convention. and the 2020 presidential race in the state. we will take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. washington journal is next. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2019] host: good morning. here's a live view from inside the southern new hampshire university arena located in downtown manchester. in two hours thousands of delegates will be attending the state democratic party convention. well, peteide as buttigieg arrived just a moment ago. the lineup including 19 presidential candidates vying to make inroads in a crowded primary that is still five months away. we welcome you to washington journal for september 7. it's called a campaign 2020 coverage. we want to begin with this question.

your topo ask who is candidate and why our lines are open at for democrats (202) 748-8000, for republicans (202) 748-8001, for independents (202) 748-8002. and we have a line set aside for those in the granite state at .202) 748-8003 you can also tweet us. and we will begin with the headlines for the washington post. those with pictures on the aftermath of hurricane dorian, at least 70,000 people are homeless in the grand bahama island's and applico -- abaco islands. officials warned that the number of decibel go up as hundreds of residents remain missing. though stories are on the front page of the post in the new york times.

we have union leaders with this ally on what will happen day today. it's a longshot that any of the 19 presidential candidates theed to attend will make kind of impact that sets them apart in a lasting way. the headlines saying that hopefuls want to stand out at the state convention. but it has happened before, back in november 1991, tom harkin already had power in new careyire, and senator bob was in the race with the most compelling personal story. bill clinton was at 3% of the polls and he went on to win the domination of the presidency. he lost new hampshire but came in a strong second. more on that story coming up. but we did cover senator kamala , news in portsmouth hampshire, speaking to democrats about why she is a democratic candidate nomination.

[video clip] >> we have a person in the white house who holds the office of president of the united states who does not fully, or even partially, understand what it means to have power. let's be clear about that. he goes around swinging what he thinks his power but he does not understand what it means to be powerful. because when you truly understand what it means to be powerful, you understand that the greatest measure of your is not you beat down, it's will you lift up. it's what you lift up -- it is who you lift up. this is the nature and the character of the guy we have in the white house. host: that's from senator kamala

and mayort night, pete buttigieg's live in manchester, let's listen for a moment. [video clip] [cheering] >> we have flipped the switch [indiscernible] >> why are you here? >> in many ways this is the unofficial kickoff. www.c-span.org -- unofficial kickoff [indiscernible] [indiscernible]

[indiscernible] [indiscernible] [indiscernible] host: mayor pete buttigieg, as he tries to work the crowd and the campaign volunteers are up early in advance of the state democratic party convention. you, who isear from your top presidential candidate and tell us why. tim is joining us, from alabama. good morning. caller: good morning. my top candidate is actually elizabeth warren, but i'm looking at joe biden.

and my comment about joe biden is as a senator, and congressperson, he voted with segregationists and everything -- ine did in congress everything he did in congress. he also wrote the clinton crime in 1994. with that crime bill, it locked up hundreds of african-american men, took them away from their families, and by the time they jail,t of release from they cannot get any government assistance. clothing,s, housing, and they cannot vote. this bill affected not only those black men and women who were locked out, but their families. host: thank you for the call, we

will go to ray in yuma, arizona. almost a carnival like atmosphere outside of the arena. and thesome light rain forecast with hurricane dorian remnants. we are watching the scene in new hampshire, ray, who is your top candidate? caller: kamala harris, the reason for it is that she was a prosecutor, i think, she knows about the law. we need somebody in there with .quared away and thinks clearly biden is fine, but he 78 -- he is 78, it's time for us to sit back and the advisors, not trying to run the show. host: bradley is next from clear fork, west virginia. who is your top candidate? -- i'm my top candidate

a democrat right now and my top candidate is trump. america needs to change. you don't even have a democrat running that could be a dogcatcher in my book. host: the trump campaign is out with a new ad, let's watch. [video clip] >> your government plan would provide coverage for undocumented immigrants. >> they are all the same, they support giving illegal immigrants health care at our expense, spending taxpayer dollars covering illegal immigrants, calling for socialized medicine, destroying health care, and putting illegal immigrants before hard-working americans. the democrats, radicals, reckless, socialist, they are all the same. >> i'm donald trump and i approve this message. int: donald trump will be fayetteville, north carolina, we have live coverage of a rally getting underway monday evening. all part of our campaign 2020 coverage.

our question is who is your top , democratal candidate or republican, tell us why. we have a special phone line for those living in new hampshire. (202) 748-8003. a breakdown of voting registration in the granite state is almost evenly divided between democrats and republican, the majority is undeclared. this means those undeclared members can vote in the republican or democrat primary. more seems in just a moment but this from the biden campaign, and ad released a few moments ago. [video clip] we know in our bones, that the stakes are higher, the threats are more insidious, we have to beat donald trump. joe biden is the strongest democrat to do the job. no one is more qualified.

for eight years president obama and vice president biden were an administration america could be proud of. our allies can trust in our kids can look up to, they worked together to save the american economy and pass the affordable care act protecting over 100 million americans with pre-existing conditions. joe biden is running for president with plans for america's future, to build on obamacare, and make a record investment in america's schools, to lead the world on climate, to rebuild our alliance, most of all to restore the soul of a nation. president who is a bully. >> i'm joe biden and i approve this message. host: that's from the biden campaign, we have more open course of the hour with more from the campaign. this tweet from the president going after the media. mr. off the record and ashley

parker are two nasty lightweight reporters who should not be allowed on the ground of the white house because their reporting is so disgusting and fake. and at the appointment of many federal judges this money -- this summer. to manchester, new hampshire, and supporters of senator cory booker, one of the 19 candidates seeking. let's listen. [video clip] [cheering]

[cheering] host: for those listening on c-span radio, the sights and

sounds including supporters of vice president -- former vice president joe biden, key in the early caucus states, that's what this is about, the campaign trying to make sure that they have supporters who will get voters to the polls. the new hampshire primary is slated for february 11. andy is joining us from brooklyn, new york. was your top candidate? caller: i'm actually from queens. my top candidate is elizabeth warren, because she knows what she's running for and why. she's making structural change to really make the system work for everybody. and i want to tell you, i really appreciate c-span, i've watched for years and i appreciate all the coverage you give us. host: thank you. we have all they coverage in new hampshire. vincent is joining us from oklahoma. hoosier candidate? cory booker. i'm starting to see that joe

biden is not the front runner, but i'm not gonna vote for either, i'm voting republican. host: your supporting the president? caller: yes. host: thank you. he will be in north carolina on monday evening. please join in for that. from kentucky, harry is joining us. hoosier top candidate? caller: miss kamala harris. i'm a feminist and i support women's rights and i think she will make it better for the reallynd her morals are solid. she has that mother love that this nation needs. it should not be about ethnicity or race. cornell is joining us from new jersey. good morning. caller: good morning. host: pusher top candidate? -- who is your top candidate? caller: elizabeth warren. she seems to be the adult in the

room. her platform to tax 2% on people making over $54 million, it's a win-win. most of the people who are running are not electable. i believe by saying she's the adult in the room, she can stand up to donald trump. explain more to america what it's all about. and i think we can get something done. the gentleman who called earlier said he would still support concern isiggest -- theth the only bill

major bill the republicans past, they did not have one hearing on the $2 trillion tax giveaway to the wealthiest americans. i think elizabeth warren can to whiteility back house -- to the white house. and i think she's the only one who could technically get elected. even democrat, i feel make ajoe biden would better president than donald he has tooel that baggage.aybe i remember the last time i saw him lost an election, decades ago. host: thank you. here's a tweet from modern democrat saying my candidate is trump 2020, mainly because of the booming trump economy.

even if i did not want to vote for trump, the candidates are so that i would have to vote for trump. democrats want open borders and medicare for all illegals, complete nut jobs. c-spanwj.eet us on we want to go back to the union leader headline, presidential hopefuls want to stand out the state democratic convention. it's a longshot that any of the 19 candidates slated to attend the democratic party convention will make the kind of impact that sets apart -- sets them apart in a lasting way. but it has happened before. tom harkin already had the power elite sewed up back in 1991. and bob carey was the most compelling personal story. and a massachusetts senator was the favored son and the democratic field, but at 3% of polls was little-known bill clinton, who knew something about seizing the stage, having

run for office seven times in his home state. he decided to part a massive rv in the spacious parking lot next to that year's convention site. the rv became clinton's office as he invited one activist after another to join him for one on one chat. all of the candidates attending speak ae expected to seven to 10 minute speech during a program expected to run from 9:00 to 4:00. the speaking order will mostly be alphabetical. strawarter prohibits polls as the iowa state fair does the summer before every presidential year. the article is on the union leader website. who is your top candidate? caller: donald trump. i'm originally from new hampshire. -- it'sway i see it

everything. .t's immigration i think he's done fairly good in everything he has predicted. you have people out there who don't want to eat meat, you have people who don't 20 chickens, protesting milk and everything. i feel he's probably the best because he brought us a long ways than with the other four presidents have done for us. as far as these other ladies and gentlemen who want to run, they really don't know politics like donald trump. they might've ran in their 30's, i'm in my 50's, and the way it goes with me, i want somebody who is for americans and people, not being anti-. that's the way i am. i'm not against gays and lesbians or anything like that.

but don't go out and flaunt it. and that's what they do. and they need to realize when you're out in the public holding hands and whatnot, do what you want. but it's not right. host: thanks for the call. if you live in new hampshire, the phone number is (202) 748-8003. we are asking was your top candidate and we want to know why, whether it's democrat or republican. we see those amy klobuchar supporters. all of the candidates are there this weekend and we will be live with senator cory booker tomorrow. he will be in nashua, karen is joining us, from texas. republicanegistered in texas and i vote in the primary, i did vote democratic in the general election. i'm a farmer new hampshire resident -- a former new

hampshire resident. i favor amy klobuchar or elizabeth warren. though i have problem with elizabeth, she seems to be pro-privatization of education. in new hampshire there is a huge grant they received for charter schools from the u.s. department of education, and it will result in increased local property taxes. if i were in new hampshire resident i would pay attention to the education positions of the candidates. host: karen, thank you. bernie sanders supporters in downtown, this is the center of the political universe for democrats on this saturday, september the seventh. here's the headline from the washington post, one independent is not seeking to get elected, howard schultz announced that he would not run as an independent,

putting his resources to make sure that donald trump is defeated in 2020. the story is available inside the washington post. another campaign out of released from the pete buttigieg campaign. [video clip] >> as a veteran and a mayor, i see what we can achieve when we have each other's backs. in today's divided america, we are at each other's throats. the rivers and oceans are part -- rising, health care costs are soaring and kids are learning active shooter drills before they learn to read. to meet these challenges we need real solutions, not more polarization. on pete buttigieg and i approve this message. acting together is the only way forward. mayor petes from the campaign. another tweeter saying that democratic candidates want free college, open borders, all from taxes, taxes, taxes. troy, being join from

michigan. good morning. caller: my favorite candidates are two, either elizabeth warren or bernie sanders. because of their positions on health care. health care soon going to suck up 20% of our budget, and it does not leave much for other expenses. we still don't cover every american. all life expectancy is going down. infant mortality is high. and compared to every other developed country, we are perhaps the last in providing health care. i also suggested than that they should modify their stance on by saying it's medicare for all for those who wanted. -- want it.

people do not understand that medicare is extremely popular as a provider of health care. insured areho are insured by private companies and are afraid of losing their health care for the wrong reasons. call.thank you for the joe, from south carolina. go ahead. caller: how are you doing this morning? host: fine. thank you. little tired this morning, we're doing a bunch of cleanup here. anyway. i'm calling a little prematurely, obviously, because i support the constitution party and they have not promoted anyone. at this point i will support trump. the reason is that i'm scared to death that we are one step away from socialism in this country if we lose to a democratic

president. it will also be supported by the people taking over in the house because you know how that's going. that depends on the populations on the areas. it will be littered with democrats. for you democrat folks, this is all about politics. i think people cannot get a grasp of what goes on in this country. the democrats have five major , michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania, ohio, and florida. those are your problems. stop wearing about charges of racism, trumpeting the storm going to alabama, that's just noise. when it comes down to it, that's noise. those will not swing votes for the republicans or trump supporters. it's all about the electoral college. i will say this. as an independent, if a democrat would win i would like to see joe biden or elizabeth warren. i'm looking for someone who can reach across the aisle and work

with both sides. sides, there are two democrats and republicans in the end and i have to deal with that as an independent. joe was an old guy, but he's been there long time. he's a politician and i believe that he can reasonably work with the other side. that's just an outsider, i'm not a democrat, but that is somebody who i think could work with the other side. host: we appreciate the call and we always enjoy hearing from you joe. how much damage in charleston from dorian? >> if you've ever been to charlston, we are at sea level, as the water flies from the ocean, and the storm from the three rivers empty into charleston harbor, the water has nowhere to go but up. being at sea level it just goes into the streets downtown. mainly a flooding issue, we had a lot of wind. the darn thing was just so slow,

it was running at two to three miles an hour. and it's racing up the coast now at 24 and 25. i'm about 10 miles from the coast, my neighbor next door had a key -- hp come down. we lost a sense in the backyard -- had a tree come down. we lost a fence in the backyard, but we are in great shape. the thing that breaks my heart are those who suffered so much up and down our coast. but my goodness, i'm trying to grasp what went on in the bahamas. on the front page of the washington post, one person described it as an atom bomb that had gone off. massive destruction and devastation. joe, thank you. we appreciate it. as we approach the bottom of the hour, a reminder that we will be the in 90 minutes from southern new hampshire university arena in downtown manchester.

an estimated crowd of 11 to 12,000 in attendance getting away -- underway at 9:00. here's the scene outside as reporters get ready for senator warren. and the president is back on the campaign trail monday evening live from fayetteville, north carolina. gets underway at 7:00 p.m. eastern. congress is back next weekend. a busy week for the house and senate. joining us from san antonio, texas, was your candidate? caller: good morning. yang, iorting andrew believe he's is the only one that's dressing real issues like american jobs being automated away -- addressing real issues, like american jobs thing automated away. the effects of retail stores closing have already begun. he is the only one with energy and enthusiasm to overcome donald trump's debate tactics

and combat the rhetoric. and to reveal him for the fraud he is. i believe andrew yang will unite the american people. and putting money in the hands of americans array team will create a trickle up economy and to rebuild trust back into the government once people get a check every year. something you can physically feel and be grateful for. host: thank you for the call. supporters are trying to fire up volunteers including those for senator elizabeth warren. let's listen for a moment. [video clip] [cheering] [chanting] [cheering]

>> cori. >> booker. >> corey. >> booker! cory booker is our guide. cory booker is our guide. >> cory >> booker. >>cory >> booker elm street has been shut down a supporters gather, they got there at the crack of dawn this morning, we are hearing from you, who is your talk candidate in 2020? democrat, republican, independent, bert, in tennessee, good morning. caller: good morning.

between the democrats and republicans and independents, you need to add socialist to the list. there's plenty of us around and we don't really count ourselves as democrats. they can go either way, and definitely not republicans and independents don't know where they stand. bernie ande would be elizabeth warren. host: thanks for the call. brian with this treat -- treat, saying it's time to take the credentials away from philip rucker and ashley parker. pete'sllowing the two saying two washington post reporter should not be allowed on the grounds of the white house is notable because his administration has tried putting individual reporters twice now and lost in court oath times as recently as this week, including a reporter for playboy magazine.

here's a breakdown of the paid staff working now for the leading democrats in the granite state. senator warren with 50 on the campaign staff, 45 with joe 45 for senator bernie sanders, the cory booker campaign has 30, beto o'rourke has 25 and 20 for senator kamala harris. connie is joining us from florida. who's your talk candidate? caller: good morning. my talk candidate is elizabeth warrant -- top candidate is elizabeth warren. viable, like one of the previous callers i really liked andrew yang's freedom i think elizabeth warren is the most viable candidate. host: can she defeat donald trump? .aller: i believe she can i think her intelligence comes

through, and the fact -- he started out at a community college. how many america -- she started out at a community college, how many of us can relate from starting out in humble beginnings, going to community college, she was a young mother. there was a lot to relate to that gets overblown with the media coverage of her so-called left-wing policies. i think she's more middle-of-the-road than people give her credit for and i think that's where she's most viable. host: this is from steve, who said i hope senator, harris would come out strong, though i was for elizabeth. at this point i will back elizabeth warren. after 43 white men in the white house, it's past time for a woman to manage things. julio is next, from florida, your candidate? caller: i've been a democrat since the 1970's.

with these democrats are doing now, i'm not a democrat for them. so i'm voting for donald trump. he has the economy going, they want socialist, free and that's what it is. they are advertising everything for free, free medical, preschool, free this, free that. states, theunited economy is unbelievable right now. five for 5% for black unemployment, 3.5% for everyone else. the economy is too great to take a chance on somebody who wants socialism, free medical, preschool, free whatever. and if you can tell me one thing that the democrats pass that i should vote for, please tell me. host: thanks for the call. dorothy, in pine

bluff, arkansas. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm going to vote for anyone who is not donald trump. donald trump has hurt the middle class. i'm a senior citizen, he has hurt our senior citizens with description drugs. he said things he was gonna vote for, i am not in favor of this heating system he uses -- this tweeting system he uses and democrats can bring order back. we need someone in the white house who can stop this confusion with the farmers who are losing their crops because of tariffs. and we need someone who can help the economy better than this. so anyone but donald trump i am voting for. anyone but donald trump. host: let's go to patrick, from maryland. caller: hello.

biden,ly i support joe but i'm open to many of the democratic candidates in the field. i like a lot of what elizabeth warren has been bringing, the energy, the ideas. with thehard time direction the country is moving right now, i think it's a commonsense decision. we have a president of the united states who is a pathological liar. he's really deceiving his own people into thinking that what he is doing is helping our country when it's hurting -- it's putting us far behind internationally. there are so many things happening that are scary and i could not imagine another four years of donald trump as president. so any candidate that stands up to him. currently joe biden seems to be the one. in my opinion he can unite the country and i think it's about uniting the country, and i'm

done with the division, the hate, the rhetoric. we need to make the commonsense decision to put the right person in the office is going to make better decisions and restore the soul of our nation. i think right now, it is so divided and it's a scary place. host: thank you for the call. live coverage at 9:00 eastern. we had the chair of the democratic party joining us at the top of the hour. to talk about the format for today's estate party convention, the expected attendance, and the order of the speaker, -- speakers, most of them will be speaking in alphabetical order. we are also outside porters, including joe biden supporters. let's listen. [video clip] [chanting] [ sirens]

[drums] [cheering] honking] [cheering] host: it's all about organization and enthusiasm, that's elm street in downtown manchester, for the state democratic party convention getting underway at 9:00. 19 candidates are scheduled to speak. we are asking who is top candidate and why. --s from the helene castro julian castro campaign. [video clip] >> you urged american congresswomen to go back from

where they came from. you called immigrants rapists. in el paso americans were killed because you stokes the fires of racism. innocent people were shot down because they look -- they listened to you, and people look like me. my family. words have consequences. from the campaign ads on denny isn iowa, joining us from maine. who's your candidate? caller: i don't have one at this time, but i would like to see michelle obama wrote against strong. i would like it even better if trump for ran against the republican party. right now, the candidates that i

have been listening to seem to smear one another. , insteadher divides us of supporting the people of our country at the large. it does not make any sense to me. nomination,to win a you can't attack other people who are running against you. you have to be strong enough to win on your own. that's how i feel about it. and i think michelle obama would be good. i think laura bush would be good . these are ladies who know the country, the people. host: that would be quite the race if they were challenging each other, it's unlikely but it's interesting to think about. i do feel that these are we very strong women, and

need a very strong person in the white house, male or female. but i do think these two women would be quite a wonderful contest. host: thank you for the call. according to real clear politics, former vice president joe biden maintains a very narrow lead in new hampshire, we are five months before the primary, the former vice president at 21% followed by senator bernie sanders at 19%, senator warren at 15% and senator kamala harris at 9%. tulsiuttigieg at 7% and gabbard at 3%. 19 candidates speaking today. dan is joining us from massachusetts. caller: good morning, thank you for having me on. a good portiond of my life to really digging

into american politics. starting with the election of george bush, because things seemed pretty messed up from that point on. i learned at an early age that you can't make a personal decision about how you feel about these people, these candidates. you can only really go on actions. what they do. all of the talk does not really add up to anything. is howm looking at propaganda has become front and media,in the american and the government's ability to create propagandast: thanks forr massachusetts.

andrew yang is speaking to his supporters. let's listen. [video clip] >> [indiscernible] [indiscernible] [chanting] >> emily! emily! emily! >> [indiscernible]

[indiscernible] host: our goal here at c-span is to take you there, here's the scene in downtown manchester, new hampshire. we are watching andrew yang as he speaks to his supporters. calvin, in pennsylvania, you're next. caller: good morning. how are you? host: i'm great. candidates's talk that can actually be donald trump. and kamala harris. here's why. whoever wins the primary will likely win in the november

and we don't hear them saying fake news or racist comments. i hope that the racist comments come back and hurt them. host: let's go to karen, from michigan. caller: good morning. first, i am so sick of trumps corruption and lies and i would wouldor any democrat that get in against him. but i'm behind amy klobuchar. she has great ideas. i think she can come through for the country. the only thing she needs to do is go more aggressive on stage and let people know she's there. i'm framing. a.t: -- i am for

host: we covered her last week. ourcan check her out in video library and as well as all of our programming dating back to 1987. one saying no gun grabber will never be elected again, this was a picture of senator warren pictured as pocahontas. one color talks about how democrats offer nothing, even though they lowered health-care pre-existingotect conditions while gop will take that away. carl is joining us from massachusetts. do you have a top candidate? caller: i would like to see dernie sanders and tulsi gabbar for secretary of state. i think secretary of state

sometimes has more influence on the vice president -- then the vice president. and i would like to say something to the gun enthusiasts out there. no matter what kind of arsenal , i'mave in your house trying to get to their mentality. if they come for you with the blue helmets on the black helicopters, no arsenal in your house will save you. look what they did in waco texas . i know it sounds crazy, but i had to get it off my chest. host: carl, thank you. this is one tweet saying i don't believe warren, sanders or booker could win the independent vote. and we set down with susan aasser on her piece with profile of mike pompeo, with his work in california and his political career in kansas. there's renewed speculation he

will run for the senate kansas next year as pat robert announces that he is retiring. you can check out the weekly on the free c-span radio app. this from the elizabeth warren campaign as she gears up in iowa and on social media. [video clip] administration, government policy will support americans, i call it economic patriotism. we will create new federal agencies, the department of economic development, to replace the commerce department and a handful of other federal agencies. we will pull them together into this new agency and it will have a single mission. and create american jobs. we will direct the new agency to use aggressive new tools that other countries have used successfully. we will use them to post american workers. this is not a question of more or less government. it's about who government works

for. i have a plan to get us there. that's from the elizabeth warren campaign. she will be among the 19 speakers. martha is joining us from greenville, north carolina. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i really think this country is terribly wounded, and we need someone to help us heal. i believe mr. biden has the experience and the character and the ethics to do that. host: can he win if he is the nominee? can he defeat donald trump? caller: yes, i believe he can. i certainly hope that even if it isn't mr. biden, that a democrat wins. our current president is so corrupt, and he has just divided this country in such a terrible way.

we need some peace, and stability, and honesty, and ethics in the government. host: the president is pointing to a number of things including a strong economy. how do you respond? i don't think a strong economy overrides the wound that's pervasive in this country. host: thank you for the call. we will go to bill, in palm springs, california. caller: thank you so much for taking my call. me, iing, personally, for don't understand that people in general don't understand that this is a basically socialist country. you did not pay for the sidewalk or build it by yourself. you are engaging in socialism.

driving down the highway, using the post office, the airport, it's pretty much a socialist country. people on fox news will never get that. personally i like mr. buttigieg and kamala harris. time hasr. biden's passed, god bless him. that's how i understand it at this point. i think the guns, when the constitution was written it was a single shot that took three minutes to reload. the guns now, in three minutes you can kill 150 people. this week, a basket -- blast from the past. 2017 south carolina convention. thanks for that photo. the joe biden campaign, let's watch for a moment.

[video clip] [cheering] [drums] [sirens] [cheering] >> president. >> biden. >> president. >> biden. >> president. >> biden. >> president. >> biden. >> president. >> biden. >> president. >> biden. host: each campaign has a contingent of seats inside the state campaign convention. this is a sports arena, a basketball arena, disney on ice will be there next month, but today it's front and center for state democrats in new hampshire.

marcia is joining us from pennsylvania. could your top candidate? -- who is your top candidate? caller: good morning steve, always good to hear your voice and how you conduct the program. , mya lifelong democrat mother was a democratic committee lady. i used to stop and distribute the literature. my favorites are elizabeth , and sanders.ieg as a lifelong democrat, i would like to quote lloyd benson from the 80's when he was running mondale as viceale president. >> that would be 1988 with michael to caucus. caller: thank you. he's from texas and he made his fortune in insurance. he was asked by reporters during

the campaign -- she was also a prominent big power in the senate -- he was also a prominent big power in the senate for many years. a reporter asked him a question relating to some kind of government funded program. and lloyd benson, the democrat, answer the question like this. europe reporter said, in they have this, this, this, this, free education, and people pay taxes for health insurance , if, ind benson said the united states, if the gave their citizens anything back for their taxes, that would be socialism. and you don't want socialism.

that's how stupid lloyd benson and the other politicians know americans are in regard to these issues. i get the opportunity to compare lady apples to lady apples, other part of the year in western europe -- i live part of the year in western europe. i can compare the health care. you have no idea difference. host: i'm going to stop you there because we are short on time. thank you for phoning in, we appreciate it. caller: thank you times. election on nt, the federal election committee lacks a core on the eve of the play 20 presidential campaign. available online at the washington post. from theat from -- add bernie sanders campaign. [video clip] >> real change never takes place from the top down, always from the bottom up.

>> bernie sanders health care for all idea is gaining steam. >> free tuition. free college tuition. free tuition champion. >> bernie sanders added the greatest threat to national care -- security is climate change. >> the future of our planet is that stake. >> sanders taking on amazon. >> he has been consistent about hammering income inequality. >> no pay working 40 hours a week should be living in poverty. have anomy is rigged, we campaign-finance system which is corrupt. that's from the bernie sanders campaign. james is joining us from kansas. was your candidate. -- who is your candidate. caller: bernie sanders or any democrat. host: thanks james, let's go to

jim in new york. caller: good morning. colin -- ise times i call in, it feels like i'm trying to reach the candidate, not necessarily the people listening. i think what we want to do is take a look at elizabeth warren, cannotage to her is you be absolute about health care. it's hard for people to realize that when we switch from private insurance to public financed insurance it will take one company at a time. if you like your doctor, you can keep your dr., there's no reason microsoft, google, amazon, all of these individual companies won't choose the public office as their insurance and she should communicate that over the

course of not being an absolutist like we have to switch immediately to public financed insurance. host: we may hear that today with the candidate speaking. coming up, the longtime chair of the new hampshire state democratic party will be joining us from manchester, new hampshire. and our news anchor program starting on 2020 politics and the battle for the u.s. senate. our guest is the president of the senate majority pac and we focused on the bid to win back a democratic senate and defeat mitch mcconnell was up for reelection. here's a portion of the program. >> let's not kid ourselves, this is a race that's about mitch that donald a state 0.5.p one by 3 whereuniquely unpopular, his job numbers are in the low 20's, even in the teens.

this is not something we've seen for some time. he's uniquely vulnerable and it's shaping up to be an interesting race. >> there's more of a focus on mcconnell then trump on the 2020 trail. will that be a strategy to focus on him in a lot of these races? will it help? pelosi,018 focusing on there are differences but can you outline whether you think it's a strategy and if it will work? most things that politically have power don't come as strategies from us dummies in washington, they come organically from around the country. a powerfulnell is metaphor for a broken washington. he is carrying that now more than ever.

even among republicans, there is a certain borderline anger at their own party that they just keep saying more of the same. they are not completely shielded from whatever "love" donald trump takes. i think mcconnell is a face of a lot at this rate, but more to the point of the broken washington that they are tired of. host: he said he would not hesitate to fill the vacancy on the supreme court next year if there is one. how big of an issue is that for voters? you are republican or conservative, you are certainly aware of the packers see, and that rings it right back to the -- the hypocrisy and that brings it back to the business mentality in washington. i think you will be surprised with the number of candidates you find trying to distance themselves from trump.

host: it is 8:00 in the east, a live look outside in downtown manchester. shut down.has been campaign supporters of the candidate speaking today gathering outside, trying to elicit support and volunteers all in advance of that state's democratic party convention, which will get underway in about one hour. joining us inside the arena is the party chair, ray buckley, a former member of the state democratic party house of representatives. thank you for being with us. guest: well, it has been a long 28 years since we first did this. host: it has been a long time. we are glad you are joining us. walk us through the convention and what to expect to see, also, the order of the speakers. off, thell, first phenomenal mayor of manchester, new hampshire, will participate in opening ceremony. we will have a great welcome to everybody, and then the party

will come out and we will do our short is this portion of the meeting, and then we will hear from the chair of the dnc, and then off we go. we will be hearing from our senior senators, jeanne shaheen, and then the first one up his joe biden. it will go through alphabetical order until around early afternoon, and then we will start all over again with the rest of the candidates. so they are interspersed with new hampshire folks and other national leaders in between the presidential candidates to give everyone an opportunity to shift gears, but we are very excited. we have a full crowd here. host: you know new hampshire politics better than anyone. give us a sense of what the campaigns are doing five months out. what needs to happen today and whether or not you will look for a breakout moment. traditionally, from the first of the year until labor day, it is really an insiders

game, where folks are out there working very hard to get activists, the political leaders to support, and it is to build their operation and it shifts immediately into the ground game labor day. that is what you see today, a real conversation with the voters of new hampshire, and i think you are going to see 19 strong candidates here today. there are already a couple thousand people outside, and we are going to have a jampacked day here. host: the union leader brought up the experience of the clinton back in 1991. he used the state party convention from 3% in the polls to come into a strong second and became known as the comeback kid. how do candidates do that in 2019-2020? guest: i think they do exactly what bill clinton did. he offered a positive, operational message for voters

in the future, and while he did take on george w. bush, he spent time talking about what he would do and talking to the hearts and minds of the voters in new hampshire. we are having hard times economically in the state -- we were having hard times economically in the state 1991, so he struck a cord. i think that lesson was learned by a lot of candidates. you will hear hopeful messages. host: in "the new york times," governor cuomo said moving up the states primary, right now, the new york primary is slated for late april of next year but i an a potential february date. a potentialg february date. explain why new hampshire is first. other states want to move into where you are in terms of the calendar. i believe the members of the assembly and senate in new york will come to their senses and not support the triple vote.

what it does is trigger a calendar war. that is why we had the iowa caucuses the day after new year's eight years ago. -- two just three days , newlater, so iowa hampshire will protect our position, and we will have it on things giving afternoon if we have to. host: why is new hampshire first? that onell, i think has to come here to new hampshire and iowa, and talk to the folks and see that it is part of our culture and parttion and it is as much of new hampshire as the statue of liberty is to new york. i guess governor cuomo wants to switch the statue of liberty and the empire state building for the primary or at least consider it, but seriously, this is very much part. i started volunteering in presidential campaigns when i was 11 years old and have not

stopped. new hampshire people are intuitive. we ask top questions for it we are not overwhelmed by celebrity, and we take it very seriously. every year, you hear that from members of media, the staff of volunteers and presidential candidates themselves, who are of newthe best view hampshire are the candidate to campaign here. they have all said have become better candidates because of their experience in the state. host: i know this does not directly impact new hampshire, but yesterday we learned from the dnc that the idea of a virtual caucus in nevada and iowa would not take place because of security concerns. can you explain what those states were looking at and what the dnc decided? -- you know, we all feel troubled by the washington involvement in swinging the election in 2016, so there was an abundance of caution by the dnc and iowa and

nevada, who made a proposal that we thought would work, but we checked analysts looking at it who believed otherwise. so the dnc assured they would come up with a resolution that does not impact calendar so folks in any of the other early states don't have to worry. i believe we will have this resolved soon, but online voting is not going to happen and iowa and nevada in this cycle. host: i'm not sure if you saw the story from "politico," but it deals with the front runner in new hampshire, joe biden. it says he is at risk of losing new hampshire. let me read part of what they are reporting -- one of joe biden's most high-profile supporters of new hampshire warning the candidate during a one-on-one exchange friday that he and his campaign need to make immediate changes to win the first in the nation primary.

the longest-serving state senator and highest ranking official in the state has endorsed biden and spoke with the candidate before a town hall. his advice was blonde, listen more, talk less, answered specifically, get your campaign organized.he went on to say, i told him he has to energize his speeches, and they need to be shorter and more to the point. he has to zero in on things to address them distinctly. other democrats agreed with the state senators overall critique of the biting campaign, and saying it appears to be less organized, for example, key democrats were not notified of invitations of yesterday's event and some biden supporters and i will similar concerns. so looking at it from an organizational and message standpoint, your reaction? guest: well, i have been on the receiving end of some of those conversations over the last 40 years, so i'm sure it was well received. you know, everyone in new hampshire believes that they have the secret to winning the

new hampshire primary, but i have to tell you, i know the senior staff involved in the vice president's campaign nationally and in new hampshire. ,n fact, their state director and i have confidence that joe biden will get every single vote new hampshire that he can and they have a plan. host: what is your role leading up to the primary in february? guest: well, we are the host, and we are here to make sure everyone feels welcome and everyone feels they got a fair shake. despite all of the stuff that happened in 2016 that bernie sanders and hillary clinton says the new hampshire party was the most welcoming and fair, and we really provided the most opportunities to get their message out. that is what we have done for decades in new hampshire and we

pride ourselves in that. host: ray buckley is the chair of the new hampshire democratic party, and we will see him often through the course of the day. thanks to you and your staff or your hospitality to the c-span crew as our coverage gets underway in about one hour. ray buckley, thanks for being with us. guest: thank you. host: live coverage gets underway 9:00 eastern time. this is the scene on elms street at the smh you arena, formally the verizon wireless arena in downtown manchester. joining us on the phone is the chair of the new hampshire republican party. we thank you for being with us this saturday morning. guest: thank you so much for having me. i appreciate it. give us a sense of what is happening on the ground with the republicans. president trump has been there. there are other candidates, including joe carney, running for the republican nomination. this point, the not running is

governor wells from massachusetts. again, i will reiterate what chairman buckley said that we value the new hampshire primary, first in the nation primary. it is a very important event, not only to all citizens of new hampshire but to the entire country because i think we anyone a platform where -- you don't have to be a well fielded candidate in order to win in new hampshire. you have to be a grassroots candidate in order to win a new hampshire, and i think we have probably some of the most well-informed voters in the country. we take it very seriously as new hampshire citizens, and as chairman buckley said, we go out of our way to make sure that we are up on all of those issues and we grill all of the candidates who are not

mesmerized by themselves. it is very important to us, and i think very important to the nation candidates in new hampshire. we have been doing it for 100 years. host: do you think that the calendar will hold, in which the new hampshire primary is slated for february 11 and the date will stay firm? guest: that is up to the secretary of state. we actually have a state law that requires that we are ahead of any other primary, so i don't know that we have excellent support from the republican party going forward this cycle for the first nation primary in new hampshire, and but if any state attempts to interrupt the , althoughf primaries it is completely up to him as to whether or not we move our date.

i know we have had it moved to a number of years ago, where we were actually voting in early january. host: the two challengers to president trump, joe walsh and bill weld, this is the headline from the new york times, republicans in four states may cancel the primaries. those states, arizona, kansas, nevada, and south carolina. your reaction to that? up to eachn, that is individual state as to what they want to do, and how they want to conduct their primaries here in new hampshire. we are 100% behind our primary, and, again, we welcome all comers. obviously, the president has a huge advantage here new it is my opinion

that he will win overwhelmingly with a vote well into the 90's in new hampshire on the republican side of the primary. host: but from your standpoint as a state party chair, is it fair to the challengers of the president not to have a primary, say, for example, in south carolina or arizona? guest: again, it is up to those individual states that can say that is an issue that will never happen in new hampshire, and i and it our primary system support the ability of everybody getting their at voice heard by all the voters in new hampshire and throughout the country. host: finally, not a democrat or republican question but as someone who lives in the granite state, what is it like on the democratic side to have 19 candidates?

16 orears ago, there were 17 candidates, so give us a sense of what it is like to be new hampshire during this year leading up to primary? exciting is a very time. obviously, the last election was actually flipped. there were two major candidates on the democratic side and there were 17 on the republican side. it is a very exciting time. it is a time when you as a vote have the opportunity to really get involved. i don't think anywhere else in the country can you get involved as much as you can in new hampshire as much as you want as an individual. anybody who is "a political junkie" really wants to see grassroot politics, come

to new hampshire during the primary season, presidential primary season, and you will see true grassroots, political involvement taking place here on the ground. there is no place like it in the world, and it is very exciting. it is exhilarating, and it is very new hampshire. host: stephen stepanek, the chair of the new hampshire republican party, joining us live from manchester. thanks for being with us. guest: thank you so much for having me, and have a great day today. host: our live coverage is underway in about 45 minutes. this is the scene outside. it is getting larger as supporters for mayor pete buttigieg, kamala harris, senator warren and others gather outside the snhu arena and downtown manchester. joining us insight is paul steinhauser, now with the "concord monitor," and contributes to foxnews.com. thanks for being with us. guest: always a good morning

when i talk politics with the one c-span. host: we appreciate it. how significant is this event from your standpoint? significant.very nationally and in new hampshire. we just past labor day, so the real official season, political campaign season, has begun in new hampshire and other early voting states. we are getting almost the entire field, all but one of the presidential candidates are here, which shows the important. we normally get a lot of traffic on the presidential contenders because we are the first in the nation primary state, but the entire field is here. the spotlight of the nation shines on this in this arena and elsewhere in the campaign trail. host: the one candidate not there is? , the: wayne messam miramar, florida, mayor, who has not done much campaigning. he is the longest of longest of longshots, but everyone else in

the field who is still in the race is in the arena. it gets underway in about one hour. host: we will be live with all of it. i want to share what you wrote for foxnews.com based on a conference call with biden campaign supporters -- biden campaign downplaying expectations. you report the following "joe biden's presidential campaign this week seem to downplay the importance of winning the typically crucial nominating contest in iowa and new hampshire, signaling the democratic front runners team anticipates a tough battle in those early primary contests. while the campaign still calls the campaign critical and they say it holds the key to the kingdom, a senior biden official saying the campaign is already ramping up efforts in the super tuesday states that vote at the beginning of march and beyond." that is specifically about the iowa caucuses, stressing, i think we will win, but added, i win.t think it is a must the comments came tuesday, as they held a briefing with reporters. officials acknowledged, we know

it will be a dogfight there, the same thing is true in new hampshire. can you elaborate? guest: the biden campaign only holds conference calls when they went to get a message out, so obviously, they wanted to get that message out. they do not have to win here. this is not a must-wednesday, but they wanted to get the message out that they are already building up there infrastructure. their staff on the ground, they have already done that in new hampshire, south carolina and nevada, but they want to spotlight they are building up their staff and their grassroots outreach in those super tuesday states and beyond, which a lot of the other campaigns have not done. they don't have the ability or money at to start building that passed the early voting states. i think that is the message they wanted to get out. steve, no candidate ever wants to say this is a must when. you never want to say that because if you do not win, well, then you will be on the carpet. even bernie sanders and elizabeth warren, the senators

from neighboring states of vermont and massachusetts, have never said, that new hampshire is a must-win. even though, let's be honest, it pretty much is for them. host: you know the demographics of new hampshire, about one third democrat, one third republican and 4000 registered independents, so what can the independents due on february 11? do on february 11? guest: they could go either way. we will see governor bill weld from neighboring massachusetts and we may have a few others who will jump in. john kasich. who knows? but the real action will be on the democratic side and that is 40% of the electricians with independents appear. up until now, it has focused on democrats, activists, the base, but that electorate here has been broad when it comes to

early action voting in february. host: as you look at four years ago, about 200 50,000 voters cast their ballots in new hampshire 2016 democratic primary. as you look at the results, senator sanders with 52,000 votes in hillary clinton with 95,000 votes. translate those numbers to what we might expect in a crowded and different field in 2020. different days in 2016. all the action was on the republican side. we have 12 candidates to 13 candidates in the race for the it isd this time around different for the democrats. sanders walloped clinton in the state but this time around, he will not keep all those supporters. the latest polls new hampshire indicates biden has the lead but it is small from what we saw nationally. those independent voters who are

most likely going to vote on the democratic side, or maybe -- they may be more moderate in this country or state. that may benefit joe biden, primary time. host: our phone lines are open and you can send us a tweet. if you live in new hampshire, the number to call is (202)-748-8003. otherwise, democrat, republican and independent. can you give us a sense of the on the ground organization using the campaign, who has the strongest and weakest so far? guest: there are about five or six who have the biggest organization spread let's start with elizabeth warren and bernie sanders from neighboring states. they both raised a good amount of money with huge staff and campaign offices. sodas biden. he has a robust staff, even though he did not jump in until late april. he has cory booker, and been up here a lot.

he does a lot of retail. senator kamala harris not hear as much, but has a strong team on the ground. every time she comes here, she attracts pretty large clouds. i think you have to look at pete buttigieg. he has one of the largest in the state and he just boosted that, adding more offices and staff. beto o'rourke also has good presence. some of the others, as well. john delaney has campaigned here for two years. even though he has a long shot, he has a decent staff. host: steve joins us in corpus christi, texas, democrat's line. good morning. caller: good morning. one it to comment on something. harris biden and kamala should team up as president and vice president. i think that would be a good way to get the presidency, but

people need to look back and see that the economy was already on the upswing. the unemployment rate was already going down when obama weighs in. it did not matter who was president. the economy would be like it is now. trump is ruining this country, and people need to wake up and realize trump is ruining the country. it does not matter who is president, the economy would be the same. host: we will get a response. thanks for the call. did you want to respond to that comment? guest: well, listen, we have seen this in new hampshire and elsewhere, that donald trump is running on the economy, right? he is bragging about how he has to turn things around. democrat say, wait a minute. this recovery started under barack obama. joe biden had a good line yesterday campaigning, talking about how the president inherited a good economy from

obama, and just like everything else that trump has inherited. the economy remains a big issue as healthationally, care, especially among democratic primary voters. i want to give you a taste of what will happen here today. heinle, presidential candidates will speak for seven minutes to 10 minutes per they go alphabetically. others speak as well. action willthe real be behind-the-scenes with the presidential candidates talking to the press corps, but also up in the booth, a lot of presidential candidates have sky boxes. there could be some wheeling and dealing and maybe elbow rubbing from the candidates and staff, and they will try to convince local politicians to endorse them in the coming weeks. a lot of action in front of the camera, but also a lot behind-the-scenes. host: and a reminder that our viewers and listeners can follow

your work on "the concord monitor website" and on social media, how can they do so? steinhausernh1. thank you for the plug. host: let me put this on the screen and read what "politico" is saying "in a scientific survey of nearly 2000 new hampshire democratic insiders confirming they are overwhelmingly undecided in a primary. only two of the 14 democratic state senators and about 15 of the 233 democratic state representatives have acted a candidate among those 20 running right now. the state'superdelegates are staying out of the primary. the does that tell -- state's superdelegates are staying out of the primary." what does that tell you? beat: bernie sanders hillary clinton by 22 points in the primary but this time

around, you have a big field, a lot of candidates, and a lot of people here in the establishment who are waiting. nobody, nobody in the democratic congressional organization have endorsed them yet. jeanne shaheen said she will not make an endorsement since she is running for reelection. and now it is somewhere up to three state senators out of the 14 who have endorsed them. a lot of people are waiting. we still have five months to go and sell primaries, so a lot of them still have not made up their minds and their waiting to see. host: you have to wonder whether endorsements really matter in a state like new hampshire. guest: yeah, that is a good point. if you look at four years ago, bernie sanderswon overwhelmingly. this was a state where grass grew and retail campaigning is of utmost importance -- where grass roots and retail campaigning is of utmost importance. i think what matters is the size

of the staff, grassroots breach they are doing and the visits by the candidates, how many times they are here, who they are reaching out to. that is a lot more important than endorsing. host: we spent the first hour showing viewers and listeners what is happening outside the arena on elm street. organizationally, what are campaigns doing? how are they trying to sign up volunteering at supporters? guest: they do it at the event. when you go to one for the legions ofthere are campaign names with clipboards or ipads getting names, numbers, trying to sign these people up. they are also doing a lot of digital. it becomes more and more of a component in the campaign and in outreach, especially social media. campaigns are using twitter, facebook to sign up supporters, and to get them on the email list. it is a crucial component and that is not only unique to new hampshire.

that is going on elsewhere. host: from west chesterfield, new hampshire, ron is next. caller: good morning. thank you, c-span. i love this show, this program. it is awesome. honesty, no has no standard spirit he cannot run his companies without claiming bankruptcy in another one in the country. we just have to make a change prayed we have to get rid of him. he is a clown. i willain, my wife and vote for bernie sanders. people have to understand we have to start investing in general masses. the top 15% in this country cannot continue to take everything and leave the rest of us to scrape over the rest of what is left. you know, we have the greatest schools, the best hospitals, especially search and development centers in the world, but very few of us have the money to access them, so we

have to import are smart people from other countries. that has got to stop. 40 years of trickle-down economics has done nothing. it is no wonder that our middle-class is shrinking to people,because our poor definition, cannot afford to pay taxes, and the wealthy and the ultra-wealthy, and the large corporations pay very little or no taxes, so that leaves most of us paying taxes on the middle class. host: who is your candidate in the new hampshire primary? caller: bernie sanders. he does not take corporate donations like joe biden or most of the rest of the field, or like all of the republican field. he is not holding to any corporations. it is all small grassroots stuff there, and small donors, and he

believes, like i do, that we have to start investing in our general masses, not just the top 10 or 15%. everything has been going to them. we have to start investing in , andittle people here their health, their education, and their lives, and everybody's lives. host: thank you, ron. we will get a response. guest: well, let's unpack what ron said. first of all, let's get the record straight, most of the democrats running for the nomination have sworn off campaign contributions for corporate tax. that is a fact. let's start with trump. trump is underwater in new hampshire when you look at his overall popularity. he still remains strong with republicans, but he is underwater in this state. sanders,k about bernie because ron is a supporter. his strength in the state remains pretty potent.

from four years ago, a lot of people are still with them. are there other progressive alternatives? of course, especially elizabeth warren. , his steeringders committee has met every month in this state since the 2016 election, so they remain organized in the state. i had a chance to chat with sanders this week, and i asked him about joe biden and how he is the best candidate to beat donald trump. sanders disagreed and took issue, saying that the polls often show he is opposed well against trump, and he also said it has to be more than beating trump. in a jab at biden, he says it has to be more than doing that and he went into how there needs to be progressive revolution. host: to your point, sanders and warren supporters agree on many of the same issues. so your piece on the two candidates have so far agreed to avoid any direct attacks on each

other, why? guest: yeah, they had a peace treaty. they met in december before both jumped into the race for the white house. they knew each was going to be there, and they agreed to what you call a nonaggression pact. and until now, it has held. we spoke to warren and sanders in the state on labor day, having dueling events. i asked sanders whether he was marching in the largest labor day parade in the state spirit he was the only democratic presidential candidate and i asked him if he was upset that none of the other contenders were there. he had a golden opportunity to criticize warren. he did not do it. and she, the same day, we asked her about sanders and she did not do it. for now, the peace treaty remains. steve, i would love to get your take, how long do think that peace between the two will last? especially as we get closer to the primaries, the voting, and

it is basically sanders and warren on the progressive side? host: that probably will be key in terms of this deal going from now 20 candidates to maybe eight or 10, especially after the debate on thursday on abc, and were only 10 of the candidates will be on stage. guest: yeah, and that field will whittle a little more at the end of september when it is the deadline, but a lot of these candidates still will not make it. i wonder after not making the third or fourth round, how many will call it quits? bill de blasio said in an interview with the new york times, if he does not make the fourth round, he is likely to call it quits and to hang up his bid for the white house, but i spoke with john delaney earlier this week. he was emphatic. he was marching on. he is a multimillionaire, so he can sell finance. he said he would do it until voting in new hampshire and iowa. kelsey gabler, the

hawaiian congresswoman, and tom speier, and the progressive activist, both here earlier. i spoke to both. they are likely to make that fourth-round eerie they are only one or two polls shy. they continue to march on, but the field will whittle down by early october. host: our guest, paul steinhauser, serving as political editor. his work is available at the concord monitor website and he also contributes to foxnews.com. charles joins us from new york city. good morning. caller: good morning. and good morning, mr. steinhauser. my question relates to the results of the surveys over the last month or so, plus, the last nbc and cbs surveys. ony surveyed sentiments which candidate you would consider voting in. it was a multiple-choice, not a choice but close.

in addition, they posted about the pew research survey that did the same thing. the bottom line seems to be that most people -- that once people candidate, the second choice killer here does not seem to be biting or sanders. it seems to be elizabeth warren. with the 15% rule in place, aren't we looking at a situation where elizabeth warren is actually the front runner at the moment and not joe biden? the is reinforced in would you consider voting metric, where warren is leading from biting by four percentage points and the other candidates sprinkle down around the 30's and 20's. aren't we looking at a situation where because of this 15% disqualification rural, the second choices may make the difference? which makes warren, not biden, the effective'front runner,

since bidens second choice support is weak according to pew and others? host: thanks for the call. we will get a response. guest: your caller makes a good point. other national surveys asked, who is your second choice question mark warren is always at the top pretty much. her campaign has turned around the last months. remember back in february or march, some people were writing her off, which was ridiculous. she has made a steady rise in the polls. we have seen her with large and enthusiastic crowds in new hampshire and iowa and all over the country. everything has been going her way since about april. and the point is a good one. as the field narrows, that she, which polls suggest right now, she is the one more likely to pick up support from those who are backing other candidates who backed out of the race. i will say this, polls are a reflection of how people feel now. right now, we are still five

months away of when people get to vote. all of that will change plenty of times between now and february, but your caller makes a good point. host: i often tell people this is the best year to cover politics, the year before primaries and caucuses because of access you had to the candidates. what is it like for you? guest: i have been doing this in this cycle basically since the summer -- spring of 2017. i think two months into donald trump's presidency, the former maryland governor o'malley was here. he was the first of the potentials at that time to come later that continued summer. the congressman at that time for maryland announced candidacy, so this has gone on for quite some time. we finally enter the prime time in the race for the white house, but i love it. i love covering sports, and to me, the presidential primary and election are the ultimate sport. so it is great being here in new

hampshire. it is a thrill to me and very exciting to get the access with these candidates as they go up to the state. it is a privilege in many ways. i cherish them. host: we will go to rochester, new hampshire. good morning. caller: good morning. it does not appear that these climates are being shown on television, i would like to express comments regarding upcoming primary. host: you are alive on c-span right now, philip. go ahead. caller: i always -- i reregister as an independent and choose a ballot based on my preference, which is a privilege we have a new hampshire. weldsonally feel that bill is probably the only candidate president trump,

unless the democrats drastically change their platform. i think if they went into in the was nominated democratic party, if they went into this with the platform, they woul -- trump would be them. host: thanks for the call. bill weld is one of the candidates trying to defeat donald trump. he is an he mentions, independent voter. so am i. here is how it works in new hampshire. on a primary day, you go to your local voting station. for me, it is my town hall across from where i live in newfield. across the street, you go into the voting booth, and then you declare yourself either republican or democrat and then you can vote in the primary. once you cast your ballot, you

go back and reregister as an independent. that is what is unique in many ways to new hampshire but it inows independents to vote either primary. bill weld has been here almost every week since early february, when he first started flirting with the idea of challenging the president. he officially launched his campaign in april. seen by just about every republican in the state. if you look at the polls and the republican primary, donald trump remains the overwhelming favorite and weld is the longest of long shots. it is going to be a herculean task for any republican, be it make anyif they try to dent against the president. host: how did new hampshire go from a solid republican state to a purple state and a swing state and 2016 and now and 2020? guest: new hampshire was very

much republican state for many years. there has been an influx of a lot of people. we only have 1.3 million in the state. we are a small state, the population has risen in the recent decade, and many of those people are independence now and more democrats, as well. this state has evolved over the years. everybody knows new hampshire for being the first primary state, but this changes in every cycle, it is one of only 10 of the dozen battle states. in 2016, hillary clinton those four electorate votes but by less than 3000 votes. and in our senate election, the nearly got itator by 1000 votes and defeated the republican senator, so things are razor thin in the state. and that is why we see traffic once denominations are set, and we will see both nominees back in the state.

starting in the summer for the fall, so it is not just ohio, pennsylvania, and other well-known battle grounds that nominees come to, they appear in new hampshire, as well. host: in 2000, al gore would have loved those former electoral votes but they went to george w. bush -- george w. bush. guest: and then four years later, they went to john kerry and barack obama won this state in 2008 and again, trump narrowly lost it in 2016. the trump campaign season new hampshire is one of the states they have a chance to flip from blue to red neck year. host: we will go to connecticut, democrat line. caller: good morning. it is a good discussion. i am a supporter of bernie sanders and i will not go into all the reasons why i support his platform, but i think that -- i used to work with an institute doing coding, stash polling, so i have an insiders

look at polling. essentially, the polls do not matter. a lot of people hang up on you. a lot of the numbers they call are disconnected, and i think when people see the different polls and think biden is ahead, i think that is not true. i want to get your perspective i think allecause of these polls showing sanders, where he is, is not accurate and i went to get your opinion. host: thank you, ken. guest: there has been a lot of criticizing on polling over the years, especially in 2016 and the general election. back in 2008 in new hampshire, the primary, the last polls indicated that barack obama was ahead of hillary clinton. she came back and in the end, she won the state. have their share of criticism. for me as a political reporter, polls are a snapshot of how people feel right now, and right

now, it is still five months away from when the voting actually begins, so they could change multiple times. and the other thing, when you gauge the strength of a campaign and whether this candidate is a front runner or not, it is not just polling you look at, you also look at the size and strength of that campaign staff and you also look at things like fundraising. fundraising is another key indicator in the race for the white house. and the biggest winner in the second quarter of fundraising, april through june, was pete buttigieg. and there are other things to look at, like excitement and energy on the ground. in person i did not mention who has venerated a lot of buzz and whose crowds have gotten bigger is andrew yang. someone no one had heard of back in march of last year when he jumped in the race, but in the last couple of months in new hampshire and elsewhere, his crowds are getting bigger, he is getting more buzz, and he was able to qualify for the third and fourth rounds of the d&c debates.

that is something that, at the time, two governors and two senators cannot even do. so impressive. host: to that point, do you expect to see a breakout moment or moments today? guest: i think some of the candidates would love that. some of them may include in their speeches some lines that will grab the attention of reporters. we will see. in many ways, they are preaching to the choir. right behind me on the floor, there will be about 1200 democratic delegates, and many are already supporting one candidate or another. and all around us, we will have what we expect to be thousands of democrats, activists in the state, watching. and of course, nationally, you will have that audience right here on c-span. host: and the attendance is expected to be 10,000 to 11,000 to fill the arena. donald trump has been in there, as well, formerly known as the

verizon wireless arena, now the southern new hampshire university in manchester. michael is not too far away in very, new hampshire. good morning. caller: good morning to both of you. of new hampshire no labels problem solvers. i went to be upfront about that. we believe in civic engagement. question ---- the the problem i really have is with donald trump as our president, the independents in new hampshire, i will say -- because i am an independent, and my wonderful wife is a hard core democrat -- i like to cast my vote where it will have the most impact, so there is no way i'm going to vote in the republican primary this time. so i'm going to vote in the democratic primary. there are so many independents. i'm sure you mention the fact there are more independents the democrats and republicans pray how do you think a race, where last time it was wide open on

both sides more or less, but this time we have [indiscernible] host: thank you. guest: as a fellow independent in new hampshire, i think what you just said is probably not music to weld. as bill weld makes this uphill bid to be donald trump in new hampshire, he is banking on independents and maybe even democrats coming over and voting for him. his argument is, hey, come into the republican primary and you on to shots against voting donald trump. i think most independents will vote on the democratic side because that is where all the action is, and that will not help bill weld. the larger electorate on the republican side of the primary will help anyone challenging the president, but donald trump remains the overwhelming favorite in the primary, and i think most of the independent

action will be on the democratic side. host: paul steinhauser, and have you crunched the numbers given to any thoughts on what it would take in a crowded field for a candidate to win the new hampshire primary? guest: what it will take? organization, organization, organization. keep visiting. keep doing events. this is a retail and grassroots state. we have not seen a lot of television commercials here. tom steyer went up with a bunch here, elsewhere in iowa and nationally, we have not seen many television commercials yet. that will change and we will start getting flooded with ads in the next month or two as we near the primary, but i think retail is the most important thing. let me go back to one thing you mentioned about the crowd size today. that will be important because, yes, donald trump was in this arena last month holding the first campaign rally in the state since the eve of the 26 election when he was right here

in this arena. this place was pretty much jampacked. there were a few empty seats in the upper deck, but outside the arena, there were a lot of people. you know how crowd sizes are very important. if the democrats do not feel this place, expect donald trump to tweet about it or to talk about it. i think the size of the crowd will be important, especially to the republicans. host: he has already been up tweeting early this morning, but one point, you could win the new hampshire primary by sq of 25 to 30 points. guest: yes. if the field is very large, that may be all you need. four years ago, he had about 12 or 13 republicans remaining on the ballot and donald trump was the overwhelming favorite and won 36% of the votes with kasich and second at 17%. but this time around, by the time we get it, it will not take that much.

ab 23,000 is all you need. it depends on turnout. host: paul steinhauser with "the concord monitor," joining us from new hampshire, the music is ramping up, we always appreciate your insight and time. we will check in often over the next months. we appreciate you being with us. guest: thanks, steve. great to join you. host: we are 10 minutes away from our live coverage from manchester, new hampshire. the coverage will be streamed at c-span.org, and also available on the free c-span radio app. coverage gets underway at 9:00 eastern time. also a reminder that on monday night, we are live in fayetteville, north carolina, with president trump. the house and senate are back in session, so we will be live on c-span2. you can also listen to it on c-span radio and the free c-span radio app. we have a couple of minutes left. we want to hear from you. our question is who is your top presidential candidate in 2020, and tell us why. for democrats, (202)-748-8000. for republicans, (202)-748-8001.

and if you are an independent, (202)-748-8002. we also want to hear from new hampshire residents, (202)-748-8003. we will hear from 19 of the presidential candidates inside the arena at snhu in manchester, new hampshire, beginning at 9:00 eastern time or a few minutes after. ray buckley will see things up, the chair of the new hampshire democratic state party. you will also hear from the two democratic senators in new hampshire, including maggie hassan and jeanne shaheen, the former governor, and now the senator from new hampshire running for reelection. as we heard from ray buckley, she will not endorse a candidate because she is up for reelection. we will hear from state representatives and members of the house of representatives. interspersed through that, the candidates, beginning with joe biden. our phone lines are open.

202 is the area code. (202)-748-8003 for a new hampshire resident. we will get to your calls in just a moment. here is scene from inside the arena. ♪ host: we have a couple of minutes. nancy and cleveland, ohio. who is your candidate in 2020? caller: elizabeth warren. host: why? caller: i have followed her ever since just before she became the head of the consumer rights agency. i do not know the exact name of that.

and she seemed like she is extremely bright. comes from a background where she is going to understand working people, and i like her policy. i think she will do the right thing. i think she will stand up for working people. combination of optimism and working class roots may be just the ticket if she gets enough exposure. host: each of the candidates will get between seven minutes and 10 minutes to speak. 19 are scheduled today. linda and williamsport, pennsylvania, good morning. caller: first, i wanted to say i am a bernie sanders supporter. second, this is really important for the people of new york state, where there are over 250 something electoral college votes. andrew cuomo has stalled on to ang the legislation

primary date moved to february. he has not signed it. i just heard something that they changed it to october of this year. so especially for independents, you have got to get out there. cuomo has notwhy signed that, other than to suppress the vote. host: from "you are times" today, he is moving up the state primary, possibly to february, although in the body of the story, there is indication he would keep it for the current date of april 28. you can get the story online at nytimes.copm. let's go to lou in baltimore, republican line. caller: good morning. as a republican who turned republican after watching the obama, iy of barack cannot see anyone on the democratic side even coming close to beating donald trump. i have an african-american -- i

am an african-american business owner in baltimore, maryland, and i am telling you the black vote, believe it or not, will come up for donald trump rate i have talked to many people who are african-american on many economic levels, and the exit from the democrat party for african-americans will be big news this election. host: thanks for the call. from sun city, california, rudy. democrats lined. caller: good morning, steve. pick, and i am the contradicted guy, the african-american vote is going to come out, if it happens to be kamala harris, on the ticket. and i think she has the experience to take on trump without any problems, and one other thing, considering i am african-american, myself, to some in the african-american community, get over yourselves because of kamala harris' marriage to a white guy.

stop your prejudice, stop the bigotry. if you do not, then you are no different than a swastika person . i believe kamala harris will be either on the ticket or she will win the primary. thank you very much. host: thank you for the call. let's go to dolly from california. caller: good morning. redwood valley, california. my first choice would be mayor pete. i have seen him engage young voters. passiongaging and has for the process. he is intelligent and has a plan, and i'm excited. i am 67 years old, and i am so excited for his passion and his calm. host: you think he can defeat president trump? caller: yes, i can, and you know why?because

he is engaging young voters with hope and passion. and passion from the heart goes to the head, and i think you will see a groundswell. of more support from regular democrats, which i was. he has got me so excited. it is incredible. host: we will continue to cover his campaign, as well. we were with, harris and new hampshire last night. that is on our website at c-span.org, and we will track down senator cory booker tomorrow, part of our campaign 2020 coverage. i want to quickly share what will call is reporting with ray buckley -- reporting. they are blocking the caucuses and new hampshire and nevada. the democratic national committee formally decided friday not to move forward with caucuses in those states and made cyber security concerns. the bylaws committee agreed by a

vote to adopt recommendation from dnc chair tom perez, that virtual caucuses should not take place since they would not be secure or reliable. both states had devised plans to participate in caucuses by phone in order to fulfill a d&c requirement the state provide an absentee vote option. it is in efforts to expand the caucus process as mccright tuesday nominee to take on president donald trump. we are continuing to look today and in the days ahead for options that may be available to give us the time that is left. that is from toward price, the chair of the iowa democratic party. iowa caucuses are set to take place in less than five months on february 3. nevada's on february 22. jean joins us from new york -- yorktown, virginia. good morning. caller: yes. unless right now, of course, not too particular about warren.

to her advantage, she may use the american indian. i agree with the previous caller that talked about african-americans voting for issues, that are critical to trump, such as immigration reform, we have got to do immigration reform, such as the climate change. the democratic party is going to have to address those to win the voters back to the democratic side. i see us as one party. i hate we are separated because america first. but at the same time we have got to address immigration. we have got to address climate control. we have got to address and rebuild our allies, our relationship with our allies and america. we are not talking just america first but we have to have a

global economy as well. host: there will still be party business going on today. there are 1100 delegates at the state party convention in manchester, new hampshire and then on the sides would be supporters of the various candidates. they are given tickets to attend. it is scheduled to begin momentarily. we will take it to you live. we will continue until 4:00 this afternoon, later in the afternoon depending on how long the candidates continue to speak. a quick note we are back in iowa on september 21 for the iowa state fry that will take place in polk county. many of the candidates will be in iowa as well, the first of the nation caucus in february next year. joining us from portland, oregon. i hope i pronounced your name properly. caller: yes, thank you very much. you know what?

i came to united states [indiscernible] my postgraduate at boston university. .ow old i am, i am very old that is just what i wanted to say. ank for c-span because on 1970's started this channel and it is wonderful. yes, i am independent. [indiscernible] donald trump because this country buildup on [indiscernible] and this nation turned their backs to god. that is what as you know the research of years ago showed that a significant, statistically significant [indiscernible]

america, americans are immoral. host: from portland, oregon. the headline today, a question we have been asking our guests, whether or not there will be a breakout moment area the candidates hoping to stand out in a crowded state party convention. 19 presidential candidates in one arena in downtown manchester, new hampshire. brad, your next, republican line. caller: good morning. we had candidates discussion years back when i kind of mentioned to you that hillary never had a chance there and i was right and you kind of smirked and smiled and thought that was funny. you really thought she was going to win too. i think until the media gets the boot from running the actual dnc, the dnc really has no chance for years to come.

by doing this show we are seeing today, you are just wanting to run some type of april to put -- a poll for democrats to win while they don't have a chance to win again. host: we are simply getting feedback from viewers and listeners on who their top candidate is. i am assuming your candidate is donald trump. caller: absolutely. there is no other candidate other than, that is going to worry about the american people. the media is too worried about running a party. what i am saying and directing to you and your c-span in itself , you are actually taking manipulative polls and pushing it as propaganda and you know it. that is what this is all doing. you are testing the waters to find out how well the media is

posting their narrative so that they can get out the vote. host: how are we doing that? caller: just watch the programming of all the people that you actually have on in most cases. this isn't rocket science here. are: we have the new cramps -- new hampshire republicans and democrats on. caller: when i am using the reference, i am looking at the .ast three or four years you are pushing a democratic narrative almost every single day. i mean there is no denying it. you can't deny. host: i would. caller: how can you? host: this program and this network is a reflection of the events that we cover when we shared news articles and we were criticized during the obama white house we were trying to beat up on president obama. now we get criticized by

president trump the articles are up and we share that information with you, polling information. the goal is to let you know what is being reported on and make up your own mind. we are live all day gavel to gavel coverage, no interruptions with all the candidates and we did the same thing in 2016 with republican candidates with events like the one today. we are live monday with president trump in fayetteville, north carolina at a campaign rally. you will get it all here on this network, unfiltered and without commentary. park forest, illinois. caller: good morning and thanks for taking my call. host: certainly. caller: yes, i am going to be supporting the center, let harris for president. just kamala harris. i know she will get things done. she will go up to that white house and get things done with no fights and bickering. i think you have solid not

over-the-top plans, passionate about change and also i think her health care plan is the best way to get us to medicare for all. if we want to see this country change, it will take a woman to do it. i think senator kamala harris is that change the country needs. host: thank you for your call. we will go to dj in hampton, virginia. caller: good morning. just watching you again, i have to agree with the gentleman from minnesota that in the last couple of years, c-span is not what i used to watch. watched you since 1979 and i am disappointed. i don't think digg lamb would like what is going on. host: it is brian lamb. caller: you do promote for the democrats, and it has gotten you, john and greta are all

obviously liberals because the articles you pick out of the newspapers are always derogatory towards the president. balanced have fair and anymore as you used to and that is very, very disappointing. i don't want you like i used to. i was a faithful and daily watcher but you need to get back to what you were once upon a time and stop promoting the democrats, because that is what you do every day that you or john or greta are on. it is obvious you pick every article out of every newspaper, of course the ones that hate trump, and you push it on us. and you promote it. host: we are not pushing any article that is derogatory of the president.

if you are a sitting president whether you are george w. bush or barack obama, the articles will be clinton -- will be critical. i have sat here many years and have heard the same criticism on the other side of the aisle where people say we are trying ofpush negative against barack obama or george clinton -- george bush or bill clinton. we have not changed. our goal is to do what we have been doing the last 40 years which is to share with you what is being talked about in the news that day, open the phone calls, here from people like you, criticism which we will come, and get a sense of what is happening in the country. there is no change. caller: i disagree, yes, there is. any --not want to hear even post any article from the paper that is something positive about the president. you never do that.

you rarely find an article. some of the others, yes. not you, john or greta. you three do not like the president, that is obvious, and you are saying something that is bogus. i have watched you since 1979. you did not pick on a president like you do president trump, and i am ashamed of you for that. look at kimberly. she is gone because she deserved to go. she was horrible. she hated the president and now she is at msnbc. i appreciate the call. i will respectfully disagree. we hope you keep watching and we welcome criticism. thank you for calling in. let's go to monica, joining us from anderson, south carolina. caller: i am a republican. i love c-span, and i disagree with the past comment.

know iant to let people am a south carolina resident. a lot of the democrat candidates come here, and they have the nerve to go into the churches. host: i hate to do this but the event just got underway in new hampshire, so maybe join us tomorrow morning. for the call. live coverage from manchester just getting underway right now from the southern new hampshire university arena in manchester. live coverage will continue through the course of the day and on the web as well as c-span.org and c-span radio. thanks for being with us. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> new hampshire's largest college town. with seven colleges and universities. [applause]