>> this afternoon president joe biden and kamala harris host a labor day campan lly in pittsburgh. is will be presidentiden's second appearanc with the vice presidentin his decision to en h re-election bids. tune in at 4:45 on c-span, spanou our free mostly sunny video app or online at c-span.org. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies including charter communications. charter is proud it be recognized as one of the best

internet providers. we are building 100,000 miles of new infrastructure to reach those who need it most. charter communications support c-span as a public service with these other television providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> john in bridgewater, new jersey, republican line up first with the top issue this election. >> i'm 75 years old. the economy for me is ok at this stage of my life. however, i worry about my children and grand children. but more specifically, to me immigration or legal immigration is the top because you can't have that many people coming in the last three or four years.

we have seen all of the blue cities they are almost going break trying to deal with it. i think donald trump is were better to do that. host: how would you your state of new jersey is dealing with it? >> it is interesting. i live in a more not rural but semirural area. we worry about it. honestly, i haven't really seen it personally. i'm sure it is here in places look patterson, trenton, camden, newark, the more suburban areas not yet but i do keep my eyes open every day to see who is coming in. so, that is the way people, american people, feel. we all now. threatened. host: john in new jersey starting us off. let's hear from barney from

florida, democrats line. caller: good morning. i worry about this is the only developed country that has a criminal running for president. are we going to make that -- is that going to be a constitutional right for every criminal can run for president? host: why is it a top issue for you in that case? caller: why is it a tomorrow issue? you got a criminal -- a criminal will sell out to get money. you understand me? the man already tried to overthrow the government, right? he's got the supreme court backing him up. this is -- the united states is the laughing stock of the worlds right now bush world right now

because of one man. host: go aheaded a finish, barney. stpwhra and this so-called party of family values, this is one man destroying their party. and it is a sign of ridiculousness that is beyond anybody. host: andrea, buffalo, new york, top issue this election cycle, independent line. hi. caller: good morning. i'm andrea from buffalo, new york. the biggest issue for me and most independents is civics. i remember we we were taught civics in school. and the lack of civics. foreign affairs to me is important, keeping america safe. and for me i want someone in the top offices who know

constitutional law, the government, how it works. and it is very clear to me that the top of the republican ticket does not have any idea on government, constitutional law. it is just basically about making money. just the fact in regard to immigration. immigration is very important, but you can't turn away, you know, people that want to come into the country. we have to make sure that they come in legally. the fact that people don't know civics, don't know foreign affairs or come law and you want them to lead our countries? donald trump is the biggest fraud -- host: let me ask you this. with the vice president she has

a backgrounds in criminal law but why would her expertise extends to constitutional law? >> excellent point. she's been a senator. she knows how government works. the fact that she has been -- she has been prosecutor. it would be easy to make that leap or make that jump into constitutional law. and, also, the fact that our former president barack obama is known for constitutional law. you can have that person as again not that he's going to be running the country, obviously not, but you could consult with him and the fact that she has been a senator, she knows the government. he has no clue in regard to the government. host: that is andrea's so, civics and constitutional law for those occupying the top office. when it comes to matters

immigration some mentioned it was back a few months ago that pew the research firm put out this top policy priorities this year as we have seen other ones strengthen the economy 73% saying that is the top priority to address. defending against terrorism. reducing influence of money in politics. reducing health care cost and improving education. those are the top five of that list. immigration coming a little down after that dealing with immigration the category, then it moves down from there issues of climate change, race and dealing with global trade is at the bottom. this was done earlier this year so take that into account. but those might be issues that you find a top one when you does a president. let's hear from pittsburgh,

pennsylvania, that is where the president and vice presidents will be later today on this labor day as they campaign. this is mimi, republican line. caller: hello. i justmented to point out you -- i just wanted to point out you cover a lot of topics and primarily it is trump, trump, trump. but did you cover -- i didn't see it -- where mark zuckerberg, in a letter to the house committee, said he regrets and apologized support bowing down to the biden administration's pressure to censor content regarding covid in the hunter biden laptop. host: that story was out there. don't know if it was mentioned

on this but why does that rise to the top for you? caller: well, that was the head of the 2020 election and further zuckerberg said if -- he said the biden interference was wrong and if it ever happens again -- host: the topic according to our producer and there is the headline that you are referencing. is there a top issue for you election-wise or is there another one? caller: the economy and immigration and there are many issues that are top in my book. but i just wondered whether or not -- it seems like it is all trump, trump, trump, trump and never anything about the biden administration and what they have been doing for the last three staff years.

host: and we have been focused on that as well as the former president as we head toward election day. to new york democrat line paul. caller: my number one issue is universal healthcare for all citizens tree of charge. the rest of the worlds has had that. the united kingdom has had it since 1948. all the industrialized countries have it. they spend less money than we do and cover be for everything and have a higher quality healthcare. i'm not exaggerating when i say tiny commune ill cuba has a lower infant mortality rate. how do they do that? tax dollars pay for it but all money spent goes directly to medical care. what makes medical care so expensive it the united states is the profits. it is the profits, not the

actual cost of medical care. when obama was formulating obama care and those meetings were taking place he laid down the red cardin to anybody that would make a pay. we they were supporting the single payer and wanted to have a seat and were denied. we some entered the room they were arrested fortress passing and carted off to jail. it is about time away caught up with the rest of the world. >> do you think the currents vice president is interested in going further than what the affordable care act provides in terms of universal healthcare is it caller: she seems to be vacillating on that. she talked about phredz --

medicare for all but she is changing her position. i'm going to vote for her because i think donald trump is so horrible i cannot see him in the white house again. but i'm very disappointed in where she seems to be heading. we might get a slight improvement but i don't think we will get what the rest of the world has had for generations. just as a footnote i would like to add -- host: well, you have already took a lot of space with the universal healthcare. that is a top issue. thank you for sharing that. and again others could be part of your concerns or those top issues with the election cycle. so if you want to call it is 202-748-8000, 202-748-8001 for

republicans. rich is next in illinois, in-line. caller: thanks for taking my call. the list you showed are all important topics of the running of the government needs to address. but one of my issues is that the -- i have talked to people and their disenchantment with the choices for candidacy. and one of the things is they always say that they are all crooks, doesn't makes of make -- doesn't make a difference. for me, if you are a crook you should not be running for the presidency. if you are a crook you should be prosecuted. some of the things that -- one of the things that i was reading this morning about donald trump saying that it is ok for him to interfere with the election so he shouldn't be charged with it. if that is his interpretation of

how we run or government, if that is the way people think away run our government it is definitely an issue that needs to be corrected. that we are either for do whatever you want regardless of consequences and that is not what i believe we could be doing. we should be running our government and having a way it deal with it that is an honest open up front and doing the best we can to improve society rather than creating more dissidence and tearing it down. host: that is rich in illinois. the previous caller mentioned medicines care for all. abc news had an interfere with the governor of colorado and there is one of the topics that came up. here is some of the story saying we pressed on harris's support

for medicines care nor all the coloradan said she is invested in making healthcare more affordable as a basic value should they have it absolutely. almost every other kuhn -- country does that. americans want to have their choice but can we save mountain on healthcare -- 156r money on healthcare. absolutely. that is on line when it comes to medicines care for all. he'ses -- that might be your top issue. let's go to richard in kentucky, republican line. caller: yes, i just read an article and this has to do with the transition in trump wins, he comes in to the white house and it is what joe biden and/or the

kamala harris people do helping him to take over. now i read this article that in 2016 when trump won we had barack obama, james comey, joe biden and the whole team who wentz -- went after michael flynn. he was a retired patriotic general who was absolutely just a brilliant wonderful man who they lied, cheated and absolutely just destroyed his life, his family, costing him every dime. this is the f.b.i. in charge of this. host: let's take it in 2024. what is the top issue? caller: it is how much -- you don't want to remember about what the democrats did before. are they going to do it again? michael flynn and the f.b.i. --

host: i'm just saying relate it to what is the top issue of 2024 what points are you trying to make caller: can you trust democrats to do the right thing? they already tried to kill the president -- host: no, no. i will leave it there. james in indiana democrat lane. caller: good morning. this is going to rile some feathers of the learning group but a long time i heard a statement and i'm 74, i heard a statement it doesn't make were difference who the president is and at that time i didn't think were of it. but as time has gone by i began to think that. but then along comes trump and that is all we have heard about since he won that first election is president trump, president trump, president trump. and you have to make the best choices you can.

but the choice that is today we have is you have to have rules, you have to have guidelines. and trump has no guidelines. no matter how much you try to say the democrats are they going to do it or that and the right thing, and trump has not done the right thing and it is not really a matter but opinion. you can't have your own reality. host: are you saying that the top issue this election cycle is the former president himself? caller: that is the top issue for me because i have to keep him out of the white house and try to staten out the republican -- straighten out the republican party but they are so tar off the rails -- so far off the rails. host: why democrats do you think it is the job to staten out the republican party? caller: i'm not necessarily

thinking because i'm a democrat. because i'm a principled person that wants to do the right thing. i would vote for a republican any time. it wouldn't matter. i would vote for a democrat. i would vote for anybody i taught was a reasonable -- i thought was a reasonable person i wouldn't mind governing me and my family and people i love and community. doesn't have to do with being republican. it just is doing the right thinking. host: just to clarify, you are a democrat, correct? caller: i guess. that is the line i called in on. host: edward from wisconsin independent line. caller: the top issues are economy and the border and i think the last eight years have proven this government is so corrupt it is -- host: when you say the economy and border why is that a top issue for you? caller: you would be surprised the illegal workers in this

state. there are factories that evenly hire illegals in the state. host: if i may ask how if i mayu know that for certain? caller: because i work one. being one. you said the economy. what is the economy like in wisconsin? caller: just like it is all over the country. it is scary every day when you go to the grocery store. host: edward in wisconsin. top issues. if you want to participate and tell us yours, many people talking about the economy, some talking about immigration, some talking about the players involved when it comes to this year's election cycle. you can make that part of your mix. (202) 748-8000 democrats, (202)

748-8001 for republicans, and independents (202) 748-8002. if you want to text us you can do that at (202) 748-8003. as always you can post on our social media sites, facebook and x. myrtle is in georgia, democrat line. you are on. what is your top issue? caller: my top issue is i do not think we should have a convicted felon running. i thought that was illegal. host: the constitution does not clarify anything on that front. why is it a top issue for you? caller: because if you are already convicted of something you may do other things when you get to the white house. if they cannot prosecute you on what you already did that why

can't they prosecute you if you do something else illegal? host: that is myrtle in georgia. we will hear from francisco in long island. independent line. he is gone. let's hear from charles in maryland, democrats line. caller: how are you doing, good morning c-span. my top issue is integrity and character. i look at donald trump and he is lacking all of that. he would still be president if he had an up integrity to tell the truth about the pandemic. he lied to his wife and children. he lied about barack obama not being a citizen. he has no integrity and no character and people are still going toward this guy. host: if integrity is your issue, how do you apply that to the vice president, assuming you

are voting for her? caller: the vice president? you are talking about kamala harris? it is not even a comparison. it is no comparison. she is taking care of other kids, she has been a steady force. donald trump has been deceptive to his family, to the economy, to everyone around him. i will say this and get off the line. if you cannot handle something, if he cannot handle blood you cannot help a man bleed. he cannot handle the truth and handle losing and he is making a mess of everything he has touched. host: that is charles in maryland concerning the vice president. recent polling where she stands compared to former president trump, this from the hill saying vice president harris to not see a significant boost in support

following the democratic national convention, maintaining a slight lead over former president trump. a new abc news poll released yesterday found the vice president edged former president trump out 50% to 46% among all adults and registered voters. when it came to likely voters harris led trump 52% to 46%. pollsters noted the findings are similar and statistically unchanged from a poll in august according to an abc news /washington post/if those poll before the convention. harris had 49% before the convention while mr. trump had 45%. all eyes have been on polling released since last month's democratic national convention. the poll was conducted the day after the convention's final night. that is as far as polling and

you will see a lot of that when it comes to where the candidates stand. it comes to the issues you can tell us what that top issue is. some of you making reference to the people involved directly. others to other issues. edgewater, florida. republican line. caller: happy labor day. there was a caller a few back that was talking about integrity. i guess he was ranting on trump lying and a bunch of other stuff. i do not understand how democrats have a very short memory. let's go back to 2016 when they came out with the russia hoax. they spent four years perpetuating a hoax. it was not true. it was all lies. it came from the government.

they went after trump. that villain eyes tim. -- that villainized him. host: as far as this year's election what is the top issue? caller: the top issue is the economy. period. it is growing at a rate a lot slower than it should be and it is also teetering on not recession, but depression. it has gotten to a point where i see people i have known for 10 or 15 years can no longer afford to live in the house they are living in or can no longer afford the rent. i have friends in their 40's. i am 66. i own my house. i am lucky i got a 2% mortgage rate. they talk about the economy slowing down. we have inflation slowing down. why do we add this up? 9%?

3%, 3%, 5%. you add all of that up and we are at about 45% increase. when the democrats want to go running around spewing how great the economy is, saying it is doing wonderful, we have it under control, is only 3.9%, that is on top of everything else states across the united states and talk about the issues there and what is at play. joining us to talk about the state of michigan is so it clark, political director -- is zoe clark, political director for michigan radio. tell us about michigan radio. guest: michigan public tells us about the entire -- michigan public covers the entire state so we are able to hear from folks all over expressing the same concerns we are hearing from your viewers this morning. host: we framed it as top issues. the average michigan dark, what would they say?

guest: the economy and the price of goods is certainly number one or two. republicans in the state, including donald trump, who has already been here twice in the last week, really want this to pivot around the economy and also around crime and safety and immigration and how those issues connect with one another. that is really what he has been pushing. republicans down ballot. emme kratz in the state and democrats who come in -- democrats in the state really want to talk about abortion. this state had a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2022 and saw incredible turnout and saw democrats take control of state government for the first time in 40 years. democrats want the conversation about abortion. host: polling from 538 showing a slim margin between harris and

former president trump. those are aggregate poles but what do poles you look at within the state tell you? caller: one thing week -- guest: one thing we can say because we never want to talk about just one poll. one trend is kamala harris has been better for the ticket than biden in michigan. we were looking at as high as seven points for trump ahead of biden. i do not think this would ever be a seven point race, we are the swing used of swing states. what we are seeing is kamala harris being the. -- being neck in neck. this will be a close race and this is about the ground game. for democrats when were folks turn out to vote in michigan democrats win. i like to say that in 2016 eight

when folks were so shocked donald trump won michigan, it was not so much that donald trump won michigan but hillary clinton lost michigan. folks stayed home and did not turn out. that is what the harris campaign has to look like. for trump it is about getting out voters. his ceiling is low. there are only a certain number of folks. host: how would you characterize the ground game for both parties? guest: it is very interesting. it is trump a la 2016, we will take out 2020 because of covid. rallies throughout the state. he was in howell michigan two weeks ago at a sheriff's department. issues about whether or not he was politicking there at the department. he does not have a huge ground game, where is the harris campaign, previously the biden

campaign had offices throughout the state. that is whether or not they get out the vote for the harris campaign having these offices throughout the state are going to matter, particularly in voter rich cities like detroit where voters really stay home in 2016. host: it probably would not surprise you that the vice president plans a trip to talk with labor leaders. tell us about this visit. guest: kamala harris will be in detroit. this is not surprising. there is a long history of presidential candidates or vice presidential candidates or vice presidents and presidents themselves coming to detroit. the state is such a historic state when it comes to labor and unions. the state that put cars in american homes. we had barack obama when he was president for 2011, joe biden he

was vice president came to detroit for labor day. there is a rich history and we assume that what she will be focusing on is the economy, inflation, and what she wants to do for workers. host: in your state we heard about this group of voters, the undecided voters. much influence do you think they still have today as far as who determines the state? guest: this is a great question. the undecideds and those who feel like maybe they know but it is give or take whether they turn out to vote. what is really interesting we have not talked about is the committee boat -- the uncommitted vote. southeast michigan, including places like dearborn, has a huge arab-american population. this is where the uncommitted vote started in february, this idea he will vote in the democratic primary for president but not for joe biden.

instead there was a place where you could put in uncommitted, check that uncommitted box. about 100,000 uncommitted votes, this is because of the protest over gaza. it'll be interesting to see what happens with kamala harris, how she is able to thread the needle around gaza and israel because there is also a large jewish population in the state. 100,000 votes come that is a big deal what you think donald trump won the state by 11,000 votes in 2016 and biden won the state by 150,000 votes in 2020. guest: tell us about the role -- host: tell us about the role governor whitmer is playing in this event? guest: she is one of the national cochairs, previously of the biden campaign and out of the harris campaign. she is a popular -- and now of the harris campaign. she is a popular governor in

michigan and a popular brand ambassador in the country for democrats. she is going to be on the ground in the next 60 plus days doing everything she can. she won her gubernatorial race two years ago. that abortion amendment on the ballot. we believe some of that helped. she ended up winning by 11 points in michigan over a trump-endorsed candidate she was running against. she will absolutely be part of getting out the vote in michigan. host: abortion plays largely in state politics. you think in national politics that is high on the list? where does that rank? guest: my understanding is it depends on each state. in michigan it tends to be economy and inflation number one, and the number two were three tend to be immigration or abortion depending on who you talk to. it depends on the state and the

laws posted jobs -- post dobbs each state is creating. it is something democrats want to keep talking about. former president trump continues to talk about last week over the florida abortion ban and seems not to figure out what his messages where democrats feel they have a solid message and will continue to push it as much as they can for november. guest: talk about what changed -- host: you talk about what changed in the state with the entrance of the vice president. i'm sure that affected down ballot races, including the senate race. tell us about that race. guest: let's say the democrats down ballot are happy about this decision. whether they will say publicly or not there was a feeling of excitement that they were not going to be dragged down by the former president. this is something that does not happen very often, it is an open

u.s. senate seat. that is because longtime democratic senator debbie stabenow announced she is retiring, surprising some. it is an open seat between current democratic congresswoman alyssa slotkin who currently represents the congressional district debbie stabenow did, and mike rogers, a former republican congress person. it is an interesting race because the republican and democrat are the establishment candidate and right now, with the american system of primaries , we sometimes see in these far-right candidates cancer republican primaries, whether it is with a trump-endorsed meant or just grassroots. that did not happen here even though the establishment candidate thought the trump-endorsed meant, even though mike rogers said some things after the 2020 election

that were not kind to the former president. this is a close election and one where the u.s. senate candidates are looking to the top of the ballot hoping to help them out. just last week when donald trump was in michigan, mike rogers was standing right next to him. host: how can folks find michigan radio if they are interested? guest: go to michiganpublic.org. my cohost and i do a weekly podcast on all things michigan if you want to dig in more to all of these crazy things heading into election 2024. host: zoes battleground states. arizona, no exception this time around. jim small, the editor of the arizona mirror, joining us for a discussion, looking at his state, where it stands. the arizona mirror, tell us about it. guest: arizona mirror is a local

nonprofit newspaper covering government and policy, part of the state room network, newsrooms in state capitals and i want to say 39 states across the country. we launched almost six years ago this month actually, right in the middle of the 2018 election cycle. we have our eyes focused on november 5, covering our election in arizona, a state that has long been deep red, now is a battleground state. host: since you have been doing this since 2018, what has changed from then to now? guest: politics in general across the nation has become more intense for people on all sides of all issues really. particularly in arizona, and activation of younger voters. our electorate has shifted pretty dramatically in the last 15 years, going from a lot more

heavily white, retired voters into a lot of younger, particularly latino voters. the youth vote here has really turned out in ways that were unexpected the last six years, starting in 2018, repeating in 2020, 2022. campaigns are really looking toward those younger voters in 2024. a lot of campaigns are pinning their hopes on those borders showing up in larger than expected numbers. host: when it comes to the younger voters in the state, which way do they skew? guest: just like nationally, they tend to skew pretty heavily toward democratic candidates. not exclusively, but i think we have seen a huge uptick in enthusiasm and younger voters splitting more for democrats at

the top of the ticket, more so since kamala harris entered the ticket. there has been a real, noted enthusiasm among younger voters, democrats in general. they are out, we are seeing a lot more signs that that group of voters will turn out, show up at the polls and possibly record numbers, in ways that we saw in 2020 in particular, huge years were younger voters. host: correct me if i'm wrong, joe won in 2020, donald trump won in 2016. if that is the case, where do you think they have to concentrate to gain voters they don't already have? guest: i think arizona really is

the epitome of a tossup state right now. we see that in the polling. it will very likely come down to the turnout game, which side can motivate their base to show up with a little more intensity. that has clearly been the republican's game, the trump campaign's game since 2016, motivating the base. democrats have generally worked to attract more independent, undecided swing voters. there seems to be a lot fewer swing voters. biden's exit really got rid of those double haters, who would set out, or vote for a third-party candidate. now that that dynamic has

shifted, you are seeing a lot of those undecided voters really coalescing behind harris by and large. that pool of voters is a lot smaller. it will come down to turnout. democrats are now working very hard to try and activate some of those groups that were a little bit lethargic with the biden nominee. latino voters, women voters, younger voters, the three main camps that democrats in arizona and other battleground states will try hard to get registered and get to the polls on election day. host: how vibrant are the ground game for either candidate? guest: democrats have a much more robust ground game. there has been a lot of coverage in arizona, some nationally about how the trump campaign and the republican national committee have really taken the ground game and outsourced it to

third-party groups, advocacy groups like turning point usa, other groups. instead of having that more traditional party bases where you have that network volunteers, employees, seasonal campaign workers out there on the ground canvassing neighborhoods, democrats are still doing that, but there are groups constantly involve working with the party. on the republican side, it's a lot more muted, more aimed at pouring the money into television and, trying to contact rotering that way, setting the tone that way. democrats are much more active, walking neighborhoods, talking to campaigns on my doorstep. i live in a fairly conservative area of phoenix and even still the folk coming to our doors are

for the democratic candidates running for local office here. host: let's talk about the down ballot. ruben gallego, kari lake, contest for the senate. where does the stand today? guest: generally polling shows ruben gallego, congressman from the west part of phoenix, has a lead in the race. different polls show different amounts. some surveys have put him up 11, 12 points up in the race, which is an incredibly commanding lead, if those poles are accurate. i think this is a situation where you have a republican nominee who really has a lot of negatives, has struggled to connect with voters in general. in particular even with republican voters. kari lake lost the governor's race in 2022 by about 70,000

votes, but she still lost. the reason she lost, independent voters didn't care for her, largely sided with katie hobbs. there were a large number of republican voters who either voted for hobbs or set out entirely. a lot of analysis showing there were some 35,000 republican voters who voted for republican down the ticket and skipped the governor's race. that would have been enough for kari lake to win, had she been able to convince those voters. one thing that she had done to alienate herself, this crusade against john mccain and the mccain family. republican activists may not like mccain, never really liked him here, but the broad electorate does, and they hold him in high esteem. trashing him, telling them that

they are not welcome in the party, really had a resident message for voters. that message is, she doesn't want me, that's fine, i don't want her. we see that dynamic playing out here as well. host: your assessment of house races, dave schleicher, other races in the sixth district. guest: absolutely. those are both high target races for democrats. they have been for a while. they are the state's two competitive races. david has been in danger in the past, i don't know if he is this year. this will be his toughest reelection race. shah is a democrat but moderate, former state legislator, burnished his credentials as a lawmaker working across the aisle.

to the point where a lot of democrats were even frustrated with him at certain points. he worked his way through a crowded, six-person field and that primary. schweikert has faced a number of ethics scandals over the years, has generally not been terribly challenged. 2022, he did win a close race, a percentage point, so democrats see that as a ticket -- pickup. in the tucson area, ciscomani, finishing up his first term, competitive first term, essentially successor to gabby gifford's district. for the last 20 years, it's been going back and forth between republicans and democrats. democrats see ciscomani as someone who is too extreme, too

close to the trunk cap. -- trump camp. they are painting him as someone who is out of line with a more moderate district. the former legislator, kristin engel, as try to moderate some of her positions to fit into that district a little bit. but these races, in a lot of ways, will rise and fall on the coattails of what happened with the harris and truck campaigns. if one of those candidates has a strong showing, it will bolster their party's candidates down the ticket. host: this even extends a little further because you wrote a story looking at your state's legislature and how it may change due to this year's election. guest: arizona really is, from top to bottom, a battleground right now. the state legislature for the past four years, republicans have held each chamber by a single seat.

democrats, for the 20 plus years i've been covering the state capital, have always come into elections saying this will be our year, will really make a run for it, but never really materialized. this year may be different. they have been laying the groundwork since the 2022 cycle, looking at this as a we are going to make him a push, try to swing for the fences on the legislature. if the democrats could capture both houses in the legislature, it would be the first time since 1965 that democrats have controlled the state capital. with a democratic governor, katie hobbs sitting in the executive, you see democrats excited for the possibilities. in order to pull that off, they do have to shoot the moon, get everything right. there were only a handful of competitive legislative seats, may be eight in total out of 90.

they are out in force. republicans see the direct, they have been marshaling their forces to defend these seats, pickup some, surprise democrats in some races where they are not looking. these are races that tip we don't get a whole lot of attention in the local press, in the minds of local voters, but they are the ones that will most affect everyone who shows up to cast a ballot in arizona. host: we have been joined by res in battleground states to give us a sense of what is going on. when it comes to a battleground state, why do you think yours is such? guest: you look back at the past

election cycles. joe biden being the first democrat to win the state of georgia since 1992 on the presidential side. we have gotten used to this. we in georgia used to joke about what was happening down in florida with tight elections, all the commercials. we are seeing that now in georgia, commercials all the time, and candidates all the time. candidates would only make a handful of visits in 2000, 2004. now it's all the time. host: remind our viewers come the last presidential election, who won the state, how might it change this time around? guest: president biden won by less than 12,000 votes. it is one of the reasons why you saw former president trump trying to have the results overturned here in georgia. it is also why you are seeing so much money poured into the state

, because it could be close again. host: if that is the case, where are the key parts of the state that both sides will be paying attention to? guest: what has changed as you are seeing candidates on both side focus on every part of the state. for example, just last week, vice president harris campaigning on the coast near savannah about one stop out in rural georgia. the deputy campaign manager told us, if you go to those counties and tried to get those handful of votes, and you have seen this in previous elections -- same for republicans coming into atlanta, going after black male voters. then of course there are the northern suburbs in atlanta where using swing voters who come two years ago, a handful of voted for brian kemp as

governor, democratic u.s. senator rafael warnock. those are signs that you will see people fighting for. host: traveling on that bus tour, large scale, what was their message as they made the stops? guest: focusing on areas outside of atlanta. for ever, use our just focus on atlanta. then you saw former president trump, his rallies are in rural areas like peer week, georgia, rome. the whole state of georgia has become a battleground payment that is what you saw, basically some of the messaging from vice president harris. host: i imagine with states still up and play, you are seeing outside forces come to support both candidates. give us a sense of who is coming in, the money being provided here? guest: you just have to look at

my emailed. there is always a surrogate coming to the state, today, tomorrow, secretary, cabinet secretary in the biden administration. you have the human rights campaign president coming down to georgia. today we had an afl-cio leader leaving you are seeing surrogate after surrogate come to the state to make their argument for both sides. host: as far as ground campaigns are concerned, what are you seeing? guest: first of all, you are seeing lots of campaign office is open on both sides. you are seeing a lot of volunteer sign up on both sides. it is not just campaign offices in the atlanta metro area, it's in every city around the state. you see the harris campaign opening up outside the city of atlanta. the trump campaign opening

campaign after campaign, dozens when you add them together. you are seeing the ground game being built. the audience may know, the feud between former president trump and georgia's governor. governor kemp talked about this. his political machine is very powerful in the state. he made clear it has been working on the ground since july on behalf of the former president. host: as we talk about georgia, you are facing a lot of focus on the election, how an election is run. with this coming election, are there changes that we see different from previous elections? guest: one of the most important ones that kicked in just last week. we had another bill dealing with voting and elections. senate bill 199. it made it easier for the