? josh: this sunday, it is a battle of the second congressional district between incumbent democrat annie kuster and her challenger, jim lawrence. we speak with both to get their take on the race. what about that top of the ticket? what is the wife of vp nominee tim kaine think about the political atmosphere and where the presidential campaign is going. good morning. thanks for joining us. i am josh mcelveen. much of the focus has been on the presidential campaign, but there are other key races in new hampshire. one is in the second congressional district, where incumbent annie kuster is running for reelection. she is my first guest.

you. josh: how many years now? rep. custer: four years with two terms. running for my third term. josh: when voters asked why should they put you down for another term, what do you say? rep. custer: this is a job interview. i am out of the record we have put together. i tell them about what we have accomplished in new hampshire, creating a new campus for the community college in lebanon. that was a bill that came from me and funding we helped get. college job-training and workforce community development. people are graduating and heading straight into advanced manufacturing with 50 $5,000 incomes. so really trying to lift new hampshire families. doing a lot of work for veterans. the agriculture committee, where i am working to save small farms. and doing a lot for seniors. and of course, the heroin

deep dive. the founder of the task force in congress, we have passed 18 bills in june. now we get the funding in november to make sure we can increase access to treatment and help people. josh: received funding for what? i know a lot was made about cara and that passing and not being funded. rep. custer: here's everywhere with cara. the house added 18 bills. there were policy changes that needed to be made about pain managemend opiate use and about making sure we increase access to treatment for those who do have substance use disorder. i made an amendment to add $600 million in emergency funding. senator shaheen try the same in the senate pay we were not successful. but in november, when we go back into session after the election,

operations process. that will be somewhere between the $1 billion president obama asked for and the $600 million we were trying to get. so we will get that funding. what it is targeted at is to increase access to treatment. part of the dilemma in new hampshire -- and it is a perfect storm -- new hampshire has been extremely hard. we are on track for 500 us this year we lost so many treatment beds. we used to have 1000 beds in the 1980's. now we are down to 250 or so. we need to make sure we increase access to treatment for families who are looking for a place for their loved one. now in -- then we need to recognize long-term recovery. harrowing changes the brain. it is more like 18 to 24 months for someone to recover beyond the relapse. we need to change our approach to the disease. that is what the funding will be about.

the federal level of how serious this problem is? when you talk about the emergency appropriations bill that did not work in the senate or the house -- go to the ebola virus. one person died and immediately half a billion dollars was appropriated. yet this keeps stalling. why? rep. custer: we were disappointed to again, it was our republican leadership that blocked the funding. the election is important. i want people to elect democrats, and we will th bipartisan coalition. i say to my coalition that heroin does not choose 'r's or 'd's. they need to spread word that we need to increase access to treatment. plus, funding to law enforcement. i have had meetings all over my district with the police and first responders.

these drug cartels. we had a briefing by the intelligence community that the mexican cartels made a decision to move into rural america so they did not have to compete with urban gangs. we had to get the funding all across my district so they have the tools to break down where this is coming from. then, we need to get people treatment. that is the critical connection. josh: congress now -- is everyone campaigns on being a change agent. the public just sees gridlock and infighting within the chamber. how do you make the argument that "i am making a difference"? rep. custer: the truth is, i rock the boat on both sides. i have people in my caucus saying to me, "why do you work with republicans across the aisle?" i say people are dying in my

bringing together 85 members of congress in this task force, being the founder of that, that is it takes that. i am willing to say of course i can talk to republicans. i was raised i republicans. we need this new hampshire bipartisan approach. i used it on the v.a. committee. i have done bills with my republican colleagues for veterans, getting them the services they need, making sure they get access to treatment, tackling sexual assault colleagues. and i used in the agriculture committee. getting amendment's to the farm bill that nobody thought was possible. but it was because i crossed the aisle and worked with republicans. it is breaking through the gridlock. part of it is it is a small group of people, this extreme tea party, that is creating the barriers to us moving forward. that is why this election is so important. josh: a couple months ago, you are very candid when i asked

about her integrity, at least when it came to the e-mail situation. rep. custer: sure. she made a mistake pitch he said she made a mistake. she apologized, and i accept that. josh: the thing a lot of people point to is the fact that you said publicly shared never said anything classified, but the fbi said differently. now we are finding more things from this wikileaks story, suggesting perhaps there was a collusion with the things. are you troubled -- a myriad of things. are you troubled? rep. custer: what i am worried about is the russians are trying to influence the election. private identifying information about where i live was put online. i am troubled with russians interfering in our election system. that has to be the much bigger

are perhaps learning about the relationship with the clinton campaign and the department of justice during this investigation, are you bothered by it? this has been the lingering question about hillary clinton. rep. custer: here is what i know -- we had several deep investigations by the nine states congress. i sat there during the hearings when she testified. the reality is there has not been any finding. the doj and attorney general did not make any type of allegation. she has been cleared of that. i am confident that congress has looked at this carefully. that they had all of that information from the doj. josh: are you satisfied? rep. custer: absolutely. she made a mistake using that personal server. she has apologized for it did i accept her apology. it is time to move on. i think this is a distraction, trying to influence the

you have written for the world to see -- we are all learning. it is not private. i get that. but i accept her apology. it is time to move on. i am in the middle of my 30 diners and 30 days. yesterday, we were in milford at the red arrow. had a wonderful conversation with lori, a teacher who works part-time at the diner. she said we wanted to talk about the i matters to our kids and families. education, the cost of college -- she has three daughters. that is what i am talking to voters about. there will be lots of distractions. i talked to so many voters who are ready to have this election tomorrow. i will just keep sticking to the issues i care about. educating our young people. giving them the skills they need for great careers here in a beautiful state.

best of luck to you moving forward. rep. custer: thanks for having me. josh: we will be right back with jim lawrence. it's a great view from the top. just ask chris sununu. chris inherited a famous name and was given the top job at his family's resort, where, over the years, chris cut jobs to avoid giving them health insurance. so it's no surprise chris opposes the minimum wage because he never had to work for anything. chris sununu has no business being governor. this advertisement has been paid for by put new hampshire first and has not been authorized by any candidate. this city is it. great food, gorgeous scenery, friendly people. and what's better than doing something awesome in manchester? doing it for free. we hear you.

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in the second congressional district. now it is her challengers turn. jim lawrence, this is your second time running. how is it going? mr. lawrence: things are going great. i'm still making my rounds through the second congressional district here. i am proud to say the voters are still receiving my. message positively. josh: how are you competing paid in terms of funding, you are outmatched, and the national party might be thinking let's invest elsewhere. mr. lawrence: not paying attention to the war the resources. my focus is on the voters of the second cd and making sure i touch each and every voter, letting them know i am fighting for their priorities important to them. dealing with our stale economy. dealing with our failed for an economy. fighting for a solution for social security. all other issues people are worried about, concerned about, talking around the kitchen

about what she sees as her success, whether it was her work with veterans, the agriculture committee, the hair win -- the harrow in crisis -- the heroin crisis. mr. lawrence: the case is clear. we have a more than $19 trillion national debt. we are still dealing with overregulation of small economy. we have had the slowest gdp growth in the eight year period in the history of this country. not to mention the fact we have the worst foreign policy in decades. our allies do not feel like they can count on us. our enemies do not fear us. we have done nothing to solve the looming social security crisis talk about -- we have done nothing to solve the looming social security crisis. josh: one of the knox from

someone with his temperament in charge of nuclear codes. but overall, whether it is dealing with isis or russia or the iran nuclear deal, but the approach the rest of the world looks at if we want to be a world leader? mr. lawrence: you just listed a whole long list of areas where i think we have a failed foreign policy. we have been ineffective avenue -- at containing russian aggression. we now have signs they are lining missiles along the order with poland.jo mr. lawrence: the fact that we have a current administration willing to talk tough talk and not do anything about it -- we sought in syria, with the inability to have it proper exit strategy, it is no wonder what leaders feel we are a paper tire and they can take advantage. the first thing to do is tighten

and mean it, we follow through. so we can send a message to world leaders that they understand when america says something, they mean business. unfortunately, that is not true now. josh: donald trump has said he respects vladimir putin as a leader and he would engage in discussions with him. do you agree with that point? a lot of republicans say this is not a guy who can be reasoned with and that he is a bully. mr. lawrence: things i have seen vladimir putin doing recent times that -- i have large concerns over what he may or may not do. he is a serious threat to our national interests. we need to treat him that way. now is not the time to call him. josh: when you say call him, do you mean donald trump's friendly approach to them as a business leader? mr. lawrence: we need to put a strong foot forward and have a

i am glad the taxpayers invested in my ability to be trained in military strategy. now we need to invest in strength to keep us safe. josh: let's get to donald trump. by now the video was released about 10 days ago -- you came out saying you were offended by it, as did a number of republicans, but he did not remove your support for donald trump. why? no one will condone the statements he made. as a parent, father -- josh: apparent? mr. lawrence: four daughters no less. what he said was horrible. i would never condone statements like that. but i am running for congress. there are serious issues facing the voters of new hampshire. it is unfortunate, but these things are distracting us from talking about the real issues

$19.5 trillion national debt. we should talk about solutions for social security. we should talk about the escalating cost of college tuition and the ability of our kids to get loans. these are issues that voters should be hearing about. josh: but this election has been more about character and integrity than perhaps any other presidential race in history. and that is fair -- a lot of people think that is a fair litmus the role model question. does the president have to be a role model? mr. lawrence: i believe the president should be a role model. i think george washington set an excellent example for all presidents to follow. we should uphold that tradition. i think it is relevant. but i am going to -- again, i am running for congress. i am focused on my race. focused on the issues important to the voters of new hampshire. that is what i think i need to

josh: on the way at the door, people shake your hand and said that people were not talking about how cordial your race is. is it difficult to run a race based on issues against a well-funded incumbent? mr. lawrence: there are a lot of distractions, by will stick to my guns. move forward and keep trusting the important issues to the voters. i believe i have the right solutions to bring forward the positive changes we need to move america forward. and i will keep talking about that. josh: one thing you point a lot to on the campaign trail is your service. you are in the air force -- and thank you again for your service. the numbers of veterans running for office is dwindling. whether it is the top of the ticket down. are you troubled by that? ultimately, congress makes

to thank you for your service as well. but i do think that is a relevant topic for discussion. as you know, experience matters in all things, especially leadership in washington. they were talking about failed foreign policy. a lack of leadership in certain critical areas, like our national defense, down in washington, d c i think a contributor to that is the lack of veterans present in those we need to take a serious hard look at improving the amount of veterans, people who actually have experience with these issues, to be able to weigh in on some of these critical conditions down in washington, d.c. josh: we only have about a minute. state you are successful on election day. what is your top priority? mr. lawrence: my top priority when i arrived, if successful, will be to deal with this huge

economy moving forward. we need to improve the economy for all americans, so they can have the jobs to be able to provide for their families. josh: that is a tall order. everyone wants to be a change agent. i said they to annie kuster. i will not ask why you will be different, but have you noticed there is a conversation going on with people who want to get to washington and create change, and they have some, and believes that will allow that to happen? mr. lawrence: i want to add one thing about the difference between representative pastor and myself. there are clear distinctions between us in terms of our policies. i definitely want to cut back on overregulation of small businesses. i want to restructure taxes for small businesses to help them grow our economy. i want to take on our national debt head-on. these are critical differences between your president of custer and myself. i hope voters will take note of that.

forward. we will be right back with an home. -- anne holton. kelly ayotte: let's be honest - both donald trump and hillary clinton are far from perfect... and i'm not perfect either. but when partisan politicians shut down the government, i led the fight to reopen it. i've worked to find solutions to new hampshire's heroin epidemic. and i've crossed the aisle to protect new hampshire's clean air and clean water. i've been called a problem solver by independent groups, and ranked as one of the most bipartisan senators. i'm kelly ayotte - and i approve this message, because whether i'm working with republicans, democrats, or independents,

josh: welcome back. this year's presidential campaign has been anything but run-of-the-mill. one thing pretty typical on the campaign is having the candidates' spouses on the trail. that is what democratic vp nominee tim kaine's wife is doing in new hampshire. anne holton, welcome to new hampshire. so princeton and harvard.

at harvard. how is that? josh: how has life changed for you and your family since the convention? ms. holton: it is a big change. i have been in the public eye in one way or another since i was a child. that part is not new. but getting to travel outside of virginia and getting to introduce ourselves to the other 49 states has been fun. josh: are you enjoying it? ms. holton: i am. i love people. i love meeting people. i have been meeting votell hillary gave me a specific charge to talk to teachers, listen to teachers, and bring feedback back to the campaign. that is something i treasure the opportunity to do. josh: you are the secretary of education in virginia. resign the seat when your husband became the vp nominee. but if this ticket is successful, how active will you be in that arena and championing

can. i hope hillary will ask me to continue to teachers, parents, and a listening mode. and a way that helps her team. and i work a lot with young people coming out of the foster care system. i got to know those kids when i was a juvenile domestic relations court judge. then i worked later find successful pathways to the future. i would love to work with those kids. josh: what are you hearing from teachers out there? we know what is talked about so much in this campaign, but what are teachers telling you? what are there issues, what are they asking for him -- from your administration? ms. holton: one of the biggest issues i have faced in virginia, and we successfully made some inroads on but i hear elsewhere, is we have been asking our schools and educators to do more

standards, as we should, asking them to deal with societal ills. but since the recession, we have been cutting resources for them. so finding that balance is something i hear everywhere. and we have to figure out how to have good accountability but still restore the good of teaching -- the joy of teaching and learning. josh: in this campaign, there has been a lot of division your husband, cory booker for instance, is he has a lot of respect on both sides of the i/o. is he the type of person this country needs to bridge the gap and begin the healing people are asking for? ms. holton: absolutely. tim has always worked across partisan lines get things done. i am a daughter of the republican governor of virginia.

bipartisan family to start. i come at bipartisanship deeply. my husband and hillary both do as well pay they have had to work across the aisle to get things done. one thing that is kind of fun is tim has had folks on the senate, even on the other side of the aisle, come up to him in the hallways and say we know hillary, we worked with her as a senator, we worked with her as secretary of state -- we can work with hillary. appetite to have some real ability to work across barriers and get things done. josh: one thing that struck me of the convention was how comfortable the senator looked on stage. that is a tall order, to introduce yourself to the world at the democratic national convention. is this something he has always looked towards or expected? or such as confidence? where does the confidence, from?

exactly the opposite what we expected. when we were in law school, people thought that he would end of the judge and i would end up in politics. but he got mad at issue one day and ended up on city council and the rest is history. he is a good listener. he can connect with audiences. this begin, even in large settings, he is pretty comfortable. josh: and are you a close advisor? his popularity is due mainly to the fact that you agreed to marry him. [laughter] josh: what do you talk about strategy? ms. holton: i do not know about strategy, but we talk a lot. we talked about lots of things. kids, what we are reading, what we are doing for fun. but we talked politics plenty. it has been our lifeblood.

would not siay i am one of his inner circle advisors. i try not to be. he needs to have a respite from it. josh: well, best of luck to you moving forward. enjoy your stay. that will wrap up this addition of -- this edition of "closeup." stay tuned for ""matter of fact" and go patriots. [captioning performed by the national captioning inut visit ncicap.org] kelly ayotte voted for deep cuts in medicare and social security. here are the votes. she voted against protecting social security from the threat of privatization. and said she's open to raising the retirement age for social security. look it up yourself. the fact is kelly ayotte's supporting big, corporate special interests. she's not working for us.

when all three of these guys show up, they come up with some crazy ideas. sometimes, i just have to say, "no way." so i appreciate it when annie kuster says "no" to cutting social security. she stood up to both parties to protect our benefits. annie's working to make sure we have a secure retirement. so i can worry about these guys instead. thanks, annie. i'm annie kuster and i approve this message. narrator: planned parenthood provides many kinds of healthcare. woman: i depend on planned parenthood for birth control. woman: i had my annual physical there. woman: the cancer screenings at planned parenthood are so important. narrator: still, chris sununu cast the deciding vote to eliminate state funding for planned parenthood. chris sununu put partisan politics above women's health care. colin van ostern: i'm colin van ostern. i fought to restore funding for planned parenthood and got it done, because women's health care should always

>> today on "matter of fact" -- >> the current candidates are not doing a great job. >> are you ready to throw in the towel? >> it's discouraging and it's disheartening. >> find out what the largest voting block will do if the parties don't give them better choices. and -- soledad: it has been framed as these things. >> what's the connection between sex talk and sexual abuse? plus which late night host gets , your vote? but first -- soledad: less than a month to go until election day, but some votes are already in. i'm soledad o'brien. welcome to "matter of fact." soledad: 37 states have early