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mitchell reports." we are live from pnc park this pittsburgh. the main event is tonight when john fetterman faces off against trump-backed republican, dr. oz with fetterman trying to lower expectations for his performance due to his continuing recovery from a stroke. in the home stretch, pennsylvania is crucial. if democrats are going to keep control of the senate. even have a chance of keeping control of the house. as momentum shifts to the republicans over concerns about inflation. we will get the latest from the political reports' david wasserman. adidas ending their ties with kanye. new reaction from brittney griner's teammates after the russian court today rejected her emotional plea, pleading from

jail for a shorter sentence. she now faces eight more years in jail. unless vladimir putin agrees to a prisoner swap. we begin this hour with politics right here in pennsylvania. that big senate debate tonight with two weeks until the midterms. joining us, dasha burns in harrisburg, michael nutter and pennsylvania democratic congressman brendon boyle. we have learned that a key republican super pac aligned with mitch mcconnell is going to pour another $6 million into pennsylvania to try to put dr. oz over the top. just ahead of this key debate. let's talk about that. even as fetterman, as you have been reporting, tried to lower expectations with an extraordinary memo saying, he is the tv doctor, he is the tv celebrity, i'm not used to debating and trying to lower any

expectations of his performance tonight. >> reporter: yeah, andrea, this is such a high stakes race and tight race that any number of factors could tilt one way or the other. as you mentioned there, $6 million coming from the gop. the republicans stepping up spending in the last stretch here. the senate leadership fund president saying, we believe if we win pennsylvania, we win the majority. they clearly see the polls tightening and they see the opportunity here. as you mentioned, in the lead-up to tonight's debate, a lot of the voters have been waiting for, the fetterman campaign put out a memo seeking to lower expectations saying, quote, we will admit this isn't john's format, if we are being honest, oz comes into tuesday night with a huge build-in advantage. they also mentioned the circumstances of the debate calling it unprecedented, referencing the closed

captioning that fetterman will use because of his challenges with auditory processing. there will be monitors set up behind the moderators, live transcription happening throughout the debate. they end the memo saying that, quote, john is going to win this race even if he doesn't win the debate. there will be a lot of eyes watching this and a lot of persuadable voters, i have talked to, that might make up their minds. >> congressman boyle, if fetterman falters, this could be the be all and end all. >> i don't think john fetterman is going to falter. i would say once again, as goes pennsylvania, so goes the nation. in this case, like the presidential elections of 2016 and 2020, i think whichever side

wins this senate seat here in my state of pennsylvania will control the united states senate. i think that will be john fetterman. i do think casually in talking to voters, i think there's a lot of empathy for what john has gone through. he had a serious stroke five to six months ago. he is recovering. he has made a pretty solid recovery now versus where he was right after the stroke. don't discount the ability of the electorate and voters to empathize with someone going through a health struggle. the fact of the matter is, we have all experienced that ourselves or through a loved one. >> mayor nutter, to that point, people do have a lot of empathy for anyone who is going through a health issue. one of the things offsetting his campaign though, as rich

fitzgerald, the executive was telling me, he was sidelined. he was not out there campaigning, going to halls, to the union halls. he wasn't showing up the way pennsylvanians expect you to campaign. >> well, i think as congressman boyle said, if someone has a significant stroke, there's no legitimate doctor in america that would encourage someone to get back out on a campaign trail running for the united states senate. it's not like you are running for dog catcher or something. it's obviously a pretty serious office. your health always comes first. secondly, with regard to debate performance, you know, it's one debate in a larger campaign. the issues that people are really focused on are not going to be solved or resolved in the course of one debate. we're talking about women's reproductive rights.

we are talking about civil rights. we are talking about the environment. we are talking about democracy being on the ballot. not too long ago, we literally witnessed an insurrection inspired by a deranged former president. there are things at stake here that are even bigger than one particular debate or who speaks well. we've got john fetterman, a pennsylvanian, running against a guy who has 11 houses across the united states of america, who parachuted in and is trying to basically steal a seat in pennsylvania. he is not a pennsylvanian. he does not legitimately live here. pennsylvanians in many instances don't actually appreciate that. >> congressman boyle, what about the two issues that republicans have been hammering home, inflation and crime? how have democrats managed to try to counteract that?

>> let's take inflation. first, we realize this is a worldwide issue. yes, it's 8.5% in the united states. it's 10% in the uk. 10% in germany. almost double that in some other european nations. i understand that for those who are pumping gas in my neighborhood and going to buy milk, that comes as little comfort. but what i point out to them is, we democrats have a plan and are doing something about it. we just passed a historic bill to lower the cost of prescription drugs by a total of hundreds of billions of dollars a year, by allowing medicare to be able to negotiate for the cost of prescription drugs. we also just passed an infrastructure bill that will help with those supply chains. what i try to do is remind people, this election is not just a referendum. it's a choice. it's between those of you in the democratic side who actually have a plan to tackle this inflation, that's the result of covid. versus the republican side, which has no plan whatsoever. all republicans are campaigning

on is, own the libs. you have lauren boebert and marjorie taylor greene, out there with no policy substance. that's a clear choice in this election. >> mayor nutter, donald trump has projected that they're not going to trust the vote in philadelphia. they have been doing that before. do you have any concerns over poll watchers on election day and over efforts by election deniers to try to distort or challenge the vote? >> andrea, they have been singing that sad tune for a couple years now. the election apparatus in philadelphia and across pennsylvania is completely intact. folks know how to conduct an election. it's now been shown through the january 6th committee that donald trump and his followers,

deniers, whatever, had concocted a plan to undermine the 2020 election before people had even started voting. so we're used to that song. as we say in pennsylvania, that dog won't hunt. >> mayor nutter, great to see you. thank you very much. >> always. >> congressman boyle, you as well. and dasha burns in harrisburg. we will be back here tomorrow to talk about all of this. after two weeks of intense pressure, adidas has finally severed its partnership with kanye west. it's the latest and most significant split after his anti-semitic rants. it's an issue that's a big issue in campaign here in pennsylvania. jonathan greenblatt is ceo of the anti-defamation colleague. thank you very much. it has taken weeks for adidas to

step up. we saw neonazi demonstrators hanging a banner from the 405, from the l.a. overpass, putting west's comments. does that delay -- give license to others to come out of the shadows? >> you are totally right. kanye west's repeated tirades against jewish people, his statement that he wanted to do def con 3, there's a jewish media group out to get him, gave aid and comfort to some of the worst elements of society. white supremacists, right wing extr extremists, violent anti-zionists and so on. it shouldn't surprise us that when a person with one of the largest -- look, he has hundreds of millions of fans. he has literally 31 million followers on twitter.

he is one of the most publically known entertainers in the world. when he spouts anti-jewish hate again and again, it's frightening to jewish people who are already on edge. adidas breaking with him today is an important step. i wish they had done it sooner. but i'm glad they are making a clear statement that they are not going to do business with bigots. >> i want to play something for you and our viewers. this is kanye taunting adidas during a podcast. >> i can say anti-semitic things and adidas can't drop me. now what? now what? >> he is owning his anti-semitism. how dangerous to have someone normalizing this kind of rhetoric? >> yeah. i mean, look, kanye west has leapt to the front of the line, andrea, as possibly the most

visible and vicious anti-semite out there today. he posed the question, now what? well, we see what. if you go to gap.com today, there is no longer any reference to his line that was so popular in gap stores for years. it is gone. it is evaporated. it's disappeared. creative artists, mrc, now adidas. i think his brand is so toxic, he is going to have a very tough time connecting with consumers. i heard from people all over the country throwing out their stan smiths, selling their footwear, getting as far away from these brands. i think it shows us that there are consequences for hate.

>> do you think there are consequences for hate speech here in pennsylvania where doug mastriano has had an anti-semitic consultant on staff? is still part of his campaign rhetoric. >> look, it's not lost on me that you are there in pittsburgh. on thursday of this week, we will be mourning the four-year anniversary of the tree of life massacre, the most violent anti-semitic attack in american history. we have been tracking this information for decades. reached a historic level in 2021. 2,717 acts of hate against jews. indeed, when candidates like doug mastriano embrace christian nationalism, when others embrace radical anti-zionism, jews are concerned and i think with good reason. >> jonathan greenblatt, thank you for allyour advocacy on

this. >> thank you for covering it. >> you bet. there's more ahead on this special edition of "andrea mitchell reports." up next, i will talk to congressman connor lamb about the state of the race here in pennsylvania. we are live in pittsburgh as we hear from voters just hours before tonight's big debate between john fetterman and dr. oz. tonight in harrisburg. >> i'm not nervous for the debate tuesday. i'm concerned that after fetterman's stroke, he's speech delays, which clearly are not cognitive delays. i can see that. he very clearly knows what he is speaking about. i'm concerned that they will go after him about that. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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control of the u.s. senate could come down to pennsylvania and wisconsin, swing states where democratic candidates john fetterman and mandela barnes

have seen their early leads shrink. fetterman acknowledged he has been hampered by his recovery from a stroke, unable to campaign for several months. this an unusual memo last night, he said there are larger questions for both campaigns as to whether the white house and national party -- he said that dr. oz will, in fact, have the advantage in that memo, trying to lower expectations, because oz has so much tv experience. there are other issues as well as fetterman's health, including the economy. did the white house rely too much on hoping that abortion would get -- the abortion decision from the supreme court would fuel voter turnout and not focus on inflation soon enough? joining us is democratic congressman connor lamb who ran against john fetterman in the pennsylvania senate primary. his district includes most of the northwestern pittsburgh suburbs. you are probably the best person to talk to here about what is

going to happen if pittsburgh and the suburbs turn out for john fetterman, with a big margin. we were talking to the commissioner an hour ago. the senate has to be about 75/25 here for turnout. philadelphia has to have a big turnout and the suburbs have to break well. what are you seeing so far? >> well, i think there's a lot of enthusiasm for the fetterman campaign. i think you have to look at the whole context. we have this hard-fought governor's race in our state at the same time. you have a lot of suburban parents, like i am, who are terrified of the idea of doug mastriano becoming the governor and having control over our children's education. i think that's a factor that is driving a lot of people to want to come out in two weeks. i think that's good for the fetterman camp. his campaign actually has always been premised on the idea that you have to fight hard for votes in all 67 counties. you will get a certain turnout in pittsburgh and philadelphia naturally. we as a party can no longer take

for granted the entire rest of the map. he and shapiro have tried to fight for those voters, too. i think it's going to pay off. >> of course, he relied on social media and trolling dr. oz for being a new jersey resident and a multimillionaire and the rest. we saw him ridiculing his campaign video about buying groceries. that said, he wasn't able to campaign. while people are sympathetic for that, for not being out and meeting the voters, has that hampered him? do you expect people to vote the straight democratic ticket? will there be splitting where people vote against doug mastriano and support josh shapiro but are still uncertain about john fetterman? >> pennsylvania has a clearer history of ticket splitting than a lot of other states. we saw it in 2020 where joe biden wins by 80 votes and they

elect two republicans statewide. those are the same kind of voters that sent me to congress three times. i was trying to tailor arguments to them at the same time. this year what we need to say to them is on the issues of substance. think about social security. dr. oz wants to come after us on inflation. but his party is actually admitting that they have plans to cut social security. in a year -- if i had to tell you the issue i heard most about in the last five years, it's how frustrated seniors are when every time social security would give them a cost of living increase, the medicare premium would rise by the same amount or more. they never got ahead. this year for first time, that isn't happening. social security is going up by more. medicare is going down for most people. that's an accomplishment of the democratic party but one that's valuable to all pennsylvanians and a number of these independent and conservative older voters who were

encouraging to vote their pocketbook and it's a major advantage. it's out there. >> what about the house? is it possible that republicans are going to win? >> certainly, anything is possible. these districts are very close and hard fought. there's a lot of money being spent on both sides. again, i think that what's happening this year is the republicans want voters to look at this like a traditional election. there are things going wrong in the country. so throw out the party in power and give us a chance. our response to that, i think, has been quite strong. the democrats aren't getting enough credit for saying, this isn't normal. these people who are presenting themselves to you as republicans are trump loyalists and trump acolytes. think about what dr. oz had to do to get donald trump's support. donald trump didn't just give it to him. he made him and dave mccormick literally beg for it. they made multiple trips to florida. when you think about the commitment it takes to donald trump and his enterprise of

crimes, what resulted in him being twice impeached and facing a possible indictment, it's laughable that they would try to run a campaign about crime. they had a guy committing high crimes and misdemeanors in the office for the last four years. where were any of them? they are accepting his support. i think by continuing to make the argument in those terms, we are showing people, even if you wouldn't normally vote a straight democratic ticket, if you care about the fundamental values of this country, if you care about who is going to take an oath to the constitution and actually stick by that oath, democrats are who you want to vote for this year. >> connor lamb, it's great to see you. >> thank you for coming to pittsburgh. >> it's wonderful to be here. we love it. we will be watching the debate tonight, too. while we are here in pennsylvania, there's news overseas today, none of it good, for brittney griner, the wnba superstar. she's going to spend more time in a russian prison. how much longer will she have to be there? i will talk to one of her teammates next.

later, election deniers in the critical midterms. stay with us. you are watching a special edition of "andrea mitchell reports." we are live in pittsburgh, only on msnbc. >> i'm hearing anxiety about what kind of state we will live in, whether it's a state where our vote matters, democracy matters. heart's on the line depend silhouette keeping leaks off her mind. comfortable in shapeware fabric she moves with ease. confident on nights like these. depend silhouette. the only thing stronger than us, is you. two new ihop lunch and dinner menu items for twice the goodness, twice the flavor, and twice the choice. sirloin salisbury steak and all-natural salmon. perfect for lunch or dinner. only at ihop. download the app and earn free food with every purchase. (vo) give your business an advantage right now, with nationwide 5g from t-mobile for business. download the app and earn free unlock new insights and efficiency, with leading ultra-capacity 5g coverage.

t-mobile for business has 5g that's ready right now. we're looking into sexual harassment in hollywood. you used to work for harvey weinstein? we have allegations of harassment and assault. i said no so many times. how close are they to going on the record? two weeks at most. weinstein knows what we're doing. every call you make is being recorded. hello. -and you're being followed. i don't know if i could do this. he kills the story every time. we're not gonna let that happen. i'll go on the record. this is all gonna come out. think he's posting about all that ancient roman coinage? no, he's seizing the moment with merrill. moving his money into his investment account in real time

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today a russian court denied wnba superstar brittney griner's appeal to shorten her nine-year sentence on drug charges. she was arrested in february with less than one gram of cannabis oil. she says she made a mistake, she was packing in a hurry. she pleaded for a shorter sentence today via video seen in court from behind bars in the detention center where she's been held since her arrest. >> this has been very traumatic waiting for this day, waiting for the court and getting nine years for a crime that i was

very over the significant amount. >> joining me now is phoenix mercury forward brianna turner, her teammate, as well as the former u.s. ambassador to russia, michael mcfaul. this is not a happy day. what is your reaction to the decision? >> it's very difficult to hear. today is date 250 that she has been there. this being her friend and being her teammate, it's very difficult to see someone you care about in this type of situation. >> there's at least some thought that perhaps now russia will get serious, ambassador mcfaul, serious about negotiating. is that possibly the silver lining, as she looks to eight more years potentially in russian jails?

>> i hope it's a silver lining. we had to get to this horrible, awful day before any serious negotiations about a swap could take place. obviously, we talked many times on your show, there's been discussions of that. the americans have talked about a swap for victor. i know others criticize it and say it will lead to more abductions. i disagree with that. i think the data disagrees with that. in the case of russia, they behave differently. i hope now they can get on with those negotiations. >> brianna, talk to me about brittney griner. how did she look today in that really emotional appearance from

behind bars? >> i would say, she's one of the kindest people i know. she's always willing to help someone out in need, always willing to help give a helping hand. she's the type of person that you call if you are in trouble. she's that type of person. just to see her, hear her voice today, it's really difficult. it's something i will be -- i have been watching closely over the last few months. to have what was happen today, it's very disappointing. >> ambassador, there are 30 progressive democrats in congress who have signed on to a letter asking president biden to directly engage with russia to enter the conflict in ukraine. i want to ask your reaction to that as well. it goes against white house and state department policy from the beginning of this war. >> you know, i feel emotionally the same way. i read the letter. emotionally, of course, everybody wants to end this war.

there's no doubt in my mind -- i talked to senior biden officials and the ukrainian officials. they want to end the war. the hard thing is how to do it. i think the letter would have been more interesting had they had some concrete proposals that they think that the biden administration is not pursuing. at the end of the day, putin has annexed territory of ukraine in a ceremony in the kremlin. he is now fighting on the ground to seize that territory. i have seen no indication whatsoever that he will negotiate with president biden or president zelenskyy or president xi until he attempts to seize that territory. those are the facts on the ground. that's reality. it's okay to have ambitions to do things. but you have to remember, we're talking about vladimir putin. it takes two to tango. you will not have a negotiation with him right now.

i say that tragically, but that's my assessment having watched him and known him for many years. >> despite how heated the facts and also the lack of diplomacy on the war is, do you think that vladimir putin could make a deal to trade someone? they clearly want two for two. they are demanding -- still demanding that this german assassin -- the russian assassin in germany be turned over. the white house says they have no control over that. he is not in u.s. custody. is something possible? will putin give in on brittney griner despite all of the hostilities in ukraine? >> andrea, i don't know. i want to make that clear. i don't know what putin is thinking. ultimately, this will be a decision by him and him alone. i do know that the other man is

incredibly important to vladimir putin. he is a criminal. we have convicted him. i want to be clear. we are not comparing criminals to criminals. one is an innocent victim in russia. the other is a real criminal. he is also a criminal tied to the intelligence services that has done work for people like vladimir putin and his entourage, his people. it would be a giant coup for them domestically to get him out of jail. that makes me cautiously optimistic a deal could be done. number two, they are capable of siloing these things. we most certainly did it when i was in the government. we had radical disagreement flz one place and we found agreement in other places. doesn't mean it could happen in the future. but it does not mean because of this horrific, barbaric war, that we are on different sides of, that other diplomatic achieve mntss cannot be achieved. >> brianna, do you have a message to your friend and teammate in russia's jail?

>> i admire her courage and integrity she has shown over the last several months. i hold out so much hope for her. i hope she stays hopeful she will make it back home. i know she will. >> from the phoenix mercury, brianna turner, thank you. ahead of tonight's critical senate debate in pennsylvania, the impact from election deniers is being felt here in the state and around the country. more on that coming up. you are watching a special edition of "andrea mitchell reports." we are live in pittsburgh, only on msnbc. >> it's almost a do or die situation. so i must give as much time as i can, because this matters. if i don't fight, who will? (vo) with their verizon private 5g network, associated british ports can now precisely orchestrate nearly 600,000 vehicles

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after the president tweeted at me by name, calling me out the way that he did, the threats became much more specific, much more graphic and included not just me by name but included members of my family by name, their ages, our address, pictures of our home, just every bit of detail that you could imagine. that was what changed with that tweet. >> that was the lone republican city commissioner in philadelphia who oversaw the 2020 elections there, testifying during the january 6th hearings. pennsylvania is now one of sven states that the fbi war bfbi wa see threats to election workers. he joins us now in philadelphia.

the voting process is under siege again. look at arizona now. a new lawsuit was filed yesterday to stop armed vigilantes from patrolling voting sites and intimidating voters and officials. yesterday, attorney general garland insisted the justice department will not permit voters to be intimidated. what can be done to stop this intimidation? >> i think first of all, it's important that people realize that all of these lies about the elections have consequences. whether it results in threats to election administrators across the country, many of whom i'm sure had it worse than i did, or voter intimidation, when voters are seeking to do nothing more than exercise their right to vote in our democracy.

>> you know, in pennsylvania, as you know, any eligible voter can vote by mail. half of all voters in the latest "new york times" poll believe voting by mail is a threat to democracy. how do you counter that kind of misinformation that is being spread by, frankly, donald trump and his supporters? >> i think there's been a real opportunity for all this misinformation and all these lies to spread because elections have changed so much in the past several years. and they have changed for the better. they have improved voter access without in any way jeopardizing election integrity. in our case in pennsylvania, voting by mail was new in 2020. our voters took advantage of it, as they should. especially in that covid environment. they continue to moving forward. whether you cast your vote in person, at the polling place on

election day in pennsylvania, or you vote by mail, at the end of the day, you have a paper ballot with the candidates that the voters selected, the candidates that the voter verified, that those were their selections and are used in not just one but two audits after every election. so it's a little bit surreal that we have had so many changes for the better, but so many of those changes have, i think, created an opportunity for this sort of the misinformation we have seen so much of. >> i want to remind our viewers that it took four days for nbc news to call pennsylvania for joe biden in 2020. that delay was caused by the state law that mail-in ballots cannot be opened until the polls open. they don't even start counting until election day. as it dragged on, donald trump weighed in. the situation grew more and more dangerous. that's when there were threats to you and your family. two heavily armed men were

arrested outside the vote processing facility. would it help if pennsylvania allowed pre-processing of these early votes? >> it would. it's very frustrating to know that this is a problem that we can see coming, that we know about in advance and nothing has been done to address it. other states, red states and blue states, that allow voters to vote by mail allow those mail-in ballot envelopes to begin being processed in the lead-up to election day. you mentioned the two men were came armed to the pennsylvania convention center while we were counting the votes. fortunately, there was a little bit of accountability brought there that i think has been missing in this process. those two men,victed of firearm for what they did. >> according to brookings, 345 election deniers are on the ballot nationwide, is for critical election deciding positions, secretary of state,

governor. here in pennsylvania, at the top, doug mastriano running for governor was one of the big election challengers. he was marching with the protesters at the capitol on january 6. that post in pennsylvania -- that job appoints the secretary of state who certifies the election results. it's in states like pennsylvania where election deniers on the ballot are critical. >> right. in our case, unlike any other states, the governor appoints the secretary of state in pennsylvania. that secretary of state will be responsible for running elections in the years ahead, including the 2024 presidential election in our commonwealth. so while these are frequently low profile positions, the secretaries of states positions, they are incredibly important for our democracy to function the way it should. when experienced people leave and when those people are replaced by others who are less experienced and more likely to make a mistake, or even worse

replaced by others who are seeking to undermine confidence in the elections that they themselves will be responsible for running, i think it puts us in a very dangerous place. >> thank you so much for being on with us today. your experience is invaluable to the january 6th committee and to all of our viewers. thanks for coming. we have really sad news now to report. former defense secretary ash carter has died very suddenly. ash carter, would led the pentagon during president obama's final two years in office, died overnight after what his family is calling a sudden cardiac event at his home in boston. he was only 68 years old. he taught a class up there in boston at harvard yesterday. during his time as defense secretary, carter was behind the campaign to defeat isis. he directed the department to open combat positions to woman.

he created the policy that allowed transgender people to join the military and serve openly. most recently, he was running a center for science and international affairs at harvard's kennedy school. moments ago, president obama releasing a statement saying in part, ash's greatest legacy may be generations of younger leaders he taught, mentor and inspired to protect our nation and wield power wisely. ash carter was 68 years old. our condolences to his wife and family. two weeks out, the contest for the control of capitol hill. a look at the surprising developments in some of the most critical races around the country coming up next. you are watching a special edition of "andrea mitchell reports" live from pittsburgh only on msnbc. the subway serie. 12 irresistible subs. the most epic sandwich roster ever created. ♪♪

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pennsylvania is one of the tightest nationally, but surprisingly so is the critical house race in new york. maloney and in charge of all the congressional campaigns for the house is in a tight race for the election. a shift from lane democrat. joining me now is the senior editor of the cook political report. how significant is this shift? he's running in a new district. they were redirected out, so he basically chose the district he wants to run in. and the governor's race in new york is also tighter than expected. what is going on in new york state? >> yeah. this is a surprisingly close race. and a common thread for shawn patrick maloney and other vulnerable democrats, even katie porter in california, is that redirecting has given them districts that are three-quarters new, so they have to spend a lot of time and money introducing themselves to new

constituents. some of democrats biggest problems right now in house races are in blue states like new york and oregon and california. and these are places where republicans messaging on high crime and inflation has broken through because there is less of a threat to abortion rights in those states. and, of course, news footage of tent cities in portland or, you know, people being shoved down the subway tracks in new york city aren't helping either. republican mike waller, the state assemblyman and nominee against shawn patrick maloney is pulling dead even in a lot of internal polling i have seen. and this would be historic because no party campaign committee chair has lost a general election since 1980. >> really would be extraordinary. and you mentioned katie porter. she's a very high-profile progressive. congresswoman is very outspoken, challenging on the oversight

committee to a lot of people testifying. is she really in trouble for re-election? >> it's a very tight race. and, look, she's raised $21 million for re-election, which for a house race is astronomical. and, yet, she has not been able to move the needle in this climate in her -- in her favor for a comfortable margin over republican scott law in this coastal district. and part of the reason is some of the bad headlines she's gotten back home for calling the irvine police department a disgrace after a confrontation outside of one of her town halls earlier this year. and so this is a -- this is a very close seat. we still -- if i were forced, i would pick porter. but, wow, she was -- she has her eye on a senate seat, but she will have to spend a lot more money than she planned defending her own house seat this year. >> and let's shift to the

senate. these toss-up races include pennsylvania right here and nevada. really close georgia and wisconsin. now maggie hassen in new hampshire. now at least according to one poll it is very, very close. what is going on? and would you still give democrats a fighting chance to hold on to their majority? >> what's happened is that republicans are coming home. it shouldn't be surprising that some of their deeply flawed nominees had very high on favorables. but now that we're getting closer to election day, republicans are consolidating against democrats. now, that's not to say that don baldwick will win new hampshire. that seat is still on the periphery of competitive. but it brought dr. oz into a

dead heat against fetterman. and then in arizona where democrats have had a massive spending advantage over blake masters, carry lake's advantage is helping make this senate race closer. so any one of these seats, if they turned south for democrats by a point or two, they could very easily lose control of the senate. >> and we haven't seen a whole lot of campaigning by the president himself, certainly no big rallies. he's doing smaller events, doing some fund-raising. so clearly a lot of these candidates don't think that bringing in the white house is going to help them right now. >> well, that's right. and, you know, john fetterman's appearance with joe biden the other day was fairly awkward. so there are not many districts where the president's approval rating is above water. we have seen democratic

incumbents in both the senate and the house that have higher approval rates than biden in part because they have been able to stockpile cash all year and pump out digital and tv ads talking about what benevolent and bipartisan people they are, and that's the only reason why their losses might not be higher. >> thank you so much. >> from the cook political report. the best analysis in the business. more breaking news now from capitol hill where progressive democrats have sharply changed course on a key foreign policy issue, ukraine. nbc capitol hill ryan nobles joining us. ryan, there had been push back overnight from the letter than put out suggesting direct talks with russia and the u.s., undercutting the u.s. position that ukraine and volodymyr zelenskyy has to be the one to determine when to compromise and when to meet with russia, which hasn't been serious. now what's happened? >> reporter: well, andrea,

basically these three members of congress that had originally signed on to this letter encouraging diplomacy as it relates to the situation with russia and ukraine are now taking it all back. they have withdrawn this letter that they sent to president biden, which is a pretty dramatic step, something you don't often see here on capitol hill. and they're basically blaming it on a staff error. this is the representative from washington who said in a statement today this was a letter drafted over the summer. this is when the situation in ukraine was much different than it is today and that through some miscommunication between members of her staff and members that had signed on to this letter over the summer that somehow the letter was changed just a little bit and then released. and of course, andrea, as you point out, this comes after 24 hours of swift criticism, particularly from her fellow democrats and even those that signed on to this letter.

for instance, representative omar of arizona tweeting out this is something they were not informed of, that this letter was going to be sent out yesterday. sara jacobs of california echoing those same comments saying she was willing to sign on to the letter in the summer and that she would not sign on to it today. of course, this is a key political issue for democrats. they put pretty harsh criticism on the house minority leader kevin mccarthy for suggesting that should the republicans win back the majority here in the next several weeks that the flow of money from the united states to ukraine in support of their efforts in defending their country may not be guaranteed. democrats have been very critical of that. so, of course, this letter that suggested that perhaps direct engagement with russia was a good idea undercuts that messaging on some level. democrats viewed this as enough of a problem that they have now retracted the letter and they are no longer calling for this direct engagement that they were

yesterday. andrea? >> ryan nobles, great to have you with us. thank you so very much for the breaking news. a slight embarrassment. more than slight embarrassment for democrats in the caucus. that does it for this special edition of "andrea mitchell reports." we're live from pittsburgh. we will have a lot more tomorrow after the big debate. follow us online on facebook and on twitter. chris jansing will be here in just a few moments. few moments good day. i'm chris jansing live at msnbc headquarters in new york city. today in the closing days of one of the most uncertain midterms of our lifetimes, candidates are theft with a shrinking number of available votes and a shrinking amount of time because more than eight million people have cast their ballots already, and there are just two weeks left befe