see the election results and i was very disturbed about people claiming that they had to have proper identification to vote. the young people voting. when i first started voting, you had to be 21. to register to vote. i turned 21, i went down to the courthouse, i registered to vote , the man gave me a voters id card. shortly after that, they dropped the election age to 18. i thought, isn't that sweet. my point is i know maryland and you, it both will issue looks just like the gyrus to cash it is an id card with your picture and address on it. all you have to do is bring in proof of identity, either a birth certificate or something

?lse to leave and there appear i apologize. that is the word. throughout the day, you can conversation on c-span or our twitter feed as well. .itch mcconnell 2:50 p.m. eastern time, the live here on c-span. mitch mcconnell is a presumptive new majority leader of the u.s. senate and he's both, as did his allison, they both spoke last night. we want to show you the concession and victory speeches from last night. [cheering]

>> are you having a good time? [applause] , we areht like tonight grateful, above all else. for me, the gratitude starts with people of kentucky. [applause] they have put their trust and confidence in me for a long time. i want to thank them tonight. i work hard to bring your concerns to washington and i will not let up. [applause]

you know, every election is a job interview. in this cake, a very long one. [laughter] i have shared my vision with you. shared your stories and concerns with me. one complaint has stood out above all the rest, especially in recent weeks. anould like to make announcement i think will be welcome news to many of you. no more campaign commercials. [applause] lifev executives may not -- like it, but enough enough. a little while ago, i spoke with my opponent. she earned a lot of votes and my respect. to run on a lot of guts a reason this. it also meant she was get some

heat. i admire her willingness to step into the arena and fight as hard as she did. we need more people who are willing to do that and not fewer. she deserves a lot of credit for it. this was certainly a hard-fought contest. [applause] i have been so proud to have my wife the hot desk beside me every step of the way. -- my wife beside me every step of the way. [applause] know, she told me early on she was not ready to have me sitting around the house working on my resume. [laughter] she has gone big -- above and beyond to prevent that.

i am blessed to have her in my life and by my side. [applause] to my campaign manager, josh holmes -- [applause] my friend, he pitched a perfect game. thank you, josh. of course, there are so many others i could think. they know who they are. of you, forveryone giving so much of your cells to the race. nobody has been blessed with a

better team than i have had over the years there and i want to thank them all. my thoughts also turn back tonight to two other people who are not here, but to whom i owe a great ale. my parents. both,ned a lot from them from my dad, a combat veteran from world war ii, i learned a love of this country and all it represents, not only for those of us fortunate to be born here, but so many others around the world. my mom, i learned the value of perseverance and got an enduring lesson. she helps me overcome a frightening bout with polio as a child. in many ways, my folks were just of theirother parents generation. optimists. they believed in america.

without a trace of cynicism, they transmitted essential product -- essential promise to me. next one better off than the one before. this is the compact that every generation of americans have a with the ones that followed us. through civil war and depressions and world war and strife, we always made good on it. as i have traveled through , suddenly, folks are not so sure that compact will survive, if we continue down the road we have been on. they are hungry for new leadership. they want a reason to be hopeful and they want reassurance that the government is actually on their side. [applause] tonight, i played you this.

whether you are a coal miner in eastern kentucky who cannot find work, or a mom who does not understand why the government just took away her family's health insurance might hurt your concerns. i made to my own. you will be heard in washington. [applause] , when you get right down to it, that is what the campaign was really all about. it was not about me or my opponent. it was the tablet -- about a government people no longer basicto carry his most duties, to keep them safe and protect the border and provide dignified and quality care for our veterans. a government who cannot be trusted to do the basic things because they're focused on things they should not be focused on at all.

a government too busy imposing its view on the world to people who do not share that view. too many in washington have forgotten their job is to serve. tomorrow, papers will say that i won the race. the truth is tonight, we begin another one. one that is far more important than my. that is a race to turn this country around. [applause] hope and confidence and optimism across this nation of ours. some things do not change after

tonight. the president to wake up tomorrow and view the world a differently than when he woke up this money. he knows i will not either. but look. we have an obligation to work together on issues where we can agree. we have a duty to do that. just because we have a two-party system, does not mean we have to be in perpetual conflict. i have shown that to be true at critical times in the past. i hope the president gives me the chance to show it again. there is so much we can and should do for the good of all americans. kentuckians are tired of americans who always seem to work when it is working against them there it they are tired of hearing those of us who fight

for them in washington are somehow the problem. i am honored to have dr. noel hunter with me tonight. [applause] all gotten an opportunity to get to know her. what an extraordinary woman. dr. hunter was determined to get her daughter back and against all odds, she did it. when all was said and done, she achieved something else a lot of evils that was the more remarkable. she made me seem all warm and cuddly. [laughter] [applause] ofr the past year, a lot people from outside the state have tried to tell kentuckians what motivates me to do what i do. i let them have their say. but here's the truth.

to anyone who says nothing ever gets done in washington, here is my five word answer. tell that to noel hunter. [applause] this woman is the reason i run. she is the reason i do what i do in washington. we can make a difference and we do every single day. we are proud of that in my office here at and yet, as i have traveled across the state, i have become acutely reminded of something else the government can do. damage toterrible families and communities. i have seen the hurt in people's eyes and the mountains. it breaks your heart to see the agencies are causing tomb so many in our state. and elected official like me, it hardens your resolve to

do something about it. [applause] too long, this administration has tried to tell the american people what is good for them. blame somebody else when the policies did not work out. tonight, kentucky rejected that approach. [applause] tonight, kentuckians said, we can do better as a nation. tonight, they said we could have real change in washington, real change. [applause] and that is just what i intend to deliver.

friends tonight, we turn the corner. the future i see is a bright one. americans have seen what the current crowd in washington is offering is making us weaker both home and abroad. they have had enough. [applause] you know, there is an old saying often should it too was in church so that i am reminded of. here's what he said about us, about americans. he said, the americans, they always do the right thing. after they tried everything else first. [laughter] this experiment in big government lasted long enough. [applause] it is time to go in a new direction.

[applause] it is time to turn this country around. [applause] i will not let you down. thank you so much. [applause] ♪ >> ♪ mild man

living life off the land dirty hands in a clean soul it breaks his heart seeing foreign cars filled with fuel that is in hours and wearing hot and we didn't row he's got the red, white, blue flying high on the farm on his left arm spend a little more in the store for a tag in the back that says usa he won't buy nothing that he can't fix the wd-40 and a craftsman wrench he ain't prejudice, he's just a made in america new lenses life but she's that wife that decorates on the fourth of july but says, every day is

independence day she's golden rule, teaches school, some folks say it isn't cool but she says the pledge of allegiance anyway he's got the red, white, blue flying high on the farm tattoo on his left arm spend a little more in the store for a tag in the back that says usa he won't buy nothing that he can't fix with wd-40 and a craftsman wrench he ain't prejudice, he's just made in america born in the heartland a family of king james and uncle sam he's got the red, white, blue ♪ [applause] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [applause]

>> allison, allison, allison. >> thank you very much. a months ago, we began journey to send a message that washington is just not working for kentucky, that we want to actually put the people of this state first, instead of partisan politics. along the journey, we showed the nation what the commonwealth is truly capable of -- capable of, breaking world records here in fundraising,th our leading the nation with our work to build a grassroots organization unlike any the commonwealth has ever seen, 16 offices, 6000 volunteers, and momentum to northern kentucky.

possible.ade this was made possible because of an amazing husband, an amazing family, my fellow constitutional officers, governor collins, governor brown, governor jones, governor patton, and, importantly, the deputy -- dedicated staff and each and every one of you. [applause] tonight cannot bring us the result we had hoped for. fight for you,he it was worth it. i will continue to fight for the commonwealth of kentucky each and every day. [applause] my hope is that the message has been sent to congress that we need to work to increase the minimum wage, to close the

gender pay gap, and to bring good, paint jobs back to the commonwealth of kentucky. this journey, this fight was for each and every one of you. to keepork my hardest the amazing organization we have fighttogether intact to for a brighter and better future. we deserve that. [applause] i want to thank the hundreds of thousands of kentuckians who made it out to vote today. you have your voice heard. that is what democracy is all about. to each and every one of you that cast a ballot in the selection, i will continue to work for you and together, we will rebuild a brighter future for the commonwealth of

kentucky. thank you very much. [laughter] [applause] [applause] >> mitch mcconnell wins the race by a large margin there and is now the presumptive senate leader for the congress. we continue with reaction to campaign 2014 and a result yesterday in our election. we continue our phone lines with your comments for democrats. republicans, -- make sure you mute your television or radio when calling in, and you can also join us on

twitter and c-span. we continue our coverage here throughout the day with notable events coming up today live. aboutst want to tell you the briefing with the chairman of the republican national committee coming up today at noon. we will have that live or you. mitch mcconnell is winning his race in kentucky and the presumptive senate leader now for congress. he holds for elections at 2:00 p.m. eastern. tosident obama with reaction winter elections and news conference. all of that live coming up here on c-span. on c-span2 coverage with other observations on yesterday's election. check out our website for schedule information. there are a couple of races still outstanding close to the washington area of virginia, facing election with the former

chairman of the republican national committee. understanding marx warner will be holding some sort of conference later today. we will bring more information on that when it is available. we learned louisiana, as expected, will go to a runoff a month from now between the incumbent senator and one of her republican opponents, congressman bill cassidy. that will be held in early december. been to alaska, where all of the votes are in. we want to show you what it looks like three in the senate race. reporting and a 49% .ead, over 45% for mark let's go over to colorado for the governor's race between the and the republican.

you may have seen earlier on washington journal, that tweet from the denver post. they called the race for the governor. i do not think the associated press has so far. we will keep you posted on that. a big night for republicans in the senate and statehouses across the country. 12 or 14 seats. more of the concession and victories beaches coming up in just a bit. let's continue to hear from you and go to colorado. chris is in colorado springs. have they officially called the race? >> i believe it is yet to be called. it was like the governor will take the ticket again, even though i voted for mike and then the democrats running and the unchallenged republicans. i wanted to mention we here in

is aado feel like this move to target colorado to bring in the pipeline and affect our infrastructure and commonwealth structures. >> you're talking about the keystone pipeline? >> i am. aalso wanted to wish beautiful morning and remind everyone that rosalynn carter, the first lady, works to stop foot people in mental hospitals around the world. helped tocarter mitigate pes in 30 countries. that is my only criticism is that jimmy carter is not mitigating the peace process in the middle east. >> in colorado yesterday, a pickup for republicans with the representative winning the senate seat.

is marietta. leon the republican line. what about the senate race in georgia? >> it was great and i think voting is the second most important thing any american should do. these people who complain about voter fraud and just fingerprint the people and be done with it. you go vote and everybody is supposed to vote. we will vote and only vote once. >> there was concern in georgia yesterday about people who do not know where their polling places were. how did that play out? >> it played out well as far as i know. >> here is dawson springs, kentucky. chuck is on our independent line. would he think about the senate race? >> mitch mcconnell is who i voted for.

it is amazing to me listening to the different people, and there it it amazes me how forgetful we are. in 2008, when president obama democratic, he had control and they virtually have nothing done besides the bills no one read before they voted on it. i do not understand why anybody is even -- it should not even be something youe on do not read, and have time to read it, it amazes me how forgetful our country is. presidentepublican that abolished slavery and it that republican congress sent the civil rights those who lyndon johnson. republicans have not done a good letting people know the

history of what really happened. everyone talks about how republicans will do away with social security in all of this. republicanshave the had a majority, and the social security state there and nobody ever touched it. they tried to mess with it. anybody who messes with it automatically becomes vilified. they do away with that stuff, because that is the only way to -- only thing democrats have to run on. republicans have not expressed what they want to do either. they want to cut taxes and i think that is a good deal. the fact of the matter is, they do not us pressed they want to do and it makes it look like they do not have any ideas, because they want to go back to the same way the cut was just health-care was, and i thought it was fine before. i was in this shape for a long time, that my wife did not have any health insurance.

>> we will let you go there with your comments. we appreciate the comments. in kentucky, we will hear what mitch mcconnell x in the road ahead. congress comes back a week from today to begin the lame duck session as they wrap up is this for the 113th. mitch mcconnell, the presumptive leader of the u.s. senate. his new, just news conference coming up today. live on c-span. sanford, north carolina. our democratic slime, go ahead. that is not joanne. we will you on hold. this is joanne. hello. >> good morning. >> how are you? less all right. i am glad things worked out like the lord wanted it to work out and not like we wanted it to. the main ring is that we put our votes in and ask the lord to bless the rest. we have to keep encouraging our young people to vote because their vote matters.

life is a ballgame and it is all how you play the game. do not participate, you do not expect to win. much prayer and much promise, it will be for the year out for all of god's people. we are grateful for all the candidates that one. we need to keep them in our prayers that the lord will bless them for the united states and the world. >> we appreciate it. a tweak from the hill about harry reid's plan. let's go to arkansas, republican line. this is tommy. the turn out there? >> it was wonderful. i think arkansas spoke. they are tired of the democrats not doing what they said. when you do not talk about the

issues, that is not the way to do it. back on the get right side of the road. we will get some things done. i think the republicans will president, if you will work. he is a dictator. he will not work with anybody. he never takes blame for anything. when i'm wrong, i apologize. he has never done that. here was blames everyone else and i do not think it is right. and the one with the final vote -- vote for obama care, he did not like it and we got rid of him. now we have a republican governor and we will now get some things done. >> congressman tom cotton, one of the seven republican with winners last night in the u.s., taking the seat in arkansas by a vote of 67%. pushing republicans to at least 52 in the u.s. and it.

campaign 2014o and election day. let's go to those victories each is in arkansas for last night -- victory speeches in arkansas for last night. [applause] [applause]

>> thank you. thank you. thank you everyone. how about that win? well, i think it was one we all hoped for and it acted, but perhaps a little earlier and bigger than any of us would have expected. thank all of you for being here and thank you for your support. most important, i want to thank you, the people of arkansas. i am humbled by your confidence. it is an honor. every election is about a choice. a choice for the people.

in this election, the people had a choice between two lays of governing and living. is a choice about the equal rights that god granted us, that the declaration proclaims and the constitution protects. [applause] choice to live as a free people to govern ourselves freely under the greatest constitution in history. [applause] the people of arkansas tonight have made their choice. we have again chosen constitutional self-government, which allows each of us to flourish according to his abilities and industry, to live with the blessings of religious liberty. under law, and social our government rather than be controlled by it.

[applause] throughout this campaign, arkansans have told me they are ready for america to again be a great, strong, and prosperous country. we reject the pessimism and defeat is an inherent in the other way of governing. role ofaucratic presumed elites. the other form of government now consumes a nearly half the fruits of all of our labors and david. it in shoes on private life. every community in every business, every school and every person, gives unwanted instructions from unaccountable and unelected elites. this other form of government always wants to help, but is always lingering.

[applause] constantly speaks to aid, but constantly ends up straining. a material security by choosing these other forms of government, but under it, there is no true security for anyone. government big enough to grant everything is big enough to take away everything. in this campaign, i contended if we choose this form of government, we will spend so much trying to make us all the same that we will all be impoverished and elevate presumed elites are there still. country will be too poor to defend itself from entities that multiply abroad, to protect our borders and provide opportunity for citizens, and to sluggish to

provide work for the able. choiceknow decline is a and we have resoundingly rejected it. [applause] arkansans are a free people and tonight, i have chosen a free government that is limited in scope and confident in its rightful duties. we chose a government that aids students without taking away their freedom or everyone else's freedom in the process. arkansans have chosen a government that protects all the things we hold dear and in common. the national rights, the national defense, a system of free enterprise build from private property rights, not special privileges. to think our minds

and pray our prayers and raise our kids according to our faith and conscience. [applause] to do these things does not require a relentlessly centralizing, bureaucratic administration of supposedly leads. it requires the exact opposite, constitutional self-government. that is the choice we face. this election was not so much about mark pryor or me, but about you and about how we choose to govern and live as a people. tonight, i received a gracious call from senator pryor. i commend him for it you're at it campaign. along with every other arkansan, i thank him and his family for their years of service to our wonderful state.

[applause] senator pryor and his family will be in my family's is prayers, as i know they will be in yours. i also want to thank everyone who made this night possible. my whole team, for whom the hours were very long, but the pay was very low. [laughter] but these great young people did not work for me. they work for you. and the people of arkansas. [applause] to all our wonderful volunteers all around the states, who work in these last hours, days, weekends, weeks, months, wonderful women like betty and and and so many others. [applause]

and so many others who worked so hard and sacrificially for our campaign. the people who supported me not just in this campaign, but over the course of my entire life, and i take you, the people of arkansas, for now distilling on me the privilege to serve you. i recognize not everyone voted for me tonight. but the season for campaigning has ended. now, we begin the serious work of governing to improve the lives of all of our people in every sage -- stage in life. democrat, republican, and everyone else. [applause]

while i am a proud republican, you elected me to represent arkansas in the united states senate. it is arkansas i will represent. [applause] tonight, this victory belongs to you, the citizens of arkansas, to all of the families struggling to make ends meet. to the workers and businesses just barely holding on, to the young and the old who dream and still believe america is the greatest country on earth, where all things are possible. i will work to make that dream a reality again for each of you. i will not forget it was you who elected me to the senate and it is you whom i will listen every day. [applause] of course, none of you will

agree with every vote i cast where every word i the, but i've have, i- but as i lacked in my judgment and unbiased opinion and asked in my reasoning frankly. we may on occasion disagree, but i firmly hope i will never disappoint. i know many of you are cynical about our politics today. deadly, with much good cause. i will not fondness -- promise to your -- to heal the planet, but i will promise to act with integrity and principle and use politics as an instrument unitas and not a weapon to divide us. [applause] us and not a weapon to divide us. [applause] together, i hope we can turn that cynicism into a healthy

skepticism that recognizes men are not angels, and yet also appeals to the better angels of our nature. i served you before in distant lands. my heart is filled with gratitude for them, my old battle buddies. sister,arents and my who have loved and supported me, and for my wife, anna, whose love sustains me and completes may. [applause] and for our beloved country, whose promise i will always cherish. whose blessings i will never

forget, and whose call i will ed.ays he especially tonight, my heart is filled with gratitude for you for allowing me to fill that call again. god bless you. [applause] ♪

♪ ♪

♪ [applause]

>> thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you so much. thank you. let me start by just saying, to god be the glory. i believe that. is ineve god's hand everything that happens in this election is no different. 12 years ago, the people of arkansas gave me the greatest privilege of my life, to represent them in the united states senate. those years were filled with hardships and difficult decisions. words, the most severe economic downturn in my lifetime, and exploding national debt, to name a few. but also those years included a lot of good things. bringing our men and women home

from distant lands, and, even though it has been slower than i would have wished and a lot of us would have liked, and american economy poised to grow and be stronger than ever. i believe in our constructor might believe in america. the biggest and most serious problem we are facing in our nation today is the dysfunction of our political system in washington. we have incredible potential. but we will not reach it unless starts to work again for all of us. [applause] if we're going to continue to be the greatest nation on earth, we must work together. a future united is much brighter than a future divided. tonight, the people have spoken. i just called tom cotton to graduate -- to congratulate him on his victory. i wish him the best as he takes

his seat on the senate floor. i want you to know he will be in my prayers. that is part of ticking off the red and blue jersey. [applause] we all need to help him do his job. confess, thank you -- [applause] >> we love you, mark. [applause] confess that i have some sadness tonight. i will miss waking up everyday to go to work for the people of arkansas. as one chapter of my life closes, another begins. uncertain, and exciting. i know god will direct my steps to whatever he has planned for me. i leave this stage, i have to thank a few people. first, joy, who has been with me

every step of the way. [applause] and my two children. come on up here. [applause] and of course, my wonderful and my two brothers, you all come up here. my two others. -- brothers. but also, a great campaign team and my incredible, official staff. past and present. thank you. and all of my many supporters across this state who believed in me and carried me through the campaign. thank you and god bless you and god bless arkansas and god bless the united states of america, thank you. [applause]

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> a concession speech from mark pryor, the democratic incumbent in arkansas who loses to congressman tom cotton, northwest arkansas in that senate race by a percentage of 57-39. a look from the associated press on how the votes ruled out in the state of arkansas. you can look at the map turning red in arkansas and the eastern part of the state in literal -- little rock and north of little rock, the democratic part. from arkansasr will be tom cotton. still on the map are three undetermined or undecided states to three senate races are still out there and those will be virginia, louisiana, and alaska. map, thelook at the vote so far in virginia, senator warner with a slim lead over the republican national committee chair.

going to louisiana will be going to a runoff and her challenger, bill cassidy, she has 42% of the vote, but that is a state where you have to get 50% of the vote or it goes to a runoff. she faces two republicans, one of them being bill cassidy. we see that runoff, december 6, i believe. alaska, where it appears most of the vote is tallied, showing the republican incumbent dan sullivan in the lead with 49% of the vote to 45% from mark is. begich you know thet reaction yesterday up to the election vote. coverage at noon eastern today of the republican national committee chair briefing reporters on the race and the elections yesterday. we will have that live for you. at 2:00 p.m. eastern, mitch mcconnell will speak to reporters. we will hear from president

obama at the white house this afternoon at 2:50 eastern. all of that is live here on c-span and c-span radio. we continue to take your calls. for republicans -- your tweets are welcome as well. let's hear from indianapolis. welcome, sherry. go ahead. all thet to thank people allowing me to speak today. congratulations to all the winners. i am sorry for all the losers, because we're really not all losers. this is about uniting america. i hope there will be a change. i think americans feel it does not matter anymore. i think democrats have lost and we did not get out there and campaign enough. we need to get out to special places like colorado where they

felt they were left out and i feel like me, personally, i could have done more to maybe get this out. it is important to vote. it is as important an even more important now than it ever was in the past. i want to thank my uncle because he showed me this is the process and it is about working together and hopefully, the republican senate will do that work and we will agree to meet in the middle somewhere. independent our line. thank you for the call. louisiana. who did you vote for yesterday, if you want to share that with s? >> i see she won by 42%. the republicans won by a landslide. i do not understand how that happened. , thedid not do anything do-nothing party for the last eight years.

that is big in the business. how the american people wanted, so be it. klesko louisiana race going to a runoff because none of the candidates got 50% of the vote. to the louisiana race on twitter. matters arunoff still great deal to republicans. a face a tough senate map in 2016 and need to pad their numbers as much as possible. -- louisiana will be an expensive test for parties. a reaction from viewers on twitter. we'll get to that in a minute. get back to the call speer the republican line, hello, there. hello? go ahead. you are on the air. >> i would like to say congratulations to all the american people for voting

republican. we know at this time, the obama government is not really in the right direction of security. i hope these people will do what is right. may god bless all of them. -next up is that he in west virginia. there is a new senator in west virginia, senator elect capital. go ahead. from peter's town, west virginia. go ahead. >> west virginia made history. i would like to see more news coverage on it. we elected the first mormon to the u.s. senate and we took the house the first time in 80 years . our senate is split 17-17 for the first time in the history of the state, and we beat congressman rahal, who has , for afor 38 years

newcomer by a tremendous amount. you know, we are in a small state and we have a wonderful united states senator. i am a registered republican and i have the highest respect for him. but west virginia really made history for the republicans. >> shelley winning 69% of the vote. she was one of seven republican pickups. 52 is the number so far in the 114thjority in the majority. randy is on our democrats line. how did things turn out in your eyes? >> good. i voted for hogan and i was happy to see it turn out. i am a democrat but was tired of all of the spending and the borrowing that we were doing. so i decided to switch party allegiance this time and go with

republicans. a lot of people -- >> a lot of people were surprised by that are the number in talked about the spending. what other issues with her in maryland that toward the republican candidate? >> we were talking about $32 million in money that we did improve old rundown buildings. i don't think we we don't e money that have to drive our economy deeper into debt. for your call randy. the associated press is talking about how the republicans are poised to pick

seats and reliable democratic areas like maryland. let's go to burn in new york -- vern in new york sarah on the independent line. >> i was listening to fox news were weeks ago and they talking about politics. the guy interviewed by bill marr said, you don't think that people will remember a half ago what happened? people in america forget. people forget in

your eyes? > > the republicans almost the states over the edge. drugs that could ouse

not. is pam hines calling. no surprise to

back is was a giant step for all people. the money that keeps adding up will be taken away from our people. the is going to fail. wealthiest y for the what e people. this is they voted for and this is what they are going to get. >> next up, alan from moose lake minnesota. wonderful day a in america. it actually gave people a chance to say, we have had enough of taxes and controlled by democrats taking and our life away want republicans

to actually not get along with democrats to take control and reverse all of the taxation and all of the controls and all that we have m lost. we don't want them to say we are going to be your friends now. we really hope that they and d what we've said actually do something. but i'm and

actually do something. but i'm very saddened to hear that minnesota did not swing that way with republicans as it should have. unfortunately in this straight we have a huge influx of welfare voters who -- >> it looks like in minnesota he is be reelected as senator there. >> thank you for having me on your show. it is a great day in illinois. this gridlock with the thugs and the machine in all over or a hard and the state, and t-1 and what a day it is here. lot fully he has promised a of things but even if he just accomplished the half of them we would be in better shape. >> you are in illinois. what like to see done?

reform for one reform for one o

thing. we are so far in debt that we need to lower taxes. he wanted and thank heavens he did. we have been thought of as having a thug type government. >> let's hear from ohio on the independent line. i would just like to try to get the american people to rememberhow poorly the war in iraq was fought to end how it has pushed our deficit. the american military should have been over there fighting and we had blackwater and it was a ridiculous war. people died were injured and that included the iraqi people. not to mention war was a lie. the american public was tied to it before going into iraq. i want the american people to look at and which y has lied party has done something for the actual people instead of money winning this election. cleared the little guy is not quite to have a now and the republicans -- taxed unions, and the unions, and all i can say is that the unions need to fight back. >> what you think about the your senate government race? it is ready fair.

folks really ese are half-and-half. you have all the s and positives way through. for the most part is split in half. i be even ey're going to more issues regarding everything back to how it used to be. >> sounds like colorado is a bit split in half as well collecting any republican senator and it appears that democratic governor will stay. >> i am not a democrat. i think to the fair ans thing in winning, but i'm not all of o agree with their taxes. basically this is obama. this against

democrat and republican thing, it is a vote against obama and will be a gridlock no matter what. appreciate your call. more responses coming up on facebook and twitter, with coming up coverage later today. but is go now to colorado where the incumbent was just over 56% of the vote will be speaking with cory gardner. evening again colorado republicans. it is a privilege next troduce to you the united states sen. for the state of colorado, cory gardner.

quick question for anybody here from uma?tonight we shook up the shook up the senate. your message was heard nevada to pennsylvania avenue. as republicans in

used to we've gotten the saying, why until the next have news for e i election has finally happened. a few minutes i spoke with sen. udal and thanked him for his incredible sacrifice and commitment to public service in the name of colorado a better place, in the name of working together for a smoother transition nine months ago in boulder i stood before you to accept nomination for united states sen. it was there that we recognize the great challenges that face to get to the state, saying then that we have signed up to be tip of the spear, the vanguard of the movement that sweeping our nation to break

down gridlock and change the composition of washington dc. we have indeed reached at and have realized success of that movement. voters in that state have their and are not red, they are not blue, they are clear in their mission to washington dc to get the job out of the way. to work to fix the washington is out of step, and at a time. today colorado became the the balance of power. it is a government that can solve big problems because

the government has the courage to unite voices that, while they may not have voted with the victor recognize the need solutions and uncommon notion in washington, the solutions don't have to do with party and politics but rather with you,the people of colorado. i'm convinced that we won this election because we asked to lift their eyes great rocky mountain horizon to look ahead to a future that is brighter in our is forever r state an ever hopeful attitude all of us are here tonight because we believe there's something exceptional but our state and our nation. we believe in courageous ideas the power of optimism, the

power of the american story electioneering but enduring, to be better tomorrow than we are today. i say we can nation's problems together, that together we can economy, tronger increased energy independence, protect our incredible tonight ent, because the people of colorado have sent a message that what is happening in washington is not working and must stop. leaders not stop at the status quo and think they deserve a pat on the back. this is not a

message against republicans are democrats but a warning against those who fail to act on our nation's greatest challenges. over 200 years ago people came to this great nation wondering became who we are. how of this ragtag nation farmers and planters feet nation on this earth. and it was because each and every one of us has a passion fries and to rise, be better, to imagine a great nation and great economy, a nation that rises. thanks to made this made possible and thanks to my family. we let's make sure that

leave this country forward. god great state of colorado.

>> thank you all. i think i speak for everybody on the that we love say you. you are phenomenal. i just called congressman gardner to him. he was

that i s. i told him would instruct my team to work make a smooth transition. i told him that job rado governors the best in the world. i thought about abe lincoln and his famous that about the boy stubbed his toe, and said it hurts too much to laugh but he too big to cry. i do respect the will of the voters here in the state of colorado but i about my dad who, remember f you may the the election, and said voters have spoken, the blankety-blanks.

i want to say it been a privilege to serve for the last six years and in i wish congress gardner the best. we truly live greatest state in the nation. and that means so much to me to represent that in the u.s. n senate. my wife and constant always on maggie has been my life. children tess and

to are the reason i chose enter public service. their love and their inspiration is always supported me during the times and the bad. my and james i and brad here. many of you know that we lost our brother randy asked happy that he and his wonderful children are here with us tonight. conscience lways the of our family. face to say that he would say what i was thinking. but he used to think ought to be thinking. and he was the smartest and most principled known. in many r ways this campaign has been

dedicated to his memory. i also thank my incredible they . the tireless work do. i have had the great fortune to work with some of the most talented and people the water me. want to single out my chief of staff and state director. also want to pay special to my campaign manager two jennifer mber ritter. they build this campaign from the ground up. i could not have run this race their counsel and

patience. they need when they were on board that they signing up for something big, the grit and determination have made this possible. it was ballot written on the but it is a campaign that was built because of all the supporters and friends that we've had the fortune to have. we had seven a half thousand part of his s as maggie in short, put it, we did democracy. am a mountain climber. and you all know that i've said over and over again as they approach this campaign is that it was the biggest and man tonight ever faced.

-- mountain i have ever faced. a few summers ago i skied to summit of pikes peak. i be there all alone. the place where america felt iful was written. i and instead of . seeing that as a division between the red and the communities i saw the red and white and blue as a whole, which is what makes our nation the greatest in the world. the great egner, western writer, challenged us that match mmunities our scenery. that day i

realized what he meant. my helped raised six kids, played for the denver nuggets, congress for the man decades. he admired a called bill rogers, who was the stewart of his time. he said that we are all here for just a short time before we get a few laughs, be the best you can, live your you lose whenever your head. as long as i've had the privilege to serve people of colorado i've always felt that i've come out ahead. tonight is no exception.

maybe first amended friday we will be going back to work to communities match our scenery. the greatest us vilege of my night as sen. of colorado. thank you very much. >> another pickup for the republicans last night and that they went in the u.s. senate. that is mark udall of colorado concession speech last night. here are how the numbers lost to cory e gardner 45% versus 49%. in the has just s race which been called john hickenlooper remains as governor with a challenge from bob beauprez. we continue to take

your comments and calls here on reaction to election day. numbers on the screen. as can join us on twitter well at c-span. just reminder several news conferences that we will cover todayin just over half an hour. on thank you for having me

the republican line. i have pres. obama gainst him his color. i have seen as a socialist. in fact right somebody supporting else for president. i think this is a referendum on going too far with socialism in this country. it is dying around the and people see that. i'm just hoping that we can strike of happy accord between safety net that works capitalism have its way, because we had better get a global economy now. that is really all i have to say.

on our democrats line from philadelphia. >> i hope rick scott does not for anything but anyway, i i have been that watching and listening to the callers on c-span and there few concerns that heard ones that i've only one admit that this was a vote i do st pres. obama, and of ieve that it is because his color and it has been this way for the last six years. willing to is not admit that is lying to him or caller . you had a earlier who said he could not pres. er anything that in his six years and a few things i thought of top of my head were on

him wage for employees, and the increase in businesses. s for early on obama created a seniors e service for obama phone. bed except unemployment, democrats to expend any more, and we know about obama care. >> what would you like to see get done between congress and the white house? >> how much time do we have?

>> i would like to see would ation reform. i not use see republicans the border as an excuse. people need to look at that just to see how much border security we now have that we never had before-. that is the truly like to uld see. the minimum wage and would like to see increase as well. passed minimum wage increases. could be go to boston where they have a new governor coming into on the usetts. john is you pendence time. what

by charlie e wind over martha coakley? >> i am an independent and parties in the past. generalist i am surprised the democrats even gave martha a second chance after disastrous campaign a few years ago against scott brown. shoot another horrible campaign here. i think she over d her incompetence kind of again. i'm shocked that she was able to stay in office for so long. but i think charlie baker one ran a calmer,

cooler, collected campaign. i'm a young voter and i know that a people have gotten excited about his candidacy. he pretty well in boston as opposed to some of the more conservative parts of massachusetts, so i think it's massachusetts r if martha coakley would have it is a ould if disaster. >> thank you for the call john. about vious caller asked the minimum wage. here is how played out in alaska. --paula is pablo on the republican line.

we have is that we have a republican governor who cannot work with the rest of the government and that is are not getting done. now we have a government coming in that is republican and today i want to say about new republicans coming in, i think we did change because we need a balance, is that we need some realistic suggestions for the economy. i would also like to see something done with immigration. it is a big problem but it is really have it. people are here. i would like to see a we have hoover dams, we have the great wall of to na. we need something separate the two. this would be

the greatest thing ever built we have the engineers. when that is finished then we stays and who goes. on our democrats line. like to see some honest conversation about that. these politicians both but both 'm a democrat are guilty,they come on and say this is why everything is great. i will take a republican why tion and tell you

everything is great. this would jobs in the ns of states. the republicans never say we do not have the infrastructure to do it. there is closer we have preset demand. who knows it 50 years we might need it, it's too close to call. >> in virginia mark warner has a very slim lead over the challenger ed gillespie. the associated press says 99% of precincts were reported.

this is howell, michigan. about the ling election results. i guess what to comment on is the washington bureaucrats to what has just happened. if you look at the exit polling reason was the e economy. we cannot grow the economy by distributing wealth

raising the minimum wage. that is in no way going to grow an economy. the only is to grown economy create jobs and obamacare, many of the republicans came up ervatives that the number that as one issue, because the cost of health care has so skyrocketed waiting for the mandates implemented to see will not appening, create jobs. swallow these and administrations have hurt job creation and my hope is that the washington bureaucrats step outside of washington and realize that the american people want change. >> i appreciate your calls and more comments will be coming up on c-span is the cover postelection coverage.

the republican national committee will be covered at noon today eastern time. in kansas a close race as you looking at st by overwhelming number of republicans. amount see just a small they are ndependence, in green. also in kansas the was that governor brownback gets a second term.

>> i told my opponent that he good and honorable wish him the best. now having said that, it was a good conversation folks, i did we did it t that way. kansas. you did it. we said for months that the road to a republican majority in the united states senate led through kansas and we did it, i don't think there's any question that the eyes of the

nation were on kansas and still are on kansas today. the was counting on us to help deliver a republican majority to the senate and we delivered. you for your vote. i thank you for your work. i you for your support. and your friendship and your you are all family to now ould like introduce mine by very special this is about family, yours and mine. this is of course my wife frankie who was on the campaign trail. my son david, my daughter ashley also my other mpaign trail.

daughter and my grandchildren. and my youngest, miles. who me, some years ago. thank you kansas, has truly been a privilege and an honor to serve our great state to i am deeply humbled continue that service. tonight kansas stood up and said of the great dog -- gridlock, enough of the maneuvers of harry reid, enough of the intrusive government. we

made a stand for kansas and a american values, our children and their future. and we made a stand for republican values. you made a standardized it with is time for ut action and this main is ready -- marine is ready to lead that charge. is a tough election, a hard-fought election, and i orders loud ching i d clear. i will be bold. will be conservative. and i will be constructive. i promise will get things done. we will do great things nation and for kansas.

we begin by unleashing the power of the american economy because business power of good governance, not an adversary. we will free job creators from stifling regulation of demonstration. will reform the level the playing field so that businesses up and down main street of kansas can grow and thrive again. now i am to be the next chairman of the agriculture committee. once again i have had the be a chairman for our farmers and ranchers. our farmers and ranchers feed a troubled and hungry world and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. you can trust that i will bring common sense and respect back to farm country.

our men and women in uniform and their lives to secure protect our freedoms. they deserve nothing less than our full faith and backing. we will renew the bond between those and those who serve. i will be a marine. and i will never stop fighting for our military and our military families the name of national security performance and the performance of individual basis i will fight to keep arkansas military bases bases kansas military at the ready. finally our families deserve better. are senior citizens deserve better. our moms deserve better. our children and our unborn deserve better.

you know the greatest nation on for those in vide need. we can provide a safety net and we should. but we must ever-growing system of entitlements. greatness is of freedom and of ortunity, not independence and entitlement. if we are to remain the land of the free and home of the brave, we must not fall into the regulations f more and more benefits. our children should not have to pay for it. americans are losing faith in

the government because they powerless to change anything. the endless bickering confirms the worst fears that even their elected leaders are powerless. notion. we will restore faith in our government government's a faith in you. that they can start returning to the founding principles of our constitution. our values, our prosperity, and on you. we depend will do great things.

tonight, as always with a a start of e will be has turned, he tide the era of the obama-reid gridlock is over. god's good elp and grace, we took the hill. let's at is and gentlemen get to work. let's get our country back. thank you.

thank you very much. i could expected a greater welcome. 10 minutes ago i called it sen. roberts and him on his ed a very cordial

conversation. senator knows that kansas is deeply a part of my future and his future. he to actually work together and i said i would enjoy the opportunity and he could not have been more gracious. so congratulations to sen. roberts. i have to say that when civil i started this process we it would be difficult would face tough competition. what has been surprises greatest of is how wonderful our friends and people we have never met and volunteers have have given of themselves, they say we realize you are out here on of a man they want to a limb with you.

it is something i am eternally grateful for and i have to say to all of you who are here tonight and those who could not be here, there are too many to name them individually but i cannot be i am right ul that now, for all the help and caring just the sheer love and compassion for civil -- i were shown by summary so many of you. said thank you for that. has been the greatest privilege of my life to be able to travel the state of kansas issues to kansas about

that matter to them. to have them so gracious and warm and they travel the state. and again i cannot say enough about the voters of of kansas the people and how genuinely privileged i part of this be a process. i also have to say that while --won oberts one tonight we cannot lose ran against sen. the rts, we run against whole washington establishment.

sent from a very strong message not have been clearer. you cannot go to washington hide behind your party label you have to go there and get stuff done. that is the message that you helped me send today. if you think about where we came from where we are today it is absolutely amazing that with everything aligned against us until 30 minutes ago we believe there was a chance that we would fundamentally change washington and i believe we did.

>> my firm hope and belief is also that we sent a message to other aspiring independents out that this could be done. voters are with you. while we not get it done today i we did that what sparked a fuse that allows under independence of essays to step forward and say, enough of a for the anship, and fighting, enough with the go out k, we need to there and support americans not one party or another. as a look around the stream i realize how genuinely blessed sybille and i are. not only do we have many wonderful lifelong but i see many faces

that we have now over the last months who i know think are and g to lifelong friends, i am grateful for that. if someone asks me, if you could do it all over again what would say, not to i absolutely not, this has been the greatest thrill of my life and i'm so excited to be here today with you. this is not the end of anything beginning, so thank you.

to thank you all for everything you have done to a message to washington. i am firmly convinced that what we have done here in kansas, and what we are doing here tonight is great art of something for this country, start the renewal of america and i thank you for that.

democrats picked up 53 seats and republicans 45. there are undecided seats in virginia, illinois and alaska. you updated on that. here is the current look the u.s. house. 234 with to 161 cans as opposed four democrats. for those who calls just to let you know they in a few minutes. we expect to take you live to remove the congressional committee to hear from the chairman of the committee. that will be coming up live here in washington. also here in louisville kentucky will hear from mitch mcconnell the incoming senate majority leader.

i just want to let you know to from the reaction democratic side. we will take you to that site in just a few minutes. >> i'm calling you from the golden state of california.my comment, i have two quick i need to say, with to the republicans winning so many seats, i just food for ive them some thought with respect to our deficit and the men and women still in harm's way. that label does not apply. when women over there.

that is the premise we should all be operating from with to pres. barack obama. a lot of feel there's racism but with respect to him, blatant disrespect for him what or his office, and really appalls me is that his mother and his grandparents a lot of issues.'s we have a lot of work to do. but are all ember we americans and women women are duty they step up without labels.

from the oing to hear at 2 pm shortly

eastern, and on c-span radio. a couple more calls as we wait to hear. >> i have a few comments. i hear the race card being cold. i feel that's a mistake. i feel the president's actions are why this vote has come out the way it has come out, and i hope the republican party steps up to the plate and puts our country back on track. -- there'sour north a call from north carolina, another state with a new incoming senator, thom tillis. what do you think about that? >> i'm sorry -- i think it's a

bad day for north carolina. i think people who love their social security are going to be sadly disappointed at what he is going to try to do too it. i hate that americans and especially north carolinians haven't gotten the fact that when george bush left office, stock market was around 8000, now it's been-- consistently around 15,000, 16,000. gas prices are at a very low two dollars 80 five cents, and i do believe once republicans take office, the interest rate is now too climb from 3% 8%. gas prices arear going to be up to four dollars or two years. and there are going to be great cutbacks in social security. i hate that people forget that -- the good rings obama did

i have a niece that is able to get help for cancer because of the affordable care act, which prevents insurance companies eliminating your ability to get insurance because you have cancer. >> ok, now that republicans are coming in, two more years in the obama presidency, what is the number one issue you think the president and congress have to get done? >> well, i just think that the number one issue is for us to and stopof war spending money. if republicans could pay a 50% tax under dwight eisenhower, the top 1% can pay a lot more to be a member of this country, and there needs to be a limit to jobs that can go overseas and come back here and fill -- and make a big profit and not pay

their fair share of the taxes. i think there's too much corporate welfare, and that needs to be addressed, but i'm sure it won't because those people spend millions and millions to get this election. >> we appreciate your input as we wait to hear from the chairman of the republican national committee. you are looking live at the campaign committee headquarters in washington as we wait to hear from the chairman and also the head of the republican national -- national republican campaign committee, greg walden, congressman walden. ourranada hills, independent line. >> thank you. i've been trying to call you guys for a couple of years now, but thank god i got through. was going to talk about a few things other people do not talk about. one, i am very disappointed in this government that we have here. i am from europe.

but i love america, and i'm happy to be here as an american, but -- >> got to let you go there. the news conference is getting under way. thank you for your call. >> this is a great day for the country. i want to start by saying thank you. thank you to the voters for putting your trust in the republican party. thanks you to our volunteers and supporters that made last night possible, and thank you to our incredible staff here in washington, d c, and across the country, including our data spot on lastre night. we had a decisive win in the senate. it was a clear defeat for harry 's dysfunctional leadership. his refusal to allow votes in the senate and order to protect incumbents backfired and actually insured their defeat. , we will add to our majority when we win louisiana.

in the senate, it was a night of important first. the first female combat veteran in the senate and the first woman in congress from iowa. tom cotton will be the youngest member of the senate. theley more capital will be first woman elected to the senate from west virginia. becomes the first african-american elected to both the house and the senate. in the house, we do not know exactly how big the majority will be, but it will be a majority bigger than most of us have seen in our lifetimes. wins inroud to see utah, texas, and new york, where the youngest woman ever elected to congress, and i will let greg talk about house games that were unbelievably historic. in the governor's race, americans affirmed their

leadership of republican governors, and in the bluest of blue states, they rejected democrats in maryland, massachusetts, and in illinois. even the president's home state where he campaigned vigorously elected a republican. that is how big this victory really is. finally, republicans captured many of the state legislative chambers, including the nevada senate, and the assembly, the west virginia house, the minnesota house, the new mexico house, the colorado's in it, and the new hampshire house. we'll have the largest number of republican chambers and state legislative seats held in history, so it was a historic night at every single level. this was all about a direct obama agenda.he as all of you know, president obama said very clearly that his policies were on the ballot, and voters were very clear in return

-- they want nothing to do with the policies of barack obama and hillary clinton. up and down the ballot, these were the president's candidates. these were the clintons' candidates, and they lost. remember hillary clinton , wherened in kentucky democrats lost by over 15 points. hillary went to iowa, and joni ernst won by more than eight points. hillary could not even save the democrat in the massachusetts governor's race. we won in red states. we won in blue states, and we one in purple states. we won because our policies resonated with the electorate. our ground game mobilize voters, and our candidates connected with the american people. we fundamentally changed our strategy to expand the electorate and build permanent communities. in we made a strategic decision to

prioritize low propensity voters , and we invested in a new data-driven ground game. the results speak for themselves. we one with our new strategy, at we beat the other side their own game. i want to congratulate all of our candidates and our partners appear with me today. moran, who didn't unbelievably great job with the nrsc, our great partners over there, and congressman walden, who has overseen one of the biggest historic gains in the history of the house has done a fabulous job, and we would not be here today without the our sisterfrom committees and the work that they have done. i also want to give a shout out to former rnc staff who had a good night winning their own elections. barbara comstock in virginia, tim griffin in arkansas, a least a phonic in new york, leslie race.ge in arkansas's ag

it has been a good night. at this point, i want to introduce governor luis fortuno yo. thank you. >> as the chairman previously stated, it was a historic night for the republican party, and i will talk about how historic it was at the state level. it was a reaffirmation of the policies that republicans across the country are implementing at the state level. to actually say and announce this morning that republicans are at an all-time republican high at the state level, both in the number of chambers and number of seats that we control. i will go into more detail right away. actually, the voters across the country in blue states and red states, purple states, spoke

very clearly that they want the republicans are implementing across the board, and actually, i will add that our success has to do mostly on the one hand with the politics they are implementing and two, that arecandidates espousing those policies. we made a special effort to recruit and get elected more diverse and female candidates across the country, and we also broke some ceilings -- glass ceilings there. night, there last all-time republican high was 64 chambers. that was back in 1920. now, republicans will hold a of chambersty across the country somewhere between 67 and 69 chambers. numbers are still pouring in, so we will have more details later on. we appear to be on track as well republicanand all

high of 4001 republican states seats held back in 1928. the nevadap actually senate, nevada assembly with virginia house, minnesota house, colorado senate, new mexico and we are ine, the race for the main senate and the colorado house, which both are too close to call at this moment. in the west virginia senate, we have split control, 17 each. majorities in states like california and -- actuallyd with had tremendous success last night. i would also like to talk about the fact that -- i want to commend our chairman and the other two chairs for the work they did. we are winning across the country also at the state level.

showe expanding the map to our pathway to victory in more than one way in years to come. i will go into that right away. actually, by expanding our majorities in all competitive great lakes states -- all 64 electoral votes -- if you add that to the 20 12th romney states, that equals 270 states -- if you add that to the 2012 romney states. i would like to add one more thing -- we are electing a fully diverse group of candidates, and both a superhave majority project and a right women right now program. as a result of this programs, on the one hand, we identified and 240 four new, diverse candidates across the country and 550 eight new female candidates across the country as , and that means we are well

haver way, and we will numbers later this week to a record number of diverse and female republicans at the statehouses across the country. some of these candidates actually have made a difference. in the west virginia house, in the colorado senate, in a pennsylvania house, in the florida house, in the nevada assembly, in the new mexico house, the new york senate, and the nevada senate. nugentfornia, janet helped to end the super majority the democrats had. finally, voters elected at least 12 statewide female lieutenant governor's and secretaries of state last night and five diverse statewide elected officials on the republican side

. , and include john sanchez many more. we elected a among them the only african-american lieutenant governor from either party across the country. we elected last night optimistic candidates that promote policies that are favored by voters to create jobs, get america growing and moving ahead again, more location and more opportunity for everyone, and i am proud of our team for the excellent job that they did as well as our candidate. with that, i pass it on to chairman walden. >> thank you for the great work the rnc has done three or congratulations on a great night , and a great tie. the old carpenter song "we've only just begun," and we have just begun.

the republican party is back with the youth, with diversity, with women, and we've got a long way to go, and we've made great danes. if you look at the house races versus the senate, we were predominantly in blue territory. these were blue districts we were competing in, and we won because we had really good, talented candidates. that republicans in those districts nominated. we worked with them closely. barack obama passage agenda was on the ballot. it was a referendum. it is historic in its nature. greaterck to a majority than any of us have seen in our lifetime. we have still not counted martha mcsally's race yet. she is up 37 votes or something, but with the votes coming in, we think she will likely gain votes this time and become the first inbat fighter pilot woman american history to also become a member of congress.

, we think we will add to the number we have on the board right now, and there are a playe of other seats in that are too close to call. it was a huge night, and a store tonight, but we also know we have to do to work doing the governing. our party ultimately will be measured by how we govern, and that is what americans elected us to do, and we are eager to get to that work. with that, i will turn it over to my friend and colleague from kansas, the jet woman who brought us a republican-controlled senate, jerry moran. -- the gentleman who brought us a republican-controlled senate. >> thank you so much for the success that we all had, but especially for the hope for all of us as we went to the 2014 election. recruited great candidates to one. we educated and trained them in their efforts to succeed, and

they succeeded. there is a clear message to republicans in the future, that who our candidates are matter, and they need to be people who are capable of appealing to the voters in the state in which .hey are seeking to represent i am so encouraged by what has transpired so far. we anxiously await the outcome of alaska, but it appears very be a newt there will republican senator from that state, and i will tell you that we spent the morning gearing up for the runoff to occur in --isiana on to simmer six december 6. we will take nothing for granted in louisiana, and it will be front and center for the and rsc as we engage now for a little less than the next month. when it comes to governing, we are already at work and have republicannths as senators having the conversation that if the american people trust us one more time to be a

majority, what would that mean? the messages that i take from last night's election as far as senate races is really two fold -- one is that the president, as he indicated -- his policies were on the voters' minds. they were given the opportunity to confirm, to ratify those policies or to reject them, and there is a clear message is this clear message that in many instances, those policies are not popular with the american people. what that says to me when people ask if we are willing to reach out to the president and find common ground -- we certainly are, but it also means that the president has now seen that has -- the popularity of his programs is not there, and therefore, it is incumbent upon the president of the united dates to work with members of congress to find a different solution to the problems and challenges our country faces. secondly, and equally important in my view, is the message that we are so tired of the inability of the united

states senate to function. there ought to be the debate that historically has happened in the united states senate. every senator ought to have the opportunity to present their views, to argue and debate on behalf of their constituency, and ultimately, votes will be curried. what i think americans see from the united states senate -- they have seen a certainly in the years i have been a member of the united eights senate, is a place in which that is not the option, and the leader, senator reid, that we were not going to do anything. in fact, he told me my first conversation with senator reid after being elected to the united states senate that i just needed to understand we were not going to do anything. "we aren't going to do anything until after the next election." the problem with that plan is that after the next election, there's always another election, and i think there is a second clear message from the american people when it comes to the united states senate -- we reject that kind of leadership

that says we're not going to do anything. it is now incumbent upon us as republican senators and the majority in the united states senate to demonstrate that we have the capability of working together as republicans but also working together with our democrat colleagues to find solutions to the country's problems. it's important to us to do that the 2016ly, for elections, including the next set of senate elections. it is important for us to do that in the political sense for the 2016 residential race, but much more importantly than the politics of 20 16, it is important for the united states thete to function for benefit of the american people, and i look forward to working with all my colleagues, all 99 other colleagues to a comp list that, and i would say our candidates, which we brag about so much -- there is not a candidate who ran in last night's election who wants to come here and do nothing. they want to come here, work together, solve problems, and move the country in a different

direction than where we have been going, but to make certain that the future is bright for american citizens. thank you very much. >> all right, let me take some questions. yes? >> i have related questions for the congressman and for the senator. related to last night, you several new women that were elected, but it's a fairly small number of new .epublican women are you satisfied with results from last night? >> first of all, i will say the that women coming in, very talented group. they will help us grow, the women members we have, in the next cycle. we have only just begun. there's a lot of work to do to diversify our party, to grow our party, but if you think about it, we have just won seats from maine to american samoa. .e may pick up san diego we are making big progress, but we have to continue to always

work at it. we have to focus on recruiting good women candidates to run, helping them get into office, and we are committed to that fully, so we are building that up. you mentioned after the next election, there is always another election. 2015f the senators up in .re swing states do you feel there's a danger of overreach coming forward? republicans went right after , would that be an overreach? >> assuming i made myself clear in my comments, when i attended to convey is that the message delivered to us was that we expect to have policies put in place that the american people support, and we expect to work together to accomplish that. i think that means those kinds of things -- we would start with

what i would say is very much the basics. statesut the united senate of biting by the law that says we will pass a budget by april 15? how about the normal things that used to happen in congress in which we would pass them 12 appropriation bills to fill in the blanks. opportunity tot demonstrate that we can govern and set the stage for a successful 2016. >> in lame-duck years, you'll have some very serious questions to deal with -- funding the government. do you think some factions in your party might be energized to say that we need to get the jump on obama before he gets to the lame-duck? do you think it is an issue if they ask for more money for ebola or isis or whatever else? >> i think there is a desire on the part of the united states senate, republican members of

the united states senate that would do things that are necessary to govern the country in the lame-duck session, but that issues that are not required to be determined now, not required to be determined in a lame-duck session should be considered by new members of congress, the ones that the voters just elected. i think you will see us doing the things that are necessary to operate the government -- certainly, the appropriations bill is one that would be front and center. i cannot imagine republicans would not be supportive of providing the necessary money, for example, to combat ebola in west africa as well as in the united states. a potential nomination for attorney general of the president decides to put that forward with his majority before the new congress. >> this question seems irrelevant to me, no offense intended, but when the rules were changed, republicans do not have much to say about the confirmation of executive officers with only 51 votes are .equired

>> [inaudible] at this question because i am the ranking republican on the appropriations subcommittee. we have grappled with the issue in my tenure in that capacity. we have worked our way through those issues before. i think at the moment, this issue is one for the house of representatives, not the senate. we have been able to pass within our committee and agreement to reach an agreement in regard to the labor age funding bill, and the question is what is the status of what the house may do with this issue? at the moment, a very theoretical circumstance when it comes to us. i know that hal rogers is toking with barbara mikulski address those issues. it's one we will address when we know what the facts are.

>> [inaudible] what should middle america, the american public expect? access toaries, more higher education, more access to health care, or more trickle-down economics? >> i think the point is we are going to break through the gridlock and grow american jobs. the american economy has not recovered as any of us would have wanted. we have been in this recession, we are kind of coming out of it, but i'll tell you what -- there dead hands a government regulation trying to shut down people in my part of the world. agriculture, small business. you have rate increase is coming under obamacare and small businesses. i'm sure you have heard about it. 30% to 70%.

these are all real, live issues. i was a small business person with my wife. i know what this stuff does to the bottom line. you will to grow jobs, increase pay, you've got to get several governments out of the way where it is not needed. think about the 20,000 american jobs we could start tomorrow if we approve the keystone pipeline. most of those are trade union jobs. they pay pretty well. that's two years of digging ditch, building pipeline, putting american workers to work. that is not trickle-down economics. that's real life jobs. they matter, they count, and they will make a difference and americans lives. be any white not democrats in congress from the deep south. what do you make of that gecko >> southern voters are speaking. i think again, it is an issue involving the president's policies that were on the ballot this time. we want to grow diversity, though.

african-american republicans elected in texas. were going to do our best to bring all americans together, to do the right thing for all americans. growing jobs is good regardless of your party or your locale. getting government out of the .ay there's a lot of stuff we can do in this country. bring us together, unite us, can america on track. i wonder what i'm going to hear from all of you about what wheel came off last night, and that is how americans are feeling right now -- insecure about their economic future. insecure about disease. here is what fred upton is going to launch -- has launched. diseases,rtisan, 7000 500 cures, we can do better than that. there are some exciting things out there, but government always seems to be in the way. we want to move forward to make healthier lives, better jobs,

good economy. all those things are measurable. you all measure us on a, but they need to be done. they need to be done. >> [inaudible] we hear some rumblings already from conservatives and -- in both chambers who think there should be a corrective effort against the white house. what would your message the -- be or how you get republicans in congress on the same page? >> for one thing, i think it is really incumbent on republicans to really take a step back and think about what just happened last night. what happened last night is that the american people were given a choice to either accept the policies of the democrat party and the president or reject them, and they wholeheartedly rejected those policies. at the same time, what's really

interesting about what happened last night is when people were given the choice to continue or take on the policies of conservative republicans like scott walker, rick snyder, bruce rauner, rick >> it was not just a rejection of barack obama. it valleys embrace of the of conservative government so i that was really necessary combat the president to of capitol hill, look through harry reid's desk. i get through the 300 bills are there and get through work. it don't have to just capitulate. the voice of american people has been very loud and clear.

they are not buying what the president is selling. would anything otherwise just be wrong. you measured the earlier, whatever's components the, the republican party passing some kind of immigration reform, the 20 14th se of elections. we have immigration reform, what is your message to who won last night, against immigration reform? >> this a situation either take a few steps back. you get republicans talking about serious immigration reform. the idea of a serious

immigration reform is alive, both biters need to look at it. since the president has continuously applied to many country about his intentions for the immigration reform. he is the one thing and another. nothing on d immigration reform. he then threatened the country with an illegal action. he got into trouble coming into the midterm, pull back on that promise. then because other people get upset. he used people as pods congenitally for five years. is unify the ne country against anything that the president wants to do on immigration reform, because people don't trust him. he has also unified the country

we cannot get at anywhere on immigration reform unless people are completely secure in the borders. like a s at times talking point, the president's has solidified the view that we cannot get very far can secure the borders. >> do you think it is possible to get the tax reform through congress? one comment on that, while thing that people need t is that you do not the president's signature to set the parameters. paul ryan in the senate on the same page i think you could the a budget, it only president to do that.

>> i think tax reform is a great opportunity for the senate and the congress to come together. has attempted to pursue, a trap y felt into the same that we republicans, and he as democrats face the same conditions. what the ot matter committee does. i think there is still a huge opportunityfor the senate to ground on tax of the it is a matter process changing. country's economy, people's jobs demand that reform. probably the n up for airman, teaming the senate we can get their bright agreement.

one budget in six years they have passed. now we have a partner to get the agreement. you can tax and spending issues. tax reform and return rs jobs generate of cash overseas, that you can and solve another problem that is the construction. pull these ays to things together. generates revenue. >> what about the other side of the point? >> all of these issues can be dealt with in a budget process. thank you. the republican

national committee, the senate and house committee speaking to reporters in washington on the wind yesterday. the big when yesterday for the republicans. from the washington post writing a little bit how that terms of the in senate. the republicans gain control of the senate on wednesday. with the new authority, the going to n leaders are ramp up the one mistress and. except from both chambers in the future. that is when the washington post. live with a ou briefing, more on the way with

c-span, with mitch mcconnell. leader in ng minority the senate. he will speak at 2 pm eastern. i have followed we will expect to hear from as an obama. all out here on c-span. we continue to take your well, and the reaction of the election yesterday for republicans is to 2585 3881. independent 225853882. also get us on twitter. send us a twit with your thoughts on the elections. we're going to hear all mitch for the l and his plans next congress. in next couple days. he spoke in mmer

washington and brin said that what he said was a freeman the american enterprise institute. and to want to show you a he was bit of what looking for. you have all had a lot about corporate versions. the verses are just symptoms. a much symptoms of deeper problem. nobody understands that. people pair counted hundreds of dollars so they can lower the tax bills. over the years francis of changes have been made on taxes. mostly for the benefit of those who are well-connected. fussing over a debit, when the road is full of potholes.

make a pro family, make the race for every american. allow people to get taxes and two sheets of paper. 90% of american people could from two sheets of paper. we do this. of the biggest reasons, that jobs aren't moving overseas. from builder house to save for college for the kids. it is a spending problem. we have spent more than we have brought in for last year's. people get on me, comparing apples to oranges. in your own this home? of course you were not. could anybody run a west net a -- business this way?

of course not. we cannot do this in the it is bad ew because for our children. robbing them of the benefit they will never see. the question is, it's who? baby boomers like me, 17,000 this week, 3 1/2 million this year. our entitlement programs, for most of us retiring at the same time, were not designed for most of us living beyond 80. these programs are important to tens of millions of americans. they need to be fixed and put in a sustainable path. we can in fact do that. to reform legal system.

the suit anybody in america for any reason they want. we'll pay azy, and for it. spent more per person living, two and have more than any industrial country in the world. only shop in premiums, the shop on everything we buy. we have lost competence. they have to be reasonable standards, and reasonable limits. loss as an he

example. about teresting thing this, is that frank was passed and the bail outs. nobody has failed to do that. the compliant cast are very hitting. for those small banks, small business loans and family you have more uncertainty, and going money into compliance, access to credit goes down. is the last thing that we need right now. other countries have been more collaborative process to decide when there is a problem. two how to address that problem. the result is if they have few regulations. have a more

meaningful. cost of ot drive of the making business. even if we did that for things. i don't think we can maximise potential. with the rather find a way to more for america's kids. to meet a more guy than me. some of these figures are very depressing. students do school not graduate, one at a five. graduate, e who did one in five, and the going to start college. only 30% of 12th graders above proficiency in reading.

only 26% were above proficient in maths. we are not educating enough america's kids. every state was required to adopt standards. frankly is there. the bad news is too many children still don't learn, many because the gutter struggling schools. things we have done was create the first federal funded private school in america, with scholarship programs. is succeeding beyond anybody's highest expectations. 97% of these kids go through high school. approval rating from parents. while will we not go ahead and start expanding those programs? to find better

schools. there are other things we can do on the education. we're going to have a growing economy. we need workers and we cannot have workers who don't have a decent education in america. hear from the o speaker before the house senate. back to the calls, reminder that clock we will hear from mitch mcconnell. she covers for politico. republican she beat in december.

request from a viewer, where loves victory speech on c-span' utah miele love is the first black female republican in congress. second bid for congress, after failing by a slim two years ago. despite having met rightly at the top of the ticket. she set up the rays leaving congress after 14 years. democrat in a pitch. let's get back to calls. kevin on democrats line.

i voted for democrats and the elections yesterday. i was e thing, when television, the republican majority they did about securing the border. how it's talk about is obama's fault, how we have to secure the border. now they can to have the majority in the senate, i they ht it was funny, now money he majority and the to do that, they're not talking about doing it. issue t do you think the

there in iowa? >> it was a close race. helped itary background a little bit. there ngressional races, that put in -- t are a the military health little bit. (inaudible) did y reid in the senate

not do anything. >> that is one of seven seas republicans picked up in the u.s. senate. next up, we are in california in the independent line. this is tina ou in michigan. my concern is immigration. with a one to school degree for immigration reform. i just wonder if the to ublicans are going change, and how they're going correct heir plans to control. also, you

were talking about a friend . i have came over can, they here illegally -- i don't know, he s very excited because knows that everybody that are illegals are getting the dream act, getting free books and free education. my son and daughter are still paying the college education. here is oakland california. was kind of appalled.

with@behind his head, showing that combative position that the republicans were taking. >> what did it say in the sign? >> it said stop obama. you want elections widely have to come out so violently. this country needs to work it seemed to indicate to come was to present ddo hem, hat in hand, and whatever they say. way or the , my highway. people that i of -- the other pect thing, how do people consistently vote against their own interest.

>> give me an example of people voting against their own interest. >> here in california, we voted a higher minimum wage. but the republicans have consistently refused to even the national ing minimum wage. against their own interest. >> thanks for your comments. we continue to get reactions for the midterm elections. republicans picking up seven seats in the senate. republicans gaining 13 seats. it took awhile for the results to come in.

she won by 52 to 48%. let's take a look at the speeches. (cheers) thank you new hampshire.

tonight, the people of new to put new how and hampshire -- ago, scott brown called to wish me well. he won a vigourous race and i his family the best. proud to once again, be able to represent the people of new hampshire in the united states.

thank you. i promise you i will work with anybody in the senate, democrats and republicans and independents to get things done new hampshire working families. with the new term you have me i will fight so students can refinance their student loan.

i will fight for a energy policy that focuses on and new energy technology. our reliance on oil. i will fight for a minimum wage. that ensures that nobody 40 hours a week is stuck living in poverty. and i will fight for equal pay for equal work for women.

serious ight ffor national security policy that will keep us safe. fight for women's right to take her own decisions. and as i have said many times last weeks and months, i will never stop fighting to make sure that everybody in new hampshire has access to quality and affordable health care.

thank you. i have a lot of thank you's. i want to start by thanking my family, my husband willie. my daughter, stephanie and her husband greg. and her husband ryan.

molly and hugh. and almost 7 grandchildren, but of them are here. anna and aj. you have seen them through the campaign. was a ampaign truly family affair. when the going got tough, they kept my spirits up, and you know, they are sort of a competitive bunch. [laughter] so they competed for who did the best tweets, who had the best facebook postings, and who got the most votes at the end of the day.

[applause] thank you. thank you to all of you. i love you all. [cheers] i also have to thank my spectacular campaign manager mike vlacich. >> [crowd chanting "mike"] boy, did he run a great operation?

>> and thank you to all of the candidates up and down the ticket, to the winners and losers tonight, for everything you have done to make our democracy stronger. tomorrow we get back to work, back to our regular lives, but

tonight, tonight let's celebrate. thank you. thank you all. thank you to the wonderful people of new hampshire. thank you. thank you all. [cheers and applause] [applause] thank you, very, very much. thank you very much. it's great to see everybody here and i appreciate you waiting around and want to congratulate frank and marylander and walled for their efforts. [applause] and thank you very much, you and i have waged a great campaign and i could not have asked for a better ally. and friends to see it through. we stood strong and fought. even

a defeat. andve got no business politics unless you respect the judgment of the people. if you run for office, you have to be able to take it either way and i accept the decision of the voters and i have already offered mike sincerest congratulations and good wishes to senator shaheen. from the very outset of this campaign, i decided to run a race that we all can be proud of. that has always been my standard. i want to walk away with no regrets and that's what i'm doing. that's how it is this time, i've kept my word and fought claim and i would not trade that for anything. [applause] i cannot pretend that feelings of gratitude don't come easy at a moment like this but i know how much i have to grateful for. i was born here and as a new candidate for office here, i am

so very, very thankful for the people who were willing to come out and help give me a shot and give us an opportunity to try to make a better state. that is the spirit of new hampshire. it's lucky and i feel lucky. i feel like a lucky man to live in this great state and call it home. [applause] and of course, of course i am especially indebted to many people that are here. i am looking at each and every one of you. as soon as the count is final, we will know the exact number. one of the reasons we were delaying is that it was up and down and all around. there is still about 45,000 votes to come in. but it's clear that the area itself that are coming and will not make up the votes we need. it's always an honor, it's always an honor when people

choose to check your name at the ballot box. it's an honor to try to serve each and every one of you. you have each made great efforts to move our state forward and try to make it a better state to live in. it is a live free or die experience. i am also asking a lot of folks to work for months and months in an uphill campaign whether it is on the staff or volunteering in the field. how could i not give my best in this campaign after everything that each and everyone of you have done? [applause] we had an outstanding team and i am proud of each and every one of them. so i want to give you a round of applause, everybody, thank you. [applause] i will be looking for you this summer. the one thing i am so grateful for above everything else is the

most important thing for me, my family. i want to thank each and everyone of my family members standing here -- [applause] i want to give a shout out to araina who is studying for finals. i want to tell her we love her and miss her. let me say that every journey where ever it leads is better because i can share them -- those wonderful expenses with the people behind me. my friends, it looks like it is a good night for america. it looks like the senate has changed over to republican hands. [applause] and regardless of what happens here tonight, i have one thing that has come true -- harry reid is the minority leader. applause]nd

[chanting go scott go] let me just say -- listen, i want to say thank you very, very much. it was an honor to carry the flag and i thank you for the privilege of being the nominee. i will just say that we have better days because the senators turn republican, the houses republican and i am hopeful the president will come back and try to put our country's interest first and be a uniter instead of a divider. i want to say thank you and i want to come down and say hi to everybody. god bless and have a wonderful fall, winter, summer, christmas. you get it, thank you very much. [cheers and applause] >> former massachusetts senator

scott brown losing the race in to senator shaheen who retains that democratic seat and his speech last night in new hampshire. we continue to take your comments and tweets, reaction to election day. these are the phone numbers -- the republicans pick up seven seats. there are three seats remaining, three races yet undecided so let's go first to virginia were barely 12,000 votes separates the incumbent democrat mark withr and ed gillespie 2555 precincts out of 2557 reporting. still some boats out there, that race is not been called.

for aana has been called recount or a runoff election, rather, because neither of the marydates, the incumbent landrieu nor bill cassidy, the congressman republican got 50% of the vote. there runoff race will be one month from now. to alaska, this race is more clear. and sullivan appears four points ahead of the incumbent mark begich. but the associated press has not yet called that race. once they do, we will let you know and so for that race has yet to be called. onto the virginia race, before we get to your calls -- there is a piece today in "the national journal" he writes --

one are led by fewer than 7000 votes or cera .6% from a narrow margin enough that ed gillespie would be entitled to ask for a recount if he chooses. no word yet on whether he will or not. article says 17,000 votes and it's now 12,000 separating mark warner and ed gillespie. we will keep you posted as refund of more information. let's go to your calls and hear first from erin in oak park, illinois. guest: i am an illinois republican. one of the things people don't know about us is that we end up voting for democrats as well. my point is that i think the people running usually rely on people voting straight democrat or republican. my question is, do you think this election is more of a reaction against strict

ideologies and more of rejection of the one or the other, the fact that more voters would vote for democrats and republicans? host: what do you think? guest: i think so. especially in illinois where we finally have a republican governor. i think he ended up taking a lot more of the black vote because black leaders came out and supported him. that was really rare over here. i don't know how it is in other states. host: we appreciate your call. palmetto, florida. caller: i'm calling from florida and i am amazed that the --ublicans are not discussing the iraq war. they don't mention nothing but obama. i just thank it's very nasty the weight they call him a liar. i don't know how they are

raising their children. you hear all the stuff on television. how can you say you are raising your children to be respectable children? i never heard such talk about people. host: some of these comments are reflected on twitter -- kentucky, stephanie on the abandoned line -- on the independent line. caller: i'm calling from new york, not kentucky. i noticed a couple of things. i agree with the previous color

that it would be nice to have a little respect and civility restored. in this election, i noticed we were inundated on incredible that with political ads were so many that became ineffective. also, we had a very good local congressman who lost his seat and i think it was because he had a huge national push to oust him. i felt a bit resentful that politics that should be local were kind of hijacked by national interests. by the way, before i was an independent, i was a republican for many years but i am independent now. should the republicans handle this power carefully and try to do a better job than has been done in the past. i don't think they should read too much into this. it's not necessarily an endorsement of their message it's more people who are really

hurting and fed up. representativeur -- what was the race where you are living? caller: it is suffolk county, long island and tim bishop lost by quantum margin to his competitor. i think he had done a good job for long island but i think there is a very heavy campaign that seemed to be really not just local. i think he is a decent guy so i really hope he takes is in a good direction. the money that was poured into this election seemed more and i have noticed in years past. host: by all accounts, the most money ever spent on certainly a congressional campaign in 2014. muncie, new york, our gop line -- caller: i wanted to make some

comments on this election. i would like to say i am happy to see the republicans get in. i would like to say that i think it's time republicans, democrats, and president obama get together and stop fighting against each other. let's get the job done. let's get america back to what it was when it was first founded. there are no precepts or values left in this nation anymore. everyone is out to lie and cheat and talk against the other guy. after the previous color, a lot of money was put in but i don't think she realized how much money obama raised for the democratic party. it was quite a bit of money on that side, too. they could've gotten in just as well as the republicans. you know what? i don't want to look at the republicans or the democrats. i have had enough of the parties. get together, let's get our

nation turned back in the right direction. let's get rid of the deficit we have. let's get our people working. let's help our american citizens. i have a young son-in-law dying of als. know what an american family can get for help and support in this nation? a big fat zero. you have allowed $2000 in your savings account but you have to -- even your insurance policies need help. i think that's an outrage and we can have everybody coming over the border illegally and they can get everything pronto for free. host: we have more comments on the way in republicans picked up seven seats in the u.s. senate with three still undecided. virginia, louisiana, and alaska and in georgia last night, big win for david purdue, businessman from georgia against the daughter of sam nunn and he wins by 53-45 and

here are those speeches from last night. >> georgia once somebody to fight for them. we are committed to go to washington and fight for you, not for special interest and the insiders in washington, but you. [loud cheers and applause] georgians want us to fight for their constitutional rights, for the right to life, the value of life. we will listen to the people here at home and act accordingly. they want a senator who is not a to special interests. when he to bring a sense of urgency to washington. the thing we've heard more than anything else is that washington is broken. and it's affecting our lives. we don't want to leave this world to our kids without trying to make it better. most importantly, georgians want good paying jobs. we have got to get this economy going. we have to resolve our tax problem. right now, saxby chambliss is handing the baton over to me. i am going to fight.

for the fair tax. [cheers and applause] i never imagined that bonnie and i would be standing here. we are the most unlikely people to be doing this. we felt this was something we could do to make a difference. tonight, we start a new journey. this has been an extraordinary 18 months. when i called my cousin and -- the x governor and said you need to run, he said, i've been paroled. you need to think about it. we thought about it. we started the journey with your help and some great professional help and we took our message around the state. it resonated and it worked. because it was sincere. more importantly, it was from your heart. that is what the people of this country -- that is what they are hearing tonight.

i want to remind you, tonight we start a new journey, to set a new course for america. this race was always bigger than me, always bigger than georgia. we have to do this for our kids and grandkids. i do not want to be a member of the first generation in the history of our country that has to tell my kids and grandkids that i'm leaving you -- starting -- a world worse off. starting tonight, we are going to change that. with your help. [applause] tomorrow morning, my commitment to you -- at about 5:00, my first day starts as a senator. i'm very proud. to be up tomorrow morning. i'm going to roll my sleeves up

and get to work like i've done all my life. my entire career, that's all i've ever done. we have always worked as an underdog, just like in this campaign. i need each of you to help me do it. [applause] just because we had an election -- [applause] sua usa usa usa >> i thought it was something i was saying. what a great night. i'm telling you, i have chilled bones. we have got to work hard.

you just can't believe what i'm about to tell you. just because we had an election -- seriously, this journey is just starting. and now we know we have a majority in the u.s. senate where we will move those 300 [inaudible] [applause] from the bottom of my heart, i want to thank georgia for trusting me with this unbelievable responsibility. i take it very seriously. johnny and saxby chambliss great heroes of georgia. [applause] i will work hard to earn your trust over the next six years. i will work every day to turn your trust into results. i want to thank each and every candidate in this long road to get here. and we had a few. in the primary. i want to thank michelle nunn for running a strong campaign. she should be proud of their

effort. to her supporters, i mentioned to her tonight, i wanted her to convey my congratulations. they fought hard and they believe in what they believed. that is our system. we have to engage -- [applause] i will not give up my values but i'm going to washington to get something done. [applause] i want to thank -- for those who voted for her amanda swafford, i welcome you to join us in trying to make a better place for our kids and grandkids. [cheers and applause] my commitment to everyone of you -- bonnie and i will give you everything we have to represent every individual in this state. this is the greatest state in the country. we can lead this country back in the direction it ought to be headed.

[cheers and applause] very quickly -- i would be remiss without thanking congressman jack kingston. he epitomizes -- [cheers and applause] please -- after 30 years of public service in the state of georgia. he backed me in this election and he has worked very hard to get us to this point. jack, wherever you are, i want to say thank you to you. god bless you. [cheers and applause] congressman paul broun, derek grayson, we had a ball, didn't we? it was a hard-fought battle. these are great individuals, great americans. i want to thank them for all they did in this process. but guys, i want to thank the thousands of volunteers.

i've never been through this. we couldn't do it without the volunteers, the donors. some of you got the calls last year. the first words out of your mouth were, david, what are you thinking? [laughter] but you hung in there and stepped up for us and our staff. the job you guys have done over the last year and a half is beyond belief. thank you, god bless you. [applause] lastly, i'm going to get this out, to my bonnie, she is a rock -- [cheers and applause] she is better at this than i am. i want to thank my son and our grandsons for putting up with this. i have been an absent father, absent grandfather, because we were on a mission.

with your help, we did it. i want to thank you for all of your confidence. this is not about me. i don't even think it is about georgia. i think it is about our country. we have an opportunity and you have to stay involved. you have to hold me and our elected officials accountable. i want to tell you right now that with your help and god's will, we will change the direction of our country. we will be able to tell our kids, we are leaving you a world that are off. -- better off. then our parents left us. i'm so proud to be an american. i love my country, i love my state. we will make georgia and america of the best ways on earth. -- the best place on earth for our kids and grandkids. thank you all. [cheers and applause]

>> we have reminded people of what a two-party system looks like, and a civic dialogue. we have lifted up and advocated issues that matter to people in this country. whether it is raising minimum wage, pay equity for women, bipartisan immigration reform, these are just a few of the issues that are at stake. whether it is making sure our young people have an affordable and clear pathway to college, or whether it is universal access, these are issues that will continue to be lifted up. i am very proud to have stood side-by-side in this campaign with thousands of georgians who have worked so hard. some of your hands may be blistered from putting in all those yard signs.

your voices may be horse from doing all that shouting and talking and telling people how important this race is. i know you have been walking a lot of neighborhoods. you could not have worked harder. [applause] we have exceeded every expectation of what was possible in this race. just about 15 months ago, all of the political pundits said georgia was not in play and we put georgia in play. [cheers and applause] we have built a foundation now that needs to be cultivated. we need to work on it to broaden our reach. we want to remind people that elections make a difference. we change people's lives, we change communities, we change our nation, we change our world when we vote. we have reminded people of that

and we want to keep reminding people of that. we make choices about how to care for our sick, how to care for our environment, our elderly. these are the choices we want to continue to lift up in the future. as we go forward. i hope that we have reminded georgia also that we can and should have leadership that represents and looks like our state. [applause] during the course of the campaign, i met with a wonderful group of pakistani and indian doctors and they told me it was the first time that anybody had reached out to them to engage them in this process. when i left, they said you have given us hope and you have given us inspiration. [applause] you all did that. started out this election saying i was optimistic about america and i have never been

more optimistic than i am right of today after 15 months seeing the extraordinary idealism, commitment, and passion of georgians. i was reminded time and time again of our georgia state motto i you have heard me say it -- had seen it embodied in our georgia civics -- wisdom and justice and moderation. tonight, more than anything, i want to thank you all to the staff and thousands of people who have worked so hard on this campaign come up for the future heir stake him out for the future of our country, for your commitment and your dedication. each one of you here has given so much, your talents, your resources and a lot of sleepless nights and an unrelenting commitment. i am so grateful to have walked this path with you to be fighting for something that transcends us all and will continue to work towards. myant to say a few things to family. otherwise, it it would be out of

control the number of people i would have to thank. i want to thank my parents who are here. [applause] they have taught me the importance of public service. been -- my father every single day of the campaign trail, i would hear a story of someone who he made a difference for. he is a great exemplar of what matters. in-service. [applause] he has been a role model and a great advisor throughout my life. my mother whose fierce determination, whose tireless work ethic and unyielding support has sustained me through out this race. ron, [applause] says, my very wonderful and long-suffering husband. [laughter] i want to thank elizabeth and vincent who are here somewhere. [applause]

they have traveled to stay with me. they have seen the ordinary goodness of georgians and the beauty of the state. i think in about 20 years, they will thank me for this campaign experience. [laughter] also in 20 years, i think there will be young women like elizabeth who will take for granted that we have equal representation of women in congress. [applause] and equal pay as well. [applause] >> georgia democrat michelle nunn losing that race to david perdue by a percentage of 53% of the vote. republicans picked up seven seats come a three still to be determined. coming up on c-span, we continue our campaign 2014 postelection

coverage hearing from you and your thoughts on the election yesterday. this is how to contact us -- coming up in about 25 minutes, we will take you live to louisville, kentucky to hear from incoming senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, his days conference.. the associated press reports that the senator says he is warning president obama the congress will push back at the exit unilaterally on immigration. we will also hear from the president this afternoon, his news conference scheduled for 2:50 p.m. eastern we will have that live here on c-span and on c-span radio. we will continue to take your phone calls and comments.

it is also reported that president obama announced early today, proposing $6.2 billion for additional a bowler response. in terms -- in terms for additional -- ebola response. the hill is looking at the changes that will happen in leadership in terms of the chairs of the committees. this is the headline of a piece -- he said he will become chairman of the senate environment and public works committee. in his speech, he accused president obama being antagonistic towards oil, natural gas and coal. they are writing about lisa murkowski of alaska gearing up to take control of the senate energy and natural resources committee as the balance of scherrer shifts to republicans next year. the house and senate are back next week for the beginning of the lame duck session, a week

from now, 2 p.m., next wednesday, november 12. let's return to your phone calls, texas, on the republican line. caller: thank you for letting me speak. i wanted to say god bless of all and i am so proud of my fellow americans who to getout at the polls their voice heard, to issue the pink slips that needed to be issued. there was a time i was a democrat. i've got to say that i left the party. i did not like the way that they were trampling the constitution, taking the values away from the families and the states. government needs to just get out of the picture and let the states and people start taking control of the things they need to take control of. to sayhave come together we want a change, not the change that was said they were going to

give us and did not but a real change for america. it used to be a great nation. i and the rest of them believed that it can be again. i know that everybody that has been elected whether they are democrats or republicans, everybody that was voted into this election into office is going to go up there and going to do a good job. they see that the future of america is at stake and that order and peace needs to be restored and everybody needs to have love in their heart for each other and be there together to make the nation great. i have note doubt in my mind that we are going to move forward and make it a great nation again. host: that's valerie in texas with a big win their for their he attorney general greg abbott beating wendy davis. that was 59% to 39%.

fairbanks, alaska, tom on the independent line. a pretty close race in the senate there. have they called it? caller: if you're talking about the dan sullivan race, that's over as far as i'm concerned. i believe that he won. am i not right? for: we are waiting confirmation. i believe the percentage was 49% for dan sullivan and 45 are sent per mark begich. is that still holding? caller: that's what i thought, i'm sorry. i'm being premature. having dan represent us in the senate [indiscernible] not just in health care but foreign policy, you name it. help bring good stuff forward. host: what made him win in

alaska? caller: i think the fact that he has actually been a military that always person , not justschool secondary school but primary and middle school. ands an advocate for school afterschool like college and technical colleges and stuff like that. is biggest separating thing truth and transparency by comes to discussing the issues of health care in one not. he iss what gave him -- not trying to hide anything. he is trying to focus on the solution and not the problem. host: all right, let's go to fort lauderdale. democrats line. caller: let me ask you something -- are all the votes in an fort lauderdale? host: what did you ask?

caller: are all the votes in an fort lauderdale? host: according to the associated press, the precincts have been counted. marijuana?n on host: i didn't catch other half of your question. i will let you go there. we are having trouble hearing you. this is william in colorado springs on the republican line, go ahead. caller: how are you doing? been a lifelong, 65 years old republican since i could first but when i came back from vietnam. 100% disabled veteran. , numberremely happy one, that we will get rid of harry reid and we will see the nation start to move forward again. number two is that we are going to be able to stop obama with these unconstitutional executive decisions and put into place his

people who have no experience, who have no right to be there. on his choiceit of who he thinks is the best person that will support him. hopefully, we can get rid of the attorney general holder. he says he quit but he will not quit until obama can replace him. that theled pink republicans have finally stepped up and decided that they are going to do something now. concerned, maybe veterans will get a better shot. maybe the v.a. will stop making excuses about all of these 22 suicides per day i have been reading about on fox news. and c-span reported it and maybe now we will get an opportunity to get some care to those of us that need it.

like i said, i am a 100% disabled vietnam veteran and dealing with this since i was 18 years old and i am now 65. host: we appreciate you calling in. more calls and comments coming up. william was going from colorado springs and they did call the colorado governor's race. john hickenlooper retained his position. the race that tip the scales last night was in north carolina. state house speaker thom tillis beat the incumbent kay hagan. here the victory and concession speeches from last night in north carolina. ♪ ♪

>> thank you all. i know it is late, but i don't know about you all -- i have got a little bit of energy right now. [applause] you all did it. you did it. i get to take a break off the

campaign trail. you have to introduce yourself and ask for the vote and now i can change a bit because i am thom tillis and i am the next united states senator -- [cheers and applause] but i want to make absolutely certain that every single one of you still calls me thom because you are a friend -- >> yes, we are! >> this victory is not my victory. this victory is our victory. our victory. [applause] you know, if you take a look and all of the negative ads against me and against any senate candidate in the country, $111 million -- we do not bend, we won.

[cheers and applause] i tell you what, though, i am sure you have been watching the ads, but there was something very important that also had to happen tonight, and we have swept this nation with a compelling majority so somehow i think senator reid is going to have a different office assignments come january. [applause] i think at the end of the day, i think the reason i spent all that money is they looked in north carolina, they knew what we had here. we had hundreds and hundreds of volunteers absolutely committed, knocking on doors, doing what we had to do to win. that is why i am standing here before you.

you refused to lose. [applause] now, i will tell you -- i received a call both from sean hall and from senator hagan. i want to thank senator hagan for her service. i also want to thank her for her gracious offer to make sure we do what america does best, and that is to affect a smooth transition of power over the next couple of months. [applause] you know, i tell you, taking that phone call -- it is very difficult. the challenges of campaigning are very difficult, and i really appreciate senator hagan's statement ship, manner in which she proceeded in which we had to do, not just occupying the seat but this is your seats, and this is a seat i will take to washington and make sure i never forget where i came from. [applause]

now, i had a somebody asked me, how on earth was i so calm with all of these attacks and things, they said you seem to get more annoyed when a panthers lose than all of these attacks, and i have been annoyed a lot, but it is mainly the panthers. it is because i knew that we were right. [laughter] i knew that we all in north carolinians want elected officials to go to washington and get something done, fulfill their promises, and you all know that we are going to continue the tradition that we have done here in north carolina. we are going to go up there and excites more out of our leaders -- and expect more of our leaders and fulfill our promises, and we are going to make this country great again. [applause] >> [crowd chanting "usa!"]

>> i see a few people around the room, but when i think about transitions and elections, i see one gentleman in the center, reverend mark harris, who was in the primary with us. [applause] i am not really sure -- i also want to thank heather grant, she traveled all over the state, her and her husband, michael, helping us. [applause] we overcame a lot of adversity, and here we are with the opportunity to just make america great again, and the reason that i believe we can do it is because we will have leaders in washington now that believe that america is made great when we let americans make america great, not government. when we stop accepting this idea that people want to be provided

for by government -- the problem with that is the only way a government can provide you with something is to take away from someone else. there is only one thing government can give you that does not come at the expense of anyone else, and that is freedom. we need to free the american people up to make america great again. [applause] we need to free the american people up to make it an economic superpower, a military superpower, and an energy superpower. these are things we are going to go to washington and do. i know my communications people are going -- "thom tillis is completely off script," because i am not reading the teleprompter. [laughter] i will leave that up to president obama. [applause]

what i am going to do -- what i'm going to do is listen to you, and i am going to go to washington and next year i am going to come back and i am going to go across the state to the towns and counties that i have been to, i'm going to thank all of those who voted for me and i am going to go those that did not vote with us and i will convince them that maybe they should give us a chance to make this nation great again and get back on track. ladies and gentlemen, i cannot thank you enough. there are a lot of people in his room but if i made eye contact with you i would probably get teary-eyed, so i am not looking this way. [laughter] [applause] what i do have to do is i have to thank my wife susan. >> [crowd chanting "susan"]

>> i have also got to thank my son and my daughter. i mean, they are to people that i can always rely on to take a look at some of those negative attack ads and we just laugh at them. [laughter] we did. lindsay and ryan. [cheers and applause] i also have to tell you i have got two brothers and two of my sisters here, i have one sister was not able to make it, and it was wonderful to have them volunteer this week and also have the most special mother who is here, my mom, margie tillis. [applause] that is typical mom, but if you're on facebook, go out and do a friend request for margie tillis.

[laughter] you will not be disappointed because my mom has been taking care of this family forever, and she has been taking care of her son, too, during this senate race. but ladies and gentlemen, i want to tell you all you are an extension of our family. there are a lot of people who have been a part of my campaigns as i ran for town commissioner. they are people who've worked hard and the difficulty of a primary and we can back together, and there are people today -- they went around the polls, and you could see they were so emotionally invested in it, wondering if we were going to pull it off. well, we pulled it off -- because of you. [cheers and applause] from the bottom of my heart, i want to tell you how much susan and i and my entire family

appreciate what you have done because i really do believe that through your effort, through your prayers, through your financial support, through the ground games, through doorknocking, that you all are literally a part of a historic moment in this nation's history, and i want to thank you. so i am not going to speak much longer. i'm going to get around and try to shake a few hands, but i do not know if i can do selfies with everybody today, but we will be back. and again, thank you all. god bless you. god bless this great nation. thank you. [applause] [applause] >> a. hey.

hello everybody. it is so good to see you, thank you so much for being here. thank you. [applause] thank you so much for your friendship. thank you for being here tonight. i just called speaker tell us to congratulate him and tell him we will work with him during this transition period. i first want to thank my fabulous husband chip. [applause] it's been one of the greatest blessings in my life to have chip with me by my side standing with me as we really work for the values we hold dear in north carolina. chip, thanks for your unending support. [applause]

also i want to thank my kids. they are absolutely the best and my baby grandson, harrison. and another one that's on the way. [applause] these kids are going to hear some great stories, fond stories. i want to thank each and everyone of you, all of you here tonight, so many people across north carolina our supporters our volunteers and our incredible staff. [applause] please know that i consider each of you a friend. thank you for standing with me during this campaign. it's been a long couple of years. none of it would have been possible without the long hours knockingf you logged,

on doors, making all of those phone calls, making sure that people all across our state could have their voice heard. you were not just any with me, you are standing with working families all across north carolina. those are the families that i have worked to represent my six years in the u.s. senate. and those are the families that still need a voice. [applause] this campaign has ended but our work to improve the lives of north carolinians and to build an economy that works for everyone is not over. in north carolina, i know everybody in this room knows, we code, the land of the long leaf pine and in that state post we say -- say it with me -- here is to the land of the long leaf pine.

the summer land where the sun doesn't shine where the wheat grow strong and the strong growth great here's to down-home, the old north state. i have done my very best to give north carolina the opportunity for every north carolinian to grow both strong and great. because that's what our state-- [applause] state is really all about. it has been such an honor to hear your stories, your dreams, and your hopes. i will always be grateful for the trust that you place in me and for the chance to serve our great state. ll, it has been fabulous and what an incredible family, state, staff, supporters we have all across this great state.

all of our volunteers -- so many of you out there. every one of you should be right up here on stage with me tonight. god bless you. we are going to continue to make north carolina give everybody an opportunity to grow strong and great. god bless you and god bless the state of north carolina. thank you. [applause] thank you very much. ♪ host: guest the democratic incumbe kay hagan losing last night. she lost her house speaker thom 47% in one of the seven seas that switches to the republican party giving senate republicans the majority in the 114 congress. in just a couple of minutes, we'll take you live to louisville to hear from the incoming majority leader, mitch mcconnell. he will have a news conference with reporters gathered there in louisville and we will have it for .

we are not sure about speaker banners plans but we expect some sort of news conference in the coming days. the speaker and other leadership are invited to the white house on friday to chat with president obama. speaker john boehner boehner tweeted different things including this -- he's got a lot to crow about. republicans in the house picked up 13 seats there. we want to give you a visual reference of how the house races look. this is tough for those of you on radio but much of the center of the country is already with some exceptions on the coast, in deep south texas, and up through illinois, wisconsin, and into minnesota. it was a big republican win last night in the house as well. we are waiting for mitch mcconnell so let's go back to your comments and calls. roy is in columbus, mississippi, thank you for waiting.

democrat line, go ahead. caller: yes, sir, i watched the elections. i'm kind of sad and right now. i congratulate the republicans. how you can vote against your own interests. rains, they blame obama, if it storms, they blame obama. i'm a democrat and have voted republican they blame everything on obama, but everything is not his fault. i'm 61 years old. i have been through this. where i could not go to restaurants to eat. but god bless the democrats. they are the ones that will save this country. they're are the ones that saved this country.

i appreciate you all for taking my call. int: here is christine springfield, the state capitol of illinois which will get a new report and governor. not a verym political person. i was not until this election. i have lost faith. host: you have lost faith in government? caller: on both sides. i do not choose a candidate because i want this or that. . choose them because of them what they stand for. what kind of person they are. the promises they make. election, all i heard is the blame game. it needs to stop. doing that andop fix this country. stop fighting with each other. stop fighting for their party. start fighting for the people. this is a country for the people, by the people.

pointing needs to quit the finger and playing the blame game. people in this country need to be informed. everybody is pointing the finger about the gas prices. i got informed because i had to know for sure. they were not worse during bush. they were worse for one year. it is the government possible. government's fault i hea. level, whattate does it mean? caller: he is the lesser of two evils.

i have watched the things he has done. he appeared to think that we are all stupid. we are not smart enough to see what you are doing. driving the state into the ground. host: we appreciate your comments this afternoon. winning the race over pat quinn. the new governor of illinois. washington is next. independents line. bowser --etting merle a reamuriel bowser. caller: congratulations to the republican personalities that one. -- that won. tax it comes to spending my withrs, i did not agree

barack obama asking congress for $6.7 trillion budget to go down to the border to prevent illegal aliens from coming across. yet, veterans in this great nation could not even get a wheelchair. services.get appointments to see a doctor. i read many of those waiting for physically. expired while they were waiting for an appointment to see a doctor. that should never happen in america. two, i think the republican least give to at autonomy to the district of columbia. you want less intervention from government? so do we. we have a right.

we deserve a right to have the economy to spend our own text dollars -- tax dollars the way we see fit. everyone else does it. why not us? why do we have to continually depend on congress to say a ornate in regards to our budget situation? host: one of those things could be the initiative approved yesterday. one of four states voting to the decriminalization of marijuana. one of congress acts against that? here comes mitch mcconnell. thank you for your calls. [applause] >> good afternoon, everyone. i would like to introduce the president of the university, who is here. jim, thank you for joining us today. [applause]

you may recognize these youngsters over here. they are in a scholarship program that worked with university over the last 20 years. the best and brightest program for the students inside kentucky. can each year. -- 10 each year. they are here today to witness -- i think the voters were saying yesterday couple of things. they are not satisfied with the direction of the administration. at the same time, i heard a lot of discussion about dysfunction in washington. a lot of people will believe just because you have divided government, that does not mean that you don't come push anything. earlier today, i got a call from the president.

also from senator reid and the speaker. and ted cruz, two men. too.d ted cruz, all of them have the view that we ought to see what areas of agreement there are and see if we can make some progress for the country. remind peopleto that divided government is not unusual in this country. we have had it frequently. maybe more often than not since world war ii. when the american people choose divided government, it does not y don't want us to do anything. they want us to look for areas of agreement. reagan never had the house in eight years. can think of at least for significant things done. reagan saved social security for a generation. the last copperheads of tax reform.

we have to do that again. bill clinton and the republicans balance the budget for three years in a row. viewve to start with the that maybe there are some things we can agree on to make progress in the country. from institutional point of view, the senate needs to be fixed. january,speech back in not widely covered, probably should not have been widely covered, but a lot of people in the senate paid a lot of attention to it. the senate does not do anything. we don't even vote. the handicap of trying to ask plane the people of alaska why they had not had a rollcall vote on the floor for an amendment. the first thing i need to do is get the senate back to normal. that means working more. i don't think we have any votes on friday in anyone's memory. it means opening the senate up

so that mms are permitted on both sides. -- amendments are permitted on both sides. it means the burning of midnight oil to reach a conclusion. i can remember the way we used to get bills finished was for to take up aleader particular bill on monday and they finish it. you have to mean. it's amazing what would happen on midnight on thursday. people who are very aggressive on tuesday morning were awfully anxious to leave friday morning. commitments would go away and bills were passed. amendments would go away and bills were passed. committees should be relevant again. you have both democrats and republicans interested in seeing it passed. constituency moving

forward. having said that, there are differences. be voting oninly things as well that we think the administration is not fond of. they seem to have had no interest in doing anything serious on the energy front. we have not had an energy bill in seven near spirit people think of the keystone pipeline. that is only part of it. -- energy bill in seven years. people think of the keystone pipeline. that is only part of it. energy independence and employment connected with keystone are stunning. there are going to be areas of disagreement, but that is not unusual. with that, let me just open it

to the floor. >> [indiscernible] guest: the senate was the problem. not the house. over 300 pieces of legislation on a bipartisan basis and nothing was done with them in the senate. the american people have changed the senate. we have an obligation to change the behavior of the senate and begin to function again. that does not guarantee the president is going to agree with everything we do. we are going to work and actually passed legislation. by threeen called prominent democrats since last night. prominent democrats. they are anxious to be relevant again. they are anxious for committee work to be respected. they are anxious to be able to offer and limits on the floor of the senate and get votes.

amendments on the floor of the senate and get votes. the presidents have a right to veto. something the president has not had to do. he has be towed two bills and sixers. vetoed two bills in six years. that is how you cure gridlock. >> [indiscernible] what are a couple of specific examples you think you can work with this president on? >> trade agreements. we were talking about that before i came over here. most of his parties unenthusiastic about international trade. we think it is good for america. i have a lot of members who believe that international trade agreements are a winner for america.

the president and i discussed that before i came over here. i think he is interested in moving forward. aid send us a trade agreement. he's interested in doing tax reform. we know having the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world is a job exporter. what's exporting jobs as having the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world. he is interested in that issue and we are, to bank. -- we are, too. bedo you believe he will voting by his own party? >> there is only one democrat that counts. the president. joe biden and i negotiated the fiscal cliff deal at the end of 2012, the thing i wanted most and i thought would be the most important for kentucky was a $5

million per person state tax exemption. a lot of people who have family farms and small businesses look like they're worth a lot of money. they are not. if you are lucky enough to have children who want to continue the farm or continue the small business, you cannot get it down to them because of the estate tax in the country. exemption that a 99% of the small businesses from having to be sold. the leader of the democrats in the house made it quite clear to me that that was in the final deal. house democrats would not vote for. was in the final deal and only 15 house democrats voted against it and only three senate democrats. the democrats who counts is the .resident of the united states democrats in congress will support whatever he agrees to do. that was a perfect example of

exactly what i'm talking about. we were very much inclined to support president bush as well. when you have the white house, the most important member of your party is the person in the white house. see whether we can work with the president. we will find out. >> [indiscernible] can you talk about how you think a united republican congress would have the ability to send -- president bills >> i'm not sure that he will sign everything. we will function. we are. we are going to pass legislation. some of it he may not like. we are going to function.

this gridlock and dysfunction can be ended. it can be ended by having a senate that actually works. >> [indiscernible] >> to veto pen is a pretty big thing. the president of the united states can be to legislation. he is a player. that is the way our system works. senatea paula said the -- senator paul said the senate usehat other powers can you to slow down the affordable care act? >> it is no secret that everyone of my members things obamacare was a huge legislative mistake.

healthfouled up the insurance market and put states in a deep hole in terms of medicaid expansion. if i had the ability, i would get rid of it. it is also true that he is still there. we will be discussing how to go forward on this issue when we get back. i will say this, for sure, there are pieces of it that are deeply unpopular with the american people. the medical device tax has exported an enormous number of jobs. the loss of the 40 hour work mistake. big that ought to be restored. the individual mandate, people hate it. be addressingl that issue in a variety of different ways. you are going to be -- regardless of what happens, you

will still be short votes in the senate. a number of blue state republicans are up for reelection in 2016. how realistic -- should it be a reality check for your base on how far you go pushing a conservative agenda? we will find out. it takes 60 votes to do a lot of things in the senate. there are things we can do with 51 votes. a budget is an extremely important thing. the president does not sign the budget. it is within our ability and within our power to sign more appropriation bills. there is no secret that i and most of my members think the bureaucratic strangulate and of -- strangulation of our economy is a huge factor in the slow growth we have

experienced. it is reasonable to assume that we will use the power of the purse to push back against this overactive bureaucracy. we have a huge example of that here in this state with the war on coal. not authorized by congress. cap and trade cannot get the votes to pass. they had huge majorities in the house and senate and could not pass cap and trade. there is widespread opposition to that. look for us to go after those things through the spending process which is our best tool in our governmental system. we will see how we do. >> in the debt ceiling fight, you told me it was a hostage not worth shooting, but a hostage worth holding for ransom. the debt ceiling is coming up sometime in the spring. are we going to have another moment there were are those

sorts of crises going to end? >> there will be no government shutdown. >> [indiscernible] one of the issues i don't believe you mentioned is immigration. we expect he will move forward with some sort of action. what with the republican response be? >> i think the president choosing to do a lot of things unilaterally on immigration would be a big mistake. it's an issue that most of my members want to address. it's like waving a red flag in bull to say i will do it on my own. the president has done that with obamacare and immigration and threaten to do it again. i think it poisons the well.

for the opportunity to address a very important domestic issue. . would not do that you >> you have worked with the president for a number of years now. what is your sense having abouted to him today what he is going to do? youthat be achieved between and the president? the relationship i've had with the president has always been cordial. i think that's my attitude about this is trust. the american people have spoken. the have given us divided government.

the question for both the president and the speaker and myself and our members is what are you going to do with it? weant to look for areas can agree on. there probably are some. that's what we will be talking about in the next few weeks. that you promised there will not be another government shutdown? >> we will not be shutting them down the government. we are going to a lunch on friday. do you have any concern about members of your conference who might want to run for president? how will you handle that? >> i know a lot of people who want to run for president. is, theell them all

best day you will have will the day before you announce. it is short of being in combat and being shot at with real bullets, nothing is harder than running for president. unless it's running for reelection in the senate. with people'slem ambitions. i serve anybody with a bunch of class presidents. they are all ambitious or they would not be where they are. elbowsf folks with sharp and big egos. troubled by ambition. i think we can accommodate that and still make progress for the country. >> [indiscernible] >> you're asking me a lot of hypotheticals. that a been suggested republican senate would bring

ess to anation proc grinding halt. what are your thoughts on rolling back the nuclear option? >> i have said to my members going back to november 13 when the trigger was pulled and the rules of the senate were broken that is something we ought to address if we are given the majority. we have been given the majority and we will address it. i'm going to discuss that with our colleagues. it is a big issue. largely lost on the general public. the most significant thing about what the majority leader decided to do was break the rules of the senate which requires 57 votes to change the rules of the senate. by overruling the parliamentarian who said you cannot do that with 51. mistake inge, huge

my view. it is hard to unring a bell. the have now established a precedent. a big issue and a big discussion we are going to have in the coming months. >> how was your call with senator cruz? >> he congratulated me on my election. with thepressed margin. i was pretty happy about it, myself. we had a good, from the conversation. >> [indiscernible] >> we have all kinds of people in the 54 member senate. we will see where we are at the end of the vote. it was a very cordial conversation. i appreciated the call.

>> [indiscernible] >> he called to congratulate me on my election. i'm not talking about that. he's a pretty independent guy. he will announce what he will do. >> that is twice now that there would not be a default. would you insist on cuts to correspond with any -- >> we have the opportunity to pass a budget. which has to do with how much you are going to spend. we have other mechanisms that were unavailable to us with the previous configuration of the government. i think that is a pretty important tool. >> can you talk about your phone call with harry reid? you have had the most acrimonious relationship. >> we have had some spirited

debates on the floor of the senate about the way the place was being run. but we do not have an acrimonious relationship, personally. what was your question? >> what was that conversation like? are you two going to be working better together? >> he called, having been a leader himself, he called to complement me on what a skillful campaign we ran. he paid close attention to it. as many of us have discussed before, that has been the new paradigm. campaign ifal level you are a leader of the senate. perry said he had followed it very closely. and complement and me on a campaign will run. >> [indiscernible] [laughter] >> i did not get involved the

last time. i don't intend to this time. >> [indiscernible] can you talk about foreign policy? concernnk the immediate in the health area is the ebola crisis. what, if anything, the administration will do on the financial side. the authorization to help the syrian rebels, we insisted on that terminating at the end of this year so we could have a new discussion with the administration about where the administration sees the battle against isis. that is one of the things the president mentioned today will be on his agenda. and whatare

recommendations he may have to make about going forward. >> [indiscernible] can you talk about how much of a window use yourself having passed next next year? year'save to finish this in first. harry reid is still the majority leader. the media discussion we will be having this immediate discussion will be having -- there are a number of things that have been put off. >> [indiscernible] >> we will be talking about whether to do a cr nominee or the tax extender package. there are a number of things

that have stacked up. i think i have said it before and i will say it again. the senate has not been doing anything. there is a lot of unfinished business sitting there. some of which is advantageous to get out of the way. democrats may want to do it and we may want to do it. in order to clear off some of the necessary work. frank? about dodd the banking committee will be taking a look at dodd frank. i have called it obamacare for banks. the big guys are doing just fine under not frank. -- under dodd frank. the banking committee is going to want to take a look at how much damage it has done to the little guys who have nothing to do with the meltdown.

i would be surprised of the banking committee is not going to take a look at it. he said after 2010 were surprised that president obama did not shift more towards the center. this he have irresponsibility to do that now -- as he have the responsibility to do that now? so because you cannot do anything without a presidential signature. the veto pen is a pretty powerful tool. both reagan and clinton are good examples of accepting the government you have rather than fantasizing about the government you wish you had. what they had. reagan never had the house and clinton never had the house or senate. the president has a choice. because of the strength of the veto pen, he can stand the current course he is on.

just be towing any effort we make to push back against what he is doing. say, let's see if there are some areas of agreement. i mentioned a couple of think are the big and important issues. trade and tax reform. we will see. >> [indiscernible] there? ready to meet him i'm pretty familiar with our conference, including the new members coming in. the vast majority of them don't they should come to washington to fight all the time. is not theernment reason to do nothing. divided government has been pretty productive. the vast majority of my members

would rather make progress on ehings they think th country needs to be dealt with the not. the president is the most important player. the obvious constitutional advantage she has. it will require his complicity to do that. -- advantage he has. he has been prevented from having to do that by the dysfunctional senate. have a is going to congress that is going to be more challenging for him. the choice is really his. i'm hoping he will decide to move to the center. did ted cruz pledged his support to you?

one week from tomorrow, i will be elected majority leader to the senate. [applause] mitch mcconnell one has race yesterday against alison grimes. more importantly, his party gains control of the u.s. senate , gaining at least seven seats in the u.s. senate, making mitch mcconnell the presented, likely incoming majority leader. he's meeting supporters as he leaves the news conference. nearly half hour news conference with mitch mcconnell talking about things that need to get done, both during the lame-duck and with the 114th congress. he said let me be clear, there will be no government shutdown and no default on the national t.b

he was asked about his run for majority leader, seeming confident about the support. here is an endorsement from his --tucky colleague angus king holding a press conference at 3:30 two announces plans going forward. we will keep you posted on any news of that. writes about the west virginia senator possibly switching over to the republican side. he has no plans to switch parties following last night's sweep. we are still waiting to hear from senator angus king of maine. the news conference this afternoon with angus king at 3:30 eastern.

thatll let you know president obama will speak to reporters here in about 15 minutes or so. we will take you live to the white house for that. plenty of time for your phone calls and comments. you can tweet us or log onto facebook for your comments there. look at our campaign 2014, 1 of the many graphics. back to your calls. let's hear from mississippi on our public in line. -- republican line. caller: i want to thank you for the opportunity to add my two cents. i'm a biracial republican.

volunteer to bridge the gap between different parties, trying to move this situation forward. we have some pressing issues. this nation -- stop pressing the idea of the grand old party. our party is being represented by these hot button issues we re with no facts to back it up. we are facing global warming as a reality. we just went through a hurricane in a while back. we are contemplating the issue of insurance. with no real solutions. was held washington

accountable for the oil spill. both people try to hide those issues. thate that we understand we are one nation. it will serve our best interests to become united in the growth and investment of this nation. we should be in a better position than we are now. groundhe leaves on the -- the big issues are term limits, political corruption. taking the money out of politics. the hot button issues that are being thrown away so often and destroying the ties we make with other organizations -- i want to thank you for the job you guys do in dealing with the issues of many people. i feel for you, honestly and

sincerely. i've been watching for many years. talked -- if we talked as americans instead of individuals, we would be in a position to show the world. host: thank you. let's hear from indiana. deborah on our democrats line. good afternoon. thank you for taking my call. just wanted to address something that was stated a bit before senator mcconnell's speech. touching on a couple of things that this election has brought to the surface. veteran and the spouse of a 100% disabled veteran, we were hoping that things were going to change with the election. regardless, that is not going to happen until a couple of things take place within our country. one of those being campaign-finance reform. rich white men are

able to throw money into elections, those of us that are not white rich men will not have our voices heard. we really need to do a better job as a nation to educate our voters regarding the process of our electoral process. how legislation comes about weird our president does not have the authority that most of these ad campaigns shout about as it president obama were a dictator and his will alone was what got us into the current political system to where it is. .here there is so disharmony from day one, the republicans decided they were going to do everything they could to disrupt president obama's agenda as far for hisersonal goals political career.

unfortunately, he cannot do it on his own. without help from congress, he -- he was a lame-duck his first term. host: thank you for your calls and comments. we will hear from the president in about 20 minutes -- 10 minutes. a live look at the east room of the white house. president obama will speak on the results of the midterm election. we showed you mitch mcconnell live a short while ago. we also heard earlier today from the head of the republican national committee and the heads of the campaign committees. here's a bit of what rights previous had to say -- >> they want nothing to do with the policies of barack obama and hillary clinton. up and down the ballot, these

were the president's candidates, the clinton candidates. and they lost. remember hillary clinton campaigned in kentucky. grimes lost by over 15 points. then hillary went to iowa and joni ernst one by more than eight points. hillary cannot even say the democrat in massachusetts. we won in red states and blue states and purple states. we won because our policies resonated with the electorate. our ground game mobilized voters and our candidates connected with the american people. after the growth and opportunity project, we fundamentally changed our strategy to expand the electorate and build permanent relationships and committees. we made a strategic decision to prioritize low propensity voters. the results speak for themselves.

we won with our new strategy and we beat the other side at their own game. the rnc chairman from earlier today. reaction to the election results available on www.c-span.org. rollcall tweeting this afternoon about who may take over this positions. -- those positions. a bit more on that rollcall article. roger wicker is joining dean heller in the race to chair the national republican senatorial for the 2016 cycle to we are waiting to hear from president obama in five minutes or so. .ack to your calls your reaction to election 2014. ellicott city, maryland. . tyler, go ahead.

i want to thank you for providing this extremely important public service. i was raised externally conservative. i switched to liberal for a bit. i've been all over the place. 22 and i work for minimum wage with a college degree. it is not a great place to be. the time i have observed politics in washington, it seems like -- there are red people and blue people. at the end of the day, they all and are all kind of the same. have we had immigration reform? has the tax code been reformed? note -- a senator $403,000 from oil and

gas. -- iestion to this represent us and centers, are they working for us or for other interests? he does not matter whether bush is an office or obama is in office. they're working for themselves. indicative of an out of touch ruling class. severe divisions between the haves and have-nots in this country. host: couple of comments on twitter. this one from melissa larry hogan winning in maryland. david writes and from rich -- mitch mcconnell said he spoke

to president obama this that hen and mentioned and other congressional leaders invited to the white house for what is likely to be a working lunch on friday. live to the white house in five minutes or so. this is patrick in arlington, virginia. republican line. caller: thank you, c-span. i wanted to congratulate the republicans on their win and aassure that republicans have freedom agenda, not a conservative agenda. it's for all americans. one of the things i picked up on is conference with mcconnell that ted cruz was not taken out of context. he just refused to comment on whether or not he's going to vote for mcconnell. fox news has taken that way out of context. there are five quick points.

a freedom agenda starting with tax reform. possibly an opt out for the next generation on social security. energy reform. take the handcuffs off and realize the vast amount of natural resources americans have in putting americans back to work. health care reform. commerce, interstate trade. the more competition, the lower the cost. when you have more supply, the cost of that supply goes down. is, for a vast minority of workers. we ought to be talking about quality pay with employer tax incentives. fifth, immigration reform. 130ink you would find million of us can trace our roots to ellis island. i don't think that is a great

way forward. with a actually left off $5 trillion debt. bush left with another $5 trillion debt. now, under obama, we have added a trillion dollars in just six years. it is time to really in the government and get back to our freedom as americans once again. ed $8der obama, we have aidedd trillion in just six years. host: must do items on capitol returnight when members -- a weight when members return one week from today. this is valerie in lafayette, indiana. democrats line. caller: good afternoon. soundconnell tried to

real conciliatory. i don't really trust him. i don't trust any of them at this point. , late spring is when you see things for what they really are. right now, you have a schizophrenic republican party. that is all i have to say. host: here is atlanta, georgia. in the . -- independent line. what do you think of the senate race with david purdue winning? caller: i'm actually glad. as long as he actually goes and get something done. like the color before, i'm a 22-year-old millennial.

i was watching the speaker. before, i'm aller 22-year-old millennial. i think we could get a lot accomplished. host: larry is next up in jacksonville as we await president obama speaking to reporters and others in the east room of the white house. afternoon.d my hats off to c-span. you guys provide a great service to this country. thank you for much. -- thank you very much. now that we have a republican-controlled senate and republican-controlled house, let's see some action. maybe we can get that to the committees for a vote. truly that is the answer to our -- thank you very much. the items on mitch

mcconnell's list we talked about a lot of different things. if you missed the comments from earlier, we heard from conservatives in washington. trolley cook and others at the national journal. -- charlie cook and others at the national journal. you can find that online at www.c-span.org. nikki is up next in connecticut. caller: thanks a lot for taking my call. registeredmployed democrat for over 40 years. not real happy with the turnout in connecticut. we have no republican representation at all. back in 2006, i supported the kerry campaign and said what the .eck and my biggest to enemies were nancy pelosi and harry reid. obama scares the heck out of me because it seems like he wants

to force everything down my throat. i don't feel like i have any representation. i'm very happy the republicans have control of both the house and the senate. i hope they get some things done. i'm giving them another chance. i have no representation in connecticut. all i can do is depend on them to do things for me. the only other thing i have to say is most of the people who voted for obama and the democrats are they give mes. they say you don't get anything free unless you take something away from someone else. for me, i'm looking for a job. looking for jobs to be created. i'm looking for things to be sensible and responsible. i hope they get some things done. these guys made some great speeches. i hope they are going to go down

there and get some things accomplished. i'm glad they got rid of harry reid. one more point i want to make is, a lot of times republicans did propose bills to harry reid and he held back. no one knows what the republicans actually did propose that could have been good for our country. host: mickey calling from connecticut. still in connecticut, waiting for president obama, we go to east hartford. david on the republican line. caller: hello. thank you for c-span. i just voted the party line yesterday and i did not win. that's ok. it's really good to hear mitch mcconnell saying that we will and a break on th syria

step back. thanks for c-span. host: the president's chief of staff standing there as we wait for the president to come out and speak. independent line. caller: thank you very much. sees sad and nauseating to a nation that cannot respect the commander-in-chief. everything barack obama has put in place or attempted to put in place has come up against opposition from the public and party. -- republican party. politicians and and take manipulate things. unfortunately, we put our money in god we trust in the last thing we do is incorporate god and their actions or ways

concerning the nation. this man look out for the people. we are going to have people working to support us, they have to be in a condition -- nobody saw that. as with in florida when the ballots disappeared, watergate and nobody was accountable, we energy and nothing is being done because they are all politicians. at what point do people stop looking at the color of our president and support him as our commander-in-chief? it gives other nations the right to disrespect, dishonor and degrade us as a people. host: rick scott barely winning in florida. for charlie crist. waiting to hear from president

obama. large crowd gathered in the east room of the white house. we will have it live on c-span and c-span radio when it starts. another call from connecticut. nick, go ahead. our you there? we will try nora in indiana. a couple minutes here. really happy with the way david purdue came across. he has the right attitude about everything. mentioned god is several times. relying on god for all that we should do for the nation. that in god we trust should stay on the money. we should be able to pray and speak with god in our schools.

that is all i have to say. host: we will stop it there temporarily and stay here live in the east room. the president is a couple of minutes way. ,fter the president's comments we will open up phone lines once again for your reaction. the conversation continues online. ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. >> good afternoon, everybody. have a seat. today, i had a chance to speak with john boehner and congratulated mitch mcconnell on becoming the next senate majority leader. i told them both that i look forward to finishing up this

business and then working together for the next two years to advance american business. look forward to the prospect of working together. i look forward to hosting the entire republican and democratic leadership at the white house on friday to chart a new course forward. republicans had a good night. they deserve credit for their campaigns. i will leave it to all of you that's what stands out to me is the american people send a message. one they have sent for several elections. they expect the people they elect to work as hard as they do and expect us to focus on their ambitions and not ours. they want us to get the job done.

all of us in both parties have a responsibility to address that sentiment. still, as president, i have a unique response ability to try to make this town work. i hear. i have a unique response ability to try to make this town work. i hear you. mored to give americans reason to feel that the ground is stable beneath their feet. the future is secure. there is a path for young people to succeed. and folks here in washington are concerned about them. i plan on spending every moment of the next two years doing my job the best i can to keep this country safe and make sure that more americans share in its progresstry made real since the crisis six years ago. the fact is more americans are working.

unemployment has come down. more americans have health insurance. grown.turing has our deficits have shrunk. our dependences on foreign oil is down as are gas prices. our graduation rates are up. businesses aren't just creating jobs at the fattest pace since the 1990's our economy is outpacing most of the world. but we just got to keep at it until every american feels the of a growing economy where it matters most, and that is in their own lives. obviously much of this will take action from congress. i'm eager to work with the new congress to make the next two years a is productive as possible. ideas not whether they are from democrats or republicans but whether they work for the american people. that is not to say that we won't disagree over some issues that passionate about, we

will. ingress will pass some bills cannot sign. i'm pretty sure i'll take some congresshat some in will not like. that is natural. that is how a dem acy works. will find ways to work on broad where there is commitment among the american people. idea. offer my i will offer areas where you can can respond together to economic needs. take one example. we all agree on the need to jobs to pay well. jobsparties have been for recreating the infrastructure. roads, bridges, ports, waterways. can hone in on a way to pay for it through tax reform that loopholes and -- closes loopholes. we could also work together to grow our exports and open new manufacturers to

goodsore american made through the rest of the world. we share the same aspirations and i wasung people encouraged that this year republicans agreed to earlyments that expanded childhood education. i think we have a chance to do more on that front. ideas toome common help more young people afford college and graduate without crippling debt so they have the freedom to fill the good jobs of tomorrow and buy their first homes and start a family. and in the five states where a minimum wage increase is on the ballot voters went 5-5 to increase it. about 325,000 americans a raise in states where republican candidates prevailed. so that should give us new reason to get it done for with a national increase in the minimum wage. so those are some areas where i we have some real opportunities to cop rate and cooperate. cop rat

i'm eager to hear republican ideas for what they think we can together the next couple ofyears. there is still business that needs attention this year. there are things we can work on before the congress wraps up for the holidays. i'm sub smitting a request for funding to ensure that doctors, troops havend resources that he need to combat the spread of ebola in africa in crows our preparedness for future cases here at home. engaging will begin congress over a new authorization to use military isil.against the world needs to know we are united behind this effort and women of our military deserve our clear and unified support. third, back in september congress passed short-term legislation to keep the operating open and into december. five weekscongress first base

rest ofa budget for the the fiscal year. companies are steadily creating jobs which they are we inject any new uncertainty no the world and the american economy. is time for ust to take care of business. there are things this country has to do that can't wait another two years or another four years. there are plans the country has to put in place for our future. and the truth is i'm optimistic about our future. i have good reason to be. americans across the country who are determined and big hearted and ask what they never give up. and overcome obstacles. every singleire me day. so, the fact is i still believe what i said when i was first elected six years ago last night. plastered across

the tv screens today and for all cynics who say otherwise. i believe we are more then a collection of red and blue states. we are the united states. and whether it is immigration or climate change or making sure our kids are going to the best possible schools to making sure communities are creating jobs, whether it is of terrorhe spread and disease, to opening up doors of opportunity to everybody who willing to work hard and take responsibility, the united do.es has big things to we can and we will make progress if we do it together. work look forward to the ahead. so with that, let me take some questions. that our team got my withand we will start julie at associate press. >> thank you, mr. president. you said during this election that why your name wasn't on the ballot your policies were. and despite the optimism that expressing here, last

was a dive stating night for your party. do you feel a responsibility to recali bait your agenda and what changes do you need to make to voters the concerns that expressed with your administration? >> well, as i said in my opening marks -- remarks, the american people overwhelmingly this town doesn't work well and it is not atentive their needs. as president, they rightly hold mow accountable to do more to it work properly. elected by it who is everybody, not just from a particularstate or a district and they want me to push hard to close some of these through some of the gridlock and get stuff done. so the most important thing i do is just get stuff done and help congress get some things done. aagai agenda items, julie,

if you look as i just mentioned a minimum wage increase, for example, that is something i talked about a lot during the pin where voters had a chance to vote directly on that item they voted for it. and so i think it would be hard to suggest that people aren't supportive of it. know that the surveys consistently say they want to see that happen. to find areass where the agenda that i put believe willhat i help strengthen the middle class and crowiate more ladders -- ladders of opportunity into the middle also makemprove our schools and college more affordable to young people and milwaukee sure that we are grow -- and make sure growing faster as an economy, the eis to make sure that -- the key is to make sure the ideas that i have where with the idea thats that the republicans have. there will be some ideas that i got that i think the

evidence backs up would be good for the economy. republicans disagree. they are not going to support those ideas but i will keep on for them because i think they are the right thing for the country to do. there are going to be some that they have got that they believe that will improve thatconomy or create jobs from my perspective isn't going to help middle class families their economic situation. so i probably won't support i do think there will be areas where we do agree on in from structure. on infrastructure and making sure that we are boosting myrican exports and part of task then is to reach out to republicans, make sure that i'm listening to them. i'm looking forward to them putting forward a very specific in terms of when they would like to accomplish. compare notes in terms of what i'm looking at and what they are looking at. get started on those

things where we agree. even if we don't agree 100%, get started on those things where we agree 70%, 80%, 90%. and if we can do that and build and improve how washington,rk in then i think that is going to give the american people a confidence that in fact their government is looking after them. [inaudible question from the gallery] >> julie, i think -- every single day i'm looking for how we do what we need to do better. whether that is delivering basic services, the government provides to the american people, is our capacity to work with congress so that they are passing legislation, whether

it is how we communicate with the american people about what is, weorities and vision are constantly asking ourselves questions about you know how do make sure that we are doing a better job. that is not going to stop. fory election is a moment for reflection and i think that everybody in the white house is going to look and say all right, what do we need to do differently. arethe principles that we fighting for the things that motivate me every single day and my staff every single day, those things aren't going to change. there will be a consistent focus morew do we deliver opportunity to more people in the country. how do we grow the economy faster. people backt more to work. and i maybe have a naive that if we continue

to focus on the american people or not on our own ambitions image or various concerns like that at end of the day when i look back i will be able aretay the american people better off than they were before i was president. and that is my most important goal. so, but the other thing i just want to emphasize is i have said before and i want to reiterate it, if there are ideas that the republicans have that i have confidence will make things ordinary americans, the fact that the republicans suggesting it as opposed to a democrat, that will be me.levant to mow. i want to see what works. some things like rebuilding the infrastructure or early childhood education that we know works. i'm hoping that the kind of

attitude and approach that mitch mcconnell and john boehner expressed their desire to get finds done allows us to some common ground. jeff mason? mr. president. in 2010 you called the results of the mid term election a shellacking. what do you call this? and can you give us an update on your feelings about the executive order and result in the aftermath of the election? affect yourction plans to release it? is it likely to come out before duck session is over the scope you reduce to just a million people? >> as i said in the opening no doubt that the republicans had a good night. we will make sure when we do is out to mitch mcconnell and john boehner who are now running both chambers in congress and find out what their hope is that my

they have got some specific things they want to do that things thatith some we want to get done. what is most important to the theican people right now, resounding message not just of this election but basically the last several is get stuff done. the nextry about election. don't worry about party affiliation. our concerns. i'm aabout the fact that single mom and at the end of the month it is hard for me to pay haveills in part because i these huge childcare costs. worry about the forecast that i'm a young -- worry about the fact that i'm a young person to go to college but i'm worried about taking $50,000 a year out in debt and i don't will pay that back. do worry about the fact tame' a construction worker who has been working all my life and there is should beon work that

done but for some reason projects are stalled. if we are thinking about those folks i think we will hopefully some stuff done. in terms of immigration i have consistently said it is my preference to see congress act comprehensive immigration reform bill that would wouldthen our borders, streamline our legal immigration system so that it works where attracting the best and brightest from around the world and that we give an folks who live here in many cases for a very kids who arey have u.s. citizens, but aren't properly documented. give them a chance to pay their back taxes, get in the back of line but get through a process that allows them to get legal. bipartisan basis passed a good bill. it wasn't perfect.

it wasn't exactly what i wanted but it was a sound, smart piece that really would greatly improve not just our but ourion system economy and would improve conditions here in the united states. and make sure that american born aren't undercut by workers who are undocumented and aren't always paid a fair wage a consequence employers who are breaking the rules are able to undercut folks who are the right thing. we got a bipartisan bill out of the senate. i asked john boehner at that can we pass this through the house? there is a majority of votes in passed?e to get this and speaker boehner i think was itcere about wanting to pass but had difficulty over the last year trying to get it done. he finally told me he wasn't going to call it up this isr, what i indicated to him i feel obliged to do everything

my executivey with niemann authority to make sure that we systemeep on making the worse, but that whatever taketive actions that i will be replaced and by action -- actions byby congress. that is a commitment i made not the american people and obeys and evangelical community enforcement folks and everybody who has looked at this thinks that we need immigration reform. that is a commitment that i made boehner i would act in the absence of action by congress. before the end of the year we going to take whatever lawful actions that i can take improve theve will functioning of our immigration system that will allow us to resources tonal

the border where i think the majority of americans have the deepest concern. and at the same time i will be reaching out to both mitch john boehner and other republican and democratic leaders to find out how it is they want to proceed. and if they want to get a bill done, whether it is during the i'm eageror next year to see what they have to offer. what i'm not going to do is just wait. it is fair to say that i have shown a lot of patience and tried to work on a bipartisan basis as much as possible. keep on doingto so. but in the meantime, let's figure out what we can do lawfully through executive actions to improve the functioning of the existing system.

want to get into the details of, it i suspect that when i announce that executive withn it will be reporting be e detail and i'm sure there will questions. follow-up chris jansen? >> thank you, mr. president. to follow up on a couple of things and start with immigration. and are you concerned that if executive order on immigration before the end of the year it will scuttle betever chances there may for there to be some sort of compromise on the issues that about?ked unhappyder given the eelector ate why they publish the republicans versus the democrats by far?

>> when it comes to the analysis, that is your job. what is also true is i am the the united states and understandably people are greater ask for accountability and more responsibility from me than from in this town. appropriately so. and i welcome that. commitment that i will make to the american people and the way i have troyed to contact myself throughout this -- myself throughout this presidency is i will wake up doing mygle day absolute best to deliver for them. there are areas where we have progress. i think economically i can look thatand there is no doubt on almost every measure we are better off economically than we when i took office. but what is also true is there is still a lot of notings out there that -- folks out there who are anxious and hurting and having trouble making ends meet worried about their

children's future and it is my confidence them some that this town can work to some of those worries that folks have. and we haven't done a good convincing them of that and i understand that. have been watching washington over the last two, four years what they have seen arguing and a lot of gridlock but not a lot of leastte actions at legislatively that have made a difference in their lives. and so we have got to make sure a better job. a better job. and i'm committed to doing that. on immigration, i know that concerns have been expressed if you do something through executive actions even if it is authorities that that will make it harder to pass immigration reform. have to remind everybody, i have heard that argument now of years.le

this is an issue i actually done in my first term and we didn't see legislative action. in my second term i paid it legislative priority. we got good work done by a senators andoup of it froze up in the house. i think that the best way if gettinge serious about immigration reform done is go ahead and passing the bill. it to my desk. and then the executive actions away. take go they are superseded by the law has passed. and i will engage any member of congress who is interested in can shapew we legislation that will be a significant improvement over the system. but, what we can't do is just keep on waiting. there is a cost to waiting. is a cost to our economy. resources are

misallocated. when thish somehow of unaccompanied children cropped up during the summer, there was folks who perceived this as a major crisis in our immigration system. is that those numbers have now come down and they are approximately where they were a year ago or two years ago or a year before that. realt did identify a problem in a certain portion of the border where you got to get resources. but, those resources may be misallocated separating families right now that most of us, most probably weuld say would rather have them just pay their back taxes, pay a fine, english, get to the back of the line but we will give you a pathway where you can be legal country. so where i have got executive do that we should get started on that. but i want to emphasize once again, if in fact republican

to see an want wants immigration bill passed they now to pass it andty hopefully engaging with me and democrats in both the house and senate it is a bill that i can sign because it addresses the real concerns that are out this. and the sooner they do it from my perspective, the better. johnathan carl? mr. president. mitch mcconnell has been the republican leader for six years you have been president. his office tells me that he has one met with you one on six or tollways throug tollwaye year pored. as somebody who came to washington promising to end the par sanship, it was a so little to develop relationships with the republicans in congress? that every day i'm

are there some thingsky do better. ha i will keep on asking every single day. the fact is that most of my most ofs with members my interactions with congress cordial and constructive. often times we haven't been able to get what is discussed in a meeting through -- through caucuses in the house and the senate to deliver a bill. news is that now mitch mcconnell and john boehner are from the same party. i think they can come together and decide what their agenda is. majoritiesufficient to make real progress on some of issues. and you know, i'm certainly going to be spending a lot more with them now because that

is the only way that we will be done.o get some stuff and i take them at their word produce. want to are in the majority. they node to (their agenda. i need to put forth my best ideas. i think the american people will be able to watch us and they are paying attention to see when or not we are serious about actually compromising and being constructive. my commitment to them, and i said this when i spoke to them, anywhere where we can find common ground i'm eager to pursue it. >> are you going to have the drink with mitch mcconnell that houseked up at the white dinner? >> i would enjoy having some bourbon with mitch mcconnell. i don't know what his preferred but -- my interactions with mitch mcconnell. verys always been

straightforward with me. to his credit, he has never made promise that he couldn't deliver and he knows the legislative process well. obviously knows his caucus well. he has always given me i think realistic assessments of what he can get through his caucus and what he can't. think we can have a relationship. >> bill manning. you, mr. president. another deadline coming up is november 24tors by have to figure out if they will aach a deal with iran on nuclear agreement. i'm interested what your current perspective is on how the going?tions are also, if it is your feeling that implementhe power to any type of agreement that is reached without any action from congress? then also wanted to wickly

touch on the aumf. of the a codification limits that you put in place for the mission up to this point? forhat should we be looking on that when you send it to the hill? thank you. will bemf, the leaders coming here on friday. just theed group, not four leaders but a larger group who all have an interest in the issues we are discussing today. to invitetually going lloyd austin the cencom commander to make a presentation how our fight against isil is proceeding. questionsk to answer and assure that congress is fully briefed on when we are doing there. with respect to the aumf, we already had conversations with members of both parties in idea is tod the right-size and update whatever providestion congress

to suit the current fight rather fights.vious 2001, after the heart d.n.a. 9/11 we had agtragedy of specific set of mixes that we had to -- of missions that we aumf wasnduct and the designed to pursue those missions. with respect to iraq there was a specific aumf. we now have a different type of enemy. the strategy is different, how with iraq and other gulf countries and the coalition that has to be structured differently so it makes sense for us to make the authorization from congress reflects when we oureive to be not just strategy over the next two or three months but our strategy forward. and it will be a process of listening to members of congress us presenting what we

think needs to be the set of we have.es that and i'm confident we will be able to get that done. just be a process of us getting it started now. into the nextver congress. of the, because unprecedented sanctions that we put in place that really did a crippling effect on iran's economy, they have come to the table and they have negotiated seriously around providinproviding assurances thy developing a nuclear weapon for the first time and abided by the interim rules. we have been able to freeze their program, in some cases reduce the stockpile of nuclear had that thematerial that theyy in hand and the discussions and the negotiations have been

constructive. the international community has and cohesive. even countries where we have differences like russia have with us and have worked with us cooperatively in trying ways to make sure that we can verify and have confidence going forward that doesn't have the capacity a nuclear weapon that could not only threaten friends israel trigger a nuclear arms race in the region could over the long-term potentially threaten us. whether we can can actually get have to finde will out over the next three to four weeks. we have presented to them a allow themhat would to meet their peaceful energy in fact what their leadership says that they don't a nuclear weapon

if that is in fact true they have an avenue here to provide assurance to the world and in a progressive step-by-step verifiable way out from underet cantions so that they re-enter as full fledged members of the international community. own politics their and will is a long tradition of mistrust between the two countries and there is a sizeable portion of the cut itsl elite that can teeth on antiamericannism and convenient to blame america for every ill that is, and whether they can manage to say yes to what clearly would be better for iran, better for the region, and openr for the world, is an question. we'll find out over the next several weeks.

>> sir, if the -- on whether or not you have power unilaterally sanctions to implement an agreement? >> there are a series of sanctions. multilateral, u.n. sanctions, imposeds that have been by us, this administration think it is and i different for each of those areas. but i don't want to put the cart before the horse. to do is see if we, in fact, have a deal. if we do have a deal that i have confidence will prevent iran from getting a a nuclear weapon and that we can convince the the public will prevent iran from getting a weapon, then it will be time to engage in congress and i think we will be able to mix a strong argument -- make a strong argument to congress this is the best way to avoid a nuclear

iran. it will be more effective than alternatives we would take including military action. i would rather have no deal than a bad deal. don't want to do is lift sanctions and provide iran but not have the verifiable mechanisms to make upe that they don't break and produce a nuclear weapon. henry? i missed you guys. i haven't done this in awhile. >> i missed you. thank you, mr. president. i haven't heard you -- i haven't a specific thing during the news conference that you would do differently. it a fewbeen asked different ways. i understand you said you are going to roach out. doublingke you are down on the same policies and approach you had for six years. pull a page from the clinton playbook and admit you have to make a much more for the shift in course last two years? and on isis, it was a pretty in the last few

days with it appearing the syrian rebels routed, gitmo detainees who rejoined the battlefield helping isis and is theerror groups report. moi questiomy question is, are ? >> i think it is too early to say whether we are "winning" at the outsetaid l campaign, this is going to be a long-term plan to solidify the iraqi government, to solidify their security forces, to make sure that in air cover that they have the capacity to run a ground game that pushes isil back from some of the territories that they had taken, a strongave international coalition that we have now built but that they are providing the training, providing the equipment, providing the are necessary for

iraqis to fight on behalf of their territory. what i also said what that complicated and that is not going to be solved soon.me our focus in syria is not to solve the entire syria rather to isolate the areas in which isil can there is no doubt that because of the extraordinary bravery of our men thewomen in uniform and precision of our pilots and strikes that have taken place isil is in a more vulnerable position and it is more difficult for them to than it was previously. there is a specific issue about trying to get a moderate opposition in syria that can onve as a partner with us the ground. that has always been the hard getrt piece of business to done.

there are a lot of opposition groups from syria along a from radical jo jihadists our are enemies to folks who believe in democracy and everything in between. they fight among each other. they are fighting the regime. and what we are trying to do is to find a core group that we can work with that we have confidence in that we vetted can help in -- that can help in regaining territory from ultimately serve as a responsible party to sit at eventual political negotiations that are probably future.s off in the that has always been difficult. as you know, one of the debates consistently been should the provideministration more support to the opposition? could that have averted some of problems taking place in

syria? and as i have said before, part the challenge is, it as messy situation. it is not a situation where we unified single effectived effective robased et reliable -- let me answer the question, ed. going toat we are continue to test is can we get a effective cohesive moderate opposition. but that is not the sole measure whether we are quote, unquote, winning or not. focus, ed, here is to drive isil out of iraq. syriaat we are doing in is first and foremost in service isil's capacity to resupply and send troops and then run back over the syrian eventually re-establish a border between syria so that slowly iraq regains control of its territory.d its

that is our number one mission. that is our number one focus. what ise aspects of going on in syria that we have got to. >> deal with in order to reduce deal with. -- got to deal with. kurds in kobane, that is not just because we are trying to solve a syria problem. is also because it gives us an opportunity to further weaken isil so meet our number one mission which is iraq. things to do differently, i guess, ed, the asking is onere actually i think i have answered. asking about askingel, if you are is about position on issues or what have you, then it is probably

premature because i want to hear what -- about the -- >> ed, what i would like to do is to hear from the republicans find out what it is that they would like to see happen. and what i'm committing to is making sure that i am open to issues with them on the that where they think that there is going to be cooperation. now, that isn't a change because i suggested to them before that where they think there is area of cooperation i would like to some things done. but the fact that they now chambers of congress i think means that perhaps they have more that they can pass their agenda and get a bill on my desk. that negotiations end morerhaps being a little real because they have larger in theies for example

house and may be to get some things through their caucuses they couldn't before. but the bottom line to the people want to know that up -- and that i'm going to myeat here today is that number one goal, because i'm not running again, i'm not on the furtheri don't have any political aspirations -- my is just togoal deliver as much as i can for the american people in the last two years. and wherever i see an matter how large or how small to make it a little kid to woul go to college. make it a little more likely finding a goods paying job. make it a little more likely that somebody has high wall qualityhealthcare. even if i'm not getting a whole in gettingterested we can getgislation

passed that adds up to improved and improve future for the american people. sam stein? >> thank you, mr. president. elections,he congressional republicans are pushing for major reforms to the healthcare act. can you tell us what specific ideas you are ruling out? have the election results calculus on reforming the law? and how confident heading into enrollment period? and have you settled on a nominee to replace attorney eric holder? and if so, who is it? >> you want to spread out your bit, tonigh don't you? you don't want it all in just one big bang. on the attorney general we a outstanding candidates we are taking a look at now and in due course i will have an will bement and you

there, sam, when it is announced. will findent that we somebody who is well qualified and will elicit the confidence of the american people and will by the senate. on healthcare, there are certainly some lines i'm going draw. repeal of the law. i won't sign. awayts that would take healthcare from the 10 million who now have it and the millions who are eligible to get it we are not going to support. there may be recommendations that republicans changes that would of thene the structure law and you know i will be very andst with them about that

say look, the law doesn't work oryou pull out that piece that piece. on the other hand, what i have law that has is no ever been passed that is perfect. contentious nature in which it was passed in the are places there where if i were just drafting a own we would have made those changes back then and certainly as we have been implementing there are some other areas where we think we better.ven so, you know, if in fact one of items on mitch mcconnell's john boehner's agenda is to make responsible changes to the affordable care act to better i'm going to be very open and receptive to ideas. those but what i will remind them is despite all of the

contention we now know that the law works. you have got millions of people who have health insurance who d.n.a. sequence havdidn't have . have state hass have expanded -- states that have whonded medicaid to folks did not have it before including republican governors who concluded this is a good deal their state. and despite some of the previous as we have, even people in the affordable care act and given security ofthe health insurance, healthcare inflation has gone down every law passed since the so that we now have the lowest uncrease in healthcare costs in 50 years. saving us about $180 billion in reduced overall to the federal government and the medicare program.

so we are i think really proud of the work that has been done, but there is no doubt that there are areas where we can improve it. seeingll look forward to when a list they have of improvements. mandate one ofal the lines you can't cross? >> the individual mandate is a because the cross concept borrowed from massachusetts from a law opponentd by a former understoodtt romney that if you are providing health therance to people through private marketplace then you thatgot to make sure people can't game the system and just wait until they get sick before they try to go and buy health insurance. people't ensure that with preexisting conditions can get health insurance unless you while you are healthy before you need it you have to get insurance. are hardship exemptions.

some folks who even with the providedsubsidies still can't afford it but that is a central component of the law. in terms of enrollment, we will do some additional announcements days to come.the starting in the middle of this month, people can sign up again. a number ofe are people who the first time around in parthe sidelines because of our screwups on healthcare.gov. that is one area, ed, by the way, is very particular. sure theally making well befores super the next open enrollment period. trippin triplend checking it. a lot of people who maybe notially thought we are sure how this works, let's wait and see they will have an opportunity now to sign up and has been terrific is to insurersore private

have come into the marketplace so that there is greater markets allin more the country. the premiums that have come in that are available to people and the choices that are available better than a lot of people i think had predicted. so the law is working. that doesn't mean it can't be improved. garrett? >> thank you, mr. president. us, allow me miss to humbly suggest we do this every week. >> we might. who knows? i'm having a great time. >> let me go back to immigration. moments before you walked out here, sir, mitch mcconnell said, in fact use if you your executive authority to legalize a certain number of of undocumented workers it would poison the wealth and would be like waving a red flag a bull. of do you not believe that is the considered opinion of the new republican majority in the house

and senate? and do you also not believe what they have said in the aftermath last night's results that the verdict rendered by voters should stop you or prevent you this action because it was a sub text in many of the campaigns? i will is can you a couple of specifics. republicans haven't made it a mystery -- write all these down? >> you are familiar with these. keystone xcel pipeline. repeal the medical device tax as part of the mechanism to the affordable care reformingpatriate by the corporate tax code without taxhing the individual code. to use your words are any of those three lines you will not also deal with what you perceive to be republican about immigration? >> i think, major, i answered the with question on immigration.

i have no doubt that there will who arerepublicans angered or frustrated by any executive action that i may take. folks, i just have to say, who are also deeply opposed immigration reform. in any form. beingocked the house from bill.o pass a bipartisan i have said before that i johnlly believe that boehner is sincere about wanting to get immigration reform passed. year i held for a off taking any action beyond what we had already done for the so-called dream kids, and did i could to give him space and room to get something

done. and what i also said at the time was if, in fact, congress, if congress could not get something done that i would take inther executive actions order to make the system work that anynderstanding bill that they pass will supplant the executive actions that i take. reemphasize this, major. if, in fact, there is a great eagerness on the part of republicans to tackle a broken immigration system, then they every opportunity to do it. my executive actions not only do from passing am -- that superseeds supersupersedes those actions but should be a sure for them to get something ton. i'm prepared to engage them every step of the way with their ideas. we should have further

broad-based debate among the american people. as i said before, i do think the the episode with unaccompanied children changed a lot of attitudes. what may also change a lot of attitudes is when the ablic now realizes that was temporary and isolated event and that, in fact, we have fewer illegal immigrants coming in yearsthan we did five awould, 10 years ago or 20 years ago but that what we also have system that is not serving our economy well. so -- >> republicans who say the reelection was a referendum at least in part on your intentions forse executive authority immigration. >> as i said before, i don't want to try to read the tea leaves on election results. what i am going to try to do is presidents to make sure that i'm advancing what i think is for the country. and here is an opportunity where administrativey

authorities, executive lawfully try to make improvements on the exiting system, understand -- existing system, understanding that that is not going to fix the entire problem and we are much better and pass ao ahead comprehensive bill. and i hope that the republicans really want to get it passed. they do, they will have a lot of cooperation from me. onlet me just tick off -- in depinthere is an process.ndependent it is moving forward. i have given prime ministerrers parameters inw -- terms of how i think about it. is it going to create jobs and reduce gas prices that have been coming down? going to be on net something that doesn't increase climate change that we have to grapple with? there is a pending case before a nebraska judge about some of the process is moving

forward and i will gather up the facts. will note while this debate about canadian oil has been in mind this is canadian oil, this isn't u.s. oil, while the debate has been raging, we have seen that some of the biggest increases in oil production and american natural gas production in our history. are closer to energy independence than we have ever been before or at least as we have been in decades. importing less foreign oil than we produce for the time in a very long time. we have got 100 year supplant of natural gas -- supply of natural gas that if we responsibly tap puts us in the strongest position when it comes industrializedy country around the world. if you -- when i travel to asia europe, their

biggest envy is the incredible homegrown u.s. energy production and is producing jobs attracting manufacturing because locating here means you have got lower energy costs. so our energy sector is booming. engage happy to republicans with additional ideas for how we can enhance that. our cleanote that energy production is booming as well. so keystone i just consider as one small aspect of a broader is really positive for the american people. let's see. okay. medical device tax. already, i have answered the question, we are going to take a look at whatever ideas -- let me take a look comprehensively at the ideas that they present. let's give them time to tell me -- i would rather hear it than from you.

major, you know, conceivably i just cancel my meeting on friday because i heard everything from you. rather let mitch mcconnell -- i would rather hear mcconnell and john boehner what ideas they would like to pursue and we will have with them onn that. on repatriation i said in my opening remarks there is an opportunity for us to do a tax reform package that is good for business, good for jobs and can financelly infrastructure development here in the united states. the devil is in the details. wally, it is something -- conceptually it is where we may have score lap and i'm interested in pursuing ideas that can put to work right now on roads and bridges and waterways and better air traffic control system if we had one by laysay we could reduce tee

30%,out -- delays by reduce fuel costs and hopefully that would translate into cheaper airline tickets. will is all kinds of work we can do on the infrastructure. this may be one mechanism that republicans are comfortable in financing those kinds of efforts. so that will be part of the discussion that i think we are thenred for on friday and in the weeks to come leading congress.ew whew. major works me, man. acosta? >> thank you, mr. president. i know you don't want to read leaves, but it is a fact that your party rejected you in and large theyy did not want you out on the campaign trail in these key battleground states. you account for that and your aides have said that this is the fourth quarter of your administration. but i don't know if you saw the morning talk shows, but there potentialal

candidates for 2016 who were out there already. is the clock ticking? are you running out of time? how much time do you have left? and what do you make of the you are now a lame duck? after theraditionally last mid term of the two-term presidency since i can't run is the label that apply.s here is what i tell my team. week and i this last told them this, this morning. this incredible privilege of being in charge of the most important organization on earth. the u.s. government. military. and everything that we do for the world. be there is a lot of work to done to make government work better. safer. americans

to make opportunity available to more people. for us to be able to have a positive influence in every of the globe the way we are doing right now in west africa. and i'm going to squeeze every last little bit of opportunity to help make this world a better place over these last two years. and some of that is going to be administratively. and you know, simple things like how do we make customer service in every agency? are there things that we can do to streamline how our veterans access care? are there better ways that we businesses understand the programs that are available to them to promote their business or exports? whole bunch of stuff

to do on that front, and as i going tore, there is be opportunities to work with democrats and republicans on done.l hill to get laws and if you look at the history every president those last two years all kinds of stuff happens. in some cases, of that we couldn't precinct -- stuff that we couldn't predict. pretty thing i'm confident about, jim, is i'm going to be busy for the next two years. the one thing that i want the american people to be confident about is that every will be filling up my time how i canfigure out make their lives better and if i'm doing that at end of moi mysidency i will -- of presidency i will say we played the fourth quarter well and we theed the game well and only difference between i guess politics is that the only score that matters is do, notsomebody else

how you did? and that is the score i'm keeping. able to look be back and say are more people working? better?r bank accounts are more kids going to college? is housing improved? financial system more stable? are younger kids getting a better education. do we have greater energy independence? is the environment cleaner? have weedon something about change? have we dealt with an ongoing terrorist threat and bring about stability around the world. and those things, every day i've got an opportunity to make a difference on those fronts. i wouldn't be satisfied as long as i'm meeting somebody who doesn't have a job and wants

one. i'm not going to be satisfied as long as there's a kid who writes me a letter and says i got $60,000 worth of debt and i don't know how to pay it back. and the american people aren't satisfied, so i want to do everything i can to deliver for them. >> how about democrats? the fact that they've won in battle ground states [inaudible]? >> listen. i have think as some of you saw when i was out on the campaign trail, i love campaigning. i love talking to ordinary people, i love listens to their stories. i love shaking hands and getting hugs and just seeing the process of democracy and citizenship manifest itself during an election. but i'm also a practical guy and ultimately every candidate out there had to make their own decisions about what they ought would be most help

helpful for them, and i want to make sure that i'm respectful of their particular region or state or congressional district. if it was more helpful for them for me to be behind the scenes, i'm happy to do it. i don't have -- i'll let other people analyze that. but what i will emphasize is that one of the nice things about being in the sixth year of your presidency is you've seen a lot of ups and downs and you've gotten more than your fair share of attention. and, i know, i've had the lime light and i've -- there have been times where the request for my appearances were endless. there have been times where politically we were down and it all kind of evens out, which is why what's most important, i

think, is keeping your eye on the ball, and that is, are you actually getting some good done. scott orsley, last question. >> thank you, mr. president. you mentioned that where your policies actually were on the ballot, they did better than members of your party, often? does that signal some short coming in your part or on the party's part of flaming this election and demonstrating to the american public what the democratic party stands for? >> you know, i do think that one area where i know we're constantly experimenting and trying to do better is just making sure that people know exactly what it is that we're trying to accomplish and what we have accomplished in clear ways that people can -- that understand how it affects them, and i think the minimum wage, i

talked about a lot on the campaign trail, but, you know, 'm not sure it penetrated well enough to make a difference. part of what i also think we've got to look at is that two-thirds of the people who are eligible to vote and just didn't vote. one of the things that i'm very proud of in 2008 and 2012 when i ran for office is we got people involved who hadn't been involved before. we got folks to vote who hadn't voted before, particularly young people, and that was part of the promise and the excitement was if you get involved, if you participate, if you embrace that sense of citizenship, then and not ange, and --

just in an abstract way but they change in concrete ways. somebody gets a job or health care who didn't have it before. or a student can afford to go to college who couldn't afford it before. and sustaining that, especially in midterm elections has proven difficult, sustaining that sense of if you get involved, you know, then -- and if you vote, then there's going to be big change out there. and partly, i think, when they look at washington, they say, nothing's working, it's not making a difference and there's just a constant slough of bad news, -- news coming over the tv screen, then you can understand how folks would get disencouraged. but -- discouraged. but it's my job to figure this the wayest i can and if

we are talking about issues isn't working, then i'm going to try some different things. if the way that we're approaching the republicans in congress isn't working, you know, i'm going to try different things, whether it's having a drink mitch mcconnell or letting john boehner beat me again at golf or, you know, what will -- what -- more weekly press conferences. i don't know if that would be effective, but whatever -- whatever i think might make a difference many this, you know, i'm going to be trying out up until my last day inoffs. -- in office. but i'll close with what i said in my opening statement. i am really optimistic about america. i know that runs counter to the current mood.

but when you look at the facts, our economy is stronger than just about anybody's, our energy production is better than just bout anybody's, we slashed our deficit by more than half, more people have health insurance, our businesses have the strongest balance sheets that our ve had in decades, young people are just in crediblely talented and gifted. more of them are graduating from high school and going on to college. more women are getting degrees and entering into the work force , and one part of the reason i love campaigning, you travel around the country, folks are just good. they're smart and they're hard working. they're not always paying a lot of attention on washington. sometimes they've given up on

washington, but their impulses are not sharply partisan or idea logical. they're really practically good, generous people. so -- and we continue to be a magnet for the best and brightest from all around the world. we have all the best cards relative to every other country on earth. our armed fors, you talk to them -- i had a chance this morning just caught some of the -- our health service that is operating in liberia, and the amount of hope and professionalism that they've brought has galvanized the entire country and has built -- they built a platform effectively for other countries to start coming in and we've seen real progress in fighting the disease in countries that just a month or a month and a half ago was just desperate and had no hope. so all that makes me optimistic. and my job over the next couple

of years is to do some practical concrete things as much as possible with congress. if not possible with congress, on my own, to show people why we should be confident and to give people a sense of progress and a sense of hope. that doesn't mean there aren't going to be ongoing nagging problems that are stubborn and can't be solved overnight. probably the biggest one is de spite economic growth, wages have not gone up. that's a long-term trend we've seen for ten, twenty or thirty years. the essence of the american dream is are your kids doing better than you. i think we need to make sure that incomes and wages go up. minimum wage in those five states was a good start, but i think more than anything, what i

want to communicate over these next two years is the promise . d possibility of america is just -- this is just an extraordinary country and our democracy is messy and it's diverse and we're big. there's times when you're a politician you're disappointed with election results. but maybe i'm just getting older. i don't know. it doesn't make me mopey. it energizes me because it means that democracy's working and people in america were restless and impatient and we want to get things done and even when things are going good, we want them to do better and that's why this is the greatest country on earth. that's why i'm so privileged to have a chance to be presidents for the next couple of years. all right? thank you, everybody. >> one day after president

obama's party suffers a significant setback both on capitol hill and states across the country, the president speaking to reporters for over an hour talking about some of his hopes during the lame duck session. the congress returns to session one week from today. wrapping up a couple of loose ends. on the senate things, republicans pickling up seven seats so far. n the house, 13 seats. while that mystery's been involved he had a news conference this afternoon. sen angus king will continue to caucus with the democrats. there are three senate races that are still outstanding. virginia, louisiana -- that will go to a runoff because neither candidate received 50% of the vote -- and alaska where the

race has still not been called. dan sullivan, the republican with 49% of the vote and the 45 me bent mark begich with percent. the begich released a statement that said -- >> and one more note on the house side. you heard president obama being asked about the keystone pipeline. wu69 biggest component was congressman lee terry of nebraska. he has lost his race. he lost to democrat brad ashford and the percentage was 49 to 46 prs. the associated press says democrats have won a u.s. house seat in nebraska for the first

time since 1992. representative terry conceded this afternoon to ashford. that's just in from the associated press. we will continue to bring you all of the reaction today from senator mitch mcconnell, from the rnc, the news conference with president obama and other coverage tonight on c-span. one of the events we'll cover will be speaker boehner. he's holding a news conference scheduled for 1:15 eastern. that will be here on c-span and likely c-span radio as well. coming up, we want to show you the half-hour news conference with mitch mcconnell, the republican leader and likely majority leader in the senate from livel. this is about a half an hour. [applause] 6 >> good afternoon, everyone.

i'd like to introduce dr. ramsey, the president of university who is here. jim, thank you for joining us today. [applause] and you may recognize these youngsters over here. they're in a scholarship program that worked on with the university over the last 20 years. good to see you. it's the best and brightest program for the students inside kentucky, not nonresidents. ten each year. nd they're here today to witness what we may talk about. let me make a couple of observations. i think the what the voters were saying yesterday was a couple of things. number one, they're obviously not satisfied with the direction of the administration, but at the same time i heard a lot of discussion about dysfunction in washington.

i think there are a lot of people who believe that just because you have divided government doesn't mean you don't accomplish anything. earlier today i got a call from the president, also from senator reid and the speaker and ted cruz, too. which i thought you'd be interested in. all of whom i think have the view that we ought to see what areas of agreement there are and see if we can make some progress for the country. i would like to remind people that divided government is not unusual this country. we've had it frequently. i think even more often than not since world war ii when the american people choose divided government, i don't think it means they don't want us to do anything. i think it means they want us to look for areas of agreement. reagan never had the house in eight years. clinton didn't have the house or the senate for six of his eight

years. i can think of at least four fairly significant things done. reagan and tip o'neal saved social security for a generation, did the last comprehensive tax reform. we need to do that again. bill clinton and the republicans did well for reform and actually balanced the budget for three years in a row. i think we ought to start with the view that maybe there are some things we can agree on to make progress in the country. from an institutional point of view, the senate needs to be fixed. i made a speech back in january, not widely covered, probably shouldn't have been widely covered, but a lot of people inside the senate paid a lot of attention to it. the senate in 2 last few years basically doesn't do anything. we don't even vote. senator beg itch who bhaveb defeated yesterday had the handicap of trying to explain to the people of alaska why in six years, he hadn't had a roll call on the floor on an amendment.

the first thing i need to do is get the senate back to normal. that means working more i don't think we've had any votes on friday in anybody's memory. it means opening 2 senate up so that amendments are permitted on both sides and it means occasionally burning the midnight oil in order to reach a conclusion. i can remember the way we used to get bills finished was for the majority leader to announce on monday we're taking up a particular bill and we were going to finish it, finish it thursday night, friday morning, or saturday, but you have to finish it. it's amazing what happened on midnight thursday. people who were very aggressive on tuesday morning were awfully anxious to leave friday morning and almts would go away and bills would pass. another thing that will sound

astonishing to all of you, the committee need to be rellvant again. if you've got both democrats and republicans who are interested n seeing it pass, a bipartisan extinguish wednesdayy for moving forward. for having said that, there are differences. and we will certainly be voting on things as well that we think the administration is not fonled of. they seem to have had no interest, for example, in doing anything serious on the energy front. we haven't had an energy bill in seven years when you say energy these days, people think of the keystone pipeline, but that's only part of it. we need to embrace the energy revolution that's going on in our country, promote it. it's huge livan day juss to america -- hugey ativan day yuss to america. the employment figures connected

with keystone are stunning if we would just get going. there's certainly going to be areas of disagreement, but that's not unusual going back to the founding of the country. so where that, let me throw it open and -- >> [inaudible] tell us based on what the message of the voters was, many say they want to see gridlock end. what can we do and can you ensure the gridlock will end under your leadership? >> the senate it was problem, not the senate. the american people have changed the senate. so i think we have an obligation to change the behavior of the senate and to begin to function again. that doesn't guarantee that the president is going to agree with everything we do, but we're going to go back to work and actually pass legislation. i've, by the way, been called by three prominent democrats since last night, prominent democrats.

they're anxious to be relevant again. you know, they're ankles for committee work to -- anxious for committee work to be respected. they're anxious to vote on things on the floor. that's the way you get rid of gridlock. it doesn't guarantee you have a presidential signature on everything. presidents do have the right to veto. i think he's vetoed two little bills in the first three years. the last four years, the current majority, he never got anything that he didn't like. that's how you cure gridlock. jeff. >> after all this, how can the american people believe you, believe -- >> they demonstrate it. >> [inaudible]. we have to -- i'm sorry. >> what are a couple of things you think you can wrk with the president on? >> trade agreements. the president and i were just talking about that right before i came over here.

most of his party is unenthusiastic about international trade. we think it's good for america. and so i've got a lot of members who believe that international trade agreements are a winner for america. and the president and i discussed that right before i came over here. and i think he's interested in moving forward. i said, accepted us trade agreements. we're anxious to take a look at them. the president's indicated he's interested in doing tax reform. we all know, having the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world is a job exporter. all this talk about job exportation, exporting jobs is having the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world. he's interested in that issue and we are, too so those are two very significant areas of potential agreement. >> [inaudible] work with you or you believe that he will be [inaudible] by his own party to do it? >> there's only one democrat who

counts, the president. let me illustrate the point. when gentlemen biden and i negotiated the fiscal cliff deal in 2012. the thing i thought would be the most important thing for kentucky was a state tax exemption. a lot of people who have family farms and small businesses look like they're worth a lot of money, but they really aren't. if you're lucky enough to have children who want to continue to farm or continue the small business, you can't get it down to them -- you could not in the st because of the estate tax exemption. we could save 99% of the farms in my state from having to be sold. the leader of the democrats in the house made it quite clear to me that if that was in the final deal, house democrats wouldn't vote for it. i thanked her. it was in the final deal and only 15 house democrats voted

against it and only three senate democrats. the point i'm making is the democrat who counts is the president of the united states. democrats in congress will support whatever he agrees to do. that was a perfect example of exactly what i'm talking about. so -- and we were very much inclined to support president bush as well. this is not unusual when you have the white house, the most important member of your party is the person in the white house. so we'll see whether we can work with the president. i hope so. that's what he says and we'll find out. david. >> thank you. senator mcconnell, except for a few deals you've worked out, mainly with vice president biden, the president and congress republicans don't have a good track record of working things out. can you talk about how you think a united republican congress possibly will have the ability to send the president a bill or force the veto might altar the

dynamic? >> i'm not sure he's going to sign everything, but we're going to function. we are. we're going to pass legislatings , some of it he may not like, but we're going to function. this gridlock and dysfunction can be ended. it can be ended by having a cincinnati actually -- that actually works. >> [inaudible] forced negotiation with the white house might be fruitful as opposed to the way it's been so far? >> well, i mean, the veto pen is a pretty big thing. the president of the united states can deliver the members to vote for a deal he makes or he can beat the legislation. he's important. that's the way it works. >> yesterday senator paul said the senate will be sending bill after bill to the president to ree peel obama care. seems like the president is likely to veto that.

what other forms can you use to slow down -- >> it's no secret that every one of my members, thinks that obama care was a huge legislative mistake. it has fouled up the health insurance market, put states in a deep hole in terms of their ability to finance it years from now. if i had the abilities, i'd get rid of it. obviously, it's also true that he's still there. we'll be discussing how to go forward on this issue when we get back. i will say this for sure. there are pieces of it that are deeply, deeply unpopular with the american people. the medical device tax, which is exported enormous number of jobs, the loss of the 40-hour workweek, big, big mistake. that ought to be restored. the individual mandate. people hate it. i think we will be addressing

that issue in a variety of different ways. >> senator mcconnell, you're -- as you know -- >> tell us what happened in the -- regardless of what happened in the election, you have a diverse conference including a number of blue state republics who are up for re-election in 2016. should this be a reality check for your base on how far you can go on pushing a conservative agenda in the new congress? >> well, we'll find out. what you state is stating the obvious, that the it takes 60 votes to do a lot of things in the senate. some things we can do with 351 votes. the budget. the president does not sign the budget. that determines how much we're going to spend. i think it's been our power to pass more appropriation bills that fund the government.

there is no zhreat i and most of my members think that the bureaucratic strangulation of our economy is a real -- is a huge factor in the slow growth that we've experienced after the deep recession of 2008. so i think it's reasonable to assume that we will use the power of the purse to try to push back against this over active bureaucracy. and of course we have a huge example of that here in this state with the war on coal. not authorized by congress. couldn't get the strotes pass when our friends on the other side own the place. they have huge majorities in the house and senate, they couldn't pass the cap and trade. i think the president is going to try to do that. you can look at those kind of tools through the spending in our governmental system. >> [inaudible]. >> we'll see how we do. ok. >> in the debt sealing fight,

afterward you told me that it was a hostage not worth shooting, but it was a hostage worth withholding for ransom. the debt sealing is coming up sometime in the spring, this summer. are we going to have another brinksmanship moment there? >> there will be no government shutdowns and no default on the national debt. let me make clear. >> [inaudible]. >> one thing you've mentioned is immigration. we expect that the president will move forward with some sort of action on -- executive action in this area. what will the republican response be and would you pass a republican immigration plan? >> i think the president in choosing to do things unilaterally on immigration would be a big mistake. it's an issue that most of my embers want to address legislatively, and it's like waving a red flag in front of a bull to say, if you guys don't

do what i want, i'm going to do it on my own, and the president's done that on obama care. he's done done it on immigration and threatening to do it again. i hope he won't do that, because well.k it poisons the >> [inaudible]. >> i wouldn't do that to you. >> could you tell us a little bit more about -- >> you obviously have worked with the president for a none of years now. you've had communications with him sometimes cordial, sometimes not so cordial. what do you sense, having talked to him today, about his mood, what he's willing to do. everybody talks about tip o'neal and reagan. that was a wonderful camelot moment with with bipartisan ship. can you achieve that? >> the relationship 50eu6 had with the president was always cordial.

there's no penalty problem or anything like that. i think my attitude about this at this point is trust but verify leafments see. the american people -- let's see. the american people have spoken. they've given us divided government. the question for both the president and the speaker and myself and the members is what are you going to do with it. i've said i want to first look for i want to work on some areas we agree on. >> you promise there were not big government shutdown. >> he will not be shutting down the government or defaulting on the national debt. >> do have any concerns about those numbers that might want to run for president, like to step

outside of your leadership. how will you handle them? i know a lot of people that want to run for president. the bestll them all is day you have will be the day before you announce. short of being in combat and being shot at, there isn't anything harder than running for president unless it is running for reelection. i have no problems with people's in aions, i am serving body with a bunch of class presidents. they are all ambitious or they would not be where they are. a lot of folks with sharp elbows and big elbows. troubled by ambition and i think we can accommodate that and still make progress for the country.

codes even if it goes against your goals? >> you are asking me a. >> it has been rejected that the republican senate would ring this to a grinding halt. how do you expect to handle the president's combination, many very important one still lingering. what are your thoughts are rolling back the nuclear option? >> to a job the second issue. >> that is something we ought to address. address.a bi thatost important thing the majority leader decided to

do which was to break the senate to change the rules of the senate. the parliamentarian has said you cannot do that. huge mistake in my view , it is hard to unring a bell, they have now established a precedent. a biga big issue and discussion that we will have in the coming months. >> he is calling to congratulate me on my election and was impressed with the margin. i was pretty happy about it myself. we had a good friendly conversation. do you believe that it will be more difficult for you to have a responsible government? let's we have a whole bunch of

people in the 54 member senate. >> it was a very cordial conversation, i appreciated the call. >> he called to congratulate me on my election. he's a pretty independent guy. i think he will announce what he will do. >> he said twice that it would not be default but would you insist on because that correspond with any debt ceiling increase the way that john boehner? >> we have the opportunity now to pass a budget, which has to do with how you will spend. you have other mechanisms that were unavailable to us with the previous configuration of government. i think that that is a pretty important tool.

your phonetalk about call with harry reid, you have had the most acrimonious relationship. you said, the open acrimonious relationship with any two leaders. >> we have had some spirited debates about the way the places being run. but, we don't have an acrimonious relationship personally. what was your conversation -- ?hat was your question > your conversation like? >> called actually to complement skilled campaign we ran. he obviously paid very close attention to it. that seems to be the new paradigm since daschle was defeated, you get a presidential level campaign if you are leader of the senate.

harry followed it very closely. on a campaignd me well run. you return the favor to him in 2016? >> i did not get involved the last time he was up and i don't tend to be involved this time. >> and you talk about what your objectives will be as the senate majority leader? >> well, the immediate concern is,he health there obviously the ebola crisis. with regard to the authorization to help the syrian rebels him as you know, we insisted terminating at the end of this .ear

that is one of the things that the president mentioned today that will be on the agenda friday. >> we have to finish this year's session first. i think the media discussion we will be having is what should we try to wrap up during the lame-duck. there are number of things that we will beut off

talking about whether to do a tax extender package. there are number of things that have sort of stacked up and i think i've said it before, i will say it again. the senate hadn't been doing anything. there is a whole lot of unfinished business sitting there. some of which, it might be advantageous to get out of the way. democrats may want to do it, we may want to do it, in order to clear off some of the necessary work that has been undone in a this functional senate. -- in a dysfunctional senate. the banking committee is certainly will be taking a look at dodd frank. have called the obamacare for banks. the big guys are doing just fine , the committee bankers are

struggling. committee the banking will look at how much damage it little guys that had nothing to do with the banking meltdown. >> you are surprised that president obama did not shift more towards the center. does he have a responsibility to do that now and e.g. communicate with him in the phone call? >> you cannot really do anything without a presidential signature. several of you have mentioned it. the veto pen is a pretty powerful tool and i think both reagan and clinton are good examples of accepting the government you have rather than fantasizing about the government you wish you had. in other words, they don't but they had. reagan never had the house.

president has got a choice, because of the strength of the veto pen, he could stay on the current course he is on. telling any effort we make to push back against what he's doing and having the people that work for him do his bidding say, let's see if there are some areas of agreement. i have mentioned a couple that i think are pretty big and important issues that i think we have potential areas of agreement. trade and tax reform. we will see. >> are you ready to meet him there? how would you prevent members from yanking you back? >> i am pretty familiar with our conference including the new members coming in. don'tst majority of them feel that they were sent to washington to just fight all the time.

as i've said repeatedly here, avided government is not reason to do nothing. in fact, it has been pretty productive. i think the vast majority of my members would rather make progress on things that they think the country needs to be dealt with them not. but, in our system, the president is the most important the obviousse of constitutional advantage he has and it would require his complicity to do that. and he has been protected from having to do that the last four years by the dysfunctional senate which doesn't pass anything, doesn't send him anything that he doesn't like. now, he will have a congress that will be more challenging for him but the choice is really his. i'm hoping that he will decide

to move to the center. >> ted cruz declined whether he would say he would support you for majority leader. did he pledges support to you? >> let me make a prediction for tomorrow, ifrom will be elected majority of the senate. tanks, everyone. thanks, everyone. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

the three outstanding senate races is in virginia where there reports of voting machines malfunctioning. this caused issues for voters in precincts in virginia. the republican party of virginia wrote a letter to the department of elections on tuesday stating that there were problems with some of the electronic voting touchscreens in at least four different districts. louisiana, and alaska. senate races to be determined. at noon eastern today, the republican national committee and othere priebus campaign committee chairs. greg walden and the senatorial

committee chair reached reporters on the gop when yesterday. big nightght was a for republicans and this is a great day for the country. i want to start by saying thank you, thank you to the voters for putting your trust in the republican party. a key to our volunteers and supporters that made last night possible. thank you to our incredible staff here in washington, d.c. and across the country including our data team who were spot on last night. we had a decisive win in the senate, it was a clear defeat for harry reid's dysfunctional leadership. his refusal to allow votes in the senate in order to protect incumbents backfired and actually insured their defeat. next month, we're going to add to our majority when we win louisiana. in the senate, it was a night of important first. joni ernst becomes the first

female combat veteran in the senate and the first woman in congress from iowa. tom cotton will be the youngest , shelley the senate moore capital will be the first woman elected to the senate from west virginia. tim scott the comes the first african-american elected to both the house and senate. in the house, we don't know how big the majority will be but it will be a majority bigger than most of us have seen in our lifetimes. we are proud to see me a love when in utah, will love in texas. and in new york, the youngest woman ever elected to congress. those let greg talk about games that are unbelievable historic. americans affirmed their leadership of republican governors. in the bluest of blue states, they rejected democrats in maryland, massachusetts him and

in illinois. even the president's home state where he campaigned vigorously elected a republican. that is how big this victory really is. finally, the state house, republicans captured many of the state legislative chambers including the nevada senate and the assembly, the west virginia house, the minnesota house, the new mexico house, the colorado senate, and the new hampshire house. we have the largest number of republican chambers seats held in history, so it was a historic night. about a direct .ejection of the obama agenda as all of you know, president obama said clearly that his policies were on the ballot and voters were very clear in return. they want nothing to do with the policies of barack obama and

hillary clinton. these were the president's candidates. and they lost. remember hillary clinton? the crimes lost by over 15 points. hillary cannot even say the democrat in the massachusetts governor's race. we won in red states, we one in blue states, we one in purple states. we want because our policies resonated with the electorate, our ground game mobilize voters, and al qaeda is connected with the american people. and our candidates connected with the american people. decision to to to prioritize low propensity voters.

we one with our new strategy and we need the other side at their own game. i want to congratulate all of our candidates and our partners up here with me today. senator moran who did an unbelievably great job with the mrsc. boyd rutherford in the maryland the tenant race.

>> it was a historic night for the republican party and i will talk about how historic it was at the state level. it was actually a reaffirmation. they are implemented at the state level. had announcedhat that this morning that atublicans at an all-time the state level, both in the number of chambers and the number of seats that we control going into more detail right away. voters across the country, blue states and red states, purple states spoke very clearly that they want the policies that republicans are implemented across the board.

this has one hand to do it the policies that they are implementing and the candidates espousing those policies. we made a special effort to recruit and get elected more diverse and female candidates across the country and we also broke some ceilings there. before last night, the old-time republican high was 64 chambers and that was back in 1920. now, republicans will hold a across theity country, somewhere between 67-69 chambers, the numbers are still pouring in so we will have more details later on. we appear to be on track to eclipse an all republican high of 4001 republican state legislative seats held back in

1928. actually in nevada senate, the nevada assembly, west virginia house, minnesota house, colorado senate, new mexico house, new hampshire house, and we are ahead in the race for the main senate and the colorado house which both are too close to call. the west virginia senate, we have's live control of 17 each. majorities in states like california, maryland. formede newly initiative, we had tremendous success last night. i would also like to talk about the fact and i want to commend our chairman, the other two chairs for the work they did. we are winning across the country also at the state level and we are asked bending the map to victory in more than one way in years to come.

by expanding our majority in all competitive great lakes states, that whole 64 electoral votes, if you add that to the 2012 -- we states that he was did extremely well out in the west. i would like to add one more thing. we are electing a fully diverse group of candidates. they identified and helped 244 new diverse candidates across .he country

some of these candidates actually have made a difference. in west virginia, the west virginia house. -- in the colorado senate. kerry lewis in the pennsylvania house. in thea seaman and virginia house. -- in the new york senate. and becky harris and the nevada senate. to andfornia, -- help did the senate super majority democrats had. least 12s elected at governors andle secretary of state. that will include john sanchez,

boyd rutherford, and diana durham. we elected the only african-american the tenant of and are from either party. they were favored by voters to great job, get america growing and moving ahead again. more choice in education, more opportunities for everyone. >> a great night and a great tie. we ran a ducks offense at the house. what you heard my colleagues talk about is how the republican party is back, we are back with youth, we are back with adversity, we are back with women and we have a long way to go, but we have made great

gains. if you look at the house races versus the senate, we were predominately in blue territory. these were believed districts we were competing in and we won. we had good talented candidates at the republicans in those districts nominated. barack obama's agenda was on the ballot, it was a referendum, it is a storage in its nature. we are as big as a majority as any of us have seen. as i stand before you, we have race not counted martha -- yet. she is up 37 votes or something. we think that she will likely votes this time and become the first combat fighter pilot toan in american history and also become a member of congress. california, we think doug ose he will win that seat and add to the number we have on the board

right now and there are a couple of other seats in play in california that are too close to call. it was a huge night. we also know we have to get to work doing the governing peace. our party will be measured by how we govern and that is what americans have elected us to do and we are eager to get to that work. i will handed over to my colleague jerry grant. >> thank you very much, congratulations on your success. mr. chairman, thank you for the success that we all had come especially for the health that you provided all of us as we went into the 2014 election. we recruited and encouraged great candidates to one. those candidates did run. we educated and trained them in their efforts to succeed and they succeeded. there is a clear message to republicans in the future of who

our candidates are matter and they need to be people who are capable of appealing to the voters in the state in which they are seeking to represent. so encouraged by what has transpired so far, we actually a way to the outcome of alaska but it appears very clear that there will be a new republican senator from that state and i would tell you that we spent the morning gearing up for the runoff to occur in louisiana on december the sixth. we will take nothing for granted in louisiana and it will be front and center for the and rsc as we engage now for a little bit less than the next month. i think when it comes to governing, we are already at work and have been for months as republican senators have in the conversation that if the american people trust us one more time to be a majority, what would that mean? the messages that i take from

last night election as far as senate races is really twofold. one is that the president, as he indicated, his policies are on the voters minds, they were given the opportunity to confirm, to ratify those policies or to reject them and there is a clear message that in many instances those policies are not popular with the american people. what this says to me when people say are you willing to reach out and find common ground, we certainly are but means the president, he has now seen the popularity of his programs is not there and therefore it is incumbent upon the president of the united states to work with members of congress to find a different solution to the problems and challenges our country faces. secondly and equally important in my view is the message that voters sent, we are so tired of the inability of the u.s. senate to function. there will be debate that happens.

they had the ability to argue and debate. think what americans see from the senate, i've been a member of the senate. made by the was leader. he told me my first conversation with senator reid that i needed to understand that we weren't going to do anything, we are not going to do anything until after the next election. the problem with that is that .fter the next election there is a second clear message that we american people reject that kind of leadership that says we are not going to do anything. it is now incumbent upon us as republican senators in the