unfiltered view of government. our newsletter, word for word, recaps the day for you from the halls of congress to daily press briefings to remarks from the president. scan the qr code to sign up for this email and stay update on every thing happening in washington each day. subscribe today, using the qr code or visit c-span.org/connect to subscribe any. ization. >> "washington journal" continues. host: leah askarinam joins us come up with us this morning to focus on the midterm elections. welcome back to "washington journal." guest: thanks so much for having me. host: let's focus on the role of the president, the influence of the president's poll popularity. are we seeing evidence of the president's declining poll numbers having an effect on down

ballot races so far for democrats? guest: historically, there is no getting around this. the president, especially in his first midterms, and's of having major effects on down ballot races. there will be candidate to attempt to distance themselves from the president. they have this same kind of trend every year. we saw the same thing with trump, for example. some are more successful than others. i'm sure your viewers have heard from other folks on this show that in general, when the president and power, his party and his first midterm loses seats in the first midterm. the only exception has been in years with major historic events . after 9/11, for example, and after the great depression. initially we thought that maybe the pandemic would be one of

those major historical events, that potentially -- the pandemic could alter history, but that is looking less and less likely as the president's up or for weightings -- present's approval ratings hover in the low 40's. host: you touched on this in your newsletter, on an issue that is certainly prominent in the election, immigration. democrats face tough questions on border saga as it enters new chapters. not just with numbers of the republican, but members of it party -- of his own party. guest: absolutely, especially because of were some of the most vulnerable seats are coming your the border.

that is going to make it a bigger issue. i will say a lot of the reason this is an issue is because republicans have turned up the volume on this. part of this is the upcoming expiration of title 42, which had turned most migrants away at the border during the pandemic. it was a trump era policy that continued in the biden adminstration. that looks likely to reverse. republicans have latched onto that as a major example of the biden administration not having a plan to combat immigration, which is an issue republicans put at the top of their list, especially since the trump administration.

host: let's look at the senate. a 50-50 senate right now. who has a better chance of winning the senate in 2022, and where are the challenges for both sides? guest: basically, both parties need to number one protect their incumbents. that is the number one priority. we talk about these trends in the house with the president's party consistently losing seats in the first midterm, that does not apply to the senate. a lot of that is because not every seat in the senate is up every single election. it depends on how favorable the map is every year. for example, in 1982, in

reagan's first midterms, he was facing similar economic issues with inflation and eventually into unemployment. even as his party lost seats in the house in 1982, they picked up a senate seat. so it is not impossible for democrats to have a similar scenario here. it really depends on these handful of states. there are four democratic senators playing defense and some of the most competitive states in the country that biden won very narrowly, and there are three vulnerable republican seats, but two of those are actually open, meaning senators have retired, so those half-dozen sits are were to look -- seats are where to look. host: our guest is with "the new

york times." we welcome your calls and comments on the midterm elections. the lines are (202) 748-8001 four republicans, (202) 748-8000 for democrats, and for independents and others, (202) 748-8002. let me ask you about the ohio senate race. jd vance, the hillbilly elegy author, is one of the republican candidates there. jd vance endorsed by president trump this past week. was that a surprise? guest: it was not a surprise that he was going to endorse. he made it clear he was going to eventually endorse. i think the choice would have been surprising no matter who he chose because it was such a close race. it is a crowded primary, which

means -- backing a bit, this is an open seat. there's been this primary between five different republicans that has probably been the most is in full primaries of the senate map in 2022. in the end, it looks like trump endorsed jd vance and we are not going to see the other poor -- the other four candidate give up. so they will still explain why they are the most trumpy, even if they did not get the endorsement. it is really an example of a phenomenon we have been seeing across the country. in ohio i think it is a little bit more extreme. in one of their debates, the primary debates, it almost came to blows a few weeks ago. but it is i dynamic we are seeing over and over again,

where trump makes an endorsement of a republican, that republican gets a bit of a boost, but because it is such a crowded primary and the eventual winner might win with less than 30% of the republican electorate, it is still anybody's game. in the end it is probably going to be important for trump to see what his influences in the party. we know his endorsement gives a boost. we don't know how big that boost is. that is something we can look for in ohio. 1 in the democratic -- host: in the democratic side, one of the candidates running is congress meant tim ryan. is he the likely democratic candidate there in ohio? guest: yes, that one is not the most competitive democratic primary we are seeing this year. tim ryan has is a glitch theater lane for himself.

any opposition he faces is pretty nominal at this point. he's already running a general election campaign, talking about jobs and being tough on china, trying to get away from this democratic brand that republicans have painted across the country before the general election actually starts. what we have seen in previous races, and this is key to kitchen cinema'-- two kyrsten sinema's 2018 race, is while republicans are engaging in this interparty battle, the democrat is able to come out and create their own brand that is going to potential he be a little bit stronger because he's not facing quite as intense attacks this early on. he has money. he has the fundraising.

he can get on television and start to establish his own brand before republicans start going after him in earnest. now, that might not matter. let me be clear about that. voters understand there is difference between personality when it comes to congressional races. in governors races, they are more likely to guest: she has money, he has the fundraising, he can get on television and start to establish his own brand, his own persona before republicans start going after him. voters understand there is difference between personality when it comes to congressional races. in governor races, voters are more likely to give the candidate the benefit of the doubt. in the senate, they know they are not just voting for tim ryan

or jd vance, they are also awarding -- voting for majority leader mitch mcconnell. host: we touched on the immigration is -- immigration issue. at the top of the list of topics, it has to be the economy, right? guest: absolutely. that is probably why democrats are in many ways expecting it to be tough. we heard from politico over the weekend where they expressed this is going to be a really tough year for democrats. much of the reason being inflation. that is a little bit tricky because of the economic indicators are strong right now. that is not what people are feeling.

you notice that number being higher than it was a year ago. the issue republicans always felt they had an advantage on when it comes to the economy. they used the argument that democrats -- it is a typical that democrats -- republicans attack democrats. the question is, do voters believe what is happening right now is because of putin and putin is the one to blame. host: your colleague pete

gabriel -- the senate's most honorable democrats. arizona, nevada and new hampshire feature tough campaigns. a picture there of senator of georgia -- senator rafael warnock of georgia. it's 2020 upset in the election that feet -- through the balance of power. how likely is there another stunning upset with the candidacy of herschel walker, the former football star in georgia? guest: herschel walker is most likely going to be the nominee. that is not a real competitive primary for republicans in georgia. whatever happens, it is not an upset. if herschel walker when, georgia was one of the closest, if not the closest state in the 2020 election. the first midterms of the

sitting president. trends in and of themselves could push republicans to a victory. if rafael warnock wins he has proven himself to be a strong candidate before. he will also have -- running at the same time. probably working together about the vote efforts which are huge in georgia. it is going to be a major issue for democrats. either way, it should be a respected results. host: we go to ken in lancaster south carolina, independent line. good morning. caller: it has been a while since i called, can you give me a minute? i want to talk about three topics. let me talk about the ukraine and russia situation.

it is different from iraq and afghanistan. the united states always need a bogeyman. let's talk about immigration. illegal immigration is carrying america and now they used to have to wait in mexico for the court date, now they get to stand the united states and the average court date is 1000 days before they go to court. joe biden administration are giving illegals free smartphone so they can be tracked. in the national debt is over $30 trillion. while we are spending funding on non-central for america, china is sitting back laughing. we spend billions in iraq, billions and afghanistan and in ukraine.

what about nato? i hear all about our allies but united states providing all the weapons and the military aid. inflation is so high the pay ain't keeping up with the wages. an illegal immigration. host: can, several things there. -- your response pete? guest: the most interesting one is the issue with nationalism which you hinted at. when we are talking about ukraine and russia and where america is putting its resources, it is pretty typical for this to become whether we

should be in other countries affairs or focusing on our own. we start from in 2020 run on a platform that was called america first. it was a platform with a foreign policy platform. it was far less hawkish. we saw some democrats embrace that exact same messaging in the 2020 messaging. bernie sanders is the spokesman for that. what we have seen in the last few months are both parties abandoning that and coming together in a pretty moderate, almost bipartisan acceptance of

allies and the importance of having those relationships so that when there is a crisis like what we are seeing ukraine, the country has backup. now we are seeing the beginning of this conflict where we saw a lot of support from americans come to support ukraine. the question is, how long does that last and at what point does it become, for voters, we need to focus more on america? if you follow a lot of the sunday shows, republicans argue we are not doing enough for ukraine. we should be putting more effort. it is this really interesting

balancing act right now. we are seeing republicans try to figure out what their foreign policy is. we have also seen him back off of some of his complement -- comments of putin. i do not think we are going to get those answers the campaign. they pretty much always argue against the status quo without having a real concrete solutions to put forward. if and when we see republicans with power in congress over the next few years, i think this whole conversation is going to have a huge effect on the way we see foreign policy. host: former editor of the

national internal hotline. she is editor with the new york time. we wrote -- we welcome your questions and comments. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. (202) 748-8003, for everyone else. carol, you are on the air. caller: thank you. i am looking at the current year i am going to move to the 19th district. i was wondering how you would rate the race between anthony delgado and both candidates who

were in last week. i would like to see them. it looks like a very interesting race. i wonder if you would give us some comments as well as my new candidates. thank you very much. guest: thank you for that question. antonio delgado is an interesting candidate since he was first elected in 2018. the lines of this new district, my understanding is that this is not necessarily going to be hot of the most -- distress in the country. i think that changes in the next

few weeks and months. the last candidate of the last nominee, the lotto defeated him pretty handily. it is definitely one i will be watching. it is not one that i have time for details on. host: of the 2020 sense is, those effects happening in changes in districts across the country, correct? guest: absolutely. new york is one of the most important states in which redistricting seeing. it is pretty rare.

republicans have more control over state legislation across the country. new york is one of those places where democrats were able to secure a handful of seats, preventing too much, -- too much competition. there is a bit of florida for democrats. there is a moment where it looks like republicans will have a much bigger advantage in redistricting because of this dynamic where they have more control over governorships and slated. probably a key example of why that advantage did not play out as intensely as it could. host: tell us a little bit about the center race. this past positions on energy undercut drilling valve. one of the republican candidates. well in the fields like in that race for republican and democrat

in the senate race in as a venue? guest: let's start with the republican side. it is a crowded republican primary. there has been a bit of a separation in that one that we have not seen in ohio. mehmet oz, known to a lot of people as dr. oz, was a wealthy outsider entrepreneur. last week, donald trump endorsed dr. oz. that changes the dynamic of the race. mccormick is still being advised by a lot of trump supporters. he is not distancing himself from trump. it is going to be quite the primary.

we saw within days of dr. oz receiving this endorsement, he was on television showing footage of trump giving his endorsement to dr. oz. it is going to be a much clearer case of however trump -- it is really centered around these two men rather than eight -- an equal footing. on the democratic side, it is just as interesting. we have a few different candidates. it seems like it's coming down between governor and congressman conor lamb. they are beginning to go after each other as well. conor lamb is running as the congressman who has won tough districts before. if you have heard of conor lamb it is because of the 2018 cycle,

he won a special election before the democratic wave. it was earlier in the year in 2018. it was a forecast of this potential democratic wave because he won in a district that trump carried. a difficult district. it wasn't upset. since then, he is running at the candidate who can win in pennsylvania. he won in 2020 but not by a huge margin. trying to win over trump motors. he has been a progressive figure in politics for a while. he is going to have a few more controversies to deal with. in his past, he has been in --. but he is definitely a top contender.

host: here is a look at john federman's most recent ad. [video clip] >> bit the political machine statewide, turned down the date mentioned taxpayers money. prices keep rising, jobs keep leaving and they just keep talking. the d.c. politicians don't get it. >> this is john boehner meant and i approve this message. host: heading back to calls with -- new jersey. caller: -- one hundred 50,000

americans with sentinel problems like diseases. contrary to what your guests said, the republicans have a plan. it is called, finish the border that president trump built and also use american oil and gas, as president trump did, to stop mr. biden's high gas prices and extremely higher grocery prices. due to the high cost of trucking from using more expensive gas. host: any thoughts? guest: when it comes to water security, republicans have given a much more definitive view of what they see as a solution.

it is something we mentioned in our newsletter earlier this week. trump came out in 2016 with a very clear vision. whether that vision was universally liked, that is a different question. it was a very stringent, harsh outlook he put out but it was very clear. by the time didn't build 22 and into effect, trump was trying to stop border crossings. when it comes to the border, republicans have a clearer answer for what they would like to see a solution b. -- solution be. when it comes to gas prices and price increases, it is a clear

few avenues that democrats or whoever is in power can take. we have seen biden last week lifting regulations on ethanol that would normally be restricted in the summer because of environmental reasons. we have seen biden torn between his initial complain -- campaign platform.

how much in the the president actually have on the economy. right now, what democrats are trying to do is show they are coming up with measures to ease their pain. republicans are making the point that is not enough. host: let's go to circleville ohio. on the georgia line. thank you for calling. good morning. caller: -- host: george, we

talked about the senate race in ohio. who do you want in your state? kenny vance, is he the favorite there? caller: -- is not doing much on

the democratic side. host: ok, appreciate the call. guest: that ended with matt dillon but that was exactly what he painted for us perfectly. in this primary of ohio, there are a whole bunch of different factors. she is also not one of the top candidates. that is going to allow whoever ends up with this nomination with a pretty small share of the vote. what is really important about that -- the next senator of

ohio. we did see a democrat when the senate race in 2018. this time to run is going to have a much tougher challenge. he as a democratic incumbent. what we can see is a candidate who received support in the primary ending up -- i think we are going to see a much

different senate. host: one of the republican candidates now and -- now endorsed by former president donald trump. current representative tim ryan, here are ads from both of those candidates. [video clip] >> are you a racist? do you hate mexicans? media calls us racist for wanting to build the wall. they censor us but it doesn't tell the truth. more illegal drugs and more democratic voters in this country. this issue is personal. i nearly lost my mother to the

poison coming across our border. i am jd vance and i approve this message. whatever they call us, we will put america first. [video clip] >> who here is tired about inflation? both parties need to start racing time on stupid fights. we've got to take on china, fix our supply chains by making things in america and we have got to pass a real tax-cut for workers to put more money in your pocket. we can't afford to be democrats and republicans right now. we have to be americans first. i am tim ryan and i approve this message. host: i was interested to see tim ryan addressing inflation. in that ad, basically a speech a part of his campaign speech. guest: a lot of democrats are

looking at inflation and thinking there is no way they can avoid this in their messaging. there are a couple of approaches democrats have used when trying to discuss the economy and one we have used -- we have seen especially from senators. empathizing that it is a tough time, not arguing with the idea that the economy is not what it needs to be for americans to feel comfortable, and trying to give solutions while also explaining that they get it. in other democratic elections, what you are seeing is showing off progress made in individual states. it may not mention inflation but talking about lowering the gas tax that helps people stretch their pocketbooks. it is acknowledging that angst, that frustration and hoping that

allows them to win over trump voters. what you are seeing from jd vance is a cultural ad. it is a more visceral issue that he is trying to get at about who represents you. not necessarily who represents your interest but who most understands who you are. that is something

>> we will break away to take you like to the u.s. house of representatives to keep a 40 yarder -- for your commitment to bring you congress live. we believe this is a brief session. live coverage of the u.s. house here on c-span. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., april 18, 2022. i hereby appoint the honorable dwight evans to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: