discussing the latest issues in government, politics and public policies. coming up sunday morning, we will talk about the central campaign in the battleground state of michigan. first with greg pruda and later with david dileo. watch on c-span, c-span now, our app or c-span.org. >> -- will rally supporters in omaha, nebraska. omaha makes up most of nebraska's secondongressional district where demrats hope to flip the house seat. watch live on c-span, c-span now, our free video app or on c-span.org. >> c-span is your unfiltered

view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including charter communications. >> charter is proud to be recognized as one of the best internet providers. we are just getting started. only 100,000. -- building 100,000 miles of infrastructure to reach those who need it most. >> charter communications supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. this is washington journal for saturday, october 19. today is 17 days away, in addition to the white house, one third of u.s. senate seats are up for election along with all 435 house seats.

we are asking you will you vote to reelect your member of congress? republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. you can text your comments to (202) 748-8003. be sure to include your name and state. you can post your question or comment on facebook at facebook.com/c-span or on x at c-span wj. with that election 17 days away, early voting has started in many states across the country and we are asking you if you would vote to reelect your member of congress. i want to show you this from the washington post. congress might be headed for an election day double flip with less than four weeks to go, republicans appear poised to win

the senate which is currently controlled by the democrats. democrats seem to have a slight edge in the race for the republican-controlled house. if the polls and predictions prove right, and that is still a big if, it would be the first such flip in a political era marked by slim outcomes and deep divisions. -- could lead to gridlock as a new president is set to govern next year. congress faces crucial deadlines to fund the government and a -- avoid defaulting in the next couple of weeks. in the final weeks, both parties are trying hard to break through undecided and independent voters. in many swing districts and states, that means moderating messaging on key issues like

abortion and immigration and trying to paint opponents out as extreme. looking at the current breakdowns and where those races stand, according to the cook political report, they are showing the ratings. you can see the 27 seats right here in gray. those are tossup seats, meaning they can go in either direction. there are a handful of them. you can see them here, listed here. and also, a couple in the senate, they are showing three tossup races, including michigan, ohio and wisconsin. and yesterday, last night, in wisconsin, there was a senate debate featuring the current incumbent senator, tammy baldwin and republican challenger, eric. here is a portion of their debate, talking about abortion.

>> i think we as a state should resolve this issue with a referendum where everybody gets a right to vote. the voters get a right to vote, i get a right to vote. i clarify my position, and that is i believe women should have a right to choose early on their pregnancy but there comes a point in time when a baby can be born alive and healthy. >> eric, that does not happen in america. it is clear that he has never read roe v. wade. i'm pushing to have that be the law of the land. your rights and freedom should not depend on your zip code or the state in which you live. what he just said doesn't happen in america. what me tell you what is. there are health care providers facing the threat of prosecution. there are states with six-week bands. -- bans.

>> thank you, senator. your time is up. host: this first hour of washington journal, we are asking you will you vote to reelect your member of congress? we hear first from william in ohio on the independent line. good morning, william. caller: good morning. i just think that -- i'm going to revote for romney. he is a great guy. as for congress, i'm not sure what i'm going to do. trump is going to destroy this country. host: what district are you in? who is your current member? caller: i don't remember, even. i just know -- ohio is gerrymandered so bad right now. we are voting to do away with the gerrymandering.

that's the main thing i'm voting for. the gerrymandering in ohio. host: carol in brookhaven, new york on the line for republicans. good morning. caller: yes, i will not vote for the republican if -- what was i saying -- if they have an attorney that has been disbarred because of this unbelievable behavior to run for office. we have an assemblyman in the three village area of long island. the fourth district. anyone who has been disbarred as of the 25th of last month, and they are going to let him run as assemblyman. if anyone allows or condones a disbarred attorney to run for office, that should be resolved.

host: carol, for your members of congress, do you have a preference for who you are going to vote for for the house seat? caller: i will vote for anyone who votes against an assemblyman who has been disbarred from the fourth district. host: do you know which candidate that is? caller: i know both candidates. but unfortunately, i'm not going to say. i'm only going to say one thing. anybody who condones a person that has been removed from, disbarred, 100% disbarred from the assembly, i will not vote for anyone who votes for disbarred or stands behind a disbarred attorney. host: caroline in ohio for the line for democrats. caller: i already voted.

i voted on the first day of early voting. and there were some glitches but it got taken care of. i voted for sherry brown. i was like the other caller, i believe in him. i think he will do a fantastic job. i can't believe how many -- i don't think i've gotten any, anything in my mailbox from sherrod brown. i have gotten, i would guess that i have gotten 20 postcard type of mailings for bernie moreno. i've already voted. it was sherrod brown all the way. good luck to him. host: when you voted, did you vote for the incumbent?

caller: you know what? i can't even remember. i checked my ballot because it was -- it took a long time for them to get things straightened out. i checked how i voted and i know i voted democrat all the way. i don't remember who is in ohio. who is in the house? i'm not thinking this morning. i'm having a senior moment. i am a senior citizen. host: ronald in north carolina on the republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. i was calling, i want to let everyone know that i will never vote for the democratic party, the way they are doing our country. they are guarding the house and passing laws to turn little

girls into boys and boys into girls. they are going to try to turn men into women in the prisons. something is wrong with this country. the house is sick. we can't vote for the democratic party. and kamala harris. if we do, our country is headed straight to you nowhere. host: is your congressional district currently a seat held by a democrat? caller: i'm in north carolina, i'm not sure about that now. host: rob in port crane, new york, on the line for independence. -- independents. caller: my representative is running against another lawyer. i don't think i can vote for either one of them because he keeps giving money to ukraine and israel and not a nickel for our border. at the same time, i will never vote for another democrat. they are the one who -- ones who

left this country's border wide open. i can't vote for a democrat. host: rob, did you vote for representative molinaro last time around? caller: we voted for claudia tenney and then new york state redistricted and we went from the 22nd district to the 19th. and they installed this mall a narrow character -- molinaro character. he doesn't talk about the important things. i have no one to vote for. host: that was rob in new york. sean in north carolina on the line for democrats. caller: i'd like to thank all the poll workers around the country for giving us an easy

time to vote in this country. elections are not rigged, they are the best elections in the world and we are the greatest country in the world. all this fear mongering and all of these things that are going on, it is a shame. for the first time in my life, i'm a democrat and i voted a straight ticket mccracken because -- democrat because republicans broke the oath they took. we have a man running for president who attacked our capitol building, he called for this. anybody who votes for him is a vote against our constitution. i took a vote for my constitution in the early 1970's and served my country. i love this country. host: is your congressional district currently held by a democrat? caller: he stepped down. mchenry is not running this year. i didn't have to look at the thing. all i did was pull a straight

him a cracked ticket for the first time in my life because the republican party -- democrat ticket for the first time in my life because the republican party spreading craziness. host: as of this month, 53 members of congress, eight members of the u.s. senate and 45 members of the house have announced they will not seek reelection. looking at the breakdown for health members not seeking reelection, 12, three republicans and nine democrats are instead running for a u.s. senate seat. two, one democrat and one republican are running for state attorney general. two, again a republican and democrat are running for governor. one democrat is running for president of the united states. and 28, 12 democrats and 16 republicans, are retiring from public service.

a lot of debates are happening for house and senate races. c-span has been showing a lot of those. it was earlier this month that the nebraska second district, one of the races being closely watched at this time, the debate between incumbent republican representative don bacon and state senator tony vargas, here they are responding to a question about climate change. >> the south is picking up the pieces from two major hurricanes and nebraskans are recovering from a summer of devastating weather. homeowners face rising insurance rates and rebuilding. do you believe climate change is to blame and what role do you think the government should play in protecting americans physically and financially? >> congressman, a minute and a half. >> i think climate change plays

a role. is it a defining role? we can debate that. i have no doubt aced on an increase -- based on an increase in carbon, there is a human factor here. that's why i supported multiple measures to put less pollution in the air. i support nuclear energy. my work to get the solar tax deduction as well as the window tax deductions but back on the tax reform law. in omaha, we have 40% coastal wind and i am proud of that. as the lead republican, -- the climate change act which would incentivize farmers to do more sustainable farming. when it comes to rebuilding, i saw what happened at camp ocelot. i was able to get $1.4 million

for -- we need to do the same types of things in florida and other areas to keep learning from these disasters so that we don't pay as much even -- every time we have an emergency. >> senator, a minute and a half. >> climate change is real and we have a response ability to not only slow it but we are immediately construed into it. i hear from congressman bacon that there is a human factor. humans are playing a large role in this. it's the reason why not only as a former public school science teacher, i taught this to my students. i taught this to my students because it was important for them to understand the future of their generation and the future of their land, water and all of these amazing natural resources is dependent on whether or not we protect it. it's also the reason why we need to invest in the kind of jobs and opportunities that would

take care of our land and water. but it also means that those kinds of jobs right now are under attack. we have to be more competitive right now this globe. we need to invest in the next generation of clean energy jobs that will do everything possible to not only raise wages for nebraskans and americans, but also ensure that those jobs are contributing to reducing this climate change. rather than saying it is somewhat of a factor, it is an absolute factor and we can do something about it. i also think it's important that when we don't support these kinds of american jobs and when congressman bacon voted against the chips act, these are tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of american-made jobs that would make us more competitive against china and actually invest in the middle class. host: back to your calls, asking the question, will you vote to reelect your member of congress?

up next, robert in greenville, texas, on the line for independents, good morning. caller: good morning. i don't even know who my congressman is. probably 95% of them don't know who their representative is. caller: do you remember who you voted for last time around in 2022? caller: i don't believe i voted. in 2022 i did vote but i voted on statewide issues. congressman, they don't get the air time, they don't go out. i searched for rallies, political events in my local area. i live in a very rural area.

the last time i was able to go to a rally was about six years ago. anyway, i think all the political stuff that goes on in this country is -- most people are probably completely unaware of who their congressman is. host: what about the senate, there will be a pretty close senate race in texas. caller: oh, i listened to the debate the other night with senator cruz. i believe it is time for fresh blood. i call into c-span on a fairly regular basis. i have to be honest.

some of my comments in the past have been about term limits. the fact that nobody in this country really knows who their congressman is, i've talked to a dozen or more of my neighbors and they don't know who their congressman is. i don't. host: you don't know who has represented you, how are you owing about trying to find information for these rallies, why haven't you lifted up? that is something you can easily find. caller: absolutely, i can easily find in the elections are 17 days away. host: robert in texas, stephanie in cleveland, ohio. good morning. caller: cincinnati, ohio.

i am calling in for sheriff brown. thank you. host: that was stephanie. sherry in columbus, ohio, also on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. i am voting or already have voted for sharad brown. and for joyce beatty, my representative. that's it. thank you. host: do you normally vote a straight democratic ticket? caller: oh yes. very often, more than likely. host: when is the last time year district was represented by a republican? i know congresswoman beatty has been there for a while. caller: i can't even remember. columbus is a democratic

stronghold. and i'm very proud of that. thank you very much. host: cornell in new jersey, line for democrats. caller: yes, i will be voting for dollop norcross for congress. -- donald norcross for congress. it's important that america should vote for democrats because look at what the republicans have done in congress this year. they have ousted their own speaker and tried to do it again and the democrats had to save them. the problem is that the republicans refuse to govern. and it's not about solving problems, it's about controlling the narrative and not getting anything done. i guarantee if hakeem jeffries

was the speaker of the house, we wouldn't -- we would be getting things done. we would not be having a coup to try to oust our own speaker, hoping that the republicans would bail us out. but that's the bottom line. these democrats are the adults in the room and this congress has probably been rated the worst congress in history because of their lack of governing. they control the purse strings and refuse to govern. so it's important that we get a democratic congress back in the house. host: that was cornell in new jersey. this in this morning's new york times.

the article talking about rory chavez raymer, a republican serving oregon. a first-term congresswoman in one of those seats that is highly competitive. this term, the article in part says like other dozens of republicans in competitive races across the country including former president donald j. trump , is leaning heavily into law and order messaging to try to gain the upper hand against her democratic opponent. ms. chavez is working to leverage voter frustration over the state's handling of homelessness, crime and fentanyl overdoses. an issue that ballooned after oregon voters chose in 2022 decriminalize possession of small amounts of hard drugs to blunt efforts by her opponent, the democratic state representative to portray her as

a rubberstamp in congress for the republican agenda. the race in organs congressional district which stretches from portland suburbs east across the cascade mountains to the rapidly growing mountain town of bend is one of only a couple dozen truly competitive contests in the country that could determine which party emerges in november with control of the house. republicans have a razor thin majority. back to your calls, eric in medina, ohio on the line for republicans. good morning. caller: good morning. i voted straight republican because i think we need change. kamala is not going to give us change, she will continue with socialist woke policies that have opened borders.

not confronting our enemies. i feel like we need a change. i feel like we need to get a congress in there. host: who is your representative in congress right now? caller: my representative is max miller. one of my senators is sherrod brown. he's been a politician all his life and he vote straight democrat and that's one of the reasons we have the open border policy we have. we are sending money over to other countries and not taking care of our people. that's one of the biggest things that people want to see. host: earl in lakewood, washington on the line for democrats. good morning. caller: how are you guys doing this morning? i lived my whole life in the south.

but now, i live in washington state and it is wonderful to be in a place where democrats dominate. i think my representative is pramila jayapal. they are down like four flats. this is heaven to meet up here. i'm loving it. host: robert in clearwater, florida on the republican line. good morning. caller: good morning to you and thank you for taking my call. i think people are making a big mistake, voting for kamala. the inflation is killing us. people are coming in from the border and they have criminal records. they are fighting in chicago and stuff and things are terrible. you have to be out of your mind vote for her. she's done nothing to stop the

border. as far as the democrats, they have to make a change. i'm telling you, if you vote for her and she gets elected, it might be the end of the world. that's all i have to say. thank you very much. host: peggy in jackson, tennessee, on the line for independents. good morning. caller: i would not vote for kamala, kamala, i can't say her name. she's going to destroy our country. because she is letting all those people over here, spending all that money on them and when american people need the money themselves, i'm going to vote for mr. trump. host: peggy, what about the -- what about your member of congress? your representative? caller: i've already voted for all that. host: who is your member? did you vote to reelect them or somebody different? caller: i voted for the same

people over. my daughter wants me to vote for someone so i vote for them. but for president, i vote for who i want to. but this woman, if she gets in there, it's going to be a disaster. host: one of the senate races that is up for grabs because of a retirement is the arizona seat. it is open because kyrsten sinema is retiring and leaving office. two candidates, kari lake and democratic representative ruben gallego are running for that sea. they had a debate last week. here is a clip of that. they are talking about election integrity. >> public perception is, at least in arizona, something seems to go wrongry