never allow a vote on keystone xl pipeline. and then he will appoint barbara boxer the liberal from california as head of the environment and public works committee to make sure there is a stranglehold on those jobs. i'm not out of time. >> well, this is actually open ended. i'll let you finish. >> senator landrieu has clout but uses it for barack obama. she doesn't use it for us. my gosh. if you've had your insurance premiums go up 250%, that she and barack obama holding hands forced in obamacare on you, even though we the people of louisiana did not like it, senator landrieu has clout. she uses it for barack obama. >> just to clarify the followup questions are a little more open ended on time. that's fine.

i want to make sure -- >> i apologize. >> i want to be sure everybody gets their shot. >> he was holding up the sign so i thought i had more time. >> so, colonel maness, you know, when they used to joke republicans in license could boise a phone booth, bollinger's daddy was in a phone booth. he was one of those. yet he supports your amendment. why do you suppose that is if it doesn't involve jobs? >> well, homea, louisiana, they have the lowest unemployment in the united states. that is the way the entire state of louisiana ought to be. mary landrieu's clout somebodying used for things like funneling money through her jazz pac that goes to political candidates that fight against the very oil and gas companies that should be being helped right here in the state of louisiana. that's number one. of course boise bollinger is going to love her because she appropriates things like six coast guard cutters when the coast guard only asks for two. that's billions of dollars into his pocket and a very small group of people. well, those dollars should be

spread around the state of louisiana through competition and free markets. that's what government is about. it's setting the climate for businesses to succeed in the free market in a well related free market. that's the way government should be. >> now he has gone a little too far. let me talk about the coast guard for a minute. the coast guard is one of the most popular federal agencies in the country. the coast guard showed up when our people were 14 feet under water, colonel. and i support the coast guard. the coast guard needs those boats. they need to interdict drugs coming in across our border. if you want to secure the border you should support the coast guard. let me be very clear. i am very proud that we're building coast guard boats here in louisiana and the more we can build, the more people we can employ, and the more we can support one of these federal agencies that really works, you can count on me. obviously you cannot count on

the two of them but you can count on me. >> i will let everybody have a quick, final word if they want to. >> closing statement? >> no, no. we're about ten minutes from that. on this subject if you want it. >> okay. >> to even imply that i don't support the united states coast guard or any other military members or their families is just absolutely silly and ridiculous. but i do believe that we're almost $18 trillion in debt in this country and if the united states coast guard commandant only asks to build two coast guard cutters, then that's the dollar amount that they should be propose rated for when the request comes to the u.s. senate before the president signs it. because we are in a crisis level in our debt and the people of louisiana deserve that so that they can have long-term, sustainable jobs that aren't tied to government contracts. >> thank you, colonel. congressman cassidy? >> senator landrieu's first vote will be for harry reid for senate majority leader. harry reid has turned the senate into a rubber stamp for barack obama approving his agenda. if you love barack obama's agenda, vote for senator

landrieu. she is going to vote for harry reid. he will make sure the senate enforces that. >> senator, gosh. we're $17 trillion in debt. should we be shoving coast guard cutters down their throats? >> first of all, neither one of them read the coast guard budget the way i do because i'm the chair of the committee. the fact of the matter is the coast guard is desperate for these boats. the president of the united states undercut the coast guard budget. i restored the money over the wishes of the president. because sometimes i don't agree with the president contrary to what these two say. i have tried to represent louisiana's interests 100% of the time. colonel, try to read the coast guard budget. talk to the commander. they need to capitalize a fleet that's an average of 50 years old and i intend to help them do it. >> right. i need to move on. the next question is from amy jeffries, and it's, we'll direct this at congressman cassidy first. >> keeping with the economic opportunity theme for the

moment, the median income for an african-american household in the united states is roughly 60% of the median for a white household. even worse in louisiana. what do you think first of all is the cause of this disparity? is it something that needs to be addressed now? >> yes. so income inequality has increased under president obama. if you own stock and properties you've done really well. if you're the lowest portion you've been hammered. there is a study published in forbes in which you can see because of obamacare the lowest 1/5 of income earners have seen salaries suffer, they've been laid off or hours reduced to 40 to 30 hours a week because of obamacare. the employers explicitly say it is because of obamacare. not just louisiana. the federal reserve banks of new york, philadelphia, atlanta all report this. by the way, it was known this would happen. it was known that if you pass this mandate employers were going to lay people off or

lower their hours. when senator landrieu says she would vote for obamacare again tomorrow, i would oppose it again tomorrow. she is really saying she doesn't care that lincoln parish just took 400 lower paid workers and took them from full to part-time. i care. i would repeal and replace obamacare. >> colonel maness? >> repeal, replace, and pull it out by the roots. it's unamerican when you start to destroy jobs through a law that is supposed to help the very people whose jobs are being destroyed. that's not the role of government, as we talked about. the role of government is to create the environment so those jobs can be created. that's what we do when we unleash our energy sector. that's what we do when we get out of the way of our commercial fishermen and let them do their jobs the way they know how to do it instead of letting some federal bureaucrat come in and dictate it. we create jobs. that's the answer to poverty. we have a poverty rate of near 20% here in this state and that's only 50% less than what it was when we started the war on poverty back in the 1960's.

we've spent over $23 trillion on it. we're not doing the right thing. we're only doing the same thing over and over again. unemployment for young, black men in this state is three times the rate of unemployment for anybody else. the answer to poverty is to get businesses to be able to thrive and create jobs, not destroy them with laws like obamacare. >> senator landrieu? >> well, anyone here at lsu and any student of history would know that one of the answers to that question is, racism over centuries, where the african-american community has been kept out, kept down, and kept back. that's part of what we all try to do, to bring that community forward, the hispanic community, and others that have been left out. women, as a class, sometimes couldn't even teach school if they were married. they could not get -- my opponents don't even support equal pay for equal work for women. not only do african-americans have a lower income but their

average net worth is only $5,000 and median net worth. for hispanic families it's only six. we have a lot of work to do. jobs, economic opportunity. send me back to the senate. let me help create these energy jobs that can help lift a whole new generation in america and in louisiana up to a greater standard of living. >> i see colonel maness shaking his head. >> i'll go first. >> sure. >> under the obama/landrieu economy there's been 78,000 more people in louisiana who have gone on to food stamps that have gotten new jobs. that's because the obama/landrieu economy actually discourages the use of america's natural resource iss. one thing that can create prosperity for working families is energy jobs. senator landrieu may be for them personally but when she votes for senator harry reid and supports barack obama's appointees, those jobs will not occur the same as they would cassidy to t bill

be your candidate. >> it's unbelievable. get the facts right. of course we support equal pay for women and everybody that enters the work force. as a matter of fact, facts are that senator landrieu's office staff women are under paid less than men. those are the facts we pointed out in our first debate. let's get to the facts and really understand what's wrong and what's going on with these jobs. the federal government is interfering with the state of louisiana and destroying jobs in the economic spectrum that they're trying to help. we need to turn that around. that's why i've sponsored acts like the redeem act to help that unemployment rate and the incarceration rates in this state so that we can forgive minor, nonviolent offenses and folks can start their adult -- >> and the final thought from senator landrieu? >> yes, the charge that he just made he's made every debate and it's absolutely false. my first chief of staff was a female. my current chief of staff is the only african-american chief of staff in the senate. he is looking at statistics and

using them for his own purposes because he does not support enforcing the equal pay law on the books, which is what i am for. they also would vote against the lilly ledbetter law, which i voted for, and i was very proud to support that law. so women can get an equal pension when they have been unjustly paid less through their career. >> we have about a minute before we get to a final round of questions where everybody would get closing statements. let me throw out yes-and-no questions real quick. higher federal minimum wage yes or no? >> i support a higher minimum wage >> congressman? >> it kills 500,000 jobs. you don't want to kill 500,000 jobs. the answer is no. >> higher federal minimum wage is just another one size fits all solution and i believe the states and the people that vote the state leadership in should have the opportunity to experiment with it, a state minimum wage. >> marriage for same sex couples could be a national

issue if the supreme court hasn't decided by the time there is a nominee. so, very quickly, marriage for same sex couples, yes or no? >> my personal views have evolved quite a bit. but i have said on record that i will support the state's constitutional ban against same sex marriage. >> congressman? >> i'm for traditional marriage. >> colonel maness? >> i believe it's a state issue and should be decided by the states but i believe marriage should be between one man and one woman. >> thank you. our final question from greg meriweather. >> we have a pretty good idea where you guys stand on the issues. like to take a minute to ask each of you a personal question. what has been your greatest, i guess your biggest setback in life, and what did you do to overcome that? dr. cassidy, we'll start with you. >> well, let me -- i have to think about that for just a little bit. greg, at the risk of sounding trite, my gosh. my dad didn't go to college.

we moved to louisiana when i was 8 months old. he was in his late 40's. my dad, struggling, we have moved five times in ten years trying to gain traction. he gained traction and, my gosh, his son is running for u.s. senate. we are living the american dream. i might say i didn't come from royalty. i didn't come from this or that. i would say i came from two great parents. and although we struggled when was a child, my family and we overcame, and i don't think we even overcame in the sense it wasn't as you described an obstacle. it was just life. but through incredible love of family, incredible support from my parents, i'm living the american dream. and that's what i desire for everybody watching tonight. that you and your children live the american dream. >> colonel maness? >> a great question, greg. you know, i put it in two categories. one is professional and one is personal. the personal one my greatest setback in life has been those times when i've had to give answers to my children or my

wife that were the wrong answers at the time. i came up short. it hurt them. or those kinds of things. but we've always learned to trust god and overcome those challenges and continue to build our family stronger. professionally when i failed out of united states air force pilot training and i wanted to be as a 5-year-old a pilot of a supersonic large aircraft that could fly at the edge of space called the sr-71 because my dad worked on it. i failed out of pilot training. but i became a navigator instead. and a weapons systems officer and flew a supersonic large aircraft called a b-1 bomber. i was honored to serve in the united states air force and lead america's finest young men and women in that aircraft. >> and, senator landrieu? >> in my personal life it would be when i was here at lsu and i wanted to be strongly wanted to be in the christian advocacy world and was very active with campus crusade for christ and

went to a bible study and submitted my application and was rejected. it was a very hard rejection. but went on to do, hopefully, other good things in the service of god and our community. in my professional life, and this is recorded, i guess my biggest setback was when i flew over that levee that broke in the 17th street canal and i had just been there the day before with president bush with all sorts of fancy trucks, etcetera, and thought they were still there, because i was gullible enough to maybe believe that the president was trying to do the right thing. and when i flew over that levee and there was nothing there, but one little dump truck picking up a little bit of sand, i thought, oh, my god, girl, you better grow up and figure out this really quickly because people are depending on you. so that was my moment. >> we're out of time. we do believe strongly the candidates should have, each of them, the opportunity to talk to you without the filter of us, so one-minute closing remarks from the candidates now by random drawing beginning with sh senator landrieu. >> i again want to thank lsu and the moderators and the

panel tonight. i've got great respect for the colonel. but he will be one more voice for the tea party in washington and one less for the voters of louisiana. we saw congressman cassidy tonight. i'm glad that he showed up to talk about his very hurtful ecord for the state. i want to go back to washington and represent the good people of this state. continue to work on an energy policy that builds jobs here at home and throughout america. we can be nernl self-sufficient. we have 200 years of natural gas. now is not the time to slow down. this is not the time to change leadership. this is the time to move forward, to create economic opportunity. i've passed gulf of mexico energy act, the secure act, and worked across party lines regardless of who has been president or majority leader. i ask for your vote. i thank you for tuning in tonight. >> and the order is slightly different by random drawing. colonel maness goes next.

>> thank you, john. i would like to say i believe ronald reagan would have been a tea party member in this environment and i'm proud to say i'm a life long ronald reagan republican. by the grace of god, we've created a nation centered on the sacred nature of human life. because that's where our ideas of liberty, equality, and human dignity came from. but as colonel nathan jessup famously said, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be protected. we built physical walls to protect ourselves from worldly enemies. at home we built walls of faith, custom, and law. people ask me why i'm running. i'm driven by my deep faith. i'm galvanized by god, who has taught me that while freedom is his gift, it's up to us to protect it. our government is failing us in that, abandonning our walls abroad, and trampling them at home.

so here i am, volunteering to man the wall. will you join me? i'm asking for your vote in order to bring about a government that's once again worthy of the american people, refocused on observing our gift to freedom. >> thank you colonel. congressman cassidy >> in louisiana tonight there is a woman who will not be able to go to sleep. she is not sure she can pay her bills. in the last six years the cost of gas, groceries, utilities have risen. her wages have remained flat. she just got a health insurance premium that has risen by 20%. this is not despite what senator landrieu and barack obama have done. it is because of what they have done. we were told that obamacare would decrease premiums by $2500 per family. there would be no new taxes. you could keep your doctor and your insurance plan if you wished. it was all false. when you go to vote think of that woman. for six more years of the same policy, is that what is going to bring her to a better life? if you think so, vote for senator landrieu. if you think not, well, if you

want a senator who is going to stand up to barack obama, not vote with him 97% of the time, who passed flood insurance -- >> unfortunately, we are out of time. >> who will repeal and replace obamacare with something that works for you, then vote bill cassidy. >> father time says no. thank you so much. candidates, thank you for your participation. on behalf of everyone, thank you so much for watching. remember to vote. good night. [ applause] >> our thanks to wafb television in louisiana, part of a raycom media which allowed us to carry this debate that aired last week. the final louisiana senate debate and some new polling information in that race courtesy of nbc news and marist college showing that tomorrow mary landrieu would get an estimated 44% of the vote. compared to congressman bill cassidy at 36%. and rob maness at 15%. significant to point out though according to the nbc news poll if there is a runoff between

congressman cassidy and senator landrieu right now bill cassidy would get 50% of the vote compared to senator landrieu at 45%. the runoff is slated for december the 6th if no candidate receives the required 50% plus one in the vote. our phone lines are open and we want to hear from you, your thoughts on campaign 2014. also tonight, in about 15 minutes the georgia senate debates, the final debate that took place yesterday courtesy of wfd-tv and 8:30 eastern time 5:30 for west coast viewers and listeners the kansas senate debate followed with the iowa u.s. senate debate. 202 is the area code here in washington, d.c. 585-3880. that's our line for democrats. d 202-585-3881 for republicans. if you're an independent, 202-585-3882. welcome to our listeners on c-span radio as we look at the mid-term elections tomorrow. what do you think will happen?

which party will fare in the house and the senate? 202 is the area code. 585-3880 for democrats. 202-585-3881. we'll get to your calls in just a moment. we're also getting your comments on our facebook page. the question, which party should control congress? bruce is saying, how about the american people finally controlling congress? another is saying, that our founding fathers wanted checks and balances, not control. finally, there is this from a viewer who says, libertarian. again, you can share your thoughts on our facebook page t facebook.com/c-span. jennifer duffy is also previewing tomorrow's elections and says, quote, it is election eve. there are still nine senate races within the margin of error but it seems that republicans have some momentum in a couple of these states beginning with iowa where republican state senator joni ernst is closing in a much stronger position than her

candidate. retiring senator harkin, his comparison of joni ernst to taylor swift who suggests ernst's looks are why she is doing well in the race cannot be helping congressman braley. 202 is the area code. 585-3880 our line for democrats. 202-585-3881 for republicans. greg is joining us from lorton, virginia. there is a senate race in the commonwealth of virginia. good evening. >> good evening. how are you? host: fine. thank you. what's going to happen tomorrow? caller: well, i think here the democrats are going to prevail. i think mark warner is going to stay our senator, thankfully. but nationwide, it scares me to hear the polling and stuff. i can't imagine how anybody could vote republican after what happened during the bush years. it's amazing how americans forget. i mean, the damage that the bush administration did to our country. i always felt like it could take 20 years for us to recover from that not to mention lying

us into a war in iraq and all the over spending on that, you know. just disgusting. and people just seem to totally forget all that. host: greg, is this any different from where we were in 2006 with george w. bush? caller: is it any different? hverages in host: in terms of a sitting president and his unpopularity among the electorate. caller: i think it's different because the people still voted bush, you know, to a second term even after the war thing. that was just completely unforgiveable. now, i understand people may not like some of obama's policies. you know, to lie us into a war is unforgiveable. and, you know, i do think there's a big difference there. i honestly think that although obamacare definitely needs to be, you know, repaired and some large piece of legislation like that, it just takes, you know, ten, 15 years to get it right. at least they're trying to help. i mean, if anybody thinks that our health care system for the

average american in this country is a good healthcare system, they're just not -- i don't know what planet they're living on. it is simply not. host: we have to move on. thank you very much for the call. she basically says let's revisit the senate math. she says republicans will pick up democratic seats in the following states -- montana, south dakota, and west virginia. this means they need three more seats to win the majority providing they don't lose any of their own seats. those seats that potentially could cause a wrinkle in all of this including in kansas were pat roberts is in a tough battle against independent greg orman and so far has not declared who he would side with if he won the senate seat although milton wolf who challenged pat roberts in the kansas republican primary late last week endorsing pat roberts but doing so with a caution, saying that he is going to hold pat roberts' feet to the fire if he is re-elected to stand firm to conservative principles. on this election eve we're getting your calls and comments and more debates coming up

during the course of the evening. austin from toledo, ohio. our line for independents. good evening. austin, you with us? we'll try one more time for austin in toledo, ohio. you're on the care. go ahead. caller: okay. personally what i think is going to happen tomorrow is republicans are going to hold a majority in the senate. one thing that we have to understand is that democrat incumbents are much tougher to and what the voter turnout happens tomorrow is going to be whether, you know, democrat get their people out to vote, then maybe some of the incumbents like mark udall in colorado or mark pryor in arkansas or kay haagin in north carolina are going to prevail. but if the voter turnout was like in 2010, then you're going to see these battleground states probably with a little bit of a republican enl. as for greg orman in kansas

you're seeing a tide this time around with more independents actually on top in the races not only in kansas but in alaska with the governor's race for bill walker. so that's interesting to see. whether, you know, pat roberts brings home the republican coalition or independents are just finally set up. and want a new voice in congress. they won't appeal to mitch mcconnell or harry reid. >> thanks very much for being with us. we'll be live at senate campaign headquarters tomorrow evening. our coverage gets under way at 8:00 eastern time. want to bring up another poll because in about seven or eight minutes we'll have a rebroadcast of yesterday's final debate in the georgia senate race. again, going back to the nbc news/marist poll showing that at the moment david perdue is inching ahead, 49%, to michelle nunn's 46%. what is key to watch in georgia is, like louisiana, potentially could face a runoff. that runoff is not slated until early january if no candidate receives the required 50% plus one in the vote.

so a close race in georgia as well according to the latest nbc news/marist poll. next to bob in new hampshire on the democrats line. go ahead, please. caller: yes. just sort of concerned over the this whole hink election is so sad in the sense that money rules. it's become very evident just watching it, seeing how the political process continues, whatever the media presents, whether it's cable news or whatever. the people just don't get informed and find out what their candidates represent in opinions that are given or so slanted and so hard to try and figure out like getting down to the issues. most of the things are sound

bites. host: let me throw out two numbers. $100 million, the estimated amount spent in the north carolina senate race alone. and in this campaign cycle the estimate is between $3.6 billion to $4 billion. >> it's hard to sit here and watch it and it's sort of like i lost my country sort of going down the tubes. because of the fact of it's just been this money thing throughout the whole thing. host: okay. we'll go on to rick, republican line. eustis, florida. what is going to happen in the governors race tomorrow in your state? >> i'm praying rick scott is going to win. but something that kind of gets me is i hear all the democratic people talking about how they want to retain their people in office. but what is surprising to me is

how women don't feel the democratic party look at them as stupid. i mean, when they talk about women and everything else, what people don't pay attention to is the republican party has sent out 320 bills. they're sitting on harry reid's desk. we always hear people talking about money, money, money. nancy pelosi, her family is worth $60 million. harry reid is worth 30 or $40 million. the obamas are worth 15 or $20 million. i know, -- you know, the clintons are worth no telling how many millions of dollars. so when people, the democrats, when democrats start throwing these money numbers around, they really need to look in their own back yard or look in the mirror. you know. >> rick, let me ask you a question, a hypothetical. if the democrats lose the majority in the u.s. senate. again, i know you are calling on the republican line, do you think the democratic -- the democrats in the senate would want a change in leadership? caller: i would hope so.

if they don't, something's wrong. you know, my wife and i were talking the other day. what's amazing is just like when ted kennedy was still alive, he was in for how long, 35 or 40 years. it's because people -- and god bless everybody, but it seems to me that the democrats, whoever is in office they just want to keep them there so nobody else has to step up to the plate. at least republicans have a lot of young guys coming up and that may not be able to set the agenda straight out, but once they take the senate back, and get some of the -- they can put all these bills on the president's desk and once they get everything on the president's desk then let him make the decisions he is supposed to be responsible for, he is a terrible, terrible person to be called our commander-in-chief. i am a four-year active duty veteran, two reserve. i'm self-employed. i do lawn care landscaping. you know, i work 60, 70 hours a week. and i am one of those people

that barely make it sometimes. but i'm all for the republicans who believe in hard working americans. host: okay. rick, thanks very much for the call. three dozen senate races around the country. and tomorrow we will take you to the key campaign headquarters, including in arkansas and louisiana, kentucky, out west in colorado, new hampshire. these are the states that will determine whether the democrats maintain a majority in the u.s. senate or the republicans take it back with a new republican leader mitch mcconnell assuming he wins in his re-election battle in kentucky. again, our live coverage gets under way at 8:00 eastern time. 5:00 for those on the west coast. ou can also follow us at facebook.com/c-span and at twitter@c-span. all of the results will be available on our website. we welcome our listeners on c-span radio coast to coast on channel xm 120. right now facebook.com/c-span, which party should control congress? you can join in on the conversation. next is a viewer from new

jersey on the democrats line. what's going to happen tomorrow? caller: hello. host: yes. you're on the air. go ahead, please. caller: yes. i don't know what is going on with the democrats. i mean, why are they afraid of the president? they should not be acting like a coward, you know? host: how do you think they should have approached this mid-term election, both the white house and senate democrats? what is your advice? the economy e is is doing better right now since he took office in 2009. so why are they running from him? if they lose tomorrow, that is because they're not on the issues. host: okay. thanks very much for the call. we'll go to jean joining us from louisiana. republican line. all eyes on your state tomorrow. what's going to happen? caller: i think the republicans

are going to come out ahead because we're tired of emocratic policies and nothing being done. we do want obama out. he's done nothing but keep us in a stalemate for so long. we have no health insurance. louisiana is one of the poorest states in the united states. i guess it would be a tossup between louisiana and -- >> do you expect a runoff in early december? caller: absolutely. i look for it. host: will it be with rob maness or bill cassidy? kverages i would hope it would be between bill cassidy and rob maness. i hope ms. landrieu goes home, shuts the door, bars the windows, and stays there host: thanks very much for the call. one or two more calls then a rebroadcast of the georgia senate debate from over the weekend. hickory, north carolina, tim is on the phone. another big state. an expensive senate race in

your home state, tim. caller: yes. it's a big joke. none of the candidates are actually for north carolina. two are from florida. i don't know where the independent guy is actually from. he's moved around. north carolina is going to be a joke because it's spent a lot of money. just think what that money could do for the hungry, for ebola patients. it's a shame to be even a democrat or a republican. host: who's going to win tomorrow in the senate race? caller: i got a feeling the republicans are probably going to win. i'm not saying thom tillis is going to win in north carolina. i'm saying i think the republicans will probably end up taking the senate. host: okay. what about in north carolina, thom tillis or senator kay hagan? caller: i got a feeling hagan is going to be back in again by a slim majority. hverages okay. one last call from jersey city, new jersey. edward is on the phone. independent line.

go ahead please. caller: good evening, steve. thank you so much. host: certainly. caller: i am so excited about the election tomorrow. i'm working the polls. i changed my voter affiliation. i'm registered independent now. i can't vote republican. the governor cut foodstamps for the poorest families. he cut college aid for the neediest and the poorest students. and so of course i can't vote republican. i'll be voting tomorrow. i just want everybody to vote. we're getting out the vote. host: what do you think turnout will be tomorrow in new jersey? you have a senate race but not a hotly contested one. caller: no. so cory booker may win. he may win, you know. he was -- there was the situation where we had a special election, you know, and he won it. so he'll run again. he may win again. so we hope cory booker will do something about jobs and education and, you know,

demilitarizeing the police. we need that here of course in america. so, you know, the democrats may hold the senate. they may hold the senate. i believe democrats will hold the senate. host: okay. edward, thanks for the call. by the way, new jersey was one of the states we covered the debate and most of the debates we covered during campaign 2014 are available on our website, more than 130 at c-span.org. sean sullivan of "the washington post" writing republicans have a 7 in 10 chance of recapturing the u.s. senate. "the washington post" reporter and contributor to the fix is joining us live on the phone. thanks for being with us. guest: thanks for having me. host: a lot of numbers being thrown out but you join what many predict will be a republican win tomorrow. why? guest: well, i think republicans have put themselves in a good position in the states they need to win which are mainly states that mitt romney carried in 2012 but where democratic incumbents are up for re-election or the seats are open.

they've recruited strong candidates. they've avoided the kind of missteps that plagued them in past cycles. they've really put themselves within reach of seizing the majority tomorrow night. host: let me ask you about the story you posted late last week with milton wolf endorsing kind of a back-handed endorsement though for senator pat roberts. do you want to explain to those who didn't follow what happened last week, what he said and the significance of this to the kansas senate race? guest: yeah. pat roberts is in an unexpectedly tough race right now against an independent greg orman. he was in a tough primary not too long ago against milton wolf who you just mentioned, this tea party candidate, this physician. it was a really, really nasty primary. you know, for months milton wolf didn't endorse pat roberts, but he did late last week as you mentioned it was sort of a, you know, well, kind of sort of endorsement that he posted on his facebook page. it wasn't something that the roberts campaign sought out,

but that said, it could help at the margins maybe because roberts, right now, is trying to get republican voters to come back into his camp and not stray to greg orman. he's been bringing in virtually every type of republican to campaign for him from sarah palin to ted cruz to paul ryan, so pat roberts' goal tomorrow is to win as many republican voters as he can in what is a really conservative state. >> let me go back to this posting by milton wolf. you have it available online at washington post.line. if pat roberts is re-elected i will do everything in my power to hold his feet to the power. he then talked about the dishonesty and abuse of power that has marked this election, adding, it will be exposed. >> yeah, absolutely. kind of sounds there when he says i'm going to hold his feet to the fire like he might consider challenging him in the future or running for his seat in the future if it opens up. milton wolf is somebody who conservative groups in washington embrace but really back home never really struck a chord with enough republicans.

he kind of fell flat in that campaign. but what that primary really exposed is that pat roberts is vulnerable. he is seen as somebody who has lost touch with kansas. he is seen as somebody by many voters who has gone washington if you will and so that was sort of the beginning of when we started to see signs of pat roberts with his hands full with this re-election campaign. >> sean sullivan, let me ask you about iowa because the campaign began when bruce braley made disparaging remarks about his potential colleague in the senate chuck grassley calling him an iowa farmer who could potentially be the chair of the senate judiciary committee. then over the weekend the comments by senator tom harkin referring to joni ernst as taylor swift. >> yes. if you watch one senate race tomorrow night, i would say you should watch the iowa senate race. this is a race democrats feel they really must have to hold the senate majority. this is one that republicans feel by the same token if they win they'll be in really great shape. you mentioned bruce braley and the problems he's had.

he has been a disappointing democratic recruit. he's made his fair share of gaffs. joni ernst the republican candidate has run a pretty steady campaign and has presented herself as a, you know, more of an iowan, more of a candidate who is in touch with every day voters. so polls show that this race is extremely close, both sides still think that they can win. like i said, if you're going to watch one race, if you want to look at one race to decide the majority, look at this one. >> one poll that has a pretty good track record the nbc news/marist poll and in kentucky now a nine-point lead for senator mitch mcconnell, 50% to 50%. r -- what does this tell you about the democratic strategy in kentucky? >> well, i think from day one it was going to be very tough for democrats to win in kentucky. this is a state where president obama is extremely unpopular. this is a state that has not voted, you know, democratic in federal races and really mitch

mcconnell defines his opponent allison grimes early on as somebody who had relationships with national democrats, somebody who was close, you know, with obama and reid and now not all of these allegations were necessarily true, but they were effective campaign tactics. and so, you know, he ran a pretty good campaign. he raised a lot of money. he stayed on message. and so i think it reflects how difficult it is to win a campaign in such a red state if you're a democrat this year. host: as the polls close early in the evening in states like kentucky and north carolina what are you looking for? guest: well, i think, you know, kentucky is always an early barometer. i mean, most people expect, and i would expect mcconnell to win based on the polling that we've seen. but take a look at this margin. if he is winning by more than these polls suggest, then maybe it's an early sign that republicans are on pace for a really good night. if it's a little tighter maybe things aren't going to be as bad nationwide. north carolina as you mentioned is another state where the polls have just been very, very

close. this is a state where democrats believe kay hagan has run a great campaign. she has, you know, organized an effective ground game. remember, this is a state that obama won in 2008 but mitt romney won in 2012. so it's really the ultimate purple state. and so, you know, democrats really need this one. tillis pulls this one out early it could be a very long night for democrats tomorrow. host: one of the questions being asked during this campaign is for those democrats trying to distance themselves from the president, how do you do that and still get his voters? guest: it is very difficult. looking at the kentucky race you have alison grimes as we mentioned. she was asked repeatedly whether she voted for the president and she refused to say. by doing that, she attracted more attention than she probably would have if she would have just said yes or no. behind the scenes obama has been an active fundraiser for both the house and senate democratic commitees. these candidates that are keeping him at arm's length are also at the same time accepting

money from him and accepting financial help. it is a tough balancing act but is one you can understand why democrats want to do. president obama's approval rating is hovering around 40% right now. he is not a helpful factor in most of these states for these candidates. >> what is the story wednesday morning? guest: can republicans clinch the senate tomorrow? can they do it the next day? will they have to wait? with the possibility of run offs in georgia and louisiana it could be a while before we actually fully know which party controls the senate beginning in 2015. >> sean sullivan who contributes to the fix along with chris cillizza who joins us live on the phone his work available online at washington post.com. thanks for being with us. >> thanks, steve. >> liven coverage 8:00 eastern time 5:00 for those on the west coast as we bring you the speeches. we will be the one network that allows you to hear the candidates in their entirety. the victory and concession speeches in the senate races that determine control of the u.s. senate in january of 2015.

although as sean sullivan indicated we may have to wait until january depending what happens in louisiana and georgia. tomorrow morning a full preview of our campaign coverage and the election itself and we'll get the perspectives of jessica taylor from the hill newspaper, aaron blake from "the washington post," josh kraushaar from "national journal" and larry sabato from the university of virginia tomorrow on c-span's "washington journal" 7:00 a.m. eastern time. 4:00 on the west coast. up next a rebroadcast of the fible debate in the georgia .s. senate race. our thanks to wsb tv in atlanta. >> channel 2 action news. your voice your vote. this is the debate for u.s. senate live from the wsb tv studios in midtown atlanta. here is your moderator, justin farmer. >> good morning and welcome to this live channel 2 action news

debate for u.s. senate. this is big in georgia and for the balance of power in the united states senate. this is also the final debate before tuesday's election. we also want to welcome those of you watching our live stream at wsb-tv.com and around the nation today on c-span. please remember, tweet us your questions using the hash tag # your vote on 2. let's meet our candidates who are trying to earn your vote to replace retiring senator saxby chambliss. we determined podium position by drawing. first, the republican candidate, david perdue. next, the democratic candidate, michelle nunn. and libertarian candidate amanda swofford. we thank you all for being with us this morning. to question the candidates today, i am joined by our panel. the assistant program director for wsb radio, atlanta journal constitution washington correspondent daniel malloy and channel 2 political reporter laurie gily. you'll have one minute for response, 4r5 seconds for

rebuttal at my discretion and these are loose guidelines as certain conversations may warrant more time and i'm going to try very hard to get some clarity on those campaign ads. first question is mine. mr. perdue and miss nunn, neither of you have ever held public office. s. swofford, you have. clearly you are outside the beltway politicians or hope-to- be politicians. what have you done each of you, what have you done in your life to prepare you for one of the most powerful jobs in u.s. government? >> thank you, justin and thank you, panel. it is good to be here this morning. >> as i go around the state the number one issue i hear from hard working georgians is they are really concerned about their jobs. if they have one they are worried about keeping it. if they don't have one they are worried about how hard it is to find one. in my career i spent my entire career creating tens of

thousands of jobs and working in the economy around the world to try to provide individuals the opportunity to provide for their families. i believe in the united states senate with only about 10 people who have any business experience i think it's time that we had a little depth added to that dialogue about how to create jobs. i just believe that in this environment the people in georgia want somebody to go fight for them and not fight for the president. >> if i may follow, what would you do specifically when you say create jobs? we all want jobs. what would you do as a u.s. senator? what is the smartest thing you could do early in your tenure? >> for the last year and a half we've been talking about the three things that i would do. number one, we have to have serious tax reform. we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. we have the only repatriation tax in the world. secondly, though, mainly most -- maybe most important, is that we need to pull back on our regulators. this president has created the fourth arm of government. i believe they are shutting

down job creation and growth right now. the third is we need to finally unlock our energy resources to get this economy going again. >> ms. nunn, what would you do as a sflor, what have you done in your life to prepare you to be a u.s. senator? >> thank you and thanks to the wsb team for the opportunity to be here. thank you again. i have spent my entire life trying to make a difference serving people, creating an organization from a few dozen people and taking it to an organization that last year mobilized 4 million volunteers. we started hands on atlanta with a couple thousand dollars and ended up with an organization that had the $30 million budget. so i know what it means to work together across differences. i worked for president george h.w. bush's points of light organization for seven years. i have a demonstrated commitment to bipartisanship. i want to break the gridlock in washington. i know that the way to do that is by putting our country irst, above party.

i think it is different from david, who by his own account has spent the majority of his career outsourcing jobs and who throughout the campaign has talked about really perpetuating the gridlock in washington. >> ms. swofford? >> well, as someone that has held elective office in local government, i've stood up. i have a principled record for voting for less government. and knowing, absolutely, that re-election was on the line, i've stood up for small businesses, called for a reduction in our business, i gave our citizens a lot of opportunity to have choices in he way the government services should be delivered. i've done a lot of things in local government and stayed involved even after losing re-election on the council i stayed involved and engaged. i take personal responsibility to step up and run for united states senate to give georgians a real choice for the next

united states senator instead of just complaining and not doing a lot of anything. i'm staying engaged and being responsible to give georgians a choice in the united states senate. >> let's get to our panelists's questions. >> no doubt we'll get to the issues but i want to first ask you. this has been one of the nastiest races we have covered. i want to ask you, there have been some really outrageous attacks against all of you and things said about all of you. i want your answer to this. mr. perdue, you have been attacked on, that you discriminate against women. ms. nunn you've been linked to terrorism. ms. swofford, you've been asked to step out of the race because you've been called selfish. so i want to get, we'll start with ms. nunn. what is the most egregious attack you've heard about you? here is your chance to set the record straight with voters. >> great. thank you. the most egregious attack is clearly the attack that david made saying that president george h.w. bush's points of light organization was funneling money to terrorists.

it has been called the worst ad of the entire campaign. not in georgia but in the united states. by "time" magazine, by "usa today," by "the washington post." neal bush said that it was shameful and despicable and it should be taken down. it was really an affront not just to me but really to the millions of volunteers that were a part of building an organization that is really a legacy of president george h.w. bush and, again, the work of so many people. so that's the kind of negativity, the kind of irresponsibility that i think that people are so tired of in politics and ready for changing. >> mr. perdue. >> well, michelle, that's a little bit like the pot calling the kettle black. first let's set the record straight. i have to do this for our former president, president george h.w. bush. e has endorsed me. he is concerned about the

future direction of our country. but first, let me just answer this. i think the most egregious thing in this debate has been all of the false attacks on me about my character, my career, and they've all been proven false by independent fact checkers. it just seems to me that this is an attempt to distraction away from the real, critical issue in this race, and that's job creation here in georgia. people are hurting in this state. we want to, she is trying to distract people from the real, critical issue. president obama said that his failed policies like obamacare that is going to destroy 2.5 million jobs across this country according to the congressional budget office, it just seems to me his policies, he said, are on the ballot in this race. and in this stays in georgia, those policies go by the name of michelle nunn. >> ms. swofford, let's hear from you. >> that i've been called selfish for taking the personal responsibility to present an

alternative in this race for someone that wants to stand up for most georgians who want to have more control over their own lives and the ability to make their own decisions, who don't believe that either party is giving us options to really take control, who want to have voices in this race to stand up against both parties who no longer allow us to understand that it is about personal responsibility and individual liberties. and that's the most egregious thing certainly that both parties somehow are entitled to your vote. you know, your vote is your vote. it's your power and responsibility to use that vote in the way you see fit and to vote for the candidate that you believe represents you the best. not who you believe could win the horse race that actually is our political system has turned into. >> to lori's point let's get some clarity please. you both mentioned the bush family a couple times already. ms. nunn, your campaign is using the former george h.w. bush former president in a

campaign ad but then this is what was said by one of the president's spokespersons saying, quote, michelle and her team have been clearly, repeatedly and consistently told that president bush did not want them to use his photo as part of this campaign. apparently the nunn team feels they can repeatedly disregard the former president's wishes and on and on. it is very clear their wishes. that ad is still running. why? >> that ad is a perfect, i think, embod emmitt of my message, which is that i'm going to wrk with wloffer the president is, whether it's a republican or a democrat. in that ad is president george h.w. bush i worked with, president george w. bush, president clinton, and president obama. i believe we have too much of the partisanship and the kind of prosecution that david talks about and not enough problem solving together. i spent seven years working with president george

it is no surprise that we know that david can work with his fellow republicans. can he work with democrats? i think when you talk about -- you should talk about the ad that has been called the worst in the nation. that is a high threshold to reach these days. >> her ex-boss in this race did not endorse her. another distraction away from the failed policies of this administration. bring --ty bill will this is a bill that she supports.

his signature bill is destroying 2.5 million jobs. why -- she can help them continue his good work. david, speaking of distractions, and a farmer told me this. he wants to run against harry reid and he should have moved to nevada if he wants to do that. that i havery clear differences with the president and i will stand up for those differences. important thaty we reverse the cuts that the

president has made. i also think the president and congress should have done a better job of working together on the longtime debt. >> you said the attacks have been false. betweenthe difference outsourcing products and services and outsourcing jobs. what i have said all along, these false attacks are taking away from the real debate. people are concerned about their jobs. his policies are failing.

we have fewer people working in the united states right now than any time since jimmy carter was president. we have 400,000 workers in georgia alone who had to go on food stamps. those are not good works. it just seems to me that this president has said his policies are on the ballot. in the state of georgia, those failed policies go by the name of michelle nunn. >> so, david, let's be clear about the fact that in the deposition, under oath, you said you spent the majority of your career outsourcing. you then went on to list 16 countries where you created jobs. korea, china, taiwan, mexico -- not once did you mention the u.s. you are the head of sourcing all in asia. so, if that is not outsourcing jobs, i do not know what is. he said that he will question the business career -- your business career do not understand, but i do not think you have been able to clarify for us.

>> you said just a minute ago -- you talked to a farmer about this. and, again, all these attacks have been false. not only in the general elections but in the primary and the runoff as well. but talking to a farmer, michelle, it is interesting that you can do that without feeling like a hypocrite. he told the farmer how important he and his businesses to you and yet in your own plan, you rated farming issues number 18 in your list of priorities and you actually rated rural issues that last. that is the kind of distraction that i'm talking about. you don't want to talk about the sleight-of-hand when you say one thing to one group and another thing to another group. i think barack obama wants you in his senate to fight for him, not for the people of georgia. >> david, you continue to reference a memo, something that was put together by a staff team that listed a set of issues.

you know very well that if you look at my website, we talk about agriculture. your website, there is nothing on agriculture. let's talk about the issues where we are presenting ourselves to the public. if you want to talk to the issues, i would love to talk about the farm bill. the farm bill is something that saxby chambliss said was perhaps the most important piece of legislation for most people in the state of georgia, and you are opposed to it. the farm bureau said that they wanted it -- if we had your way, we would still have farmers that did not have the clarity of exley having a farm bill passed. it is not what we need in washington. we do not need more gridlock. >> and this is an interesting issue, mr. perdue, about the farm bill and what is tied to it.

>> well, it is a perfect example of an ombudsman bill were only 20% of the bill was related to the farmers. the other 80% was related to the food stamp program. but let me go back to that plan. in her plan, her own advisers said that she was too liberal for the state of georgia. that is not even a real georgian. they had to put her in a rural scene so that people would think the rural issue was important to her. this is not the kind of senator we need a washington. we need some buddy to be a champion for the working men and women in georgia who are concerned about their kids in the future. barack obama wants her up there to defend his policies. that is not the kind of senator we need a washington. >> we know that you have all been on this. now to our next panels, please. >> ms. nunn, short of seeing you in person, the most repeated thing that most have heard you say -- either on television or listening to the radio -- is that quote "i differ to the president of the united states." i would like to give an

opportunity right now -- what exactly did you mean when you said that? >> i'm happy to answer that, but i do want to go back until david that he continues to cite the memorandum put together by a group of staff people that his staff got a hold of and -- it is completely egregious. this memo said that this is how my opponent would attack me. and he has used those truths throughout the campaign. i, frankly, do not believe that someone would ever connect george hw bush's point of light but david, you surprised me. as organization with terrorism. it relates to your question, this is another example, again -- it has been cited. david has taken one line from a debate and used it to apply to every form of issue.

i said that one line in the context of a personnel decision related to the veterans administration. ultimately, the president does make personal decisions and i was the first to come out, shortly thereafter, to say that we should replace the head of the v.a. i have spent my entire career trying to make a difference. much of that focused on veterans. so i have a deep commitment to making sure that we're doing everything possible for veterans, but this is the kind of campaign that david has run in which he has taken snippets -- pieces of pictures or lines -- and use them in a way that is completely misrepresenting the truth. >> i'm sorry, she has gone all over the state talking of how important it is to have a strong military. yet on the important issues that we know our disaster within the veterans administration, she's going to refer to the president.

i believe that if we are going to set this nation on a new direction, we need people in the senate to enact to be a rubber stamp for barack obama. he said his policies are on the ballot and that she will be a rubber stamp for that. i want to go to the senate to fight for the people of georgia. >> david, you know very well -- you continue to use rubber stamp. i believe that you said in my campaign that i want to be a rubber stamp for gridlock in washington. i have spent about 45 minutes of my life with president obama. i have spent seven years working for the points of light organization. i have a deep and abiding commitment and it talked about it for the entire campaign for working across party lines. i believe we can work together to get things done. it is very different approaches than the one capture the campaign trail. you are seemingly in favor of more of the partisanship and more of the gridlock and i actually believe the way to breakthrough is to work

together. >> we will move on. >> yes, sir, thank you. let's talk about gridlock, michelle. today, there are over 300 bills on harry reid's desk. they are not going anywhere. they're not going to the senate. you flip-flopped later after i asked for a travel ban. you now support my position to ask for travel ban, but let's be clear -- your story of coming together and working in a bipartisan way is a false promise, just like president obama promised it in 2008. >> let's talk about reform. on the one hand, the united

states and the states without system in place. the borders are porous, yet there are families and children, in limbo. heartbreaking realities. so to each candidate, where are you on immigration reform? >> i embrace the bipartisan immigration reform that mark rubio led. we need to make sure that we secure our borders and that legislation would have actually accomplish that with an investment of 20,000 security agents on the borders that would be there already. even talks about what he is concerned about, the border, but just remember, 20,000 security agents would have been put forward to this legislation. i believe people should have the capacity to go to the back of the line to learn english, to pass a background check, to pay taxes, and they must do that in order to have citizenship.

we know that david talks about jobs, and we know that this immigration bill would actually create over one million jobs. it would also cut the debt. this is something that the u.s. chamber of commerce has said that therefore, in fact, they said that david was lying about this bill and this legislation and this position and the way that he characterized it. >> miss wofford? >> why aren't we talking about enforcing the laws that we have on the books before we start writing new laws? the stock about border security and the existing laws that we are to have. if you will remember in 1986, we were given immigration reform without entitlement reform. i think we really need to look

at our entitlement reform and the you're out immigrants who work around our system. that is going to be paramount to any discussion about reform. we had a voter security bill that passed in 2007 and we don't have that yet. both big parties promise more and more reform, yet we never get that. it is paramount that we understand that we need to sit down and have discussions about how it is going to look and what we are going to do about immigration, instead of relying on the bipartisan bickering. >> thank you. first of all, i agree that we have to secure the border, but this is not what michelle nunn was talking about. i am actually a part of the bipartisan opposition to the senate bill. the bill would bring 15 million new workers in over the next 10 years. this is not what the people of georgia want to hear when they're having trouble finding jobs. it just seems to me that this is a bad thought about amnesty and this president has, action, put on the table that after the

elections, he might consider my get amnesty. it just seems to me that right now, if we are to get focused on the components of this and get after it, we can secure the border and provide solutions going forward. my opponent is nothing more than a rubber stamp on this issue of amnesty, though. she doesn't support his executive amnesty, she just wants to do it herself. she is not only going to be a rubber stamp, he wants her in the u.s. senate because she will fight for his failed policies that, in his mind, are providing good work. in my mind, that is not the case. >> i'm not sure i understand what you mean, i would want to work with john mccain and marco rubio. they have said that what you, in fact, have characterized on this bill is simply untrue. you sat down with the u.s. chamber of commerce -- they represent business -- yet you stormed out by your own account

because you cannot have a conversation about this. they went on to say that you were lying about this bill and their position. again the farm bureau has also, supported this bill and farmers who i have talked to say they need this kind of legislation to be able to be successful in terms of farming here in georgia. now, i am on the side of business and farmers and people across the state to actually want solutions. >> mr. perdue, there has been a lot of talk about the minimum wage during this campaign. do you think there should be a minimum wage at all, and if so, what do you think it should be set at? >> what i said is that i do not believe it is consistent with the problem we have right now with unemployment where we have fewer people working in the united states since anytime since jimmy carter. the congressional budget office is actually estimated that an increase in the minimum wage from where it is now to $10.10 would actually kill 500,000 jobs.

when people in the state of georgia are having trouble finding work -- or who have jobs and are afraid of losing it -- that is not the time to be talking about something like this. but this is the type of policy that this president is trying to perpetrate on the people of georgia. my opponent is in agreement with that. this is not the way to create jobs. you create jobs by correcting the tax policies, pulling back the and regulators, and unlocking our energy resources. president obama wants her to be on the senate to serve as a proxy for him. the name of those policies are michelle nunn. >> michelle nunn, do you think the minimal weight should

increase? >> i do think the minimum wage should increase. david perdue has yet to answer that question. and if so, what do you think it should be? i think we should raise the minimum wage. states that have raised the minimum wage have higher employment rates than georgia does. david, when you are at dollar general, it took one of your minimum wage employees four years to make what you made in a single day. so i think it is easy enough for you to say that you are not in favor of raising the minimum wage. but for the thousands of children dependent upon minimum wage, we need to make sure working families have the capacity to be self-sufficient. so there is clearly a difference, but i would still like to know the answer to do you believe there is a federal minimum wage rate that we should have? >> mr. perdue, what should be? >> first, i would like to ask your question. >> hold on. it just seems to me that this type of increase -- the question is to be answered.

which person out of everything are you going to tell are losing their jobs? because that is what happens when you increase the rate at this point in time. and again, these are the failed policies that this president is arrogant about and has said are on the ballot in this race. he wants michelle nunn in the senate to help him continue his good work, when 400,000 georgians one of food stamps last year they got jobs. >> ms. swofford, do you agree? >> i do not support a minimum wage. the government should not be involved in the day-to-day decision of our company. minimum wage laws minimize opportunities for everyone in the workforce. >> thank you all for that. we encourage you to stay with us now.

we are just getting started and the candidates will have the opportunity to question one another after a short break. >> and welcome back. it is now time for the candidates to question one another. the first question is from michelle nunn, and the next will be from amanda wofford. we start with miss nunn. >> your dollar general employees were paid less, and i wonder if you would join me today in supporting the paycheck equality act?

>> thank you michelle. first of all, we have a law of the land. it would only serve the plaintiffs and the lawyers and our country. i've supported equal pay for equal work. i have to tell you that this is another false attack. if you look at the reason why she is trying to distract us away from the real issue of job creation, you understand why the obamacare law the signature line of this president, is killing 2.5 million jobs right now. yet she supports that law. she even wants to expand that law. i'm sorry, but when 400,000 more georgians have gone on food stamps that have actually gotten jobs in the last six years -- the epa has killed thousands of new jobs in our energy and utility industries today. it is no wonder that barack

obama wants michelle nunn in the senate today. the people of georgia want a champion for them and to fight for their families. >> david, i do think families in georgia want someone who will fight for them. and i think the women and children deserve someone who will fight for them to be paid equally. i think action speak a lot louder than words and, clearly, both in terms of your history and experience, i feel like you would be in the position to say that we do need to do better here. and we must. every time that we have -- in fact, every time that we have the opportunity to talk about a sensitive issue like this, you move it to a conversation in which you decide you are running against the president. i think -- again, women and families deserve pay equities and i'm disappointed that you will not join me and actually advancing that goal.

>> michelle, i absolutely agree that we need parity. there is always improvement around the world, but i have not gotten you to talk about obama care. this is what you bragged about -- it is a great bill, i support the president -- yet it is killing 2.5 million jobs right now. go even further and let's talk about amnesty. this amnesty bill will talk about 15 million new low-wage workers in a country. it just seems to me that this president is adamant about getting you in the senate because he needs you to be his rubberstamp in the senate. his failed policies are indeed on the ballot. in georgia, they go by the name of michelle nunn. >> mr. perdue, your chance to ask a question in just a moment, but miss wofford, your turn. >> my question is for mr. perdue. you have had a lot of support and the senate from senator ron

paul, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, former governor and presidential candidate mitt romney, former congressman allen west. given the support from these well-connected individuals, how can you call yourself a political outsider in this environment? >> that's easy. because i am. i have never been involved in what we have done in this campaign is struck a nerve in georgia. they want a change in washington. may,t to an event back in and i opened the door, and a woman who looked like she was in her 80's said, you are in the senate? and i said, yes ma'am. she said, have you ever run for office before? and i sa