♪ host: it is sunday, november third. we are in the closing days of the presidential election campaign and both major

candidates are making their final swings through the swing states delivering their last appeals to voters. many are more than ready for the campaign to end. to get some political closure, but also because of the strain the election is putting on their relationships with friends, work colleagues, family. we want to hear from you. is the election affecting your relationships? if you are sporting the harris-walz campaign, call in at 202-748-8000. if your spring the trump vance campaign, 202-748-8001. if you are undecided, 202-748-8002. if you would like to text us, that number is 202-748-8003. please be sure to include your name and where you are writing in from. if you would like to find us on social media, facebook.com/c-span and on x at

c-span wj. for the data on how this election is affecting relationships. a story in fox news. election strain pushes one of three americans to limit time with family and friends. the presidential election is already stressful for most americans and these stressors can trickle down to relationships. a new poll from the american psychological association found 77% of americans believe the future of our nation is a "significant source of stress" along with the economy in the upcoming election. a bit more detail from that american psychological association survey. 32% of adults say the political climate has caused a strain between themselves and family members. 30% limited me spent with family members who don't share their same values. half admitted the tensions around social and political topics make thewant to spend

less with others. and 28% say they have nothing in common with people who have different political opinions. american psychological association ceo joins us on washington journal yesterday and discussed how people can repair some of those strained relationships after the election. >> a couple of things i would say. to really think about what matters and whether you agree as opposed to where you do not agree. what i found particularly i worked in political environments prior to the election. and most of the time we come into those kinds of situations thinking about where our differences are and starting the conversation there. as we step back and think about where are we similar and how can we start the conversation on the things we agree on. you actually get a lot further.

most people will probably agree on may 80% of the things and people may not agree on how to approach those things that there are a lot of things people agree on. the other thing is to approach those conversations not trying to convince the other person but trying to listen and understand. if you think about it, most people have pretty set political views. they are probably not can it change their viewpoints around who they are supporting politically. but they can step back and try to understand why people who think differently have those positions. i think it is really about trying to understand and trying to find common ground where there is agreement. host: let's get right to your calls. john is in new york, undecided.

caller: thank you and thank you for taking my call. basically i am kind of undecided. i tried to make a list of points of view and the negative points of view of each negative -- of each candidate. i look at it and i'm looking at kamala harris and i like the fact that she is focusing on health care. i think that is extremely important. and other populist issues concerning maybe childcare and looking at affordability, but on the other hand i look at trump and his record on economy and his record on immigration, a very distinct and powerful points of view that i have with him. one of the things that really disturbs me is the lack of scrutiny that they apply to each

side for example. with trump, they constantly criticize him about the affair, the attempted assassination, the rhetoric and vitriol and things like that. in the latest comments by joe biden. host: i wonder how this election has affected your personal relationships. kind of going through this and -- caller: thank you for asking that because it has. i find myself at odds from time to time with close friends and members of my own family. they do not like trump because of his bombast, because of his overall demeanor and what bothers me and maybe some of your viewers can comment on it. it is i think you have to separate the noise from everything else. trump is made deficit -- definite gains.

i'm trying to look at it from a neutral point of view and giving deference to the biden harris side. sometimes when you look at the facts, objectively. one side comes out ahead and that's very hard to do because people are invested with emotions and they react accordingly. again, with close friends and even family members, the best solution i found is when we are at holiday dinners, nobody talks politics, it's a written rule. and we are able to get along. not to digress, i am really concerned about the direction that we are going because this election can have long-lasting implications. so again. i urge people to be objective and that is what i am trying to

do. when i look in this manner i will hopefully vote the right way. host: let's hear now from ernest in florida who is supporting trump. good morning. caller: yeah, just want to say most people vote for someone because they like them. they don't vote for the policy. i vote for the policies that the candidates have. host: how have you found this affecting your personal relationships over the course of the campaign? >> the last four years have been real hard on me and my family. everything went up since biden and harris got into the white house and i just think trump's policies are a lot better. economy was a lot better, the border was secure.

i think the whole country was more safe. host: does most of your family -- is most efficiently also supporting former president trump? caller: yes. host: is there anybody in your life who does not support trump where you had any kind of challenges in relationships. host: no. nobody -- everybody i know supports trump. his policies and -- especially, like in pennsylvania. i don't know anybody voting for -- i'm not saying i don't like her, but her policies. host: can you imagine yourself being friends or starting a new kind of friendship or relationship with somebody who may be doesn't support former president trump? host: yeah. host: ok great. let's get comment from facebook. markrean says unfortunately i have not remained friends with

anyone who tnk2020 election was stolen. i can only maintain friendships th people who live in reality. i still have trumsuorting friends and relatives that we must agree on that one fact. melvin is in richmond, virginia and is supporting vice president harris. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i am a person who generally does not deal with the opposition. i do not really have any family members who are not supportive of kamala harris. maybe one or two but we do not talk to that person. just because we feel it's just ridiculous. and in my environment, in my little circle of life, like

social media friends. they know that i'm get a post what i like and if they challenge it i will just take them up my friends list. and of course my friends are mostly supporters of kamala harris and mr. walls. so you have to be staunch sometimes because we are living in a dangerous time if trump gets elected. you cannot have anybody poisoning your thoughts because it's too dangerous. host: i wonder do you think after the election you'll be able to restore some of those friendships and those people you remove from your friends list. guest: -- caller: no, because it

is a mindset. people who support trump really are racist at heart. they are racist or they just don't understand. there is a reason why project 2025 wants to remove the department of education because people who are not educated fall for trump's bag. if you look at all the polls there's always a sharp difference between people who have a college degree or better education and people who do not. the more education you have, the more likely you are to be a democrat. and the less education you have, the more likely you are to vote for trump. that is why they want to get rid of the department of education because if you keep people ignorant, they will vote for donald trump. host: let's hear from john in

idaho who is supporting trump. good morning. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. i have to wholeheartedly disagree. unless trump lives forever, there is no way you can continue to vote for trump. he can run again for office anymore after this is over if he wins, then he would be president for four years and that's it. he cannot do anymore. so that negates that last callers conclusion is what he had about trump abolishing the educational system. if you want to talk about the educational system it's been a complete failure. it's been a money pit for the unions. one doesn't have to look far to see that. host: i want to know if you can share how this election has affected your personal relationships. people in your life. caller: people in my life?

the ones that are kamalaars supporters i have not left them and they have not left me. we have an unwritten agreement that when something comes up between the two of us, that we want to discuss but we know it is a hot button issue, we go to each of our own corners and we think about it and then we talk about it the next day by phone or in person and by doing so we give ourselves enough time to cool off. we never blow up and we don't ruin our friendship that we've had for some time. that's the most important thing. you can let politics ruin our relationships we have in this life. if we do we are not to have any friends. it takes a little bit of patience and love to know that the other person has a belief

and an understanding of the way the can a believe and understand . the thing i do disagree with kamala harris the most is when she was addressing the african-american males and how she was going to take care of them and that was -- getting started in the marijuana business. last time i checked marijuana is still a drug. it may have been declassified a little bit by the u.s. government but it is still a drug. i don't want to see my brothers and sisters go down being addicted to another drug. i disagree with it and i think it is people by the way it's been done. that's it. guest: we -- host: we have a text message from jas michigan. i think 75% of peoe don't associate people of the other party, the division will never be repaired. sean is in houston, texas and is a harris supporter. caller: good morning.

host: how has this election been affecting your relationship. caller: so it has definitely been affecting my relationship as far as coworkers go. in the past, people would assume that i voted for barack obama and -- because i am african-american and now i do have coworkers who are trump supporters. i do not discuss those types of things at work. however it is always discussed. host: how do you navigate that to maintain a good relationship with your coworkers? caller: to me i just do not talk about it. if we are talking about it, i change the subject right away. i find it to be very

problematic. i am a harris supporter and through the trump administration is total chaos. lies, and i find it very problematic. >> sean is in baltimore maryland and is a trump supporter, good morning. host: good day to you -- how has this election affected your relationship. caller: i just want to say that guy talking about trump supporters are uneducated. that's an asinine statement and it's ignorant. i have a college degree four-year bachelors degree in science and i am a trump supporter so that negates his statement. as far as my relationship, you better believe it does affect a lot of them being a black american i'm a foundational black american and you already know supporting trump is a

problem because a lot of people in our community are brainwashed by the democrats. i will say it's better a lot more black people are supporting trump this election versus 2016, 2020 but it is still an issue. a lot of my family, they are harris supporters so some of them i can talk to let my mom and dad. they support harrison know how i feel but that i have some cousins and i will just keep it to myself. it doesn't get out of hand but i kind of keep it to myself and they are my in-laws. some of my in-laws are harris supporters so and my wife is a trump supporter so what we do is we just kind of keep it to ourselves as far as coworkers, it is 50-50. some of them i can talk to about trump. some of the more harris

supporters we can have a civil conversation even with friends. but at the end of the day i think it's a good idea that i keep it to myself and i don't talk about politics because the ones who are harris supporters, harris supporters get delusional like that guy talking about the uneducated. host: just because and i want to finish up your point but just because several folks have referenced this i went ahead and looked it up the data on pew research on the connections between party affiliation and education. i will just give some of those data points. the relationship between education has shifted significant leases the early years of the 21st century. the republican party now holds a six percentage point advantage over the democratic party among voters who do not have a bachelors degree. voters who do not have a four-year degree make up 60% of all registered voters. by comparison the democratic party has a 13 point advantage

among those with a bachelors degree or more for more education. this pattern is relatively recent. until about two decades ago the republican party fared better among college graduates and worse among those without a college degree. just because several folks had brought this up numbers. go ahead sean. >> it's not all. all people who have degrees don't support democrats and the number two, there is a secret trump supporter like i said. i can't go around saying i support trump because of the backlash i will get. and i will be honest some people will just get so angry they get violent. and you better believe i know how to fight but i am 43 with two kids so i'm not trying to deal with that. i keep it to myself just to keep the peace. those polls, they might be somewhat true but you better

believe people keep to themselves to avoid trouble or violence. just at the end of the day, i just keep it to myself because a lot of people in my community, if you are not voting democrat they get angry and those keywords. not voting democrat. i didn't even say vote republican because at first i was -- wasn't supporting trump or hairspray host: some more data from that survey i mentioned at the beginning of the show. it actually breaks down the strain on relationships that politics is causing people paste on race. as you mentioned earlier, politics strains relationships with nearly one third of u.s. adults when you break it down by gender, it strains more relationships for men, a 30 6% compared to 28% of women.

and then if you break it down by race, 39 percent of latino adults feel like politics is straining their relationships compared to 30% of lack and white adults versus 27% of asian adults. there was also a difference depending on your gender orientation or sexual orientation. lgbtqia+ folks feeling 41% of them feeling like politics is straining their relationships versus 30% of heterosexual cisgender adults. lily is in annapolis, maryland as an -- and is a harris supporter. >> good morning. >> how is this election affecting you. >> if not having any effect on me because i was democratic and a harris supporter from the get-go. some of the polls about who's this and that, i think it is lot of cora maddox on the side -- gramatics.

saying about harris trying to pivot to black men i don't know what his misinformation comes from because that's can a cause -- marijuana to go up. i think that's a whole lot of brainwashing and things put out by the media and by the pollsters. as far as my relationships go, i don't have one way or another. i just think how any but he can vote for a man that implies this kind of violence at the capitol, that scares me what's can happen if he gets in. i'm definitely a supporter for harris. host: ryan in massachusetts, a trump supporter. good morning. caller: the question was about how it's affected your relationships? i can tell you in -- i've been alienated, downgraded for being a trump supporter and being threatened of being thrown off

campus parade i filed a civil rights claim against them in one. i've had people who i went to high school and college with on my facebook that have unfriended me because obviously they are cybernaut sees and cannot handle different opinions. so i make different accounts, a log back on and say it again. i have a high school reunion coming up and i cannot wait if trump wins i'm going to rub it in so bad it's good to be funny. the whole comment about people being uneducated voting for trump totally wrong. i have degrees in paralegal studies and business administration. i've been a former democrat turned independent now on enrolled. i voted for trump and republican all down ballot. so this -- as for affecting personal relationships, i just dumped a girlfriend over the summer who tried to dump lgbtq nonsense on me. it does not bother me whatsoever. people should be able to express their opinions without having to be alienated. host: can i ask you how old you

are? caller: i'm 37. host: the reason i was asking is because that american psychological association survey i mentioned earlier found that 46% of adults would not take someone with different political opinions and half of gen z responded in a life stance survey that they consider political compatibility to be an important factor in dating. 42% of millenials, 31% of gen x, 29% of baby boomers, one third of all respondents claimed they would not dated someone who disagreed with her political views while 28% would consider it a dealbreaker. and they said almost a quarter of gen z and millenials have ended a romantic relationship due to at least one political disagreement so that sounds like you. host: yeah because she tried to

push the gender bender pretender politics on me and i told her the biological facts and they cannot handle the fact that frankly believing in more than two genders is delusional fantasy. that's what it is. host: ok. let's hear from diana in livingston, new jersey who is a harris supporter. >> good morning. yes it definitely has affected almost all my relationships. my husband and i are childhood sweethearts so we have the same socioeconomic friends. who are blue-collar workers. i husband was a sheet metal union worker and he's retired now. as far as his family it's a large irish family. we are both catholics. his nephews who came out of the military, they are in their 40's about 10 years ago they could not count on life readjustment to get a job. he got them into the union some

contacts, they applied and went through the requirements. they're supposed to be union workers. and i come to the conclusion i have friends at about 5050 more women support harris because of the abortion issue. but what i find is it can be about when you examine trump's policies they anti-freedom. you are less government, your freedom of religion or not. host: you laid out some demographics and backgrounds. caller: my sister and her family

is. but they are in florida. she finds it difficult again, her relationships. the way we get along when you ask how it affects, we either do not associate with them anymore. i do not attend family functions with my husband's family because as soon -- even if you try to avoid politics it seems like politics is your life like when you discuss the economy. that isn't politics, it is either real or not. i was at a confirmation party and i was seated next on my brother-in-law's and he insisted about a year and a half ago we were in recession. i just said no we are not. i started spouting facts. i watch a lot of bloomberg news, cnbc. i manage my money so i am definitely aware of what's up and down, where to go. but he insisted. i said what is it.

he said he did not agree with the economist and i said you're smarter than the economist? we should go by your feeling? he stood up and threatened to stab me in the neck with a butter knife. and then people intervened. i was shocked. since then i do not associate with any of them because they take it like -- that i should not bother people with facts. like we don't know what other people are going through and that type. so since then i do not end with my friends, we went to the racetrack for a reunion in the summer. and again as long as i did not mention anything, it was just casual talk then we could get along. that's what's happened in my family. i feel bad because he is definitely a harris supporter and he is a union man and he realizes biden's policies with bailing out the teamsters

pension and everything and we follow the policies. the republicans who backed trump , they are kind of using him because the republican party notoriously about big business. >> an interesting ad because the ad came out in the last week or so from the harris-walz campaign put out by -- that has many conservatives upset. there's a story about it in the hill. conservatives in furor over julia roberts add, because julia roberts voiced this ad which enforce -- encourages women to vote for vice president harris even if their husbands are backing former president trump. [video clip] >> your turn, honey. >> in the one place in america where women still have a right to choose, you can vote anyway

you want. and no one will ever know. >> did you make the right choice? >> sure did, honey. >> what happens in the booth stays in the booth. vote harris-walls. -- harris-walz. host: republicans have responded to the video without rage, some claiming that a wife lying about her vote is as bad as an affair. let's go to frank in georgia, who is supporting former president trump. >> good morning. i am a longtime republican voter. i am all about small government. and the only thing they need to do is provide for the protection of this country. none of this. there is a divide between

generations. the younger generation especially because they seem to equate republicans with george bush and the twenty-year fiasco in the middle east that cost 10,000 lives and $3 trillion and we got nothing to show for it that is what the young generation sees and the reason they are so against it. what they do not see is the whole picture of the democratic party and everything they touch they screw up. number of things. bay of pigs invasion, big mistake. host: you were talking about differences between the younger generation on the republican party. have you seen that show up in your personal relationships with younger folks in your life? >> the democrats are basically

buying the younger vote. they will trash the economy of this country and then we will have a real war because you do not know what a real war is, but when kamala gets done you will see what a real war is. let me say something about your education system, please. we were number one until jimmy carter became president in education. our education is kaput. we need to do away with this national department of education. host: this topic is about personal relationships. let's hear from anthony in baltimore, maryland, who is a harris supporter. >> i wanted to say that the problem with relationships is white republicans are not telling the truth.

these people are racist. they are not telling the truth. race is not about black people. it is about white people. white people are the want to have a problem with race. they will not accept people of color as human beings. the man who called from baltimore, the blackfoot for trump will be less than 5%. black people are not voting for donald trump. race is about white people. host: with that perspective, how have you seen this campaign affect relationships with white people or other folks in your life? >> for the most part, i am pretty civil with white people because we do not talk about it. we know an honest conversation about race will be explosive

because white republicans do not want to met they are racist. they are racist. host: that feels like a pretty sweeping judgment of a big group of people. caller: the history of this country is the truth. history this country tells us this is about race. just read your history. i am not making these things up. people are not making these things up. this is the ugly reality of what this country is. host: let's hear from rick in new york, who is undecided. caller: i think what the gentleman was getting at goes even further back. when you look at all the different presidents we had,

each had an issue and problem. when the democrats found out it was our problem, that we created vietnam, the democrats were angry. when nixon had werte, the democrats were ang pmarily. until now, we have congress and the supreme court who are both corrupt. host: can you bring this to how this is affecting our personal relationships since the election? >> when i talk about these things with people, they agree with me. right now, i am voting for the lady and i will continue to support her because what i seen come out from trump, he is a felon and liar, so i could not vote for him. it has not --

my relationships. host: why has it not affected your relationships? because folks agree with you or something else? when we talk through the issues calmly, people agree with each other. they bring up points i agree with. trump is a celebrity. he knows how to work a crowd. kamala does not. there is a reason people like him. there's a reason people like her. she stands more on policy and what she is going to do for people and trump is a showman. and appeals to those types of people. host: let's hear from jim, who is a trump supporter. caller: i am in the red state of

indiana. i was a democrat until that decision came about. i have two daughters, college grads. both have masters degrees from bloomington. my youngest daughter is a rebel. that is it. do we have arguments? no. we are a family. as far as that goes with harris and trump, you have to realize we did not get a good selection this year. a lot of people just do not understand. who do you think the worst of? if you vote for harris, the chinese are going to invade taiwan and we will get stuck with a war. for all you mothers that have sons there are worried, you should be worried because as soon as biden got" what happened?

the russians invaded ukraine. a couple months later. if you do not think the chinese are waiting for this opportunity , you have to be crazy. as far as stereotyping, this one guy said educated people are going to vote for democrats. that is not true. my family, from a masters degree to people in political power -- i am a union member myself. i changed. trump is a character. harris is over her head. i wish you people would realize that. the community in some of these third world's -- it is a man's power. host: you mention one of your daughters disagrees with you

politically but you're able to maintain your relationship. what are things you do as a family to make sure you are to still maintain that relationship? caller: you are not quite to believe this. -- going to believe this. i was in a chicago hospital and i actually died for 14 minutes according to the doctors. my family went there and the doctors called them back and said, you have to come back because he is dying. so my family is unified because of the love we have for each other. we are there for holidays. do we talk about politics? no. we are a family. that will never split up. ironically, my best man for my wedding voted for trump the first time and he does not talk to me anymore.

we are done. he hates me. his wife hates me. what can i do? i tried to make amends and the glue was not there. this guy was my best man. my two best friends when i went for trump and i told him it is about unity for the country and that is what we are lacking. we had a big fight in my area yesterday over somebody that was a trump supporter. it got like the wild west. host: it sounds hard to lose your friends like that. do you think there is any chance after the election of salvaging those relationships? caller: this happened the first time. i tried. i went to his mother's house and

called him and it was like i had the plague. my best college buddy, the same thing. and my best friend, who used to be with me -- they just are in their own world. they do not realize the reality of the situation. if nothing gets put back together, we are headed to a civil war. that is how bad it is. host: move on to mike in california, who is a harris supporter. caller: thank you for being there. host: how has this election been affecting your relationships? caller: me and my best friend don't talk anymore. i plan on mending defenses after the election is over, but he is a trump supporter and believes all the conspiracy theories.

unfortunately, he is racist and he even did not like obama. hopefully after this is over and things settle down we can get back together. host: do you think the outcome of the election will determine whether you can mend fences? do you think there will be a difference in whether you are able to repair the relationship? >> i think trump has a campaign of lies and he is running to avoid prosecution and to enrich himself and his family. i think he -- his economic policies are terrible. they are going to cause our country to balloon the national debt and it is going to end social security sooner that it

would be under harris. because of that, we may not be able to get back together if trump is elected, but i have a joke for you guys. it is clean, if i can give it to you. ok. mcdonald's is making a new burger in honor of trump's photo on. they are calling it the mcfelon. host: next we have houston, texas. caller: good morning. you are doing a wonderful job. you look beautiful today. happy weekend. i just wanted to say as far as relationships go i am a single mom in this economy raising two

young daughters. and i can tell you the divide in the relationship with my friends has really -- it has been such a struggle. when you are a single mom living in a world that is so scary right now, it is crazy to see all the infighting. we will be so glad when this is over with. i listened to your call or two calls back. if he thinks trump supporters or kamala supporters are racist, how are you going to go back and mend those fences? you think about relationships. nobody is mentioning a lot about that, but it is really hurting relationships and i will be glad when it is over so our children can -- even in their teenage

years, it has affected their relationships at school because it goes from the household into the schools. are you hearing a lot about that with teenagers? host: not so much, but tell me what you are hearing. caller: they come home and junior high is hard enough as it is. my daughters -- one just turned 12. one will be 14. i have one that is a very gifted child, which makes life difficult. but they come home and it has been very heavy on their hearts. their friends parents talk about who they are supporting. they know who their dad, which we are not together, but they know who their data supporting and to their family supporting. it is just a lot of back and forth. i do not think people realize

what it is doing to the generations of younger kids that already have so much conflict in their life with school and bullying and everything else going on. i really hope everybody stops and thinks about what they are doing before they pull that lever. as far as julia roberts, she has been married 20 times, but the whole ad she is doing -- we have enough division in this country. let's not do that. thank you for everything you do. i really appreciate you. god bless. host: they harris and trump campaigns release their final ads of the campaign in recent days, with harris's final campaign add focusing on unity

with a concept of neighbors, not enemies. let's play that. >> how are you doing? >> that's how i feel. >> i am very serious about that. through this campaign, i have seen the best of america and what is holding you back and weighing you down. high costs, fundamental rights taken away, and politics that have driven fear and division. you deserve better. as president, i will bring a new generation of leadership. i will take on price gouging. i will fight for your freedom to make your own choices and protect your health care and benefits, not take them away. the majority of people in our country have more in common than what separates them. good people, hard-working people.

we see in our fellow americans neighbors, not enemies. we believe in each other. we believe in our country. we are not falling for these folks who are trying to divide us. together, we will build a brighter future for our nation where we stand for freedom. we stand for justice. we stand for the dignity of work. we have not reached all those ideals, but we will die trying because we love our country. host: then there is the most recent ad from the trump campaign, which came out yesterday. what's look at that one. >> four years ago, we took a wrong turn and lost our purpose. we lost the strength that makes americans who we are. if we dared to speak the truth, it was called hate speech and our values were labeled shameful. that is when everything we cared

about fell apart. we surrendered our borders, paychecks, and courage. our patriotism was called toxic. men could beat up women. but there was no prize for the guy who got up every day to do his job. now we are asked to settle for the way things are. we are wondering if america can make a comeback. we can because we have done it before. when we get knocked down, we do not stay down. we get up again. we fight. >> i'm donald j. trump and i approve this message. host: let's get back to her calls on how the election is affecting her personal relationships. next is roy in texas, who is a trump supporter. >> i wanted to chime in and say

i support trump and vance. when kamala harris was asked point blank what she would do differently than joe biden, who gave us a horrible economy, she said nothing comes to mind. after she has been saying she is going to do all this stuff different. so i do not think she is fit for the office. i have a problem with walz, who has stolen valor. the hypocrisy of the democratic party -- i sat there and listened to people talk about how they hate donald trump's tax breaks. they only help the rich. well, part of the rich people are democrats. they benefited from those tax cuts. host: i wonder how this has affected your personal relationships. are the folks in your life mainly trump supporters or is it a mix?

caller: most of the people i deal with think the same way i do, so it is not affecting my relationships. i wanted to give my opinion and the hypocrisy of the democratic party is pathetic. they will take money from people who benefit from donald trump's tax cuts and then condemn him for the tax cut. host: joe is a harris supporter. caller: i am a 60-year-old white male and retired new york city police officer. a couple callers back mentioned something about this race -- this election being about race. and i cannot agree with him more. i want to give a shout out to to the women who are going to save our democracy like they always do, especially the black community. about the race thing -- host: i'm wondering if you can

talk about how the election has affected your personal relationships. caller: it affected it a lot. i had three brothers that are trump supporters and we grew up in our neighborhood with spanish people, black people. those were our friends and all of a sudden -- how can you be a trump supporter and say that you are not racist? i do not understand it. everything he has done over the years has shown he is a racist. i do not support that. i have a son. i have taught him that we are all equal. i am finally being a minority today. the white community today, we are a minority. the united states is built on migrants. i am an immigrant.

my grandparents come from italy, so they migrated here many years ago. all this nonsense -- i just -- as far as my personal thing, it is heart breaking to see that my brothers are the way they are. host: how is that affected your relationship with them? caller: we have no relationship because i refuse to associate myself with anyone that is a racist. i just do not have time for it. i am too old. they come up with excuses about the economy and everything. trump did nothing for the middle class. i am middle-class. if you're a rich person, yes, i could see you voting for trump because you are going to benefit. if you are middle-class or poor,

the republicans have nothing to offer you. all the benefits are coming from the democratic party. i am a little biased because i am middle-class. i am going to be relying on social security. host: let's hear from darrell in michigan, who is a trump supporter. caller: thanks very much for taking my call. i want to get into my relationship with my eldest daughter. she works at the university of michigan medical center. when she found out that i was wooden for trump, she told me how disappointed she was that i would make such a decision. she did not take into consideration that i am an independent at the time and i had wanted to vote for robert

kennedy but because of the situation with the democratic party and our michigan ballot -- i have to vote for trump if i want robert kennedy to have any influence on my children's health in the future. so my daughter just came back from -- we talked about it and she visited seven or eight countries in europe and i asked her, how many stamps do you have of china? she said, why would i have that? that is a question i have to ask about a vice president candidate. host: before i let you go, i wonder how the relationship with your daughter -- you said she is disappointed in you.

if you are able to still maintain that relationship, how do you think it is going to go after the election? caller: we had bumps all through our life. we managed to work it out. i am sure after the election and whoever wins, we will find some common ground. our common ground right now are my grandchildren. i think that will surpass arguments about politics. >> host: let's hear from randall in north dakota, who is a harris supporter. caller: the constitution declares that the commander-in-chief is the most

important job the president has. i have asked c-span three months ago -- this is my second call to c-span about this, to have a morning question show about why you are supporting donald trump every time a republican calls in asking them how you support a man who degrades and demeans or disrespects. host: i understand you want us to do that question, but today can talk about how -- i guess not. >> today is like elon musk asking about this. host: we are going to go to a couple text messages. rob in virginia says relationship with family members

became troublehe lead up to the 2020 election. coll at work are overly partisan. i haveearned to be silent on the subject. i do not care if you supported joe biden and now kamala harris, but i do care -- people do care that i support trump. it is as if i havrevealed some fundamental moral failing. then greg in ohio says it night and day about those most recent political ads. one is pos one is negative. then terry in illinois says the election causes conflict and stremy personal relationships. oid talking politics with many friends and family. mp wins or loses, americans will experience chaos for years to come. sorry to say this, but that is where we are. thanks for your show. that is l the time we have, but coming up we are going to

hear from jacob rubashkin, deputy editor of insight elections. he will join us to talk about the presidential contest, as well as house and senate races to watch tuesday night. later, a veteran political reporter will join us to discuss his peace in the wall street journal detailing what he says are bright spots in politics now. we will be right back. ♪ host: either jacob, this is can

really adams, how are you? guest: you enjoy listening to our callers last segment? guest: i always do. host: thank you so much for joining us this morning. were going to do a very brief introduction for you and then talked about some of the changes and we will get into it.

host: joined by jacob are bashing, deputy editor of inside elections. and inside elections, you wrote back in mid-october that the elections were coming right down to the wire. how much has changed since you

wrote that? guest: a lot has changed but that assessment has not. these elections are still incredibly close and there are ample opportunities for both democrats and republicans to win control of the white house or the house of representatives, and we are even seeing some late shifts in the united states senate. there are a lot of moving pieces in the selection, but the topline assessment that either party could come away from tuesday with a pretty good night remains exactly the same. host: what is the blue wall, and can you talk a bit about the likelihood that harris is going to gain some victories? guest: the blue wall is a term coined by the legendary ron brown's be to talk about the set of states who voted consistently for democratic presidential candidates from 1988 onwards all

the way up until 2016. originally that traditionally included democratic state like california, new york, maryland as well as some of the swing states that always seem to break for democrats, but in 2016 what we saw was the blue wall began to crack. donald trump carried michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania, and that was enough for him to defeat hillary clinton. now when people talk about the blue wall for kamala harris, that is essentially what they're talking about, winning michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania and getting to 270 electoral votes for the democrat if you factor in those california and new york, washington, oregon, the states that we know are going to consistently vote democrat. the blue wall is one of the two main feeders of this presidential election along with come of course, the sunbelt states to become increasingly competitive.

host: how much impact do you expect vice president harris and former president trump and the decision of whether or not to support them to affect some of the down ballot races? guest: the presidential has a lot of effects on the down ballot races because we are at a historical low in ticket splitting. it used to be that how you voted for president only had a minimal bearing on how you voted for a race down ballot. people were more than happy to vote one party for president, a different party percentage and house. a lot of people did that. we saw democrats continue to do very well in republican states up until 2010. democratic senators in montana and north dakota, louisiana. places that were not electing democrats at the top of the ticket, and the same thing in the house. we used to see a broad swath of

each party coalition of the house coming from districts that were carried by the other party's presidential nominee. but over the last two decades we seen a steep decline in that practice and now how a person votes for president is probably the best predictor for how they are going to vote for senate or house, and for other races down the ballot. if kamala harris has a good night on tuesday, she's probably going to bring a lot of down ballot democrats with her, and the same goes for donald trump because if you're voting for trump, you are just so much less likely to vote for a democrat in the house or senate. voting for harris, you are really probably not going to vote for a republican for any of those down ballot races, either. host: can you talk about some of the key races to watch in the house? guest: we have a tossup's in the final estimation for the house

of representatives. we sat down, we crunched all the numbers come interview the candidates. in a whole swath of district across the country. in our final assessment, or the assessment from last thursday, we saw democrats favored in 214 seats, republicans favored in 213 seats and a tossup's, four by democrats, four by republicans. they are evenly divided chamber. some of the races we are looking at specifically, a couple in california, california's 27th district in los angeles, republican mike garcia is looking to hold onto his seat despite it leaning somewhat democratic. he's a former fighter pilot, he's facing a democrat named george whitesides who is a personally wealthy entrepreneur who with the democrats first new candidate in this district in three elections. they nominated the same person

three times, she lost every time. we are watching that one. next, california's 45th district where republican michelle steel is running for reelection. that's a very interesting race. washington's third congressional district, facing a rematch with her opponent, one of the biggest upsets of the night in southwestern washington. and finally, the last one i want to mention is colorado's eight congressional district which is just all tied up in all of the polling that is out there. democratic congresswoman running in a relatively new district against republican gave evans. this one will be a really good bellwether for how the cycle is going for either party depending on who wins. host: can you talk to me a

little bit about the race for the house seat in alaska? guest: this is one of the most interesting races on the map, a seat held by a democrat that is the most republican. the incumbent, trump won alaska by 10 points in 2020. there's no democrat who holds a seat as republican as that. really only a couple of republicans hold seats as democratic as that would be on the others. so this is a pretty rare instance for any house member in this day and age. it speaks to the ability to influence from across the aisle in a state that is notoriously anti-partisan. alaskans really don't like political labels. she's been able to take advantage of that independent streak. but she faces a really tough reelection campaign because in her first two runs, republicans were very divided in the state.

they were choosing between two different candidates, sarah palin the may remember at the former governor, and the grandson of a former congressman. and with two republicans on the ballot, it made it difficult because alaska uses a pretty unique rank-choice voting system no other state uses that actually allows for candidates to be on the ballot from any party in november. so that means you could have two republicans and one democrat. that of course splits the democratic vote in a way that makes it difficult for them to beat her in the past. what they did this cycle was they started out with two republicans vs. one democrat, that they were successful in getting one of those republicans to drop out. they have a clear shot for the first time since she got to congress. meanwhile, she's taking a lot of incoming negative ads that she

never had to deal with before because the republicans were fighting amongst themselves. so this is her most challenging election yet. we actually see her as a very slight underdog at this point just because alaska is so republican a state, but it's going to be very close and we won't know the outcome until november 20. so several weeks after election day when they actually run the rank-choice voting tabulation and we can figure out when the second and third choice votes are allocated, who the next member of congress is going to be. host: let's look at some ads from that race. i should say that the ad is called vote actually, and it is ripping off of a scene called love actually and doesn't have any spoken word. let's go ahead and play those.

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♪ >> what do you need to know? nick is a good husband. he's a conservative family man. he uses his land responsibly. nick will make for a good congressman because he is one of the most caring individuals that i know and he cares about alaska. we have one representative in the state and that representative has to have a strong voice. he has a strong voice. he will do what is right for the state. host: i do want to move on to the senate but for the quickly following up on the alaska race, with that decision coming so late after election day and we are looking at such a tight race for control of the house, that might make things a little bit contentious there. guest: absolutely. it's not out of the realm of

possibility that this race determines control of the house of representatives. it's not the likeliest outcome because there are so many moving pieces, but in a universe where the two parties are deadlocked at 217 seats of peace heading into that ranked choice tabulation, there is going to be a tremendous amount of attention, a massive spotlight on that november 20 ranked choice tabulation. all the things that could go wrong with ranked choice to make it a little bit more of a complex system are going to get a lot of scrutiny no matter what, and especially if this race has something to do with who controls the majority of the house next year. host: will be going to callers in just a second. republicans can reach us at (202) 748-8001. democrats at (202) 748-8000. independents at (202) 748-8002. jacob, walk over to the other side of capitol hill, talk us through the big races you're watching.

guest: the senate is much more favorable territory to republicans this year than either the fight for the white house to fight for the house. that's just a function of the seats that are up. of course not every senate race is up every cycle. one third of the chamber is up for reelection, and this is a slate of states that pretty clearly favor republicans. republicans have the advantage in the overall chamber, and they are on offense in deep red states like montana and west virginia. in the presidential battlegrounds, michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania, nevada, arizona, even in some blue states like new mexico or maryland. and democrats only have a few offensive opportunities to drive to offset losses. a pretty good match republicans and of course they only need one seat plus the white house or to seats overall to take back the majority, so not a big hill to climb for them.

what we are watching right now is a couple of seats that seem to be right in the middle of the battlefield. montana is the seat that republicans feel the best about taking from an incumbent democrat. senator jon tester is struggling in his race for a fourth term against republican tim sheehy. the pulse sat him down. we see him as a slight underdog. if republicans win that race and the west virginia race which we expect them to win, that is plus to right off the bat. host: let me pause you there, i want to play a couple of the ads from that montana race and then get you to finish up your comment. >> not going to comment, all i can say is -- ♪ >> it doesn't matter what they

say, it's a game people play. our lips are sealed. pay no mind to what they say. it doesn't matter anyway. our lips are sealed. our lips are sealed. our lips are sealed. just to confirm, you don't have any comments on this matter? >> i do believe that we need to get radical about we are doing. maybe i am radical. >> kamala harris supported illuminating public health services in giving taxpayer funded health care to illegal aliens. >> maybe i am radical. >> jon tester voted to give taxpayer-funded health care to illegal immigrants. making them eligible for medicare.

jon tester votes like a radical democrat. i'm tim sheehy and i approve this message. host: those are ads from the montana race. what were some of the other races you are saying we should keep an eye on? guest: ohio is the only pure tossup on the mat. the democrat trying to outperform the partisanship of the state against his republican opponent. that is a race the democrats absolutely have to hold onto as crucial if they want to keep control of the chamber, and that one is coming down to the wire. both parties feeling cautiously optimistic in the last couple of days, but absolutely the closest race on the map. and then democrats trying to pull off some major upsets in texas, where congressman colin allred is challenging senator ted cruz. this is a state the democrats have been trying to win for decades. they have won a statewide race since 1994.

ted cruz -- excuse me, already is trying to be the first democrat to do so in 30 years, and ted cruz because some of his unique vulnerabilities may actually be in a bit of danger. and then the corky's phrase on the mat for sure is in nebraska, where republican senator deb fischer faces a really tough challenge from an independent candidate named dan osborne. there's no democrat on the ballot, so osborne is running with support from democrats. he is running a very aggressive populace campaign against fisher, and fisher didn't take this race seriously for most of the year. that put her behind the eight ball with just a couple be cleft to go before election day when she woke up and realized she was probably losing that race in september or early october. since then we've seen republicans try to rush to her rescue. she stepped up her campaigning but an audit race, one that is going to be a lot closer than it has any business being in a state as republican as nebraska. host: let's go to your calls.

rachel is in maryland on the line for democrats. caller: first of all i just want to say i command your memory recall because i just could never. i wanted to ask what your thoughts are on the third congressional race, and on the race between larry hogan and angela also brooks. host: marilyn races. guest: the third congressional race in maryland, i was actually just in annapolis the other day. this was essentially decided in the primary. the incumbent democrat in that seat is retiring after about 20 years in congress. there was a really brittle primary to succeed him, a whole bunch of democrats ran, and a lot of local officeholders in addition to former police officer harry dunn who defended

the capitol at the january 6 insurrection. he raised a lot of money but was ultimately defeated by a state legislator who got some significant support from outside groups including udp, the aipac affiliated super pac. she will moser the be the next member of congress from maryland's third district because it is a pretty democratic seed. she will replace john sir van. in the senate race in maryland, this is one of the more contentious races on the map, for sure. former governor larry hogan put this contest on the map when he jumped in the race. it was 90 race that democrats were paying a lot of attention to in terms of the fight for the majority before he was involved, but because he was so popular, still as popular after his two terms as governor, it meant

democrats really had to step up their game in maryland. nomination of the summer, he had sent all her money to david truax and she needed a lot about that assistance from the national party to regain her footing against these very popular former governors, larry hogan. and she seems to have done just that. it's taken democrats about 15 million dollars, $20 million to get this race where it needs to be better at this point, her leaders approaching double digits and given how democratic maryland is, we talk a little bit about how republican montana is and that makes it tough for jon tester. maryland is so democratic it is just not going to vote for a republican senator. maryland is as democratic a state as idaho is republican. we wouldn't talk about a democrat winning idaho, it's almost certainly going to be the case that the republican can win the senate race in maryland this year. host: let's hear from luis in

fredericksburg, virginia on the line for republicans. caller: good morning. i noticed on your channel that you have a lot of anti-death penalty, whatever it is on aids and things like that. lots of comments. you even revived presidential governor dukakis, for god sake. host: if you have a question for jacob about any of these house or senate races that are of the cycle. caller: i do. i really believe that america is going to, i hope that they see what is going on with the wars. i haven't heard any discussion about war hardly at all. and here, i know for sure that you won't win. they strum signs everywhere.

and so i'm really hoping that we don't vote blue, no matter who. host: luis raises an interesting point. i wonder how much you are seeing the ongoing conflict in gaza showing up in some of these house and senate races. guest: and virginias seven congressional district, which includes fredericksburg, she mentioned the democratic candidate, if that name sounds a miller is because eugene vindman and his between brother alexander vindman where the two whistleblowers during the trump ukraine saga way back in 2019. in that race particularly i think there is more tension than usual being placed on the conflict in ukraine. his opponent derek anderson, the republican is a retired green beret, so he also has a lot of military experience. and in northern virginia, foreign policy issues are probably going to play a larger

role than they would in your typical congressional district. but that is a very hard-fought race, a very swing district. then dement has raised a lot of money because of his celebrity status in the wake of those first trump impeachment hearings that helped him eek out a small lead in the polls. this is a really good example of a district that who wins the presidential is going to have a big effect on who wins the down ballot contest because if harris wins that district by as much as joe biden did in 2020, five or six points, it's going to be very tough for derek anderson to get over that roadblock in order to win. but speaking more generally, foreign policy is just not at the top of most voters minds. they care more about the economy, about abortion, about immigration, about democracy than they do about what is going

on on a different continent. and it is really only certain pockets of the country and among certain voters that we see foreign-policy issues take a much more front and center stage. if you are looking at a state like michigan which has a significant native american, arab-american population, that is a real problem spot for the harris campaign at a presidential level. trump wins in michigan a couple days ago to try to win some votes in the muslim community there. that's clearly an avenue that he sees as a potential advantage in a state as evenly divided as michigan is. the war in gaza in frustration over american policy there and america's continued support for israel is playing a role in the election there in michigan, but broadly speaking when you ask voters with the most important issues are that they are making their minds about, anything

foreign-policy is just going to rank toward the bottom of the list. host: we have a text from james in new york who says what is your assessment on ny 17 congressional race? guest: new york 17. when the cycle began, we thought this was going to be the biggest battleground and one of democrats best opportunities. this is a seat that was held by democrats until 2022. from patrick maloney who is the head of the democratic campaign committee, lost his reelection by a couple thousand votes in a bit of an upset. and democrats really wanted that seatback. but it has morphed into a bit of a problem spot for new york democrats. their nominee is a former congressman, one of the party's best fundraisers, but he does have some weak spots that lawler has effectively exploited.

he is on camera expressing support for defund the police, he has a close relationship to aoc and that has shown up in a lot of campaign ads, and he also left the district two years ago to try to run for a totally different seat where he said that he was going to move to and make his new home before losing that race and moving back up into the hudson valley to run for congress again in the 17th district. this is a seat that we see republicans slightly favored in, even though the district on the holdings a little bit more democratic, and it is an example of how, even as a lot of things have gone right for house democrats over the last couple of months, there are still some trouble spots that can prevent the party, especially when it comes to issues of candidate quality, can prevent the party from getting even greater gains in winning back the house. host: new jersey, line for

democrats. morning, keith. caller: i have some questions that a few congressional races. what about new york 19? new york four, pennsylvania one. host: that was new york 19, new york four and pennsylvania one. guest: new york 19, my personal favorite district. it is upstate, a whole bunch of different areas. a little hudson valley, avon syracuse, capital region. republican marc molinaro is the incumbent. we see him as a very slight underdog against josh riley, the democratic challenger. they faced off in 2022, riley lost my little over 2000 votes but he's running a much better funded campaign now and democrats have been pretty effective at taking apart his records since he got to congress. it's going to be a close race.

we actually see riley as a slight favorite in that race at this point. new york four out on long island, southern nassau county, the town of hempstead if you want to be real specific. the republican is trying to hold onto a district that is the most democratic seat held by republicans. that was the most republican seat held by a democrat. this is the inverse. biden would've carried the district by about 14 points, and so it is an uphill climb for the freshman republican. he's a former nypd officer, a local politician and he's got some strengths, but he's also had some embarrassing stories come out about some personal relationships and campaign-finance spending. he faces challenges. we see him as a slight underdog against laura guillen who also ran against him last time and lost very narrowly but is

running a better funded, more supported campaign this time around. so that is new york four. finally pennsylvania one, this is a seat that has bedeviled democrats for a decade or more. it is a democratic leading seat in the hilly suburbs and yet republicans have been able to hold onto it and before then, his brother was able to hold onto it despite it being a democratic leaning territory. we see ryan fitzpatrick at the clear favorite in that race. he faces a democrat named ashley e house who stop me if you've heard this before, also ran in 2022 and is running a better funded, sharper campaign but still likely to come up short. host: line for republicans, good morning. caller: hi. i wish you'd let me finish my statement before you interjected with any kind of western.

-- question. i'm really concerned about the democrats adding in votes after midnight. if your state does not report their final tally before midnight, you should storm your state capital. host: we are not going to call for violence on here. line for intendeds -- independents. caller: i live in a district that was previously district 13 but now the republicans and have the super majority in the house and general assembly have redrawn in our supreme court has upheld which is very sad. in what used to be quite a swing district is now not at all. i'm just curious if you could talk a little bit about the specifics of north carolina and then on the largest spectrum of

this, and correct me if i'm wrong and you are somebody who really know the cards on this in every district, but it looks like the big blue states that have certain independent boards that look at redistricting, that sort of prevent against that are actually the ones where republicans are able to pick up seats. and in the red states where you have super majority control, that gerrymandering is getting worse. can you just talk about how there is sort of a double standard in that regard, and give us the totality of what you think north carolina's overall trend will be on tuesday? thank you so much. guest: north carolina is one of the most contentious lead gerrymandered states and has been for quite some time. i think over the last six ounce elections, north carolina has had five different maps at this point.

they are always redrawing the maps, so in 2020 it was a new map drawn by the courts that allowed democrats to pick up a handful of seats. in 2022, it was also a map drawn by the courts because they tossed out the map drawn by the state legislature. that allowed democrats to pick up a few more seats, so your congressman in north carolina 13th district, he won a very close race in 2022. but what happened in between 2022 and now is that the state supreme court flipped from being a democratic majority between republican majority. as soon as that happened, republicans re-filed a lawsuit against the district and got the new republican majority to say actually, a map that we implemented in 2022, that is the bad map. republicans in the state

legislature, you get a new chance to throw a fresh map for 2024. went from being an evenly divided map, seven democrats, seven republicans to a map that has at least a guaranteed 10 seats for republicans, the receipts for democrats and then one tossup district in that north carolina's first seat for democrat don davis facing a tough reelection. so that is the story north carolina. republicans are going to pick up at least three seats in that state and if they hold the majority, that's going to be a big part of why they do it. they are probably only going to get a pretty narrow majority next year if they do get a majority. north carolina playing a crucial role there. the new map playing a big part of republican resilience the cycle. to your other point about the commissions, that is generally

true but it extends beyond blue states. probably the most notable versions of that are in places like california where there is an independent redistricting commission that draws the map and republicans have had some success in the last two cycles. but swing states like michigan have independent redistricting commissions that have created maps where both parties have flipped competitive seat of the last couple of years. colorado, a blue-leaning state that has a commission that created a map with some competitive districts. but also a state like iowa, a pretty republican state, they have probably one of the most well credentialed -- redistricting commissions, and they do a very good job making at least three of the four districts in that state in the highly competitive seats despite the fact that overall republicans tend to do pretty well. i think what you are picking up on is absolutely correct.

states with independent redistricting commissions are going to have more competitive districts, more opportunities for one party to win seats. seats that are still being drawn by the state legislatures like north carolina, texas, florida are not going to have any competitive districts. they are going to lock in those majorities. host: celeste's in wisconsin on the line for democrats. caller: hello, yes. thank you for taking my call. at the beginning of the show, when it was talked about, if you tend to vote democrat, then you will vote democrat for the other seats also, or the other elections, senate, congress. and that's what i do. i voted democrat, and i voted democrat down the line, only because i want to see things getting done.

it seems like with democrats on one side, republicans on the other, that we are not working together. so i want as many democrats in there just to see things get done. and then with the races going on in wisconsin, i had a few questions about what is important and what is not important, and how come i don't hear about climate change? what is going on in the world, and the united states here, flooding, tornadoes, fires, i can't believe that not more is being said about climate change. host: i just wanted to let jacob respond to some of the points that you raised. we talked about how important foreign policy is, what about

issues like climate change? guest: it is rare that you see candidates make a point of centering climate change on the issues that they talk about most. typically when we do see that, it is younger candidates because we know that young voters carry a lot more about climate change than older voters to, on average, of course. obviously it is not a hard and fast rule, but i do think that there is a big age disparity there, some of the most vocal voices in the democratic party in that climate change are coming from the youngest members of the conference. and the republicans to the extent that there are republicans were concerned about climate change, it typically is coming from some of the younger folks as well. certainly in wisconsin it is not an issue that seems to have risen to the top of that campaign. we've got a lot of interesting

races in the badger state. the presidential race at the top of the ticket, incredibly close. 10 electoral votes that are very much up for grabs. both parties making a clear play for that, in wisconsin was one of the closest states in the 2020 election. biden only winning by a fraction of a percent. a lot of investment going in there. that senate race between tammy baldwin and eric hovde, the republican is also a top-tier contest. he's very personally wealthy and has spent a lot of his own money, gotten a lot of outside support to try to paint baldwin as somebody was from washington, who doesn't look out for wisconsinites anymore. democrats have been trying to make the residence in southern california and his ownership of a big bank a real issue for him. and even at the house level, there are some interesting races on either side of this. you got the first congressional district, which is in southeastern wisconsin,

republican faces a challenge. in a seat that would probably go republican but has been interesting. and on the western side of the state, the freshman republican is facing a pretty stiff challenge from democrat rebecca cook, a seat that will probably go republican, but two races that we are watching pretty closely. i watch a lot of campaign ads, i've seen probably dozens of campaign ads from tammy baldwin, eric of the -- caricom the -- eric hovde d, i struggle to recall any of them in touch on climate change. it is not an issue that is breaking into the commercials, at least, and i think that is a reflection of where the campaigns feel that they can get the votes and unfortunately it is just not an issue that they are willing to put time and attention on. host: mike is in nassau, new york on our line for

independents. caller: we are a part of that 19th district. i don't think people realize how strange it is. my backyard is five minutes or massachusetts in the 19th because all the way down to the pennsylvania border. they very strange district. where i am, by the massachusetts border, with the albany area brings to us is more economically viable for us. it's funny to see all the ads, that is 3.5, four hours away. i was wondering if you could speak about that. i was calling on the independent line because they washed the democrats move this district around for years and years. thank you. guest: this district kind of fits into the space left by the other districts, you have your buffalo district, your syracuse district, the southern tier district represented, you north

district, your capital region, and then your hudson valley. there is a space in the middle that kind of takes pieces from all of that and that is new york's 19th street. you write by the massachusetts border, the district goes all the way west to ithaca, it goes south to sullivan county. it really does type your whole bunch of different parts of the state. it has five different media markets in it, which is a lot. we really don't see that outside of some of those states out west that cover a lot of ground but not a lot of people. it is an interesting district to campaign in. you are able to tailor your messages depending on which tv stations your running ads on, but it does take a lot of effort and resources to keep for the entire district. josh riley, the democrat is one of his party's best fundraisers, raising almost $10 million this year which puts him at the very top tier of fundraisers in

either party in the house, and that has allowed him to really get his message out and potentially get himself in position to go to congress. it's absolutely a fascinating district with folks from all different regions of the state and it requires a comprehensive method by each candidate, but when we are watching very closely. host: indiana, line for independents. caller: i would like a rundown of indiana. i know it is a bright red state. with got mike braun running for governor and in evansville, we elected a black lady for mayor for the first time and she's done a pretty good job. and i just wondered if you could give us a rundown of indiana, southern district.

guest: indiana has a couple of interesting races. a lot of open seats that were up for grabs on the republican side across the races due to some retirements or up in northeast indiana, leaving his seat to run for senate, a seat vacated by mike braun. a couple that also are back for grabs, some very contentious primaries. but the most competitive race at this point probably looks like the governors race, which is not something any of us really expected to be talking about this late in the game. mike braun is not an absolute lock the indiana governor's mansion this tuesday. he faces a challenge from jennifer mccormick, a former

state superintendent. she ran the schools and she is a former republican herself. she was elected statewide as a republican before switching parties to become a democrat, and there is a third-party candidate in that race, a libertarian named donald rainwater is making life difficult for mike braun. in 2020 he ran for governor winning 12% of the vote. that's a lot of votes for a libertarian and a lot of that could come from the republican side of the aisle. so it drops his support. it might allow jennifer mccormick to win with less than 50% of the because it is very tough for a democrat to get anywhere near 50 in indiana. the other thing that is going on of course is that mike braun's running mate, his lieutenant governor candidate is a pretty controversial guy. he said some controversial things, he was not the pick to be the running mate, he got nominated by the republican convention in the state, and he

has made some missteps that have cost braun some support. then governors race, still republicans favored, but one to keep an eye on. and the only congressional race in the state that is even mildly competitive is up in gary, the first congressional district who is running in a seat that leans democratic but is trending toward republicans. the republican opponent there, he doesn't look like he is going to win this time that is a district that the rest of the decade is going to be quite competitive for both parties if those trends hold. host: last caller, walter in cleveland, ohio on the line for democrats. caller: leading up to the 2020 election, i heard a lot that more votes that were going to be cast, the better it would be for democrats. i haven't heard that so much leading up to the selection. does the same hold true?

guest: maybe not. and that is one of the most interesting things about this election cycle is that trump is showing a surprising degree of strength among the lowest propensity voters. voters who are least likely to show up, voters who didn't vote in either 2020 or 2022 but might vote in 2024. those people are actually the most favorable, and it is the voters who consistently voted in 2020 and 2022 primaries, those voters are most favorable to kamala harris. that is with the data shows us. that's why we aren't worried nearly as much about a high turnout scenario that might help democrats, but ultimately it matters who is turning out. just because we are talking about high turnout there is not one high turnout person. it really does matter who is actually showing up, which of the lower propensity voters are

coming to cast their ballots. you're absolutely hitting on something that a lot of folks in the political world are talking about, but until we know who exactly is going to show up to the polls, it is hard to say whether high turnout or low turnout really does hurt the democrats in a way that hasn't before. host: thank you so much for sharing your expertise. thank you so much. and thanks to everyone who called in this segment. we are going to go to more of your calls after the break in open forum. you can start calling in now. and later, jerry -- will be joining us to discuss his peace in the wall street journal detailing what he calls some bright spots in the doom and gloom of our politics right now. we will be right back. discover the heartbeat of marker see with voices 2024 as we engage voters ahead of election day asking why is it important

to vote? caller: the reason why think we all should vote is because we think that our voices are never heard, and i think it's important for us to vote. >> it's our only opportunity to express individually how we feel about the issues that are important to us. >> even though they say every election is an important election, this one in particular i think you should exercise your right to vote. one, if you see how this country is going truly in the wrong direction, you vote. and don't base it on personality. base it on policy. it's important to vote because

some people don't have the right to vote, their votes for the don't count. here you can make a change. >> i'm voting this year because i care about women's rights, i care about my rights as a black woman and i'm also in the military. i care about how i'm getting deployed and where i'm going and the reasons why, and that is a big reason to fight. >> be a part of the conversation. >> c-spanshop.org at c-span's online store. browse our latest collection of c-span products, apparel, books, home record and accessories. there is something for every c-span fan. shop now or anytime at c-spanshop.org.

washington journal continues. welcome back. line for republicans (202) 748-8001 (202) 748-8001 this. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independent, (202) 748-8002. ohio, line for republicans. caller: good conversations. we have neighbors asking to do a crime and want us to pay for it. insisting we pay for it. to do a crime. if they are going to a crime that is bad enough, but to ask us to pay for it. we don't pay for other abortions other people want to do, or doctors that may be against it to do them.

it's a very difficult question, a very important question. the most precious things we have in the country our children. trying to do that the right way, look at the number of millions of abortions, but one thing we do know, we should not be asked to pay for some crime that is going to happen. it's a very difficult question. trying to handle it right because everyone involved in it when someone doesn't show up and i don't know how we resolve it, they are for tough problems, but to put it to the election is shameful, just shameful. host: actually i was wondering if there a ballot initiative in ohio on this this year? caller: there are something that go to god that i don't know what the right answers are, you pray for them. i realize these kids are

precious, look at young little kids, how precious they are. just amazing. i don't think we have all the power in the world. sometimes we do get forced into having to make godly decisions about the stuff in life and death, but i think we have to do all the wisdom in the world if we are going to step in the place where we think we have to make a decision on that. just look at the big numbers of millions that do show up. this got to be someone that deserves to live. i know there are some tough decisions in there, if there is one you are going to save. it is so important to save that one. i will hang up and listen to your answer. host: rich brings up the issue of abortion which many voters are going to be deciding on when they go to their polling places or if they voted already. here's a story from abc news. 2024 abortion rights initiatives

are on the ballot in 10 states. most would restore protections, but some advocates want to go further. in 2020 two, protecting abortion-rights was a winning issue in six states that saw ballot initiatives related to abortion. next week, 11 more abortion-related initiatives will be on voter ballots, nine of them focused on restoring the right to abortion in individual states, one arrival measure in nebraska that would prohibit that right, and one in new york that would expand the state antidiscrimination laws to include reproductive health protections. and those 11 states if we look here, here are the states that have abortion-related state ballot measures. i will bring up that map here and you can see that they are scattered all over the country. these are states with ballot initiatives related to abortion on the ballot this year. now let's go to shirley in

orangeburg, south carolina on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. i would just like to say i've lived in new york for 40 years, i'm 90 years old myself. so i know, i remember when donald trump came to new york with his father and everything. i just want to say i don't understand how anybody can vote for donald trump when he has three wives and he never could get along with any of them. this one that he's with right now, i guess she is just staying there because she can't leave him. he doesn't think about poor people. i don't call myself poor. host: can i ask you to turn down the volume on your tv and then you get the initial point. caller: my volume is turned down, i don't know why you're getting feedback.

but anyway, getting back to donald trump, i don't know how anybody can vote for this man. kamala harris, she has the education, she has everything she is supposed to have to be president as far as i'm concerned. so i want somebody to come on this station and tell me what in the world they see in donald trump that they don't see in kamala and why they are voting for him, because he is definitely not fit to be in that white house. host: let's go to david in bloomington, illinois on the line for independents. caller: morning. i'll try to make this quick. america is being duped by donald trump. i'm calling him the crypto five. donald trump, if he get selected he's going to devalue the dollar

with his son donald trump, jr., elon musk, vivek ramaswamy and another individual, they are going to devalue the dollar and make the crypto dollar more valuable than the american u.s. dollar. two, the polling is all wrong. kamala harris is tied with donald trump at 47%-40 7%. that shouldn't be because harris has been only in the running for 15 weeks. donald trump has been in the running for years with a advantage, so this will be a blowout for kamala harris. i promise you. the polling is wrong, they are doing that for media. three, why doesn't donald trump have any type of animals? animals are characteristic of the person. kamala harris has a dog, donald

trump doesn't. in the last point is vivek ramaswamy, what are they trying to hide? and jd vance his wife, they are related. they are cousins, they come from the two richest families in india. so america, we are being duped by donald trump and we are just going for it. stop the madness. thank you very much. host: kathy is in pennsylvania on the line for republicans. >> thank you so much for taking my call and good morning, america. it seems like i was on hold and you went three rounds before taking a republican call. but that's not why i called in. i called in about the abortion issue. i think what hurt the abortion issue was late-term and birth abortions. i think that had a big detriment

on the abortion issue. and the other fact that i want to bring up about the abortion issue is roe v. wade was overturnedwas overturned in 202. who was in office? it was the democrats. thank you for taking my call. host: one of the issues that has come up quite a bit in this election is the risk of misinformation and disinformation. that came up this past week. here's a story and fox news, that even you of haitian migrants saying they planned to vote multiple times in georgia is russian-made, according to u.s. intelligence agencies. a video haitian migrants voting in georgia's elections is the work of russian influence actors. two people say they are planning to vote multiple times in two different georgia counties for vice president kamala harris.

it said the video was amplified by right-wing accounts on social media. the u.s. intelligence community assesses that russian influence actors manufactured a video that picked individuals claiming to be from haiti and voting illegally in multiple counties cannot read a joint statement from security agencies. this is based on prior activities of other russian influence actors, include videos and other misinformation activities. the georgia secretary of state has refutevideo's claims as false. that is one of the misinformation efforts going on. nbc news also has an article pointing out a new ad that celebrities are doing. can you spot the celebrity deepfake? in a new ad warning against election disinformation.

it comes amid concern that ai could be used to confuse americans about the time, place, or manner of voting at their local polling places. let's look at that ad. >> artificial intelligence has become so advanced you probably cannot tell some of us are not real. >> that is a problem. >> this election, bad actors will use ai to trick you. >> into not voting. >> luckily, we already know what they are going to do. >> videos or messages that try to change how or where you vote. >> for example, a fake message saying voting has been >> extended. or your polling location has changed. >> or you need a new documentation to vote. >> these are scams designed to trick you into not voting. >> do not fall for it.

>> this threat is very real. >> if something seems off, it probably is. >> always double check your state's official website. >> voting is your right. >> don't let anyone take it from you. >> i am sorry. i am not even american. >> so sorry. >> i'm really here. here. >> let's get back to your calls. alan is in new york on our line for democrats. >> i am in favor of democrats

conducting themselves in a legal way. i would never support stormy the capitol over my anger at the electoral college, but i think there needs to be more discussion of the merits of the electoral college if and when trump again takes an electoral victory when losing the popular vote. if he does lose the popular vote, it would be the third time a president takes office in that way in only 24 years, more than in the prior 200 years. it would be the first time someone who previously had incumbency would have won with any literal vote only the non-popular vote. it would be at a time when, based on population change, the ratio of voting power per person in the electoral college between the smallest and biggest states would be 10 times greater then it was at the time of our

founding and these are facts that deserve to be taken into consideration by any sane supreme court. our supreme court has been skewed by a president who took office with only an electoral college win and kept at one the nominees from the obama administration to increase their count by one. this is a time when peaceful civil disobedience and more information about changes that make the electoral college more unjust than ever should be focused on. i am a grandparent of two children. one is going to become one year old a day before election day. they never voted to allow the unequal voting power in the electoral college. this is a rule over 200 years old when they were born. i think we have to blanket the situation and say this is unfair. all children born into this world deserve the same per

capita vote and they did not consent to it. people need to protest this peacefully and strenuously. if there is another repeat of what happened. host: jimmy is on our line for independence. -- independents. caller: i am voting with my pocketbook, which is not very full right now. i voted for joe biden and i am disappointed. i am 70 years old. i am on social security and car insurance has gone up almost $1200 in a year. she is helping me take care of my bills and i am worried.

i really never wanted to vote -- i remember i haven't had steak in three or four years. i go into the store and they are on sale, once in a while i might pick up a sirloin. we are talking 15, $18 for one piece of steak. i am having a rough time. we spend all this money on these foreign wars. i would like someone to explain how our poor people benefit. they thing that scares me is now you see this unemployment where they only hired 12,000 jobs. what is going to happen when we got our poor people looking for jobs and now these other poor people looking for jobs? this could turn into a disaster.

you can talk about personalities and everything. i am just going on with reality. i love this country. we have to start taking care of americans. that is all i have to say. thank you for taking my call. >> fox news has an article about the jobs report, calling it a november surprise that the jobs report gives trump last-minute political ammunition to fire at harris and the jobs created last month were below estimates of up to 120,000 because only 12,000 jobs were created in october, the lowest in four years. fueling this were disruptions from ever stating hurricanes and other labor disputes. regardless of the contributive factors, the figures offered the trump campaign ammunition to fire at harris as two nominees

remain locked in a margin of error race in national polls and surveys in battleground states that will likely determine the white house winner. yesterday at his rally in north carolina, trump referenced the jobs report while focusing on the economy. >> they are coming in and taking jobs held by black people. they have had that job for 10, 15, 20 years. they have a house and mortgage or something and their jobs are going to be gone by illegal migrants coming into the country. you should show those numbers. you should take those numbers and announce them before the election because if you see those numbers everybody is going to be -- by the way, hispanic americans are next. they are being very badly and severely hurt. if kamala wins, you are three

days away from the start of a 1929 style economic depression. that is what a lot of people think. a lot of the genius, brilliant people -- i call him the 184 people got 184 iq as opposed to about a 70 iq for a person that we are fighting on the other side. they have 184 iq. the geniuses on wall street, you know what they are saying? the only reason the stock market is doing ok but actually good is because everyone thinks trump is going to win the presidency. if i win, you are three days away from the best jobs, the biggest paychecks, and the brightest economic future the world has ever seen.

kamala's inflation nightmare has cost the typical american family $30,000 in higher prices and now she wants to impose the largest tax hike in american history on everybody in this room. host: joe is in florida on our line for republicans. good morning. caller: i am disappointed with the american electorate. to me, there is too much focus on personality. i heard the gentlemen talk about we should look away from personality, but we are listening to a couple previous callers -- they were focused on that. to me, it is unfortunate that you have to look past the american media to get information and lean away from their focus on personalities. you mentioned misinformation,

but the american media has abrogated its responsibility. if you look going back to dan rather, who miscast information in the middle of an election when he was on 60 minutes with cbs, he was fired for that. he and his editor. today, cbs will probably pin a metal on him -- would probably pin a medal on him. you saw the moderators in the debate basically broke their own commitment not to fact-check. people have to go a long way to look past the american media because it has basically become an arm of the democratic party. you have to keep in mind, as the gentlemen mentioned, facts matter. obviously with harris she has seen the disabilities of joe biden, so she misled the

american people. you cannot get past that. then she further turned around and said everything i said in the past -- i supported fracking -- forget all of that. i'm amazed this election is this close because harris exhibits all the traits of someone wanting to have a focus on herself and her own benefits. i am disappointed the american people cannot see past that. you need to be careful when listening to the american media. you have to work hard to find these issues dating all the way back to rather and even biden, who funnels money to his grandkids and that is ok? who brags about influencing events in ukraine by saying i

withheld all this money? when the folks were looking into his own son's company's wrongdoings. unbelievable. host: molly is in north carolina on our line for democrats. >> i am 94 years old and i have lived a long life in many countries with the military. i am praying to god that president trump will get into -- will get this presidency. he loves this country genuinely and what i am against mainly is all these people walking in by the millions into our beloved america. we do not know who they are, what they are. we have proven they are murderers.

i'm petrified that when they come down here to north carolina -- i have grandchildren, little girls, 12 years old. i'm petrified that one of these people will get a hold of one of them and murder them. and people do not think it can happen to you. these ladies who lost their loved ones to these monsters coming in -- whatever happened to theirs? host: you are a democrat planning to vote for trump. i wonder how you made that decision. caller: i made that decision because to me kamala has no clue how to run this beloved america. absolutely none. and she is one that once the borders open and i rated on the

television where she said the borders would be open to these people because this is a kindly country. host: that is all the time we have for open forum today. next, gerald seib will join us detailing some bright spots in the doom and gloom of american politics. we will be right back. ♪ >> since its founding, the innocence project has been responsible for getting wrongly convicted people out of prison. tonight, an attorney joins us to talk about the history of the organization and clients they have successfull representing

-- represented, including the two men convicted of killing malcolm x. >> another gentleman said he was the person that was the shooter and committed the crime with two other people they refused to name. the jury rejected that information, but law-enforcement had evidence that corroborated the statement and assertion that he was the shooter and these other o people, our clients, -- that information was withheld. >> the innocence project executive director tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. you can listen to q&a and our podcasts on our free c-span now app. >> take the c-span now mobile video app with you on election night so you will not miss a moment.

catch live updates and stay on top of key state races that could shift the balance of congress. just the candidates, results come and you. stay informed. download the free mobile video app today. host: welcome back. to move on from the doom and gloom of american politics, we are joined by the former executive washington editor for wall street journal, now a visiting fellow at the dole institute of politics. welcome to the show. you have this essay, the bright spots in the doom and gloom of our politics. split ticket voting is on the rise and legal institutions are holding both parties accountable. you're giving us some optimism. guest: somebody has to.

i spent a month back in kansas and people kept asking me the same questions. who is going to win and are we going to be ok? my answer to the first was i do not know. i answer to the second is we will be ok. we will get through this. i had to decide, why would i think we will be ok? as i thought about things going well in this system, there are some out there. that is what i tried to highlight. our election system continues to work. the courts have done their job. they have upheld the integrity of the vote and there is no reason that is going to change. citizen engagement is huge. in a healthy democracy, you want engaged citizenry, and we have that. turnout was the highest it has been in centuries. i was looking at the early vote

numbers. 72 million people have already voted. in georgia, 4 million people have voted. so if you think apathy is bad for democracy, we have the opposite of that. host: let's go through the other things you mentied. youalked but how citizens are deeply engaged. or campaign funding isg from ordinary americans. split ticket voting is coming back. let's talk about more campaign funding coming from ordinary americans and split ticket voting. >> campaign finance is big and underappreciated. it is a huge change in the way our elections work and it is because of the internet and social media and for years there were complaints that i heard and wrote about that politics was being financed by big

organizations, big donors, and that was pushing politics in ways regular people did not like. now you have citizens stepping up and funding campaigns on their own and they about match big donor moneys. as a result, i think you have another element of citizen engagement. that does not mean everything is healthy. a lot of it goes to people on the far left or far right, but i think citizens are figuring out they can have a voice not just by voting but by sending small dollar donations as well. and the long run i think that is healthy for democracy. there have been signs that people have started rather than mindlessly casting their votes for all d or all r candidates, they are more discerning. you have senate candidates on

the democrat excited in swing states who are pulling better in the national ticket than the harris-walls ticket --. walz ticket. in maryland, you have the possibility of larry hogan winning the senate seat. we will see the same in montana and ohio. so it may be that people will come back, the end and vote straight tickets because that is what you do in a country where everybody is aligned politically, but it also may be that we see a more discerning vote. host: you wrote the piece because of the experiences you had of people wondering if they are going to be ok. why do you think people are emotionally feeling the toll of this election so much? how does it compare to the past? >> guest: there is more anxiety

than i can remember. i cannot remember this much anxiety not just the weekend before the election but reading up to the election. i think there are a couple reasons. the election has become not just a way to pick leaders. it has become a referendum on cultural issues and those are emotional issues and i think the choice between donald trump and kamala harris has come to be seen as a choice between two versions of what our culture is and those are emotional issues. the second an obvious one is that the aftermath of the 2020 election and january 6 and the unrest and division has continued. there is a lot of fear not just about what will happen, but will people believe the results? will they accept the results? will be have a peaceful transfer

of power? these are questions that are foremost on the minds of people now and that creates anxiety. on questions that did not even occur to people before. host: we are seeing several major news organizations not to give political endorsements when they have in the past. what do you make of this? guest: the news organization i have been with for 45 years, the wall street journal, has never endorsed candidates. there is nothing radical about choosing not to endorse a presidential candidate. it may be a good idea because people? than ever if the polls are right and the objectivity and accuracy of media outlets, so i think you can make an argument that endorsing a candidate calls into question the objectivity of the

news organization even though endorsement is done by in opinion section that is totally separate. the problem and reason this is controversial some of these organizations made this decision late in the game not to endorse a candidate and they had endorsed previously. that led to an appearance that they were responding to pressure , particularly from former president trump, and that they did not want to assert themselves in a way that would attract more controversy and attacks from trump forces, and therefore looked to people as if it was a bow to the trump forces and that made it controversial. i think these organizations, the washington post and l.a. times, and the post owner has said he wishes he had made this decision much earlier so it would not look like it was done in the face of pressure.

host: jeff bezos said in a statent, no quid pro quo of neither campaign nor can it was consultant or inabout the decision. it was made entirelynall e chief executive of one of my companies met with former esidt donald trump on the day of our announcement. i sighed when i found out because i knew it would provide ammunition to who uld like to frame this as anything other than a principal decision. i did not know about the meeting before. the m wascheduled that the is no connection between it and our decision on presidential endorsements and any suggestion otherwise is false. as npr reports, more than 250,000 prescribers have left the washington post over the

withheld endorsement. do you see this as the beginning of a broader trend of how media handles these things? guest: i have no reason to doubt jeff bezos when he says that. he also says he wishes he had made the decision earlier so there would not have been the hothouse of the last couple weeks of the campaign. i have no reason to doubt he is telling us the truth. is this a trend? it is hard to know for sure. i think the idea that news organizations report on flickr activity and then endorsed candidates -- and maybe that is just a phenomenon that has run its course. you have two great leading indicators here. the undercurrent you suggest one people are canceling subscriptions suggests readers have an viewers have certain expectations of news organizations in an era of polarized politics and news

media and if they are disappointed they will react in the marketplace. i think news organizations that provide a fair balance will still be what people want and i think that will be the trend that wins out in the long run. in the meantime, you have a lot of turbulence. host: while we are on the tropic -- topic of trust in media, i want to point to a report that found journalists are under threat in united states. the survey data reveals high levels of harassment and physical violence against reporters nationally. they found 36% of respondents reported being threatened with or experiencing physical violence will working as a journalist. another 33% reported digital violence. 28% reported legal threats or action against them while working as a journalist.

24% experienced sexual harassment or sexual violence. what does this say about the relationship between the public and the media? guest: for starters, that is a real phenomenon. reporters on the campaign trail certainly experience this. they feel it. they will tell you about it. it happens mostly at trump events because there is a concerted effort to basically create a backlash against mainstream media by the trump campaign and trump forces and it has consequences. i also think it is a broader phenomenon in which people expect to hear news that makes them happy, that makes them feel better, that validates their feelings. when they do not they react the way people react to a lot of

things, not disappointment but with anger. i think it is an outgrowth of a broader trend and the news media happened to find themselves in the middle of those cross hairs. one hopes that when we get through the election on this front and more generally people might calm down a bit. the anger might subside. people will decide to have conversations rather than arguments or shouting matches. but it is a hard ask for an election that is this emotional. host: hopefully we will have calm conversations coming up. republicans can call in at (202) 748-8001. democrats at (202) 748-8000. independents at (202) 748-8002. i want to look and more polling, this one from the new york times finding voters are deeply skeptical about the health of the american democracy.

a core group, roughly one third of voters, believed the country's problems are so bad it is on the verge of failure. a majority of republicans and 60% of democrats hold an attitude about the future of the nation and have a voters are skeptical that the american experiment in self-governance are working -- is working. others believe the nation's democracy did not do a good job representing ordinary people. guest: there is a host of factors behind those. one is people do have a feeling that the government has not worked for them well over the last 10 or 20 years. failure to do things about getting its arms around the deficit or dealing with immigration or managing a financial crisis in which a lot of people feel like their

interests were not taken care of while wall street and big finance's were. so that is a big factor. i also think -- i wrote a piece about this earlier this year. one of the things that happens is, if you spend billions of dollars in magnetic -- negative political advertising to tell people the system is broken and everybody's corrupt, they do not care about you -- it turns out people start to believe that over time. i think the avalanche of negative political advertising is taking a toll and i think finally you have a situation in which people have been told or experienced elections they do not trust and that is a new phenomenon. it calls into question the foundations of democracy, which is an election that is free and

fair and the outcome is decided honestly and you can believe the results. people have been told for five years now or four years that that is not the case, so some of that -- my hope would be that we get through this election and it goes smoothly and most people accept the results. again, trying to be an optimist. >> let's get more of those optimistic takes from our callers. henry is in michigan on our line for democrats. >> i want to piggyback off of those no endorsements of candidates. i think the american people should know about the media and the media ownership. elon musk owns x. he is from south africa. the murdochs, who mr. seib works

for, they own the wall street journal. host: he now works for the dole institute. guest: i am retired from the journal. i still consult with the journal. caller: jeff bezos owns the washington post. he is a south african. the owner of the l.a. times is a south african. elon musk obviously is a huge -- host: i do not think that is accurate about the south african origin of jeff bezos. i wanted to hear your point and we will give gerry a chance to respond. caller: i think america is under the influence of foreign ownership of the media, which is done a terrible job of letting the people know how the economy is doing very well. president biden and vice president kamala harris have

done a great job. we have peter teal -- thiel, who is the benefit or -- benefactor of vance. they support him because they want to see trump get into the office and they know trump is not going to last this whole four years. they are going to invoke the 25th and then vance becomes the president. i think that is the plan. people talk about this immigration issue and people coming across the border. americans, you need to think about years and years when american criminals commit crimes, where is the first place they head? they had to the border of mexico. we cannot even go into mexico to retrieve criminals because we do not have a tradition treaty -- an extradition treaty.

guest: i do not think owners dictate what happens in coverage of news on a day-to-day basis. i can tell you that is a fact. in the end, news organizations are responsive to readers. that is the reason they stay in business. the underlying -- a lot of the concerns of the caller is the question of why, an economy that looks good on the surface translating into more support for economic policies of joe biden and kamala harris. if you look at the unemployment rate and stock market, you would say -- if you look at the u.s. economic performance compared to countries around the world, you would say this is an economy

that is doing great. this is a simple one-word answer. inflation. inflation still is being felt by people. it is felt by everybody every day. it has been hard to get past that problem. this is not a new phenomenon in american politics. it is tough on an incumbent party. i think it is not that people are being misled. they feel forces that are different from forces that suggest the economy is doing fine. caller: good morning. hope you all are having a good morning and thank you for taking my call. it is difficult not to be an independent here in texas where i am calling from.

elon musk owns a bunch of the county. so we are use to immigrants. it is funny to watch people like ted cruz who was born in another country and had to renounce his citizenship when he ran in 2016. it is funny to watch them hate immigrants. i wonder if he hates himself. i know everybody in texas cannot stand him, so it is a wonder that he might win against colin allred because nobody in texas can stand him. we have a lot of problems in texas with the media, which mr. gerald has been a part of for a long time. we do not have any viable newspapers in central texas. the austin american statesman is gone. it is a shadow of itself and barely has any reporters. i live 27 miles outside of austin. i cannot get a paper out here.

you cannot get a sunday paper out here. you can pay for it and they will not deliver it. it does not happen. we do not have any valid news media and then you turn to your phone and look at the phone and the phone is run by an algorithm , so they only feed to you what you click on. they feed you more of it. then you turn to the news. we have spectrum news, which is a capable organization. this has been a republican state for 20 years. they will sit there on the news until you there is something wrong with texas because of democrats. that is just nonsense. it is just nonsense. there has not been a statewide elected democrat in two decades, but they will sit there and say kamala this and that. i want to tell you about inflation. this is the biggest lie i see in inflation. i am still working full time and

making more money than i have ever made in my life. yesterday i went to the gas pump and paid $2.35 a gallon for gas. everybody sits here and says inflation. prices have come down below where the inflation started. a lot of it is profiteering that has taken place because we have turned food production over to big companies. look how many millions of pounds of meat and stuff has been recalled. host: you're raising a bunch of interesting points about the decline of local media and consolidation in various industries. host: -- guest: the decline of local newspapers but also affiliate news organizations around the country is marked and has had a

bigger impact than people realize. i think local media tended to be a stabilizing influence in immunities. people knew the folks who ran their local newspaper. they trusted them. they provided balanced coverage. and it was a good antidote to national press and the national media conversation, which tends to be more partisan and more fraught. i think the decline of local press has not only made people have a harder time understanding what is going on in their community, it has forced them to rely on a fractured media landscape nationally which has become more partisan and polarized. the result is people are more partisan and polarized than they used to be so you can draw a direct line from the decline of

local news media outlets to increase polarization and i think it is regrettable. i do not know how we turn that around. the senate race in texas is interesting. democrats have been thinking for several cycles we are close to breaking through in texas and it has never been the case. the texas senate race looks to be close. i think it would still be a huge surprise of ted cruz lost, but it is interesting we are talking about the race at this stage in the game, which tells you maybe things have evened up some. host: rudy is in california on online for republicans. caller: i am a republican, but i am not going to vote republican. it hurts me so much. i am 71 years old. it hurts me because i only live seven miles from the border.

i can see the border and it hurts me that trump is saying illegals are coming in, millions crossing the border. it is a lie. and he is doing all these lies. i ask myself -- you're in the country and he is saying all this stuff. he is going to cause violence. so much people hate other people because of him. it hurts me that he is continuing lying so much and that some of these republican people do not open their eyes and see that. i am going to vote for kamala because she has her mind set right. she is not ignorant and stupid like he is. it hurts me. i hope all the republicans open their eyes and look at reality, that you are voting for this guy

that is going to cause violence and hate. he just wants to dodge jail because he deserves to be locked up. he has done so much breaking laws and he does not want to admit it. he is scared to go to prison. guest: one of the things that is interesting about this election cycle is one of the things that has been very stable is top issues. top issues have been the economy and immigration and abortion not far behind, so i think in many ways this election turns on what people think about immigration, not just in border states like california but in states where immigration was not an issue for years but is now. we will see how that plays out. a lot of people are voting for donald trump on immigration.

one of the other factors that is interesting is abortion emerges as the issue in which people are most likely to say i cannot vote for a candidate who disagrees with me on this issue. it is the one issue in which people are most likely to say -- there may be other important issues but the one in which i cannot support somebody who disagrees with me on abortion is that issue. the issue mix is important and it is clear the trump campaign things immigration is the ticket they can use to go to victory, but in another respect it is not really about issues. it is about attitude and culture. we will see how those things play out, but it is interesting to have a republican who comes out on the others of immigration. host: bob is in new york on our

for democrats. caller: i was reading an article mentioned thursday and -- this program never talked about it, saying the next president will inherit a remarkable economy. he did mention most people are feeling the inflation part of it. now i want to answer a policy question. what will harris do to public understanding of inflation? who is going to pay really for the tariffs that will be placed by the trump administration that they are proposing, a 20% increase? what would that due to the economy moving forward? will it make it worse? or is it going to be better? does the public realize this is going to happen under the trump

administration? could you please answer who is going to pay for the tariffs and how that is going to affect inflation for this country? >> the history of tariffs will tell you the cost of tears ultimately is borne by consumers. tariffs are imposed as a way -- would be imposed on every important to the country at the cost of the tariff is borne initially by the company that imports the product, but they pass that along to consumers. and, as to mike ross suggest, there are economist to say that is basically an inflationary practice. the republican response is that it is only inflationary to the extent that imports continue on the same path they are now. we think the result in the long run will be a shift of manufacturing away from foreign

manufacturers to u.s. manufacturers. that is the impact we are looking for and not inflationary. the financial markets seem to be betting that a trump win would actually in the short term make inflation worse, not better. financial markets are sometimes right and sometimes wrong, but i think there is expectation that his economic policies, which involve tax cuts and tariffs, might be inflationary and there might be an overall stimulus to the economy as a result of all the things that add to inflationary pressure. we will see. i think the tariff question is difficult because the country has not gone down that path for 100 years or so. host: scott is in pennsylvania on our line for independents.

caller: good morning. i am glad i watched your show today. a lot of good things talked about from the beginning to this guy on here. i am a little nervous. i will get to the point and make it quick. there is so much anger, a lot of lies. does the truth matter in politics anymore? how will all the anger go away, no matter who gets elected? republicans were angry and never gave it up that biden was not the true president for four years. if trump is elected, the people that know the truth, are they supposed to just forget about it? i do not understand how it will go away. i was watching this show, he was being interviewed in his basement. what he thought about the american people holding the house accountable for holding

bills up. he said the american people do not remember three days ago. that is just a quick point. my brother and i are a lot alike. i am an independent peer he is a republican. he believes it is ok to lie to the american people and his family and he believes it is ok to brainwash the american people and his family because the women are taking over. and the very beginning after trump was elected, when he is having his hate rallies, which he should have never done, he told his fans to punch a reporter in the face in front of little kids and he still has a terrible mouth in front of little kids now. host: let's give jerry a chance to respond. guest: the caller asked

questions i get asked a lot. when will the anger and divisiveness subside? does truth matter? i will take the second one first. i still think truth does matter. it matters more when voters are discerning and make it matter. one of the things here is -- that is necessary is for voters to hold politicians and campaigns responsible for what they say and i think voters have to make clear that there is a price to be paid for dishonesty and until that happens i think we probably will see more, not less. i also think it may be a cycle and in the end i believe truth matters. i think it will win out. we are in a convoluted media environment where it is harder to find the truth, but it does still matter. when will the anger go away? i am not sure i know the answer

to that. i think it will go away when people decide they have had enough. when we have leaders that decide they would rather soothe the passions then stoke passions. there is more reward on the side of exacerbating divisions. when politicians figure out that is not a successful tactic anymore, they will not do it. it is up to voters to make sure the risk-reward ratio in politics tends toward truthfulness and calm rather than dishonesty and anger. host: dominic is in virginia on our line for republicans. >> i have listened to a few of the callers. i try to listen every sunday morning. i have a couple disagreements with some of your assertions. anger, for one. i am not as angry as you might believe.

i am a 71-year-old heterosexual white guy and i do not think the general public understands the negative impact of what politicians have done to the economy because of things like the focus on climate change and getting rid of energy production and then turning around and buying goods from iran and venezuela. counterproductive. that is my opinion. if you focus on the economic decisions made by this administration, you would find they are pathetic. i do not find anything coming out of kamala harris's mouth credible. the fixation with this 2020 five project. they continually talk about trump is going to do this, traumas want to do that. you cannot get a straight fact from anybody. sometimes that is on both sides of the aisle and the press. this is a bifurcated nation because of this and that is the

hard right and the hard left. trump is a populist. the recent spat of discussions juxtaposing him with hitler's is disgusting. everybody knows he is not hitler's. i would like to hear your comment on that. guest: i think the caller frames the election in a way traditionally would have been the case, which is an actual assessment of economic impact of the two candidates. there are some people making a decision based on those questions. i think there are at least as many people making decisions based on more emotional aspects of the conversation and i think the rhetoric has gotten out of hand toward a more sober decision by the american public. i think that we may at some

point -- people will get tired of the tone of politics and react accordingly. certainly the caller suggests he is reacting to politics. i think we need leaders who will project optimism rather than pessimism and that will basically convince people they should look -- that america has more going for it and the positive sense than going against it in the negative sense. that is not where the national conversation is now. i think it would be better if there were more serious conversation about the actual impact of the economy -- of economic policies of the two candidates because that is where there could be reasonable conversation. we only had one presidential debate and one vice presidential debate, so there has been less

conversation about that. host: james is in ohio on our line for democrats. caller: i'm sorry. i was trying to cut you off to speak. can you hear me now? host: go ahead. caller: i had you on speaker phone. there is a few things. i think texas and florida would be purple states if it was not that texas has about 2 million people purged from the voting rolls in florida has over a million. that is one item. another thing, people tend to hire like people. you say this guy is not racist. if everybody you hire around you is a racist, then you are a racist. for whatever reason, you tend to hire that type of person.

i see it in sports teams and things like that. if you look at the people employed and how they make decisions, you can find out if they are racist or if they are good business people. donald trump is not a good business person because he has bankrupted everything he has touched. everybody that he has dealt with he steals from and they tend to follow him. the only reason it could be is for racism. guest: i think race is great force that lurks in the background of american politics and has for years. it is not new to this campaign. the fact that we have the first woman of caller to be a nominee for a major party brings it to the surface more, but race relations are basically the inescapable reality of american

politics. they are in the background, if not the forefront, of every conversation every time we have an election and that is still the case. the question of whether donald trump is a racist is what the democrats are raising here. lebron james has raised it especially. at the same time, donald trump is actually doing relatively better among black voters and hispanic voters then he did four years ago or eight years ago, so this is a complex picture. the reality is that it is part of the equation. it has been every general election. sometimes it is more on the surface and sometimes it is below the surface, but race relations are on the ballot, even if not especially. host: art is in chicago on our

line for independents. caller: i would like to give a few opinions on what is going on here. host: we are just about out of time. caller: the economy has been up-and-down forever. in the last 50 years, we had a recession. under president ford, it was 16%. immigration -- everyone in this country is a descendant of an immigrant. abortions rights are women's rights. by taking them away, it makes them second-class citizens. in this country -- the fabric of what makes this country what it is. thank you. guest: pretty sustained summary of some of the top issues of the campaign. it is interesting that cut based on calls today and other data points, voters' views of the

economy can be starkly different. people can look at the macroeconomy can't look at hiring going up -- other people say inflation is killing me. the biden-harris economic policies are a failure. it is interesting and it is at the heart of the voting patterns we are going to see. guest: -- host: gerry seib is at the toll institute of politics. thank you for joining us this morning and thank you to everyone who called in and shared your thoughts today. we will be back with another edition

>>s morning, our campaign 2024 covered continue starting with republican presidential nominee dona trump at a rally inz, pennsylvania, following that we will be live-in studio taking fewer calls and showing ye from the candidates as they traveled throughout the c campaigning. check corg for updated schedules and times for these ainder, you can also watch nd all of our other campaign 2020 for coverage on our free mobile video app, c-span now, and online at c-span.org. defend washington journal, a

life or involving you with the latest issues in government, politics, and public policy. we will discuss how elections are administered with efforts to boost election security head of election day with the chair of the u.s. election assistance commission and the dean and professor of law at the university of wisconsin law school. we will talk about the voting lawsuits that have been filed across the country ahead of election day and a legal battle that is expected to follow. c-span's washington journal. joining the conversation live monday morning on c-span, c-span now, or online at c-span.org. c-span is your unfiltered -- unfiltered view of government, including mediacom. >> media, started on a powerful

idea, cutting ed b