in mexico, we will consider that a firearm. there is not much difference when you get hit in the face with a rock which -- as you know, it was very violent. it was a break-in of a country. they broke into mexico. look at guatemala along with el salvador and honduras, it is disgraceful that those countries are not able to stop this. they should be able to stop this before it starts. the united states pays them a fortune and we are looking at not doing that anymore. why should we do that when they do nothing for us? >> you can watch the president is a campaign rally in missouri on c-span2. live coverage starting at 7:30 p.m. et. >> this week, we have been taking a look at battleground states as we lead to the midterm

elections. pennsylvania is our focus today. and some of the specific races. how the philadelphia inquirer. he served as the national political writer for the publication. good morning. guest: thank you for having me. host: the story yesterday, you took a look at two races in pennsylvania that could serve as harbingers for what we may see on election day. onst: the races we focused our ones that have not been on the front lines for much of the coverage but both parties are looking at as we get closer to election day. it is the pennsylvania 10th district, around harrisburg, represented by republican scott perry. and the 16th district, represented by republican mike kelly. these are districts that are pretty republican. president trump won them by nine

points in the harrisburg district, more than 20 in the western pennsylvania district. some polling has shown a tight contest, especially outside of harrisburg. democratic national groups are starting to put money into those races. those are the kind of districts where it democrats managed to win, those can be the sign they are not just winning tossups but there might be a wave. if there is going to be a wave, that can be one of the first two places we can see it. host: if the state did well for donald trump, why is scott perry having issues he's having? guest: there are some factors. the biggest one is probably that, and a lot of people know the pennsylvania congressional map was reach ron earlier this year. all the districts have new shapes, new demographics and profiles. that district went to a significant change. the president won it under the

old line. is much more moderate. instead of having only part of the city of harrisburg, it has the entire city now. it is much more of a moderate district for even republican voters who previously voted for charlie dent, a centrist from allentown. perry is very conservative. democrats have found a strong candidate, a pastor and veteran named george scott. if you combine those factors, and perry has never had a close race. suddenly it was like a tight one on election day. endorsedocal paper george scott. this is what they said. they endorsed scott perry in the last election cycle, urging him to become a bipartisan. now they think voters should get george got a chance to change the town.

's positions on a host of issues -- his position on a host of issues make sense. he is willing to reach across the aisle. can you factor that in? guest: scott perry has not. he has stuck to who he was when he was elected. through his time in office he's been very conservative. theist devoted to the conservative causes. the caucuses with the freedom caucus, the most conservative wing of the house republicans. he is unyielding and those beliefs and continued to stick to those beliefs even of his district has changed a few months ago -- even though his district changed a few month ago. that is why they think it could be a tight race. he is not as in line with his district's politics as he was before the map was we drawn. -- redrawn. host: it is described as a bareknuckle fight.

with you agree with that assessment? guest: it certainly seems that way. there have been charges and counter charges of lying. the democratic challenger had some ads that came under some pretty sharp attacks from scrutiny from fact checkers. it's interesting because the district was very pro-trump, but it does have some democratic roots. in voted narrowly for barack obama in 2008. 10th is the one where people think there is more of a chance for an upset. that is one that has come online recently in the 16th. host: this is in the first district of pennsylvania. brian fitzpatrick versus scott wallace. guest: this is the toughest race in pennsylvania. this is a very classic swing district that has regularly flipped back and forth between the parties. wave years have seen democrats and republicans winning.

has a veryatrick independent brand. that started with his brother, mike fitzpatrick. he is trying to build up his bipartisan credentials. he voted against the republican plan to repeal daca, but voted for -- repeal the aca, but voted for the tax bill. -- aby for left the best wealthy philanthropist has poured a lot of money into the race. is a place where in 2017 democrats cannot and won a bunch of offices in bucks county. they had not won them in decades. that was a real sign of the backlash to president trump. i don't think anybody was i concerned about the row offices. democrats just wanted to vote. is probably one of

the best positioned republicans to withstand a wave. if the democrats managed to beat him, that's a sign a lot of also races mandrake towards the democrats. host: how much money is coming in from outside factors? particularly for support of republicans? guest: i could not put a specific number on it but it is significant. the philadelphia media market is a really expensive market to begin with. you have the fitzpatrick race over in south jersey -- you have the fitzpatrick race. there is another race in south jersey. those markets are just not as expensive and a little bit more of a reach for democrats. is a lot of national attention on the state. host: for the telltale signs for you? guest: we will look for what goes on in the first district. that will give us a sign. if brian fitzpatrick loses, that's a good sign the democrats

will be able to win a majority. that is a tough race. he is a strong incumbent. if he loses, a lot of incumbents could be in trouble in the nationalized race. your local profile does not count as much as democrats' desire to vote against republicans and put a check on president trump. i will be watching the 10th and 16th. if they pull the upset, is not just a majority. in might really be a big wave for them. if they lose the first district, democrats can still win the house but it could be a nailbiter and we will be watching the late results coming in from across the country. host: are guesses the national political writer for the philadelphia inquirer. jonathan tamari joining us. .illy.com -- philly.com

>> this week, we are looking at battleground states. the most competitive races. in minnesota, new york, california and florida. join us tomorrow live on call-in at 7 a.m. eastern. on washington journal. >>'s this weekend, the c-span cities tour takes you to arizona with the help of our cable partners, we explore the historyy lines and there. saturday at noon eastern on book tv. here from rick kingsbury as he shares the story of lake have assumed cities early history from his book. avasu before the bridge. >> we moved here in february of 1965. there was somewhere around 60

people and there might have been 20 homes. -- our family, it was three sorry, three months before we finally got running water and it was another session think it was five months when i finally got electricity. then it was? > a year before we finally got a telephone. >> sunday at 2 p.m. eastern on american history tv, a visit to the partner dam which plays a vital role for people of arizona and southern california. >> we have about 1.5 million of water, about 226 thousand gallons, enough to feed to families of three or four for a year. and then we have another client have billion acre-feet going to venus and tucson. announcer: watch the city to her of ma lake