this is what is at stake in this election. are we going to forward? or are we going to follow this path of chaos that donald trump and my opponent have laid out today? almost three years ago, i became your senator. i go to washington every day to fight for you and your health care, your retirement, your family's opportunity, and i think we have to go to work and get it done. i ask for your support to get it done together. >> thank you so much.

that is our friday program. ♪ >> who will control congress in january? stay informed on the congressional races leading up to election day with c-span's 2020 coverage. watch the candidates debate and election results on c-span. .atch online at c-span.org c-span. your unfiltered view of politics. host: that same event that we have been talking over and over ,rrett to the supreme

court, that event at the white house -- was lindsey graham at the event? guest: his office said he has not been around the president for several days. he took a test yesterday and his campaign announced that senator graham and his staff have tested negative for covid-19. it was a concern from people organizing the debate, even jamie harrison and his campaign. he took a covid-19 test and he said he is negative, so we are good to go. host: that was going to be my next question, is the debate still on given everything happening in the senate and the third positive test from a senator this morning? guest: it was quite the whirlwind watching the news yesterday and senator graham said during an event yesterday that he had spoken to the president, and he was in good spirits.

be yes, they wanted it to out there that senator graham was negative for covid-19. host: the debate is on, what are the issues senator graham and jamie harrison will focus on tonight? guest: we can expect may be some stuff about the covid-19 response by the federal government and the issues of rural broadband in south carolina. maybe stuff on climate change. in south carolina have issues with flooding, not just at the coast, but even in columbia. that may come up. do not be surprised to hear about jamie harrison's lobbying history, and lindsey graham's previous statements about the president when he did not have kind things to say about the president when he was running. you will hear about the confirmation process for the

nominee to the supreme court. host: the last democrat from south carolina was about a couple of decades back, when i was covering fritz holling in south carolina, so does a democrat have a chance in winning a statewide election right now? guest: that is a great question. i think the last time a democrat won statewide was 2006. it is a republican state reliably. and the president carried by 14 points in 2016. senator lindsey graham has easily won reelection a couple times, but polls show the race tied. two polls came out in september, saying the race was tied at 48-48. cbs news has a poll that has lindsey graham up by one point. it is a close race, closer than

people expected. and because it is close, we are getting intense campaigning from both sides, at least on the tv airwaves here. host: you have reported that toie harrison is going outspend lindsey graham 7-1 on the airwaves, but what is causing the disparity considering that lindsey graham is the incumbent, and also chair of the senate judiciary committee? guest: he is a high profile senator. andved here in november everybody knew he was. you see him on the cable networks all the time. people around the country either really like senator graham, or they really do not like him. so you are seeing a a lot of money coming in from out of state, both sides. 93% of harrison's campaign donations have been from out-of-state, 85% of lindsey

graham's hundred patients have been from out-of-state. and both are regulars on cable news. you see senator graham on fox news regularly. he will see jamie harrison on msnbc regularly. so they are getting a lot of money from out-of-state. to their campaigns. host: is this the last debate between these candidates or will there be more? guest: two more are scheduled in this coming month, so if people miss out tonight, there will be another chance to see them square off. host: tell us what you are going to watch for in the debate tonight. guest: i'm interested to see, does senator graham go on the attack over harrison's lobbying history. i think because the race is so close, he will -- or we will probably see lindsey graham go

more aggressively, who is jamie harrison. he has not been doing a lot of in person campaigning because of the pandemic. he has done virtual campaigning. he has only held a handful of events. so, i wonder how is harrison going to be defined in this race. one thing interesting about both of these guys, they both have core upbringings. now they are accusing the other of living lavish lifestyles, being wealthy in a state that has some poor areas in it. host: we will be watching the debate intently tonight. joseph,to thank political reporter for the state newspaper, for taking us through the debate