? josh: this sunday, a little more than two weeks until election day. the latest poll shows the race for governor between colin van ostern and chris sununu is close. we have both candidates in the studio. and my one-on-one interview with vice president joe biden. what he says about the election, candidates, and his own future. i am josh mcelveen. the presidential race sucked up a lot of the oxygen, and it is tough for it those down ballot to get their way through.

ostern might be getting out there. are you feeling good? mr. van ostern: we are up it what matters is the vote on november 8. it is great to have momentum on the polls. i think it reflects people want a governor who will put people ahead of partisan interests and political games. there are a lot of issues where chris and i have different points of view. playing politics with planned parenthood funding or solar energy or the expansion of health care coverage for the drug crisis is the wrong approach for new hampshire. we need to stap with the accusation that you have been inflating your resume, your background. how do you respond to those who have questions? mr. van ostern: i can understand why chris is trying to distract from his record of mismanagement at the schematic his family bought for him to run. half of their skier visits have evaporated since he took over. he has cut jobs and imposes the

when it comes down to is looking out to other people to succeed. i have had success in places like stonyfield, where i managed $100 million of their business. by left that job to help start a nonprofit college at southern new hampshire university, college for america. when i started, there were about one dozen employees, a dozen students, and a promising pilot program. students, most getting their degree with no debt. it speaks to the sort of success we want for our state. josh: but you also do not want to talk about your background and politics. i understand -- try being in the media. but it is fair to point out you spent a lot of time, perhaps more new adult life, indeed public arena than private. mr. van ostern: since i have moved here, i mostly work in the

people like governor lynch and jeanne shaheen and senator kelly ayotte have all worked earlier in the career, advising other elected officials. i encourage folks to look at both of our backgrounds. and what is most important is our views for the state and what we will do moving forward to you i have concerns about chris' record in waterview, but i am more concerned he does not want a statement from wage. it is not an approac state back as a whole. josh: let's talk about dartmouth hitchcock paid you said last week that people are playing politics for this issue. counselor chris sununu once to re- -- wants to re-bid. and there may have been rewriting in the proposal for someone basically working for dartmouth hitchcock. but you do not think that is a concern? mr. van ostern: my concern is making sure we had good patient

hospital. these people are there because the court has found them to be in such mental condition that they are a danger to themselves or others p we have five or six more health care professionals than we did on the job in june. by november, that will be 10 more than june. i think that is a step in the right direction. all of these political attacks running ads against maggie hassan are playing politics with people's lives. it does not make sense. josh: the reality is people are st now. there is some smoke there. like i said, information was limited. but is it not a better approach in this atmosphere, today, to look at things and say we will be as transparent as possible? mr. van ostern: i absolutely believe in transparency. this contract was put out to a competitive bid. i was disappointed other institutions did not paid at the time. i think the competition always -- did not bid at a time.

improves quality. but having gone through that process, we need to make sure patient care is not sacrificed, especially two weeks before the election. josh: you have an aggressive and optimistic agenda. you talk about affordable college, the real project. -- the rail project. the money has to come from somewhere. where does that money come from? mr. van ostern: the one area chris and i have disagreed is how without raising taxes. this is the new hampshire health action plan. democrats and republicans came together to find a way to do this. it was bipartisan. 50,000 people now how health care coverage as a result, including for addiction services. it is up to the next governor to continue this or not. i have supported this. and we have brought more than

that. josh: he is not calling for all out appeal, he is -- mr. van ostern: he has used the exact word "repeal." but two months ago in the primary, he said on a radio show, "i did everything in my power to prevent this from ever coming to the floor in the first place." the republican leader of the senate and house compromise with the democratic governor. that is how we good ideas. you compromise, make all grace. it is true chris opposed this repeatedly. he is been saying he wants to grandfather people out of the program and saying he wants to end it and using words like "repeal." but now that there is an election, he does not want to be held accountable for his record. we have a real difference of opinion. one of the ways to tackle the drug crisis is make these special -- successful expansion

lines to say. even republican leaders say it is part of the cure to the crisis we face. josh: new hampshire was named number one in the dubious category, which is the price of college. the student debt -- parent say it is not just the debt. the parents have this debt as well. the promise being made in this election, whether it is debt-free college or free college, a lot of people say that is untenable and there is no way we can pay for it, and this is justee what i have held to successfully in the private sector. one night launched college for america, 71% of our students are the first in the family to go to college. the vast majority get a degree with no debt at all. usually that is working adults. all -- often because employers are helping with a portion of it. but it is also because we keep costs low. i take all of those lessons for

bullet, but working with employers, focusing on cost, and not just writing a check to the university system for having accountability measures, where we say this is what we expect in terms of student debt levels following and how many graduates end up in the workforce, those are ways you can make a positive gain. josh: without raising taxes? mr. van ostern: absolutely. i oppose a sales tax, and income taxpayer die have been consistent on that. i use my role in the executive council and a way to inefficient spending and red tape. josh: there is a lot of proposals out there. but we have less than one minutes ago. making the case in the next couple of weeks will be what everyone is focused on. what is your approach? mr. van ostern: i believe for bringing college costs down in new hampshire, we need to strengthen our relationships with employers, have better connected pathways between our dual enrollment and high schools, our community college,

four-year degree. we need to expand some of our pilot programs. and we need to bring costs down. we need to bring funding up and have a deal with real accountability. josh: best of luck to you moving forward. good to see you. we will be right back with counselor chris sununu. you know me. that's new hampshire kelly ayotte. this is washington kelly ayotte. she voted for 20 billion dollars in tax breaks for the big oil companies. but she voted against letting you refinance your student loans. ayotte voted to give a huge tax breaks to millionaires. while 95% of us... got nothing. kelly ayotte. you need to know in washington. she's not working for new hampshire.

josh: welcome back. we just heard from the democrat in the governor's race. now the candidate who entered with good name recognition and fought through the republican field -- chris sununu. best of luck to you moving forward. let's talk about this race. right now, polls indicate that van ostern is the t mr. sununu: if you want me to comment on the wmur, really? josh: just what is your feeling out there. mr. sununu: we do not look at polls that closely. the few that we do, we feel very confident and comfortable where we are. our message is resonating. the people want a governor as -- who has experience. whether it is someone who has to manage jobs day-to-day. that is the stakeholder expense people one in the front office.

new ad where you say you created hundreds of jobs at waterville valley. is that accurate? mr. sununu: of course. josh: there is a report out by public radio that would seem to indicate -- mr. sununu: last year, we have had some are in the neighborhood of over 800 jobs the past few years. when you look at the company we ought water bill from, we increased those numbers. we also started restaurants. started a fun park and tubing area. we million dollars in expanding the result -- resort. there is a lot of other aspects there. this is just another great example of the democrats, my opponent, doing anything he can to not talk about issues and visions for the state, to not talk about his lack of experienced a they have hit my family and my business. they are doing whatever they can to spur up negative emotion. but at the end of the day, the people of new hampshire are

josh: let's talk about dartmouth hitchcock. the contract which you said needs to be re-bid is playing politics with people's health care. mr. sununu: let's look at the faxed it it looks like this contract was railroaded to one group and there are other groups who could partake in. there have been so many red flags. how the employees were hired was a drastic red flag. be rebid. when the contract goes through and we find out they will lay off hundreds of employees, and then one of the senior folks there resigns, that is not politics. those are facts, red flags. we are talking about dental health for some of our most sensitive constituencies. that is not political. we demand action and accountability. this has been mismanaged from the beginning by governor hassan and her administration.

they are sitting on their hands. they say they will get reports and monitor how it is going. absolutely not. leadership is about getting results, ensuring the best possible results for people. josh: without dartmouth agreeing to rip up the contract, there is not much you can do. or is there another option? mr. sununu: i call on the governor, attorney general, the commission, to find a way to recall the contract, because technically, it has not been started yet. it does not contract, change it so that more people can come in. we have made the process so onerous, and now there's the question that why there's only one group that did on this. we made the contract that request for proposal in such a way that it was railroaded to one group. that is not fair. it will not always get you the best results for the citizens. josh: let's talk about medicaid expansion. your opponent accuses you of you wanting to get rid of it entirely.

expanding and keep going for with medicaid expansion in chunks. my opponent wants to make obamacare permanent. do you know what happens when you make a giant washington program permanent? you lose control over costs, over what is important to your state. when you're dealing with the substance abuse crisis, the expanding medicaid has helped expanding medicaid has helped people make changes. people make changes. like we do. once you have made something permanent, you have lost control over it. the new hampshire people have to have the ability to do with the new hampshire way. that is how we get the best results, not just accepting all of these giant government programs that require giant subsidies. that is not leadership, that is deferring. i will put real leadership with real experience behind it to make sure we get the best

majority of new hampshire folks seem to think the state is in the right direction. the economy is not doing as bad as some republicans may have you believe, is what is the accusation. our employment is pretty low -- are unemployed is pretty low. mr. sununu: when was the last time we ran a major business here? the last time we drove major business into the state? we are not. we are not. we had a part of some de la control. putting elderly and low income folks, those on fixed incomes, with no financial stability. i have never said the sky is falling in new hampshire. but we have not had real leadership in the corner office with real experience in business. i spent 10 years as an environmental engineer. i have been running waterville valley -- hundreds of employees. the responsibility of making sure they have the best health

sleep with every night. the anxiety and pressure of having that responsibility. and getting the best results for it. i am proud of what we did in waterville valley. we are the only resort in the east coast expanding this year. we just got new workforce housing. we are the only group doing that. democrats can do what they want in terms of reflecting -- deflecting issues. i was at a debate last he did not even show up. i sat at a debate with an empty podium. they do not want to talk about issues, do not want to show up at the issues. in a couple of weeks, we feel very comfortable where we are. i think we will turn the state around. josh: i bet there are a lot of republican candidates who are lamenting running in the year in which donald trump is running out the top of the ticket. you are asked about this all of the time. is he now a liability?

at poll numbers -- we do not look -- but even the wmur say we pull well ahead of donald trump. what he does in his election, that is his business. if there's any message people should take him about our campaign -- i do not trust washington. i do not trust anything that comes out of that place. i do not think many people do. which is all the more reason you need a strong governor. a strong governor who will do with the new hampshire way. with the new hampshire way. who will hold fiscal creating jobs. dropping health care costs. doing the things i can impact people's lives. andrew visual -- individual responsibility. letting parents have the decision into what happens in their kids classrooms. that is the new hampshire way of doing things. that is what i will bring. josh: someone will have two bridge the gap in this election cycle after election day. what do you do and how do you do

bridges. i think you will be hard has to find anyone in concord that i do not really get along with. i have a record of pushing back against my own party when i have to. of reaching across the aisle. of working strongly with the opposing party. my opponent cannot say that. he cannot. so look at our records, look at the success we have had in terms of bridging that gap and making sure we keep people at the table. good ideas coming forward. bringing the best and brightest to the table without any care of political background, driving forward with action. that is what we have not had. real action to back up words. josh: according to our poll, more undecideds than people who have made their mind. how do you make the case to them the next 16 days? mr. sununu: you always have a large portion of undecideds. we want to look at the

to what people, what their concerns are. that is what the governor supposed to do. listen to the people and carry those concerns to concord, not stick with talking points on paper. not negativity. we have had enough with that. democrats can take their shots at my family. they even put a picture of my mom in an attack ad. that is beneath the dignity of new hampshire. new hampshire is about service. politics my opponent, but it is about public service and trust to you and we have taken the time to do it. when we will be successful in a couple of weeks. josh: best of luck moving forward. i will be back with a one-on-one

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 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 be above politics. for months and months of this. i'd like to punch him in the face i'll tell you. there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her, wherever. kelly ayotte stood by him. would you tell a child to aspire to be like donald trump? would you point to him as a role model? absolutely. i would do that.

kelly ayotte's all politics, no principles. priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. josh: welcome back to "closeup." this week, vice president joe biden was campaigning in new hampshire for hillary clinton. i managed to get an exclusive one-on-one with him. at last night, when asked if he would accept the results of this election? v.p. biden: it's dangerous. he not only is questioning the election, he's questioning the basic democratic fabric of the country. but we -- easy way to settle that. people show up and vote. and he said -- i'm told today he said if he wins, he'd accept the outcome? well, if he loses by a large margin, he has no choice but to accept the outcome. so let's make sure that we teach

"a rigged media", "a rigged election"? v.p. biden: well, i am. look, democratic institutions are fragile. there's a consensus that allows them to continue. that is we abide by the democratic principles. when people vote, we abide by the outcome of the election. this is like something coming out of latin america, or -- anyway. i just think he's so disqualified himself. saying that we're attacking mosul to defeat isil to make hillary look g josh: we've got to talk about hillary clinton. you're here in new hampshire, obviously, on her behalf. questions about emails. a couple of different angles i want to come at. first, how concerned should the american voter be about the idea that a foreign country, specifically russia, is behind these leaks and trying to influence our election? v.p. biden: they should be very concerned. it has nothing to do with her emails, it has to do with their cyber attacks on our democratic

last night, 17 intelligence agencies, civilian and military, have come out and said publically -- which they never do -- that this comes from the highest levels of the kremlin, that is putin. and he says that, "well, it could be anybody, it could be china." "and our government can't know, doesn't know." this guy wants to president of the united states? and in front of the world, he's questioning our entire intelligence establishment? what does that do in terms of confidence of our capacity? i mean, it's just amazing, to me, what he does. josh: the information in those emails, in a vacuum, how can you tell an american voter not to be concerned about potential influence, intervening by the state department involving a federal investigation? v.p. biden: because there's no evidence of that. as a matter of fact, if you notice, it's all secondhand, this thing about a deal and all that -- now they've gone back -- "well, i don't know," "we don't know,"

so there is no "they're" there. josh: big picture, you're always very optimistic. v.p. biden: i am. josh: reality is a lot of people are scared. they're frustrated. they're angry. how do you continue the message of optimism with the recognition that a lot of people are worried out there? v.p. biden: well, there's a lot of people worried out there, because they got hurt very, very, very badly in the recession. and the way this appeal to fear, about isis and the rest, is something that is just a drumbe n these folks here, what bothers me the most is because he's been so outrageous when he says it, it grabs -- and you have to cover it. i'm not criticizing the press. you have to cover what he says. so we don't hear about the ideas that hillary is putting forward and what you're going to do and how she's going to make sure childcare is available. and how she's going to make sure that we're going to have the military that we continue to need. how we're going to deal with everything from dealing with isil to how we're going to deal with college education.

about competition of ideas. there's no space to debate. really, think. even if you want, for example -- a report came out yesterday -- that's not true -- last week, showing that the highest graduation rate in high school in the history of the united states of america for all across the board, including hispanics and african-americans. that would have been front page news and lead on your station. every station. josh: well, we had it on our news -- v.p. biden: no, no, no. i know you did. i'm not beinit you covered it. but how can you not cover these outlandish things that are being said in the debate? and it just crowds out serious discourse. that's what bothers me the most. josh: last question. the sunset of this administration. you inherited a lot of problems. how do you think history will remember the obama-biden administration, or how do you hope it will? v.p. biden: i hope it will say that we inherited an economic

and women on the battlefield. that we have a rational policy in foreign policy that now has our allies helping engage the enemy's around the world. -- the enemies around the world. there are not many people dying in the battlefield right now, number one. number two, i think they'll say that they inherited an economic collapse, and they created more jobs than all the rest of the industrialized nations in the world, combined. in position to move from recovery to an absolute breakthrough, in terms of us owning the 21st century. josh: fair to say, after november 9, you won't be slowing -- i should say january, when the transition takes place -- you're not going anywhere -- v.p. biden: no, i'm not going anywhere. look, i've never known -- from the time i've been 28-years-old and get up and i'm given a schedule like this, and things i care about -- i'm not going

in violence against women, and i'm going to continue to have a platform to talk about the things that really matter to the country, from income inequity on -- to middle class opportunity. josh: mr. vice president, thank you very much for the time. v.p. biden: thank you for the time. josh: we have to run. have a great sunday. and go patriots. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] uh, first of all, i plan to vote for donald trump. when it served her purpose, ayotte buddied up to trump, even calling him a role model. would you tell a child to aspire to be like donald trump? oh absolutely, i would do that. but she kept playing politics and flip flopping around. ayotte is running away from trump as quickly as she can. and what she values is her seat. and she's trying - to keep something she values. - i know. kelly ayotte. the politician. looking out for herself. senate majority pac is responsible

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. when i listen to families across new hampshire, all i hear is that washington is locked into a system where the special interests come before people. where drug company profits come before affordable medicine, the koch brothers and big oil come before clean energy, and powerful corporations beat out entrepreneurs looking to grow their small businesses. i'm maggie hassan. washington won't change overnight. but sending a new senator who puts your priorities ahead of special interests can make a difference.

soledad: today on "matter of fact," do you think the american dream has died? >> working class families have become very fragile. >> plus republican senators pulling away from trump. pushing for a balance of power is your split ticket vote the only hope for the gop? and are these canadians tsenging your song? >> we're fans, we like you guys. >> but first. soledad: americans feeling left behind, i'm soledad o'brien. welcome to "matter of fact." pocketbook issues are one of the deciding factors in this year's election. unemployment numbers might tell a different story, just under