[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] josh: this sunday on "close up," whether it was a fair or not, he was left off the stage in the last round of debates. senator lindsey graham continuing his push to court new hampshire voters. has to say about the importance of new hampshire. seacoast businessman mark connelly' s and the rate for governor did what his priorities would be and how he plans to campaign to get to concord. thank you for joining us. i am josh mcelveen. he has campaigned hard in new hampshire as a presidential

candidate in the granite state. has been difficult to break through. what will it take? lindsey graham is my first guest. sen. graham: thank you very much. josh: you filed this week and got a little emotional talking about new hampshire' s place and how you feel it is in danger. sen. graham: the primary is at risk. national polling undercuts the primary. it used to be that we let voters decide who is the quality candidate. using polling to segregate the crowd out and say you are not worthy of being on the main stage because of a 2% polling in a 5% margin of error is ridiculous and it undercuts what we' ve done in new hampshire, to get to know the candidate as the candidate questions and let voters evaluate. josh: where do you think the negative push is coming from? the networks, the parties? sen. graham: it is a combination

they hate the idea that 200 50,000 people in new hampshire, 400,000 in south carolina and 150,000 and iowa can determine who will have momentum for the presidency. if you are in the business of politics, new hampshire is your worst nightmare. if you have seven primary states, the candidates who will do well to have the biggest super pacs. new hampshire undercuts the model. business people i think it is the last best hope for democracy. josh: i' m not asking you to give testimony on new hampshire m glad national treasures and then you there is a deficit from what you get at the national stage. sen. graham: it is unbelievable, questions. i enjoy it.

you get to see where the candidate is coming from. you have coherent answers to hard questions. the idea of interacting with the voters, you are the eyes and ears for the nation. through the process of being in your living room, we can tell other people what the candidates like. word-of-mouth. if you take that out of the process, it is like buying soap, running for president becomes an advertising campaign rather than a character-competency test. the difference between polling and national races as that character and competency are exposed to her josh: one more question on process then we will get to issues. you said on filing day that you feared this would be the last time new hampshire holds its position in the process, first in the nation. sen. graham: if you want to get on the national stage, it is not about coming to new hampshire. it is about polling numbers at the national level. if you' ve got x amount of dollars, where do you spend it?

in new hampshire or debunked your polling numbers up. if this is the way candidates are heard and evaluated, iowa, south carolina and new hampshire loses charge. this is the last an event to big money, -- this is the last antidote to break money, the last place where candidates can break through based on the work ethic. josh: one argument is that new hampshire does not represent the rest of the nation. when you have i look him in new hampshire and south carolina together, you get a good representation. hampshire. we are becoming a party of the south and the midwest. kelly ayotte is a star in the u.s. senate. she' i don'

when you look at iowa as a caucus, very conservative voters. you get a good composite of the republican voter and it has stood the test of time. the people who win go on to be the nominees. people who were pulling at this point in time in the last two cycles never became the nominee because iowa, new hampshire and south carolina gave different results. the pollsters tell you one thing and voters tell you another. it is no accident that people who can lead in national polling do not make it because new hampshire explosives their flaws. josh: you' ve talked about national security and national policy . it is not like you are coming into this unknown. when you look back at your

scare people might have something to do with it, would you be more diverse? threats, radical islam with weapons of mass destruction, i' ve got a plan to destroy them. regional forces. not all ours. the arms ies of the region are there for the taking. isil is a threat to turkey, let' s use their army. we are going to need some of our men and women. i talk about what ronald reagan and tip o' neill to adjust the age of retirement to save social security. i' m going to work on getting us out of debt with democrats. at the end of the day, there is a lot of people in the campaign and i am not that well known. i was shocked when we do polling in new hampshire. i had two people say i' m glad lindsey graham is in this race, we need more women in politics.

it is just a process. josh: what does the graham administration do? the situation is very fluid. sen. graham: three things. first thing is say a prayer, thank you, god for giving me guidance. i call the chairman of the joint chiefs -- what do you need that you do not have? i go to congress and say we rebuild our military. i bring congress together and see if we can compromise to save medicare and social security from bankruptcy, something like simpson-boeles. younger people have to work a little longer p people have to give up a little less in terms of social security and pay more into medicare. when i was 202i lost my parents and i was flat broke and had a 13-year-old sister to care for. social security saved my family. bring us together on debt, go on offense when it comes to radical islam.

independent. josh: what do you do in syria? the phone with the arabs and say i follow? call turkey, saudi arabia, jordan and egypt to have larger armies and form a regional army. they had the same goals, destroy isil and make sure syria is not controlled by iran. assad as a puppet of the iranians. threat to the army. there are 30,000 or 40,000 committed jihadists in syria a simulated within the population. you cannot bomb towns. i would put american capacity us, they pay for it. we pulled the caliphate up by syria. then we turn to aside and say you are next. josh: russia is a

big player in on the debate stage i am sure you heard candidates talk about a no-fly zone, you have donald trump saying i will cut a deal. what is the reality? sen. graham: if you cut a deal with russia to fight isil, they will want a sought as part of the deal. assad is a puppet of iran, he slaughtered 250,000 fellow syrians. the arabs are not going to allow him to stay in power because that is getting another arab capital to the iranians. assad could not last one day without the russians and iranians. i would tell the russians that if you want to have a say about syria you can, but the people of syria will determine. i would insist that assad goes, his regime is replaced by the will of the syrian people. we' ve trained thousands of fighters to take assad on because it is in our interest to take him down. if he stays in power that is more influence for iran.

islamists hate the shia persians. i tell the russians if you try to bomb the people we have trained, i will shoot you down. have john mccain coming up, a two-time new hampshire primary winner. he gave you a blueprint. josh: he did. sen. graham: less than. -- josh: less than three months before the primary. what do you need to do better? sen. graham: keep doing what i' doing. trying to raise money. with john talking prepared. is il, they will either be destroyed or hit us, those are our choices. most people are not buying what they are selling. let' s let the region lead. we have to be part of the process. i hope to get some money, lindsaygraham.com.

m doing, going around to the communities in small groups trying to explain to the people why it matters that the assad -- that is a side stays in power, challenging russia to quit being so destabilizing. the idea that the russian president would bomb people we have trained to look to america for help. we gave them weapons, we provided them support so they can take down their dictator to make the world a better place. the russian president bond the people we trade and we have not done a thing, that is weakness. i do not want war but i intend to make sure isil is destroyed so we will be safe. they want free things, to purify their faith, destroy israel, destroyed christian faith in the mid-east and come after us, the infidels we are in their eyes. i will not let them do that. we will rebuild our military, get ourselves out of debt.

josh: is it fair to say that your campaign and efforts hinge on success in new hampshire? josh: i am going to break out in new hampshire sen. graham: -- hampshire. if you are looking for a republican to work with a democrat, i am your man. if you are looking for an ideologue, i' m not your person. if you are looking for someone who is not going to get involved, do not vote for me. if you are looking for someone with a plan to destroy isil, i am your best candidate. i think i' m the best person to commander-in-chief. soon enough? if i do well here, i win my home state. josh: no one can accuse you of not working hard. good to see you. we will be back with democratic candidate for governor mark, can' t only and his plans for the

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to believe in. i'm bernie sanders, and i approve this message. josh: welcome back to "close up ." you might remember his name from the frm scandal, a critic from how it happened. from his post in the state

-securities bureau, chief. governor. broke. mr. connolly: the last 10 years i' ve been running my own business that works for nonprofits and individuals. i' doing witness been harmed for securities fraud. josh: you thought about it in 2012 and 2010, why now? mr. connolly: new hampshire, we are moving into the 21st century and we have a lot of challenges. i' ve spent most of my life here in business and education. i think we need independent and pragmatic leadership. that is the leadership i would like to offer. 35 years, deputy secretary of state, director of securities regulation, i worked for companies in concord. i have a perspective that would move the state forward. josh: how would your leadership be different from governor

hassan or governor lynch? you are running in the democratic field. mr. connolly: the state wants pragmatic leadership. that is what governor hassan is doing. that is who i am. i will not say how leadership will be different, we come at it from our own experience. myself, a business background. i served in the securities bureau. if i get elected, i know what to do as soon as i get there. i' ve worked on 2 transition teams for governor lynch and government greg. i bring perspective that would be unique. josh: what do you consider the most important issues? mr. connolly: education, education, education and we need a 21st-century economy so we are no longer competing with worcester or boston, we are competing with singapore. we have one of the highest outward migration rates in the country of kids in our economy. companies are not finding jobs, we are not finding jobs that match where the kids are going.

bring them back and say we can lead the economy. we have to be innovative and government. figure out how we can get off fossil fuels and have a transportation system that mashes who we are. i will talk about ideas to bring us forward. josh: you consider education be most important topic. certainly it is and perhaps the most urgent would be the heroin and opioid crisis the state is going through. how would you approach be different from the standpoint of governor hassan' s office, if it would be? josh: this is a crisis. it is not a republican or democrat issue. it is in the best interest of the state. josh: what would your response be? mr. connolly: i would do exactly what the governor is doing, prevention, education and treatment. we are going to have more kids and people dying this year than on our highways unfortunately. new hampshire ranks as the highest in the country for per capita addiction rates and one of the lowest for treatment.

that is not new hampshire. 1.3 million, we can address it. josh: let' s get back to the securities bureau and the frm thing. you were vocal about how you did not like the one hand not knowing what the other was doing. i do not want to rehash the story because it is long. did that play into your decision , is changing the way government operates part of your solution? josh: we have studied government since the depression. i think we can do a better job here at 65 people reporting to the government elected to a two-year term. we need to bring that down and get rid of the silo mentality and make government more open. we need to make it more accessible. one criticism of frm was that the process did not address why this happened. it did not focus on the victims. i have learned a lot about what

we can do better in state government. my record in the bureau was aggressive to go after the banks and institutions hurting our state and that is the leadership i will bring to the corner office is elected. i will be accessible and open and make sure the government meets the needs of the state. josh: one thing we talked about with the frm thing was how new hampshire perhaps needed an inspector general' s office, an independent investigator. is that something you would back? mr. connolly: i have advocated that. when something goes wrong in state government, you do not want to police yourself. yes, i think we need an independent -- when things go wrong, we need somebody to come in and say what really happened. do it in a way that gets to the heart of the matter, why it happened. josh: let' s talk about the democratic field. right now you will be an a primary with columns in austin

we will see what shaheen decides to do. why are you different? mr. connolly: it really is up to the voters to decide. i' ve been in the state all my life. i think the campaign is to talk about your ideas and leadership style. mine is very collegial. i' m not running again anyone individual. i' m here to talk about new approaches and carry on the governing style that governor hassan has given us. josh: there is a process where you talk about your ideas but i one point you find yourself on aid of a stage with somebody in the democratic field and voters will be looking for contrast. is there something you want to point to now or get to know your opponents? josh: i really do not know my opponents that well. we do not have a complete field yet. all i can control is what i can control, what i want to do for the state.

josh: you announce a couple weeks ago and you said i also sales or income tax. two, you would not seek higher why did you feel that was important? question. when i look at myself, i believe business background. i' m not interested in this time in legislative experience. i would go in and do the job as long as it takes and the voters want me and then go home. i do not mean that in any way in the perspective of anybody else. i was asked what my perspective was. josh: you would not rule out anything. if you were a successful governor and 70 approached you -- mr. connolly: why not? in my mind, i would like to become governor. it would be an honor. i have no other motivation to run for higher office. josh:

mark connolly starting the campaign. kind of a struggle right now with all the 2016 stuff. mr. connolly: watching you and all the candidates, the challenge to get known. new hampshire voters are engaged. it is an interesting process. it has been fun. josh: best of luck to you. we will have you back. mr. connolly: thanks. josh: we will be back with john distaso to talk about the political and locations the legislative special sessions. jeb bush: leadership means you've got to be all in. it's not about yappin'. it's not about talking.

i was privileged to serve in florida for eight years. and we turned the systems upside down that weren't working. 1.3 million new jobs were created. we cut taxes every year. income rose in people's pockets. people were lifted out of poverty. children started to learn. as president of the united states, i pledge to you that i will solve problems. announcer: right to rise usa is responsible for the

josh: welcome back to "close up ." next week, lawmakers getting back to work for special sessions. the focus will be the heroin issue and opioid epidemic. an issue that carries with it political dynamics, as everything does when it comes to distaso is my this is a serious issue and we t want to take away anything from that. periodic is there are political what are you expecting? john: there will be a back-and-forth and eventually there will be a compromise. there will be some criticisms on the political front directed to the governor for having called the special session. being accused of politicizing it. at the same time, the democrats are accusing senator ayotte and even the legislative leadership of politicizing it and dragging their feet. this is because they do not want

to move forward as quickly as the governor does good house. josh: there is gamesmanship involved. with an issue such as this, you this is serious, people are dying. the responsibility is to govern john: the good news on this is that because of politics and because of the election coming up, that has, if they needed any further impetus to take some action, i think the upcoming election is providing that. josh: let' s talk about the election, very busy. we heard from senator santorum, lindsey graham, we' ve heard from a number of candidates about the new hampshire primary and how they had real concerns about our place in the process. what are you hearing? john: i have heard a lot of what you have heard. it is going to come together

during the summer, spring and summer leading up to the national convention, that will be the time when the national parties decide that their roles for the next primary. that is going to be the key time. that is going to be the time when everybody on both sides of the a.l. is going to come together as they used to do to protect the primary. josh: republicans and primaries in new hampshire -- republicans and democrats in new hampshire dealing with the national party. john: there was a time when they would get into the same grim and workout strategy on how to keep the primary. the primary will always be first in terms of an event. the effect of the primary and how much weight it will have is a matter of the parties. the state controls when we have it. if nobody is showing up, that' s the problem. josh: we' ve seen this before. every cycle there is a fight. it is usually along the lines of a calendar. delaware, michigan, nevada.

john: it is philosophical. we need to do more investigating as to what the big issues are. oin the democraticn -- on the democratic side in the past it had been lack of diversity. the republican party is very establishment, we have gone off the rails for them, which has been unpopular with the rnc establishment. there' s a lot of pressure from other states saying why new hampshire. josh: i want ot to talk about the diversity issue. how important do you believe it is, because of that argument, that the early states -- iowa, south carolina -- joined together in lockstep. it is more diverse when you think of a group of 4. john: iowa and new hampshire have always had the minds of the officials. new hampshire has always recognized iowa as not a similar election. south carolina has had an alliance on the republican side.

we will have to see what our elected officials do. we here today have to hold the feet to the fire of those running for president, whoever the nominees are, it is going to be up to them to put pressure on the parties to keep us first. josh: we will hold feet to the fire. john: we wil. l. josh: good to see you. thank you for watching. we will be back next week. until then, go patriots.