upcoming election from this morning's "washington journal." we're back with andre gillespie, political science officer at emory university, joining us to talked about african-american voter turnout. in me show you the headline the financial times. president obama, rallying cry to black voters as polls show trump making gains. getting out there saying they need to get out to vote. the headline below the one i read said there are fears to low turnout. can you speak to that? guest: the fear is not that donald trump is making gains among african american voters, though he says he is. the concern is that african-americans are not going to be the buffer against increased enthusiasm amongst trump voters who think he has a shot of winning at this point. democrats need to get as many

votes as possible out. given the fact that african-americans typically vote at a rate of 90% or higher democratic presidential candidates, they need as many african-americans to get out and vote, presumably because they will vote democratic. host: would you agree with this headlines -- blacks can't muster fervor for hillary clinton. is it that they are not enthusiastic about the head of the democratic ticket? guest: there are a number of reasons that might explain the low voter turnout, and it is important to put it into context. it is not so much low voter turnout as it is lower voter turnout to the record turnout in 2012. to put it into perspective, ballotsw about 31% of cast in my own state of georgia have been cast by african-americans. that is one percentage point behind with the overall african-american population in the state of georgia is here at it is important to keep in mind

that 30% of voters in the state of georgia are african-american. so they are slightly ahead in proportionality in terms of turnout. what people are concerned about is that at this point crutcher years ago, 36% of the ballots cast had been cast by african-american voters. host: there was a study done on in 2016 loseoters enthusiasm. so what are some of the issues? one of the issues is looking at the turnout of millennial voters, particularly 18 to 29. that group was far less likely than their older counterparts to say they definitely planned on voting it they expressed much more uncertainty, saying that they may vote or they probably were not going to vote in the election. democrats, if they want to win, need to target that demographic. one of the other differences what their -- was differences in

terms of how younger and older perceived of the rents for clinton of the decided to support her. other voters use their vote as an affirmative, house of the vote for hillary clinton. younger voters were voting against donald trump. the question is whether that is a strong enough motivation. those are some of the substantive issues that have come up in this campaign. part of the reason why hillary clinton is doing relatively poorly amongst -- african-american voters in terms of enthusiasm is that she had conditions in the 1990's with supporting policy that young black people today, particularly those connected with the black lives matter unit, and the rise of the prison industrial comdex in the united states today, and to may not have done enough show she will take these issues to heart and will be a champion justose issues and is not a typical politician coming around because she needs their vote, and then she will ignore

them for the next couple of years until the next election. does that sentiment have to do with? is it a reflection of president obama's tenure over the last eight years? guest: in some ways, it is. there were high hopes for the obama presidency. people were thinking the president obama could do more than he actually was able to do. we have seen the limits of what presidential power can do, and some people are turned off by it. we have now seen that presidents cannot change everything. people do,e younger focusing more on protests, realizing protests can help dominate the news cycle and generate action on behalf of policymakers. some are focusing on local races, realizing that the issues that are important to african-americans are decided at the local level, before there is federal intervention. then there is a general notion ofshould --

politicians do not care what real people think and it does not matter which party is in office, because you tend to get the same kind of policy outcomes. the democrats need to work to try to provide sharp contrast. not just that the other candidate is racist, but they have to provide affirmative visions of what they plan to do and how they seek to engage african-american communities after all of the votes have been counted. host: we want to show some of the outreach that is happening by the campaigns. but let's get to calls first. first call is a republican in washington. go ahead. watching the i was program, and the problem i see with a lot of the black youth is they are pulling away from what .s going on in politics and the religion, people that

are pushing religion nowadays, especially the black churches in the south, are not surprised that we do not have more republican support. but the younger voters do not seem to have much use for trump or hillary. old is that 65 years what i am, and i took a look and it took me a week to vote for president. it is sat on my table for a week with hillary's name and trump's name, and at 605i cannot make up my -- at 65, i cannot make up my mind for a week. in my heart, i am a republican, but the democrat running this year is not my favorite either, and i had to vote for the worst candidate i have ever voted for in my life at 65. i think part of our problem in the youth today is that we are not educating them on the , all of our political

stuff in school and we no longer have civics, where they learn what the legislative branch does, what the executive branch does. and i think the black folk movementives matter somewhat helps, but then again, when you start burning things, it does not help. host: a lot for andra gillespie to respond to. guest: one thing to keep in mind with miller is that younger -- one thing to keep in mind with millennials is that younger people who vote at lower rates than their older counterparts do. there is life experience here and so even if somebody has not had the benefit of a formal education, the older they get, the longer they have been around, the more they are able to navigate the system and understand how politics directly affect them. it is not surprising that young

people, regardless of their background, would have a more jaundiced view of politics because they have not experienced it as much. but for those of us that are older, it is a question of whether you welcome those people and show them the importance of the process. so for many people who are younger thinking they can use their non-vote to leverage the system, that has the potential to backfire on them the guys there are some politicians who think that person was not going to vote in the first place. those are the kinds of messages that rallies can get out to people and that canvassers and phone bankers can use, even if you do not have the ideal candidates before you. ast: jay in austin, texas, democrat. caller: good morning. my concern, first of all, as an african-american and partly in response to the previous comment is that, yes, there is general lack of information relating to

the democratic process, but we can see that also in the media, especially with the young media, and certainly with our local candidates, and especially donald trump. an that, i am relatively enthusiastic supporter of hillary clinton. i would also say, as a protestant and as a baptist, i have no concerns about supporting hillary clinton. host: i have a question for you. that president obama and the first lady have been stumping for hillary clinton and saying that you need to vote for her? saying that she shares the same values as we do? say i woulduld support her regardless. i am very definitely a barack

obama and michelle obama enthusiast. but i have also followed the issues. i am not at all impressed with donald trump because of lack of information on domestic and andrnational issues absolutely because of his lack of knowledge relating to the political system. he is not at all democratic, nor are many of the people that you have had calling in throughout this evening. host: ok. your thoughts? guest: one of the things i think is really interesting about the perspective she brings to the table is that it raises the importance of gop lead, especially in the last week in of the campaign. both campaigns should have identified the core group of supporters, and they should have enough that they believe if they can get all the people out to the polls, they can win a

congressional district or state. what needs to be done to reach out to these young african-american voters to vote is to talk to them personally. it is great that hillary clinton is campaigning with pharell williams today and jay-z will be doing a concert for her this weekend. that what is more important is there is an army of volunteers dispatched to communities, making personal phone calls, knocking on doors to talk to voters to make sure they vote. that is the best way to drive out turn out. while the rallies are great, ultimately, rallies don't vote. we have seen evidence that the clinton campaign is using rallies in unique ways to get people to go early voting. from what i understand from the jay-z concert, the ticket pickup places a knife to early voting centers so people can be encouraged to pick up their ticket to go see jay-z but also to go vote right next door. those things are actually very

important. that matters much more than the stumping. the case's listen to donald trump made when he was at a rally recently, making a pitch to african-americans. mr. trump: you are living in poverty. your schools are no good here and you have no jobs. 58% of your youth is unemployed. what the hell do you have to lose? years, ie end of four guarantee you that i will get over 95% of the african-american vote. i promise you. produce, i will produce, for the and or cities, and i will produce for the african-americans -- for the inner cities, and i will produce for the african-americans, and the democrats will not produce, and all they have done is taken

advantage of your vote. that is all they have done. and once the election is over, they go back to their policies in washington, and you know what, they do nothing for you, just remember it. host: that was donald trump recently. i want to show our viewers, or to listen to a radio ad the clinton campaign released today in some key states. it is called disrespect. donald trump openly mocks the african-american community. interface african americans are living in hell. you walk down the street and you get shot. >> listen to how he talks about us. >> i have a great relationship with the blacks. look at my african-american over here. >> but we should not be surprised. mr. trump: president obama has been the most ignorant president in our history. >> while he is the meaning our community, a larry clinton has in fighting for us -- hillary clinton has been fighting for us.

mrs. clinton: we cannot get to where we need to be unless we upk together and stand against prejudice and paranoia, because i truly believe we are stronger together. >> it is almost time to vote in pennsylvania. find out where to vote at iwillvote.com. mrs. clinton: i am hillary clinton, presidential candidate, and i approve this message. candidates are seeing what you found out in your survey, that black clinton supporters are voting for her, 49% say they're voting for her, 51% say they are voting against donald trump. could it be that both camps are looking at those numbers? sure, and they should be. donald trump's notion that he can turn run african-american votes like that in four years is wishful thinking. secular realignments like that

do not have of that quickly. but he is trying to tap into this notion of democratic electoral capture. he recognizes, and republicans recognize, that there is a tension between ever and the republican party. the democratic party platform does not completely align with the views of african-americans, speaking, itally is closer to the democratic party than the republican party, so the majority of african-americans have decided they will cast their vote with the democratic party. he wants to tap into the tension that speaking, african-americant ignored and wants to say that you should give republicans a chance if you want to see policy differences. it is tapping into that insider-outsider logic or how can you have change of he keep electing the same people to office over and over again? the problem, and what clinton has tried to tap into him is the fact that donald trump is not the most effective messenger for that particular type of statement, and it is in part

because of his history, comments that are racially insensitive, the history of being sued for housing discrimination in the 1970's, because of a track oford of advocacy african-americans and communities. she wants to say he is not the right messenger for this message, and in doing so, she is attempting to discredit him. cornelia in cottonwood, idaho, republican. caller: basically, i take it that your guest, andra, is a hillary supporter, and she kind of inferred that donald trump is racist. i do not believe that. i think the democratic party's policies and their platform is racist and so is hillary clinton. if you really go to investigate hillary clinton and her past, she was given the award, margaret sanger award, by the

pro-choice people, and she lauded margaret sanger and said that her work was not done -- margaret sanger was the worst racist, one of the worst racists this country has ever seen. she wanted black people to be eliminated, and that is one of the reasons she was a founder of planned parenthood. planned parenthood puts abortion clinics in black neighborhoods. and even president johnson of the democratic party said if we give the blacks welfare, we will have their vote for the next 200 years. host: ok, let's take your point. professor gillespie? here, it is role more as a political scientist, so i try to keep my partisan and opinions to the side. i have been talking about political science and research that tries to explain why

african-americans appear to be so consistently democratic in their voting behavior for the last 50 years. it is not a given that african were always the democrat. >> we leave this conversation to hear from donald trump's wife addressing voters in berwyn, pennsylvania, her first campaign speech since the republican national convention in july. she is being introduced by karen pence.wife of mike pence: good afternoon, pennsylvania. what an honor it is to be here with you today. i am karen pence. you. and my husband mike pence is running for vice president. applause]d mrs. pence: on the ticket with

our next president of the united states donald trump. i flew in this morning from campaigningmike is right now as we speak. and yesterday, we were campaigning in arizona, new mexico, and colorado. later today, he will be in michigan. and then we will meet back up and pins berg -- in pittsburgh tonight. greatesten the privilege of our lives for mike tobe running and preparing serve as the next vice president with president donald trump. so for those of you who do not know much about me, i am a schoolteacher, an artist, and an

entrepreneur. and a mother of three wonderful children. including our daughter charlotte, who is here with me today. [cheers and applause] has pence: you know, it been wonderful to serve indian of these last four years as the first lady of indiana, -- it has been wonderful to serve indiana these last four years, but mike and i are looking forward to serving the country in the next four years with donald and melania trump. trail, one ofn the greatest blessings for us in this campaign has been getting to know donald and melania trump in their family and seeing their heart for this country and their passion to make it better. me, are tireless, believe

waking up every day ready to take their message to the american people. just five days to go before election day, we can see their efforts and hard work really paying off. canlooking at all of you, i tell that pennsylvania is ready to make history by helping to the 45thald trump as president of the united states. trumpen you do, melania will be our new first lady. [cheers and applause] she is amazing. let me tell you a little bit about her. melania is, first and foremost, a dedicated wife and mother. wasfirst time i met melania when she and donald were deciding who to choose for the

vice president, and we joined them for a weekend at their resort in bedminster. we were having dinner, and melania looked at me and asked about our three children. well, i told her with a wink that we have raised three independent-thinking children who don't always agree with their father on every issue. have a lot oft we great discussions around our dinner table, believe me. but you know what, she looked at me with her warm smile, and she said, i like that. you are teaching them to think for themselves. i like that. and i knew right then that i was really going to like melania. i have so enjoyed getting to know melania during these last several months. you know, as the spouse of a

candidate, it is not always easy to have your husband out on the campaign trail with a very theling schedule or to face attacks, but i can tell you one thing about melania trump, she is strong. she also -- she is so strong. she also is very accomplished, working her way up to the fashion and modeling industry and emigrating to america from her native slovenia. her love for america is boundless, just like her husband's. she is going to be america's next great first lady. [cheers and applause] know that: and i america will fall in love with her, just as she loves the american people. it is myd gentlemen, great privilege to introduce to you the next first lady of the

united states of america, melania trump. applause]d ♪ aquarius aquarius aquarius harmony and understanding sympathy and trust abounding ♪ [cheers and applause] mrs. trump: thank you, first lady of indiana karen pence. thank you. that was very nice. crowd: we love you. mrs. trump: we love you, too.

what a wonderful welcome here in pennsylvania. it has been more than 500 days since my husband donald trump announced he would run for president of the united states. [cheers and applause] that dayp: i remember in june 2015 vividly. family andby our speaking to an audience of millions, donald promised to campaign on behalf of of those who feel the system is broken and does not work for them, those who just want a fair shake, an opportunity for better education, a better paying job, a better future. he pledged to restore integrity to washington and respect for america abroad. an ordinary campaign.

it is a movement. [cheers and applause] a movement in which people feel inspired and involved. i have seen it firsthand. we are deeply grateful to the millions of americans who becausein my husband they know he believes in you. he believes in america, and he will make fantastic president of these united states. [cheers and applause] mrs. trump: i come here today to talk about my husband donald and his deep love and respect for this country and all of its people. i have come here to talk about this man i have known for 18 years. and i have come here today to talk about our partnership, our family, and what i know for

sure in my heart about this man who will make america great again. [cheers and applause] mrs. trump: i know exactly what that means. i grew up in a small town in slovenia near a beautiful river and forest. thatnia is a small country was under communist rule back then. it was a beautiful childhood. my parents were wonderful. of course, we always knew about the incredible place called america. america was the word for freedom and opportunity. -- if you could dream it, you could become it. old, weas 10 years ronald that a man named reagan was elected president of the united states of america. we heard what he was saying and

doing. president reagan's moment in america was not just something in the united states. feel like morning around the world, even in my small country, a true inspiration to make it later my parisin milan and working hard as a fashion model. i worked with people all over the world. with the bigwigs of glamour, but it is also hard work. there are ups and downs, high highs, and reticle and rejection, to -- ridicule and rejection, too. i loved my work, and as a young entrepreneur, i wanted to follow my dreams to a place of freedom and opportunity. so, of course, i came here. living and working in america with a true blessing, but i

wanted something more. . wanted to be an american after a 10-your process, which included many visas and a green card, in 2006, i studied for the test and to come a u.s. -- and which isu.s. citizen, the greatest privilege in the world. i am an immigrant. and let me tell you, no one values the freedoms and opportunity of america more than me, both as an independent woman and as someone who immigrated to america. [cheers and applause] thistrump: love for country is sending we immediately shared when i met donald. he loves this country, and he knows how to get things done, not just talk. he personally knows how to shake

things up, doesn't he? [cheers and applause] mrs. trump: he knows how to make real change, make america great .gain is not just some slogan it is what has been in his heart since the day i met him. over the years of our marriage, i have watched my husband grow more and more concerned as he sees american workers suffer. i have watched him get frustrated as he sees parents traveled to care for children while working outside the home. as he seeshed him policies that make our country less strong, less secure, and less safe. every time my husband learned of a factory closing in ohio or north carolina or here in

pennsylvania, i saw him get very upset. he could see what was happening. he saw the problems. and he always talked about how he could fix them. my family is truly blessed. the most important thing we have in our family is health and love and loyalty. donald -- [cheers and applause] mrs. trump: donald has built a very successful company. the privilege to go to work each day to do a job he loves, alongside his adult children, this is a great blessing for any parent. he has a great and fulfilling but donald felt he could not sit by anymore and watch what was happening in our country. and that is why this movement began.

[cheers and applause] [chanting trump] mrs. trump: as donald travels the country, he has asked some simple but very important questions. what kind of country do we want? do we want a country that is safe with secure borders? yes. do we want a country where every american gets a fair shot? yes. do we want a country that honors our constitution? honorsant a country that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? do we want a country that and provides them with equal opportunity? yes. everywant a country where

child has access to a good education? do we want children to be safe and secure and dream big dreams? yes. do we want president who is beholden to no one but you, the american people? [cheers and applause] mrs. trump: yes. who willt a president never give up? yes. then we want donald trump to be our president. crowd: yes. [chanting trump] people have asked president,ld is the what kind of first lady will you be? it will be my honor and privilege to serve this country.

[cheers and applause] mrs. trump: i will be an advocate for women and for children. let me tell you a little bit more about what that means to me. i am a full-time mother to our son, an incredible voice. as his father travels around the country running for president, i am with our son. we talk a little bit about politics and a lot about life, homework, and sports. many privileges and advantages. we know how fortunate we are. still, i have the same conversations with my son that many of you have with your sons and daughters and nieces and nephews, grandchildren and godchildren. i want my little boy to know that he is blessed to have been

born in this country that values individual freedom and constitutional democracy. i want our children in this country and all of around the world to live a a beautiful life, to be safe and secure, to dream freely of love and a family of their own someday. we need to teach our youth american values, kindness, honesty, respect, compassion, charity, understanding, cooperation. i do oworry about all of our children. as we know, no social media is a centerpiece of our lives. it can do useful tool for connection and communication. ease isolation so many people feel in the modern world.

technology has changed our modern universe. but like anything that is powerful, it can have a bad side. we have seen this already. as adults, many of us are able to handle mean words, even lies. children and teenagers can be fragile. they are hurt when they are made fun of or made to feel less in looks and intelligence. this makes their life hard and can force them to hide and retreat. our culture has gotten too mean and too rough, especially to children and teenagers. it is never ok when a 12 year mocked, or boy is bullet, or attacked. it is terrible on the playground, and it is completely

unacceptable when it is done by someone with no name hiding on the internet. we have to find a better way to talk to each other, to disagree with each other, to respect each other. we must find better ways to honor and support the basic goodness of our children, especially in social media. one of the main focuses of my work if i am privileged enough to become your first lady. [cheers and applause] worktrump: i will also hard to include everyday life for women, the women in america that are incredible, strong, intelligent, generous, determined. women willunities, advance and achieve. but some women have been left

behind. i see that. we cannot call ourselves a fully developed or advanced nation when 50% of our women live in poverty, when 60 million are without health insurance, when too many are choosing between basic needs like rent, food, and health care. this cannot be. we cannot afford to have more of the same. break with the failures of the past and embrace a feature that is worthy of this great nation and her beautiful table. [cheers and applause] mrs. trump: we must win on november 8, and we must come together as americans. we must meet each other with respect and kindness, even when we disagree. i will be there to support my

husband's efforts to help all of americans when he is president. donald trump will make america fair. he will make america safe. he will make america prosperous. he will make america proud. man i know so well, donald trump, with your will makeod's grace, america great again. thank you. god bless you. and god bless this beautiful country. [cheers and applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ living in america

got to have a celebration america america ♪ poll finds donald trump polling ahead of hillary clinton and a key battleground state, new hampshire. the american research group wind donald trump with or to get percent support of like -- with 48% to hillary clinton's 43%. real clear news reports that if the race continues to tighten and new hampshire ghost for mr. trump, the candidates would be tied in electoral votes. but she says the map is still very unlikely. here are some campaign ads out now that are trying to persuade voters. mrs. clinton: i am hillary clinton, and i approve this message.

mr. trump: i would look her right in that fat ugly face of hers. i like people that weren't captured, ok? this guy said, ah, i don't know what i said, ah, i don't remember. a person who is flat chested is very hard to be a 10. when mexico sends its people, they bring in drugs, they are rapists. i would like to punch him in the face, i tell you. get him out of here. hitting a wife to work as a very dangerous thing. have japanu rather have nuclear weapons? saudi arabia, absolutely. talking maybe using nuclear weapons. nobody wants to hear that. out of bomb the [beep] them. i love war in a certain way. >> this election is about a choice spirit we have a chance to put our futures back into our

own hands, to give us the right to educate our children in the schools we choose, to create investments where we need them most, to build that are communities with jobs we create together and were justice is our right. this is our choice, our opportunity. we are asking for your vote. vote republican. >> the republican national committee is responsible for the content of this advertisement. beene last few years have hard, but republicans can change that. we believe in lowering your taxes to take home more money. >> lower taxes help small businesses create more jobs. >> protecting life and religious freedom matters. >> and national security is important. >> lets make a public -- let's make the government work for us. vote republican on november 8. >> the republican national committee is responsible for the content of this advertisement. holds aington journa hillary cn

campaign rally in raleigh, north carolina, and we will bring that to you live this evening starting at 7:45 eastern. election night on c-span -- watch the results of the part of a national conversation about the outcome. be on location at the hillary clinton and donald trump election night headquarters, and watch victory and concession speeches and key senate, house, and governors races. starting live at 8:00 p.m. eastern and throughout the following to a four hours. -- following 24 hours. watch live on c-span or c-span.org. liveeek on c-span2, simulcasts of political radio talk shows. friday, 9:00 a.m. until noon, a conservative political perspective with the mike gallagher show live from new york city. friday at 9:00 a.m. eastern on c-span2. for house candidates

minnesota's second congressional district met for a debate hosted by five eyewitness news on ksstp tv. it covered national security, gun control, the affordable care act, and transportation infrastructure. >> good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us for this vote 2016 special. we're bringing you live, commercial free debates in two of minnesota's hotly contested congressional races. later, you will hear from third district candidates. first, we start in minnesota's second district, where political newcomers are vying for a rare open seat in congress. minnesota second district stretches from the south metro into parts of southern minnesota, including egan and

red wing. the economy includes a mix of agriculture, small business, and big companies. republican john kline has represented the second district since 2003. he announced last year that he would not be seeking reelection, leaving a highly coveted seat in congress up for grabs. democrat and to craig is a former singh jude financial executive. the republican is a conservative talk radio host. we're joined now by second district candidates. thank you both for coming in and being part of this debate. we will have more of a discussion tonight. we want to get a lot of those topics out there. we talked about doing an opening statement. >> we have had a great

conversation and a number of series points discussed. that is what this election is about. are those of you that do not know me, let me tell you about myself. i grew up in a small business family, and we had to make certain that we make the budget balanced, and we had to make certain that we met the payroll and did all the things that a small business in the second district had to do. we also understood the power of government, because our family business was taken by eminent domain procedure, meaning i had to find a second career, second opportunity, and i found one in broadcasting and it worked very well for me. that i worry whether those opportunities will be there for other people, my daughters, everybody's kids. that is what this campaign is about. if you like things the way they are, high taxes, including -- and floating -- employee health care, open borders, there is status quo, not me. if you want change, a fair tax

code, overregulation gone, health care that is affordable and portable, and a federal government does its first job of securing who gets in the country and who does not, well, i am your guy. that is what does race is about, about positions on issues, about changing congress one district at a time, starting with the second most importantly, it is about securing the american dream for our kids, my daughters, your children, everybody in america. a rising tide lifting all boats. i am jason lewis, and i need your vote on november 8, and we can change congress one district at a time. >> i thank you so much -- grew up in a trailer park. a had a mom who raced three kids, mostly all on her own, while working 10 years to go to college and finally earned her college degree. my mom was a great example. i know how hard emily's will work on behalf of their kids to give them a better life in this country. i want to run for congress.

i running because i believe that every family in this country deserves a fair shot if you're willing to learn it and work hard. i have been incredibly lucky. i made my way in business and for the last 10 years i served on the executive team at saint jude medical. for those 10 years, i have also served our community. my wife and i live in egan, and we have four sons. i have made it a priority to grow jobs in the economy. i have said i would prioritize high quality public education and more affordable college you die will protect our seniors, strengthen medicare, and i will make sure that we finally tackle the high cost of prescription drugs. finally, it will be a high priority for me to keep our nation safe. the secondn congressional district, it absolutely has to potty very different candidates. i will go to congress -- it absolutely has two very different candidates.

i will go to congress to try to find, ground. there are enough people and congress today who are yelling at we need more people who are willing to work together. i am angie cragg, and i humbly ask for your vote on election day. >> thank you. you both told as a little something about yourselves, but let's talk a little bit more about your background. neither one of you have held public office before, both newcomers, no voting record to run on. ms. craig, how has your background shed your policies, positions, and how you want to focus your campaign? >> thank you. i spent 22 years in the private sector, growing a business, creating jobs, and delivering results. i think we need more people from the private sector to step up and say i would like to serve this country. my policy priorities, growing the economy is very important to me, ensuring that we are creating middle-class jobs up and down, making the r&d tax credit permanent, bringing back

for an income so we can invest it in the united states and infrastructure and transportation. making sure that we have the work skills in our local communities for the jobs we actually have. that is what i did at st. jude medical when i had for 60,000ity employees and about 100 countries, and i would take that experience to congress and help create these jobs across minnesota. >> mr. lewis, how has your background prepared you? spent 40 years in the private sector, first and a family business, and as they say, the government told a freeway through our building and we had to go through condemnation, and i had to find a new career. that is the experience of most people in the economy. and third that second career, making sure it is still available. but it is not what we are only growing at 1%. i have had those opportunities and have had a chance to make the americanalize dream. i want to make sure that

everybody's children and everybody in the second district has that opportunity. but you cannot do it when health care costs were going up 50% laughter, 60% this year. you cannot do it with an over complicated tax code. some people get out from under it, and some people do not you cannot do it with an onslaught of regulation, and that is what this race is all about really, the positions. issuek about taxes, a big . a lot about making the wealthy pay their fair share, calls for reforming the tax code. mr. lewis, you have called for a flat tax would what is the best tax policy? >> where everybody pays a lower payingstead of a few very high rates in the politically connected getting a from under that. some of the biggest corporations in america do not pay any tax years ago. managers not fund

paying income taxes on the carried interest. you have a host of loopholes. the people who like this tax code, like special interests, because they know how high it can go. as high as 42%, and that does not include self-employment. if you have connections, you can get out from under that. that is the problem. i would rather have a flatter tax or everybody has skin in the game. everybody has an equal paying -- playing field. >> ms. lewis, what do you think? >> well, i am ms. craig. >> i am sorry. >> that is all right. >> i do apologize. >> absolutely. i think the flat tax that jason talks about, economists have about $3.6ld cost trillion in additional deficit to the country, so i do not

think it is reasonable. it was lower taxes to the wealthy, and we would lose mortgages, earned income tax credit, charitable deductions. i do think those of us who that american train has been more fully fulfilled should pay more. i will work to make sure we do not raise taxes on the middle class. is, you, the problem are a perfect example of what happens when you have connected people with the current tax situation, when you lobby to get obamacare to come to minnesota, and then you lobby to get your industry and your company exempt from that tax. the rest of us had to big up the tab. that is the problem with the current code. it does well for people who can hire lobbyists. >> the flat tax would cut taxes for the upper income levels, and for the middle class it would actually raise taxes he read you would lose all your tax deductions. would have a personal exemption of to $30,000 or

$40,000, and that would handle that quite easily. i do not know why anybody is opposed to a flat tax for everybody at the same rate. cannot pay our bills with a flat tax. if you are advocating for a flat tax, you are advocating for reducing social security and if it's, raising the retirement age. i will never ever cut social security that if it's to raise the retirement age. i do not think that is what our seniors at deserve. >> let's get into medicare and social security, a lot about how they could run dangerously short in the coming years and benefits may not be available in the future. to keepyour plan medicare and social security available for future generations? >> i think we will have to come back to what we did in 1983 when president reagan was in office and tip o'neill was in the house. we need members of congress willing to sit down and come up with a bipartisan set of solutions to make sure that we

can sustain the social security 19 years. beyond the part of those ideas may include raising the cap. if you make $250,000 or more a year, you may have to continue to pay into social security to make it more sustainable. what i will not do is cut the retirementse age. my parents are a great example of this. my dad sells cars. he pounds the pavement. he is 65 years old, almost to retirement. there are jobs in this country where we cannot expect people to keep working past age 65. we owe our seniors the dignity and respect not to reduce them to poverty and retirement. >> first of all, the flat income tax has nothing to do with the solvency of social security or medicare. that argument does not hold water. look, the reason i am in favor of tax reform is because we have to get this economy growing faster than 1% to make certain

more people are employed and more people are working, paying into that payroll tax, which medicare andp the social security trust fund. in our last debate, she refused to rule out cuts to social security and medicare. she said she wanted the payroll tax hike, which would depress the economy further. thing we needst to keep these trust funds solvent. >> of that is not true, but beside the point. jason is right on one point, we have to get the economy growing faster. i think a member of congress who has helped grow a fortune 500 business, who understands small business and that regulation must be balanced, i think that is a good balance for a member of congress. terrorismalk about and national security, another issue we know is important to people in your district and around the country. minnesota, we have concerns about isis-inspired attacks and

lone wolves. in thing cloud, 10 people were stabbed in a mall and were hurt and several people have left or tried to leave to join isis. mr. lewis, what do you think needs to be done on a federal level to stop attacks at home and abroad? >> of this is personal to me. no parent should ever wake up on a sunday morning with a text from their daughter in st. cloud saying, mom, and dad, i am ok, and that happened to us. it is a terrible thing. minnesota is now the number one state for terrorist recruitment. we have a refugee crisis in minnesota, so we can have great discussions over geopolitics abroad -- i do not believe in hillary clinton and going to egypt and redoing that and going to libya, and now she wants to take us into syria, but we can have discussions and disagreements about that. but we have to make sure the federal government secures the border, and we do not take and dangerous syrian refugees. the director of national intelligence said, german

intelligence said that they are infused with isis. but the administration wants to take in another one hundred 10,000 one year. angie craig is totally on board with this. i do not to get a few good idea. especially when, from the wiki leaks enough, hillary clinton admitted that these syrian refugees are not credible -- are not vettable. vet refugee, you have to have a counterpart with id documents. they do not have any idea over there. hillary said she wanted open borders in a private vet refugee,summarization or te refugees is a misguided idea in terms of keeping the people of minnesota safe. >> there is no such thing as an e syrian refugees and we can either completely vet livene or we simply do not them and. it is absolutely the first job of the american congress to make

sure that the people of minnesota and of this country this is the worst humanitarian crisis since world war ii. and to think that 25 syrian refugees -- that is how many we mostlyd into minnesota , women and children, that we turn our back on them -- the reason jason is talking in this way is because he has a really tough history on issues of national security. i do not believe closing our borders is going to stop homegrown terror attacks. form policy priority, we need to do great and defeat isis where they are, syria and iraq. that is why is that i would support the airstrikes, the special operation. i think the way we stop these homegrown terror attacks is twofold. we stop the ability for isis to recruit. and i have said openly i will work to make sure that i am actively looking for additional funding for u.s. attorney andy

luger and his effort to counter violent extremism in the u.s. and in minnesota. those the u.s. made it more border control? miss craig, i think we will start with you. the think we need border control , stronger border control, a wall? >> this is where we strongly disagree. cuts across the board do not work in we have the state department, depend -- pentagon, republican senators tell us that those budget cuts will make the world a less safe place. sure if-- need to make we're going to c