♪ now i've got you in my sights ♪ applebee's new 3-course meal starting at $11.99. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. good morning. i'm chris jansing in for stephanie ruhle this labor day. this morning, access not granted. with brent kavanaugh's confirmation hearing set to begin tomorrow, democrats are furious over the trump administration's blocking access to a trove of records for his supreme court nominee. >> it's not normal because we are not able to see 100,000 documents that the archivist has just -- because the administration has said we can't see them. >> tell me what you really think. americans sounding off ahead of november's midterms, emblematic of battles playing out across kitchen tables across the country. >> it's almost toxic.

i don't like to talk to some people because they're so vitriol. >> i'm not a trump supporter. i thought i was but after what's been going on, i'm not no more. >> and war on weed. new information on where the trump administration really stands on the legalization of marijuana as states expand access and rake in the dough. we begin this labor day just a day out from the confirmation hearing that will change the balance of power on the supreme court. staff for both parties not taking the day off today preparing for a hearing that will be as contentious as it is consequential. i've got a great team to help me break it all down. first, let's take a look at what we can expect, just a little over 24 hours from now. on paper, judge brent kavanaugh is a conservative's dream candidate. checks every box. former law clerk for justice kennedy. aide to president bush. association to the ken star investigation. a dozen years on the d.c. court of appeals. and at just 53, kavanaugh could

pull the supreme court to the right for years, if not decades to come. of course, that's why this is so important to republicans and it's the same thing that makes democrats so nervous. tomorrow, kavanaugh goes before ten democrats and 11 republicans on the judiciary committee. democrats will do their best to force kavanaugh to reveal his views on some of the most important issues of the day, everything from abortion to business regulations. the most critical may be his views on the extent of presidential power and how much power special counsel robert mueller has on president trump. that's because if mueller moves to subpoena the president, trump's legal team has vowed to take the issue all the way to the supreme court. one of the senators on the committee, democrat amy chl klobuch klobuchar, laid out the stakes on "meet the press." >> you have a nominee who has one of the most expansive views of presidential power we've seen in history.

this is a guy who says, one, a president should be able to declare a statute constitutional all by himself. this is all very relevant and no, it's not normal. >> republicans, including lindsey graham, say you can trust kavanaugh to make the right decision whatever that may be. >> the bottom line here is most people are unsure as to whether or not a president can be indicted, a sitting president. impeachment is a process to remove a president, the criminal liability aspects are very much in debate. i think he's going to be mainstream in his thinking. he's going to look at both sides. >> his record does not reveal a clear answer on whether or not the president can be indicted while in office. in '09, he wrote, quote, the indictment and trial of a sitting president would cripple

the federal government. such an outcome would ill serve the public interest, especially in times of financial or security crisis. even though he suggested it's a bad idea, kavanaugh wrote years earlier that whether the constitution allows the indictment of a sitting president is debatable. that's what we've read. but as you heard from amy chl klobuch klobuchar, there are 100,000 pages of kavanaugh's records that the white house is withholding. the administration, jeff, may have actually given democrats some more ammunition over the weekend by saying look, we're not going to release these 100,000 documents from kavanaugh's tenure in the bush white house. >> they're citing executive privilege. it has to do with brett kavanaugh's service in the white house counsel's office under george w. bush. here's the thing, the bush lawyer who oversaw the document review wrote a letter to the senate judiciary committee saying that former president

bush advised him to air on the side of transparency but that the trump administration directed him not to release certain files citing executive privilege. and so you have democrats saying that this is unprecedented. that republicans are trying to ram through the nomination without proper scrutiny. they say these documents would provide insights into kavanaugh's thinking on issues like abortion rights and presidential investigations. here's what democrat senator dick durbin, who sits on the judiciary committee, here's what he had to say about this. >> they're suppressing these documents. if we're lucky, we'll see 6% of all of the documents that have been produced, or could be produced, to reflect on cavanaugh's true position on issues. he is saying and the white house saying the american people have no right to know. >> now, the white house says democrats will have plenty of material to draw upon when they question kavanaugh at his senate confirmation hearings this week. you know what democrats don't have, chris, they don't have leverage. democrats have not been able to

undercut kavanaugh's status to win confirmation in what is a republican-controlled senate. remember, gone is the 60 vote barrier setting a vote for supreme court nominees. so republicans could, they could confirm kavanaugh without any democratic votes, chris. >> all right, jeff, thank you so much. i want to bring in my panel. a.b. stoddard. john than allen for nbc news digital. so a.b., we heard what senator klobuchar had to say. it's not normal to withhold these documents. it would bring up interesting questions. chuck schumer went beyond that, calling that a friday night document massacre. is it going to make any difference what might be in those documents? do we have any idea? >> well, the democrats are going to argue that in previous nominations, like justice

roberts and elaiena keegan who also worked in white houses for presidents, there's much more disclosure and then republicans will argue that kavanaugh was in a different position, and he's likely to be able to claim more, rightly claim more privilege. there is a problem though, and that's what the reporter mentioned, which is in turning them over, the bush lawyers recommended fuller disclosure and the trump administration decided to keep them. the 270,000 documents that were turned over are -- a lot of it includes really nonsubstantive things like schedules. so it's sort of a dumb talking point to give to the democrats to allow them to make that the headline of these hearings. it seems like that's something republicans should have, you know, considered true, to turn everything over and ram this through. there are democrats who are going to have to vote for cavanaugh to be justice of the

supreme court. i wanted why they wanted to give this in the midterm season to the democrats to be able to say not only is this man too protective of the executive branch to bring up all of the stuff about the mueller investigation but say look at all of the documents they're keeping in the dark. >> i've talked to a lot of democrats as i'm sure you have who are frustrated by all this. it kind of raises the question, have they in some way been outplayed? first they don't get a vote on merrick garland. you know, you can blame mitch mcconnell for that. but they also are not voting with a 60-vote threshhold, it's 51. a lot of other federal judges we don't talk about that often. now you have a document controversy that i don't see a way. let me know if you see it differently. that that's going to change. that suddenly all those documents are going to get released. so what's going on here? >> number one, yes, they've been outflanked from a purely strategic standpoint in washington on a lot of these

things. also, they were outmaneuvered by the electric that put in place a republican senate in materials of going back to look at merrick garland, in terms of looking at the goresuch nomination and now the kavanaugh nomination. >> how many voters do you think are going to go to the polls for the senate in november and this is going to be, if not at, near the top of their list? the idea of supreme court justices that, as you know from the president, he believes there could be at least one more he could appoint. >> i think a lot of voters will have this at the top of their mind, just not a majority of them. what we've seen in the past is this is a nominating issue. if they believe that roe versus wade is on the line or is likely to be overturned. so i think we'll have to see where it stands on election day. i think there were a fair number

of voters who are going to be worried when they go to the polls. >> there's so much talk about whether or not a president can be indicted. if neil gorsuch and many justices are any indication, eat not going to get pinned down on many things at all. but what's your reading of what we know of where cavanaugh stands on this issue? >> what makes kavanaugh different is he's written extensively on this exact topic in the '09 law review article you mentioned before. that's rare you have someone on record in writing like that. what judge kavanaugh's defenders have been saying is he said congress might want to consider a law putting the president out of browns. so the question i would ask, if i was sitting on that committee, would be, would such a law be constitutional? and if there is no such law, then what's your view? is your view the same as you wrote in 2009 or has it changed since then and if so why?

>> i wonder what you're expecting. again, you talked to staff members on both sides. they're expecting fireworks. they're fired up and loaded for bear. having said that, they can all make these statements and they can be very passionate about it. how much you'll get out of kavanaugh, i don't know. what are you going to be watching for? >> i think the democrats have to try to cut through with a resonant message for the midterm campaign through the grandstanding of their own presidential contenders like harris and booker -- >> yes, i wonder, have we ever had a supreme court hearing like this, where there are so many people sitting on the judiciary committee who are probably going to run for president? >> i know i think actually that could go to the benefit of kavanaugh if they go too far. so that's the point. how do they make their points on his view of a protected executive free from indictment,

free to make his own definition of what is obstruction of justice, roe v. wade, all the pertinent issues. and then make the case that this is basically a railroad of these important documents and they're being kept in the dark, so that is a balancing act i think for the democrats. republicans are all going to be in lock step saying kavanaugh is the greatest justice that ever lived. i think the democrats, some of them are going to support this nomination, and he will be confirmed. so the time to make hay is now but they're going to have to watch themselves in that hearing, that it doesn't just become some democratic commercial for 2020. >> this big picture clearly, if you see kavanaugh confirmed, you're going to see a shift for the real swing vote from kennedy who truly was a swing vote, to justice roberts, who was much more conservative. that could have an impact on close votes and everything from abortion to racial issues,

including voting rights, in college admissions for example, religious issues. what's at stake here? and what do you hear the democrats saying about what's at stake? >> first, let me just say, the clarence thomas hear, it's hard to find a member of the judiciary committee hearing at that point. >> grandstanding is nothing new. >> right. joe biden, i think orrin hatch, entertained presidential, you can go down the line. in terms of the shift, you're absolutely right. basically what you're doing is putting john roberts in that position of being the swing vote but also the chief justice and in charge of essentially a five-person conservative bloc. what's interesting about roberts, if you'll remember, his nomination hearings a little more than a decade ago now, we also had this sort of question

about how much information about his time was being released and whether stuff was being blocked and whether he was going to end up being more conservative than he appeared to be in his hearings. i remember roberts saying at the time, look, the decisions i made in the reagan white house or the opinions i wrote were me working for a client. i think we're going to hear the same thing from kavanaugh, that he's working for clients and therefore can't be held to account for positions he's taken in the past. it should be an interesting -- interesting nomination fight. but you will see i think a move to the right of the court and you'll see roberts in that swing area. which he's been before, certainly in the affordable care act, he played a major role in that. >> i guess finally the question about kavanaugh's positions. he's not somebody who i think history would suggest to us is likely to get tripped up. he's not somebody who's going to go into this hearing in anyway unprepared. having said that, if there's somewhere where you think the democrats could score point,

where would it be? >> i think his own prior record. the minnesota law review article is going to be hard for him to dodge around. just put the article in front of him and say do you still believe this or has your view changed. for example, he worked for ken starr years ago. he was very aggressive in serving a subpoena on bill clinton which resulted in the unforgettable testimony by clinton. i think a senator could press him and say you served the subpoena. do you still believe a president should have to answer a subpoena. and, again, if not, why has your view changed between then and now. >> ellie, thanks. coming up, former vice president joe biden rallying crowds today in a key battleground state. we'll tell you what he's up to. plus, heading to the polls tomorrow in one of the most heated primaries in the country. the democratic establishment facing another potential seismic shake-up in massachusetts. but first, serena williams reaching her 49th major

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vice president live, let's listen. >> mr. vice president, what's your thinking about 2020, sir? >> you guys, let's move. you guys, let's move down the hill. come on, let's go. down the hill. down the hill. >> the press being moved away from vice president joed bien who made some very brief remarks as he was coming out of st. benedict the more church ahead of marching in a holiday parade in pittsburgh. one of the largest in the country. nbc's national political reporter was in the middle of the reporters trying to get some comments from the vice president. what's it look like there? >> i'm standing next to vice president biden. sir, we're live on msnbc right

now, sir, talk about what this means in terms of your political future here. is this an audition for 2020? >> i've known these guys my whole life. i'd go anywhere with these guys. these are the guys that brought me to the dance as the saying goes. royalty. >> mr. vice president -- >> let's move down the hill, give him some space. >> mr. vice president. you're a former chairman of the judiciary committee. what is your advice about how to handle this going forward? >> stay in the room, demand answers and keep pointing out that you have -- they have not given them the material that was expected of committee. >> mr. vice president, you were part of the mccain services all week. you gave a very moving tribute to him. what message was he trying to send to the country with the services and what do you hope the country picked up from that? >> look, john's whole career -- john was like a brother to me. we had the same value set.

we had different perspectives. and, you know, as long as you were honorable, as long as you're honest, as long as you didn't leave anybody behind, as long as you treated people with dignity, you always got on with john, even if you strongly disagreed with hill, like i did in the war in iraq. >> give him some space. >> but, in fact, you didn't have those basic -- basic american values, then you didn't have a lot of respect for you. >> what do you think of the president's reaction? >> i don't have -- everybody knows who the president is -- >> come on, you guys -- >> all right, you just heard it from the vice president himself. he's here, this is one of the largest labor day parades in the country. he's here obviously campaigning with democrats nine weeks before the midterm elections. he's going to be very active. he's one of the most sought after democratic surrogates in these midterm elections. whether it means anything in

terms of his thinking about 2020, you just heard from him, he's been very consistent, he hasn't ruled it out, but he's focused squarely on the midterm elections and helping a lot of the candidates like those that we just saw him with, bob casey, conor lamb here in pennsylvania. >> great job getting those questions answered. obviously everyone is looking to 2020. a lot of the folks on that judiciary committee are the people who joe biden would potentially be running against if he decided to get in the race. at the very top when he came out and the reporters first went out, we missed what he said. what was he talking about what he came out of the church? he went to mass this morning, right? >> i asked him, what's your message? he said everything is at stake. that's been a pretty consistent message from him. he's been one of the most sought after surrogates. he's also talked to a lot of these candidates. his message is very simple. the republicans are not doing what needs to be done in terms

of holding the president accountable. they're looking out for themselves. the president is looking out for himself. the democrats should run on the message that we're looking out for you. he's going to be marching in this parade here in the next two hours. and also appearing at some of the picnics that are a staple of this annual tradition. this is his first stop, literally, after he was named to barack obama's ticket in 2008. we're going to get out of the way here. the parade is literally going to be starting in just a few minutes. >> don't get run over, we need you there. thank you so much. those exclusive comments from vice president joe biden. we'll keep our eye on what's going on in pittsburgh. he was talking about the midterm. what's shaping up to be one of the most fascinating primaries of 2018, the massachusetts 7th in boston. donald trump barely got into double digits here. it's liberal versus liberal. the city counselor challenging

the incumbent. nbc political reporter ali vitale joins us live from boston. a lot of examplesp establishment democrats being challenged from left but this is something different. tell us about why there's been so much attention on this race and what's the feeling on the ground this morning? >> chris, we're here right now at the greater boston labor council breakfast. iona presley and congressman mike panama both saying this is all about turnout, turnout, turnout. although ayanna pressley has been likened to or case casio cortez and that stunning come from behind victory, this is not heard running to left of her

opponent. this is her offering a fresher younger face. now, i talked to some of the kapuanu's supporters and they said this is kind of an unnecessary interparty, interfamily battle but of course pressley supporters will also tell you that they feel like it's time to see someone who reflects the new demographic of this district. i mentioned at the beginning it's all about turnout. both campaigns are spending their last few hours before election day canvassing, trying to meet voters. there's a few things that could stand in the way of getting the kind of high turnout that both campaigns are looking for. it is of course labor day so if you're coming off the beach today, you're trying to get your kids to school the next day, both campaigns are telling me there are some pretty inherent barriers that of course in these final days just trying to make the case and get through to election day, chris. >> it's been literally a generation since they've had a challenge for that seat so it's going to be fascinating.

ali, thanks so much. coming up, it's been more than a year since hurricane harvey devastated the houston area and in several neighborhoods, evidence of that deadly disaster is still everywhere. meet one couple now part of a group that's part of the harvey homeless, next. (door bell rings) it's open! hey. this is amazing. with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, are you okay? even when i was there, i never knew when my symptoms would keep us apart. so i talked to my doctor about humira. i learned humira can help get, and keep uc under control when other medications haven't worked well enough. and it helps people achieve control that lasts. so you can experience few or no symptoms. humira can lower your ability to fight infections,

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we've got breaking news because just moments ago gordon became a tropical storm forming over south florida. it's already dumping heavy rain prompting tropical storm warnings in several states. nbc news meteorologist michelle grossman join us live. >> officially, the seventh named storm in the atlantic season. gord gordon, a tropical storm as of the 8:00 advisory. currently it is located 85 miles southeast of marco island. it's moving at 45 miles per hour. so really jumped up since the latest advisory. we'll see it move through the gulf over the next several days. by wednesday, 1:00, making landfall. before that, we're going to see a lot of rain in a lot of places. not a great day especially in southern florida on this labor day. a lot of soggy picnics out there. the western edge of florida,

down to southern florida, and as we go through the next couple of days, this will be the bull's-eye for all the rain. we're looking at a lot of rain right now. look at the onshore flow. the darker colors is indicating the heaviest rain. very heavy rain down through the keys. so not a great spot today. that will be the case throughout the day, before it moves off to the west here. as we go throughout tuesday, we're looking at anywhere from 4 up to 6 inches of rain. even up to 8 in some spots. this is really a rain maker, not so much a wind maker with this tropical storm. we'll keep it as a tropical storm over the next several days. the week ahead, we're looking at the potential for the heavy rain in parts of the gulf coast, a long the western edge of florida, also southern florida. that will be the the story again as we go throughout tomorrow, wednesday, before it finally lets up by thursday. chris. >> michelle, thank you. it's been just more than a year

since hurricane harvey devastated texas with epic flooding. the houston area of course was especially hard hit. in harris county alone the powerful category four storm claimed 36 lives. they're still tallying up the economic impact which is expected to top $125 billion. 160,000 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. and many in texas are still dealing with the aftermath. a new kaiser family survey finds nearly 1 in 3 say their lives remain disrupted. 42% say they're not getting the help they need, financial assistance or repairs. "the washington post" recently spoke with families in one houston neighborhood still struggling to return to normal. i'm joined by "the washington post" reporter katie metlehr. i want to talk about gill and carla parks. they're living in a trailer home that's parked just outside their home that was ravaged by floods. i'll play a little bit to start

about what they said. >> we're not in love with the house anymore. >> this house still has heart. >> oh, yes. >> but we've lost love for this home. because this brings back so many really bad memories. >> tell us more about their story and where they are a year later. >> so gill and carla were among the hardest hits residents when we went to the neighborhood of bear creek village, houston. they were flooded twice, once in april 2016 tax day flood and then again in hurricane harvey. in between there, gill, who's a veteran, lost his job in the oil industry and carla had a stroke. and the bank began foreclosure proceedings on their home. when harvey hit and they had 4 to 5 feet of water in their house, they did get some money from fema. they did not have flood insurance. but it wasn't nearly enough to really redo their whole house. so they took about 20,000 of the

28,000 dollars they got from fema and bought the rv instead and parked in their driveway for last six months. that's what they're living in. they're not sure what's next. >> a lot of people in their shoes, aren't there, people who didn't have flood insurance because frankly they didn't think they needed it. >> yes, in bear creek village, it's not actually in the flood zone. a lot of the neighbors in this area did not have flood insurance. they are right next -- the neighborhood hugs what's called the reservoir which is a large part of land operated by the army corpse of engineers meant to collect excess rain water. a lot of the neighbors here thought it was an advantage to live right next to the reservoir but what happened actually is the water backed up, it couldn't be released quickly enough that it was raining so much that the water back flooded into the neighborhood. they didn't have flood insurance. they didn't know they needed flood insurance. that's why so many of them are still in disrepair.

>> we're left with, we mentioned this new survey, 42% of hurricane harvey victims say they're not getting the help they need. i just wonder what the sense is on the ground. do they have hope for the future of the people you talked to? is there anything out there that's looming, that suggests they might start getting more help or are they just in this limbo? >> i think limbo is a good way to frame it. it really depended who you were talking to. there were neighbors in the region who had flood insurance and were able to repair relatively quickly. there were plenty of others though who are still rebuilding. a lot of the families we spoke with are living in active construction sites. they are still trying to rebuild on their own because they can't afford contractors or they were taken advantage of by contractors. and so they do feel hope. they feel like they're inching towards normalcy. but they're very much still living in the middle of harvey's aftermath. >> there's a special place in hell for people who prey on the victims of natural disasters like this. such great reporting, thank you for it.

it's a good reminder that while we have moved on because there's so much other news, that the folks who were right in the middle of that epic flooding are still fighting the aftermath. thank you so much. >> you bet, thank you. coming up, the trump administration secret plot against pot. and what it could mean for states that have legalized the drug for recreational use. (gasp) (singsong) budget meeting! sweet. if you compare last quarter to this quarter... various: mmm. it's no wonder everything seems a little better

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with regard to senator

gardner, i know exactly what he's doing, we'll look at it, but i probably will end up supporting, yes. >> saying he's likely to support the bipartisan bill, the marijuana federalism bill. sponsored by cory gardner of colorado. and senator warren of massachusetts. it will make it illegal for the federal government to interfere with state laws regarding legalized marijuana. but buzz feed now reports that behind the scenes the administration is working to fight the legalization trend. this is from that story. quote, the marijuana policy coordination committee, as it's named in white house memos and e-mails, instructed 14 federal agencies and the drug enforcement administration this month to submit, quote, data demonstrates the most significant negative trends about marijuana and the threats it poses to the country. nine states and the district of columbia legalized marijuana for

recreational use. 31 states and d.c. allow medical use of marijuana. joining me, the executive director of the drug policy alliance, a nonpartisan organization that believes the war on drugs must end. thanks for coming in. we seem to be getting mixed signals from the trump administration. the president suggesting, hey, maybe i could support cory gardner's bill. jeff sessions very quietly seems to be getting together a fight against legalization. where are we headed here? >> oh, who knows. i mean, this administration has been speaking out of both sides of its mouth on this for a while. it's not surprising obviously because marijuana is illegal, that the federal government would try to enforce federal marijuana laws and pull together a cross agency task force. the real question is why they're talking about cherry picking efld only to focus on evidence that would point to negative

effects of legalization when, in fact, most of the evidence shows legalization is working. >> one of the things probably on this list -- because they've already submitted the talking points that were asked for from the administration about what's bad about the legalization of marijuana. the national institute of drug abuse cites short-term and long-term effects on the brain, breathing problems, problems with child development during and after pregnancy. concerns about legalized pot's impact, for example, on driving. you've heard these arguments before. you know what they are. they're unchanged. what do you think about the potential of a concentrated effort to make sure that pot does not become legal in other states or even pull back what's there now? what do you think the chances are that could happen? >> i don't think they're going to change public opinion because the facts are clear coming out of states that have legalized that legalization has actually helped states increase revenues,

save money, reduce dramatically the number of arrests -- >> they would argue back, yes, well, it's making money for states, but it's not helping people's health. it's not helping people's safety. >> the reality is people who want marijuana can get it anyway and by regulating it, you actually make it easier for states to protect public health, to ensure tamper resistant packaging, for example. to make sure marijuana's cultivated in a way that protects the environment, employees. there are things you can do through regulation you cannot do when it's illegal and it's in the hands of who knows what groups. >> when you hear people who are concerned about the health effects, a lot of teenagers who smoke pot, parents who have seen studies that suggest there are some problems for kids who smoke pot. where do you stand just in terms of overall drug policy? where do you see effort should be focussed? >> i think when it comes to marijuana, we absolutely should be focusing on regulating and it shouldn't be about whether we

legalize. it's about how you legalize and how do you make sure you reduce the harms both of prohibition and of drug use. of course there may be issues for people who use marijuana, other drugs. there are of course issues for kids. we want to make sure that we put those protections into law in the best way possible and into regulations. the reality is youth use has remained stable even in the states that have legalized. the uis have remained stable or dropped. the data shows that legalization is working and for the administration to come out and say we need to look for the bad news so that we can then somehow convince the public that the sky is green, it just isn't going to work. >> maria mcfarland sanchez romano, thank you for coming in on this labor day, we appreciate it. we'll see what the president finally decides about the bill. a fierce battle playing out

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today marks the beginning of the final stretch in the critical fight over who will control congress. in north dakota's hot senate race, heidi heitkamp faces a he. this is a state donald trump won by nearly 36 points. to find out what voters there think about what's happening in d.c. these days, we took a trip to north dakota, home to the theodore roosevelt national park, and an outdoor musical that's been a summer tradition for more than 50 years. nbc's kevin tibbles has our story. >> reporter: in the badlands of north dakota, families gather each summer for good, old-fashioned fun. life's simple pleasures. and a little something they call pitch fork fondue. even with the heated senate race, you won't hear a lot of talk about politics around these tables. >> it's almost toxic. i don't like to talk to some

people because they're so vitriolic and angry. >> reporter: folks say they judge candidates differently out here. >> senator heitkamp has done a good job. probably the most conservative democrat in the senate, but i think she's done a good job. cramer, i think, would do good. i'm torn there, you know. >> reporter: more than the upcoming race, trade is the issue for chuck monroe. >> china is biggest holder of our debt, right? ♪ >> reporter: he's not the only trump supporter worried tariffs could put the brakes on north dakota's booming economy. >> scares me a little bit, kind of, what's going on, but i'm willing to see how it plays out. >> reporter: the main attraction here is the medora musical show. part musical. ♪ inside out >> reporter: and part history less lesson. >> i never would have been president had it not been for my time in north dakota. >> reporter: it tells the story

of teddy roosevelt, complete with his rough riders charge up san juan hill. in town, some voice anxiety about the current president's foreign policy. >> i'm not a trump supporter. i thought i was, but after what's been going on, i'm not no more. i mean, he's just doing things i think aren't good for our country. >> i worry more about things like the national debt, standing on the world stage, which i think has been suffering lately. >> reporter: attorney and local historian ralph sledgen says he is a republican but not a trump supporter. >> may be the party of trump for a little while. won't always be the case. it'll swing to the right and swing to the left. >> reporter: his girlfriend, performer emily walter, a self-prescribed conservative democrat, wishes more of the country could meet in the middle. >> we do try to come together and make that happen, but it is a very difficult situation right now. >> welcome to medora.

>> reporter: former campaign strategist joe weegan spends his days playing roosevelt. >> every movement has the lunatic fringe. >> reporter: he has his own advice for bringing americans together. >> i'd encourage all viewers to participate in this experiment, by not just clicking on the internet and voicing opinions, it is more of the same. meet your neighbors. see if someone down the street needs a helping hand. those are the things we do to make the country a better place. >> hoist the colors. >> reporter: in a place that celebrates our common history, a call to reflect on the simple things that built this nation. kevin tibbles, nbc news. >> beautiful country. fascinating race. "politico" branded this race north dakota nasty. cramer had to be convinced to get in. seems he's relishing the fight now. where do you see this going? what's going to be the difference? >> well, as your piece started

with, i mean, this is a landslide state for president trump. very hard for the democrat to win re-election there, if he manages to turn out his voters for congressman cramer. what was interesting was the bit about the trade war. where is that going to stand in late october, and how are north dakotans going to feel? the farmers, soybean farmers, how are they going to be feeling about where this trade war is going and whether or not trump has created leverage for the u.s. with china and other countries or made things worse? this is also a question of, you know, what is the voting electorate for the midterms going to look like? traditionally, chris, it is always older, whiter, more conservative. democratic coalitions at no time turn out for president obama, even though in -- in 2010 and 2014, though he was re-elected in 2012. the women we hear who are anti-trump, educated women,

mostly republicans. if young voters turn up, it'll be bad news for republicans. it is all about who is energi energized. if they're disgusted, do they stay home or vote? we don't know who is coming to the polls. >> jonathan, this is applicable in the mass seventh. you have two progressives who are running against each other. if you look at some of the polling in boston, presley absolutely crushes it with young people. she absolutely crushes it with minority voters. this is a minority/majority district. but those are not the folks who usually turn out. this is, i think, going to be a race that a lot of people are watching to see, in terms of november, is there going to be a push among groups? is that enthusiasm going to be translated to groups that have not voted in the past? >> well, i think the interesting thing in massachusetts there, in

the district held by michael, well-respected by his colleagues, a close ally of a lot of folks on the left, i think what's fascinating is you'll get a test case of where the democratic party is on dumping itsincumbents. you don't see a huge difference in opinion but a leadership argument. it'll be the argument made against nancy pelosi, if democrats win the house. the people want to run against her for speaker. it'll be interesting to see where the democrats are in terms of just turning outincumbents. in the package on north dakota, the booming economy was the most important words. it is experiencing something different. there's less frustration with the way things are going and, therefore, a risky trade policy by the president that is acceptable in some other places in the midwest, where they say, we want better trade deals, and we're willing to take a little pain for it, may not be the case

in north dakota. i think that's one of the races where we're going to be a little surprisie ind no matter who wit. >> couple quick questions. i have to ask about texas. the latest poll has cruz and o'rourke in a dead heat. can o'rourke pull it off? >> he can if the polling is correct and, again, if he gets the turnout he needs. he's not doing as well with latino voters in texas as hillary clinton did in 2016. he'd need to do better than her, i think, to overtake senator cruz and win statewide as a democrat. he ismachine, the great hope of the democratic party. a win or close loss puts him at the top of the 2020 contender list. they're looking for their next barack obama. he has been to every single texas county, some of them several times, drawing crowds in places that people have not expected him to. it's time for senator cruz to get nervous. that's why he's having president trump come to the biggest arena they could find to do a rally in

october. >> we keep hearing that this is a referendum, jonathan, on president trump, but could it turn out that maybe it's that but maybe even more, a referendum on business as usual in d.c.? >> i think there's a part going on there. look, o'rourke has shown democrats and republicans who are watching how to run a grassroots campaign, how to get people energized. you know, i think this is a very difficult race for the democrats to win, but also that ted cruz is obviously nervous or wouldn't be trump. let me associate myself with everything she just said. if o'rourke wins this race in texas, he won't just be toward the top of the pile of democrats for 2020. he's going to run right through the senate and be in iowa, you know, probably in january 2019 campaigning for president. >> we've only got 30 seconds. i'll ask you both quickly. if the election were being held today, who would take control of the senate, republicans or democrats, jonathan? >> i think this is still a

republican senate, if you had the election today. >> i agree. they could lose a couple seats but they could win a couple. i think it is going to be close to the margin, and they'll hold their majority. >> we'll have you back and see how the prediction holds. gosh knows a lot can happen between now and november. that'll wrap up this hour. i'm chris jansing in for stephanie ruhle. see you again at 11:00 a.m. eastern. coming up, more news with kristen welker. >> hi, chris. happy labor day to you. good to see you. good day, everyone. i'm kristen welker, reporting from washington. right now, gearing up. capitol hill gets ready for the big fight this week. the nomination hearings for brett kavanaugh. the president's pick for the supreme court will be in the hot seat as democrats push for the release of thousands of documents. mccain's last message. the par her war hero and celebr statesman takes his final rest at the naval academy, as his daughter and two former presidents call for

bipartisanship between america's leaders. 64 days before the midterm elections, and democrats are doing all they can to take back the house. they're bringing out the big guns, including some who are getting 2020 buzz. we begin here in washington where senators from both sides of the aisle are preparing for their biggest battle of 2018 yet. the confirmation fight over president trump's second supreme court nominee. in 24 hours, circuit court judge brett kavanaugh will begin days of questioning about his record and criticalish sh issues that come before the court in the future. he shares the spotlight with susan collins and lisa murkowski, who may be the only law make imakers standing betwe president's nominee and a seat on the bench. joining me now, white house correspondent jegeoff bennett a justice correspondent pete williams. pete, i'll start with you. set the scene for us. what should judge