alison grimes. >> it makes a big difference who wins this election and, alison grimes should win it and will with your help. >> reporter: she's the secretary of state who's practiced law and done plenty of politicking with her father. >> the clintons didn't forget. jerry oversaw the landslide over barack obama. the family business catered inaugural events and chelsea's wedding. now clinton is returning favors to the next in line. grimes is just 35 and playing up that she would be the state's first woman in the u.s. senate. >> you will hear over the course of this campaign, especially on behalf of the women of this state 53% of the electorate, a little katy perry roar and by the end of this race, eight months from now, we'll be bringing home our kentucky girl miley cyrus with a little wrecking ball straight to the guardian of gridlock. >> i am thrilled to be here today as kentucky continues to fight to ditch mitch. >> reporter: mcconnell has spent three decades in the senate and as minority leader is the gop's last line of defense against president obama. grimes is hitting mcconnell hard

kentucky yesterday, former president bill clinton riled up the sold-out crowd while stumping for alison grimesmcconnell's seat. both stayed away from mentioning the health care law, but as today's "first read" points out, both clinton and grimes played the obama dem play book of 2014 by emphasizing the need to raise the minimum wage and reduce income inequality. >> i don't know about you, kentucky, but i'm not going to let any washington politician whose net worth is over $25 million tell me, tell us, that increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour is going to hurt our economy. >> in the end, you can only have a lot of rich people if you have even more middle class people and all the poor folks have a chance to work their way into it. >> joining me now live, nbc news correspondent mark murray. we can see the direction in that race, as well as in many other key races in 2014. >> that was my big takeaway from yesterday, is alison grimes/bill clinton event in kentucky, they were following the president obama script when it comes to the minimum wage and inequality and they were following it jus

clinton is headlining in support of alison grimes, the 35 year old has a close connection with the clinton, jerry lundergan, is a former state party chairman and long-time clinton friend. at 14, grimes attended bill clinton's first inauguration and presented him with a bouquet of flowers. grimes is facing nominal opposition in the democratic primary and is expected to face mitch mcconnell in november if he moves on to that point. joining me live, nbc news senior political editor mark murray. so, mark, the event hasn't started yet, so let's first talk about the landscape right now. looks like mitch mcconnell, despite early belief that it would be a tough battle for him, he's looking good at this point, pollwise. >> well, he's looking good in his primary race, tamron, that's against matt beavan, a tea party challenger and seems mcconnell has momentum on his side heading into that may primary, but the general election is a whole different story and that race remains competitive. we're going to see which force is more powerful in the state and that's kind of the anti-obama, antidemocratic forc

i think alison grimes doesn't care what rand paul says because bill clinton is about the most perfect, the clintons, in her race even before the beginning. her dad, jerry lundergan, was an old pal of bill clinton. she was at clinton's first inauguration as a 14-year-old. and clinton can do some very good things for her because if you look at the map of both 92 and 96, bill clinton carried a whole lot of those counties in eastern kentucky. those appalachian counties that barack obama couldn't -- doesn't have much support in. and if you could put together the core obama coalition of african-americans, college-educated middle-class, upper middle-class voters, and then bring in the working-class whites that bill clinton i think can still appeal to and also hillary clinton, you're getting very close to a majority in kentucky. so i think she's going to ignore rand paul and say to bill clinton, please come as often as you can and send your wife here too. >> i want to look at what matt bevin -- talk about why matt bevin isn't getting more traction against mitch mcconnell with all the help he'

he's known alison grimes for a very long time.red not only a mentor and adviser to her but also really almost an uncle-like figure. he's going to be speaking from the heart. you can see he's warming up to that. and -- >> he's getting going and decrying a lot of politics of the race, saying to focus on big things in the long run. i think you're probably right, people are responding to this. the crowd seems to be hot on this. >> it's all democrats presumably so -- >> not a tough crowd. >> thank you, james. we'll keep watching this story as president clinton says things of interest we'll pbring you them. just ahead, we are going to take you to the world unseen. the u.s. spends $2 billion every year on this program. could it be hurting people as much as it's helping? i went all the way around the world and two power brokers in washington to ask that question next. stay with us. i'm randy, and i quit smoking with chantix. as a police officer, i've helped many people in the last 23 years, but i needed help in quitting smoking. [ male an

. >> you were covering the campaign of alison grimes today as she was out on the field. can a democrat win in kentucky? >> there's no question about that. keep in mind, kentucky has a democratic governor. the state certainly has been trending more conservative and more republican. mitch mcconnell is the godfather of the modern republican party here in kentucky and he's very vulnerable. this is a very interesting candidate here in alison grimes as someone much more difficult to beat up on as far as negative advertising. she's 35 years old and has only been in office for two years. as a result, some of the recent candidates in recent pasts against mcconnell have had a longer life and record to beat up on. there's no question about her unknown status here is going to be very fertile ground for mcconnell's famous campaign operation to define here. >> joe arnold, thank you so much. >> thanks, jake. >> so let's talk about how complicated things are for republicans. let's bring in dana milbank and ross columnist for "the new york times." ross, this seems to be a microcosm for t

but i was in the room today for the fundraiser that bill clinton headlined on behalf of alison grimes. it was an overflow crowd. it was a big crowd. it was a crowd so enthusiastic, it was almost giddy. i haven't seen anything like that in kentucky in a long time. the kentucky democratic party is unified. they're excited. they think they've got a real shot to make mitch mcconnell out. and i think they probably do. what mitch didn't say is that even though the tea party challenger he is facing in the republican party is not going to win, mitch has spent an enormous amount of money knocking that guy down. and that guy in may could end up still getting perhaps 30% of the vote, if not more. then the question will be whether those republicans who have listened to mcconnell beat up on their tea party favorite, are going to actually come out and vote for mitch. and that's going to require mitch to try to really take down alison grimes, who is a young woman without much of a track record to shoot at. but who is turning into quite a good local political figure. what is interesting about this, a

alison grimes. clinton and his role in these places especially where president obama cannot go? >> well, president obama is very unpopular in kentucky. and in a lot of other states that democrats are running for tough re-election campaigns in. but, president clinton is particularly popular in kentucky. it's no small thing he won it twice when he was a candidate. and he, his wife did obviously very well against president obama in the primaries in kentucky. and he is very close to grimes and is a very good surrogate for her and it's going to help her an enormous amount. bill clinton is the most popular politician on the planet. and unless that changes, it's going to help her this fall and it's going to help his wife in two years if she runs. >> in the meantime. he had senator rand paul also of kentucky following him around, essentially, saying that anybody would fire their president if their executive did what he did to a young intern look i think it's legitimate but might actually back fire. when the

. >> and what about alison grimes sending out a mock birthday card to mitch mcconnell, and she wants the age that it is 72, and that is getting negative headlines. >> right. well, what you are seeing right now from the grimes' campaign is that they are figuring out how to get the footing. so far this year, it is a campaign made up of gimmicks. right now, she needs to start thinking about how does she want to introduce herself to the kentucky voters. if she doesn't, mitch mcconnell will and it is going to be less flattering. what we have learned in the polling is that mitch mcconnell is not liked, and alison grimes is not well known, and that is a danger zone for the candidate, because whoever defines her first with the undecided voters will likely win the race. >> well sh, in terms of definin her, she has bill clinton coming to kentucky to campaign for her, and regardless of how well she is known or liked, you know, he is certainly known, and how much will he support her candidacy by his presence? >> well, i think that remains to be seen throughout the year how involved they will be,

president is making his to 14 trail debut here in louisville to help, who else, an old friend, alison lundergan grimesdaughter of jerry lundergan. >> it makes a big difference who wins this election and alison lundergan grimes should win it and will with your help. >> reporter: she's the secretary of state who's practiced law and done plenty of politicking with her father. >> the clintons didn't forget kentucky. >> reporter: jerry lundegran did two chairs as the democratic chair. the family business catered clinton inaugural events and chelsea's wedding in to so. now clinton is returning favors to the next in line. grimes is just 35 and playing up that she'd be the state's first woman in the u.s. senate. >> you will hear over the course of this campaign, especially on behalf of the women of this state, 53% of the electorate, a little katy perry "roar" and miley cyrus "wrecking ball." >> as we continue our fight to ditch mitch. >> reporter: mcconnell has spent three decades in the senate and as minority leader is the last line of defense against president obama. grimes is hitting mcconnell hard for was

former president bill clinton back on the campaign trail today in kentucky, lending his presence to alison grimeseader mitch mcconnell. >> clinton's presence by grimes' side will be an indication of how much traction clinton's name will have in a red state. paul steinhauser is joining us with more from washington. good morning! >> reporter: good morning! the democrats bringing out the big gun, i guess you could say. bill clinton is basically a rock star on the campaign trail for his party. here he goes again. and you made a good point, this time again campaigning in a red state where president barack obama and his policies are not so popular. a senior democratic party official told me that bill clinton's probably their best surrogate in these kind of states, rather than the president himself. and with the democrats defending a bunch of senate seats in those states, expect to see a lot of bill clinton this year. as for today, alison grimes, there is a family tie here to the clintons. her father was the party boss, the democratic party boss in kentucky back in the day, and he's also very close to b

alison grimes, her father has been friend with bill clinton for quite some time.catered chelsea clinton's wedding, and clinton has come in on numerous occasions for fund-raisers for jerry lund i grund, alison's father, and he has known president clinton since he was governor back in arkansas. so they have a relationship that goes back a few years. as is pointed out, while most desperately wash to be lined the he's cultivated his reputation as a villain. do you think that's true? 31% approval rating, which is the same as president obama's. how does he keep getting reelected by the people of kentucky then? well, he's known how to bring home the bacon. he supports a lot of issues that are near and dear to kentuckyians, and particularly as a -- he is anti-obama, and obama, as you just noted, is not very popular in the state, but you look at issues like coal, the affordable care act, those are things that he will try to tie around her neck. no doubt about that. >> she has a very like dotted line to tread, if you will, which is she's a democrat, but she doesn't want to

when i was in kentucky, the distinctive thing i heard from alison grimes, in particular, and other candidates, as well, democrat candidates want to turn this away from obama and obamacare. you're in kentucky and arkansas, obama and obamacare are not that popular. grimes is really trying to turn this into a campaign about mitch mcconnell and about the republicans and they being the force of gridlock and blocking things in washington. you're going to see a lot of these candidates focusing very negative on their republican, trying to turn the election into a referendum on the gop, as well as a referendum on obama and obamacare. >> i think you're seeing an echo of that, kate. perry's talking, of course, about kentucky and what mcconnell is doing. rand paul, of course, another outsized name from kentucky. take a listen to what he said. it speaks to perry's argument here that some republicans are concerned about the attacks on the party and the idea that you can't win on attacking the aca alone, and they are talking about inclusion. take a listen. >> when we present our message, if we want a bigger

level in the context of a potential hillary clinton bid, but he was pretty quick to take it to alison grimesn and also brought up woody allen, who's been a campaign donor to grimes, and he referenced the accusations made against woody allenby one of his children of sexual abuse, and he said, you know, that doesn't play well in kentucky either. and he charges that grimes needs to decide whether she's kentucky or hollywood. >> sam, give us your take on that going into this event here. >> no, i think kasie nailed it. look, president clinton did very well here in '92 and '96, then the state takes a hard right. you look at the percentages president bush and mitt romney won with 61% of the vote. there was a definite moral outrage and backlash, there was a degree of moral outrage that i don't think in all parts of the state has gone away. president clinton has no doubt enjoyed a universal, near universal image rehab, but there's still pockets of the state here that don't feel that way. >> yeah, and that put it in the context of what is it about the clinton era that folks want to pay attention to. t

mcconnell is much more worried about alison grimes. someone could start to rise, ascend quickly if the senate conservatives fund picks up speed, if he gets small dollar donors coming his way. i think mcconnell's safe for now but nervous about episodes like this. >> yeah, this doesn't help him at all. meanwhile, this is just the senate. on the house, this statistic blew my mind. robert, you did fantastic reporting on the house version of this vote. the 28 members of the republican majority who voted if the bill on the side to raise the debt ceiling was the lowest percentage of majority on passage since the house began publishing electronic data on votes in 1991. has to rank by the lowest ever for a body to find by strict majority rule. amazing. >> it really is, chris. i sat down with devin nunes, from illinois, a republican. he said it wasn't a profile on courage. he said the scene in the republican cloakroom in the house, likely in the senate, was a lot of republicans privately were hoping a clean debt limit passed but were publicly op

bill clinton as you know was in kentucky trying to help out alison grimes, a democratic senate candidate trying to take the seat currently held by republican mitch mcconnell. when senate majority leader harry reid was pressed on why president obama isn't going out to red states, he had an interesting answer. >> we have one president that's been going every place and that's clinton. he's traveling around campaigning for everybody doing a great job. >> there you have the top senate democrat suggesting the former president may be a better asset right now than the current president. bottom line, though, of course, we'll see president obama, current president, raising a lot of money. >> democrats laumping a new effort to defend the president on health care. they are saying this will be advantageous to democrats running in 2014. >> though doubt. they are saying benefits of the law will help democrats in midterms. launched on the senate flora news conference defending the law. interesting, at the news conference, no democrats up for re-election or any sort of tough race, these are democrats eit

how would you advise alison grimes to run with regards to obama care and how is mitch mcconnell positioninglf there? >> well, i think the first thing is most people who don't like obama care don't think it should be repealed. they just want their representatives to work on it, make it better. so the first thing is not to get caught up in the back and forth and all the rhetoric and the nastiness of the name obama care and talk about what kentucky is get. that's health coverage, which they have not had. a lot of people are pray something wishing and hoping they don't get sick because they could go bankrupt. you can't guarantee you wouldn't get hit by a car. everybody who does everything right still has bad luck. >> right. >> so at the end of the day people want this coverage. they're going to like it. more and more are signing you. they have had good enrollment numbers. they need to talk about how many people have coverage that didn't. if we were to repeal, they would lose that safety net again. people don't want to go back. they don't want to go back to when a pre-existing condition would me

i think like alison grimes and our state is running for senate, i would return anybody that would associated with bill clinton, i think he's a bad role model for the workplace, for women's rights for all of that. and i think really, frankly, they ought to be a little embarrassed to be associated or being seen with him. >> where are you now with the surgeon general filibuster? >> we are asking harry reid to withdraw his nomination. the surgeon general is a position where you can promote things like healthy lifestyle, no smoking. not being obese, trying to eat healthy. that kind of thing. but being someone who's going to come in and politicize it and make it, he was the head of doctors for obama who every other word that comes out of his mouth, is something condemning gun owners, the nra. i think to politicize the surgeon general position is a big mistake. >> if they don't? >> we'll do what we can to filibuster it, you realize harry reid destroyed the filibuster, there is no filibuster, when he took over and broke the rules last year, to change the rules, he got rid of the filibuster on nomina

in kentucky, a very red state, democrat alison grimes who is fighting to take out mitch mcconnell is making an important part of her campaign. >> i believe increasing minimum wage it's not just the minimum wage, it's a living wage. >> she blasted out in an e-mail why mitch mcconnell wouldn't stand with kentucky families doesn't make any sense to me. >> the minimum wage increase is not done in conjunction with some kind of incentives for the businesses. not to lay off employees, they're going to dramatically increase unemployment. >> she's running against a republican in a red state, and in california. a very blue state, a conservative activist is also pushing to raise the minimum wage. a registered republican is arguing its time for taxpayers to stop subsidizing corporations who pay their employees on livable wages he's pushing to get the minimum wage ballot. it's sported by americans in red states and blue states across the partisan divide. the only question is when congress will catch up. joining me now is the secretary of labor, tom perez. the big question today is, why now. why w

alison grimes is pulling ahead in that race. mitch mcconnell is running for his lich. panicked -- life, he's panicked. throwing everything he can. alison is looking good. mitch mcconnell should have no problems is getting challenged. and there's a war inside the republican party which alison grimes is helped by. the republicans problem is the same as 2012. they are eaten from within, they were eaten by their own. >> do you agree with this. the war inside the republican party. are you guys eaten from within. >> we have a war within the republican party. make no mistake. commid terms, it's about one thing, the president, the failed leadership in obamacare, and that is what this campaign is about. that's why we'll win the senate. what happened with harry reid, who should never have won re-election is the reason that we did not nominate the right candidate. when you look at the country, the alas ka seat, you'll not see the president of the united states campaigning in anyway of those states because they know that he's not done a good job and obamacare will be a noose aroun

so it's obvious why alison grimes has invited bill clinton into kentucky.r her is, the president of the united states is not bill clinton. that was during the 1990s. the president of the united states is barack obama that's what the voters think about in november as they're voting. >> now, what does bill clinton get out of this? >> first of all, he just loves campaigning. this ex-president actually enjoys doing these political chores. i don't think any of the others do. he's obviously building up chits for hillary in 2016. he did it in 2008. i think it's a good thing for hillary. >> we're talking about kentucky and mitch mcconnell. if i'm mitch mcconnell, i'm worried more about the rumble on the right than the challenge on the left, aren't i? >> he has to get past the primary, although it doesn't look like that's going to be terribly close. the tea party candidate there has made some mistakes and his campaign hasn't just taken off, and all the kentucky experts say that. >> what is it about some tea party candidates who register and others who do not? it fee

poll commissioned by some of the state's biggest media outlets found democrat alison lundergan grimeswo recent polls showed a tight race between lundergan-grimes and mcconnell who held his senate seat since 1985. mcconnell has to get past a tea party primary challenger, matt beavan, the backing of both freedomworks and the senate conservatives fund. in short, mitch mcconnell has a real fight on his hands. for one thing, the longtime washington fixture is deep under water in his home state. 27% of kentuckians hold a favorable view of him. a full 50% have an unfavorable view. look at this, mcconnell's approval rating in kentucky is 32%. 32%. president obama who lost kentucky by 23 points in 2012 actually has a higher approval rating in the state than mitch mcconnell. now, you might say, no big deal. election is nine months away. mitch mcconnell has a ton of money. he knows his state incredibly wall. call in a bunch of favors between now and election day. all that is absolutely true. but unlike harry reid, who faced a tough re-election fight in 2010, mitch mcconnell has not been gifted w

the bluegrass poll shows democratic challenger alison lundergan grimes with a four-point lead over mitch. she is at 46. he is down to 42. how bad it is for mcconnell right now? well, his approval rating in the state, his home state is down to 32, two points lower than president obama's in kentucky. and we'll be right back. discover card. i asked my husband to pay our bill, and he forgot. you have the it card and it's your first time missing a payment, so there's no late fee. really? yep! so is your husband off the hook? no. he went out for milk last week and came back with a puppy. hold it. hold it. hold it. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card with late payment forgiveness. >>> governor chris christie's biggest headache in the bridge scandal is david wildstein. now it turns out wildstein may be more dangerous to christie than we previously thought. "new york times" reporter reports today that wildstein's sources when he wrote for the blog politics nj include the same players at the center of this bridge scandal, including christie himself. quote, wildstein's s

reporter: in kentucky today, clinton was helping mcconnell's opponent, secretary of state alison lundergan grimes. she was a teenager when he was president. here she is, only 14, presenting roses to the clintons at their inauguration in 1993. surrounded by senators in washington, mcconnell brushed off clinton's visit. >> every time he's come, it's been really good for me. >> reporter: perhaps. but this year, bill clinton is his party's biggest draw. fueled by nostalgia for the past and a hope that hillary clinton runs for the white house. one person not mentioned today -- president obama. you didn't mention president obama even once in your speech today. why is president clinton such a bigger draw? >> well, for me, president clinton is a friend, a mentor and an adviser. >> reporter: we caught up with clinton and asked if democrats could maintain control of the senate. >> i think so. i do think so. they're going have to work for it, though. >> reporter: bill clinton in high demand, hoping to ride to the rescue. jeff zeleny, abc news, louisville, kentucky. >>> and late today, we got some news that

fund-raising on a tax against candidates ironically wendy davis who has been called abortion barbie and alison grimesho has been called an empty dress. senator ted cruz was less than enthusiastic about minority leader mitch mcconnell when politico's mike allen asked him to play a game of word association. >> this will be good. >> last one. mitch mcconnell. >> leader. >> that's a statement of fact. >> that is what is stencilled on his door. >> that's all you have to say? should mitch mcconnell be the senate republican leader. >> look. that is a decision for the conference to make. >> no. but what is your personal opinion about that sf is he a leader or a sell-out? >> i strongly disagree with the decisions -- some of the decisions republican leadership has made this past year. there is a real divide over how you win elections. there are a number of folks in washington who think the way you win elections is you put your head down, you don't rock the boat, you don't take any risks. >> and that describes the current senate republican leadership? >> sadly. >> all right. so starting with rand paul, i guess

. >>> bill clinton is in kentucky today stumping for senate hopeful alison lundergan grimes who accordingolls holds a slim lead to unseed mitch mcconnell. clinton spoke to a sold out crowd in automatic fund-raiser in louisville. there are no plans for president obama to make appearances. >>> michelle obama will be in miami later this afternoon to mark the fourth anniversary of her let's move health and fitness initiative. before she headed to south florida, mrs. obama announced new rules for announcement of sugary drinks. >>> now to the spin, jimmy fallon is coasting along in the second week of the host of "tonight show" but this week it's all about seth meyers who debuted in the coveted late-night spot. one of his guests broke pretty big 2016 news. >> in 2016, considering what you're going do, where are you in the thought process -- >> so, amy poehler went on to announce her intention to run for president of the united states. >> what? >> so not joe biden. >> did he say he's not running? >> he demured. although on "the view" his morning, he said he would make his decision regardless of w

a new poll, a republican polling firm, mitch mcconnell has a one-point lead over democrat alison lundergan grimes. mcconnell, 43, grimes, 42. later this month, grimes will be getting a big boost from the big dog himself, bill clinton. the former president will campaign for grimes in louisville. clinton is close friends with grimes' father, former state democratic party chair jerry lundergan. and don't forget, clinton carried kentucky in '92 and '96, the last democrat, presidential candidate to do. so and we'll be right back after this. which would be fine if bob were a vampire. but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone who gave him a fresh perspective on his portfolio. and with some planning and effort, hopefully bob can retire at a more appropriate age. it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. so i get invited to quite a few family gatherings. heck, i saved judith here a fortune with discounts like safe driver, multi-car, paperless. you make a mighty fine missus, m'lady. i'm not saying mark's thrifty. let's just say, i s

bill clinton was in the great state of kentucky today speaking at a fund-raiser there for alison lundergan-grimes. a democrat who's looking to unseat republican leader mitch mcconnell. mcconnell is facing perhaps the toughest senate election of his career. that's not to say he hasn't had primary problems before. back in 2010, there was a race for an open seat in kentucky left vacant by jim bunning's retirement. republican primary that year saw a guy you might recognize, rand paul. but he wasn't big rand paul at the time and he was the underdog going up against kentucky secretary of state trey grayson. grayson was mcconnell's main man. he was said to have hand picked grayson and, of course, publicly endorsed him. then when the election came around, rand paul crushed mcconnell's man, grayson, at the polls. in other words, mitch mcconnell, one of the most powerful republicans in washington, no one argues that, but he couldn't carry trey grayson to victory in a primary in his home state at which point mcconnell may have realized something. he had a self-preservation problem. he went out and hired ran

a new poll, a republican polling firm, mitch mcconnell has a one-point lead over democrat alison lundergan grimescconnell, 43, grimes, 42. later this month, grimes will be getting a big boost from the big dog himself, bill clinton. the former president will campaign for grimes in louisville. clinton is close friends with grimes' father, former state democratic party chair jerry lundergan. and don't forget, clinton carried kentucky in '92 and '96, the last democrat, presidential candidate to do. so and we'll be right back after this. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪ >>> welcome back to "hardball." no exit. we go from the christie dragnet to the christie calendar. it's been just a few weeks since "the bergen record" blew

. >>> one final note, today's tweet of the day comes from jonathan martin referencing how alison lundergan grimes grimes about air brushing obama out of the picture. "i'm a clinton democrat through and through, she said." how about that? helps reduce the risk of heart disease. keep heart-healthy. live long. eat the 100% goodness of post shredded wheat. doctors recommend it. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪ with limited availability in select markets. hey, buddy? oh, hey, flo. you want to see something cool? snapshot, from progressive. my insurance company told me not to talk to people like you. you always

clinton was trying to, in that bite you just played, sort of lay out an argument that alison grimes couldat's really what was hanging over all of this. she was clearly thrilled to have the former president. but if you want to listen to that comment that joe mention earlier, that she told us for our series, about whether or not she wanted to have obama in town, take a listen. >> you say that you're an independent thinker. i want to ask you about president barack obama. would you want him to come down and came pain for you? >> this race is about putting the people of the state first. i speak for myself, and i don't need any other surrogate to do that. i stand in stark contrast to the president in many of his ideas and platforms. >> and she is not the only one that feels that way. harry reid was actually asked yesterday if democrat in colorado would welcome the president, and he said, well, we have one president who can go everyplace, and that's president clinton. >> okay, kasie, thank you very much. we look forward to more in your series. >> this is such a redemption for bill clinton, becau

bad news for senate minority leader mitch mcconnell showing him trailing democratic challenger alison grimesoes this tell us? >> the conversation at the beginning of the show about this idea that republicans are likely to win back the senate. this is why you can't use percentages this far out. it depends who the cast of characters are. you have a state here, kentucky, that's very conservative and mitch mcconnell can lose it. it doesn't mean they are going to lose it. every poll shown as tied. his unfavorable ratings make him more unfavorable than obama. here you have the most powerful republican in all of washington who could lose his seat. >> how do you think matt is interpreted in all this, he's primary challenger on the right. doing well in kentucky. it corners mitch mcconnell when it comes to obamacare to be able to talk pout it in a way that's going to win over voters. >> what he's done is given a competitive primary forces him to spend money and forces him far to the right. you have mitch mcconnell the deal maker, mitch mcconnell very conservative leader of the senate where on immigrat

. >> reporter: and alison grimes got a huge shot in the arm tomorrow when former president bill clintongn with her in kentucky. >> her answer whether she would want the president of the united states come down, she almost mouthed no before she gave her answer. mark, size up this race for us. how big is the threat to mitchell mcconnell? >> he could lose. he is unpopular in the state and not clear why. he is a cagey guy. it is still kentucky. if there is a national republican tie, i think it's hard for him to lose in the general election but if the democrats fight back and she proves to be a strong candidate and some moments in that piece she looked very strong and others she looked a little bit like she couldn't stand up to him. i think there is a chance there, but in the end it's going to take a lot of lucky breaks for her to win. >> the rand paul effect/impact on this race? >> it's hard to overstate it. mcconnell was very smart in sort of while rand has not exactly been his most aggressive defender but is not working against him and that makes a huge difference. rand has also been stir

grimes what he did for barack obama in 2012 at the national convention. his message to kentuckians today don't believe all the hyperbolic messaging that they see from mcconnell supporters. >> when alison got in this race, and we talked tab, i said, your opponent say genius at that latter course. he skated a couple of elections doing that. you can't beat that. you got to beat it with this. give the people something. >> grimes is the daughter of kentucky political royalty. her father say former state rep and a democratic party chair. in fact, then 14-year-old grimes gave clinton a bouquet of roses on inauguration day in 1993. now, it's no surprise why kentucky democrats are bringing clinton to town. they may have narrowly won his two elections to the state but he's the only democrat to do it there narrowly or otherwise. mcdonnell cold reporters in a release yesterday that clinton has campaigned here before for democrats and always lost. and that's true enough. registered democrats may outnumber the number of republicans in the state. they may have electeded a democratic governor but they haven't sent a democrat to the senate since 1972. also when it comes to popularity in the blue grass